Classic Fiction Collection

"What is your favorite story?" is the question children across the country often ask professional storyteller Pleasant DeSpain. As he attempts to answer, his list grows longer and longer, until he confesses he likes them all. An untiring researcher of oral traditions, DeSpain is known for his concise versions of world folktales specifically crafted for retelling.

Adopting the methodology of the music charts, The Classic Hundred Poems presents the "top 100" poems of all time. The selections are illuminated by the informative notes of editor William Harmon and read by an ensemble of contemporary poets including Alfred Corn and Rita Dove.

Socrates, at 70+ years of age, defends himself against charges of corrupting the youth of Athens, atheism, and other false claims before accepting his fate and starting his final days on Earth.

Here is a timeless and wonderful collection from the best sources of fairy tales: Hans Christian Andersen, Charles Perrault, the Brothers Grimm, and Antoine Galland.

A brilliant psychological portrait, Madame Bovary searingly depicts the human mind in search of transcendence. Acclaimed as a masterpiece upon its publication in 1857, it catapulted Flaubert to the ranks of the world's greatest novelists and ushered in a new age of realism in literature.

James Bond is shattered by the murder of his wife at the hands of Ernst Stavro Blofeld, and only the prospect of a particularly challenging mission can draw him out of his deep depression. Determined to restore 007 to his former effectiveness, M sends Bond to Japan, where a criminal mastermind is using a poisonous garden inside a rocky island fortress to lure people to their deaths. Bond will have to infiltrate and destroy this mysterious Castle of Death in exchange for top secret Japanese intelligence.

Five classic novelisations of TV adventures featuring the Doctor's arch enemy, the Master! In Doctor Who and the Doomsday Weapon by Malcolm Hulke, the Master has stolen the Time Lord's files on a weapon which could make him ruler of the Galaxy. In Doctor Who and the Daemons by Barry Letts, secret ceremonies have been designed to conjure up a horribly powerful being from another planet.

This collection of bedtime stories for children includes the following stories: The Tale of Peter Rabbit, Hansel and Gretel, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Rapunzel, Jabberwocky, Jack and the Beanstalk, The Ugly Duckling, and The Little Mermaid.

This tale of a man who, when tinkering with magic, becomes changed into an ass is one of the most entertaining and remarkable stories from classic Latin literature. It is funny, bawdy and completely approachable - but also shows life from the point of view of a beast of burden in the Roman Empire of the second century CE.

Matilda es una ávida lectora de solo cinco años. Sensible e inteligente, todos la admiran menos sus mediocres padres, que la consideran una inútil. Además, tiene poderes extraños y maravillosos.... Un día, Matilda decide liberarse y empieza a emplearlos contra la abominable y cruel señorita Trunchbull.

This collection comprises stories by and inspired by the originators of weird fiction. From Allen's "The Arctic Death", through to Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart", Stoker's "Dracula's Guest", and beyond. Time immemorial; worlds unimaginable.

O. Henry's short stories are well known for their wit, wordplay, warm characterization, and clever twist endings. This collection includes "The Last Leaf", "The Love Philter of Ikey Schoenstein", "The Caliph", "Cupid and the Clock", "The Brief Debut of Tildy", "The Higher Abdication", "The Ransom of Red Chief", "One Dollar’s Worth", "Cupid a la Carte", "Girl", "Springtime a la Carte", "The Ethics of Pig", "The Social Triangle", "Witches Loaves", "The Romace of the Buys Broker", and more.

This awesome collection of children’s bedtime stories and classic fairy tales will help your children fall asleep and relax FAST. This wonderful experience will give children a head start in their education and primes the development of key listening skills. Keeping it fun can help form an emotional connection to reading, listening and learning that can last a lifetime.

Homer is one of the most important figures in ancient Greek literature, believed to have lived in the 8th century BC. He is most famous for his epic poems, the Iliad and the Odyssey, which are considered to be the founding works of Western literature. The Iliad tells the story of the Trojan War, focusing on the hero Achilles, while the Odyssey recounts the adventures of the Greek hero Odysseus as he attempts to return home after the war. Both works are celebrated for their vivid storytelling, complex characters, and profound exploration of human nature.

Enchanting, tragic, and hilarious fairy tales for adults and children grace these pages. An initial glance might lead you to assume that these are satirical versions of classic Christmas ghost stories. However, beneath the humorous stories involving ghosts, repentant sinners, miracles, and good peasants who find well-deserved happiness, lies a psychological undercurrent that sharpens the sense of intrigue and plot movement. Often this is aided by the unrelenting social exposure of the authors who always understood how intangible the "bourgeois paradise" truly was.

Step into the mind of James Allen, a pioneer in personal development. The Complete James Allen Collection: A Modern Translation brings together all his works, adapted for today’s readers.

Here are four of your favorite Arnold Lobel stories together in one audio collection! From Owl's surprising house-guest to the small pig's quest for the perfect mud puddle, Arnold Lobel's stories are filled with one-of-a-kind characters and more than a little silliness too.

Dramatisations and readings of EM Forster’s finest works, plus Stephen Wakelam’s radio play A Dose of Fame and the documentary feature Forster in India: Sex, Books and Empire. One of the greatest English novelists of the 20th century, EM Forster was also an accomplished short story writer. This collection includes stunning adaptations of his classic novels A Passage to India, Where Angels Fear to Tread, A Room with a View and Howards End. Among the star casts are Penelope Wilton, Ellie Kendrick, Sian Thomas, Emilia Fox, Sheila Hancock and John Hurt.

Schooldays at St Clare's are never dull for twins Pat and Isabel O'Sullivan in Enid Blyton's much-loved boarding school audio series.

A masterly new recording by Ralph Fiennes. Four Quartets is the culminating achievement of T. S. Eliot's career as a poet. While containing some of the most musical and unforgettable passages in 20th-century poetry, its four parts, 'Burnt Norton', 'East Coker', 'The Dry Salvages' and 'Little Gidding', present a rigorous meditation on the spiritual, philosophical and personal themes which preoccupied the author.