JeremyNortham.net

Jeremy Northam drew widespread admiration for his portrayal of Mr. Knightley opposite Gwyneth Paltrow’s titular character in the 1996 adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma, but it was his reading of the abridged audiobook (issued to coincide with the movie’s release) that caught the attention of CSA Word’s Clive Stanhope. And just as Mr. Knightley had to wait before securing the affections of Emma Woodhouse, it was some 12 years before CSA Word recruited the actor who had so impressed.

“I first came across Jeremy Northam as a reader when he read an abridged version of Emma,” says Clive Stanhope, producer of Down and Out in Paris and London for CSA Word. “I contacted the company that produced it and they thought his reading was excellent. That was in 1996… I remembered him and, when he was available in 2008, we pounced on him for Brideshead Revisited.”

It’s a collaboration that, so far, is proving extremely successful with Jeremy’s readings garnering praise not only from readers but also critically. CSA Word is a quality independent audiobook and speech specialist and this is reflected in their choice of titles, the care with which readers are matched to those selected and the attention to detail on the recordings themselves.

Although I’ve read other books by Evelyn Waugh and enjoyed them, I had always resisted his most famous novel, Brideshead Revisited. For some reason, reading about one young man’s infatuation with members of an aristocratic family which brings them and him into conflict with their Catholic faith held no great appeal. I still haven’t seen the popular 1981 TV series and wasn’t overly impressed with the recent film. However, in the same way that Jeremy’s presence alone has led to me watching films I might have otherwise overlooked, I decided to listen to the CSA Word recording of Brideshead issued to coincide with the film’s release. It was a revelation and, while I still may not have liked the characters, I found their story compelling and Jeremy’s reading sympathetic. It helped me understand and appreciate how and why Charles Ryder falls under the spell of the Marchmain family. Jeremy avoids turning any of the characters into caricatures and I particularly enjoyed how he portrayed doomed Sebastian and flawed Julia. The reading earned him great reviews, with The Guardian’s Sue Arnold even recommending it ahead of the unabridged reading by Jeremy Irons, saying that while while the latter ‘is good’, Jeremy ‘is the don’. High praise indeed and thoroughly deserved.

It’s interesting that Jeremy “did at the time say he would have preferred to have read Vile Bodies as that was one of his favourite Waugh books and [CSA] were due to record that too.” One thing that interests me about audiobooks is how readers are matched with the titles they narrate. Here’s Clive Stanhope again on his approach, “The first thing to do is to read the book. While I am reading the book, narrators/readers sometimes leap out at me. Jeremy has a wonderfully mellifluous voice suited particularly to the ‘posher’ end of the audiobook market and I was so pleased with his reading of Brideshead that we were keen to ask him to read again – especially while his film career was going through a quieter phase. He enjoys reading, especially good books, and enjoys working.”

Jeremy’s second outing for CSA Word couldn’t be further removed from the privileged environs of Brideshead. He takes us on a riotous tour of Cuba where the down-trodden and despondent vacuum cleaner salesman, James Wormold, is recruited into the British Secret Service as Our Man in Havana. This unabridged reading of Graham Greene’s comedy thriller is currently my favourite of all Jeremy-narrated audiobooks. He really does perform this one with gusto and is effectively his very own company of actors, producing an astonishing array of accents and characters and switching between them all with such speed and pace that the seven hours is over all too soon. I particularly liked the dejected central character of Wormold and really warmed to him and how he feels compelled to work for the British Secret Service in order to support Milly, his petulant and demanding teenage daughter. I particularly admire how Jeremy voices female characters. There is not a trace of a falsetto here or in any of the other books he reads. Other notable mentions in the cast list have to include Wormold’s friend, Dr, Hasselbacher, the paranoid and anxious German, and star turns in the form of the London Head of Intelligence’s rasping whisper and the deliciously slimy, slippery and heavily-accented local policeman, Captain Segura. There is one scene where Wormold and Segura play a drunken game of checkers that is guaranteed to have you in fits of laughter. Do not, whatever you do, attempt to listen to this scene while on a treadmill or driving.

Jeremy’s impressive range of characters in Our Man in Havana prompted me to ask CSA Word how much time the reader has to prepare before recording and how much consultation there is over the approach to characterisation. Clive Stanhope responded by saying: “I like to give the reader at least two weeks from receiving the script to arriving in the studio. Usually, Jeremy decides in preparation on his characterisations but sometimes when he is unsure he will run a couple of ideas past me in the studio during the course of the reading for my opinion. Likewise, if there is a character that is not working then I shall say so and he will usually amend it. Jeremy is a very intelligent reader and thinks things through, so when I make a suggestion he usually has an answer – often correcting me!!” It sounds like a lot of work and I was surprised at how quickly the recording is made. “Jeremy is one of the quickest readers in my experience and he read all three books in two full days in the studio. There is a considerable amount of post-production, however,…which can include adding music and generally tidying things up.”

Just as he does in his approach to film roles, Jeremy changed it up again for his third and most recent CSA Word audiobook,  Down and Out in Paris and London. George Orwell’s record of his time spent among the poor and destitute of two of the world’s most iconic cities needs little dramatisation and Jeremy’s reading reflects this. He manages to portray the street life of both cities with great sensitivity and subtlety while retaining its humour. He cleverly brings to life some of the characters that Orwell meets along the way, such as the local curiosity and storyteller, Charlie, and Russian waiter, Boris, in Paris; and his temporary companion, Paddy, an old Irishman unsurprisingly, and his screever (pavement artist) friend, Bozo, in London.

I’m inclined to agree with The Guardian’s Sue Arnold when she says that “Northam is fast becoming my favourite reader.” However, long-distance relationships are notoriously difficult, so what with Jeremy currently filming in the States and CSA Word being based in London, it’ll come as no surprise to hear that he’s not lined up to record any further audiobooks for them in the immediate future. You have to hope that he will read for them again, not only because he is a gifted and intelligent narrator, but also because CSA Word makes such interesting title choices. It’s a collaboration that simply has to endure and continue.

If Jeremy could choose the next book he reads, it would be The Warden by Anthony Trollope. What do you think of his choice? Which book(s) would you like to listen to him read next and why?

by Kathryn Eastman (Email: kath@jeremynortham.net)

All CSA Word audiobooks read by Jeremy Northam are available from the site Store, through CSA Word’s own website, from all good bookstores and online retailers, as well as being available as downloads from either audible.co.uk and audible.com.

With grateful thanks to Clive Stanhope and, more especially, Rebecca Fenton of CSA Word for their generous help and cooperation in compiling this article for JeremyNortham.net. For full title information on all of their timeless audiobook collection, please visit the CSA Word website. You can also follow CSA Word on Twitter and Facebook for regular updates and audiobook news.