Martin Chuzzlewit

Old Martin Chuzzlewit has a great fortune, but to whom can he leave it? He and his likable grandson, young Martin, have fallen out. Beyond that, a tangle of sly, grasping relatives coil about him. Throughout, the reader is rooting for the gentle Tom Pinch and his lovely sister, Mary. But before all can be decided, Dickens puts both Tom and young Martin through murder, mayhem and a brief purgatory in the United States. Reader Davidson quickly tunes into Dickens's ferocious irony, but his paramount strength is his uncanny ability to find and maintain the perfect voice for each of the vintage characters: drippy, insinuous, vicious, sly, bold American backwoods, or London Cheapside. Each is a distinct creation! Dickens lovers will treasure every tape in this two-volume masterpiece. P.E.F. Winner of AUDIOFILE Earphones Award (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

If the BBC doesn't have a monopoly on dramatizing Dickens, it should. The "good, hard, griping stock" of young Martin, who is cut off from his inheritance and goes forth to make it on his own, is brought to life with clarity, humor, and warmth. Listeners will feel as if they're in a drawing room with the entire cast of characters. Dickens, the inspired storyteller, was also a satirist. He used broad strokes to paint his portraits of the humble, bleak, and grotesque, especially when it came to Americans. The author had been appalled by the rough-and-ready United States he'd found on his 1842 visit, and his experience is evident in his stinging dialogue and observations. The BBC cast has a grand time faithfully reflecting Dickens's views with over-the-top renditions of nineteenth-century American accents from down east to down south. B.P. (c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine

[Editor's Note--The following is a combined review with DAVID COPPERFIELD, GHOST STORIES, GREAT EXPECTATIONS, HARD TIMES, THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD, NICHOLAS NICKLEBY, OLIVER TWIST, OUR MUTUAL FRIEND, THE PICKWICK PAPERS, and A TALE OF TWO CITIES.]--New Millennium presents the distinguished Academy Award winner Paul Scofield interpreting abridgments of the novels and stories of Charles Dickens. These are excellent readings, sonorous and compelling. However, they lack the verve and character of the old Victorian qualities that have been so wonderfully captured on cassette by Martin Jarvis and Miriam Margolyes, among others. And while few authors benefit more from pruning than the paid-by-the-word Dickens, some of these cuttings are far too drastic. In addition, hurried post-production is evident in numerous audible edits, frequent mouth noises, and occasional overlapping of announcer and narrator. Y.R. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine

Neither Dickens's funniest work nor his most memorable, MARTIN CHUZZLEWIT is still a treasure trove of shameless scoundrels and delicious melodrama. The subject is hypocrisy, and Pecksniff is its avatar, though the drunk nurse Sairy Gamp isn't far behind him. Sean Barrett's Pecksniff is the epitome of smarm, hilariously unrepentant even when cornered. There are some production flaws--some levels inaudibly low and some edits too obvious--but nothing mars the pleasure of Barrett's performance, not least of crafty, old Martin Chuzzlewit himself. Chuzzlewit plays the gullible invalid for much of the story, querulous and difficult. The deep, full-throated virile-old-man voice Barrett switches to when he reveals his true nature is marvelous, like the tearing away of a curtain. B.G. (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine

Charles Dickens is not known for subtlety, and MARTIN CHUZZLEWIT is typically unsubtle, satirical, often quite funny, and, in this case, vastly improved by the expertise of Sean Barrett. There are so many distinct and consistent characters here, and Barrett nails them all, especially the two Martin Chuzzlewits, the gruff grandfather and the feckless grandson. The younger Martin goes to America with the most optimistic man in the world, Mark Tapley, who has a slightly Cockney accent and a "never-give-up" tone. There they find racism, a land scam, and a fever that almost kills them. Barrett's gushing and wheedling portrayal of Seth Pecksniff vividly renders this hypocritical character whose fall brings about everyone's happiness in truly Dickensian fashion. Also noteworthy is Barrett's portrait of the deluded and drunken Sairy Gamp, a nurse you would not want in your hour of need. A.B. (c) AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine