NEWARK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Audible Studios, a production arm of Audible.com, today announced the release of beloved stage and screen actor Richard Armitage’s audio interpretation of Charles Dickens’ most autobiographical novel, David Copperfield. This impassioned performance by the star of Hannibal and The Hobbit is now available for download at audible.com/Copperfield.
"I think David Copperfield is Dickens’ broadest, most humorous and moving epic novel,” said Armitage. “His treatment in this work of birth, life, love and death had a huge impact on me the first time I read it. It gave me immense pleasure to attempt to bring these vivid characters to life for Audible. The resilience and tenacity of the central protagonist and the paths which Dickens carves out for David, through his extraordinary life, touch the heart and soul, bringing tears of both laughter and of deep sadness.”
“That this work was considered largely autobiographical makes for a truly immersive read and is one of my favorite works of classic English literature,” added Armitage. “I'm very proud to have been asked to read this beloved book. I hope you enjoy listening.”
“David Copperfield is among Dickens’ most enduring and popular novels, and now there’s another reason to experience—or revisit—this remarkable and inventive imagining of one man’s life,” said Audible EVP and Publisher Beth Anderson. “With every recording, we strive to identify the perfect match of text and actor, and we think listeners will agree that Richard Armitage and David Copperfield is that ideal pairing. Fans of Richard’s television and film work are going to love spending time at the gym or in the car as he tells them this story.”
In addition to his impressive television and film resume, Armitage is a renowned and polished audiobook narrator. His 2015 performance of Classic Love Poems, also published by Audible Studios, was one of the bestselling audiobooks of the year, and is a finalist for the Audie Award in the “Best Male Narrator” category. His recording of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark: A Novel, was named Audible’s best audiobook of the year in 2014.
In addition to Armitage, among the acclaimed performers who have narrated works of literature for Audible are Rosamund Pike, Dan Stevens, James Franco, Jesse Eisenberg, Jake Gyllenhaal, Kate Winslet and Tim Robbins. In 2013, Audible Studios won its first Grammy Award, for its production of Janis Ian’s memoir Society’s Child, and also won the Audie Award for Audiobook of the Year, for Colin Firth’s performance of Graham Greene’s The End of the Affair. Audible is nominated for a Grammy in the Best Spoken Word Album category again this year, for Ian’s performance, with Jean Smart, of Isabel Miller’s GBLT classic Patience and Sarah.
Audible, the world’s largest seller and producer of downloadable audiobooks and other spoken-word content, invented and commercialized the first digital audio player in 1997, and has since been at the forefront of the explosively growing audiobook download segment. In 2015, listeners around the world downloaded 1.6 billion hours of audio from Audible.com outlets; Audible members downloaded an average of more than 17 books over the course of the year. Two thirds of new Audible members are first-time audiobook buyers.
ABOUT AUDIBLE, INC.
Audible, Inc., an Amazon.com, Inc. subsidiary (NASDAQ:AMZN), is the leading provider of premium digital spoken audio information and entertainment, offering customers a new way to enhance and enrich their lives every day. Audible was created to unleash the emotive music in language and the habituating power and utility of verbal expression. Audible content includes more than 250,000 audio programs from leading audiobook publishers, broadcasters, entertainers, magazine and newspaper publishers, and business information providers. Audible is also the preeminent provider of spoken-word audio products for Apple’s iTunes Store.