Modern Classics Literature

The Ultimate Modern Classics Collection: Volume One is the first instalment in our classics collection focusing on the most important and iconic novels, stories, and poems of the 20th century. Featuring 18 essential modern classics from Orwell, Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Woolf, and many more, and read by a cast of incredible narrators including Iwan Rheon, Ben Allen, Karen Cass, Nathan Osgood, amongst others, this is an essential addition to your library.

Desperate to escape their high-pressure life in Los Angeles, the Finch family moves to rural Oregon. But it doesn’t take long to learn that “small town” is not code for “stress-free.” As the new owners of Applegate's one and only general store, the Finches find that the simple life’s anything but simple when your little store is the town's only grocery store, gas station, hardware store, fire station, and occasional dentist’s office.

Join Marlow on a fascinating and disturbing journey deep into the jungle. Hired to captain an old steamboat, his mission is to follow the trail of an endless river to rescue Kurtz, the company's top trading agent. However, what Marlow discovers on his voyage surpasses any nightmare. In an environment dominated by greed and brutality, Kurtz has lost his mind, crowning himself as a cruel god to the natives. This novel will grip you from the start, forcing you to look into the darkest corners of the human mind.

When the American Otis family buys the English mansion Canterville Chase, they ignore warnings that it is haunted. Far from being frightened by the ghost of Sir Simon, a centuries-old spirit, the Otises baffle him by offering stain remover for his bloodstains and lubricant for his noisy chains. While the family's mischievous twins terrorize the specter, he falls into despair. Only the compassion of young Virginia can help the tormented ghost find redemption and eternal rest in this clever satire about cultural clashes.

This deeply sensitive and provocative collection includes "The Beast of the Jungle" (considered to be one of Henry James' best), "The Altar of the Dead", "The Birthplace", "The Liar", and "The Middle Years".

The Picture of Dorian GrayIn the heart of Victorian London, the young and innocent Dorian Gray becomes captivated by his own portrait, painted by Basil Hallward. Under the influence of the cynical and hedonistic Lord Henry Wotton, Dorian makes a desperate wish: that the canvas age and bear the scars of his sins, while he retains his eternal youth. This macabre desire comes true, unleashing a dark spiral of vice, cruelty, and moral decay.

He wanted to create life. He never imagined the responsibility that would follow. Driven by ambition and a hunger for forbidden knowledge, Victor Frankenstein discovers how to bring lifeless matter to life. But when his experiment succeeds, he recoils from the being he has created—and abandons it. His decision sets in motion a tragedy that stretches from the mountains of Switzerland to the frozen reaches of the Arctic. Alone in a world that fears his appearance, the Creature learns to speak, to read, and to dream of companionship.

Of all of John Irving's books, this is the one that lends itself best to audio. In print, Owen Meany's dialogue is set in capital letters; for this production, Irving himself selected Joe Barrett to deliver Meany's difficult voice as intended. In the summer of 1953, two 11-year-old boys – best friends – are playing in a Little League baseball game in Gravesend, New Hampshire. One of the boys hits a foul ball that kills the other boy's mother. The boy who hits the ball doesn't believe in accidents; Owen Meany believes he is God's instrument. What happens to Owen after that 1953 foul ball is extraordinary and terrifying.

A glittering collection of some of the world's finest short stories.

When Garnet Raven was three years old, he was taken from his home on an Ojibway Indian reserve and placed in a series of foster homes. Having reached his mid-teens, he escapes at the first available opportunity, only to find himself cast adrift on the streets of the big city. Having skirted the...

James Baldwin gives an electrifying reading about a young gay American in Paris recalling a dramatic and transforming incident from his boyhood, as he struggles to accept his sexual identity.

Huckleberry Finn escapes his abusive father and the stifling rules of civilized society by faking his own death. Fleeing down the Mississippi River, he joins forces with Jim, a runaway slave desperately seeking his freedom. Together, they navigate a raft through the deep American South, facing dangerous family feuds, cunning con artists, and profound moral dilemmas. As Huck questions the prejudices he was raised with, he must choose between the law and loyalty to his friend. This modern adaptation revives Twain's classic tale of rebellion and friendship.

One of Ray Bradbury’s best-known and most popular novels, Something Wicked This Way Comes, now in a new recording narrated by Paul Giamatti! For those who still dream and remember, for those yet to experience the hypnotic power of its dark poetry, step inside. The show is about to begin...

Sélection d'Essais de Jean-Yves Tadié. Montaigne se lance dans la rédaction des "Essais" avec un objectif : se connaître soi-même. Philosophie, nature, justice, lecture, histoire... Les réflexions qui nourrissent l'œuvre de cet humaniste curieux et érudit sont le résultat d'une vaste introspection. Le génie de Montaigne est de donner à cette découverte du moi une portée universelle. Le plaisir de lecture qu'offrent les "Essais" ne serait rien sans la saveur d'une langue si singulière. L'ancien français - parfois difficile d'accès - a été ici "rajeuni".

Brought to you by Penguin. The articles collected in George Orwell's Essays illuminate the life and work of one of the most individual writers of this century - a man who elevated political writing to an art. This outstanding collection brings together Orwell's longer, major essays and a fine...

An Oprah's Book Club Selection regarded as one of Faulkner's greatest and most accessible novels, Light in August is a timeless and riveting story of determination, tragedy, and hope. In Faulkner's iconic Yoknapatawpha County, race, sex, and religion collide around three memorable characters searching desperately for human connection and their own identities.

Anthony Powell's universally acclaimed epic encompasses a four-volume panorama of twentieth-century London. Hailed by Time as "brilliant literary comedy as well as a brilliant sketch of the times," A Dance to the Music of Time opens just after World War I. Amid the fever of the 1920s and the first chill of the 1930s, Nick Jenkins and his friends confront sex, society, business, and art.

Brought to you by Penguin. 'All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others' When the downtrodden animals of Manor Farm overthrow their master Mr Jones and take over the farm themselves, they imagine it is the beginning of a life of freedom and equality. But gradually a cunning...

A mysterious stranger covered in bandages arrives in the quiet village of Iping hiding a terrifying secret: he is Griffin, a brilliant scientist who discovered the formula for invisibility. What seemed like humanity's greatest triumph quickly turns into a nightmare when he cannot reverse the process. Trapped by his own genius and driven mad by frustration, Griffin unleashes a violent reign of terror over the region. The invisible hunter soon becomes the prey in a desperate manhunt. Can the world stop a monster it cannot even see?

David Hume (1711-1776) was the most important philosopher ever to write in English as well as a master stylist. This volume contains his major philosophical works. A Treatise of Human Nature (1739–1740), published while Hume was still in his twenties, consists of three books on the understanding, the passions, and morals.