
Hard Times
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $24.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Peter Batchelor
-
By:
-
Charles Dickens
About this listen
One of Dicken’s best works appraising English society. Highlights the social and economic pressures of the times. A masterwork.
Public Domain (P)2013 Trout Lake MediaListeners also enjoyed...
-
Little Dorrit
- By: Charles Dickens
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 31 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Little Dorrit is Amy, born in debtor’s prison, the youngest child of debtor William Dorrit, an inmate of the Marshalsea. The two are befriended by a man whose wife hires Little Dorrit as a seamstress. When William Dorrit inherits a fortune, he escapes the Marshalsea. The family, assuming a station befitting their wealth, travel to Italy.
-
-
Gripping
- By eva on 09-17-12
By: Charles Dickens
-
Our Mutual Friend
- By: Charles Dickens
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 31 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A sinister masterpiece, Our Mutual Friend was Dickens' last completed novel. It is perhaps his ultimate vision of a dark, macabre London and the corrupting power of money.
-
-
Worth six stars
- By Erez on 07-05-08
By: Charles Dickens
-
The Pickwick Papers (AmazonClassics Edition)
- By: Charles Dickens
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 29 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Samuel Pickwick, founder and chairman of the Pickwick Club, engages three fellow members to accompany him on a journey. By coach they’ll travel to the outreaches of London to explore, observe, and report back on the quaint wonders of the English countryside. What transpires is a picaresque romp of misadventures, hair-raising challenges, and romantic follies entangling the fates of a riot of colorful characters - a passel of villains, spinsters, poets, and sportsmen - and the unworldly Pickwick himself, who has much to learn about life outside his gentleman’s club.
-
-
Simon Vance does it again!
- By Tad Davis on 06-06-20
By: Charles Dickens
-
David Copperfield
- By: Charles Dickens
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 33 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Based in part on Dickens's own life, it is the story of a young man's journey from an unhappy and impoverished childhood to the discovery of his vocation as a successful novelist. Among its gloriously vivid cast of characters, he e.ncounters his tyrannical stepfather, Mr. Murdstone; his formidable aunt, Betsey Trotwood; the eternally humble yet treacherous Uriah Heep; the frivolous, enchanting Dora; and one of literature's great comic creations, the magnificently impecunious Mr. Micawber.
-
-
"I am born."
- By Barbara K. on 05-21-09
By: Charles Dickens
-
A Tale of Two Cities [Tantor]
- By: Charles Dickens
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 13 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A Tale of Two Cities is one of Charles Dickens's most exciting novels. Set against the backdrop of the French Revolution, it tells the story of a family threatened by the terrible events of the past. Doctor Manette was wrongly imprisoned in the Bastille for 18 years without trial by the aristocratic authorities.
-
-
it's the singer not the song*
- By Maynard on 11-09-13
By: Charles Dickens
-
Barnaby Rudge
- By: Charles Dickens
- Narrated by: Sean Barrett
- Length: 26 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For the background to this historical novel, a tale of mystery, suspense and unsolved murder, Dickens chose the anti-Catholic Gordon Riots of 1780. Mayhem reigns in the streets of London, vividly described by Dickens, and the innocent Barnaby Rudge is drawn into the thick of it.
-
-
Wonderful
- By Tad Davis on 12-23-13
By: Charles Dickens
-
Little Dorrit
- By: Charles Dickens
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 31 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Little Dorrit is Amy, born in debtor’s prison, the youngest child of debtor William Dorrit, an inmate of the Marshalsea. The two are befriended by a man whose wife hires Little Dorrit as a seamstress. When William Dorrit inherits a fortune, he escapes the Marshalsea. The family, assuming a station befitting their wealth, travel to Italy.
-
-
Gripping
- By eva on 09-17-12
By: Charles Dickens
-
Our Mutual Friend
- By: Charles Dickens
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 31 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A sinister masterpiece, Our Mutual Friend was Dickens' last completed novel. It is perhaps his ultimate vision of a dark, macabre London and the corrupting power of money.
