Which Jane Eyre recording should you buy?
A cleaner listing than most Victorian novels on Audible UK: the complete readings cluster between about 17 and 23 hours, and the two short entries are both honestly marked abridged.
Short answer
Juliet Stevenson. Complete, solo, and one of the longest readings here, which on a page like this is the evidence that nothing has been trimmed. Thandiwe Newton at 19h10 is equally complete and equally solo, so if you prefer her voice you lose nothing by taking it. The only thing to be careful of is the two-hour entries: the BBC Radio 4 production with Tom Burke and the Claire Bloom dramatised reading are both worth hearing, and neither is the novel. Both say abridged, which is more than most listings manage.
Every recording, compared
| Narrator | Length | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Juliet Stevenson Our pick | 19 hrs 13 mins | Unabridged | Complete and solo. |
| Thandiwe Newton | 19 hrs 10 mins | Unabridged | Complete and solo. A straight choice of voice against Stevenson, not of content. |
| Anna Popplewell | 22 hrs 51 mins | Unabridged | Complete, and the longest reading here. |
| Amanda Root | 20 hrs 33 mins | Unabridged | Complete and solo. |
| Juliet Mills | 19 hrs 10 mins | Unabridged | Complete and solo. |
| Susan Ericksen | 17 hrs 27 mins | Unabridged | Complete; the briskest of the full readings. |
| Amanda Hale, Tom Burke and a full cast | 2 hrs 13 mins | Abridged | A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation, and honestly marked abridged. |
| Claire Bloom and Anthony Quayle | 2 hrs 54 mins | Abridged | A dramatised reading, marked abridged. |