The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby

I suppose this must be my favourite Dickens story so far in as much as I'm surprised my earphones didn't need to be surgically removed by the end of the audio book. I just found the pace of the action more intense than David Copperfield, Great Expectations and The Pickwick Papers though I certainly loved them all. I think Dickens has created some of the nastiest and most irredeemable characters in Nicholas Nickleby, which really got my outraged juices flowing. I felt the relationship between Nicholas and Madeleine seemed to develop a bit quickly and perfunctorily, but I suppose there is only so much you can fit in without making the story too long. There were some great scenes and characters and I thought Simon Vance was a great narrator, his characterisations weren't quite up to the level of some of the most distinguished on Audible, but was still brilliant and I found his voice quality excellent, that could have been another reason for my not being able to switch him off. Thoroughly recommended

This is a very good rendering of the book. At times though I wished I had chosen the abridged version.

I tried to read dickens when i was younger and couldn't handle it - im now on my fourth tour de force - i loved it i just loved it