Hard Times: For These Times: Unabridged (Annotated)
Enriched Edition. A Victorian Satire of Industrial England, Utilitarian Education, and Social Class InequalityBy Charles Dickens
Length13h 24m
About this audiobook
Hard Times: For These Times is Dickens's most concentrated social novel, a severe yet artful examination of industrial England, utilitarian education, and the moral impoverishment produced by reducing human beings to "facts." Set in the fictional mill town of Coketown, the novel opposes mechanical rationalism to imagination, sympathy, and emotional truth. Its style is characteristically Dickensian—satirical, theatrical, richly symbolic—yet unusually compressed, giving its critique of capitalism, class division, and educational dogma a sharp, almost allegorical force within the context of Victorian social-problem fiction. Charles Dickens, born in 1812, knew poverty, labor, and institutional cruelty from childhood, especially after his family's financial collapse and his own work in a blacking factory. These experiences shaped his lifelong concern with social injustice. By the 1850s, amid debates over industrialization, political economy, and reform, Dickens turned his formidable narrative gifts toward the spiritual costs of a society governed by profit and calculation. This unabridged edition is recommended to readers seeking Dickens at his most disciplined and polemical. It is essential for students of Victorian literature, social history, and ethical criticism, and remains powerfully relevant wherever efficiency is mistaken for wisdom.
This enriched edition has been carefully crafted to add value to your reading experience.
- A succinct Introduction situates the work's timeless appeal and themes.
- The Synopsis outlines the central plot, highlighting key developments without spoiling critical twists.
- A detailed Historical Context immerses you in the era's events and influences that shaped the writing.
- An Author Biography reveals milestones in the author's life, illuminating the personal insights behind the text.
- A thorough Analysis dissects symbols, motifs, and character arcs to unearth underlying meanings.
- Reflection questions prompt you to engage personally with the work's messages, connecting them to modern life.
- Hand‐picked Memorable Quotes shine a spotlight on moments of literary brilliance.
- Interactive footnotes clarify unusual references, historical allusions, and archaic phrases for an effortless, more informed read.
Audiobook details
Rating★★★★ 3.7 (249.4K)
Includes Goodreads, LibraryThing, StoryGraph, Amazon
GenreLiterary Classics, Humor
Length13 hrs 24 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateDec 30, 2013
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1Hard Times: For These Times: Unabridged (Annotated)
2Introduction
3Synopsis
4Historical Context
5Author Biography
Show all chaptersShow less
6BOOK THE FIRST – SOWING (pt. 1)
7BOOK THE FIRST – SOWING (pt. 2)
8BOOK THE SECOND - REAPING (pt. 1)
9BOOK THE SECOND - REAPING (pt. 2)
10BOOK THE SECOND - REAPING (pt. 3)
11BOOK THE THIRD - GARNERING (pt. 1)
12BOOK THE THIRD - GARNERING (pt. 2)
13Analysis
14Reflection
15Memorable Quotes
David CopperfieldCharles Dickens40h 32m4.2 (587.5K)$47 · $0.00
DICKENS: Sämtliche Romane & NovellenCharles Dickens490h 49m4.6 (163)$2 · $0.00
