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Our Mutual Friend
- The Audible Dickens Collection
- Narrated by: Meera Syal, Lucinda Hawksley - introduction
- Length: 34 hrs and 57 mins
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Summary
This definitive performance of Our Mutual Friend - Dickens' final completed novel - features expert narration by Meera Syal and an exclusive introduction written and read by Lucinda Hawksley, great-great-great-granddaughter of Charles Dickens. Hawksley is a biographer, author and lecturer whose wealth of knowledge on Dickens is both research-led and personal. She introduces us to the themes in Our Mutual Friend and tells us how they connect to the life of Dickens himself.
Full of both satire and social analysis, Our Mutual Friend looks at what could happen in Victorian England when a fortune passes to a working-class couple. The audiobook will enchant the listener with its larger-than-life characters, its poignant depiction of social injustice and the singular seed of hope with which Dickens hints at the possibility of a better tomorrow.
About the author
Having experienced the incarceration of his father, Charles Dickens had to abandon his studies at a young age and set to work in a factory so as to support himself. Despite his short-lived education, Dickens went on to write 15 novels, various articles, novellas and short stories. He lectured and led campaigns for children's rights and education and arguably became the ultimate self-made man.
About the narrator
Comedian, writer and actor Meera Syal rose to prominence as one of the creators of comedy sketch show Goodness Gracious Me and cemented herself as a household name in the UK portraying Sanjeev's grandmother, Ummi, in The Kumars at No. 42.
Multitalented Syal has penned novels, scripts and screenplays as well as lending her vocals to various songs and albums. Here she uses her voice to tell our Dickensian story with all the mastery you would expect from this talented performer.
Behind the scenes with Meera Syal
The British comedian and narrator of Our Mutual Friend shares her thoughts on Dickens' final completed novel.What listeners say about Our Mutual Friend
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- sora
- 08-04-18
Not the narrator for me
Prefer David Timson by far, sorry. I really wanted to like Meera Syal but I didn't understand why some of the London characters didn't have London voices and it started to grate after a while. Also I felt the pace of the narration was a bit slow. Great story and characters, as always.
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12 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 26-12-19
Stick with it!
I found this a little hard going at first with so many characters being introduced but was totally absorbed by the end.
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1 person found this helpful
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- gerrard
- 23-01-21
Brilliant narration of much loved classi
I loved every minute of this book being brought to life as the author intended.
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- adam200982
- 10-06-18
Dickens at his very best !
Wonderfly narrated. Charles Dickens epic classic is beautifully delivered. A great tale that touches on the expectations of society and the perils trappings and evils of money
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5 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous
- 21-07-24
Meera Syal’s performance is outstanding
Despite how great the tales are, I’ve always found Dickens tough to stick with. However, I think that Meera Syal’s performance of this story is possibly the best I’ve heard in any audiobook. She kept me listening intently to the end, and kept me engaged in what’s turned out to be an excellent, meandering story, full of twists and distinctly Dickensian villains. I’m very happy that Syal’s kept me company on my commutes recently.
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- Mrs Judith C Schott
- 01-05-18
Our mutual friend
Long complex story of good and evil, right and wrong greed and generosity brilliantly told by Meera Syal
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3 people found this helpful
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- Claire
- 06-09-18
Confused
I found this book really confusing and although I enjoyed the story and followed the plots I could not marry them together. This may of been explained earlier but forgot it by Time I had got to the expplanatilon. Also I foresaw the outcome but it turned out not quite as I expected.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Caitlin Walker
- 07-02-21
Loved Syals performance of this story
I'd never read the book and I was gripped from start to finish. I thought she was excellent and the characters were easily distinguishable, despite there being so many. I loved it.
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- Janet of Cheshire
- 13-06-21
Wonderful story and excellent storyteller
I have read many Dickens books but this is one of the lightest and the best. The voices bring it to life.
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- CATRIONA SYME
- 09-09-20
great. enjoyed listening whilst out walking
spurred me on to walk more. What a great story teller Dickens was. I will be listening to more.
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