C.S. Lewis’ acclaimed and universally loved novels spring to life in these spellbinding full-cast BBC dramatisations.
Anyone who’s visited Narnia wants to go back again, and these radio dramas make for a hugely entertaining first-time or return journey, with a cast including Bernard Cribbins, Maurice Denham, Richard Griffiths, Martin Jarvis, Sylvester McCoy, John Sessions, Fiona Shaw, and Timothy Spall.
"The Magician’s Nephew": When Polly and Digory discover some magic rings, they begin the most exciting and dangerous journey of their lives - and encounter the mighty lion Aslan.…
"The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe": Lucy, Peter, Edmund and Susan enter a magical world of talking fauns and flying horses, where the evil White Witch has cast Narnia in perpetual winter.
"The Horse and His Boy": Shasta and his talking horse Bree flee from a life of slavery and head for the freedom of Narnia, facing many perils along the way.
"Prince Caspian": Peter, Susan, Lucy, and Edmund are called upon to help Caspian free Narnia of his evil uncle’s regime and reclaim freedom and happiness.
"The Voyage of the Dawn Treader": Edmund, Lucy, and Eustace join King Caspian on a perilous mission to find his friends, the seven lost Lords of Narnia.
"The Silver Chair": Jill and Eustace set out to find King Caspian’s lost son, and in the grim land of the Earthmen they encounter the wicked Green Lady.
"The Last Battle": The King is in danger, and Narnia faces its darkest hour. Eustace and Jill must help its people fight for the future of the once-glorious kingdom.
©2014 BBC Worldwide Ltd (P)2014 BBC Worldwide Ltd
"Abridged but Great Performance"
I enjoyed the full cast of characters and the sound effects that complemented the scenes.
The most memorable moments for me are from "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" because that story was the one I'd heard most as a child and so it stuck with me more than the others.
(Spoilers) My favorite scene was at the end of The Silver Chair when Aslan and Caspian return to our world with Eustace and Jill and frighten away the bullies.
I did laugh at quite a few parts throughout the book.
If you haven't read any of the books and really want to, you might want to get a full unabridged copy. If you like full-cast dramatizations or you have already read the full books I do recommend this. You get all the books for one credit, which is a great deal in my opinion. Sometimes the sound effects were loud enough to drown the words but it was well-performed in general and was well worth it.
"Should say "abridged""
I love the chronicles of Narnia so I was happy to see a complete collection in one purchase. I didn't realize it was going to be so different from the books. All the actors were great, especially the kids but we miss all the great narration by CS Lewis which is what I love about Narnia. I wish the description had indicated (more than just the word "dramatized") that it was so different from the books. Prince Caspian was completely changed. I still loved it but I'll have to spend more on the actual audio books.
thecrunchybunch
"I agree with others, it should say abridged."
I agree with others, it should say abridged. I would not have wasted a credit on this had I known.
"I love these books and they have come alive!"
These have been some of my favorite books since the age of 12 -many years ago in the bronze age! When I saw the ratings on this audible book and that it was ALL the books, I was hooked. What a gift. The cast is wonderful and they bring the characters to life! I have been listening to it before I go to sleep. If I fall asleep before my sleep timer kicks in--not a problem as I know them so well, I can pick right up in the car the next morning. If you love Narnia, buy this! You won't regret it.
EVERYTHING!
Lucy.
These are old friends, so it's hard to pick a moment. But I do remember Eustace remarking to Lucy and Edmond that he hated that holidays were over. Lucy remarked about what a let down it was to leave Narnia. Eustace said the main problem was that he had to go back to school. You could hear the dread and distress. Then the laughter as the 3 agreed that Eustace's parents would be worried about the bad influence the Pensie kids were.
"Great book series"
I really enjoyed these books. The dramatization was outstanding. The thing that would make this series better if they were unabridged, I would rate them five stars across the board. Unfortunately they are abridged thus leaving me wanting more. That said, I would highly recommend this series.
Gamer galore
"well done!"
the only problem I had was sometimes while characters were whispering or moving further away it made it hard to hear without assisting the volume.
"Truly a timeless classic"
It was really awesome hearing and in turn visualize my favorite childhood books and stories of Narnia come to life with the Narrator and the actors acting out the scenes, you can visualize it 100%. They brought the books to life really well. I enjoyed and love it all the way thro.
"Amazing!"
Amazing account in full cast audio. Kids and I loved it! Many great life lessons taught in story form. Highly recommend for anyone!
"Great Story, but..."
