Great Classics

"After a moment he smiled a teasing smile. 'I still think it would be a better story if either of them had one redeeming quality.' 'I think that may be the point,' I disagreed. 'Their love is their only redeeming quality.'" --Eclipse, Stephenie Meyer Perhaps the most haunting and tormented...

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Women, a historical novel about three women’s lives on a California island On a tiny, desolate, windswept island off the coast of Southern California, two families, one in the 1880s and one in the 1930s, come to start new lives and pursue...

One of the great literary classics of Western literature and the only published novel written by Oscar Wilde. The Picture of Dorian Gray created great controversy on publication because of its homosexual undertones, and was later used as evidence against him at his trial at the Old Bailey in 1895. "If it were I who was to be always young, and the picture that was to grow old...I would give my soul for that!" The wish uttered by Dorian Gray as he gazes on his portrait forms the basis of this story.

One of the great literary classics of Western literature, Gulliver's Travels is a powerful satire on mankind, morals, and social habits, written in the form of a Travel in Wonderland.

The most celebrated novel by Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) is a culmination of his active years in politics with the Whigs and then the Tories.

The story takes place in The Winglebury Arms, the chief inn in the little town of Great Winglebury. When an anonymous letter form one of the guests is misinterpreted by the mayor of the town events don’t go quite as planned! This humorous little tale, told as only Dickens could, is as sure to amuse now as when it was written over 150 years ago.

This magnetic new recording of F. Scott Fitzgerald's most famous novel is read by award-winning actor Allyn Burrows, who masterfully transports listeners into the era of jazz as the mysteries and romance of millionaire Jay Gatsby and his former lover Daisy are unveiled. This recording is followed by The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Exclusive to Audible, the readings are followed by an interview with Allyn Burrows and producer Alison Larkin, in which Burrows talks about his experience narrating F. Scott Fitzgerald during the pandemic.

尼克从中西部故乡来到纽约，在他住所旁边正是盖茨比的豪华宅第。这里每晚都在举行盛大的宴会。尼克和盖茨比相识，故事就这样开始了。 尼克对盖茨比充满探究的兴趣。探究的结果是：尼克了解到盖茨比内心深处有一段不了之情…… 尼克從中西部故鄉來到紐約，在他住所旁邊正是蓋茨比的豪華宅第。這裏每晚都在舉行盛大的宴會。尼克和蓋茨比相識，故事就這樣開始了。 尼克對蓋茨比充滿探究的興趣。探究的結果是：尼克瞭解到蓋茨比內心深處有一段不了之情……

The focus of the book is on Shakespeare's London, how it influenced his drama, and how he represents it on stage. Taking listeners on an imaginative journey through the city, the book moves both chronologically, from beginning to end of Shakespeare's dramatic career, and geographically, traversing London from west to east.

In the shadow of World War One and set against the backdrop of the Roaring Twenties, "The Great Gatsby" is F. Scott Fitzgerald's magnum opus. In it, he explores the themes of decadence, idealism, social class, and the mystery of human identity.

Immerse yourself in the captivating world of Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Great Stone Face". This beloved short story explores themes of identity, destiny, and the power of perseverance. Hawthorne's writing is both enchanting and thought-provoking, and his characters are richly drawn with nuance and depth. Follow the story of a young boy named Ernest who is convinced that one day he will meet the man whose face perfectly matches the great stone face on the mountain. Join Ernest on his journey of self-discovery and learn about the true meaning of greatness.

Tales of the frozen North and the men and women who dared to challenge it, by the author of The Call of the Wild.

A brilliant collection of some of the finest old sea stories ever written. 'The Overcrowded Iceberg' by Morley Roberts, 'The Substitute' by W. W. Jacobs, 'Reparation' by J. D. Beresford, 'The Paradise Coal-Boat' by Charles John Cutcliffe Hyne, 'The Registered Packet' by J. S. Fletcher, 'Treasure Trove' by Neil Munro, 'The Vengeance of La Maraye' by J. S. Fletcher, 'The Sea-Raiders' by H. G. Wells, 'No Ships Pass' by Eleanor Smith....

The young John Updike’s portrayal of a haughty seminary student working as a lifeguard is witty and poetic, as the naïve hero surveys the beachgoers in his care, and contemplates a future of saving souls as well as bodies.

Nelson Algren brings a deeply personal tone to his reading about Sophie, the doomed wife of card dealer and drug addict Frankie Machine, wanted for murder, as she waits futilely for him to return home.

Written in 1923 and originally published in France, The Great American Novel examines the impossibility of writing such work in America. Williams not only writes the novel with poetic satire and pathos but allows us into his writing process, as he strives to define a young America at the end of a World War and the beginning of the “Roaring ‘20s”.

How he put his fist through the oak-panel of the game-room door; how, when Long Merridew was carrying the ball, he caught up Merridew, ball and all, and ran swiftly past every opponent to the goal. It did not seem fit to us that such a one as he should trouble his head about spondees and dactyls, or care to know who signed Magna Charta. When he said in open class that King Alfred was the man, we little boys all felt that very likely it was so, and that perhaps Jim knew more about it than the man who wrote the book.

The tale begins with an experiment to enable a woman named Mary to experience the supernatural realm, which turns her into an idiot. Then follows an account of a series of mysterious occurrences and deaths surrounding a sinister woman named Helen Vaughan. The protagonists eventually confront Helen and forces her to kill herself. Before dying, she undergoes a series of spooky transformations that reveals her to be the daughter of the ill-fated Mary and the god Pan.

A spine-tingling collection of classic ghost stories – a perfect way to pass those long winter nights! This set contains "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe, "The Horla" by Guy de Maupassant, "Sredni Vashtar" by Saki, "The Mark of the Beast" by Rudyard Kipling, "Lost Hearts" by M.R. James and "The Furnished Room" by O. Henry.

A collection of classic American short stories, including 'The Old Man's Bride' by Timothy Shay Arthur (read by Van Johnson), 'The Virginian' by Owen Wister (William Holden), 'The Turn of the Screw' by Henry James (Ronald Colman and Edna Best) and 'The Man That Corrupted Handleyburg' by Mark Twain (Frank Lovejoy).

In a gloomy, neglected house Miss Havisham sits, as she has sat year after year, in a wedding dress and veil that were once white, and are now faded and yellow with age. Her face is like a death’s head; her dark eyes burn with bitterness and hate. By her side sits a proud and beautiful girl, and in front of her, trembling with fear in his thick country boots, stands young Pip.