Listen free for 30 days
Middlemarch
People who bought this also bought...
-
Anna Karenina
- By: Leo Tolstoy
- Narrated by: David Horovitch
- Length: 38 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Anna Karenina seems to have everything - beauty, wealth, popularity and an adored son. But she feels that her life is empty until the moment she encounters the impetuous officer Count Vronsky.
-
-
A gem
- By Deborah on 12-06-09
-
The Mill on the Floss
- By: George Eliot
- Narrated by: Fiona Shaw
- Length: 20 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Mill on the Floss is one of the great works of English literature. It is perhaps the most autobiographical of all Eliot's novels. The relationship between its heroine, Maggie Tulliver, and her brother, Tom, closely resembles that of George Eliot and her own brother, Isaac. The subject of sibling affection was clearly a deeply poignant one for George Eliot - she also wrote a series of beautiful and evocative sonnets entitled 'Brother and Sister'.
-
-
About being good!
- By Claire on 17-10-18
-
North and South
- By: Elizabeth Gaskell
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 18 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Written at the request of Charles Dickens, North and South is a book about rebellion that poses fundamental questions about the nature of social authority and obedience. Gaskell expertly blends individual feeling with social concern and her heroine, Margaret Hale, is one of the most original creations of Victorian literature. When Margaret Hale's father leaves the Church in a crisis of conscience she is forced to leave her comfortable home in the tranquil countryside of Hampshire....
-
-
an interesting novel made special by the reading
- By Margaret on 27-12-10
-
Sense and Sensibility
- By: Jane Austen
- Narrated by: Rosamund Pike
- Length: 11 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this Audible Exclusive production, Academy Award® nominee Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl) narrates one of Jane Austen’s most beloved works, Sense and Sensibility. In this timeless tale of misguided romance and heartbreak, two teenage heroines must overcome the pitfalls of Georgian England’s high society in order to achieve the love and happiness they seek. The admiration that Pike has for Austen’s work is shown clearly through this passionate delivery of Austen’s first published novel.
-
-
What a great way to hear a classic
- By Mrs. A. Gardner on 13-09-18
-
Tess of the D'Urbervilles
- By: Thomas Hardy
- Narrated by: Peter Firth
- Length: 14 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When John Durbeyfield discovers a family connection to the ancient Norman family, the D'Urbervilles, the fate of daughter Tess is transformed. Sent by her ambitious parents to visit her wealthy D'Urberville cousins, Tess attracts the attention of the unscrupulous Alec. Seduced and discarded by him and alone in the world, she finds work as a milkmaid and the love of Angel Clare. Yet his love cannot accept the truth about Tess's past.
-
-
Amazing, loved now and no longer hated ☺
- By Dawn on 13-03-15
-
Vanity Fair
- By: William Makepeace Thackeray
- Narrated by: John Castle
- Length: 31 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Set during the time of the Napoleonic Wars, this classic gives a satirical picture of a worldly society. The novel revolves around the exploits of the impoverished but beautiful and devious Becky Sharp who craves wealth and a position in society. Calculating and determined to succeed, she charms, deceives and manipulates everyone she meets. A novel of early 19th-century English society, it takes its title from the place designated as the centre of human corruption in John Bunyan's 17th-century allegory.
-
-
A glorious romp of a novel!
- By Clare on 24-08-09
-
Anna Karenina
- By: Leo Tolstoy
- Narrated by: David Horovitch
- Length: 38 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Anna Karenina seems to have everything - beauty, wealth, popularity and an adored son. But she feels that her life is empty until the moment she encounters the impetuous officer Count Vronsky.
-
-
A gem
- By Deborah on 12-06-09
-
The Mill on the Floss
- By: George Eliot
- Narrated by: Fiona Shaw
- Length: 20 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Mill on the Floss is one of the great works of English literature. It is perhaps the most autobiographical of all Eliot's novels. The relationship between its heroine, Maggie Tulliver, and her brother, Tom, closely resembles that of George Eliot and her own brother, Isaac. The subject of sibling affection was clearly a deeply poignant one for George Eliot - she also wrote a series of beautiful and evocative sonnets entitled 'Brother and Sister'.