The Greatest Christmas Murder Mysteries & ThrillersCharles Dickens, Robert Louis Stevenson, Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, George MacDonald, Arthur Cheney Train, Arthur Conan Doyle, Algernon Blackwood, Thomas Hardy, John Kendrick Bangs, Robert Barr, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Grant Allen, Wilkie Collins, O. Henry, Saki, Fergus Hume, Edgar Wallace, William Douglas O'Connor, Florence Marryat, Catherine Crowe, James Bowker, R. Austin Freeman, J. M. Barrie, E. F. Benson, G. K. Chesterton, Jerome K. Jerome, M. R. James, Fred M. White, Sabine Baring-Gould, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Frank R. Stockton, Louisa M. Alcott, Leonard Kip, Emmuska Orczy, Lucie E. Jackson, Katherine Rickford55h 32m$1.99 · $0.00
Weihnachts-Sammelband: Romane, Erzählungen und Gedichte für die Weihnachtszeit (Über 250 Titel in einem Buch) - Illustrierte AusgabeCharles Dickens, Goethe, Johanna Spyri, Agnes Sapper, Karl May, Theodor Fontane, Oscar Wilde, Selma Lagerlöf, Hans Christian Andersen, Frances Hodgson Burnett, Brüder Grimm, Martin Luther, Theodor Storm, Heinrich Heine, Peter Rosegger, E. T. A. Hoffmann, O. Henry, Ludwig Thoma, Manfred Kyber, Heinrich Seidel, Luise Büchner, Hermann Löns, Wilhelm Raabe, Georg Ebers, Adalbert Stifter, Paula Dehmel, Kurt Tucholsky, Walter Benjamin, Ludwig Bechstein, Rainer Maria Rilke, Clemens Brentano254h 53m4.4 (167)$2 · $0.00
Murder Mysteries for the Long Christmas NightCharles Dickens, Robert Louis Stevenson, Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, George MacDonald, Arthur Cheney Train, Arthur Conan Doyle, Thomas Hardy, John Kendrick Bangs, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Grant Allen, Wilkie Collins, Saki, Fergus Hume, Edgar Wallace, William Douglas O'Connor, Florence Marryat, Catherine Crowe, James Bowker, R. Austin Freeman, J. M. Barrie, E. F. Benson, G. K. Chesterton, Jerome K. Jerome, Fred M. White, Sabine Baring-Gould, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Frank R. Stockton, Louisa M. Alcott, M.R. James, Leonard Kip, Emmuska Orczy, Lucie E. Jackson, Katherine Rickford, Bithia Mary Croker, Catherine L. Pirkis55h$1.99 · $0.00
The Best Holiday Mysteries for Christmas TimeCharles Dickens, Robert Louis Stevenson, Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, George MacDonald, Arthur Cheney Train, Arthur Conan Doyle, Algernon Blackwood, Thomas Hardy, John Kendrick Bangs, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Grant Allen, Wilkie Collins, Saki, Fergus Hume, Edgar Wallace, William Douglas O'Connor, Florence Marryat, Catherine Crowe, James Bowker, R. Austin Freeman, J. M. Barrie, E. F. Benson, G. K. Chesterton, Jerome K. Jerome, M. R. James, Fred M. White, Sabine Baring-Gould, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Frank R. Stockton, Louisa M. Alcott, Leonard Kip, Emmuska Orczy, Lucie E. Jackson, Katherine Rickford, Bithia Mary Croker, Catherine L. Pirkis55h 44m$1.99 · $0.00
The Jolly Roger Boxed-SetCharles Dickens, Robert Louis Stevenson, James Fenimore Cooper, Edgar Allan Poe, William Hope Hodgson, Howard Pyle, Jack London, Arthur Conan Doyle, Richard Le Gallienne, Walter Scott, Alexandre Dumas, Frederick Marryat, Washington Irving, Harold MacGrath, Max Pemberton, L. Frank Baum, R. M. Ballantyne, G. A. Henty, J. Allan Dunn, Robert E. Howard, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Charles Johnson500h 20m$1.99 · $0.00
