Barnaby Rudge

Summary

This recording of Barnaby Rudge, one of only two historical novels by Dickens, read here by one of Britain’s most popular readers, Sean Barrett, is part of the extended Dickens collection offered in both abridged and unabridged form by Naxos AudioBooks.

For the background to this historical novel, a tale of mystery, suspense, and unsolved murder, Dickens chose the anti-Catholic Gordon Riots of 1780. Mayhem reigns in the streets of London, vividly described by Dickens, and the innocent Barnaby Rudge is drawn into the thick of it. Against the public disorder, Dickens tells of the private discord within families—with fathers and sons at loggerheads—and creates a wealth of colorful characters: the sinuously evil Lord Chester, the pretty and vivacious Dolly Varden, and the host and regulars at the Maypole Inn—a symbol of security in those uncertain and violent times.