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Little Women
Our favourite moments from Little Women
- Little Women
- By: Louisa May Alcott
- Narrated by: Emily Bauer, Laura Dern, Lauren Fortgang, and others
- Little Women
- By: Louisa May Alcott
- Narrated by: Emily Bauer, Laura Dern, Lauren Fortgang, and others
- Little Women
- By: Louisa May Alcott
- Narrated by: Emily Bauer, Laura Dern, Lauren Fortgang, and others
- Little Women
- "I will never forgive you."
- Little Women
- "I don’t want any secrets."
- Little Women
- Hail the Conquering Hero Comes
About the performer
Since her breakout role in David Lynch’s 1986 classic, Blue Velvet, Dern has astounded audiences and critics alike as Rose in Rambling Rose, Ellie Sattler in Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park, Bobbi in Wild and most recently as the rage-fuelled Renata Klein in Big Little Lies. In Audible’s Little Women Dern narrates as Louisa May Alcott, bringing together a cast of perennial audio favorites including Suzanne Toren, Lauren Fortgang, Allison Hiroto, Emily Bauer and Carly Robins among others.
About the performer
Lauded as a prolific narrator by the Audiobook Publishers Association, Emily Bauer has a passion for truthful, honest storytelling and creating memorable characters across all genres. The recipient of multiple Golden Earphones, Listen-Up Awards, and Publishers Weekly Starred Reviews, Emily is also well-known for her animation work on shows such as Pokémon, Clifford the Big Red Dog, and Wallykazam!, and has done hundreds of commercials and jingles. Emily has narrated more than 200 audiobooks including the InCryptid series by Seanan McGuire, the Razorland series by Anne Aguirre, and Life As We Knew It, from the Last Survivors series by Susan Beth Pfeffer.
About the performer
Lauren Fortgang is an NYC based actor regularly working as an audiobook narrator for a vast roster of publishers including Audible Studios, Hachette, Penguin Random House, Macmillan, Scholastic, Blackstone Publishing, and beyond. She's voiced hundreds of titles including works by James Patterson, Joan Didion, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Candace Bushnell, Ann M. Martin, R.L. Stine and Brené Brown.
Lauren is both an Audie Award and multiple-Earphones Award winner whose work has been recognized by Audiofile Magazine, the Audio Publishers Association (APA), the American Library Association (ALA) and Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), School Library Journal, Library Journal, USA Today, Market Watch, Bustle, Forbes, and Publisher's Weekly.
About the performer
Allison Hiroto is an actor, musician, and voice over artist. Her voice over work ranges from commercials to audiobooks, and she is an AudioFile Earphone Award winner and Audie nominee. As an actor, Allison is a member of La MaMa’s Great Jones Repertory Company, Loco 7 Dance Puppet Theatre, Yara Arts Group, and NYU's First Look Theatre Company. She has performed all over the world including London, Taipei, Toronto, Bogota, Zagreb, and the Venice Biennale. Allison is also a grant recipient of the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council’s Creative Engagement award.
About the performer
Carly Robins is an NYC based actress and voice over artist. Having narrated over 500 audiobooks she works regularly with a vast roster of publishers, production houses, and independent authors such as Audible Studios, Hachette, Harper Collins, Macmillan, Blackstone Publishing, Simon and Schuster, Dreamscape, Tantor, Brilliance and more. Audible awarded her Romance Audiobook of the Year 2018, for her work on The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang. Her work has been recognized with starred reviews in Library Journal and Booklist and has been featured in USA Today, and ‘the best of’ for AudioFile Magazine and Audible. She won a SOVAS award for her participation in Nevertheless We Persisted: Me Too. Carly can be heard on video games, promos, commercials, animation and ES as well as voicing the character Wicke on Pokémon. She has performed for ten years in the NYC area and has written and produced her own work for stage and screen.
About the performer
Suzanne Toren has appeared in works by well-known and new playwrights from Shakespeare and Moliere to Arthur Miller and Neil Simon - on Broadway (Goodbye, Fidel - starring Jane Alexander) and off Broadway (Westside Arts: A Shayna Maidel and From Door to Door; Castillo Theatre: Yiddish Death of a Salesman), and in regional theatres throughout the country (Paper Mill Playhouse: Great Expectations and A Tale of Two Cities; Philadelphia Drama Guild: A View from the Bridge; Pennsylvania Stage Company: Brighton Beach Memoirs; Syracuse Stage: The Seagull).
In addition, she is a multi-award-winning narrator (including, several times, “Narrator of the Year”) of around 1000 audio books, for all major publishers. In 2019 she was honored with a “Golden Voice” award from Audiofile Magazine, for “career achievements and invaluable contributions to the world of audiobooks
Summary
Hollywood icon Laura Dern breathes new life into Louisa May Alcott’s classic coming-of-age tale that follows the lives of four sisters against a backdrop of the American Civil War. This autobiographical novel takes place in and around the girls’ New England home.
