Try free for 30 days

1 credit a month to use on any title, yours to keep (you’ll use your first credit on this title).
Stream or download thousands of included titles.
Access to exclusive deals and discounts.
$16.45 a month after 30 day trial. Cancel anytime.
Hard Times cover art

Hard Times

By: Charles Dickens, Gill Tavner
Narrated by: Graham Bill
Try for $0.00

$16.45 per month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $6.99

Buy Now for $6.99

Pay using voucher balance (if applicable) then card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions Of Use and Privacy Notice and authorise Audible to charge your designated credit card or another available credit card on file.

Publisher's Summary

Hard Times is one of a series of retellings of classic literature by publisher Real Reads. True to the original plot, characters and themes, Real Reads also imitate the original author's style. An intelligent, lively and enjoyable retelling of this classic tale.

Louisa Gradgrind is the practical daughter of a powerful industrialist. Sissy is the imaginative daughter of a clown. What will happen when two such different lives collide? A disappearing father, an unhappy marriage, a handsome suitor and a bank robbery all bring challenges to Louisa's life. Will she be able to control her powerful emotions or will they lead her to ruin?

Set amongst the noisy, dangerous factories of an industrial town, where the workers struggle to survive, 'Hard Times' explores the power that people can have over others, and the suffering that is caused when human emotions are ignored.

©2007 Gill Tavner (P)2007 Gill Tavner

Critic Reviews

"Miniature masterpieces." (BBC Radio 4 Open Book)

What listeners say about Hard Times

Average Customer Ratings

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.