Which Through the Looking-Glass recording should you buy?
The sequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The complete readings we list run 2 hrs 53 mins to 3 hrs 45 mins; beside them are abridgements by famous names, an edition that calls itself adapted, and many listings that bundle both Alice books together.
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Short answer
Miriam Margolyes: complete and solo. Tim Gerard Reynolds, Jenny Cullen and the other complete readings in the table run 2 hrs 53 mins to 3 hrs 45 mins; choose on voice. Alison Larkin's edition adds Carroll's poem Phantasmagoria, so it holds more than this book. Fiona Shaw's and Gemma Arterton's recordings are abridged. Jacob Baird's edition is subtitled "Adapted for Modern Readers" while its listing says unabridged. And if you want both Alice books, there are listings that hold the two together; this page compares only the ones of Through the Looking-Glass alone.
The recordings, compared
| Narrator | Length | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miriam Margolyes Our pick | 3 hrs 37 mins | Unabridged | Complete and solo. |
| Tim Gerard Reynolds | 3 hrs 25 mins | Unabridged | Complete and solo. |
| Jenny Cullen | 3 hrs 45 mins | Unabridged | Complete and solo. |
| Farah D | 2 hrs 53 mins | Unabridged | Complete and solo. |
| Alison Larkin | 3 hrs 49 mins | Unabridged, with an added poem | The book plus Carroll's poem Phantasmagoria, so the running time covers more than this book. |
| Fiona Shaw | 2 hrs 15 mins | Abridged | Abridged. |
| Gemma Arterton | 1 hr 2 mins | Abridged | Abridged, from the Famous Fiction series. |
| Jacob Baird | 2 hrs 19 mins | Unabridged, but described as adapted | By its own subtitle, "Adapted for Modern Readers", this is not Carroll's text as written, although the listing says unabridged. |