The magnificent Stephen Briggs switches effortlessly from Cohen's Yiddish accent, to Dodger's cockney, to Simplicity's girlish timbre, to the Outlander's 'not Chinese, but not German' accent, to Serendipity's carefully-cultivated Somerset accent, not to mention all the other characters' - male and female - unique voices.

Perhaps even more, we come to love Dodger's landlord and mentor, Solomon Cohen, who has done some hair-raising surviving of his own. We quickly learn to love and root for Dodger, whose smarts have kept alive in a cruel world, without subverting his good heart. Well, he also does a bit of scavenging above ground, too.

Here (in Pratchett's world, of course), we learn that Dickens not only derived his character, The Artful Dodger, from this eponymous protagonist, but that he derived almost 𝙖𝙡𝙡 of his ideas from Dodger, by following him around, taking notes! Dodger is a 'tosher' in Victorian London: He makes his living by scavenging coins and jewelry that the 'nobs' have carelessly let fall through the sewer grates. You will appreciate 'Dodger' especially if you have previously read some of Charles Dickens' novels, like 'Oliver Twist,' in particular. I enjoyed 'Dodger' so much that I turned right around and listened to it again, immediately. You can almost hear something finely-crafted and well-oiled clicking into place, like the Universe doing something right. Now it has happened again with Terry Pratchett and Stephen Briggs. That happened with Elizabeth Peters and Barbara Rosenblat. As soon as you hear 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 actor performing 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 author's creation, you know that those two talents were meant to come together, rendering something magical and beautiful. Some author / narrator combinations were clearly made in heaven. He's not about to let anything happen to the unknown girl - not even if her fate impacts some of the most powerful people in England.įrom Dodger's encounter with the mad barber Sweeney Todd to his meetings with the great writer Charles Dickens and the calculating politician Benjamin Disraeli, history and fantasy intertwine in a breathtaking account of adventure and mystery.īeloved and best-selling author Sir Terry Pratchett combines high comedy with deep wisdom in this tale of an unexpected coming-of-age and one remarkable boy's rise in a complex and fascinating world.įinally Revealed: Where Dickens Got His Ideas! Seventeen-year-old Dodger may be a street urchin, but he gleans a living from London's sewers, and he knows a jewel when he sees one. Can the lad stand by and let her be caught again? Of course not, because he's.Dodger. A scruffy lad sees a girl leap desperately from a horse-drawn carriage in a vain attempt to escape her captors. Audie Award Nominee, Best Teens Category, 2013Ī storm.

Dodger pratchett