Classic Plays

Arguably the greatest love story ever told, Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet continues to touch modern audiences with its passionate depiction of the tragic romance between two young lovers. With a bitter feud between their respective families, Romeo and Juliet’s love is troubled from the start, and through their relationship, Shakespeare shows the fine line between love, hatred, comedy and tragedy.

This multi-voice production of The Tragedy of Macbeth features an all-star cast under the direction of acclaimed producer Paul Alan Ruben, a Grammy Award-winning veteran of the audiobook industry. With five AudioFile magazine Golden Voice recipients, multiple Grammy and SOVAS nominations, and countless Earphones and Audie Awards, this phenomenal cast brings Shakespeare's work to life.

Jim Craig is 18-years-old, and cannot return to his mountain home until he has proven himself a man. Jessica Harrison is the beautiful, impetuous daughter of the wealthy cattleman whose £1000 colt runs off to join the brumby mob. And then there is the stallion, leader of the brumbies for almost 20 years, ranging free and proud in the mountains, whose very existence is like a dark thread running through the lives of so many people....

Lady Ludlow's appalling snobbery, prejudice and bred-in-the-bone conviction as to the superiority of the English aristocracy and their feudal way of life are deliciously tested, and found wanting, in this gently radical tale of the collapse of a social system. Elizabeth Gaskell's My Lady Ludlow is a brilliant picture of the shift in power in a rural northern village, from the velvety feudal Ludlows to the glitter of the new money rattling through the system courtesy of the brazen baker from Birmingham.

Arthur Schnitzler was an Austrian author and playwright. His work is considered to be a sharp and stylistically conscious chronicle of Viennese society around 1900. His work often explored the human psyche and the complexities of life in the late Habsburg empire. This collection includes; The...

Hailed as the father of the naturalist novel, French author and playwright Honoré de Balzac left a legacy of treasured literary works that include Père Goriot and Cousin Bette. The daughter of a wealthy but miserly man, Eugénie Grandet falls in love with her penniless cousin, Charles. The two plan to marry, but at the behest of her father, Charles must first go overseas to make his fortune. Returning years later, Charles calls off the engagement, leaving Eugénie heartbroken and vengeful.

The multi-award-winning SmartPass study guide with and without commentary options. Full-cast, unabridged performance with comprehensive commentary and analysis for any student to fully understand and appreciate the play. The poetry of Shakespeare's star crossed lovers is poignantly performed and expertly explained in this unique production: "Passion lends them power."

Twelfth Night, nowadays one of Shakespeare's best-loved and most-admired comedies, was not always so regarded: Samuel Pepys saw the play three times in the 1660s and judged it 'silly'. Modern audiences, critics, and directors seem better attuned to its delicate counter pointing of romance and realism....

The sonnets are a collection numbering 154 poems dealing with themes such as the passage of time, love, beauty, and mortality. They were probably written over a long period of Shakespeare's life up until 1609, when they were first printed. The first 17 poems, traditionally referred to as the "procreation sonnets", are addressed to a young man urging him to marry and have children in order to immortalize his beauty by passing it on to his descendants.

Cleopatra is one of the most famous women in history - and thanks to Shakespeare, one of the most intriguing personalities in literature. Award-winning writer and beloved professor Harold Bloom delivers exhilarating clarity and invites us to look at this character as a flawed human who might be living in our world. He also explores his own personal relationship to the character: Just as we encounter one Anna Karenina or Jay Gatsby when we are in high school and college and another when we are adults, Bloom explains his shifting understanding of Cleopatra over the course of his own lifetime.

> Everyman is a late 15th-century English morality play. "Here begins a treatise [tale] of how the high Father of Heaven sends Death to summon every creature to come and give account of their lives in this world, told in the form of a morality play". Nothing is known of the author, but it is performed here by actor Burgess Meredith.

Friendship, betrayal, wisdom, humour, epic romance, jealousy, adventure, bravery and murder. There's everything in those iconic Shakespeare stories. His work transcends generations and appeals endlessly to other writers. His dramatic structures are both simple and complicated, intertwined with numerous relationships, which reappear in our lives again and again. This iconic collection of Shakespeare tales includes 20 of his most prominent works adapted by Edith Nesbit and transformed into modern English.

Euphoria meets Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke in this latest novel by the Bram Stoker Award–winning author Hailey Piper, following a couple whose search to spice up their sex life leads them down a path of madness. A kink-fixated couple, Carmen and Blanca, have been in a rut...

In The Tempest, long considered one of Shakespeare’s most lyrical plays, Prospero, a sorcerer, and his daughter, Miranda, have been stranded on an enchanted island for 12 years. When a shipwreck—caused by the eponymous tempest—brings enemies to the island, the stage is set for comedy, romance, and reconciliation.

Prospero and his lovely daughter Miranda live alone on the tiny island where they were marooned years ago, with only the island creatures for company - that is, until a powerful storm brings a boat full of strangers to the island. As the story unfolds, magic and mystery fill the island in this retelling of Shakespeare's classic play.

This Jules Verne Collection will carry you away to underwater adventures, will take you deep inside the earth, and pull you on a journey around the world. Are you ready to travel to faraway lands, to be tracked by the authorities, and to encounter prehistoric monsters? If you are ready for adventure, then join us along with the protagonists of each of the three stories in this collection of science fiction and surreal tales.

SuperSummary, a modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, offers high-quality instructional study guides for challenging works of literature. This audio study guide for Macbeth by William Shakespeare includes detailed summary and analysis of each chapter and an in-depth exploration of the book’s multiple symbols, motifs, and themes such as ambition and corruption, violence begetting violence, and masculinity and femininity. Featured content also includes commentary on major characters, 25 important quotes, essay questions, and discussion topics.

In Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark has recently lost his father, but his mother is in a hurry to marry her late husband's brother. Hamlet is overwhelmed with grief for his father's death but also outraged because of the hurried marriage. Most people don't realize that there are three versions of Hamlet, printed at different times. There is a considerable difference between the texts of these versions, so to have a "complete" version of this play, editors had to make some adjustments. The three texts are simply different versions of the play.

Created by star pairing Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, the Gruffalo is a familiar and much-loved figure in nurseries, schools and homes everywhere. Now he returns in his very own song to offer truly monster music sessions! As well as being the UK's most successful picture book author, Julia...

Savor the most celebrated love poems in the English language. Written almost 400 years ago, the sonnets of William Shakespeare are passionate and exalted, rich in imagery and alliteration, and full of mystery and intrigue.