Get Your Free Audiobook
-
The Dressmaker
- Narrated by: Rachel Griffiths
- Length: 7 hrs and 38 mins
- Categories: Literature & Fiction, Historical Fiction
Non-member price: $38.24
People who bought this also bought...
-
The Crucible
- By: Arthur Miller
- Narrated by: Stacy Keach, Richard Dreyfuss, Ed Begley Jr., and others
- Length: 1 hr and 58 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the rigid theocracy of Salem, Massachusetts, rumors that women are practicing witchcraft galvanize the town. In the ruthlessness of the prosecutors and the eagerness of neighbor to testify against neighbor, The Crucible mirrors the anti-Communist hysteria in the 1950s.
-
-
SKIPS SO MANY PARTS
- By Anonymous User on 29-01-2018
-
The Dressmaker's Secret
- By: Rosalie Ham
- Narrated by: Caroline Lee
- Length: 13 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is 1953, and Melbourne society is looking forward to coronation season, the grand balls and celebrations for the young queen-to-be. Tilly Dunnage is, however, working for a pittance in a second-rate Collins Street salon. Her talents go unappreciated, and the madame is a bully and a cheat, but Tilly has a past she is desperate to escape and good reason to prefer anonymity.
-
-
Follow on book to The Dressmaker
- By Anonymous User on 10-01-2021
-
Nine Days
- By: Toni Jordan
- Narrated by: Caroline Lee, Tim Potter
- Length: 7 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One family. Nine momentous days. An unforgettable novel of love and folly and heartbreak. It is 1939, and although Australia is about to go to war, it doesn’t quite realise yet that the situation is serious. Deep in the working-class Melbourne suburb of Richmond it is business - your own and everyone else’s - as usual. And young Kip Westaway, failed scholar and stablehand, is living the most important day of his life.
-
Like a House on Fire
- By: Cate Kennedy
- Narrated by: James Millar, Federay Holmes, Vanessa Coffee
- Length: 7 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From prize - winning short - story writer Cate Kennedy comes a new collection to rival her highly acclaimed Dark Roots. In Like a House on Fire, Kennedy once again takes ordinary lives and dissects their ironies, injustices and pleasures with her humane eye and wry sense of humour. In Laminex and Mirrors, a young woman working as a cleaner in a hospital helps an elderly patient defy doctor's orders. In Cross - Country, a jilted lover manages to misinterpret her ex's new life.
-
-
A bit depressing
- By TS on 17-07-2019
-
The Golden Age
- By: Joan London
- Narrated by: Daniel Koek
- Length: 5 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Perth, 1954. Thirteen-year-old Frank, a refugee from wartime Hungary, is learning to walk again after contracting polio. At The Golden Age Children's Convalescent Home, he meets Elsa, and the two patients form a forbidden, passionate bond. The Golden Age becomes the little world that reflects the larger one, where everything occurs: love, desire, music, death and poetry.
-
-
Shame about the narration
- By Anonymous User on 08-12-2019
-
The Lieutenant
- By: Kate Grenville
- Narrated by: Nicholas Bell
- Length: 7 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1787 Lieutenant Thomas Rooke sets sail from Portsmouth with the First Fleet and its cargo of convicts, destined for New South Wales. As a young officer and a man of science, the shy and quiet Rooke is full of anticipation about the natural wonders he might discover in this strange land on the other side of the world. After the fleet arrives in Port Jackson, Rooke sets up camp on a rocky and isolated point, and starts his work of astronomy and navigation.
-
-
Slow start, but stick with it...
- By alison on 28-06-2015
-
The Crucible
- By: Arthur Miller
- Narrated by: Stacy Keach, Richard Dreyfuss, Ed Begley Jr., and others
- Length: 1 hr and 58 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the rigid theocracy of Salem, Massachusetts, rumors that women are practicing witchcraft galvanize the town. In the ruthlessness of the prosecutors and the eagerness of neighbor to testify against neighbor, The Crucible mirrors the anti-Communist hysteria in the 1950s.
-
-
SKIPS SO MANY PARTS
- By Anonymous User on 29-01-2018
-
The Dressmaker's Secret
- By: Rosalie Ham
- Narrated by: Caroline Lee
- Length: 13 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is 1953, and Melbourne society is looking forward to coronation season, the grand balls and celebrations for the young queen-to-be. Tilly Dunnage is, however, working for a pittance in a second-rate Collins Street salon. Her talents go unappreciated, and the madame is a bully and a cheat, but Tilly has a past she is desperate to escape and good reason to prefer anonymity.
