Hard Times (version 2 dramatic reading)
Charles Dickens
Read by LibriVox Volunteers
Charles Dickens' 1854 novel opens with the philosophy of education espoused by the eminently practical Mr. Gradgrind, who prizes "facts and calculations." He raises his children, most prominently Louisa and Tom, to eschew imagination and emotion and embrace order and reason. The results are disastrous: Louisa marries out of duty to the supposed self-made man Mr. Bounderby, while Tom grows up dissolute, ultimately commits theft and blames it on an unfortunate laborer, Stephen Blackpool. Set in the fictional Coketown, a mill town in the north of England, Dickens' novel satirizes capitalism, social mobility, class stratification, and Utilitarianism. This dramatic reading of the novel features a full cast of LibriVox volunteers, who lend their voices to Dickens' vibrant comic characters. (Summary by Elizabeth Klett)
Cast
Narrator: Bob Neufeld
Mr. Gradgrind: Marty Kris
Sissy Jupe: J L Raimundo
Bitzer: mb
Gentleman: Tom Crawford
Louisa Gradgrind: Arielle Lipshaw
Mr. Bounderby: Andy Minter
Mrs. Gradgrind: Beth Thomas
Tom Gradgrind: Max Korlinge
Mr. E. W. B. Childers: David Lawrence
Master Kidderminster: Elizabeth Klett
Mr. Sleary: Ron Altman
Mrs. Sparsit: Elizabeth Klett
Stephen Blackpool: Nigel Boydell
Rachael: Karen Savage
Mrs. Blackpool: Bev J. Stevens
Mrs. Pegler: Sally McConnell
James Harthouse: Algy Pug
Slackbridge: John Steigerwald
Voice 1: sylly
Voice 2: J L Raimundo
Jane Gradgrind: Goldfish
Waiter: Nigel Boydell
Man: Algy Pug
Clown: Bev J. Stevens
Text prepared by Arielle Lipshaw and Elizabeth Klett
Audio edited by Elizabeth Klett (0 hr 0 min)
Chapters
Book 1, Chapter 01, The One Thing Needful | 4:36 | Read by LibriVox Volunteers |
Book 1, Chapter 02, Murdering the Innocents | 15:12 | Read by LibriVox Volunteers |
Book 1, Chapter 03, A Loophole | 13:07 | Read by LibriVox Volunteers |
Book 1, Chapter 04, Mr. Bounderby | 18:11 | Read by LibriVox Volunteers |
Book 1, Chapter 05, The Keynote | 14:36 | Read by LibriVox Volunteers |
Book 1, Chapter 06, Sleary's Horsemanship | 33:01 | Read by LibriVox Volunteers |
Book 1, Chapter 07, Mrs. Sparsit | 16:52 | Read by LibriVox Volunteers |
Book 1, Chapter 08, Never Wonder | 13:38 | Read by LibriVox Volunteers |
Book 1, Chapter 09, Sissy's Progress | 16:57 | Read by LibriVox Volunteers |
Book 1, Chapter 10, Stephen Blackpool | 13:52 | Read by LibriVox Volunteers |
Book 1, Chapter 11, No Way Out | 17:50 | Read by LibriVox Volunteers |
Book 1, Chapter 12, The Old Woman | 13:31 | Read by LibriVox Volunteers |
Book 1, Chapter 13, Rachael | 20:07 | Read by LibriVox Volunteers |
Book 1, Chapter 14, The Great Manufacturer | 12:35 | Read by LibriVox Volunteers |
Book 1, Chapter 15, Father and Daughter | 19:45 | Read by LibriVox Volunteers |
Book 1, Chapter 16, Husband and Wife | 15:04 | Read by LibriVox Volunteers |
Book 2, Chapter 01, Effects in the Bank | 34:15 | Read by LibriVox Volunteers |
Book 2, Chapter 02, Mr. James Harthouse | 21:23 | Read by LibriVox Volunteers |
Book 2, Chapter 03, The Whelp | 12:40 | Read by LibriVox Volunteers |
Book 2, Chapter 04, Men and Brothers | 21:11 | Read by LibriVox Volunteers |
Book 2, Chapter 05, Men and Masters | 16:31 | Read by LibriVox Volunteers |
Book 2, Chapter 06, Fading Away | 30:46 | Read by LibriVox Volunteers |
Book 2, Chapter 07, Gunpowder | 31:01 | Read by LibriVox Volunteers |
Book 2, Chapter 08, Explosion | 32:25 | Read by LibriVox Volunteers |
Book 2, Chapter 09, Hearing the Last of It | 21:23 | Read by LibriVox Volunteers |
Book 2, Chapter 10, Mrs. Sparsit's Staircase | 11:44 | Read by LibriVox Volunteers |
Book 2, Chapter 11, Lower and Lower | 23:01 | Read by LibriVox Volunteers |
Book 2, Chapter 12, Down | 10:41 | Read by LibriVox Volunteers |
Book 3, Chapter 01, Another Thing Needful | 15:42 | Read by LibriVox Volunteers |
Book 3, Chapter 02, Very Ridiculous | 22:38 | Read by LibriVox Volunteers |
Book 3, Chapter 03, Very Decided | 21:54 | Read by LibriVox Volunteers |
Book 3, Chapter 04, Lost | 24:34 | Read by LibriVox Volunteers |
Book 3, Chapter 05, Found | 23:21 | Read by LibriVox Volunteers |
Book 3, Chapter 06, The Starlight | 26:33 | Read by LibriVox Volunteers |
Book 3, Chapter 07, Whelp-Hunting | 29:39 | Read by LibriVox Volunteers |
Book 3, Chapter 08, Philosophical | 16:58 | Read by LibriVox Volunteers |
Book 3, Chapter 09, Final | 13:29 | Read by LibriVox Volunteers |
Reviews
Great cast
Hospitable Georgian
Great cast! Well told! There was only one reader whose accent I struggled to understand. Interesting Dickens tale. Not one of my favorites.
Not Bad!
Rach
It's really good with all the different voices and all. Great job with the compilation of all the voices. Kudos! However, some chapters were incomplete (not too much but still! ) and also they could increase their pace a little bit. But, all in all as the title might suggest not bad, acceptable.
Beautiful Audiobook
Jon7
Well read and very good. If one was reading the book it can be quite hard to get the accent and the lisp but it was beautifully done in this audiobook. Book 3, Chapter 9 has a couple of paragraphs missing at the very end though
Gabby Wright
Not my favorite Dickens. The dramatic reading was interesting, but you can really tell from the audio that the actors were in different locations on different equipment. It would have been awesome had the mixing matched the sound better.
Awesome. Still true today!
James
great book . i wrote a similar story in College. People are still robbed of common sense and ignorant of soul. ...tge true meaning of salvation.
just a girl
Pretty Good! Bitzers voice was extremely annoying though. I love the rest of the voices who are really good voice actors. They made the book very intriguing.
A LibriVox Listener
The dramatic reading format was mostly good. It created a strange combination of scents, though. Mr. Gradgrind sounded American and his wife sounded Australian.
fantastic
Belinda Searle
Readers were all excellent, very clear and concise. Great story a well!