The Expedition of Humphry Clinker

Crusty, gout-ridden Matthew Bramble drags his household on a health tour of Britain (Bath, London, Harrogate, Edinburgh, the Highlands) and everyone writes letters home about it. That is the whole engine of Smollett's last novel, and it is ingenious: the same inn, the same accident, the same suitor looks entirely different depending on whether it is described by the splenetic uncle, his husband-hunting sister Tabitha, his romantic niece, his hot-headed nephew, or the maid whose spelling is a comic character in itself.

Along the road they acquire Humphry Clinker, a ragged, earnest stable-boy turned servant turned Methodist preacher, whose fortunes hold the book's warmest surprises. Rambling, gossipy, and very funny, it is an eighteenth-century road trip that suits listening the way letters suit being read aloud.

At roughly 147,900 words, The Expedition of Humphry Clinker runs about 16½ hours at 1x narration speed. That figure is an estimate based on a typical narration pace. The exact length depends on the voice and the playback speed you choose.

The Expedition of Humphry Clinker is in the public domain, so the complete text is free on Project Gutenberg and LoudReader has the entire Project Gutenberg catalog built in. To listen:

1. Download LoudReader for Mac or iPhone (free, no account).
2. Search for “The Expedition of Humphry Clinker” in the built-in catalog and add it to your library.
3. Press play. A natural offline voice reads the book while each word highlights on screen, and your place is saved between sessions.

LoudReader reads with natural offline voices, so the whole book works on a plane or underground. It is fully on-device and private, your library never leaves your device. Listening is unlimited on the free tier.