-
-
Worth six stars
- By Erez on 07-05-08
By: Charles Dickens
-
The Pickwick Papers (AmazonClassics Edition)
- By: Charles Dickens
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 29 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Samuel Pickwick, founder and chairman of the Pickwick Club, engages three fellow members to accompany him on a journey. By coach they’ll travel to the outreaches of London to explore, observe, and report back on the quaint wonders of the English countryside. What transpires is a picaresque romp of misadventures, hair-raising challenges, and romantic follies entangling the fates of a riot of colorful characters - a passel of villains, spinsters, poets, and sportsmen - and the unworldly Pickwick himself, who has much to learn about life outside his gentleman’s club.
-
-
Simon Vance does it again!
- By Tad Davis on 06-06-20
By: Charles Dickens
-
David Copperfield
- By: Charles Dickens
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 33 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Based in part on Dickens's own life, it is the story of a young man's journey from an unhappy and impoverished childhood to the discovery of his vocation as a successful novelist. Among its gloriously vivid cast of characters, he e.ncounters his tyrannical stepfather, Mr. Murdstone; his formidable aunt, Betsey Trotwood; the eternally humble yet treacherous Uriah Heep; the frivolous, enchanting Dora; and one of literature's great comic creations, the magnificently impecunious Mr. Micawber.
-
-
"I am born."
- By Barbara K. on 05-21-09
By: Charles Dickens
-
A Tale of Two Cities [Tantor]
- By: Charles Dickens
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 13 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A Tale of Two Cities is one of Charles Dickens's most exciting novels. Set against the backdrop of the French Revolution, it tells the story of a family threatened by the terrible events of the past. Doctor Manette was wrongly imprisoned in the Bastille for 18 years without trial by the aristocratic authorities.
-
-
it's the singer not the song*
- By Maynard on 11-09-13
By: Charles Dickens
-
Barnaby Rudge
- By: Charles Dickens
- Narrated by: Sean Barrett
- Length: 26 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For the background to this historical novel, a tale of mystery, suspense and unsolved murder, Dickens chose the anti-Catholic Gordon Riots of 1780. Mayhem reigns in the streets of London, vividly described by Dickens, and the innocent Barnaby Rudge is drawn into the thick of it.
-
-
Wonderful
- By Tad Davis on 12-23-13
By: Charles Dickens
-
The Old Curiosity Shop
- By: Charles Dickens
- Narrated by: Anton Lesser
- Length: 22 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Provoking an unprecedented outpouring of public grief when it was first published, it follows the story of Little Nell and her feckless grandfather. Forced to leave their magical shop of curiosities in London, they are pursued across the English countryside by the grotesquely evil dwarf Quilp. They escape - but at what cost?
-
-
Outstanding Narration
- By Ro on 12-10-09
By: Charles Dickens
-
Oliver Twist
- By: Charles Dickens
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 16 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After escaping from the dark and dismal workhouse where he was born, Oliver finds himself on the mean streets of Victorian-era London and is unwittingly recruited into a scabrous gang of scheming urchins. In this band of petty thieves, Oliver encounters the extraordinary and vibrant characters who have captured audiences' imaginations for more than 150 years.
-
-
Amazing narration!
- By Karen on 12-11-08
By: Charles Dickens
-
Dombey and Son
- By: Charles Dickens
- Narrated by: David Timson
- Length: 39 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Dombey and Son is vintage Dickens and explores the classic themes of betrayal, cruelty and deceit. Dombey's dysfunctional relationships are painted against a backdrop of social unrest in industrialized London, which is populated by a host of fascinating and memorable secondary characters. The complete and unabridged novel is brought spectacularly to life by veteran reader David Timson.
-
-
Utterly incredible!
- By Amazon Customer on 03-12-12
By: Charles Dickens
-
A Christmas Carol
- By: Charles Dickens
- Narrated by: Benjamin May
- Length: 3 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The timeless tale of Ebenezer Scrooge and his adventures on Christmas Eve continue to teach an important lesson, even to this day. Author Charles Dickens introduces us to the main character by painting him in a negative light, a selfish and miserly old man who will barely pay enough money to keep his office heated. When Scrooge returns home after work, the ghost of his former business partner, Jacob Marley, visits him and tells him that because of the wrongdoing he had done during his life, he has been condemned to walk in his ghost years shackled....
