Great Literature

The Greats Abridged: Great Expectations brings Charles Dickens' iconic coming-of-age tale to life in a concise, compelling format ideal for modern listeners. This expertly abridged version preserves the heart and drama of Pip’s journey—from humble beginnings as an orphaned blacksmith’s apprentice to the glittering illusions of gentlemanly life in London.

Here are the extraordinary writings of a generation who fought through a war of unprecedented destructive power, and who had to find new voices to express the horror of what they discovered. The great names - Owen, Sassoon - are fully represented, but there are also many poems by lesser-known or unexpected figures, ranging from serving soldiers like Isaac Rosenberg and Richard Aldington to women such as Edith Nesbit and Vera Brittain.

This third volume of Great Sci-Fi Stories contains "Young Man from Elsewhen" by Sylvia Jacobs, "Asleep in Armageddon" by Ray Bradbury, "Living Space" by Isaac Asimov, and more.

Beatrice Carraway has dreams. Although she’s aged out of the childhood pageant circuit, she’s intent on carrying her talents all the way to the big screen—if only she can escape the poverty of West Dallas first. But as the Great Depression drags the working class further and further under, Beatrice struggles just to keep herself, her mother, and her younger sister afloat. After a string of failed auditions, she feels defeated. And then in walks Jack Turner.

Someone is murdering innocent people in Santa Fe and cutting an upside-down cross on the victims' foreheads. The town is in a panic as many people swear a devil worshipper is responsible for the murders. Davidson, the Great Detective from New York City, is in town and he is more of a problem than a help in solving the case. Will Cannon enlists the help of a young cowboy and together they try to track down Damon the Demon before he kills more innocent people.

The Great Gatsby, a work that seriously examines the theme of aspiration in an American setting, defines the classic American novel. The novel was inspired by a youthful romance Fitzgerald had with a socialite, and by parties he attended on Long Island's North Shore in 1922. Set in the Jazz Age on Long Island, the novel depicts narrator Nick Carraway's interactions with mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby and Gatsby's obsession to reunite with his former lover, Daisy Buchanan.Set in the Jazz Age on Long Island, the novel depicts narrator Nick Carraway's interactions with mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby and Gatsby's obsession to reunite with his former lover, Daisy Buchanan.

At the age of 48, film critic David Denby returned to his alma mater, Columbia University, to re-experience the core humanities courses he had taken as a freshman 30 years before. Facing the question of what he really knows, Denby re-examines the besieged Western classics, ranging from Homer, Sappho, and Sophocles to Dante, Nietzsche, and Woolf. What relevance do the writers and thinkers of the past have to our current life? The answer surprised Denby and will surprise and enlighten his listeners.

April, 1867. A train departs King's Cross station bound for Lincoln. Among the passengers is a man attired in the garb of one in high ecclesiastical office.

Competition is hotter than the pre-heated ovens as The Great British Baking Competition moves into cake week. Amateur baker Poppy Wilkinson has a lot to deal with, from learning she has talents she never knew about, to trying to keep cool and bake under pressure. She’s also trying to track down the secrets of her parentage. Meanwhile, she’s saved from death by a local Border collie who seems to think she’s part of his flock and herds her out of danger.

Brought to you by Penguin. This Penguin Classic is performed by Erin Doherty. Star of Call The Midwife, Erin will play Princess Anne in Series 3 of The Crown. This definitive recording includes an Introduction by Gillian Beer. At twenty-seven, Anne Elliot is no longer young and has few romantic...

Essays on London provide an acute and perceptive insight into early twentieth century city life. Including profound meditations on the rhythm of life on Oxford Street and the consumerism that drives it, vivid descriptions of the epic cathedrals that pave the streets and the place of religion in contemporary society, and an intimate sketch of a charming woman who is a Londoner to her core, these eloquent snapshots of the city are told with Woolf’s trademark intimacy and self-awareness.

A New York Times bestseller The author of the beloved #1 New York Times bestseller Reading Lolita in Tehran returns with the next chapter of her life in books—a passionate and deeply moving hymn to America Ten years ago, Azar Nafisi electrified readers with her multimillion-copy...

In the Highlands of 1950s Scotland, a boy is found dead in a canal lock. Two young girls tell such a fanciful story of his disappearance that no one believes them. The local newspaper staff - including Joanne Ross, the part-time typist embroiled in an abusive marriage, and her boss, a seasoned journalist determined to revamp the paper - set out to uncover and investigate the crime. Suspicion falls on several townspeople, all of whom profess their innocence.

England, 1455 - King Henry VI is proving to be an unstable monarch, prone to bouts of mysterious illness and susceptible to manipulation from others. Richard of York, the most powerful magnate in the land, steps in to manage affairs whilst Henry is unwell. Many people prefer York's rule, which does not please the queen. The country begins to divide and plots start to hatch. York himself is directly descended from the royal family line, in fact, a little more directly than Henry, but he puts this fact aside and strives only to serve the king.

Elizabeth Bankroft is a thoroughly modern teenager in the Edwardian age. She spends part of the year with her parents in British India and part of the year with her grandparents in England. When her parents decide to send her to a college, Elizabeth resents the idea of what she calls a “finishing school” in India. At the Viceroy’s College in the foothills of the Himalayas, “finishing” will take on a whole new meaning. The college is, in fact, the British India's school for spies.

The Complete Charles Dickens Collection: Part Two contains all of Charles Dickens' major published works from 1844 to 1865. Dickens wrote most of his most influential and beloved novels during these years - introducing us to characters such as Pip, David Copperfield, Little Dorrit, Esther Summerson, and many more who have lived long in the memory for generations. Also included here are a selection of his essays, travelogues, letters, and a short biography of Dickens by his daughter, Mamie.

Esther Nilson is an intellectual woman who values debate and political discourse almost as much as she values life itself. Until she is asked to give a lecture on famed artist Hugo Rask, and falls hopelessly in love with him. She abandons her relationships, her home, her friends and her self esteem, as her world begins to revolve around the existence of Hugo Rask. They strike up a casual relationship, but she sees it as much more

Helia has served as the Sage of Hope for the Great Library of Tomorrow for centuries. She is one of the chosen few who embody and protect the values of humanity across the numerous realms of Paperworld, which are connected within the Library itself via magical portals controlled by the Book of Wisdom. But even her hope is tested when she and her partner, Xavier, the Sage of Truth, are attacked while visiting the famous Rose Garden in the realm of Silvyra. Wounded and in shock amid a storm of fire, they are confronted by a deadly figure known to them as the Ash Man.

Leo Tolstoy & Charles Dickens: The Ultimate Collection brings together four major works of fiction from two of the greatest writers of the 1800s, as well as a one piece of their most renowned non-fiction. In this collection you'll hear Jonathan Keeble expertly narrating the grand epics of Anna Karenina and War & Peace, Stephen Fry narrating Great Expectations, Scrooge's ghostly journey narrated by Jason Isaacs, and other award-winning narrators bringing Tolstoy and Dickens' most beloved stories to life.

Catherine wrestles with self-pity after a machine-shop accident. With her fiancé and brothers on the front lines in France, she must find a new way to fight on the home front. At her side are her steadfast GWR friends, among them Maggie, facing the loss of her father and family home, and Lily, desperate for news of her childhood sweetheart. All are determined to keep morale high and do their bit to win the war.