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Lord of the Rings Audiobook: Inglis vs Serkis Facts

Two complete Lord of the Rings audiobook recordings exist, by Rob Inglis and Andy Serkis. See year, runtime, publisher, songs and labels side by side.

Three plain deep green cloth hardback books standing together on a rough oak table beside a simple gold ring and a lit candle

There are two complete, unabridged single-narrator recordings of The Lord of the Rings. Rob Inglis recorded his for Recorded Books in 1990, and the Audible US listings run 54 hours 6 minutes across the three volumes. Andy Serkis recorded his in 2021, published by Recorded Books in North America and HarperCollins in the UK and other territories, and the Audible US listings run 65 hours 17 minutes. Both sing the songs and poems. The details below cover who, when, how long and which label, each beside its source.

The two recordings side by side

The publisher pages and the Audible US collection are the basis for this comparison. The Audible US Tolkien collection lists the Inglis volumes, and RBmedia has the publisher page for the Serkis trilogy.

Rob Inglis:

  • Narrator: Rob Inglis
  • Publisher: Recorded Books
  • Release year: 1990 for all three volumes
  • The Fellowship of the Ring: 19 hrs 7 mins
  • The Two Towers: 16 hrs 40 mins
  • The Return of the King: 18 hrs 19 mins
  • Total, by adding those three figures: 54 hrs 6 mins

Andy Serkis:

  • Narrator: Andy Serkis
  • Publisher: Recorded Books for North America, HarperCollins for the UK and other territories
  • Release year: 2021 for all three volumes
  • The Fellowship of the Ring: 22 hrs 38 mins
  • The Two Towers: 20 hrs 47 mins
  • The Return of the King: 21 hrs 52 mins
  • Total, by adding those three figures: 65 hrs 17 mins

Every runtime above is the figure on the Audible US listing, and the totals are plain addition of the three volume figures. The Audible UK listings for the Serkis volumes show the same three runtimes.

The gap in hours is about eleven. If you are fitting a recording around a commute or a long drive, the total is the figure to hold against your time.

Two different vintage microphones on a wooden table in front of a window looking out over rolling green hills
Two complete recordings exist, and the facts that separate them are easy to set side by side.

The songs and poems

The Lord of the Rings has a lot of verse in it, and a reader choosing an audiobook may want to know whether it is performed or skipped.

Both narrators perform it vocally. Audible's Tolkien collection says Rob Inglis sings the songs and poems a cappella, and credits the melodies to Inglis and Claudia Howard, the Recorded Books studio director.

Andy Serkis sings too. The Oxford Centre for Fantasy has a review of his recording that discusses his singing of the Hobbit songs and his singing in The Fellowship of the Ring; you can read it on the Oxford Centre for Fantasy podcast page.

A small wooden flute resting on a closed plain manuscript beside a pair of headphones
How each recording handles the songs and poems is one of the clearest differences.

Unabridged, and which text

Publisher and retailer listings present both recordings as unabridged readings of Tolkien's published text. That covers the question of whether anything was cut.

The copyright lines on the listings differ, and they are worth knowing if the print edition matters to you:

  • Audible's listing for the Inglis Two Towers carries the 1983 line naming Christopher R. Tolkien, Michael H.R. Tolkien, John F.R. Tolkien and Priscilla M.A. Tolkien.
  • Audible's North American listing for the Serkis Fellowship carries the same 1983 family line.
  • The UK HarperCollins listing for the Fellowship carries a line beginning "©1954 The Tolkien Estate Limited".

The listings do not name a print edition, so neither recording can be called the reading of the 50th anniversary edition or of any other named printing. If the edition matters, play a sample and compare it against the copy you have in hand.

An old blank parchment unrolled on a desk and held flat by two plain books at its edges
Each recording reads a particular edition of the text, named on the publisher's page.

The BBC and NPR versions are different products

Two other audio versions turn up whenever someone searches for this book, and neither is a narrator reading the whole text.

The 1981 BBC production is titled The Lord of the Rings: A Full-Cast BBC Radio Dramatisation. Its cast includes Ian Holm, Michael Hordern, Robert Stephens, Peter Woodthorpe and Bill Nighy, and it was first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 beginning 8 March 1981, per the Audible UK listing.

The 1979 US production is titled The Lord of the Rings, NPR Mind's Eye Dramatization. The fan-run audio history site The Tale of Ears says it was adapted by Bernard Mayes, produced by The Mind's Eye and broadcast by National Public Radio.

Both are dramatisations. Neither is a third complete reading. If you want one voice reading the whole text, the Inglis and Serkis recordings are the two.

A vintage valve radio with a blank dial standing on a cottage windowsill
The radio dramatizations are separate products, not readings of the full books.

What the producers say about the Serkis recording

RBmedia says the North American editions were published by Recorded Books on 16 September 2021. Its studio feature says Serkis returned to Middle-earth and reprised his Gollum performance for the audiobook.

HarperCollins published a 2021 interview with Serkis that describes the project as a new unabridged audiobook released in three parts.

Recognition for the recording, as dated facts:

AudioFile's Earphones Award, reported on Bookmarks, went to Serkis's 2020 The Hobbit, not to the trilogy.

Where each recording is listed

As of 1 October 2026:

  • Audible US lists both narrators.
  • Audible UK lists the three Serkis volumes plus Inglis listings.
  • Apple Books US lists the Serkis trilogy.
  • Apple Books UK lists Serkis and Inglis.
  • Libby carries the Serkis Recorded Books editions, subject to each library's holdings.

Before you spend a credit or place a hold, confirm the narrator and publisher on the product page. For a library copy, search the catalogue or Libby by narrator name plus Recorded Books, since holdings differ from one library to the next.

The Hobbit has its own pair. Rob Inglis recorded it for Recorded Books in 1991, and the Audible US listing shows 11 hrs 4 mins. Andy Serkis recorded it in 2020, and the Audible US listing shows 10 hrs 25 mins.

Quick answers

Which Lord of the Rings audiobook narrator is better?

That is a listening preference, so there is no pick here. The side-by-side lists above give the differences that can be stated: year, length, label and songs. The rest is how each voice sounds to you, which a sample on the product page will show.

Who narrates the Hobbit audiobook?

There are two unabridged recordings. Rob Inglis narrated one in 1991 and Andy Serkis the other in 2020, and both are Recorded Books productions.

Are the Lord of the Rings audiobooks unabridged?

Publishers describe both the Inglis and the Serkis recordings as unabridged. The BBC and NPR versions are dramatisations, which is a different thing.

Is the BBC Lord of the Rings the same as a narrator reading?

No. The 1981 BBC version is a full-cast radio dramatisation with actors including Ian Holm and Bill Nighy, not one narrator reading the text.

Do the narrators sing the songs?

Yes, both do. Audible says Inglis sings them a cappella, and the Oxford Centre for Fantasy review discusses Serkis singing them.

Your next step

Open each recording's product page and play the opening sample, check which total runtime fits the time you have, and confirm the narrator credit before you buy or borrow. If you are also choosing between narrators for another title, the Harry Potter audiobook page on Dale or Fry and the Mere Christianity audiobook narrator page are the closest matches on the shelf.

By Cal Hewitt. Published .

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