European Literature

Le capitaine Marlow raconte sa remontée d'un grand fleuve africain sur un vapeur jusqu'au "cœur des ténèbres", à la recherche d'un certain Kurtz.

The tragic but doomed love of Marguerite and Armand became one of the great love stories from its first publication in 1848. In this sound dramatization of the consumptive heroine's ultimate sacrifice, the story of passion and conflict is fresh and compelling as when it was first written.

Many old Irish folktales tell about the deeds and adventures of Finn MacCool—a great hunter and warrior and the strongest giant in Ireland. As you will see from this story, even a famous giant needs a little help once in a while.

A pine tree is unhappy with its needles and wishes for different types of leaves instead. A fairy grants the tree its wishes, but the results are disappointing.

La obra póstuma de Umberto Eco, que el autor entregó a imprenta pocos días antes de morir, es una selección de artículos inéditos en España, seleccionados por él mismo.

Conte philosophique considéré comme l'un des chefs-d'œuvre de Voltaire, "Candide" frappe par sa légèreté, et sa justesse. Le héros est un jeune homme crédule à qui son précepteur, Pangloss, inculque une théorie très simpliste sur l'optimisme. Les mésaventures du jeune héros mettent à mal cette doctrine. Cela permet à Voltaire de se moquer de toutes les théories métaphysiques qui ne résistent pas à l'épreuve des faits.

Parce que j'ai maintenant des petits enfants, j'ai souvent envie de raconter des histoires. C'est la fonction naturelle des grands-pères, et peut-être leur plus grand mérite.

When a British tourist fails to turn up for a luxurious cooking vacation in Bruno's usually idyllic Dordogne village of St. Denis, the worried hostess is quick to call on Bruno for help. Monica Felder is nowhere to be found, and her husband, a retired British major, is unreachable. And not long after Bruno discovers that Monica was traveling with a mysterious Irishman (her lover?), the two turn up dead. The Irishman's background in intelligence and his connection to Monica's husband only raise more questions for Bruno.

"Comprendrait-elle la déraison, le Grandiose destructeur que j'avais vécu et qui m'avait changée à jamais ?" Une femme aux portes de la mort. Un homme incapable d'en finir avec la vie. Leurs deux voix s'élèvent tour à tour pour nous confier leur histoire, leurs maux, leurs démons, et plus que tout l'amour fou.

This Irish version of the Cinderella story is a classic fairy tale as you have never heard it before. Master storyteller and folklorist Padraic Colum creates a completely unique world of enchanted woods, marauding giants, gossiping geese, and a supernatural cloak made of crow feathers. Through her many adventures, Maid-Alone, Colum's heroine, remains steadfast in her quiet strength and wisdom. Listeners of all ages will enjoy this magical retelling of a familiar legend.

Praised by Chekhov as his favorite writer, Nikolai Leskov occupies a unique place in Russian literature. His original stories often seem like folk-tales, their larger-than-life characters including soldiers, Tsars, priests and gypsies. Leskov's storytelling, simple in its style, combines a deep religious spirit with comic absurdity. The Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District, Leskov's best-known work, is a realist account of a young woman who escapes from her loveless marriage through adultery, leading to violence and murder

Deux récits enchâssés, au croisement du réalisme et du fantastique ; une nouvelle presque oubliée, que sa redécouverte classa parmi les plus grands textes de la littérature ; un jeu complexe d'imbrications entre sculpture, musique et littérature : Sarrasine est un des textes les plus séduisants de Balzac. Une jeune femme ne peut s'empêcher de remarquer le vieillard décharné, pareil à un spectre, qui hante un coin d'une brillante soirée parisienne.

A family of pixies is looking for a place for their children to sleep, but nowhere on the farm is good enough. Will they find somewhere in time to return the farmers horse and cart for planting season? Listen along with this Cornish folktale and see just where a pixie littling can get some sleep.

In this Lithuanian folktale, the king wants to know why the sun is red! He sends his horseman on a quest to find a house made of amber, inside which the answer lies. Follow along with him on his adventure!

Robert MacLeod, chief of clan MacLeod, falls in love with a fairy princess named Finnoula. Unable to stay in the mortal world, Finnoula must make a choice between the life of a mortal and the life of the Shining Folk. Learn the legend about the fairy flag at Dunvegan Castle on the Isle of Skye, owned by the MacLeods for nearly eight hundred years!

The Knight's Tale of medieval wars and chivalry is the first tale told to the pilgrims as they set out to Canterbury. It concerns Theseus, returning from fighting at Thebes, and two brother knights Palamon and Arcite, imprisoned but yearning for their loves. But the real hero of this recording is Richard Bebb who, with the help of Professor Derek Brewer, the leading expert on Chaucerian pronunciation, make the original Middle English not only comprehensible to the modern ear, but exciting.

When Ollie Sweet is very publicly dumped by ‘The One’, his seemingly perfect world dissolves into misery, self-pity, and a bizarre rooftop meeting with a suicidal man in flip-flops. While most would seek out the support of loved ones at such a torrid time, natural-born journalist Ollie asks the subscribers of his website: how did they get over their failed relationships? When Ollie follows some of their more extreme advice, chaos inevitably ensues.

Becky’s father is not just absent: he’s a total mystery, a hole in her life. He died before she was born and for her mother, Laura, the subject is strictly off-limits. When Laura books a spontaneous trip to Greece, Becky decides to join her, determined to get closer to her mother - and to the truth. But as they make their way to the island of Santorini, it becomes clear that this holiday is not as impulsive as Becky thought. Laura’s hiding something from her daughter - and she’s been hiding it for Becky’s whole life.

No one has forgotten the unsolved kidnapping of four-year-old Nicolás Acosta. It galvanized Madrid, shaking it to its core. Two years later, another young child - similar in age and appearance to Nicolás - disappears from the same suburban shopping mall, drawing Chief Inspector Ana Arén back into the case she could never close. This is her chance at redemption. As fears of a serial kidnapper threaten to consume the city once again, Ana’s friend, reporter Inés Grau, jumps at the chance to cover it. But the pressure on Ana is greater than ever as she straddles an ethical line.

Written in 1911, The Card is the story of Edward Henry (Denry) Machin, who rises from washerwoman's son to the Mayor of Bursley (Burslem in the Potteries town of Stoke-on-Trent) via a mixture of gentle deceit and personal hype. He is literally a trickster of confidence. His rise to fame is begun at an exclusive ball to which he has got himself invited, where he has the audacity to claim a dance with the glamourous but imposing Countess of Chell.