Great Classics

The short story is considered to be one of the most challenging genres because of the need for compact plotlines and the ability to conjure up atmosphere and character in a few sentences and to engage the reader instantly. This collection presents 66 of the greatest examples of the genre - many of them well known, some hidden literary treasures, all of them exquisite examples of the short story at its finest.

The quartercentenary of John Milton (1608-1674) is celebrated next year. This selection of his finest poetry includes sections from "Paradise Lost", "Samson Agonistes", the masque "Comus", as well as sonnets and other poems. They are read by two of Britain's leading classical actors.

"The Great Gatsby" is a 1925 novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in the Jazz Age on Long Island, near New York City, the novel depicts first-person narrator Nick Carraway's interactions with mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby and Gatsby's obsession to reunite with his former lover, Daisy Buchanan.

First published in 1883, Treasure Island remains one of Robert Louis Stevenson's best-known and best-loved works.

A classic coming of age adventure, featuring buried treasure, treacherous pirates, and the eponymous Long John Silver, Treasure Island tells the enthralling story of Jim Hawkins, a young cabin boy, who sets sail on an 18th century voyage in search of a pirate's buried gold.

A critically acclaimed novelist pulls Nick Carraway out of the shadows and into the spotlight in this "masterful" look into his life before Gatsby (Richard Russo, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Empire Falls and Chances Are). Before Nick Carraway moved to West Egg and into Gatsby's periphery...

On publication, it was widely denounced by the press as degenerate and horrific because of its implied sexual content, and the novella hurt Machen's reputation as an author. Beginning in the 1920s, Machen's work was critically re-evaluated and The Great God Pan has since garnered a reputation as a classic of horror.

INCLUDES AN EXCLUSIVE ARCHIVED RECORDING WITH PATRICK HEMINGWAY! An intimate and illuminating glimpse at Ernest Hemingway as a father, revealed through a selection of letters he and his son Patrick exchanged over the span of twenty years. In the public imagination, Ernest Hemingway looms larger...

The second volume in Larry McMurtry's four-part historical epic featuring the Berrybender family as they continue their journey through the West during the 1830s. In The Wandering Hill, Larry McMurtry continues the story of Tasmin Berrybender and her eccentric family in the still unexplored Wild...

These treasured stories from the most influential authors of the 19th and early 20th centuries are selected for their literary importance as well as their dramatic, oral qualities. Listen to these 10 unabridged classics by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, O. Henry, and Willa Cather.

With over one million copies sold, The Great American Bathroom Book is the perfect companion for the burgeoning intellect on the go. Whether you're an avid reader in need of a refresher course or a novice who wouldn't know his Longfellow from his Dickens, The Great American Bathroom Book: Volume 1 provides nearly 120 comprehensive summaries and thought-provoking commentaries on the literary world's finest classics.

For fans of Ben Lerner’s The Topeka School and Richard Linklater’s Boyhood, Great Disasters is a stirring debut novel about six young men coming of age, and the enduring friendships that make us who we are—even as our paths diverge. This is the story of how we became. I write those words...

Brought to you by Penguin. This Penguin Classic is performed by Esh Alladi. On the day of his wedding, Conrad, heir to the house of Otranto, is killed in mysterious circumstances. His calculating father Manfred fears that his dynasty will now come to an end and determines to marry his son's...

A spectacular collection of classic ghost stories from some of the masters of spooky fiction. 'On the Brighton Road' by Richard Middleton; 'A Ghost Story' by Mark Twain; 'The Everlasting Club' by Arthur Gray; 'The Snow' by Hugh Walpole; 'Rose Rose' by Barry Pain; 'The Ghost Ship' by Richard Middleton; 'The Bus Conductor' by E. F. Benson; 'The Tarn' by Hugh Walpole; 'The Diary of Mr. Poynter' by M. R. James.

Set in New York during the Jazz Age, this new adaptation tells the tragic tale of self-made millionaire Jay Gatsby. Consumed with desire for his former lover, Daisy Buchanan, Gatsby draws new neighbor Nick Carraway into his desperate pursuit to win her back—and into their world of lavish wealth, wild parties, and free-flowing liquor.

Enduring stories that are as relevant today as they were when written at the turn of the century by influential women writers. This audio recording includes: "On the Divide" and "The Garden Lodge" by Willa Cather; "A Point at Issue", "Desiree's Baby", "A Pair of Silk Stockings", and "The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin; "Three Thanksgivings" and "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman; and "The Pelican" and "The Fullness of Life" by Edith Wharton.

The Prairie marks the final chapter in James Fenimore Cooper's great saga of American frontiersman Natty Bumppo. Though nearly 90 in 1804, Bumppo is still competent as a frontiersman and trapper, now on the Great Plains. Once more he is drawn into conflict with society in the form of an emigrant party led by the surly Ishmael Bush and his miscreant brother-in-law, Abiram White. And once again this great man of nature is called upon to exhibit his courage and resourcefulness to rescue the innocent.

In honor of Sinatra's 100th birthday, Pete Hamill's classic tribute returns with a new introduction by the author. In this unique homage to an American icon, journalist and award-winning author Pete Hamill evokes the essence of Sinatra--examining his art and his legend from the inside, as only a...

Set in the roaring 1920s, The Great Gatsby is a timeless tale of wealth, excess, love, and tragedy. Through the eyes of narrator Nick Carraway, F. Scott Fitzgerald tells the story of the enigmatic and wealthy Jay Gatsby, who throws lavish parties in a bid to rekindle his lost love, Daisy Buchanan. Beneath the glittering surface of opulence and glamour, The Great Gatsby explores deeper themes of identity, obsession, and the American Dream gone awry.

Narrator Nick Carraway tells the story of his neighbour Jay Gatsby, whose parties at his Long Island mansion are as lavish as his past is mysterious. Yet Gatsby cares only for one of his guests: his lost love Daisy Buchanan, now married and living across the bay. In Fitzgerald’s hands, this deceptively simple story becomes a perfect work of art, told in hauntingly beautiful prose.

Understood to be a commentary on human nature, consumerism, idealism, prejudice, and American society overall, this novel has become one of the most widely known and read pieces of literature. Thrown in the midst of the age of roaring twenties, tempted by the American dream, luxury, and romance, narrator Nick Carraway joins the elusive and extraordinary Jay Gatsby as the latter continues his dramatic pursuit of his longtime love interest, Daisy Buchanan.