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War and Peace

BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation

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War and Peace

By: Leo Tolstoy
Narrated by: Paterson Joseph, John Hurt, Simon Russell Beale, Alun Armstrong, Lesley Manville, Stephen Campbell Moore, Roger Allam
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About this listen

Paterson Joseph, John Hurt, Lesley Manville and Harriet Walter are among the cast of BBC Radio 4's epic full-cast dramatisation. Adapted for radio by Timberlake Wertenbaker, Leo Tolstoy's epic story follows the fortunes of three Russian aristocratic families during the Napoleonic War. First broadcast on New Year's Day 2015, the drama also features Alun Armstrong, Natasha Little, David Calder, Phoebe Fox, Sam Reid and Joanna David. Duration: 10 hours approx.

©2017 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2017 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd Classics Drama & Plays Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Russian & Soviet World Literature Funny

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Critic reviews

"Tolstoy's imagined world is recreated on air brilliantly by the extraordinary cast." ( The Spectator)
All stars
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The full 10 hours was originally broadcast on New Year’s Day, 2015, by BBC Radio 4.

The story follows the fortunes of three Russian aristocratic families during the Napoleonic wars - though told with British noble accents. During family gatherings they reminisce and tell each other stories, some of war and some of peace.

A superb list of actors: Alun Armstrong, Sam Reid, John Hurt, Roger Allam, Tom Goodman-Hill……… the list is huge, and whilst this could be a positive I did find the enormous number of characters a little confusing - who was related to who, etc. Maybe a second listen would help make this clearer, or if you have already read the book you should be fine.

I did enjoy War and Peace, though I didn’t love it as much as either the Forsyte saga/ Cazalets dramatisations I’ve recently listed too. This is probably due to not really connecting with a character/s, there are just too many of them.

I did enjoy War and Peace, though I didn’t love it

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Loved this book can't put it down vived picture of the times it was. written

Good story

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excellent very well presented, great story telling cast, I was very surprised I enjoyed it so much

War and peace excellent

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My favorite book of all time. This was a wonderful dramatisation covering the main parts of the story. I can't recommend this highly enough.

A great way in to an absolute classic.

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The dramatization was brilliant!! I'm now going to take on the Herculean task of reading the book.

I am in awe of how Tolstoy expertly juggled the numerous characters against the backdrop of the French- Russian War.

Absolutely loved it, all 9+ hours of it!

Loved it!!!

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Superb performance from a star studded cast. Enthralling and engaging. Does a great book full justice!

Brilliant

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I read War and Peace over 20 years ago. Even by the time I finished I could remember little - too many names, too many threads. I had scant overall sense of it then (despite loving much of Tolstoy's other writing) and practically none at all now.

This radio adaptation, however, is brilliant, bringing it all together, giving voices to the names, and the excellent actors giving character to those voices. At last it has come alive, and almost brought me to tears three times near the end.

With those voices and emotions still with me I now feel moved to return to the original again - in audiobook too - for the 55 hour plunge into Napoleonic Russia. That's a big turnaround.

I can't recommend this radio play / audiobook highly enough. Reading Tolstoy in translation is always going to be an adaptation of sorts; this one has taken that on fully, found a unifying point in the story and woven all the threads back to that moment, making sense of the whole and bringing the myriad characters to life. This is the BBC at its best.

This audiobook restored the original to me

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An excellent production of War & Peace which we have listened to several times and look forward to more. Quite true to the book as it can possibly get, we have 9 hours and 38 mins of pure classic theatre that is beautifully acted by an all star cast who play their parts with aplomb. This is best if you can listen in one go, but still as enjoyable in parts. I could have listened to many more hours, this story just grips me each time. I like it because there are so many characters interwoven, some you like some you despise, but all have a personality behind them that stirkes, power and belief, friendship, love, desire, political intruigue, comradeship, and down right utter selfishness. Its all here in a par excellent production.

Par Excellent Production of War & Peace

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Superb dramatisation and a brilliant cast of narrators. It was a joy to listen to this performance.

Superb

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A dramatic and encapsulating performance of each character's storylines and development, with thought-provoking questions and narratives throughout. Some shocks dashed here and there makes this a compelling listen.
However, due to the creative and immersive way the audio has been mixed and engineered, it is best enjoyed in a quiet space. Character dialogue can sometimes sound rather distant and quiet at first, so limit the noise around you so you can get lost in the characters' storytelling.

A fantastic and thought-provoking story

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