Short Classics

Over 10 hours of riveting stories by some of the world’s greatest short-story writers.

This selection of Poe's critical writings, short fiction and poetry demonstrates his intense interest in aesthetic issues and the astonishing power and imagination with which he probed the darkest corners of the human mind. The Fall of the House of Usher is a slow-burning Gothic horror, describing the final hours of a family tormented by tragedy and the legacy of the past.

Queen Marguerite de Navarre was one of the most powerful women of her age. Her masterpiece, The Heptameron, is a collection of some 72 stories told by five gentlemen and five ladies who find themselves stranded in an abbey. Proposed as an edifying way of passing the time while a bridge is being repaired, the tale-telling - as well as the conversations that follow each story - quickly becomes a battle of wits between the sexes, with tales concerning illicit lovers, romantic conquests, lecherous monks, manly honor, and women's virtue.

The story starts with the hotel owner trolling for guests at the train station and finding three: the Swede, the Cowboy, and the Easterner. As with many stories the personalities are known by their titles not their names; the two known by their names are the hotel keeper, Scully, and his son Johnny. The first major event is in a play for fun (no money) card game in which the Swede accuses Johnny of cheating. Johnny skillfully defends himself by saying he won't put up with the accusation, while side stepping the truth of the matter.

Like all great metropolises before it, when a city gets big enough, old enough, it must be born; but there are ancient enemies who cannot tolerate new life. Thus New York will live or die by the efforts of a reluctant midwife...and how well he can learn to sing the city's mighty song.

This follow-up to The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories features familiar Seussian faces and places - including Horton the Elephant, Marco, Mulberry Street, and a Grinch - as well as an introduction by renowned Seuss scholar Charles D. Cohen. Seuss fans will learn more about Horton’s integrity, Marco’s amazing imagination, a narrowly avoided disaster on Mullbery Street, and a devious Grinch.

Once, Hope Payne was a mermaid, performing at the local theme park and captivating audiences young and old. Today, she's married to a pragmatic marine biologist who has filled the pool in their backyard with flounder for a special study. Before he begins, the fish vanish - echoing a loss Hope alone can understand. She senses there's something underwater, something alive and hungry for more, but is she in too deep to ever resurface?

In these eight intriguing tales, Holmes and Watson solve cases that range from the suspicious to the downright strange. They encounter mysteries as diverse as vanishing staff, secret plans and eccentric lodgers as Holmes is struck down by a rare tropical disease and, later, lured away from retirement to help his country on the eve of war.

Witches and pixies abound in this magical selection of 30 short stories, perfect for seasonal listening and sharing. Each story stands alone and is the perfect length for listening to at bedtime or in the classroom. Enid Blyton remains one of Britain's favourite children's authors, and her bumper short-story collections are perfect for introducing her to the latest generation of listeners.

Современный смысл понятия "классическая литература" уходит корнями в Эпоху Возрождения, когда в процессе секуляризации европейской культуры писатели обратили своё внимание на античных авторов.

Blacky the Crow is a mischief maker. He has very sharp eyes and sees things he shouldn't. They often get him into trouble. Blacky loves eggs. One day he discovers that Hooty the Owl and Mrs. Hooty have laid eggs in a nest when there is still snow on the ground. Blacky devises a plan with his fellow crows to steal them. Later, we find out that Blacky has a good side too. As with all Thornton W. Burgess books, there are positive messages for young listeners.

“All the tales are a variety of detective story,” wrote Bowles of this, his first short story collection, “in which the reader is the detective; the mystery is in the motivation for the charcters’ behavior.” In such stories as “A Distant Episode” and How Many Midnights,” Bowles pushes human character beyond socially defined limits and maps a transformed (often horribly transformed) reality.

Hailed as one of the world's supreme masterpieces on the subject of death and dying, Leo Tolstoy's "The Death of Ivan Ilyich" is the story of a worldly careerist, a high court judge who has never given the inevitability of his death so much as a passing thought. But one day, death announces itself to him, and to his shocked surprise he is brought face to face with his own mortality.

H.G. Wells was more than a science fiction pioneer—he was a futurist, a philosopher, and an architect of ideas that continue to shape modern discussions on global governance, education, and human progress. This essential collection brings together Wells’ most influential works on civilization’s fate, world order, and the role of centralized planning in shaping the future. From the bold proclamations of The Open Conspiracy to the thought-provoking insights of World Brain, these writings lay out his vision for a unified, scientifically managed society.

'The Library Window' is a ghost story. A young girl, visiting her aunt in Scotland, finds herself increasingly intrigued by a mysterious window in the house opposite her own favourite window, where she sits to read. There seems to be a local mystery about the window, including a dispute about whether there is even a window there at all. Increasingly this doubt seems odd to the girl as the days go by, as she can see into the room opposite and make out furniture and objects there. Then one day she sees someone in that room....

Enciende tu imaginación y abre puertas a mundos nuevos con esta colección encantadora para niños. Con más de 100 minutos de cuentos en español, esta colección ofrece diversión sin fin para toda la familia. Descubre cuentos adorados como “Los tres osos” y “La gallinita roja.”

In these five unabridged short stories, Stephen Crane masterfully depicts the human condition. Through his keen observations of the simple, unnoticed aspects of life, he deftly describes man’s relationship to society, human nature, and the power of transformation. In each of the stories, he creatively reveals the internal battles, conflicts, and awakening that man collectively experiences. Grab your copy today to discover how he reveals man’s sense of dignity, optimism, grit, courage, and greed.

Considered to be Anderson's masterpiece, this series of short stories with recurring characters depicts the joys of love, the pains of loss and the prejudices and secrets of a small town as seen through the eyes of its inhabitants. The main character, George Willard, is said to resemble the author in many ways.

The Chuzzlewits are a family divided by money and selfishness; even young Martin, the eponymous hero, is arrogant and self-centred. He offends his grandfather by falling in love with the latter’s ward, Mary, and sets out to make his own fortune in life, travelling as far as America - which produces from Dickens a savage satire on a new world tainted with the vices of the old. Martin’s nature slowly changes through his bitter experience of life and his enduring love for Mary.

Les deux des plus grands textes de la littérature française réunis dans cette compilation pour le plus grand plaisir des admirateurs de Maupassant.