Audiobook · read by volunteers
Cricket on the Hearth
Charles Dickens (1812–1870)
Read by Jason Isbell, Sage Tyrtle, Qhali, Katie Baynes · 10 chapters · 3 h 21
About the book
A cricket chirps on the hearth of John Peerybingle, a kind-hearted carrier, and the whole household feels it is a sign of good luck. John lives with his much younger wife, Dot, their baby and a nursemaid, and one night he brings home a mysterious old stranger to lodge with them. At the same time, the poor toymaker Caleb Plummer and his blind daughter live under the thumb of the grasping Mr. Tackleton, who is about to marry. Charles Dickens's short Christmas story is a warm, humorous tale in which the little cricket works like a guardian spirit. Four volunteers share the ten parts of this recording, in about three and a half hours. Cosy, comic and touching, it is Dickens at his most generous.
Introduction
Charles Dickens lived from 1812 to 1870. After the huge success of A Christmas Carol in 1843, he wrote a Christmas book each year for several years, and The Cricket on the Hearth, published in December 1845, was the third of them. It sold very well and was adapted for the stage almost immediately, in several versions, during the same winter.
Like its predecessors, the story mixes sentiment, humour and social feeling. Dickens celebrates home, family and generosity, and he sets them against selfishness and suspicion. The book is divided into three chirps instead of chapters, a charming touch that reflects the central image of the cricket's song. Its cast includes some of his most appealing humble characters, among them a well-meaning nursemaid forever bumping the baby against the furniture and a toymaker who lives in a world of kind illusions.
This LibriVox recording has an introduction and three chirps, each divided into three parts, for ten sections in all. It lasts about three and a half hours and is shared among four volunteers. It is a pleasant seasonal listen for the weeks around Christmas, though it is quite happy at any time of year. For those who know Dickens's novels only from their length, it is a short and cheerful way to enjoy his warmth.
The tale unfolds in three chirps, and each has its own mood, from domestic comedy to the shadow of suspicion and a joyful close. The pace is unhurried, but Dickens keeps it moving with brisk dialogue and affectionate portraits, and the four readers make the household feel truly alive.
Public domain
Charles Dickens died in 1870: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
The LibriVox volunteers dedicated this recording to the public domain.
Sources : LibriVox page · Files at the Internet Archive · Original text