Short Classics

A lowly government clerk, Akay Akakiyevich, must scrimp and save to purchase a new coat for the cold Russian winter in “The Overcoat”. But after one night of basking in the warmth of his new coat and the respect of his colleagues, Akaky’s one-of-a-kind overcoat is stolen. In his pursuit of justice, Akaky receives no help and is consumed by the loss of his prized possession. In “The Viy”, Gogol recounts a popular folk story in which a monstrous creature, known to Little Russia as the king of gnomes, helps a witch get revenge on a young student who escaped from her trap.

The Last Hieroglyph is the fifth of the five-volume Collected Fantasies series. Editors Scott Connors and Ron Hilger have compared original manuscripts, various typescripts, published editions, and Smith's notes and letters, in order to prepare a definitive set of texts. The Last Hieroglyph includes, in chronological order, all of Clark Ashton Smith's stories from "The Dark Age" to "The Dart of Rasasfa".

In this entertaining collection, dogs of all kinds are brought to life. Working dogs, dogs who are mistreated by humans, dogs who save lives and the ones that make us laugh; they all leap and bound in stories by our most accomplished writers, including Mark Twain, Virginia Woolf, Jack London and Jerome K. Jerome.

Arthur Conan Doyle, le créateur du personnage de "Sherlock Holmes", le détective privé par excellence, était un écrivain prolifique. Il s'est aussi attelé à l'écriture de nombreux romans, historiques ou policier. On découvre ici une autre facette de son talent : l'écriture de nouvelles fantastiques, d'anticipation et d'horreur.

The recently rediscovered short story 'The Lost One', perfect for fans of Daphne du Maurier, Santa Montefiore and Anya Seton. First published in Woman's Journal in 1960, and set against the backdrop of unfenced country and dark winding valleys at night, the aptly named 'The Lost One' features The Wind off the Small Isles heroine Perdita West, who brings her characteristic pluck and courage to this classic Mary Stewart tale of suspense and intrigue....

Celebrated Irish author Padraic Colum dazzled audiences with his retellings of old Gaelic myths. In The King of Ireland's Son, he imbues seven favorite tales from the Emerald Isle with sly humor, whimsy, and imagination.

This short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald is included in the collection entitled Tales of the Jazz Age. It follows a 16-year-old boy from an affluent family in Mississippi on his way to the most exclusive preparatory school in the world. It is at this school that the boy, named John, meets Peter, a boy whose father is the richest man in the world. John is invited to stay in their home in the west on a break. As John learns more and more about the wealthy family, he discovers their dark, haunting secrets and finds himself running for his life.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman's Herland, first published in 1915, is a feminist utopian novel that describes an isolated society composed entirely of women---a progressive, environmentally conscious land where peace and rationality reign and poverty is unknown.

Selección de cuentos cortos clásicos de la literatura universal pensada para todo público.

What if a single day could strip away every comforting illusion? In “Revelations” by Katherine Mansfield, a woman’s carefully constructed sense of self is quietly undone as she moves through a series of encounters that force her to confront truths she would rather avoid. Set against the routines of social obligation and polite interaction, the story follows an emotional shift that unfolds not through dramatic action, but through subtle perception and inward reckoning.

What does it mean to escape when love, obligation, and habit quietly close in? In “The Escape” by Katherine Mansfield, a quiet domestic moment becomes the stage for an unspoken emotional reckoning between a husband and wife. As they prepare for an evening out, small gestures, clipped remarks, and inner reflections reveal the tensions beneath their long-standing marriage. What appears outwardly calm is charged with resentment, fatigue, and the desire—felt by both—for freedom from roles that no longer bring comfort.

Rip Van Winkle lived in a quiet colonial town, and had a habit of attending to everyone else's chores. Henpecked and poor, he goes squirrel hunting in the woods one day, only to exit twenty years later.

Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) was a reclusive poet whose only friendships were carried out in correspondence. Despite writing almost 1800 poems in her life, very few were published until after her death. Here, the poems are presented in chronological order in their original form, unaltered by editorial revision, in one volume. It offers a wide-angle view of Dickinson's poetic development, from the clunky rhyme schemes of her youth, through valentines she wrote in the early 1850s, to the gloomy, hell-obsessed writings of her last years.

Fairytales are a universal part of childhood. No matter what time or what place you grew up, you have at one point or another heard that classic phrase “once upon a time.” They are usually the first stories we ever hear or read. These types of tales set us up to understand the art of stories and storytelling, and they are certainly worth revisiting. Here in The Blue Fairy Book, the first of Andrew Lang’s beloved collections of classic fairy stories, you will return to the tales you already know.

This reissue of the 1919 classic combines the immortal stories from Homer's Iliad and Odyssey into one glorious saga of heroism and magical adventure. Beloved by generations, Padraic Colum's masterful retelling of these epic adventures is remarkably fresh, consistently spellbinding, and unmatched for its richness and poetry.

The Works of F. Scott Fitzgerald is a collection of 45 novels and short stories by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald's short stories have themes that not only relate to the problems and culture of the Jazz Age, but were also about the promises and despair encountered by the young, as well as aging. Love and relationships between two mismatched or unlikely characters, such as people who are unlikely to develop a spark of romantic interest between each other, is common.

The French Classics Collection brings together 18 of the greatest works of fiction ever written in French - here collected into one audiobook and all translated into English. Featuring grand epics of love, loss, and survival, as in Les Miserables, to tales of adventure in Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth, and romances such as Madame Bovary, alongside many more grand stories from 17th, 18th, and 19th century France, this collection will whisk you away into other worlds with some of the greatest characters in literature within some of the greatest novels ever written.

The Ultimate Classics Collection: Volume Four is the fourth instalment of our wide-ranging classic collections. Volume Four features 12 timeless works that largely focuses on the greats of American and British literature, with novels from Charles Dickens, Edith Wharton, Thomas Hardy, Victor Hugo, and others. Read by a cast of incredible narrators including Miranda Raison, Pearl Mackie, Adam Sims, David Rintoul, and more, this is a chance to expand your listening with some of the greatest authors of all time.

Filled with the power of love and the beauty of nature, Heidi is a lyrical tale about a little girl sent to live in the mountains of the Swiss Alps with her grandfather. A grumpy recluse, her grandfather has isolated himself from his fellow townspeople and his church. In very little time, Heidi warms his heart; and she quickly charms the whole town and makes new friends, including young Peter, the goatherd. But when Heidi is sent away again to care for a young girl her own age, she must grow wise beyond her years.

This collection brings together 12 of the finest short stories of prominent American feminist author Charlotte Perkins Gilman. "The Yellow Wallpaper", Gilman's best-known work, was first published in 1892 and represents an important examination of 19th-century attitudes toward women's physical and mental health.