Classic Essays

Thoreau gives an account of three canoe and hiking journeys - by himself and with others - through the mostly uninhabited forests of Maine in the 1850s. Identifying birds, trees and plants by their botanical as well as their common names, he also records the Indian names of lakes, rivers and plants. He investigates the connections between waterways and trails, and provides detail on camping, fishing and hunting in the woods, using whatever is at hand. Extolling the beauty of the wilds that he encounters, Thorough’s narrative is also imbued with elements of his philosophy.

Confessions of a Book Lover was first published in 1922, and even though it is nearly a century old, it is a delightful rummage through a lifetime of reading. We have abbreviated the original with those sections we found most engaging.

In this brilliant collection, the follow-up to her New York Times best seller Reading Like a Writer, the distinguished novelist, literary critic, and essayist celebrates the pleasures of reading and pays homage to the works and writers she admires above all others. In an age defined by hyper-connectivity and constant stimulation, Francine Prose makes a compelling case for the solitary act of reading and the great enjoyment it brings. Inspiring and illuminating, What to Read and Why includes selections culled from Prose’s previous essays, reviews, and introductions.

A collection of 23 of Twain's funniest stories and essays, ranging from tongue in cheek to the fantastic.

Granna is ex-primary school teacher and grandmother Anna Gammond, who has been telling stories to countless numbers of children in her own warm distinctive style for more than 40 years. Here she brings her personal touch to Beauty & The Beast as well as two other classic stories, The Emperor's New Clothes and Three Billy Goats Gruff.

Toward the end of the Hundred Years War between France and England, as Merlin predicted, a great warrior emerged, uniting a beleaguered nation and leading it to improbable victories. It was said this warrior was a messenger of God. And it may have been, for a country was saved and a kingdom restored. This great leader of men, this messenger who united a nation, was a 17-year-old maiden named Joan.

Jerome K Jerome began writing in 1888 with "On the Stage and Off', followed the next year by his familiar classic "Three Men in a Boat". In this delightful collection of stories, narrated by Hubert Gregg, the author reveals all too well why these stories should only be "told after supper". Listener beware!

A selection from the John Updike audio collection. These extraordinarily evocative stories depict the generation born in a small-town America during the Depression and growing up in a world where the old sexual morality was turned around and material comforts were easily had. Yet, as these stories reflect so accurately, life was still unsettling, and Updike chronicles telling moments both joyful and painful.

A selection from the John Updike audio collection. These extraordinarily evocative stories depict the generation born in a small-town America during the Depression and growing up in a world where the old sexual morality was turned around and material comforts were easily had. Yet, as these stories reflect so accurately, life was still unsettling, and Updike chronicles telling moments both joyful and painful.

A selection from the John Updike audio collection.

In 1845 Henry David Thoreau, one of the principal New England Transcendentalists, left the town for the country. Beside the lake of Walden, he built himself a log cabin and returned to nature, to observe and reflect, while surviving on $8 a year. From this experience emerged one of the great classics of American literature, a deeply personal reaction against the commercialism and materialism that he saw as the main impulses of mid-19th century America.

Ob Kleinkindlyrik oder Nonsensklassiker, ob Lyrik-Parodien oder hehre Dichtkunst: Robert Gernhardt führt in seiner berühmten Poetikvorlesung durch die Höhen und Tiefen der Kunst, Gedichte zu schreiben. Und darin geht es zu, wie in jedem durchschnittlichen Haus: im Kinderzimmer sitzen Peter Rühmkorf und H. M. Enzensberger und spielen und singen.

A selection from the John Updike audio collection.

The Souls of Black Folk is a classic work by W. E. B. Du Bois. Originally published in 1903, it contains many essays on race and equality, but is also a piece of seminal history, laying the groundwork for the field of sociology. Some of the essays in the book were even previously published by the Atlantic Monthly magazine. When writing, Du Bois drew from his personal experiences as an African-American in America to highlight the issues of prejudice that were still going on into the 20th century.

The styles and rhythms of English can vary fully as much as in poetry. Therefore to compliment The Anthology Of English Poetry, The Anthology Of English Prose aims to enchant with the best of English prose, and to illustrate the ways in which each great writer has bent the language to his will. The recordings were made in the 1950s by members of the University of Cambridge and directed by George Rylands.

"There are two kinds of clocks. There is the clock that is always wrong, and that knows it is wrong, and glories in it; and there is the clock that is always right - except when you rely upon it, and then it is more wrong than you would think a clock could be in a civilized country."

A selection from the John Updike audio collection

A selection from the John Updike audio collection. These extraordinarily evocative stories depict the generation born in a small-town America during the Depression and growing up in a world where the old sexual morality was turned around and material comforts were easily had. Yet, as these stories reflect so accurately, life was still unsettling, and Updike chronicles telling moments both joyful and painful.

A selection from the John Updike audio collection. These extraordinarily evocative stories depict the generation born in a small-town America during the Depression and growing up in a world where the old sexual morality was turned around and material comforts were easily had. Yet, as these stories reflect so accurately, life was still unsettling, and Updike chronicles telling moments both joyful and painful.

A selection from the John Updike audio collection. These extraordinarily evocative stories depict the generation born in a small-town America during the Depression and growing up in a world where the old sexual morality was turned around and material comforts were easily had. Yet, as these stories reflect so accurately, life was still unsettling, and Updike chronicles telling moments both joyful and painful.