English Audio - English Audio Books

"Frederick Davidson gives such a splendid dramatization of this family saga, set in London
in the 1840's, that it's almost like watching theater. Davidson matches his versatile voice to each one of
the principals. He also manages to distinguish with equal elasticity among a host of vivid and disparate
supporting characters. Thanks to Davidson's seamless delivery, the narrative sweeps the listener through
[nearly] 40 hours of sustained drama. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award."AudioFile

In this carefully crafted novel, Dickens reveals the complexity of London society in the enterprising 1840s
as he takes the listener into the business firm and home of one of its most representative patriarchs, Paul
Dombey. A sensitive family drama unfolds between this stern father, his two children and aloof wife in which
time and fateful events bring a slow, inexorable pressure to bear upon the hearts of all. In Paul Dombey we
witness the force of social and personal arrogance ("For Dombey is as proud, Ma'am, as Lucifer") wrestling
with his own stubborn, but not unredeemable, heart.

Charles Dickens (1812 -1870) was born in Landport, Portsea, England, the second of eight children in a family continually plagued by debt. A legacy brought release from the nightmare of debtors' prison and child labor and afforded him two years of formal schooling. He worked as an attorney's clerk and newspaper reporter until his early writings brought him the amazing success that was to be his for the remainder of his life.

Frederick Davidson is a recipient of the Golden Voices Award and numerous Earphones Awards. After performing for years in many BBC radio plays, he came to America in 1976. He has narrated more than eight hundred audiobooks.