This great American novel demonstrates Alcott's extraordinary talent at portraying the joys and struggles of family life in an unforgettable way. Generations of people - young and old, male and female - have fallen in love with the March sisters. This classic of young adult fiction transcends genre, gender, and class with its examination of personal quests, societal restrictions, family ties, and the end of innocence.
This new audio original dramatisation of Little Women stars a full cast led by two-time Academy Award-nominee, four-time Golden Globe-winner, and Emmy winner Laura Dern (Little Women, Big Little Lies, Jurassic Park), along with veteran narrators Suzanne Toren, Lauren Fortgang, Allison Hiroto, Emily Bauer, and Carly Robins.
What members say
Average customer ratings
Overall
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4.5 out of 5 stars
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5 Stars129
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4 Stars35
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3 Stars9
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2 Stars4
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1 Stars1
Performance
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4.5 out of 5 stars
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5 Stars123
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4 Stars23
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3 Stars8
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2 Stars4
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1 Stars1
Story
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4.5 out of 5 stars
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5 Stars115
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4 Stars30
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3 Stars8
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2 Stars5
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1 Stars1
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Katharina
- 29-02-20
Difficult to distinguish voices
I found it very difficult to listen to as they do not introduce the different voices, and it is therefore difficult to know who is speaking. The girls’ voices sound very similar.
3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- E. W. J. Tuppen
- 05-01-20
Masterpiece
Beautiful story, brilliantly told.
A great way to experience this classic by an excellent cast.
2 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Sean Joseph Healy
- 19-03-20
This is not Little Women
There is so much of the detail and the nuance of the book missing! I can only imagine Louisa May would be embarrassed to see her work stripped of so much of the skill and effort she had put into it.
1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Kindle Customer
- 29-02-20
Little women
Gentle listening,loved hearing the story told so well.
Characters came alive. Refreshing version , music interludes much appreciated
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Snowdrop
- 26-02-20
Brilliant
There is nothing to say about this story that has not already been said. I have read it several times over the years, but this recording was lovely. Thank you.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- E R Slaughter
- 24-02-20
Enthralling
At first, I thought the voice of Laurie sounded too old. However, he does such a wonderful job of narrating the character, it soon didn’t matter. The story is lovely, as expected and all the narrations were beautifully done. I couldn’t stop listening, every spare minute I could find.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- S K Doherty
- 10-02-20
Classic Tale of growing up
I love the story of Little Women, though I had forgotten just how religious it was! This often gets happily removed in films and other abridged versions. Having seen Laura Dern playing "Marmee" in the latest film release, I couldn't resist this audible version with her as narrator. She didn't disappoint!
Performance wise, at times it was a little difficult to discern who was speaking between the girls as their voices were too similar.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Thomas Biggs
- 24-01-20
A brilliant book with a brilliant performance
The Book is the third I'd been listening to in preparation to study Literature, and it is by far my favourite. The story itself was very engaging and realistic, with some emotional touches.
It was brilliantly narrated and performed by those involved, with a fully fleshed cast and crew. It made the whole book come alive for me and really made my day when listening.
I recommend this to anyone who is interested in good literature.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Honest Writer
- 24-01-20
Gorgeous Adaptation
This a great dramatisation of the American classic novel. One of the issues with audiobooks is if you take it verbatim, then you have a lot of he said, she said, etc. None of that here. Laura Dern and the cast are perfect as is the production as a whole. It sent me to a magical world, and I was completely engrossed.
Would highly recommend a listen.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- DawnB
- 19-01-20
Fantastic version of Little Women
Loved this version, it was a fantastic adaptation, Its one of my favourite books, and this does not disappoint. The only thing I might possibly change is that Laurie sounds too old. But otherwise loved it.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Tanya D
- 05-01-20
Enjoyable
I had never read Little Women (apart from the Children's version when I was younger) and wanted to read it before the newest movie. I specifically waited for this new Audible Original version because I love Laura Dern and was super excited for it.
It is what it is - an abridged dramatization of the book. I was not aware of this, but this did not affect my rating. I rated it based on what it is. That being said, although quite enjoyable, I personally would have preferred to listen to the full novel. I do wish they had made this more clear to the listener, though I may have still chosen to listen to this version because, Laura Dern. Can she just read the whole thing next time?
