Listen free for 30 days
-
The Expedition of Humphry Clinker
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley, John Keating, Liz Pearce, Elizabeth Sastre, Jill Tanner, James Langton, Tim Gerard Reynolds
- Length: 17 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Literature & Fiction, Classics
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Listen with a free trial
Buy Now for £33.89
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Adventures of Roderick Random
- By: Tobias Smollett
- Narrated by: Peter Kenny
- Length: 17 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Tobias Smollett, in his creation of the Scot Roderick Random, exposes the sheer incompetence and injustice of the Royal Navy, as well as the snobbery and hypocrisy prevalent in English middle-class society at the time. Set in the mid-18th century, this picaresque novel follows the life and adventures of Roderick, the eponymous hero who has been shunned by his gentleman father's family on the basis of the lowliness of his mother's family.
-
Tristram Shandy
- By: Laurence Sterne
- Narrated by: Anton Lesser
- Length: 19 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Laurence Sterne’s most famous novel is a biting satire of literary conventions and contemporary 18th-century values. Renowned for its parody of established narrative techniques, Tristram Shandyis commonly regarded as the forerunner of avant-garde fiction. Tristram’s characteristic digressions on a whole range of unlikely subjects (including battle strategy and noses!) are endlessly surprising and make this one of Britain’s greatest comic achievements.
-
-
Wonderful listening!
- By Stuart C. Clarke on 03-04-13
-
Vicar of Wakefield
- By: Oliver Goldsmith
- Narrated by: Patrick Tull
- Length: 7 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The simple village vicar, Mr. Primrose, is living with his wife and six children in complete tranquility until unexpected calamities force them to weather one hilarious adventure after another. Goldsmith plays out this classic comedy of manners with a light, ironic touch that is irresistibly charming.
-
-
No Fielding, Sterne or Smollett...
- By A bedtime listener on 09-10-20
-
Tom Jones
- By: Henry Fielding
- Narrated by: Patience Thompson, Anton Lesser, Annette Crosbie, and others
- Length: 5 hrs and 15 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation of Henry Fielding's rollicking comic masterpiece. Found one evening in the bed of the rich and benevolent Mr Allworthy, baby Tom grows up in the guardianship of the kindly squire. He develops into a good-hearted fellow who is nonetheless resented by Allworthy's mean-natured heir and nephew, Blifil. Tom's naive inability to resist a pretty face lands him in hot water when the gamekeeper's daughter declares herself pregnant.
-
-
First rate adaption of a great English novel
- By Stewart Gardiner on 15-01-17
-
The Infernal Riddle of Thomas Peach
- a gothic mystery with an edge of magick
- By: Jas Treadwell
- Narrated by: Fenella Woolgar
- Length: 17 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The year is 1785, and Thomas Peach, a gentleman of modest means, moves to a small village in the West Country, bringing with him a steamer chest of clothes, some books - and, apparently, his wife, Mrs Peach, who quickly becomes a source of fascination and suspicion to the villagers. Why is she never seen abroad? Why does Mr Peach refuse entry to her bedroom to their maidservant, who is unable to detect even a whisper of breath at Mrs Peach's door, try as she might? Does Mrs Peach even exist? And if so, is she the victim of her husband's cruelty?
-
-
Up and down but overall good.
- By The Curator on 19-08-21
-
Classic Romance
- By: Jane Austen, Leo Tolstoy, Jules Verne, and others
- Narrated by: Alex Jennings
- Length: 4 hrs and 49 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is a diverting delight, a window on romance in literature. There are high lovers and low lovers, tragic lovers, comic lovers, and lovers who shouldn’t be doing what they are doing at all and certainly not then and there. There is even Fanny Hill trying not to discover what physical love is about when set upon by an old roué who has paid for the privilege. Though of special interest for lovers and their special lover’s day of St. Valentine, it is an amusing and sometimes surprising collection.
-
The Adventures of Roderick Random
- By: Tobias Smollett
- Narrated by: Peter Kenny
- Length: 17 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Tobias Smollett, in his creation of the Scot Roderick Random, exposes the sheer incompetence and injustice of the Royal Navy, as well as the snobbery and hypocrisy prevalent in English middle-class society at the time. Set in the mid-18th century, this picaresque novel follows the life and adventures of Roderick, the eponymous hero who has been shunned by his gentleman father's family on the basis of the lowliness of his mother's family.
-
Tristram Shandy
- By: Laurence Sterne
- Narrated by: Anton Lesser
- Length: 19 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Laurence Sterne’s most famous novel is a biting satire of literary conventions and contemporary 18th-century values. Renowned for its parody of established narrative techniques, Tristram Shandyis commonly regarded as the forerunner of avant-garde fiction. Tristram’s characteristic digressions on a whole range of unlikely subjects (including battle strategy and noses!) are endlessly surprising and make this one of Britain’s greatest comic achievements.
-
-
Wonderful listening!
