37 episodes

Charles Dickens' 1854 novel opens with the philosophy of education espoused by the eminently practical Mr. Gradgrind, who prizes "facts and calculations." He raises his children, most prominently Louisa and Tom, to eschew imagination and emotion and embrace order and reason. The results are disastrous: Louisa marries out of duty to the supposed self-made man Mr. Bounderby, while Tom grows up dissolute, ultimately commits theft and blames it on an unfortunate laborer, Stephen Blackpool. Set in the fictional Coketown, a mill town in the north of England, Dickens' novel satirizes capitalism, social mobility, class stratification, and Utilitarianism. This dramatic reading of the novel features a full cast of LibriVox volunteers, who lend their voices to Dickens' vibrant comic characters. (Summary by Elizabeth Klett)CastNarrator: Bob NeufeldMr. Gradgrind: Marty KrisSissy Jupe: J L RaimundoBitzer: mbGentleman: Tom CrawfordLouisa Gradgrind: Arielle LipshawMr. Bounderby: Andy MinterMrs. Gradgrind: Beth ThomasTom Gradgrind: Max KorlingeMr. E. W. B. Childers: David LawrenceMaster Kidderminster: Elizabeth KlettMr. Sleary: Ron AltmanMrs. Sparsit: Elizabeth KlettStephen Blackpool: Nigel BoydellRachael: Karen SavageMrs. Blackpool: Bev J. StevensMrs. Pegler: Sally McConnellJames Harthouse: Algy PugSlackbridge: John SteigerwaldVoice 1: syllyVoice 2: J L RaimundoJane Gradgrind: GoldfishWaiter: Nigel BoydellMan: Algy PugClown: Bev J. StevensText prepared by Arielle Lipshaw and Elizabeth KlettAudio edited by Elizabeth Klett

Hard Times (version 2 dramatic reading) by Charles Dickens (1812 - 1870‪)‬ LibriVox

    • Arts

Charles Dickens' 1854 novel opens with the philosophy of education espoused by the eminently practical Mr. Gradgrind, who prizes "facts and calculations." He raises his children, most prominently Louisa and Tom, to eschew imagination and emotion and embrace order and reason. The results are disastrous: Louisa marries out of duty to the supposed self-made man Mr. Bounderby, while Tom grows up dissolute, ultimately commits theft and blames it on an unfortunate laborer, Stephen Blackpool. Set in the fictional Coketown, a mill town in the north of England, Dickens' novel satirizes capitalism, social mobility, class stratification, and Utilitarianism. This dramatic reading of the novel features a full cast of LibriVox volunteers, who lend their voices to Dickens' vibrant comic characters. (Summary by Elizabeth Klett)CastNarrator: Bob NeufeldMr. Gradgrind: Marty KrisSissy Jupe: J L RaimundoBitzer: mbGentleman: Tom CrawfordLouisa Gradgrind: Arielle LipshawMr. Bounderby: Andy MinterMrs. Gradgrind: Beth ThomasTom Gradgrind: Max KorlingeMr. E. W. B. Childers: David LawrenceMaster Kidderminster: Elizabeth KlettMr. Sleary: Ron AltmanMrs. Sparsit: Elizabeth KlettStephen Blackpool: Nigel BoydellRachael: Karen SavageMrs. Blackpool: Bev J. StevensMrs. Pegler: Sally McConnellJames Harthouse: Algy PugSlackbridge: John SteigerwaldVoice 1: syllyVoice 2: J L RaimundoJane Gradgrind: GoldfishWaiter: Nigel BoydellMan: Algy PugClown: Bev J. StevensText prepared by Arielle Lipshaw and Elizabeth KlettAudio edited by Elizabeth Klett

    Book 1, Chapter 01, The One Thing Needful

    Book 1, Chapter 01, The One Thing Needful

    • 4 min
    Book 1, Chapter 02, Murdering the Innocents

    Book 1, Chapter 02, Murdering the Innocents

    • 15 min
    Book 1, Chapter 03, A Loophole

    Book 1, Chapter 03, A Loophole

    • 13 min
    Book 1, Chapter 04, Mr. Bounderby

    Book 1, Chapter 04, Mr. Bounderby

    • 18 min
    Book 1, Chapter 05, The Keynote

    Book 1, Chapter 05, The Keynote

    • 14 min
    Book 1, Chapter 06, Sleary's Horsemanship

    Book 1, Chapter 06, Sleary's Horsemanship

    • 33 min

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