The Divine Comedy cover art

The Divine Comedy

Inferno; Purgatorio; Paradiso

 Preview
Try Premium Plus free
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Unlimited access to our all-you-can-listen catalogue of 15K+ audiobooks and podcasts
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

The Divine Comedy

By: Dante Alighieri, Stephen Wyatt
Narrated by: Blake Ritson, John Hurt, David Warner, Hattie Morahan, Full Cast
Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £8.99

Buy Now for £8.99

About this listen

Blake Ritson, David Warner, Hattie Morahan and John Hurt star in this BBC Radio 4 dramatisation of Dante's epic poem.

Inferno: Thirty-five year old Dante finds himself in the middle of a dark wood, in extreme personal and spiritual crisis. Hope of rescue appears in the form of the venerable poet Virgil, now a shade himself, who offers to lead Dante on an odyssey through the afterlife, beginning in the terrifying depths of Hell.

Purgatorio: Dante is led up Mount Purgatory by his guide. They encounter numerous souls who have embarked on the same difficult journey - one that will eventually lead to their spiritual salvation.

Paradiso: Dante's journey comes to a glorious conclusion as he is led by Beatrice, through the spheres of Paradise and into the presence of God himself. As they ascend, they encounter a number of souls who have also achieved blessedness. Many years later, the older Dante reflects on the episodes from his life that have inspired his great poem.

©2014 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2014 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd Epic Poetry Themes & Styles Funny
All stars
Most relevant
Just to say how much I enjoyed this and I'm sure you will too! I'm just starting to read Comedia and this provides a vivid summary of the overall work. Marvelous, yes iI. seeking out lectures and reading commentary , etc etc but nothing can prepare you for the genius of what Dante attempted and achieved in this work .. this dramatisation is a worthy precursor to reading and studying the work and an emotional tour de force ! sit back and enjoy!

Fantastic Dramatisation

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
fantastic voice acting, best I've ever heard on an audio book!
the story was lovely, even for an atheist.

fantastic voice acting

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Great book! Divided into 3 chapters Inferno, Purgatory and Paradise. Inferno was my favourite by far, interesting how Dante decides who is in hell and why, quite brave for the time!

Excellent!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This is pure spiritual poetry at it's most finest.
John Hurt describes Dante's spiritual journey through hell, purgatory and paradise wonderfully.
Amazing voices of Blake and David bring to life this unusually sad but true descent spiritually into the rings of hell , mount Purgatory and the nine spheres of heaven. Finally Dante makes it to the Trinity where he sees the image of man.
All the speakers contributed to the depth and high levels of surrealist humour and creativity.

Brilliant.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
An adaptation of Dante’s poem The Divine Comedy.An epic story full of wonder,deeply moving,the images will last a long time.One of the greatest things I have ever heard.

Truly wonderful from start to finish.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews