The Improvised Life of Polycarp Jarvis: Audiobook
Book 4 of the Classic Canning series
According to The Books Insider's catalog data, The Improvised Life of Polycarp Jarvis runs 12.3 hours as an unabridged audiobook, narrated by John Higgins (about 8.2 hours at 1.5× playback speed).
The instrument When will you finish it?
Based on 12.3 hours of listening.
| Your pace | You'll finish in |
|---|---|
| 30 min / day | 25 days |
| 1 hour / day | 13 days |
| 2 hours / day | 7 days |
| 1 hour / day at 1.5× | 9 days |
You'll finish in – by –
Part of The Audiobook Finish-Time Calculator: the same instrument for any audiobook we measure.
What our data says
- At 12.3 hours, it runs longer than 70% of the 13,430 Historical (Fiction) audiobooks in our catalog.
Catching up on Classic Canning
This is book 4. Books 1 to 3 run 26.4 hours before it; books 1 to 10 run 78.4 hours in all.
| Book | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mr Finchley Discovers His England | 8.7 hrs |
| 2 | Mr Finchley Goes to Paris | 7.9 hrs |
| 3 | Mr Finchley Takes the Road | 9.7 hrs |
| 4 | The Improvised Life of Polycarp Jarvis | 12.3 hrs |
| 5 | Fly Away Paul | 10.1 hrs |
| 6 | The Uncertain Future of the Silvermans | 9.1 hrs |
| 7 | Fountain Inn | 8.9 hrs |
| 8 | The Minerva Club | 2.2 hrs |
| 9 | The Aberdyll Onion: And Other Mysteries | 5.1 hrs |
| 10 | Young Man on a Bicycle and The Goldini Bath | 4.3 hrs |
More narrated by John Higgins
John Higgins narrates 15 unabridged audiobooks in our catalog, 129 hours in all.
About as long, on the Historical (Fiction) shelf
2,902 Historical (Fiction) audiobooks in our catalog run within 10% of this length. The most popular on the store:
Computed from 409,794 English-language unabridged audiobooks in The Books Insider catalog (store data read November 3, 2026). Lengths are the store's own running times. Methodology.
About this listen
The Improvised Life of Polycarp Jarvis is book 4 of Victor Canning's Classic Canning series: a 12.3-hour unabridged recording, read by John Higgins, released January 26, 2022, on the Historical (Fiction) and Action & Adventure (Fiction) shelves.
The listen at a glance
- Length
- 12.3 hrs
- Narrated by
- John Higgins
- Released
- January 26, 2022
- Format
- Unabridged audiobook
- Language
- English
- Store shelves
- Historical (Fiction), Action & Adventure (Fiction), Classics (Literature)
- Series
- Classic Canning #4
- ISBN
- 9781788423922
How to listen to The Improvised Life of Polycarp Jarvis free
New members at audiobooks.com get three free audiobooks with the trial.
Separately, the store's catalog carries more than 10,000 audiobooks that are always free to stream.
Start listening freeQuestions listeners ask
How long is The Improvised Life of Polycarp Jarvis as an audiobook?
The Improvised Life of Polycarp Jarvis runs 12.3 hours unabridged. At 1.5× speed that drops to roughly 8.2 hours.
Is The Improvised Life of Polycarp Jarvis free as an audiobook?
Yes, for new listeners: the trial starts you with three free audiobooks.
Who narrates The Improvised Life of Polycarp Jarvis?
The Improvised Life of Polycarp Jarvis is narrated by John Higgins.
Is The Improvised Life of Polycarp Jarvis worth listening to at 1.5× speed?
At 1.5× you'd finish in about 8.2 hours, saving 4.1 hours.