Mystique of the Darkness: 100+ Gothic ClassicsCharles Dickens, Friedrich Schiller, Oscar Wilde, Robert Louis Stevenson, Edgar Allan Poe, William Hope Hodgson, Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, George MacDonald, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Bram Stoker, Charlotte Brontë, Emily Brontë, William Godwin, Henry James, Victor Hugo, Théophile Gautier, Arthur Conan Doyle, Joseph Conrad, Guy Boothby, Jane Austen, Mayne Reid, John Meade Falkner, Guy de Maupassant, George Eliot, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Robert Hugh Benson, Horace Walpole, Frederick Marryat, Thomas Love Peacock, Washington Irving, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Gaston Leroux, Grant Allen, Arthur Machen, Wilkie Collins, Thomas Peckett Prest, James Malcolm Rymer, Robert Browning, Walter Hubbell, Marie Corelli, Charles Brockden Brown, James Hogg, William Blake, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, John Keats, Richard Marsh, Clara Reeve, Charles Robert Maturin, John William Polidori, Lord Byron, W. W. Jacobs, E. F. Benson, M. R. James, E. T. A. Hoffmann, George W. M. Reynolds, William Thomas Beckford, Christina Rossetti, Tobias Smollett, Nikolai Gogol, Mary Shelley, Edward Bulwer-Lytton, Ann Radcliffe, Matthew Gregory Lewis, Eliza Parsons, Eleanor Sleath, Émile Erckmann, Alexandre Chatrian788h 2m$1.99 · $0.00
David CopperfieldCharles Dickens38h 36m4.2 (319.3K)$1.99 · $0.00
Historias de FantasmasCharles Dickens6h 53m4.0 (3.2K)$9.99 · $0.00
Das große Weihnachtsband: Weihnachtsgeschichten, Romane, Märchen & Sagen (Über 280 Titel in einem Buch)Charles Dickens, Selma Lagerlöf, Beatrix Potter, Heinrich Heine, Else Ury, Johanna Spyri, Agnes Sapper, Karl May, Theodor Fontane, Oscar Wilde, Hans Christian Andersen, Frances Hodgson Burnett, Brüder Grimm, Martin Luther, Theodor Storm, Peter Rosegger, E. T. A. Hoffmann, O. Henry, Ludwig Thoma, Manfred Kyber, Heinrich Seidel, Luise Büchner, Hermann Löns, Wilhelm Raabe, Georg Ebers, Adalbert Stifter, Paula Dehmel, Kurt Tucholsky, Walter Benjamin, Ludwig Bechstein, Rainer Maria Rilke, Clemens Brentano328h 25m4.4 (112)$2 · $0.00
The Ultimate Collection of Dective Stories & Murder Mysteries for the HolidaysCharles Dickens, Edgar Allan Poe, Anna Katharine Green, Arthur Conan Doyle, Mary Roberts Rinehart, John Kendrick Bangs, Agatha Christie, Robert Barr, Ellis Parker Butler, Maurice Leblanc, Wilkie Collins, Grace Livingston Hill, Edgar Wallace, Melville Davisson Post, Paul Thorne, Mabel Thorne, Marion Harvey, R. Austin Freeman, A. E. W. Mason, E. W. Hornung, G. K. Chesterton, Victor L. Whitechurch383h 17m4.3 (11)$1.99 · $0.00
Weihnachtsgeschichten, Sagen und Märchen (Über 100 Titel in einem Buch) - Illustrierte AusgabeCharles Dickens, Adalbert Stifter, Goethe, Oscar Wilde, Selma Lagerlöf, Theodor Storm, Peter Rosegger, Hans Christian Andersen, Frances Hodgson Burnett, E. T. A. Hoffmann, O. Henry, Ludwig Thoma, Manfred Kyber, Heinrich Seidel, Luise Büchner, Brüder Grimm, Hermann Löns, Wilhelm Raabe, Georg Ebers, Paula Dehmel, Kurt Tucholsky, Walter Benjamin, Ludwig Bechstein75h 56m4.2 (111)$2 · $0.00
Verliebte Weihnachten: Die schönsten Liebesromane zum FestCharles Dickens, Agnes Günther, Charlotte Brontë, Jane Austen, Nataly von Eschstruth, Eugenie Marlitt, Elisabeth Bürstenbinder, O.Henry136h 12m$1 · $0.00
David CopperfieldCharles Dickens38h 36m4.2 (319.8K)$1.99 · $0.00
