Jane Austen: The BBC Radio Drama Collection

This audio collection is comprised of the six major Austen novels, abridged and performed by a full cast of exceptional professional performers, including some very famous ones. You should note that the cover art does not list \”Emma\” among the works performed, but it\’s in there. These were produced by the BBC, which might make you jump to the conclusion that the audio quality is as superior as the acting, but that would be a mistake. The audio magicians do create the illusions that the characters actually are strolling through gardens, or riding horses, or disporting themselves in ballrooms. But the audio levels are inconsistent. At one moment General Tilney is berating poor Eleanor at full volume, then before you can say \”Northanger,\” Eleanor is apologizing to Catherine sotto voce and you can barely hear her. This sort of thing happens at various times in each of the novels. There is a lot of whispering! I listened to them seated in a fairly quiet room, and frequently had to rewind to hear soft sounds. I imagined it would be very difficult to catch all the dialog if I were listening in a car on a road trip, or walking with earbuds on a windy day. I think background noise would obliterate subtleties of production. Just thought you should know in advance. Another thing….. the editing is not consistent in transforming these performances from radio to audiobook format. Mansfield Park is presented without attribution to (famous) actors or the writer who adapted it. A few other novels have some passing mention of the cast, while at the very end of the line, \”Persuasion\” has the cast listed at the beginning AND the end of each episode. This was not a big deal, just seemed sort of slapdash. I guess I would have expected more meticulous attention to detail from the BBC. Even with the idiosyncrasies of production, these performances were totally worth it, and even though I\’ve read all Miss Austen\’s novels in print and in audio, I\’ll cherish these versions too.

These aren\’t the full books. They are not even abridged versions. They are only small excerpts. Some of them are quite jarring, like Sense and Sensibility, which begins in the middle of the book, when the Dashwoods leave for Devonshire. If you\’re looking for the whole stories, this is not what you want.

It\’s brillaint, except chapters 6 and 7 are identical, as are 8 and 9, so the Mansfield Park story is unlistenable. Please fix these chapters and I\’ll happily upgrade my rating.

Some chapters were duplicated (technical issue). Top billed voice talent did not perform all of the stories. Not all stories had the same production value. If you already own any of these books on their own, I would not recommend purchasing this one.

I have always loved Jane Austen\’s stories, but I never read all of her books. This was a great way to listen to her stories and stay engaged the whole time. I didn\’t want to stop listening and only pressed pause when I had to (like for sleeping, but I ended up staying up past midnight the first day to finish Emma). The voices were all spot on for the characters. I really enjoyed this performance a lot!

Galaxyaudiobook Member Benefit

- Able to comment

- List watched audiobooks

- List favorite audiobooks

- Bookmark will only available for Galaxyaudiobook member