Which Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde recording should you buy?
A short book with a crowded shelf: the complete readings we list run 2 hrs 19 mins to 3 hrs 6 mins, and Audible UK sells far more than these. Some editions add other stories, and the length tells you which.
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Short answer
Richard E. Grant: complete and solo, and the same reader as one of the complete A Study in Scarlet readings on this site. Martin Jarvis, Paapa Essiedu and the other complete readings in the table run 2 hrs 19 mins to 3 hrs 6 mins; choose on voice. Before you compare runtimes, check what is in the listing. Michael Kitchen's and Rory Kinnear's editions (Kinnear's is the Penguin Classics one) include other tales of terror, which is why they run long. Jonathan Bowers' edition comes with notes on what its listing calls the book's hidden queer history. The edition with "Dramatized" in its title is a full-cast play, Iman's is a short abridgement, and AI Voice Orpheus is a synthetic voice.
The recordings, compared
| Narrator | Length | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Richard E. Grant Our pick | 3 hrs 6 mins | Unabridged | Complete and solo. |
| Martin Jarvis | 2 hrs 55 mins | Unabridged | Complete and solo. |
| Paapa Essiedu | 3 hrs 2 mins | Unabridged | Complete and solo. |
| Andrew Faulding | 2 hrs 26 mins | Unabridged | Complete and solo. Listed as a 2026 Illustrated Edition. |
| David McCallion | 2 hrs 19 mins | Unabridged | Complete and solo. |
| Jonathan Bowers | 2 hrs 34 mins | Unabridged, with added notes | The novel with added notes on what the listing calls its hidden queer history, so the running time is not the novel's alone. |
| Michael Kitchen | 5 hrs 14 mins | Unabridged, with other stories | The novel with other tales of terror in the same listing, so the running time covers more than this book. |
| Rory Kinnear | 7 hrs 33 mins | Unabridged, with other stories | The Penguin Classics edition, with other tales of terror, so the running time covers more than this book. |
| Full cast | 1 hr 33 mins | Full-cast dramatisation | A play with a cast: "Dramatized" is in its title. |
| Iman | 59 mins | Simplified adaptation | Part of a series called "Bring the Classics to Life", and marked abridged. Its description says: "This classic novel has been carefully abridged and adapted in an easy-to-understand way." A short retelling, not the book cut down. |
| AI Voice Orpheus | 3 hrs 27 mins | AI narration (Virtual Voice) | A synthetic voice, credited as an AI Voice. |