- By Stuart C. Clarke on 03-04-13
-
Vicar of Wakefield
- By: Oliver Goldsmith
- Narrated by: Patrick Tull
- Length: 7 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The simple village vicar, Mr. Primrose, is living with his wife and six children in complete tranquility until unexpected calamities force them to weather one hilarious adventure after another. Goldsmith plays out this classic comedy of manners with a light, ironic touch that is irresistibly charming.
-
-
No Fielding, Sterne or Smollett...
- By A bedtime listener on 09-10-20
-
Tom Jones
- By: Henry Fielding
- Narrated by: Patience Thompson, Anton Lesser, Annette Crosbie, and others
- Length: 5 hrs and 15 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation of Henry Fielding's rollicking comic masterpiece. Found one evening in the bed of the rich and benevolent Mr Allworthy, baby Tom grows up in the guardianship of the kindly squire. He develops into a good-hearted fellow who is nonetheless resented by Allworthy's mean-natured heir and nephew, Blifil. Tom's naive inability to resist a pretty face lands him in hot water when the gamekeeper's daughter declares herself pregnant.
-
-
First rate adaption of a great English novel
- By Stewart Gardiner on 15-01-17
-
The Infernal Riddle of Thomas Peach
- a gothic mystery with an edge of magick
- By: Jas Treadwell
- Narrated by: Fenella Woolgar
- Length: 17 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The year is 1785, and Thomas Peach, a gentleman of modest means, moves to a small village in the West Country, bringing with him a steamer chest of clothes, some books - and, apparently, his wife, Mrs Peach, who quickly becomes a source of fascination and suspicion to the villagers. Why is she never seen abroad? Why does Mr Peach refuse entry to her bedroom to their maidservant, who is unable to detect even a whisper of breath at Mrs Peach's door, try as she might? Does Mrs Peach even exist? And if so, is she the victim of her husband's cruelty?
-
-
Up and down but overall good.
- By The Curator on 19-08-21
-
Classic Romance
- By: Jane Austen, Leo Tolstoy, Jules Verne, and others
- Narrated by: Alex Jennings
- Length: 4 hrs and 49 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is a diverting delight, a window on romance in literature. There are high lovers and low lovers, tragic lovers, comic lovers, and lovers who shouldn’t be doing what they are doing at all and certainly not then and there. There is even Fanny Hill trying not to discover what physical love is about when set upon by an old roué who has paid for the privilege. Though of special interest for lovers and their special lover’s day of St. Valentine, it is an amusing and sometimes surprising collection.
-
Lady Susan, The Watsons, and Sanditon
- By: Jane Austen
- Narrated by: Norma West
- Length: 6 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Previously unpublished in unabridged audio, these three works (one novel unpublished in her lifetime and two unfinished fragments) reveal Jane Austen's development as a great artist.
-
The Vicar of Wakefield
- By: Oliver Goldsmith
- Narrated by: Walter Covell
- Length: 6 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Called by Lord Byron, "The most exquisite of all romances in miniature," The Vicar of Wakefield is the story of a simple reverend who, losing his fortune, moves his family to a new part of the country and tries to live according to his beliefs. He and his family make an Arcadian picture of affectionate accord. That is, until the idyll is rudely disturbed by a notorious seducer. The book is a classic comedy of manners and a satire on the moralistic tales of the period.
-
The Heart of Midlothian
- By: Walter Scott, Margaret Elphinstone
- Narrated by: Gavin Wilson
- Length: 40 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Edinburgh, 1736. In the town’s grim prison, the Heart of Midlothian, two prisoners await execution. Captain Porteous of the Town Guard has been sentenced to death for ordering his soldiers to open fire on Edinburgh citizens. He hopes for reprieve. The people want revenge. Effie Deans, wrongly accused of killing her newborn baby, will die unless her sister, Jeanie, tells a lie. Jeanie, determined to save her sister, makes a terrifying journey as Effie’s life hangs in the balance.
-
-
Walter Scott's finest novel ... in forty minutes
- By Hamburgerpatty on 25-12-20
-
Camilla
- A Picture of Youth
- By: Fanny Burney
- Narrated by: Lucy Scott
- Length: 37 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Among Jane Austen's favorite novels, and a key work in the rise of Romanticism, Camilla follows the story of three young women, from childhood to young adulthood, and their pursuit of matrimony. Kind but naive Camilla is in love with Edgar Mandlebert, a handsome and noble young man. Intelligent Eugenia, destined to inherit her uncle's great wealth, is plagued with misfortune as she is left disfigured by smallpox and has men court her for financial gain only. Meanwhile their cousin, beautiful but selfish Indiana, never finds a fortune for her good looks.
-
-
Jane Austen inspiration
- By Jenny on 21-03-22
-
Persuasion (Seasons Edition: Summer)
- By: Jane Austen
- Narrated by: Mike Read
- Length: 8 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At 27, Anne Elliot is no longer considered young enough for worthy romantic prospects. Eight years earlier, she had been persuaded by her friend Lady Russell to break off her engagement to Frederick Wentworth, a handsome naval captain with neither fortune nor rank. What transpires when they encounter each other again is movingly told in Jane Austen's last completed novel. A brilliant satire of vanity and pretension, Persuasion is, above all, a love story tinged with the heartache of missed opportunities.
