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A Christmas Carol full cast audiobook

by Charles Dickens

Released · Updated · 2h 52m · 37 voices

The story (no spoilers)

Ebenezer Scrooge, a solitary old moneylender in Victorian London, spends Christmas Eve guarding his coins and turning away everyone who asks for kindness. His clerk, Bob Cratchit, shivers over a coal fire barely bigger than a candle flame, and his cheerful nephew Fred is sent off with a growl. Then Scrooge's late business partner, Jacob Marley, appears in chains forged from his own greed, with a warning that the same fate is being fastened link by link around Scrooge. Three spirits are to follow, each leading him through a different Christmas: the one he has lost, the one unfolding in homes he has never cared to visit, and the one still waiting ahead. Among those homes is the crowded, struggling household of the Cratchits, where a frail child leans on his father's shoulder. As the night unfolds, Scrooge must face what his life has been worth and whether a man so long hardened can still be reached before the last bell sounds.

The cast

15 speaking roles are listed; walk-on parts are not. Each voice was designed, or chosen from our library of designed voices, to fit how the book describes the character, and it stays with them from the first chapter to the last. Portraits are illustrated impressions of each character.

  • Illustrated portrait of Scrooge: about 68, thin steel-grey hair, sparse on top, threadbare charcoal coat with a faded olive-brown muffler

    Scrooge

    Male, about sixty-two years old, an Englishman living in London in 1843, a wealthy but miserly counting-house owner. He speaks with a clipped, dry London merchant accent. His voice is a thin, grating, slightly high tenor with a nasal rasp, from a gaunt frame stiffened by cold. He speaks in curt, sarcastic bursts, slowing when shaken. Irritable, wary and scornful, with a hidden softness.

  • Illustrated portrait of Fred: about 32, thick wavy chestnut-brown hair, claret-red waistcoat with a cream cravat under a tan coat

    Fred

    Male, about thirty-three years old, an Englishman living in London in 1843, a comfortable middle-class gentleman of business. He speaks in a clear, educated London accent. His voice is a bright, ringing light baritone, healthy and warm, with an easy laugh in it. He speaks at a quick, lively pace in a gay, open tone. Cheerful, forgiving, generous and good-humoured.

  • Illustrated portrait of Bob Cratchit: about 45, thinning sandy-brown hair, shabby black coat with a long comforter scarf in bright cranberry-red

    Bob Cratchit

    Male, about forty-five years old, an Englishman living in London in 1843, a poor, working clerk of lower-middle class. He speaks in a soft London lower-middle-class accent. His voice is a light, warm, slightly thin tenor, a little hoarse from cold, and trembles when moved. He speaks gently at a moderate pace. Mild, cordial, patient and loving.

  • Illustrated portrait of Mrs. Cratchit: about 42, auburn hair going grey at the temples, pinned under a cap, twice-turned gown with ribbons in cheap bright cherry-red

    Mrs. Cratchit

    Female, about forty years old, an Englishwoman living in London in 1843, a poor working-class mother and housekeeper. She speaks in a brisk, lower-class London accent. Her voice is a warm, slightly worn mezzo, quick and expressive. She speaks in fluent, bustling bursts, with affection in her tone. Motherly, spirited and quick to indignation.

  • Illustrated portrait of Ghost of Christmas Past: about 40, pure white hair, flowing and glowing, white tunic trimmed with summer-flower yellow and a gold belt

    Ghost of Christmas Past

    Male, about thirty-five years old, an English spirit of memory appearing in 1843, a calm, gentle guide. He speaks in soft, refined received pronunciation. His voice is a clear, light, slightly airy tenor with a cool, glassy quality. He speaks slowly and evenly in a grave, quiet tone. Calm, patient, thoughtful and gently reproving.

  • Illustrated portrait of Belle: about 22, golden-blond hair in smooth centre-parted ringlets, black mourning dress with a white lace collar

    Belle

    Female, about twenty-four years old, an Englishwoman living in London in 1843, a gentle middle-class young woman of modest means. She speaks in soft, educated London English with a refined accent. Her voice is a low, soft mezzo, clear and tender. She speaks slowly and evenly in measured sentences. Honest, composed and sorrowful, frank without bitterness.