-
-
not a great version
- By hettar7 on 12-26-22
By: Charles Dickens
-
The Charles Dickens BBC Radio Drama Collection: The Later Years
- Eight BBC Radio Full-Cast Dramatisations
- By: Charles Dickens
- Narrated by: Robert Glenister, Robert Lindsay, Ian Holm, and others
- Length: 36 hrs and 35 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Enthralling radio dramatisations of eight of Charles Dickens' much-loved novels. Charles Dickens is one of the most renowned authors of all time, and this second digital volume of the dramatised canon of his work includes eight of his classic novels. This collection includes the epic masterpiece David Copperfield, described by Dickens as his 'favourite child'; suspenseful mystery Bleak House; Dickens' most openly political novel, Hard Times; and Little Dorrit.
-
-
Excellent!
- By Christine on 11-24-18
By: Charles Dickens
-
Bleak House
- By: Charles Dickens
- Narrated by: Sean Barrett, Teresa Gallagher
- Length: 35 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A complex plot of love and inheritance is set against the English legal system of the mid-19th century. As the case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce drags on, it becomes an obsession to everyone involved. And the issue on an inheritance ultimately becomes a question of murder.
-
-
WONDERFUL NARRATIONS!
- By KT on 08-25-11
By: Charles Dickens
-
The Cricket on the Hearth
- Dickens on Dickens
- By: Charles Dickens
- Narrated by: Gerald Dickens
- Length: 3 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A Dickens short written specifically for Christmas, "The Cricket on the Hearth" beautifully combines Dickens' masterful critique of social ills with a typically captivating narrative. In the Peerybingle family house, a cricket constantly chips, and acts as their guardian angel. Then, one day, a mysterious, elderly stranger takes lodge with the family. Complete and unabridged, this is a must-buy for Christmas, and will bring to your family the festive cheer and seasonal warmth only Dickens could provide.
-
-
Verbal mistakes but lovely none the less.
- By Heather on 01-06-17
By: Charles Dickens
-
The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby
- By: Charles Dickens
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 30 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby is closely modelled on the 18h-century novels that Charles Dickens loved as a child, such as Robinson Crusoe, in which the fortunes of a hero shape the plot. The likeable young Nicholas, left penniless on the death of his father, sets off in search of better prospects.
-
-
loved it much more than expected!
- By Blue Ridge Book Lover on 05-29-12
By: Charles Dickens
-
Great Expectations
- By: Charles Dickens
- Narrated by: Simon Prebble
- Length: 18 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One of the most revered works in English literature, Great Expectations traces the coming of age of a young orphan, Pip, from a boy of shallow aspirations into a man of maturity. From the chilling opening confrontation with an escaped convict to the grand but eerily disheveled estate of bitter old Miss Havisham, all is not what it seems in Dickens’ dark tale of false illusions and thwarted desire.
-
-
The narrator!!
- By Dana on 06-13-13
By: Charles Dickens
-
Nicholas Nickleby
- By: Charles Dickens
- Narrated by: David Horovitch
- Length: 38 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One of Dickens’ earlier works, dating from 1839, this novel charts the fortunes of an honorable young man, Nicholas Nickleby, who has set out to make his way in the world. Dickens presents a remarkably vivid display of Victorian characters and the lives they lead, from the generous to the fated to the crushed. Hope springs eternal, however, and righteous persistence brings rewards.
-
-
Best narrator I've ever heard
- By Maybee on 04-06-18
By: Charles Dickens
-
Martin Chuzzlewit
- The Audible Dickens Collection
- By: Charles Dickens, William Boyd - introduction
- Narrated by: Derek Jacobi, William Boyd - introduction
- Length: 41 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Deeply distressed at thought of his singularly money-minded family circling around his inevitable death bed, when Old Martin Chuzzlewit comes across a young and kindly orphan girl, he immediately decides to take her into his employment. Offering her a comfortable living in exchange for her care and protection, Martin rests easy in the knowledge that her comfort will last only as long as he does; upon his death, Mary the orphan will find herself on the cold and dirty streets from whence she came.
