Which Time Machine recording should you buy?
A short novel, and the complete readings we list run 3 hrs to 3 hrs 58 mins. Next to them: radio plays, an edition that calls itself adapted, a short simplified version, and one recording by a famous name that Audible marks abridged at a length that looks complete.
Disclosure: links on this page to Audible are affiliate links — if you sign up or buy through one, we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. More about this
Short answer
Simon Vance: complete and solo, the AmazonClassics Edition. Roger May, Michael Page, Bernard Mayes, Edoardo Ballerini and the other complete readings in the table run 3 hrs to 3 hrs 58 mins; choose on voice. The listing to read carefully is Brian Cox's. Audible marks it abridged, yet its running time looks like a complete reading's; we have not read its description, so we cannot tell you what was cut, only that it is not sold as the whole book. Jacob Baird's edition is subtitled "Adapted for Modern Readers" while its listing says unabridged. The cast productions are radio plays. Iman's edition is short and marked abridged.
The recordings, compared
| Narrator | Length | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simon Vance Our pick | 3 hrs 19 mins | Unabridged | Complete and solo. Listed as the AmazonClassics Edition. |
| Roger May | 3 hrs 50 mins | Unabridged | Complete and solo. |
| Michael Page | 3 hrs 21 mins | Unabridged | Complete and solo. |
| Bernard Mayes | 3 hrs 48 mins | Unabridged | Complete and solo. |
| Edoardo Ballerini | 3 hrs 19 mins | Unabridged | Complete and solo. |
| Kevin Theis | 3 hrs 58 mins | Unabridged | Complete and solo. |
| Shane Sody | 3 hrs 32 mins | Unabridged | Complete and solo. |
| Graham Scott | 3 hrs 46 mins | Unabridged | Complete and solo. |
| Sam Kusi | 3 hrs 43 mins | Unabridged | Complete and solo. |
| Martina Mercer | 3 hrs | Unabridged | Complete and solo. |
| Brian Cox | 3 hrs 34 mins | Abridged | Marked abridged, although its running time looks like a complete reading's. Penguin's description calls it "adapted for audio"; it is not sold as the whole book. |
| Jacob Baird | 2 hrs 27 mins | Unabridged, but described as adapted | By its own subtitle, "Adapted for Modern Readers", this is not Wells's text as written, although the listing says unabridged. |
| Robert Glenister, William Gaunt and a full cast | 1 hr 40 mins | Full-cast dramatisation | A radio dramatisation, sold under Classic Radio Sci-Fi, although the listing says unabridged. |
| The St. Charles Players | 1 hr 45 mins | Full-cast dramatisation, marked abridged | A dramatisation with a cast: its title says so, and it is marked abridged. |
| Iman | 53 mins | Simplified adaptation | Part of a series called "Bring the Classics to Life", and marked abridged. Its description says: "This audio classic novel has been carefully abridged and adapted into 10 short, easy-to-understand chapters." A short retelling, not the book cut down. |