We’ve chosen a small portion of the world’s most superb narrators as representatives of the art of the spoken word. These are all on our “they speak, we listen” list.

Alex Jennings – A gorgeous reading of Shakespeare’s sonnets is performed by this wonderful British actor. Fall in love with Susan Cooper’s The Dark is Rising series as narrated by Alex Jennings. And don’t miss Pompei by Robert Harris, By the Pricking of my Thumbs by Agatha Christie, and many other titles, both the classics and modern stories, read by Jennings.

Philip Madoc – It’s been said of Philip Madoc’s reading in the superb Naxos abridgement of the Old Testament that… “Oh God. Oh Madoc.” A rich, redolent voice… he is the Moses of audiobooks. His readings include the Canterbury Tales, The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, and much more.

Derek Jacobi – Who in the entire world could resist Jacobi’s narration of The Iliad and The Odyssey? No one, surely… and the brilliant British actor’s readings extend to such diverse material as mysteries by Josephine Tey and Sherlock Holmes (among many others), great classics, much modern fiction, the Voyage of the Dawn Treader (C.S. Lewis), Tolkien’s Roverandom and Farmer Giles, and so much more.

Martin Jarvis – The consummate voice actor! No one could perform Just William as Martin Jarvis does. And there are so many titles read by him… Kafka’s Metamorphasis, stories by Jeffrey Archer and Dick Francis, classics by Charles Dickens, among many others.

Stephen Fry – Wry wit and charm are the hallmark of Stephen Fry’s narrations. Among his readings are the Harry Potter novels, Douglas Adams’ Salmon of Doubt, and Fry’s own books such as Moab is my Washpot and The Ode Less Travelled.

Martin Shaw – Depth and elegance characterise Shaw’s wonderful readings of Tolkien’s Silmarillion and an abridged reading of The Hobbit, Gulliver’s Travels (abridged), various Jeffrey Archer novels, and many more.

Rob Inglis – Tolkien lovers will be familiar with the wonderful voice of Rob Inglis from his complete reading of Lord of the Rings (the only unabridged reading!) and the complete unabridged reading of The Hobbit. Every nuance of Tolkien’s atmospheric works of high adventure is captured.

Stephen Thorne – What a love affair this man has with audiobooks! To many, he’s the king of the spoken word – his is a resonant voice of great richness. Among his many audiobook narrations are the unabridged Cadfael mysteries by Ellis Peters, unabridged suspense novels by Hammond Innes, great classics such as Far From The Madding Crowd (Thomas Hardy), and many more – he also reads the role of Aslan in the BBC dramatisations of the Narnia Chronicles.

Miriam Margolyes – The beautifully enunciated and warm readings by British actress Miriam Margolyes include The Little White Horse (Elizabeth Goudge), Miss Garnet’s Angel (Sally Vickers), Dickens’ Women, Portrait of a Lady (Henry James), and the Worst Witch audiobooks (Jill Murphy).

Anton Lesser – British Shakespearian actor Anton Lesser uses his tenor speaking voice to superb effect as an audiobook narrator. His readings of Dickens (Great Expectations, The Pickwick Papers, etc.) are landmarks; he also reads the unabridged Riddle Of The Sands (Erskine Childers), mysteries by various writers, is one of the readers of the Naxos modern English Canterbury Tales collection, and endows his narrations of Philip Pullman’s Sally Lockheart series (Ruby in the Smoke, The Tin Princess, etc.) with the sort of fine detail and excitement that only a master can produce.

Neville Jason – There is no doubt that Neville Jason’s deliciously cool British voice is the ideal vehicle for Naxos’ mammoth audiobook collection of Proust’s Remembrance of Things Past – Neville Jason was also the editor who produced the abridgement of the work. He has narrated many other books, including the Very Short Introduction to Freud, The Castle of Otranto (one of the first gothic novels ever written), Vasari’s Lives of the Great Artists, and many more.

Samuel West – Samuel West, son of the actor Timothy West, is a brilliant narrator with a great sense of immediacy in his readings. Among his narrations are the Kevin Crossley-Holland Arthur stories (At the Crossing Places; The Seeing Stone), Hardy’s The Woodlanders, Alistair MacLean’s The Way to Dusty Death, and many others.

Timothy West – The beautiful and authoritative voice of Timothy West is closely associated with his superb readings of the unabridged Barchester stories by Anthony Trollope, the tongue-in-cheek adventures of Flashman (by George M. Fraser), Schama’s History of Britain, Mortimer’s Rumpole stories, and many more.

Lynn Redgrave – British actress Lynn Redgrave is a household name for her subtle and powerful performances on stage and screen, and as an audiobook narrator one can appreciate how beautifully she uses her voice. Among her many audiobook readings are the unabridged Prince Caspian (by C.S. Lewis), Two Princesses of Bamarre (Gail Carson Levine), Inkheart (by Cornelia Funke), and much more.

Fiona Shaw – With her role in the Harry Potter films, veteran Shakespearian actress Fiona Shaw became known to many who’d previously been unaware of her very fine work. Fiona Shaw’s audiobook work includes readings of Jane Austen novels, Robin Jarvis’s Deptford Mysteries, Alice in Wonderland, and more.

Frank Muller – Gifted with one of the most atmospheric American voices in the industry, Frank Muller made Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series his own. He also narrated many other audiobooks, including Green Mile, Clancy’s Hunt for Red October, Elmore Leonard detective fiction, and more.

Michael York – Michael York’s distinctive British voice is used to superb effect in his audiobook narrations of a wide range of titles, including Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, C.S. Lewis’s The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe, Stephen Hawking’s The Theory of Everything, and many more titles. There is no nuance he misses – a truly great voice.

Michael Sheen – British actor Michael Sheen is one of the best Romeos available on audio – with Kate Beckinsale as his Juliet, he is ardent, youthful, and idealistic. Among his beautifully articulated narrations are Dostoyevsky’s Crime & Punishment, Laclos’s Dangerous Liaisons, Great Poets of the Romantic Age, and more – he is also superb as Oedipus in the play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles.

Anna Massey – Veteran British actress Anna Massey is a warm and charming audiobook narrator who seems to have every nuance of character in her vocie. Among her many readings are Cold Comfort Farm (Stella Gibbons), Murder in Mesopotamia (Agatha Christie), Northanger Abbey and Persuasion (Jane Austen), the This Sceptred Isle series by Christopher Lee, and much more.

Andrew Sachs – famous for his role as Manuel in Fawlty Towers, Andrew Sachs is a delightful audiobook narrator who communicates the sheer magic of the books he reads. Among his many narrations are Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (Ian Fleming’s non-James-Bond children’s story!), Boy (Roald Dahl), the Narnia Chronicles by C.S. Lewis, unabridged general fiction by Dirk Bogarde, fiction by Peter Mayle, George Eliot’s Silas Marner, and much more.

Please feel free to contact us with any questions.