-
-
About being good!
- By Claire on 17-10-18
-
North and South
- By: Elizabeth Gaskell
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 18 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Written at the request of Charles Dickens, North and South is a book about rebellion that poses fundamental questions about the nature of social authority and obedience. Gaskell expertly blends individual feeling with social concern and her heroine, Margaret Hale, is one of the most original creations of Victorian literature. When Margaret Hale's father leaves the Church in a crisis of conscience she is forced to leave her comfortable home in the tranquil countryside of Hampshire....
-
-
an interesting novel made special by the reading
- By Margaret on 27-12-10
-
Sense and Sensibility
- By: Jane Austen
- Narrated by: Rosamund Pike
- Length: 11 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this Audible Exclusive production, Academy Award® nominee Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl) narrates one of Jane Austen’s most beloved works, Sense and Sensibility. In this timeless tale of misguided romance and heartbreak, two teenage heroines must overcome the pitfalls of Georgian England’s high society in order to achieve the love and happiness they seek. The admiration that Pike has for Austen’s work is shown clearly through this passionate delivery of Austen’s first published novel.
-
-
What a great way to hear a classic
- By Mrs. A. Gardner on 13-09-18
-
Tess of the D'Urbervilles
- By: Thomas Hardy
- Narrated by: Peter Firth
- Length: 14 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When John Durbeyfield discovers a family connection to the ancient Norman family, the D'Urbervilles, the fate of daughter Tess is transformed. Sent by her ambitious parents to visit her wealthy D'Urberville cousins, Tess attracts the attention of the unscrupulous Alec. Seduced and discarded by him and alone in the world, she finds work as a milkmaid and the love of Angel Clare. Yet his love cannot accept the truth about Tess's past.
-
-
Amazing, loved now and no longer hated ☺
- By Dawn on 13-03-15
-
Vanity Fair
- By: William Makepeace Thackeray
- Narrated by: John Castle
- Length: 31 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Set during the time of the Napoleonic Wars, this classic gives a satirical picture of a worldly society. The novel revolves around the exploits of the impoverished but beautiful and devious Becky Sharp who craves wealth and a position in society. Calculating and determined to succeed, she charms, deceives and manipulates everyone she meets. A novel of early 19th-century English society, it takes its title from the place designated as the centre of human corruption in John Bunyan's 17th-century allegory.
-
-
A glorious romp of a novel!
- By Clare on 24-08-09
-
A Tale of Two Cities
- The Dickens Collection: An Audible Exclusive Series
- By: Charles Dickens, Simon Callow - introduction
- Narrated by: Simon Callow
- Length: 15 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Exclusively from Audible. 'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.' So begins Charles Dickens' most famous historical drama: a gripping tale of war, social injustice and the choice between darkness and light. After being unjustly imprisoned for 18 years, French doctor Manette is released from the Bastille jail in Paris and embarks upon a journey to London in the hope of finding the daughter he never met.
-
-
A classic story, by a master storyteller
- By Phil Culmer on 07-03-18
-
Silas Marner
- By: George Eliot
- Narrated by: Andrew Sachs
- Length: 6 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For 15 years the weaver Silas Marner has plied his loom near the village of Raveloe, alone and unjustly in exile, cut off from faith and human love, he cares only for his hoard of golden guineas. But two events occur that will change his life forever; his gold disappears and a golden-haired baby girl appears. But where did she come from and who really stole the gold? This moving tale sees Silas eventually redeemed and restored to life by the unlikely means of his love for the orphan child Eppie.
-
-
Utterly Charming!!
- By Philip on 28-11-16
-
The Return of the Native
- By: Thomas Hardy
- Narrated by: Alan Rickman
- Length: 15 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Set on Egdon Heath, a fictional barren moor in Wessex, Eustacia Vye longs for the excitement of city life but is cut off from the world in her grandfather's lonely cottage. Clym Yeobright who has returned to the area to become a schoolmaster seems to offer everything she dreams of: passion, excitement and the opportunity to escape. However, Clym's ambitions are quite different, and marriage only increases Eustacia's destructive restlessness, drawing others into a tangled web of deceit and unhappiness.