-
-
Follow on book to The Dressmaker
- By Anonymous User on 10-01-2021
-
Nine Days
- By: Toni Jordan
- Narrated by: Caroline Lee, Tim Potter
- Length: 7 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One family. Nine momentous days. An unforgettable novel of love and folly and heartbreak. It is 1939, and although Australia is about to go to war, it doesn’t quite realise yet that the situation is serious. Deep in the working-class Melbourne suburb of Richmond it is business - your own and everyone else’s - as usual. And young Kip Westaway, failed scholar and stablehand, is living the most important day of his life.
-
Like a House on Fire
- By: Cate Kennedy
- Narrated by: James Millar, Federay Holmes, Vanessa Coffee
- Length: 7 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From prize - winning short - story writer Cate Kennedy comes a new collection to rival her highly acclaimed Dark Roots. In Like a House on Fire, Kennedy once again takes ordinary lives and dissects their ironies, injustices and pleasures with her humane eye and wry sense of humour. In Laminex and Mirrors, a young woman working as a cleaner in a hospital helps an elderly patient defy doctor's orders. In Cross - Country, a jilted lover manages to misinterpret her ex's new life.
-
-
A bit depressing
- By TS on 17-07-2019
-
The Golden Age
- By: Joan London
- Narrated by: Daniel Koek
- Length: 5 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Perth, 1954. Thirteen-year-old Frank, a refugee from wartime Hungary, is learning to walk again after contracting polio. At The Golden Age Children's Convalescent Home, he meets Elsa, and the two patients form a forbidden, passionate bond. The Golden Age becomes the little world that reflects the larger one, where everything occurs: love, desire, music, death and poetry.
-
-
Shame about the narration
- By Anonymous User on 08-12-2019
-
The Lieutenant
- By: Kate Grenville
- Narrated by: Nicholas Bell
- Length: 7 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1787 Lieutenant Thomas Rooke sets sail from Portsmouth with the First Fleet and its cargo of convicts, destined for New South Wales. As a young officer and a man of science, the shy and quiet Rooke is full of anticipation about the natural wonders he might discover in this strange land on the other side of the world. After the fleet arrives in Port Jackson, Rooke sets up camp on a rocky and isolated point, and starts his work of astronomy and navigation.
-
-
Slow start, but stick with it...
- By alison on 28-06-2015
-
The Crucible: CliffsNotes
- By: Jennifer L. Scheidt M.A.
- Narrated by: Joyce Bean
- Length: 2 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This CliffsNotes study guide on Arthur Miller's The Crucible supplements the original literary work, giving you background information about the author, an introduction to the work, and critical commentaries, all for you to use as an educational tool that will allow you to better understand the work. This study guide was written with the assumption that you have read The Crucible.
-
After Darkness
- By: Christine Piper
- Narrated by: Damien Warren-Smith
- Length: 8 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is early 1942, and Australia is in the midst of war. While working at a Japanese hospital in the port of Broome, Dr. Ibaraki is arrested and sent to Loveday internment camp in a remote corner of South Australia. As tensions at the isolated camp escalate, the doctor's beliefs are thrown into question, and he is forced to confront his past: the promise he made in Japan and its devastating consequences.
-
-
Highly recommended
- By Hiro on 04-10-2020
-
The Year of the Farmer
- By: Rosalie Ham
- Narrated by: Caroline Lee
- Length: 12 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The last few years have been punishingly dry, especially for the farmers, but otherwise, it's all Neralie Mackintosh's fault. If she'd never left town then her ex, the hapless but extremely eligible Mitchell Bishop, would never have fallen into the clutches of the truly awful Mandy, who now lords it over everyone as if she owns the place.
-
-
enjoyable
- By lal67 on 17-10-2018
-
Summer at Mount Hope
- By: Rosalie Ham
- Narrated by: Caroline Lee
- Length: 12 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Phoeba Crupp is a gal of inconveniently independent tendencies, to the concern of her mother and her sisters although not of her father - an eccentric ex-accountant who moved his family from the city to a small farm in rural Australia in order to establish a vineyard - a decision Phoeba's mother bitterly (and loudly) resents. But Phoeba has loved it since the day they arrived. While her sister makes a play for the local squatter's son, Phoeba is content with her best friend Harriet, until circumstances push her towards the world of men and money.