  • Illustrated portrait of Joe: about 70, bald crown with straggly ginger-grey tufts at the sides, filthy patched brown jacket with a mustard-stained neckcloth

    Joe

    Male, about sixty-eight years old, an Englishman living in the London slums in 1843, a working-class rag-and-bottle dealer. He speaks in a broad, hoarse Cockney accent. His voice is a gravelly, cracked baritone worn by pipe smoke. He speaks slowly, wheedling and wry, with a chuckle. Shrewd, mercenary and jocular.

  • Illustrated portrait of Fezziwig: about 66, bald dome with a fluffy fringe of snowy white hair, plum-purple capacious waistcoat with a white stock

    Fezziwig

    Male, about sixty-six years old, an Englishman living in London in 1843, a prosperous, generous warehouse merchant. He speaks with a warm Midlands accent. His voice is a round, rich, booming baritone from a stout frame, full of smiles. He speaks at an exuberant, ringing pace. Jovial, hearty and generous.

  • Illustrated portrait of Scrooge's niece: about 28, rich auburn ringlets worn loose to the shoulders, teal-blue gown with a lace fichu

    Scrooge's niece

    Female, about twenty-six years old, an Englishwoman living in London in 1843, a comfortable middle-class housewife and harp player. She speaks in a bright, educated London accent. Her voice is a light, quick soprano, melodic and ready to laugh. She speaks at a lively, direct pace. Warm, loyal and spirited.

  • Illustrated portrait of Mrs. Dilber: about 55, coarse greying black hair under a bonnet, worn laundress's shawl in faded magenta over a brown dress

    Mrs. Dilber

    Female, about fifty years old, an Englishwoman living in the London slums in 1843, a working-class laundress. She speaks in a flat, nasal Cockney accent. Her voice is a dry, thin alto, a little wheezy from hard work. She speaks in short, blunt phrases at a steady pace. Unsentimental, practical and matter-of-fact.

  • Illustrated portrait of Peter: about 14, tousled ginger hair, oversized white shirt with a huge pointed collar, blue neckcloth

    Peter

    A thirteen-year-old English boy, a clerk's son in the 1840s, with a soft London working-class accent. His voice is mid-high and still unbroken, slight, newly breaking, with steady, dutiful energy. He is quiet, bookish, good-natured.

  • Illustrated portrait of Caroline: about 30, light brown hair in a plain bun, modest lavender-grey shawl over a plain gown

    Caroline

    Female, about thirty years old, an Englishwoman living in a northern town household in 1843, a poor working-class wife. She speaks in a soft Lancashire accent. Her voice is a thin, tired, slightly husky mezzo. She speaks slowly and anxiously, with hope in her tone. Gentle, worried and quietly hopeful.

  • Illustrated portrait of Fan: about 8, light brown hair in two bunches with ribbons, sky-blue pinafore dress with a white collar and bonnet strings

    Fan

    An eight-year-old English girl, a schooler in the 1840s, with a clear soft middle-class English accent. Her voice is high-pitched, tiny, light, with bright, excited energy. She is eager, loving, joyful.

  • Illustrated portrait of Martha: about 16, black hair in a tight plait pinned up under a bonnet, patched dress in russet orange with a tiny white collar

    Martha

    A fourteen-year-old English girl, a milliner's apprentice in the 1840s, with a London working-class accent. Her voice is fairly high-pitched, light, bright, slightly tired, with warm and gentle energy. She is kind-hearted, dutiful, affectionate.

  • Illustrated portrait of Tiny Tim: about 6, fine fair hair, neatly combed, patched jacket in moss-green with a wide white collar

    Tiny Tim

    A six-year-old English boy, a clerk's son in the 1840s, with a soft London working-class accent. His voice is high-pitched, frail, tiny, with plaintive, sweet energy. He is happy, gentle, affectionate.

Chapters

6 chapter markers; each link opens the video on YouTube at that point.

  1. Preface
  2. Stave One
  3. Stave Two
  4. Stave Three
  5. Stave Four
  6. Stave Five

About this recording

Narrator
Hugh Ellery, our house narrator voice
Runtime
2h 52m (complete and unabridged)
Voices
37
Channel
Cozy Audiobooks on YouTube
Released
Updated
Author
Charles Dickens
First published
1843
Kind
ghost/holiday novella
Source edition
Project Gutenberg eBook #24022
Public domain (US)
A Christmas Carol (1843) by Charles Dickens is in the public domain in the United States; text from Project Gutenberg.