-
-
Marvellous.
- By Pauline on 17-08-11
-
Hard Times
- By: Charles Dickens
- Narrated by: Martin Jarvis
- Length: 10 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Despite the title, Dickens's portrayal of early industrial society is less relentlessly grim than that in novels by contemporaries such as Elizabeth Gaskell or Charles Kingsley. Hard Times weaves the tale of Thomas Gradgrind, a hard-headed politician who raises his children Louisa and Tom without love and to have no empathy, their lives completely devoid of beauty, culture, or imagination. Only after a series of crises does their father realise that the manner in which he raised his children has ruined their lives.
-
-
Fantastic book - wonderfully read
- By Lipsticklula on 21-07-06
-
Bleak House
- By: Charles Dickens
- Narrated by: Hugh Dickson
- Length: 37 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce has ground its way through the courts for generations. At its heart are Ada Clare and Richard Carstone, who find love - and terrible loss - through their involvement in the endless battle. Meanwhile, her friend Esther Summeson, who believes she is an orphan, gradually discovers the truth of her identity. The court case throws out a web ensnaring all who come near it, including Lady Dedlock, the menacing lawyer Tulkingham, detective Bucket and tragic little waif Jo.
-
-
Bleak House far from bleak
- By Jane on 23-04-09
-
Great Expectations
- The Dickens Collection: An Audible Exclusive Series
- By: Charles Dickens, Howard Jacobson
- Narrated by: Matt Lucas, Howard Jacobson
- Length: 20 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this Audible Exclusive performance by Matt Lucas of Great Expectations, Charles Dickens demonstrates that conscience, loyalty and empathy are virtues far more valuable than intellect, wealth and social standing. First published in Dickens’ own periodical, All the Year Round, the novel was divided into nine monthly instalments, from December 1860 to August 1861. Unsurprisingly, it was an instant success and managed to sell over 100,000 copies per week. Though written at a challenging time in Dickens’ life, when the impending breakdown of his marriage loomed over him, Great Expectations proves to be one of his most optimistic, comical and romantic novels.
-
-
beware: spoilers in the introduction to this book!
- By reba on 24-07-19
-
I Capture the Castle
- By: Dodie Smith
- Narrated by: Jenny Agutter
- Length: 12 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
"I write this sitting at the kitchen sink" is the first line of a novel about love, sibling rivalry, and a bohemian existence in a crumbling castle in the middle of nowhere. Cassandra Mortmin's journal records her fadingly glamorous stepmother, her beautiful, wistful older sister, and the man to whom they owe both their isolation and poverty: Father. The author of one experimental novel, and a minor cause celebre, he has since suffered from writer's block and is determined to drag his family down with him.
-
-
funny and well written
- By Patricia on 22-05-06
-
Wuthering Heights
- By: Emily Bronte
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 13 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The wild and passionate tale of Cathy and Heathcliff's impossible love for each other and its phenomenal setting on the blasted Yorkshire moors has to be one of the best-known love affairs in literature.
-
-
Beautifully read
- By Teachy McTeach Face on 17-09-16
-
The Woman in White
- By: Wilkie Collins
- Narrated by: Ian Holm
- Length: 24 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Late one moonlit night, Walter Hartright encounters a solitary and terrified woman dressed all in white. He saves her from capture by her pursuers and determines to solve the mystery of her distress and terror. Inspired by an actual criminal case, this gripping tale of murder, intrigue, madness and mistaken identity has never been out of print since its publication and brought Collins great fame and success.
-
-
Fantastic
- By Anthony on 13-01-11
-
Northanger Abbey
- By: Jane Austen
- Narrated by: Beth Kesler
- Length: 7 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jane Austen's first novel - published posthumously in 1818 - tells the story of Catherine Morland and her dangerously sweet nature, innocence, and sometime self-delusion. Though Austen's fallible heroine is repeatedly drawn into scrapes while vacationing at Bath and during her subsequent visit to Northanger Abbey, Catherine eventually triumphs, blossoming into a discerning woman who learns truths about love, life, and the heady power of literature. The satirical novel pokes fun at the gothic novel while earnestly emphasizing caution to the female sex.