CHRISTMAS ESSENTIALS - The Greatest Novels, Tales & Poems for The Holiday Season: 180+ Titles in One Volume (Illustrated)Charles Dickens, Louisa May Alcott, O. Henry, Mark Twain, Beatrix Potter, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Emily Dickinson, Robert Louis Stevenson, Rudyard Kipling, Hans Christian Andersen, Selma Lagerlöf, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Walter Scott, J. M. Barrie, Anthony Trollope, Brothers Grimm, L. Frank Baum, Lucy Maud Montgomery, George MacDonald, Leo Tolstoy, Henry van Dyke, E. T. A. Hoffmann, Clement Moore, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, William Wordsworth, Alfred Lord Tennyson, William Butler Yeats, Eleanor H. Porter, Jacob A. Riis, Susan Anne Livingston, Ridley Sedgwick, Sophie May, Lucas Malet, Juliana Horatia Ewing, Alice Hale Burnett, Ernest Ingersoll, Annie F. Johnston, Amanda M. Douglas, Amy Ella Blanchard, Carolyn Wells, Walter Crane334h 38m$1.99 · $0.00
Die schönsten Weihnachts-Klassiker zur schönsten Zeit des JahresCharles Dickens, Karl May, Johanna Spyri, Selma Lagerlöf, Heinrich Heine, Agnes Sapper, Theodor Fontane, Oscar Wilde, Hans Christian Andersen, Frances Hodgson Burnett, Brüder Grimm, Martin Luther, Theodor Storm, Peter Rosegger, E. T. A. Hoffmann, O. Henry, Ludwig Thoma, Manfred Kyber, Heinrich Seidel, Luise Büchner, Hermann Löns, Wilhelm Raabe, Georg Ebers, Adalbert Stifter, Paula Dehmel, Kurt Tucholsky, Walter Benjamin, Ludwig Bechstein, Rainer Maria Rilke, Clemens Brentano328h 5m4.4 (122)$1 · $0.00
Believe in Love & Joy: The Collection of the Greatest Christmas Novels, Stories, Carols & Legends (Illustrated Edition)Charles Dickens, O. Henry, Mark Twain, Beatrix Potter, Louisa May Alcott, William Shakespeare, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Emily Dickinson, Robert Louis Stevenson, Rudyard Kipling, Hans Christian Andersen, Selma Lagerlöf, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Martin Luther, Walter Scott, J. M. Barrie, Anthony Trollope, Brothers Grimm, L. Frank Baum, Lucy Maud Montgomery, George Macdonald, Leo Tolstoy, Henry Van Dyke, E. T. A. Hoffmann, Clement Moore, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, William Wordsworth, Alfred Lord Tennyson, William Butler Yeats, Eleanor H. Porter, Jacob A. Riis, Susan Anne Livingston, Ridley Sedgwick, Sophie May, Lucas Malet, Juliana Horatia Ewing, Alice Hale Burnett, Ernest Ingersoll, Annie F. Johnston, Amanda M. Douglas, Amy Ella Blanchard, Carolyn Wells, Walter Crane, Thomas Nelson Page, Florence L. Barclay, A. S. Boyd, Booker T. Washington, Lucy Wheelock, Aunt Hede, Frederick E. Dewhurst, Maud Lindsay, Marjorie L. C. Pickthall441h 53m$1.99 · $0.00
Christmas Murder Mystery Boxed-SetCharles Dickens, Edgar Allan Poe, Anna Katharine Green, Arthur Conan Doyle, Mary Roberts Rinehart, John Kendrick Bangs, Agatha Christie, Robert Barr, Ellis Parker Butler, Maurice Leblanc, Wilkie Collins, Grace Livingston Hill, Edgar Wallace, Melville Davisson Post, Paul Thorne, Mabel Thorne, R. Austin Freeman, A. E. W. Mason, E. W. Hornung, G. K. Chesterton, Victor L. Whitechurch383h 15m$1.99 · $0.00
A Christmas CarolCharles Dickens3h 7m4.3 (1.1M)$6 · $0.00
This Side of Paradise - The Original 1920 Edition (Annotated)F. Scott Fitzgerald11h 30m4.6 (1.6K)$2 · $0.00
The Great Gatsby: Original 1925 Edition (An F. Scott Fitzgerald Classic NovelFrancis Scott Fitzgerald4h 45m4.6 (9.3K)$18 · $0.00
Ivanhoe (Annotated)Walter Scott22h 52m4.8 (88)$2 · $0.00
The Fire Next TimeJames Baldwin2h 25m4.6 (159.1K)$15
The Complete Histories / History Plays of William Shakespeare (Annotated)William Shakespeare29h 42m4.6 (2.3K)$1.99 · $0.00
Braving the TruthRachel Held Evans11h 31m4.7 (359)$29 · $0.00
Richard Wagamese SelectedRichard Wagamese3h 14m4.6 (594)$15
The Old Man and the Sea (Annotated)Ernest Hemingway4h 27m4.6 (1.4K)$2 · $0.00
Twelfth Night (The Unabridged Play) + The Classic Biography (Annotated)William Shakespeare, Sidney Lee16h 38m4.6 (1.4K)$2 · $0.00
