
The Christmas Hirelings
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Narrated by:
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Richard Armitage
About this listen
Richard Armitage modernizes a classic hidden gem of Christmas Past… Sir John Penlyon is planning to spend Christmas at his estate with his niece and his friend Danby, the closest thing he has to family since disowning his daughter years ago. (She eloped with the parson, who was, of course, penniless.) Danby suggests that at Christmastime the estate needs the presence of small children, and offers to find some - the “hirelings” - despite Sir John’s skepticism. Three children duly arrive, and the youngest, precocious four year-old Moppet, quickly endears herself to Sir John. The season takes flight with merriment, warmth, and even affection, until Moppet - as young children are wont to do in Victorian holiday tales - falls deathly ill. With her life hanging by a tinsel-thin thread, how will the makeshift family cope?
Listeners who smile ironically at the antiquated juxtaposition of The Christmas Hirelings might be surprised by the contemporary feel of a blended family, income inequality, and the power of togetherness to heal past sorrows. Richard Armitage’s stellar voice makes each scene as rich as a plum pudding dotted with the raisins of tradition (party favors, carols, and more!), and the entire performance feels like a trip to bygone England…just in time for the end of this year.
Public Domain (P)2018 Audible, Inc.Behind the Scenes of The Christmas Hirelings
"A Christmas story that warms the heart. A great reminder of not only what Christmas is about but also why family can be such a big part of it whether you realize...or want it to be that way."
—Kevinf, Audible listenerListeners also enjoyed...
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Our favorite moments from The Christmas Hirelings

About the Performer
Richard Armitage is an actor widely known for his array of television, film, and theater work, including his roles in the BBC drama Spooks, The Hobbit trilogy, Ocean’s 8, and the acclaimed production of The Crucible at The Old Vic in London. His trademark baritone voice has earned him recognition, too, through his performances on many notable audiobooks as well as in TV and radio show narration. This experience shines through in Armitage’s masterful performance of The Christmas Hirelings, where he plays host to a plethora of characters.
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Robin of Locksley returns from the Crusades to find his people starving and oppressed by the new Sheriff of Nottingham. Under this tyrannical regime, the slightest crime attracts the heaviest punishment, and dissent is impossible. Robin soon discovers that the only way to reason with the Sheriff is with bow and arrow, even if it means sacrificing his lands and becoming an outlaw. This exciting adventure is read by Richard Armitage, who plays Guy of Gisborne in Robin Hood. It also features Robin and his loyal band of brothers, as seen in the hit BBC TV series.
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So so
- By tammy on 11-04-20
By: BBC
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Dodge & Twist
- An Audible Original Drama
- By: Tony Lee
- Narrated by: Matt Lucas, Stephen Mangan, Michael Socha, and others
- Length: 4 hrs and 56 mins
- Original Recording
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It’s rumoured that Dickens wanted to return to his classic novel Oliver Twist, to bring him back into a later book as an older character, but he never managed this before he died. However, if Oliver had returned, what would he have been like? Would the scars of his childhood affect the man he would become? And what of ‘Dodger’, sent to a land halfway around the world, his friend, mentor and master dead because of Oliver? Dodge & Twist is that story. The tale of two boys, 12 years later, returning into each other’s lives - for both good and bad.
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Excellent performance, pretty dismal story
- By Kevin on 02-04-19
By: Tony Lee
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Geneva
- By: Richard Armitage
- Narrated by: Richard Armitage, Nicola Walker, Jane Perry
- Length: 8 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Nobel Prize-winning scientist Sarah Collier has taken a step back from work to spend more time with her family. Movie nights with her husband Daniel and their daughter Maddie are a welcome respite from the scrutiny of the world’s press. As much as it hurts, it’s good to be able to see her father more too. He’s suffering from Alzheimer’s and needs special care. Sarah has started to show tell-tale signs of the disease too. She’s been experiencing blackouts and memory loss. It’s early days but she must face the possibility that she won’t be there to see her daughter grow up.
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Well done, Mr. Armitage!
