Hard Times (version 2 dramatic reading) by Charles Dickens (1812 - 1870)

Charles Dickens' 1854 novel opens with the philosophy of education espoused by the eminently practical Mr. Gradgrind, who prizes "facts and calculations." He raises his children, most prominently Louisa and Tom, to eschew imagination and emotion and embrace order and reason. The results are disastrous: Louisa marries out of duty to the supposed self-made man Mr. Bounderby, while Tom grows up dissolute, ultimately commits theft and blames it on an unfortunate laborer, Stephen Blackpool. Set in the fictional Coketown, a mill town in the north of England, Dickens' novel satirizes capitalism, social mobility, class stratification, and Utilitarianism. This dramatic reading of the novel features a full cast of LibriVox volunteers, who lend their voices to Dickens' vibrant comic characters. (Summary by Elizabeth Klett)<br /><br />Cast<br />Narrator: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/3912" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bob Neufeld</a><br />Mr. Gradgrind: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/6035" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Marty Kris</a><br />Sissy Jupe: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/5860" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">J L Raimundo</a><br />Bitzer: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/1492" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">mb</a><br />Gentleman: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/2990" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tom Crawford</a><br />Louisa Gradgrind: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/3536" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Arielle Lipshaw</a><br />Mr. Bounderby: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/152" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Andy Minter</a><br />Mrs. Gradgrind: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/6281" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Beth Thomas</a><br />Tom Gradgrind: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/6333" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Max Korlinge</a><br />Mr. E. W. B. Childers: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/2911" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">David Lawrence</a><br />Master Kidderminster: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/1259" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Elizabeth Klett</a><br />Mr. Sleary: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/6535" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ron Altman</a><br />Mrs. Sparsit: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/1259" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Elizabeth Klett</a><br />Stephen Blackpool: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/6459" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nigel Boydell</a><br />Rachael: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/103" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Karen Savage</a><br />Mrs. Blackpool: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/3816" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bev J. Stevens</a><br />Mrs. Pegler: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/4706" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sally McConnell</a><br />James Harthouse: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/4705" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Algy Pug</a><br />Slackbridge: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/4547" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">John Steigerwald</a><br />Voice 1: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/6610" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sylly</a><br />Voice 2: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/5860" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">J L Raimundo</a><br />Jane Gradgrind: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/6534" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Goldfish</a><br />Waiter: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/6459" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nigel Boydell</a><br />Man: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/4705" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Algy Pug</a><br />Clown: <a href="http://librivox.org/reader/3816" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bev J. Stevens</a><br /><br />Text prepared by Arielle Lipshaw and Elizabeth Klett<br />Audio edited by Elizabeth Klett

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