Which David Copperfield recording should you buy?
The complete readings of David Copperfield that we list run 33 hrs 38 mins to 38 hrs 40 mins. Also on sale: an Audible Original with a cast of famous names, a BBC full-cast production, abridgements, and an Oxford Bookworms adaptation for learners of English.
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Short answer
Richard Armitage: complete and solo, from Audible Studios. Martin Jarvis, Simon Vance, Ed Speleers, David Rintoul, Nicholas Boulton and the other complete readings in the table run 33 hrs 38 mins to 38 hrs 40 mins; choose on voice. Armitage is also in the cast of the Audible Original led by Ncuti Gatwa and Helena Bonham Carter, which is a drama rather than the book, so the name alone does not tell you which you have. Martin Jarvis has a complete reading and an abridgement under the same title. The BBC production with Miriam Margolyes and Timothy Spall is a full cast at a fraction of the novel's length, though the catalogue marks it unabridged. And the Andrew Burt listing is an Oxford Bookworms adaptation.
The recordings, compared
| Narrator | Length | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Richard Armitage Our pick | 36 hrs 30 mins | Unabridged | Complete and solo, from Audible Studios. |
| Martin Jarvis | 34 hrs 33 mins | Unabridged | Complete and solo. The same reader has an abridgement under the same title, below. |
| Simon Vance | 33 hrs 54 mins | Unabridged | Complete and solo. |
| Ed Speleers | 33 hrs 38 mins | Unabridged | Complete and solo, the Penguin Classics edition. |
| David Rintoul | 38 hrs 10 mins | Unabridged | Complete and solo. |
| Nicholas Boulton | 36 hrs 10 mins | Unabridged | Complete and solo, from Naxos. |
| Patrick Tull | 38 hrs 40 mins | Unabridged | Complete and solo. |
| Ralph Cosham | 33 hrs 47 mins | Unabridged | Complete and solo. |
| Derek Perkins | 35 hrs 47 mins | Unabridged | Complete and solo. Listed as the AmazonClassics Edition. |
| Will Watt | 34 hrs 28 mins | Unabridged | Complete and solo. |
| Ncuti Gatwa, Helena Bonham Carter, Theo James, Richard Armitage, Jessie Buckley, Toby Jones and a full cast | 8 hrs 13 mins | Audible Original, full cast | An Audible Original performed by a cast: a drama, not the novel. Richard Armitage, who reads the complete pick, is in it. |
| Miriam Margolyes, Timothy Spall, Sheila Hancock, Phil Daniels and a full cast | 9 hrs 3 mins | BBC full-cast recording, marked unabridged | A BBC production with a full cast, at 27% of the shortest complete reading here. Audible's catalogue marks it unabridged; it is not a complete reading. |
| Anton Lesser | 5 hrs 16 mins | Abridged | Abridged, from Naxos. The complete Naxos reading is Nicholas Boulton's. |
| Paul Scofield | 2 hrs 55 mins | Abridged | Abridged. |
| Simon Callow | 2 hrs 38 mins | Abridged | Abridged. |
| Martin Jarvis | 2 hrs 18 mins | Abridged | ABRIDGED: the same reader as the complete Audible Studios reading above. |
| Andrew Burt | 2 hrs 54 mins | Oxford Bookworms graded reader | Not the book: an Oxford Bookworms adaptation for learners of English. |