- By Betty B. on 10-25-22
By: Richard Armitage
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Classic Love Poems
- By: William Shakespeare, Edgar Allan Poe, Elizabeth Barrett Browning
- Narrated by: Richard Armitage
- Length: 19 mins
- Unabridged
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For anyone who's in love - or hopes to be - what greater celebration could there be than to hear the world's greatest love poetry read lovingly by Richard Armitage? With 13 poems by William Shakespeare, Edgar Allan Poe, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and more, Classic Love Poems is a listening treat for Valentine's Day - or any day.
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Wonderful recitation by Richard Armitage
- By knowledge seeker on 02-09-15
By: William Shakespeare, and others
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The Mystery of Alice
- By: Lee Bacon
- Narrated by: Bryan Kennedy, Jessica Almasy, Josh Hurley, and others
- Length: 6 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Thirteen-year-old Emily Poe has been given the opportunity of a lifetime: A chance to attend the exclusive Audyn School in Manhattan. But to win the scholarship, she has to pass a test like nothing she’s ever experienced before: A nearly bare room, a set of strange clues, a locked door. And a mysterious organization - the Leopold Foundation - that’s watching her every move.
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Surprisingly Enjoyable
- By Cheryl on 05-05-19
By: Lee Bacon
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A Christmas Journey
- By: Anne Perry
- Narrated by: Terrence Hardiman
- Length: 3 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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It's Christmas and the well-born guests who have gathered at Applecross for a delicious weekend of relaxation are warmed by roaring fires, mistletoe, and gorgeously wrapped gifts. It's scarcely the setting for misfortune, and no one - not even that clever young aristocrat and budding sleuth Vespasia Cumming-Gould - anticipates the tragedy that is to darken this light-hearted holiday house party. But soon one young woman lies dead, a suicide, and Vespasia must uncover the heartbreaking truth behind the tragedy.
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Never tire of Anne Perry
- By Joan on 12-22-17
By: Anne Perry
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The Turn of the Screw
- By: Henry James
- Narrated by: Emma Thompson, Richard Armitage - introduction
- Length: 4 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Academy Award, Golden Globe, and Emmy winner Emma Thompson lends her immense talent and experienced voice to Henry James' Gothic ghost tale, The Turn of the Screw. When a governess is hired to care for two children at a British country estate, she begins to sense an otherworldly presence around the grounds. Are they really ghosts she's seeing? Or is something far more sinister at work?
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Great, but Mightn't be the Best on Audible
- By Gillian on 03-16-16
By: Henry James
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Atomic Marriage
- By: Curtis Sittenfeld
- Narrated by: Diane Lane
- Length: 58 mins
- Unabridged
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All marriages are hard. Many of them fail. Brock Lewis, an evangelical businessman turned self-published author, has the answer. Follow his international bestselling book’s 12-point “Atomic Doctrine” - make eye contact with your spouse? Always! Use the bathroom in front of them? Never! - and you, too, can build a marriage that thrives.
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Awful.
- By Amy on 01-04-19
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Hamlet, Prince of Denmark: A Novel
- By: A. J. Hartley, David Hewson
- Narrated by: Richard Armitage
- Length: 9 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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It is a tale of ghosts, of madness, of revenge - of old alliances giving way to new intrigues. Denmark is changing, shaking off its medieval past. War with Norway is on the horizon. And Hamlet - son of the old king, nephew of the new - becomes increasingly entangled in a web of deception - and murder. Beautifully performed by actor Richard Armitage ("Thorin Oakenshield" in the Hobbit films), Hamlet, Prince of Denmark takes Shakespeare’s original into unexpected realms, reinventing a story we thought we knew.
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Something Rotten in Denmark...
- By Carole T. on 08-23-14
By: A. J. Hartley, and others
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The Cut
- By: Richard Armitage
- Narrated by: Richard Armitage, Jacob Dudman
- Length: 10 hrs and 13 mins
- Original Recording
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Welcome to Barton Mallet, a remote village in the Midlands that has been chosen as the unlikely location for a new feature film from Hollywood producer Max Crow. Teenagers from the local drama group are encouraged to audition for a story about the trials and tribulations of growing up. Benjamin Knot, the CEO of a well-known architecture firm, discovers that his children, Lily and Nathan, have each been offered a role. But Barton Mallet has a deep wound that has never truly healed.
