The Old Curiosity Shop

By: Charles Dickens

Narrated by: George Hagan

The Old Curiosity Shop is a novel by Charles Dickens.

The plot follows the life of Nell Trent and her grandfather, both residents of The Old Curiosity Shop in London.

Charles Dickens is arguably the greatest novelist England ever produced. His innate comic genius and shrewd depictions of Victorian life - along with his memorable characters - have made him beloved by readers the world over.

Please note: This is a vintage recording. The audio quality may not be up to modern day standards.

Public Domain (P)2009 RNIB

Poor little Nell

Not Dickens' best but a good story all the same. The Dwarf Quill is a never forget character. I think this may be the first exposure of gambling addiction. I don't know for sure but he does a good job of telling what the addict goes through.

Disappointing editing

I have listened to this narrator, George Hagan, before, and thoroughly enjoy his performance. I have also listened to just about every Dickens work, most of which were narrated by Marin Jarvis. However, the quality I have come to expect from a paid service like audible was not present in this title. The narrator himself was not quite the problem. It was the post-production efforts that were the aggravation. There seemed to be no editing done for this recording at all. Constant reading mistakes, audible page turns, and even background noise were present throughout the novel (believe I heard airplanes flying nearby). This is the first time that I have experienced such an unprofessionally done work from audible.

For Dickens' Fans

You've really gotta love Dickens to stick this one through to tbe end. Lots of great characters (Dick Swiveller and the Marchioness), including tbe horrible (Quilp), but I never tumbled to the point, the life lesson usually embedded in Victorian novels. If you want to read all of Dickens' novels, read it. Otherwise, Pickwick is more fun, Copperfield more coherent, Bleak House, a grand expose of lawyering.
This oral version appears unedited for the reader's ahs and ums. I got used to them, and heaven knows no one could read for 30+ hours without. He has a lot of great accents.

Delightful

The narration was absolutely wonderful! If you listen closely, you can hear the pages of the book turning, or a very slight stumble over words, that makes it feel all the more immersive. Dickens was made to be read out loud in this way, I could almost feel as though it was Dickens himself. The story is also incredible, but you can tell that it was written chapter by chapter as a serial. It's a bit disjointed in some regards due to that, but written so beautifully that you barely notice. Really worth the listen!

Impressive reading

I am thoroughly impressed with George Hagan's characterizations. He so seamlessly shifts between the voice of a young girl, an old man, an odious villain, a timid wife that it is hard to believe it could be the same voice narrating and reading the characters' lines. I don't mind the occasional slips the other review mentioned. I think at 22+ hours the $6.79 price is an excellent value.