-
-
Classic tale - poorly narrated
- By Sara on 01-10-19
-
David Copperfield
- By: Charles Dickens
- Narrated by: Richard Armitage
- Length: 36 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Between his work on the 2014 Audible Audiobook of the Year, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark: A Novel, and his performance of Classic Love Poems, narrator Richard Armitage ( The Hobbit, Hannibal) has quickly become a listener favorite. Now, in this defining performance of Charles Dickens' classic David Copperfield, Armitage lends his unique voice and interpretation, truly inhabiting each character and bringing real energy to the life of one of Dickens' most famous characters.
-
-
Brought me back to Dickens
- By JD on 21-02-16
-
Don Quixote
- By: Miguel de Cervantes, John Ormsby (translated by)
- Narrated by: Roy McMillan
- Length: 36 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The most influential work of the entire Spanish literary canon and a founding work of modern Western literature, Don Quixote is also one of the greatest works ever written. Hugely entertaining but also moving at times, this episodic novel is built on the fantasy life of one Alonso Quixano, who lives with his niece and housekeeper in La Mancha. Quixano, obsessed by tales of knight errantry, renames himself ‘Don Quixote’ and with his faithful servant Sancho Panza, goes on a series of quests.
-
-
The Mother and Father of all novels
- By P on 22-02-12
Summary
Middlemarch is considered one of the masterpieces of English fiction. Published in 1874, it is the seventh and penultimate novel by George Eliot. It pursues a number of underlying themes, including the status of women, the nature of marriage, idealism and self-interest, religion and hypocrisy, political reform, and education.
Set in the fictitious Midlands town of Middlemarch during the period 1830 - 32 and subtitled "A Study of Provincial Life", the novel creates a concept of life and society confronting the scepticism that was taking over the age.
English novelist George Eliot (1819-1880), real name Mary Ann (Marian) Evans was one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. Her novels, largely set in provincial England, are well known for their realism and psychological perspicacity.
Please note: This is a vintage recording. The audio quality may not be up to modern day standards.
Critic reviews
More from the same
What members say
Average customer ratings
Overall
-
-
5 Stars19
-
4 Stars7
-
3 Stars8
-
2 Stars0
-
1 Stars2
Performance
-
-
5 Stars5
-
4 Stars4
-
3 Stars2
-
2 Stars1
-
1 Stars1
Story
-
-
5 Stars8
-
4 Stars1
-
3 Stars4
-
2 Stars0
-
1 Stars0
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
- KOPONEN ALEKSI I
- 17-02-11
Just don't.
I would advise everyone to stay at large from this rendering of George Eliot's classic; Eliot's fantastic novel has been completely butchered by this reader.
There are stumblings and mistakes on every page and, on the whole, listening to this is like listening to a sublime piece of music which is just too difficult or alien for the musician. Every character is delivered in the same tedious monotone. The reader loses all the subtlety of Eliot's finely crafted sentences, mispronounces words and pauses in awkward, unnatural places so that the rhythm and even meaning is often lost.
The result of all of the above is something utterly frustrating. Go with the other unabridged version.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful
-
Overall
- Jennifer
- 15-05-10
Middlemarsh
Hard to recomment this book too higly. One of the great novels of all times. Try it if have not read it.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- G
- 13-08-14
pick a different narrator
This is the first time I've given up on a book. Honestly, this recording should be removed from the listings. The sound is metalic for one, but more importantly, the narrator seems to feel the need to reproduce what he probably imagines to be a speech pattern that reflects the tone of the Middlemarch world. It's monotone, sad, bored, lethargic, and unnecessarily upper-class. Surprisingly, the narrator is excellent when it comes to the characters' voices, which are a relief to his slow and tedious humdrum.
Another feature of the recording is the way the narrator stumbles through words, often re-reading parts of sentences from which words are initially omitted. There is also the occasional clearing of the throat. It does make for a genuine "live" performance, but it's not what one expects from a serious recording.
