The Jane Austen BBC Radio Drama Collection

Superb acting, but beware of audio idiosyncracies!

This audio collection is comprised of the six major Austen novels, abridged and performed by a full cast of exceptional professional performers, including some very famous ones. You should note that the cover art does not list "Emma" among the works performed, but it's in there. These were produced by the BBC, which might make you jump to the conclusion that the audio quality is as superior as the acting, but that would be a mistake. The audio magicians do create the illusions that the characters actually are strolling through gardens, or riding horses, or disporting themselves in ballrooms. But the audio levels are inconsistent. At one moment General Tilney is berating poor Eleanor at full volume, then before you can say "Northanger," Eleanor is apologizing to Catherine sotto voce and you can barely hear her. This sort of thing happens at various times in each of the novels. There is a lot of whispering! I listened to them seated in a fairly quiet room, and frequently had to rewind to hear soft sounds. I imagined it would be very difficult to catch all the dialog if I were listening in a car on a road trip, or walking with earbuds on a windy day. I think background noise would obliterate subtleties of production. Just thought you should know in advance.

Another thing..... the editing is not consistent in transforming these performances from radio to audiobook format. Mansfield Park is presented without attribution to (famous) actors or the writer who adapted it. A few other novels have some passing mention of the cast, while at the very end of the line, "Persuasion" has the cast listed at the beginning AND the end of each episode. This was not a big deal, just seemed sort of slapdash. I guess I would have expected more meticulous attention to detail from the BBC.

Even with the idiosyncrasies of production, these performances were totally worth it, and even though I've read all Miss Austen's novels in print and in audio, I'll cherish these versions too.

111 people found this helpful

An Amazing Cast in Each Story

Who was your favorite character and why?

I think a lot of the titular characters stand out. But my real answer is everyone plays their part - Austen didn't create many one dimensional characters. And through her creations I think it created a seamless transition between book to play.

Any additional comments?

The stories are timeless and sometimes I like a good dramatisation over the actual book itself. The case is exceptional - pretty sure most having gone to drama school or come from the theater. Just feels like it could be a TV production and I'm down with that!

33 people found this helpful

Just excerpts

These aren't the full books. They are not even abridged versions. They are only small excerpts. Some of them are quite jarring, like Sense and Sensibility, which begins in the middle of the book, when the Dashwoods leave for Devonshire. If you're looking for the whole stories, this is not what you want.

44 people found this helpful

Faulty download

It's brillaint, except chapters 6 and 7 are identical, as are 8 and 9, so the Mansfield Park story is unlistenable. Please fix these chapters and I'll happily upgrade my rating.

147 people found this helpful

Technical issues and misleading description.

Some chapters were duplicated (technical issue). Top billed voice talent did not perform all of the stories. Not all stories had the same production value. If you already own any of these books on their own, I would not recommend purchasing this one.

90 people found this helpful

Great way to listen to Austen's works!

I have always loved Jane Austen's stories, but I never read all of her books. This was a great way to listen to her stories and stay engaged the whole time. I didn't want to stop listening and only pressed pause when I had to (like for sleeping, but I ended up staying up past midnight the first day to finish Emma). The voices were all spot on for the characters. I really enjoyed this performance a lot!

50 people found this helpful

Not As Represented; Recording Problems

David Tennant and Benedict Cumberbatch were only in the first story, Mansfield Park, which was very disappointing. The Sense and Sensability recordings were scrambled across the recording set rather than being in chronological order which was really annoying, and the dialog in all of the stories was modernized to the point of being ridiculous. Mansfield Park was good and Northanger Abbey was fine, but the rest were just not that great. I ended up returning this one. If you really must have the Tennant/Cumberbatch recording, save your money and purchase the stand alone recording which is also available on Audible.

59 people found this helpful

Worth it

I was a bit nervous to buy this bundle of books after reading negative reviews that said that the quality between the performances varied. However I found all 6 performances to be excellent and all thoroughly enjoyable.

30 people found this helpful

Sadly, there was no Cumberbatch Darcy

I love Jane Austen and I'm a Benedict Cumberbatch fan as well so I was really excited about this series. But Cumberbatch only performs in Mansfield Park (my least favorite novel of Austen's). Overall, the acting was good and I thought that the rewrite kept the integrity of the story. Just don't get your hopes up to hear Benedict Cumberbatch as Mr. Darcy.

59 people found this helpful

Excellent Dramatization

I was a bit leery about whether or not I actually wanted to purchase this due to the negative reviews being so vehement - however, I'm very much glad that I ignored them and went ahead to buy it. The voices were actually very well done (though I was disappointed in Mr. Knightly, but I'm particularly fond of him), and the only thing that I didn't like was the very dramatic crying, and the heavy breathing - but, that could be a personal annoyance. It is a dramatization, perhaps the more dramatic the better.
If you are teetering on whether or not you should buy this, then just know that you won't regret it. It might not be exactly what you expected, but it is pleasantly surprising.

18 people found this helpful