-
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
-
The Expedition of Humphry Clinker (Dramatised)
- By: Tobias Smollet, Yvonne Antrobus
- Narrated by: Nigel Anthony, Full Cast
- Length: 2 hrs and 50 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Tobias Smollett's uproarious satire of 18th-century life, dramatised by Yvonne Antrobus. Squire Bramble and family embark on their whistle-stop tour of Great Britain. They encounter adventure, mayhem, and the enigmatic Humphry Clinker. Episode 2: The family is stranded. Bramble is keen to continue their grand tour, but how can they leave London when Humphry is in gaol? Episode 3: The Bramble family's adventures continue as they begin the long trip home, a journey full of surprises and unexpected revelations. Starring Nigel Anthony and full cast. Directed by Marc Beeby.
-
Brighton Rock
- By: Graham Greene
- Narrated by: Samuel West
- Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An unabridged audio edition of Graham Greene's classic gang-war thriller. A gang war is raging through the dark underworld of Brighton. Pinkie, malign and ruthless, has killed a man. Believing he can escape retribution, he is unprepared for the courageous, life-embracing Ida Arnold, who is determined to avenge a death.... Read by Samuel West.
-
-
Excellent.
- By Abi on 09-04-11
-
The Complete George Smiley Radio Dramas
- BBC Radio 4 Full-Cast Dramatisation
- By: John le Carré
- Narrated by: full cast, Simon Russell Beale
- Length: 18 hrs and 59 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The complete collection of acclaimed BBC Radio dramas based on John le Carré's best-selling novels, starring Simon Russell Beale as George Smiley. With a star cast including Kenneth Cranham, Eleanor Bron, Brian Cox, Ian MacDiarmid, Anna Chancellor, Hugh Bonneville and Lindsay Duncan, these enthralling dramatisations perfectly capture the atmosphere of le Carré's taut, thrilling spy novels.
-
-
A satisfying marathon listen
- By CrisH on 07-03-17
-
The Razor's Edge
- By: W. Somerset Maugham
- Narrated by: Gordon Griffin
- Length: 13 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Larry Darrell is a young American in search of the absolute. The progress of this spiritual odyssey involves him with some of Maugham's most brilliant characters: his fiancée Isabel, whose choice between love and wealth have lifelong repercussions; and Elliot Templeton, her uncle, a classic expatriate American snob. The most ambitious of Maugham's novels, this is also one in which Maugham himself plays a considerable part as he wanders in and out of the story, to observe his characters struggling with their fates.
-
-
One of my desert island books
- By AReader on 04-02-15
-
Melmoth the Wanderer
- By: Charles Maturin, Victor Sage
- Narrated by: Gerry O'Brien
- Length: 28 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Created by an Irish clergyman, Melmoth is one of the most fiendish characters in literature. In a satanic bargain, Melmoth exchanges his soul for immortality. The story of his tortured wanderings through the centuries is pieced together through those who have been implored by Melmoth to take over his pact with the devil. Influenced by the Gothic romances of the late 18th century, Maturin's diabolic tale raised the genre to a new and macabre pitch. Its many admirers include Poe, Balzac, Oscar Wilde and Baudelaire.
-
Tom Jones
- The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling
- By: Henry Fielding
- Narrated by: Bill Homewood
- Length: 37 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Tom Jones, a foundling, is brought up by the kindly Mr. Allworthy as if he were his own son. Forced to leave the house as a young man after tales of his disgraceful behavior reach his benefactor's ears, he sets out in utter despair, not only because of his banishment but because he has now lost all hope of gaining the hand of the beautiful Sophia. But she too is forced to flee her parental home to escape an undesirable marriage and their stories and adventures intertwine.
-
-
Excellent voiced reading
- By Kindle Customer on 06-04-18
Summary
Matthew Bramble, a gout-ridden misanthrope, travels Britain with his nephew, niece, spinster sister, and man-servant, the trusty Humphry Clinker. In poor health, Bramble sees the world as one of degeneracy and raucous overcrowding, and will not hesitate to let his companions know his feelings on the matter. Peopled with pimps, drunkards, decadents, and con-men, Humphrey Clinker displays Smollett's ferociously pessimistic view of mankind, and his belief that the luxury of 18th-century English existence was the enemy of sense and sobriety.
Presented in the form of letters from six very different characters, and full of joyful puns and double entendres, Humphry Clinker is now recognized as a boisterous and observant masterpiece of English satire.
What listeners say about The Expedition of Humphry Clinker
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Mountain
- 18-11-20
18c satire and comedy at its very finest
It is 1771 and the epistolary novel was at its peak of popularity. After Richardson, there is no finer exponent of the style in English than Smollett. This is probably his greatest work and the blend of satire with good humour is irresistible. A fine team of readers complement the author's genius .One minor puzzle -- why was the very last of the 70-odd letters read by a male actor when the letter is written by a female character?