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War and Peace cover art

War and Peace

By: Leo Tolstoy, Louise Maude - translator, Aylmer Maude - translator
Narrated by: Thandiwe Newton
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Summary

Tolstoy’s epic novel of love and war, in an unabridged performance by Emmy and BAFTA Award-winning actress Thandiwe Newton. 

Some call it the greatest novel ever written. Whether it’s your first time, or you’re ready to dive back in, what better way to experience this epic novel than in this exquisite unabridged reading by Thandiwe Newton?     

War and Peace is at once an epic war chronicle and an exploration of everything that make us all human: love and hate, ambition and despair, life and death. Allow yourself to get lost in the lives of three Russian aristocratic families, whose triumphs and challenges are every bit as resonant to today’s listener as they were to original readers. Thandiwe Newton inhabits each character with such flair that it is easy to forget that you are listening to one voice. 

So cancel all plans, sit back, and let Thandiwe transport you to 19th-century Saint Petersburg....  

Public Domain (P)2021 Audible, Ltd

Featured article: 6 Must-listen classic audiobooks


When you finally get a break from the day-to-day it's the perfect time to get stuck into a classic story. We asked the greatest fan of classic literature in the Audible HQ building for his top picks.

What listeners say about War and Peace

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Classic

What a classic story with the perfect narrator to match much recommend if you can make it through 60+hrs. It’s much worth the listen

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21 people found this helpful

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WHAT A BOOK!

📚 It was time! I was in my twenties when I first read War and Peace. For a while I have wanted to come back to it, and then this came out. Thandiwe Newton, one of my favourite contemporary actors, narrating W&P in a 60 hour marathon. I began it on New Year’s Day and finished it during this morning’s exercise routine. TN is brilliant – so many characters, experiences, contexts and nuances come expertly to life as she reads. As for the book, with its blend of large scale history and smaller scale human life and loves, WHAT A BOOK! It has again amazed me. I cannot better Dostoievsky’s verdict – who can? “My strong conviction is that a writer of fiction has to have most profound knowledge—not only of the poetic side of his art, but also the reality he deals with, in its historical as well as contemporary context. [In Russia] as far as I see it, only one writer excels in this, Count Lev Tolstoy." 🎧 (Michael).

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9 people found this helpful

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A fantastic adventure - highly recommended

I've read War and Peace several times and wasn't sure whether I should bother with the audiobook. I'm so pleased I did. Thandiwe Newton brings Tolstoy's story and characters to life. I have to admit to usually skimming through his epilogue where he rambles on about history and freewill etc. but with Thandiwe's narration I kept going to the very end. If you've never read the story before you really should, and this audible version is perfect. If you've read it before, it's definitely worth revisiting with Thandiwe Newton's assured narration - you won't regret it.

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6 people found this helpful

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  • 14-11-21

Great reading of a classic

Great reading of a classic, the narrator really brings it to life though the dialogue is sometimes spoken in an obnoxiously loud half-yell that could have added character but becomes tiring very quickly

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6 people found this helpful

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Bad narrator

The book interests me but couldnt enjoy this because of the narrator. Will look for a different version.

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5 people found this helpful

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brilliant

a long listen but worth every minute. Thandiwe Newton's performance deserves awards of the highest accolades. what a story, what history, what observation and intelligence. just loved it from beginning to end.

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4 people found this helpful

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Great work

It was a book that I had put off for a long time. I was very glad to find this version. The reading is fantastic, very well done. The only part that bugged me was the pronunciation of the Russian names, they were read as if they were British/American instead of Russian.

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4 people found this helpful

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Wow!

I knew Thandiwe Newton was a fine actor but this must count amongst her best work. Absolutely incredible, epic stuff!

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4 people found this helpful

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Talented narrator

This is one of my favourite books but the first time I’ve listened to it. I love the tangled web of love and deceit and the underlying coming of age story of five characters. It may be long but it’s worth it. As always though, the only bits of the book that become a bit tiresome are Tolstoy’s monologues emphasising his hidden agenda to convert people to his way of thinking about war, not that I disagree, it just interrupts the flow of the story. The narrator was amazing; there are so many characters and she managed to make them all come alive with her inflections and portrayal of their personalities.

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3 people found this helpful

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Superb.

A fantastic book that I’ve reviewed slightly more thoroughly on good reads, but just here to say Thandiwe Newton has done an absolutely incredible job narrating this, phenomenal work.

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2 people found this helpful