-
-
loved this book
- By Anonymous User on 25-05-2018
-
In Cold Blood
- By: Truman Capote
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 14 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Why we think it’s a great listen: It’s a story that most people know, told here in an unforgettable way – an audio masterpiece that rivals the best thrillers, thanks to Capote genre-defining words and Brick’s subtle but powerful characterizations. On November 15, 1959, in the small town of Holcomb, Kansas, four members of the Clutter family were savagely murdered by blasts from a shotgun held a few inches from their faces. There was no apparent motive for the crime, and there were almost no clues.
-
-
Intriguing Tale Told in Two Perspectives
- By Shalleycat on 01-06-2020
-
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
- By: Tennessee Williams
- Narrated by: Troy W. Hudson
- Length: 4 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof first heated up Broadway in 1955 with its Gothic American story of brothers vying for their dying father's inheritance amid a whirlwind of sexuality, untethered in the person of Maggie the cat. The play also daringly showcased the burden of sexuality repressed in the agony of her husband, Brick Pollitt.
-
Pride and Prejudice
- By: Jane Austen
- Narrated by: Rosamund Pike
- Length: 11 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One of Jane Austen’s most beloved works, Pride and Prejudice, is vividly brought to life by Academy Award nominee Rosamund Pike ( Gone Girl). In her bright and energetic performance of this British classic, she expertly captures Austen’s signature wit and tone. Her attention to detail, her literary background, and her performance in the 2005 feature film version of the novel provide the perfect foundation from which to convey the story of Elizabeth Bennet, her four sisters, and the inimitable Mr. Darcy.
-
-
Wonderful reading of a gorgeous book
- By Belinda on 23-08-2016
-
Ransom
- By: David Malouf
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 4 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
David Malouf shines new light on Homer’s Iliad, adding twists and reflections, as well as flashes of earthy humour, to surprise and enchant. In this exquisite gem of a novel, Achilles is maddened by grief at the death of his friend Patroclus. From the walls of Troy, King Priam watches the body of his son, Hector, being dragged behind Achilles’ chariot. There must be a way, he thinks, of reclaiming the body - of pitting compromise against heroics, new ways against the old, and of forcing the hand of fate.
-
-
Victorian VCE Students
- By Anonymous User on 27-06-2019
-
The Paris Model
- By: Alexandra Joel
- Narrated by: Danielle Carter
- Length: 11 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After a shocking discovery, Grace Woods leaves her vast Australian sheep station and travels to tumultuous postwar Paris in order to find her true identity. While working as a mannequin for Christian Dior, the world's newly acclaimed emperor of fashion, Grace mixes with counts and princesses, authors and artists, diplomats and politicians. But when Grace falls for handsome Philippe Boyer, she doesn't know that he is leading a double life, nor that his past might inflict devastating consequences upon her.
-
-
Fascinating novel
- By Paddington on 09-03-2020
-
All the Light We Cannot See
- By: Anthony Doerr
- Narrated by: Julie Teal
- Length: 17 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Marie Laure lives with her father in Paris within walking distance of the Museum of Natural History where he works as the master of the locks (there are thousands of locks in the museum). When she is six, she goes blind, and her father builds her a model of their neighbourhood, every house, every manhole, so she can memorize it with her fingers and navigate the real streets with her feet and cane. When the Germans occupy Paris, father and daughter flee to Saint-Malo on the Brittany coast, where Marie-Laure's agoraphobic great uncle lives in a tall, narrow house by the sea wall.
-
-
Stunning
- By Sophie on 20-05-2015
-
Summary and Analysis of The Crucible by Arthur Miller
- By: Jon Towns
- Narrated by: Nate Sjol
- Length: 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Crucible is a 1953 play by American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatized and partially fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Massachusetts Bay Colony during 1692-93. Miller wrote the play as an allegory for McCarthyism, when the United States government ostracized people for being communists. Miller himself was questioned by the House of Representatives' Committee on Un-American Activities in 1956 and convicted of contempt of Congress for refusing to identify others present at meetings he had attended.
-
-
Just garbage.
- By Pen Name and That A on 12-05-2018
-
Girl with a Pearl Earring
- By: Tracy Chevalier
- Narrated by: Hattie Morahan
- Length: 7 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An international bestseller with over two million copies sold, this is a story of an artist's desire for beauty and the ultimate corruption of innocence. 17th Century Holland. When Griet becomes a maid in the household of Johannes Vermeer in the town of Delft, she thinks she knows her role: housework, laundry and the care of his six children.
