Spellbinding

Informative, entertaining and enthralling. Funny and sad, poignant and comic - a great read. Superb narration. I was only sorry it ended ... or that I have come to some of Dickens’ works so late. He has so much to teach us still.

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one of his best

Beautifully read and for me one of Dickens best and most interesting novels. Highly recommended and certainly a good place to start if looking to get into Dickens

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A book that grows on you very well read

Though a great enthusiast for Dickens t first I thought I was not going to like this. But everything in the early chapters makes total sense later. It is a book that makes you think. To set a novel for the most part in mob riotiing means loads of characters. Sean Barrett captures their variety wondefully and well distingyises between the caricatred characters and the others

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Well worth reading.

this novel deserves to be better known. I loved the historical context and rich story telling. having spent my working life in the area of education for people with learning disabilities I was particularly interested in the experiences of Barnaby and the way he is treated by his community and wider society. it is sad to think that exploitation of vulnerable people by unscrupulous people has not changed much since Dicken's time.

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excellent narrator

the narration is First Class. the story itself is my first attempt at a whole Dickens text and it was worth the investment of time and effort. the story starts to glide eventually. this was such a treat and the narrator has brought the characters and atmosphere in this historical novel to life exuberantly. the characters of Barnaby and Miggs were particularly memorable. this has enriched my experience. thank you.

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Great story, beautfully read.

Although a Dickens fan, I knew nothing about this story and found it unexpectedly moving as well as exciting. Beautifully read.

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4 people found this helpful

Brilliant reading, brilliant book

Was prompted to try this audiobook having listened to a programme about the anti-Catholic Gordon Riots of 1780, which is the setting for this novel. And what a brilliant work it is, Dickens at his very best, establishing a strange but believable world of English characters from a previous century.

Clearly, Dickens was not a fan of the Gordon uprising which apparently caused more damage to property in London in a week than was caused in Paris throughout the French Revolution. And central within the plot is the likeable and distinguished Catholic landowner, Haredale, who suffers at the hands of the rioters and his devious arch enemy, Lord Chester.

As many other reviewers have noted, this audiobook is also much distinguished by the brilliant reading of Sean Barrett. To my mind nothing shows off more readily the skill of an actor than their ability to voice a variety of characters. And Barrett's performance is a sublime tour de force, skipping seamlessly from one character to another, whether its Barnaby himself and his raven Grip, the whining servant girl Migs, the oily Chester, Dennis the hangman or any of the other many characters Dickens portrays.

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Excellent performance and story

I wasnt familiar with this book but the narration brought it alive and it was very interesting and pacy.

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Barnaby Rudge read by Sean Barratt

What a fantastic experience - Dickens read by Sean Barratt - not just read but narrated in a truly wonderful way. I had not read this book but was thoroughly caught up in the characters lives and the horrendous rioting. How relevant Dickens is to what has recently happened in London. But it was the reading by Sean that made the experience so memorable, thrilling and moving.

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4 people found this helpful

Wonderful tale about the power of the mob

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, as it teaches so much about how people get pulled along in the wave of the mob. I had little knowledge of this terrible time in England's history, and felt that Dickens captured the mood. As always, his characters have the weakness of being caricatures and seem a bit 2 dimensional, but the story telling and tension building was superb. I felt like boo-ing and hissing every time John Chester was mentioned, as he was so sublimely horrid.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Barnaby Rudge?

The immediate lead up to the hanging of Hugh and Dennis. Brilliant writing.

What does Sean Barrett bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

I enjoyed Sean's voices but felt that his 'female' voice was very same-y.

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1 person found this helpful