The Pickwick Papers, Volume 1

By: Charles Dickens

Narrated by: Patrick Tull

Meet Mr. Samuel Pickwick, luminous presence, general chairman and member of the Pickwick Club, an organization devoted to meeting good friends, sharing good stories and spreading good cheer. Join Mr. Pickwick and his friends Mr. Snodgrass, Mr. Jingle and all the rest in Part One of their adventures, which include: the first day's journey, an old-fashioned card party, the action of Bardell against Pickwick, and Christmas.Public Domain (P)1999 Recorded Books

A delightful classic read remarkably well

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

The Pickwick Papers chronicles the adventures of the kindly English gentleman, Samuel Pickwick, in the early 1800's. The book is as charming as it is humorous. Dickens had the extraordinary ability to take the commonplace follies of people and describe them with insight into human nature and elegance in writing. Funny, touching, and uplifting. Cheers to Samuel Pickwick, Esq.

Which character – as performed by Patrick Tull – was your favorite?

Samuel Pickwick

A Delight

I enjoyed it so much, I immediately replayed it.

laugh

I almost felt embarrassed laughing out loud to a Dickens novel, but this was a great reading. As good as any contemporary humour.

The Pickwick Papers

The reading of this hilarious and entertaining book is a sheer listening pleasure. Marvellous!

Pickwick Papers read by Tull

After thoroughly enjoying Patrick Tull's readings of the Aubrey-Maturin series, I decided to listen to his rendition of Dickens' most humorous novel. Tull is superb, breathing life and wit into the naively pretentious members of the Pickwick Club. His sixth sense for the timing and enunciation of Victorian prose is such that one will not regret subscribing to every 19th century British classic he reads.

A few words of technical caution. The conversion of this reading from Format 1 to Format 2, while understandable, has the tonal quality of listening to a Winston Churchill WWII speech recorded from an old tubular RCA home radio.

Sound Fixed

Hi.This is my first Audible reveiw.I felt the need to write a review on this fabulous recording.Reading the previous reviews rightfully negative about the abysmal sound quality of this program when it was a 2,I'm ecstatic to be the first person to review it now that it is rightfully been presented in the far superior 4 format.This program now sounds as good as anything I've heard on Audible.I only hope that some if not all of the previous reviewers have already or will retry this program.It truly is one of the greatest audiobooks ever made.Mr.Tull's energy and talent for humour are second to none.I agree that the story only really kicks into gear with appearence of Samival Veller but it never waivers after that and neither does the good Mr. Tull.The three Christmas chapters are a particular joy(I listen to them every year around this time).Sorry for the lengthy review but I truly love this book and especially this recording of it.

Sound

The sound quality of this program is horrible, but the story is hilarious

Perfect narrator, delightfully comic

Patrick Tull is a perfect narrator for this book: his bluff, blustery, energetic style matches Dickens' comic prose to a T. It's an episodic book, with a very thin overarching framework: travels and adventures (mostly misadventures) of Mr Pickwick, his fellow club members, and the manservant to end all manservants, Sam Weller (or Veller as he would say). Every so often Dickens adds a tale, usually a ghost story or some other macabre event, related verbally or on paper by one of the participants. It's Dickens at his absolute comic best: high spirits, wacky characters, impossible misunderstandings all around; and it all ends well in this best of all possible worlds. Tull's many voices, giving brisk life to every character, are astonishing.

Masterly Reading of a Timeless Comedy

If you could sum up The Pickwick Papers, Volume 1 in three words, what would they be?

Listen again, again.

What did you like best about this story?

Pickwick Papers is Dickens reveling in the human comedy minus the agenda of social reform found his other novels. IMHO comedy is far and away the most difficult of genres, and this novel, being a comedy from start to finish, showcases Dickens extraordinary skill as a writer and imaginative creator of character. I read Pickwick Papers when I was in my teens, and it turned me into a lifetime Dickens' fan. Patrick Tull, was THE narrator for this novel; he cannot be equaled for highlighting every comic moment in this book.

Which scene was your favorite?

All the Christmas scenes

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Laughed out loud until tears came into my eyes

Read the way it was meant to be

The Pickwick Papers is a very funny book, and it's no surprise it is loved to this day. What has made this book extra special to me is Patrick Tull's reading of it. He narrates the story and plays each character with a style and energy I think would be exhausting to imitate. I have to admit I don't love the recording quality that much (it's a little too strong in the mid-range). But the life Tull's performance gives to the book allows me to overlook this minor technicality. This is a must-have in your collection!