Finally, the story itself is long and full of unnecessary detail, but generally I like that sort of thing in 19th century literature, and the characters are interesting, even if there's not much drama.
Incidentally, I managed about 20 hours, out of the 32, but enough is enough. I'll probably listen to a different version of the book.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
-
Overall
- Margaret
- 10-09-10
not perfect but remarkable value
'Middlemarch' is one of the great classics, but undeniably fairly long, with its 86 chapters. Listening to it rather than reading the book prevents you hurrying through it too quickly 'to find out what happens' and enables you to appreciate to the full the mastery of George Eliot's writing, her shrewd observations and her humour (even if there are some passages of social commentary which have now become a little obscure). The reading by Gabriel Woolf is clear and well paced, but there are some stumbles and mistakes - perhaps this has to do with the origin of the recording which was made for the RNIB rather than for a commercial company. If you are prepared to bear with the fact that it seems not to have been edited in any way, the recording represents amazing value - 8hrs plus of a great classic for under ?5.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
-
Overall
- Beverley
- 29-01-09
Short Review
A good, clear, no-frills reading.
7 of 8 people found this review helpful
-
Overall

- Miss Belgravia
- 11-02-10
I Loved It!
I agree that the production values are a little unprofessional, but I love Gabriel Woolf. He is a brilliant actor, and he brings the characters to life. Yes, once in awhile you hear a car horn honking, or occasionally the faint sound of an airplane flying overhead, neither of which belong in a book set in the 19th Century. And Woolf does occasionally stumble over a word here and there. But it just makes me smile when those things happen. It's rather like having someone read you a bedtime story, albeit someone incredibly talented and erudite.
And Middlemarch itself is brilliant. The characters are so fully drawn, the subtle nuances of their emotions and actions are so skillfully rendered -- little wonder this novel ranks at or near the top of every list of "bests."
8 of 8 people found this review helpful
-
Overall

- Ro
- 22-01-10
Worst Narration Of Absolute Classic
The 1-Star rating was kind. In fact, he is the worst narrator of the 125 audio books I own. I have read this classic at least 15 times, and it only gets better as the years go on. But I can't believe how it's destroyed by Mr Woolf's narration. Sounds as if he recorded this in a closet. Eliot has created the best characters in literary history, only to be flattened by bland emotion. Also, he seems to lose his place often. TERRIBLE. I am shocked Audible sells this.
Stay away from the Great Literary Classics. They are generally of inferior quality. Some are "fair" (2-Stars), but you are better paying full price for other classic narrations.
7 of 7 people found this review helpful
-
Overall

- egbm
- 09-05-10
Dreamy
I loved this narrator. I adored the book. The production values aren't the greatest, but I thought the reading was rich and nuanced. I would listen to Gabriel Woolf anytime.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
-
Overall

- Barbara Dumas
- 13-05-11
I felt like I was being read to
Middlemarch is among my top ten novels, and Gabriel Woolf is among my top ten narrators. It is like being read to by a man sitting next to you, a man who can subtly change his voice to as characters enter and leave the stage. Loved it!!
2 of 3 people found this review helpful
-
Overall

- Lee
- 03-04-10
Yawn
I guess I was expecting the universality of Jane Austen, I was wrong.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Wendy H
- 26-01-18
Beautiful story beautifully read
In recent years I have watched the BBC movie filmed in the mid 1990s. I liked it very much and decided to read the book. Then I saw how many chapters made up this book. That was intimidating. However I decided to try this Audible version to listen in my car on the work commute. For me, it was interesting to listen to the narration and compare with the actors’ collective creation of this work as film. This reading was well done and kept my attention. There are so many astute observations in this book about human nature. I think George Elliot must have seen right through people around her. I would say like Dickens she created such interesting, three dimensional characters. Men and women in their flaws and finer moments live here.
-
Overall

- Karen
- 08-05-10
Shower of stars
I am a huge fan of Gabriel Woolf...and Middlemarch is a work of genius...what a mind she had! This is an Audible gem.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful