The Prince and the Pauper

By: Mark Twain

Narrated by: John Rayburn

A remarkable resemblance of two boys born on the same day in the 16th century became the basis of Mark Twain’s first try at historical fiction. He had begun writing the year before with his to-be-famous Huckleberry Finn manuscript. However, he became discouraged with that story and decided to either pigeonhole it or maybe even burn it. He had come up with an idea for a play, but instead turned it into the novel you’re about to hear, that of The Prince and the Pauper. This resulted in a fable that was almost a fairy tale, one that became a fine story for young people of all ages.

There were many unjust laws in the 1500s, and Twain delved into them with his usual remarkable insight. The success also led to a resumption of the Finn adventures, thus preserving one of his major accomplishments, one that took about seven years to eventually complete. Listen now to the story of Tom Canty and Edward VI.

Public Domain (P)2021 John D. Rayburn

Narrated with a lump with his throat?

All the while listening I had to suppress the urge to clear my own throat.

The Prince and the Pauper

It was a bit long and the reader was at some points droning (but not much), but over all it is a great book and the reader does do a great job of reading. I enjoyed it very much. The story is superb, but I would advise that only children ten and up read it, because this story takes place in the Middle Ages. There are some burnings and hangings that are a bit violent.

Great classic tale told in a hurry

Remembering that this is a famous author's first attempt at a fiction novel I found the story captivating yet a little laborious in listening to Old English verbiage and rhythm and sometimes straying in tangents; but, the piece is written as if a family member is recounting a story to you and feels like a good bedtime story in spite of the many unhappy events suffered by the characters. Some inspiration may pop up to dig further into this period of history after hearing detailed descriptions of social burns, laws and general activities of the time and place. The narrator has an appropriate voice, although too nasal for my preference and does an OK job distinguishing between characters in voice but reads as if he's getting paid by how quickly he can blurt out and finish the text rather than provide a story teller's relaxed presence that brings you into the story. When he reads his own bio at the end, it becomes apparent why his style seems rushed and forced.... lots of news and sports broadcasting.

Awful production

Look, it's a classic story by one of the great writers of all time. That's not the issue. The problem is, this is THE WORST produced audio book I've ever heard. The narrator, a legendary newscaster, sounds like he marbles in his mouth. He frequently stumbles over words. And, worst of all, the splicing between the sections is just terrible. The volume changes, things send to cut off but then jump right back in, etc. If it hadn't been free, I would be really annoyed.

It is unclear how the narrator got his job

I love my Audible subscription. I listen to it regularly. There were plenty of narrators out there who I really enjoy. This man however truly did not have a voice for narration. His delivery was also quite wooden.