-
-
A lovely gentle story
- By Jennifer2 on 26-10-2020
Publisher's Summary
After 20 years spent mastering the art of dressmaking at couture houses in Paris, Tilly Dunnage returns to the small Australian town she was banished from as a child. She plans only to check on her ailing mother and leave.
But Tilly decides to stay, and though she is still an outcast, her lush, exquisite dresses prove irresistible to the prim women of Dungatar.
Through her fashion business, her friendship with Sergeant Farrat - the town’s only policeman, who harbours an unusual passion for fabrics - and a budding romance with Teddy, the local football star whose family is almost as reviled as hers, she finds a measure of grudging acceptance.
But as her dresses begin to arouse competition and envy in town, causing old resentments to surface, it becomes clear that Tilly’s mind is set on a darker design: exacting revenge on those who wronged her, in the most spectacular fashion.
More from the same
What listeners say about The Dressmaker
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 17-08-2015
Good Aussie yarn
I really enjoyed Rachel Griffiths reading of this novel.
The characters are very funny and the story is hilarious but somehow believable.
The ending didn't really lend itself to a sequel for the main character, but I hope to listen to something similar in the future.
6 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Claire Carroll
- 23-11-2015
Just ok
Found Rachel Griffith's monotone mind numbing, story had potential but I lost track of all the characters. Just ok...
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Min
- 23-02-2017
Worst. Narration. Ever.
Before I downloaded the Dressmaker on Audible, I read many positive reviews of it from fellow Audibles, and as a result, I now have serious trust issues.
Hearing Rachel Griffiths narrate this story was both soul-destroying AND mind-numbing.
It took all the determination I could muster in order to push through this lazy, monotonous drawling, and after four long hours, I gave up and watched the movie (not bad). Still, it serves me right for being too lazy to read the book by myself.
I give this book one star, but only because Kate Winslet looks slammin' on the cover of the book.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Peri
- 21-04-2016
very entertaining
this book took me on an emotional rollercoaster - from tears of laughter to tears of sadness. very cleverly written & quite believable.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- James M
- 13-01-2016
The story was let down by the narration
Would you try another book written by Rosalie Ham or narrated by Rachel Griffiths?
I would not purchase another book narrated by Rachel Griffiths
What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?
The period and the characters were the most interesting aspect of the story
Who might you have cast as narrator instead of Rachel Griffiths?
Cate Blanchett
Did The Dressmaker inspire you to do anything?
I struggled with this book, The only thing I could do in the end was to stop reading.
Any additional comments?
I was really surprised that Rachel Griffith had such an uninspired performance in her reading of the Dressmaker. I was really looking forward to it as I admire her as an on screen actress. May give the Dressmaker another read but on kindle not audible.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jenny
- 12-01-2016
Not a favourite.
I got to chapter 8 and there was still no sign of a storyline. All of the time spent describing multiple characters and almost no time spent on the main character.
Couldn't finish it.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Dannielle
- 17-11-2015
Worst Narration ever.
If I ever have a hard time going to sleep, I know what to listen to. A dead fish has more life than the narration in this book.
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- marion barclay
- 28-10-2015
loved it
This book had every emotion one minute l was laughing then angry as well as crying fabulous
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 11-01-2021
read the reviews hoped it wasn't what they said
great story line but just couldn't get into it with the narrator. the characters were quite bland but they all sounded the same. I just got lost.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 09-11-2020
Contrary to other reviews..
I found Rachael's voice soothing and comforting. She changed her voice slightly for different characters and meaning was portrayed behind her tone. What might come across as mind numbing, I found actually very entertaining. Effortless.. This is Australian humour! I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I do agree it is hard to remember all the characters, especially when the characters have nicknames or change their names. Watching the movie beforehand helped me remember. The comedy and Rachel's voice had me laughing out loud.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- sjvb
- 19-02-2018
sad story
I loved this story but dislike Rachel Griffiths as the narrator . her reading is stilted and pauses in the wrong places. still. I persevered and I I'm glad I did. great book
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Kindle Customer
- 23-10-2015
Dark and funny
Small country towns have secrets - some everybody knows (but don't talk about) and some only known to a few.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- katrina
- 14-09-2016
Shame about the pronunciation....