I found the beginning difficult to differentiate the characters and their voices. The dialogue is without "said Amy" or "said Jo". As the stories begin to separate and each sister has their own path/narrative, it is not an issue. I loved Jo, Marmee and Laurie's voices the best. I found some of the voices to be a tad overdone, but it did not distract from my enjoyment. In the beginning I found the extra sounds - like foot steps, horses or a cackling fire interesting, but they lose their appeal by the end. They just don't add to the story in an effective way that makes you feel like you are part of that world.
In the end, I would think twice about listening to another "dramatization", though I think the idea overall has potential.
I can see why however, someone who may have read the full novel already, might appreciate this as a new way to experience a beloved tale; but I don’t have that frame of reference.
36 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- JRM+JRT
- 01-01-20
Very poor execution of this classic tale
Instead of allowing the cast to tell the story naturally through their performance, the action was constantly interrupted by a narrator adding snippets of backstory - sometimes right in the middle of active dialogue!
All of this backstory could have easily been woven into the story and told through the cast performance. It was too distracting to continue listening.
Also, the actors cast for the girls were a bit too similar in sound/portrayal and I struggled to differentiate who was speaking in scenes with the 4 of them.
I could have possibly overlooked the highly censored (historical and faith-based content removed/altered to make the story more in sync with our current "PC" world) and abridged aspects (though I would always prefer a true to the original portrayal when given the choice!), however the constant switch in POV was too jarring to allow myself to get lost in the story, or enjoy it on any level.
Overall a very disappointing mess of a beloved classic. Be sure to take the time to listen to the full sample offered to see if this is something you would enjoy - which I often don't because I know I can return books I don't enjoy - to save yourself a bit of frustration and a lot of wasted time spent hoping it might get better further in. It doesn't.
71 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Carrie
- 07-01-20
Ew
I could not get past the second chapter. I love this story, but the saccharine voices of the characters contrasts too much with Dern’s dry narration. It bothers me that they did not stick to the original manuscript. This is a dramatization, not an audiobook.
32 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Abigail Vance
- 01-01-20
Censored
This version is not just abridged, it is censored. i didn't catch it until I was nearly through, but by trying to find my place in my kindle book, I realized one of the most moving scenes of the whole book, when Beth died, was edited of anything meaningful about the Lord or heaven. Now I've been paying attention and any mention of God is removed. No wonder I thought the book was just "okay." I'm going to have to start over again with an actual version of the book.
67 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 30-12-19
It’s more performance than book
I waited for Dean’s version to release. It was a mistake. This is really awful.
29 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Eve O’Cative
- 22-02-20
Not the full novel.
This is a radio play version that has been completely re-worked. I found it confusing.
4 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Carly Brown
- 13-01-20
Excellent!
I finally fell in love with the March sisters, and I will be forever grateful. I never read Little Women as a kid, just because the book seemed big and daunting to young me. I am kind of glad it took me until now to read it, because it's exactly what I needed at this time in my life. I am in my twenties and soon to graduate college. I have a lot of big life decisions quickly approaching, and I felt comforted hearing about the March sisters having to carve out their own life paths. Each sister imparts their own wisdom in some way. Meg teaches us how to enjoy the little things. Jo teaches us to nurture our passions. Beth teaches us how to love honestly and deeply. Amy teaches us about the beauty of change.
I know Louisa May Alcott considered her own work "moral pap for the young", but I thought it was full of so many lessons that apply to people's lives today. The narration was fantastic too! Laura Dern and the rest of the cast performed the lovable characters with charm and bubbly energy.
4 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- HOOKIPA
- 26-01-20
Bangin', Clangin' and Emotin'
Note to self: Do not EVER get another "dramatized" audio book. Laura Dern of course is superb as a narrator. But the music, sound effects, dramatization? The Book: "She wept." The Dramatization: "Bwahahahahahah...snort...bwahahaha...Bwa! Ha! Bwahahahahahahahahahah." Good god just get to the story will you? Other than that, classic-novel-breaking-gender-roles etc. etc.
3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Virago
- 28-12-19
Enjoyable Listen
I have seen a few not-so-great reviews about this audiodrama. Some hated the voice cast, while others were bothered that it's an abridged dramatization rather than the novel verbatim. I do not have those complaints. I enjoyed the voice work and the dramatization.
This was a wonderful story and I loved listening to it. I feel like I got the full story even though it was a dramatization. And the cast brought the characters to life for me.
9 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- K Watkins
- 24-12-19
Five Stars and more!!
I hadn't read this story in over 50 years, and I couldn't have picked a better way to read it again! What a special Christmas treat!! I have listened to this 3, yes 3 times in 48 hours, it's that good! I cannot say enough about the cast, they are incredibly talented, I'd give each and everyone six stars if I could! Thank you for bringing this wonderful story to life, and best wishes to all!
21 people found this helpful