Great Expectations

February 27, 2012
This beloved classic from Dickens follows the life and adventures of a six-year-old orphan named Pip as he makes his way and comes of age in 19th-century England. Simon Prebble turns in a solid performance in this audio edition, offering up a lush and resolutely dramatic reading and creating a panoply of unique voices and accents for the book’s many characters. But while Prebble’s performance is lavish, it fails to distinguish itself from the scores of previous audio productions of Dickens’s novels. Still, his reading remains a pleasure and a well-orchestrated introduction to the world of Dickens—one that could serve as a wonderful opportunity for both fans and those new to the author’s work.

BBC Radio dramatizes Dickens's famous melodrama about orphan Pip, who rises from poverty to sudden great fortune. Not only is the acting high quality, but the voices seem matched to their parts with special care and intelligence. Cuts in the story are hardly noticeable, except for occasional abrupt scenes in which plot points must be made willy-nilly. Another weakness is the music: generic (it seems familiar from other BBC programs), repetitive, at times inappropriate to the action, but, like most wallpaper, easily ignored. All in all, a fine rendering of Pip's story--but the names of the cast that makes it fine should have been listed. W.M. (c) AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine


GREAT EXPECTATIONS is often considered Dickens's greatest novel, and there can be no better way to revisit it--or experience it for the first time--than through the narration of Martin Jarvis. Recorded in 1984, this rereleased BBC production is stunning in the way Jarvis gives unique voices to each character. He is a one-man full-cast recording, handling men, women, Londoners, country people, and all classes of humanity with remarkable versatility. The lawyer Jaggers is perfectly intimidating, Pip's friend Herbert is ebullient, and poor Miss Haversham is irresistibly maudlin. At more than 17 hours, not a moment of the narration drags, even during the many chapters that do little to advance the plot. It simply doesn't get any better than this. D.B. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine