Audiobook · read by volunteers
No Thoroughfare
Wilkie Collins (1824–1889) · Charles Dickens (1812–1870)
Read by Alan Chant · 13 chapters · 5 h 56
About the book
Two boys from the Foundling Hospital are given the same name, and the confusion that follows has disastrous effects in adult life. When two associates set out to put right the wrong, they are asked to find a missing heir, and their search leads them from the damp wine cellars of the City of London to places very far from home. Wilkie Collins and Charles Dickens wrote this tale together for Christmas, and then arranged it as a play. This recording presents the dramatic version, with its acts and scenes, in thirteen parts and nearly six hours, read by LibriVox volunteers. A story of mystery, adventure and fine theatrical effects. With its mixture of London realism, secrets and melodrama, the tale shows two great writers at play, and the staged version gives it a lively pace. Ideal for readers who enjoy the Victorian theater.
Introduction
Wilkie Collins (1824 to 1889) and Charles Dickens (1812 to 1870) were friends and collaborators in the 1850s and 1860s. Collins was a master of the sensation novel, the author of The Woman in White and The Moonstone, and Dickens was the most popular novelist of the age. No Thoroughfare, which dates from 1867, was one of several Christmas stories on which they worked together.
The story deals with a theme dear to both writers: the foundling, a child without a family, who must make a place in the world. Here the mystery is one of identity, with two men sharing a name and a trail of consequences that leads to a search for a missing heir. As in much of their work, there are plots, rivalries and unlikely friendships, and the settings range from the offices of London to far more dramatic landscapes.
The text was soon turned into a stage play, and this recording follows the dramatic form, divided into acts and scenes, with an overture to open it. This gives the listening experience a theatrical flavor, since the story moves in distinct scenes, each with its own mood.
The recording has thirteen chapters and lasts just under six hours. It is read by volunteers of LibriVox. It is an ideal choice for fans of Victorian mystery, for readers who would like to know how two great writers worked together, and for anyone who enjoys a good drama with a seasonal flavor. Dickens and Collins had worked together before, and the tale bears the marks of both men: an intricate plot and vivid characters. Listeners who enjoy stories with a theatrical shape will find this a welcome change from straight narration.
Public domain
Wilkie Collins died in 1889: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
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