The book is well-written, but I had trouble figuring out precisely when it was set. The entire story takes place over perhaps a year. The main character receives the new LP of South Pacific, putting it around 1949-1950. They sing God Save the King, which puts it prior to 1953 (When Queen Elizabeth II came to the throne). But then another character requests clothing styled after Marilyn Monroe in Bus Stop (1956)....
I'm sure not all listeners are as picky as me, but this kind of thing became a distraction.
Rachel Griffiths does a good job capturing the essence of this story, with its Dickensian names and often hilarious incidents.
Unfortunately, given that the story is about a dressmaker, it would have been good to have a narrator who knew how to pronounce Schiaparelli, Vionnet, and (worst of all) "couture".
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Samantha
- 28-01-2016
Not a happy read
Would you try another book from Rosalie Ham and/or Rachel Griffiths?
Maybe not
What was most disappointing about Rosalie Ham’s story?
It was grim. Not inspiring. No idea why they made this into a movie, I'm guessing they changed the story for the movie.
Which scene was your favorite?
Nothing really
Was The Dressmaker worth the listening time?
Nope
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Michelle Dixon
- 28-04-2017
Did not like the narrator's accent
Surprisingly, I did not like this book. Everyone who likes sewing would probably like this. I couldn't listen to it because of the narrator's accent. I think I would of liked the story because it sounds like a film I saw once so that's what I based the 3stsrs on.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Amazon Customer
- 14-03-2016
enjoyable
this was totally off my normal type of listen. but thoroughly enjoyable. you can virtually feel the heat
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Mazza
- 21-02-2016
Compulsive listening
I loved listening to this entertaining story as I was sewing myself
I really didn't want the story to end...now I shall look forward to watching the film
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Mrs B.
- 06-12-2015
Not what I was expecting.
I can't say I didn't enjoy all of it but ... It was strange in parts
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Blossom1044
- 03-12-2015
LOVED IT
Would you listen to The Dressmaker again? Why?
Oh yes.
I bought on a whim as love sewing and i loved this book.
What did you like best about this story?
everything. I am going to let me mum listen to it or buy her the book for christmas. great read, fabulous story and hard to put down whether listening or reading./
hope the film lives up to it.
Have you listened to any of Rachel Griffiths’s other performances? How does this one compare?
none, but id be willing to
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
oh yes and almost did -i had to sleep in between.
Any additional comments?
I normally listen/read to science fiction, but the characters and story really came to life for me. top book.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- M Claud Delton
- 02-01-2021
terriblely boring and poorly writeen
not helped but the flat voice of the narrator which makes it even worse to listen too
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Lola465
- 05-07-2020
odd, engaging
i started off finding the protagonist spiky and unlikeable, but the more this story unfolds, the more horrified I was about the town and the people in it and the more I rooted for the dressmaker. would recommend.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Inca
- 21-02-2020
Great book, awful narrator!
Such a shame about the narrator Rachel Griffiths, who seems to have no love or enthusiasm for this beautifully written novel. She has a bored-sounding voice, with hardly any difference in tone or inflection or even expression between the various different characters. Rosalie Ham employs such vivid descriptions, her characters are so unique, so colourful, but Griffiths hurries through the text in the same, flat tone, like she can’t wait to finish the recording and get out of the studio..... I bought this audiobook after listening to Caroline Lee’s superb narration of Ham’s other Australian period piece, Summer At Mount Hope.... which I highly recommend — such a joy to listen to. Bolinda should have let Caroline Lee narrate The Dressmaker too — what a shame they didn’t!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- carol
- 17-01-2018
Better than the film
Really good story, kept me wanting to listen, and not to turn it off, twists and turns of the story, set in an Australian small settlement, really enjoyable
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Queenie
- 21-06-2017
Right up my catwalk.
'The Dressmaker' was thoroughly entertaining, great plot, well voiced and would highly recommend to sewists and more.
1 person found this helpful
20 Best Fantasy Audiobooks
This genre is so full of talent, it can be difficult to know what to listen to next — so look no further than this list to get you started.



20 Best Nonfiction Audiobooks
From the entire history of humanity to astrophysics, to our gut and mental health, dig into this list and learn something new.



Best Australian Podcasts on Audible
Audible Original Podcasts are free for Audible members. Check out this list of home-grown content, from binge-worthy true crime to self-help.