This story is definitely worth a credit, don't get me wrong. I probably shouldn't be complaining since others clearly noted that this is an abridged version. If you know the stories well though, it is kind of sad when they leave out things like the first joke. I also have heard dramatized versions that had an amazing rendition of Puddleglum's acting drunk before the giant king and queen. This version left that out entirely. And yes it is dramatized, which I found myself noticing over and over again. They would have one of the characters tell what was happening as it happened, instead of just having a narrator tell the story. And some of the voices just weren't that inspiring. If I had it to do over again, I might just go home and read the book. Or maybe I'd buy all the individual ones unabridged. Basically I've heard better dramatizations of this story. Nevertheless, it is a great story, and I highly recommend it.
"An treasure indispensable for any lover of book"
This book is among the 50 best books I've read/listened until now, because is very catchy,, full of fantasy created by the author,with cultural references,and development of the characters or any other detail that a complex project like this has.
The book contains seven chronic, and each appears new characters and characters from previous stories appear mature, so it's hard choose one character. For me, every story has important characters that enrich the world created by the author.
I loved. All cast incorporated and experienced every story managed. Some character becomes annoying. At other times we lost breath. What more can I say? For me, all the cast was and is amazing.
No one that I'd coment.
I bought the book in another consumerist impulse to my resume and I think the right thing. For those that watched the films, the order in which the stories are presented in the book are strange. But, like Always, the book is much better than the films. Those that deteste the films because they are very children's like will be get surprise by how the book is amazing.
For everyone that love books, this is an indispensable acquisition.
"Fantastic"
Amazing its the FULL Narnia chronicles not just the films well worth buying love it.
"The reason I became a voice actor..."
As a child in the 90s, my mother bought me BBC Radio 4's The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe to listen to on a long car journey. My younger sister and I loved the dramatisation so much that we listened to it incessantly on repeat. From then on, each Christmas or Birthday brought the next instalment until we had all seven of the BBC's Narnia dramatisations.
Almost twenty years later, I am a voice actor myself, reading audiobooks for a living! This morning, I received an Audible newsletter with suggestions of what books I might enjoy. Right in the middle was BBC's Chronicles of Narnia! I cannot explain my excitement! It had been almost 15 years since I'd listened to any of these stories!
"Excellent retelling of a great classic."
this BBC adaptation is an excellent retelling of the classic Chronicles of Narnia by C S Lewis. not a complete reading of the original books, but it seems to contain alk other essential elements from the original books.
"A worthy addition to any collection"
This dramatization complements the original stories beautifully. Each scene has been carefully crafted with the sort of audio landscape you would naturally expect from any quality BBC production.
Probably Mr. Tumnus; who wouldn't want to have tea with him?
Probably the final entry into the Witch's castle, but there really are far too many to choose from, particularly as all seven stories have been combined herein.
I defy anyone not to become emotionally involved with these tales.
How wonderful to have all seven performances combined into a single Audible book. I first heard the Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe dramatization as an eight-year-old and was too terrified to advance beyond the first thirty minutes for many months following our first encounter with the White Queen. Over twenty years later, the tales continue to thrill, inspire, sadden and intrigue me, even though I have heard and reread them countless times. These dramatizations really are outstanding - they appealed to me as a child when perhaps the stories on their own wouldn't have. A worthy addition to any collection with timeless value derived from first class storytelling and excellent performances from many renowned actors.
"Amazing audio experience"
From the music to the characters to the incredible storyline. A firm favorite that we have already listened to twice.
"Good old fashioned adventure"
These are lovely abridged dramatisations of the Narnia series. Great value to get the full set as one book. Most of the detail is here even though it is abridged.
"Excellent!"
Really impressed with how these books have come to life, highly recommended to all ages. Excellent, great quality all round.
"Fantastic listen!!"
This is a full cast recording of all of the Narnia books and is fantastically done, the characters are well developed and you can always keep up with what is happening, so for a single credit it would be foolish nothe to purchase!
I won't say anything to spoil any of the books, but the Final Battle was definitely my favorite, it had a lot of depth and mystery to it.
But this is essentially 7 mini plays, professionally done and you'd be a fool to miss out if you like Narnia or are completely new to the series.
"Children's classics suitable for all"
This is a dramatisation of the chronicles of Narnia and is a good medium to either experience CS Lewis' classics for the first time or revisit childhood memories.
A good counterpoint to Pullman's Northern Lights series.
Excellent narration, very easy to follow and good to see the complete works rather than just the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
"A great play"
They each have their own merits but I read all seven books when I was younger so I wanted to experience the story a different way.
The links between the various books/plays are great and the overall continuing story and the individual plots are unique and interesting.
I'm not sure if I've heard Maurice Denham's dramatisations before but I've heard many BBC Radio 4 plays and as far as I recollect I've enjoyed them all. Yet again this Audiobook dramatisation showcases the BBC at its best.
The classic resurrection of Aslan and the victories of good versus evil are all moving in their own ways.
I would recommend anyone to experience one of the BBC Radio 4 dramatisations as all the ones I've heard (both by buying them on Audible and by listening to Radio 4) are truly excellent.