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Great Expectations cover art

Great Expectations

Written by: Charles Dickens
Narrated by: Simon Prebble
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Publisher's Summary

One of the most revered works in English literature, Great Expectations traces the coming of age of a young orphan, Pip, from a boy of shallow aspirations into a man of maturity. From the chilling opening confrontation with an escaped convict to the grand but eerily disheveled estate of bitter old Miss Havisham, all is not what it seems in Dickens’ dark tale of false illusions and thwarted desire.

Raised by a humble blacksmith, Pip is recruited by the wealthy Miss Havisham to be a companion to her ward, the cold but beautiful Estella. There, Pip learns to despise his rough origins as Estella torments him about his low prospects. When Pip is informed that an unknown benefactor expects to make him his heir, he sets off to London to realize his “great expectations.” But true gentleman stature, he will find, is a matter of character, not fortune.

Public Domain (P)2011 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

What the critics say

“Observe how finely the narrative is kept in one key. It begins with a mournful impression—the foggy marshes spreading drearily by the seaward Thames—and throughout recurs this effect of cold and damp and dreariness; in that kind Dickens never did anything so good…No story in the first person was ever better told.” (George Gissing, English novelist)

What listeners say about Great Expectations

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Five star performance

My favourite of the classics and the narration is superb! Highly recommend this version. I enjoyed every word.

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Superb

An excellent narration of a timeless story! I’ve read this book 2x over the years, but this narration brought the story to life in such a way that I caught so many details that I’ve never noticed before. I especially “fell in love” with the way Joe Gargery was voiced🥰. Well done!

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A must-read for every bucket list

If writing my obituary, I would want to include the accomplishment and JOY of having read this book, so beautifully performed. Read it. Your life will be the richer.

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Long

The book was long, but the audio book made it much easier to get through than reading it.

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Saved My Grade

I only got this book because I had to read it for English class of my senior year.

Simon (the narrator) only made around 5 mistakes that I found (such as "her" instead of "his") which I only noticed because I happen to be looking at the page simultaneously. His voice was pleasant and I feel it captured the interesting chatacters from Dickens very well.

About the story: it was easy to follow but I did find myself tuning out at times. I can't say if it is from listening to it for around 7 hours straight each session or if the story was lacking. I find when I did listen, it was enjoyable, even for an assignment.

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Highly recommended

This book was amazing; I couldn't turn it off. The narrator was wonderful and made the humor come alive. Many laugh out loud moments that I'm not sure I would have picked up on if I had been reading myself. My favorite characterizations of his were probably Joe, Uncle Pumblechook, Jaggers, and Herbert.

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Expectations met

This was my first ever audiobook. I have been wanting to read it for decades. This version was great. The pacing, the voice, the tone, all helped affirm that I made the right decision turning to audio books. I look forward to my next adventure.

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The character Jo- steadfast

Though this is not my favourite Dickens novel I do enjoy the richness of his characters and Jo is such a great steadfast man and the lessons learned throughout are necessary and contemplative. Definitely worth a read. And. The audio performance is as always, delightful and adventurous.

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  • cj
  • 2023-12-22

If it were not for Simon Prebble...

I would never have finished this novel. His narration is beyond excellent! I did not enjoy this story at all. I played it at 1.25 speed to help me endure. Much preferred David Copperfield and The Count of Monte Cristo.

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no expectations

this novel is not that great, I expected more our of this novel but it fails all expectations.

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