-
-
Least enjoyable Dickens' books I've ever read or listened to.
- By Brain on 12-06-18
By: Charles Dickens, and others
-
Middlemarch
- By: George Eliot
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 35 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Dorothea Brooke is an ardent idealist who represses her vivacity and intelligence for the cold, theological pedant Casaubon. One man understands her true nature: the artist Will Ladislaw. But how can love triumph against her sense of duty and Casaubon’s mean spirit? Meanwhile, in the little world of Middlemarch, the broader world is mirrored: the world of politics, social change, and reforms, as well as betrayal, greed, blackmail, ambition, and disappointment.
-
-
Best Audible book ever
- By Molly-o on 12-25-11
By: George Eliot
What listeners say about Hard Times
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Reader, Mom and wanna-be decorator
- 08-13-21
Narrator does an awful job with women's voices
I'm enjoying revisiting some classics. I occasionally get impatient with the drawn-out dialogue.... but, well, Dickens. Overall, it's a great read.
I had a hard time completing the book, though, due to the narrator. He's quite pleasant for general narrative or male characters, but his treatment of women's voices made me cringe each and every time.
Really, really wish I'd chosen another version.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 03-21-19
Great story, a couple of time difficult to underst
It is a wonderful classic, it is a bit difficult to understand the narrator with a couple of characters but wonderful over all
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Gail
- 06-13-16
Another Classic
No one paints a better visual picture than Dickens. His mastery of the English language is unrivaled.
At least for me he never disappoints. I'm always sad to finish one of his books.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Stephen A.
- 11-08-17
Good performance, predictable plot.
Charles Dickens can sometimes be a dry read, but a good narration certainly helps. The story was a little predictable, however since this is such a short book it's still a worthwhile listen.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Aaron
- 08-21-15
Great book, but
Great book, but it can be hard to follow sometimes. A much easier read than listen.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
- Karen L.
- 02-20-16
this narration is a little distracting
I long ago read this text, but still can't follow the story clearly. However, I also own the DVD with Alan Bates--only $1.20 now at Amazon.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- .hack//fan
- 07-17-17
characters
I really liked the characters and performance. story doesn't seem to wrap everything up but almost does for every main character.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Kristi R.
- 05-20-14
With a name like Choakemchild what could go wrong?
If you could sum up Hard Times in three words, what would they be?
Facts or Fun?
What other book might you compare Hard Times to and why?
This is very much like Dickens' Oliver Twist but more on the factory workers plight and the parents who thought facts were all important for children in factories and should have little fun time.
Which character – as performed by Peter Batchelor – was your favorite?
Louisa Gradgrind Bounderby was the person I identified with and became my favorite character. She married for duty and was extremely unhappy. She falls in love with someone else and almost runs away with him but instead returns home and explains to her father what she has done. Mr. Gradgrind repents his ways and welcomes Louisa home.
Peter Batchelor was a wonderful narrator.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
I nearly cried when Louisa returns home and confronts her father. I also loved Sissy Jupe and her devotion to helping Louisa and the rest of the Gradgrind children. This was an interesting family and I loved the kids.
Any additional comments?
This was a fairly dark novel and there isn't a really happy ending. The story was well done and I enjoyed the characters.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
7 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jessica W.
- 11-05-18
Classic for a reason
I have always loved this story, for all its sadness. Dickens was a master at character creation, allowing dynamic characters to flourish and become individuals of themselves, while letting you know which characters will remain static in the most imaginative ways. The narration was not my favorite but overall, if you haven't read this novel, pick a version and go for it. You will not be disappointed. If you have read it, well then you know how incredible it is
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Michael Haffey
- 07-15-24
Dull
This is probably my least favorite and most difficult Dickens book that I have ever listened to. The reader tried too hard and so was very hard to listen to and the plot was figured out by the end of the first book. None of the eloquent Dickens prose I expect, just dull rambling and boisterous loud monologue.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!