Henry V (The Play, Historical Background and Analysis of the Character in the Play)William Shakespeare, William Hazlitt8h 40m4.6 (1.3K)$1 · $0.00
Pathways to LightPrakash Amte7h 6m4.6 (1.3K)$8
These Vital SignsSayed Tabatabai3h 20m4.7 (215)$18 · $0.00
H. P. LOVECRAFT Ultimate Collection: Novellas, Short Stories, Poetry & Essays (Annotated)H. P. Lovecraft12h 28m4.6 (2.3K)$2 · $0.00
Time RegainedMarcel Proust15h 54m4.5 (10.6K)$2 · $0.00
Lessons in TruthH. Emilie3h 50m4.6 (1.4K)$4.70 · $0.00
TORAH - Bilingual Edition: English/Hebrew (Annotated)Max Margolis, JPS28h 26m4.6 (1K)$2 · $0.00
The Poetic EddaJackson Crawford6h 24m4.5 (19.8K)$17
Betty Crocker picture cooky bookBetty Crocker, Inc. General Mills2h 13m4.5 (6.5K)$1 · $0.00
The Complete Tales of Beatrix PotterBeatrix Potter3h 36m4.5 (75K)$3 · $0.00
Anne of Green GablesL. M. Montgomery11h 1m4.5 (1.2M)$2.30 · $0.00
Chaos in a CoupeDivya Dugar9h 18m4.7 (177)$18 · $0.00
The Life of DaiDai Henwood, Jaquie Brown8h 2m4.6 (790)$26 · $0.00
What If? 10th Anniversary EditionRandall Munroe7h 29m4.5 (41.4K)$23
Welcome to PawneeJim O'Heir6h 24m4.5 (5.3K)$24 · $0.00
Going PostalTerry Pratchett13h 36m4.5 (163.8K)$33 · $0.00
Woman UninterruptedBrodie Kane7h 1m4.6 (562)$24 · $0.00
1984 & Animal Farm (Annotated)George Orwell15h 54m4.5 (220.8K)$3.99 · $0.00
Kingsblood Royal (Annotated)Sinclair Lewis14h 42m4.6 (264)$2 · $0.00
Hot Cowgirl Sh*tLacie Evans2h 15m4.7 (103)$15
This Is Going to HurtAdam Kay5h 47m4.4 (444.7K)$24 · $0.00
You Will Get Through This NightDaniel Howell6h 56m4.4 (11.8K)$24 · $0.00
Northanger Abbey (Annotated)Jane Austen10h 7m4.5 (1.6K)$2 · $0.00
My Dear HamiltonStephanie Dray, Laura Kamoie23h 7m4.4 (63.6K)$46 · $0.00
THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS & SCREWTAPE PROPOSES A TOAST (Annotated)C. S. Lewis5h 6m4.4 (471K)$2 · $0.00
Jungle UpNick Pirog10h 8m4.4 (3.1K)$20
The 13½ Lives of Captain BluebearWalter Moers16h 10m4.4 (34.3K)$28
Damon Runyon OmnibusDamon Runyon27h4.5 (242)$2 · $0.00
WotchaKev Saunders14h 41m5.0 (18)$8 · $0.00
BufferingHannah Hart5h 55m4.4 (12.4K)$24 · $0.00
The House of Mirth (Annotated)Edith Wharton14h 25m4.3 (109.3K)$1.99 · $0.00
You may also like
Hard Times (Annotated)Charles Dickens13h 14m3.7 (252K)$1.99 · $0.00
HARD TIMES (Illustrated)Charles Dickens12h 58m3.9 (96K)$2 · $0.00
The Complete Novels of Charles Dickens (Illustrated Edition) (Annotated)Charles Dickens514h 10m4.6 (6.7K)$1.99 · $0.00
A Modest ProposalJonathan Swift24m4.2 (83.9K)$6 · $0.00
Martin ChuzzlewitCharles Dickens33h 5m3.9 (24.3K)$2 · $0.00
Heartbreak HouseGeorge Bernard Shaw5h 30m3.9 (12K)$2.30 · $0.00
The Gilded Age, A Tale of TodayMark Twain15h 58m3.6 (21.5K)$1 · $0.00
Little DorritCharles Dickens36h 2m4.1 (134.1K)$2 · $0.00
Autobiography of Mark Twain, Vol. 2Mark Twain26h 15m4.5 (816)$30
ResurrectionLeo Tolstoy19h 19m4.2 (35.6K)$3 · $0.00
Democracy, an American novelHenry Adams8h 59m3.6 (1.5K)$2 · $0.00
TWILIGHT SLEEPEdith Wharton11h3.8 (1.8K)$2 · $0.00
Hard TimesCharles Dickens11h 29m3.7 (103.1K)$21
Complete Short Stories and Novellas of Fyodor Dostoyevsky (Unabridged) (Annotated)Fyodor Dostoyevsky71h 55m4.5 (2.8K)$2 · $0.00
The Gilded Age (Annotated)Mark Twain19h 8m3.7 (13.1K)$2 · $0.00
The Unbearable BassingtonSaki6h 47m3.9 (1.8K)$1 · $0.00
Hard TimesCharles Dickens11h 25m3.7 (97.9K)$1.80 · $0.00
Chekhov's Short StoriesAnton Pavlovich Chekhov114h 36m4.4 (1.9K)$2.30
The House with the Green ShuttersGeorge Douglas Brown10h 25m3.8 (1.3K)$2 · $0.00
CandideVoltaire3h 57m4.0 (351.1K)$2.30