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Entertaining but confusing at times
- By 🎧📚 addict📚🎧 on 08-25-24
By: Richard Armitage
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Killer by Nature
- An Audible Original Drama
- By: Jan Smith
- Narrated by: Angela Griffin, Robert James-Collier, Katherine Kelly, and others
- Length: 4 hrs and 31 mins
- Original Recording
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What’s in a label? Are we the product of our upbringing or do we have a natural propensity towards good or evil? The eternal question of nature vs nurture is at the centre of Dr Diane Buckley’s world. A talented freelance forensic psychologist who has never quite found the key to engaging with people on a casual level, she is drafted in to examine a grisly murder – a body found in a children’s playground.
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Deleted it halfway through...
- By JS on 02-04-19
By: Jan Smith
What listeners say about The Christmas Hirelings
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- Elisabeth Carey
- 12-13-18
A warm and lovely Christmas story
This is a Victorian Christmas tale, and it's a good one.
Sir John Penlyon is spending Christmas with his niece, Adela, and his friend Thomas Danby, a makeshift family for the aging man with no closer family left to him. Long widowed, his older daughter died just a few years after her own marriage, with no children. His younger daughter married a penniless curate, in defiance of her father, and was of course disowned.
Adela mentions how dull a Christmas with no children is, and Sir John, a bit of a curmudgeon, says Christmas is pointless for a household without children. In short order, Danby has persuaded Sir john to agree to his scheme to hire some suitable young children to enliven their holiday.
In time for Christmas, Danby brings two little girls and a young boy, sweet, endearing children who do indeed enliven the holiday. The younger girl, Moppet, in particular, charms Sir John and endears herself to him.
But this is a Victorian Christmas tale, and Moppet, inevitably, falls dangerously ill. Sir John begins to think he made a mistake in opening his home and his heart. Also, of course, the origin of these children becomes a far more urgent matter. The question of whether a wounded and broken family can be healed becomes the center of this story.
It's very well done, and very moving. Recommended.
I received this audiobook as part of Audible's Audible Originals program, and am reviewing it voluntarily.
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- N. Rogers
- 05-20-19
Light Story, Beautifully Narrated
I enjoyed this short Christmas story of Victorian England although often I find novels of this era tedious. This one is light and fit the upcoming holiday. It was beautifully narrated by Richard Armitage which probably enhanced it significantly. This was a free offering from audible for the holiday to its members. I found it a pleasant surprise.
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1 person found this helpful
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- bet22
- 12-15-18
Charming
The story is a little predictable; however, it is a simple Christmas story that Richard Armitage does an excellent job bringing the different characters to life. Rating it is challenging because some of the opinions toward women are outdated and lean towards the intellectually weaker sex nonsense. If these notions are set aside as reflections of the time period, the story is about forgiveness and what Christmas is about - family, friends and giving
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- Shop King
- 12-12-18
Second Chances are scarce
What a great little nostalgic Christmas tale! Thoroughly enjoyed listening to this book & the narrator is a perfect fit for this sweet tale!
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- Peter Cox
- 12-13-18
Much better than last year
This is the kind of Christmas book I may actually keep downloaded for another listen.
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- Denysewoo
- 12-11-18
So Dreamy...
First of ALL Richard Armitage is my Dream Voice thank you! The story is incredible and filled with JOY.
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- Fred
- 12-31-18
If you love Dickens you'll love this story!
I loved this Christmas story from 'old ' English times. It definitely has the feel of a Dickens' tale.
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- Carol Michael
- 01-04-19
Perfect for the Holidays
Loved the English performance and the story. A great listen while I was Christmas shopping.
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- Frances
- 01-23-19
Beautiful story!
It’s a beautiful story about love, but not the romantic kind, perfectly narrated by Richard Armitage!
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- JP
- 12-21-18
A wonderful Christmas present
Interesting from a historical perspective (Christmas at the turn-of-the-century!), this already heart-warming story is gilded by Richard Armitage’s soul-stirring performance.
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