Classic Fiction Collection

Before Twilight and True Blood, even before Buffy and Anne Rice and Bela Lugosi, vampires haunted the 19th century, when brilliant writers everywhere indulged their bloodthirsty imaginations, culminating in Bram Stoker's legendary 1897 novel, Dracula. Michael Sims brings together the very best vampire stories of the Victorian era - from England, America, France, Germany, Transylvania, and even Japan - into a unique collection that highlights their cultural variety.

The Trial and the Death of Socrates remains a powerful document not least because it gives a first-hand account of the end of one of the greatest figures in history.

In Apology, Socrates defends himself before the Athenian court against charges of corrupting youth. Phaedo is the account by a young man of the actual last words and moments of Socrates.

An anthology of verse by women poets writing in Persian, most of whom have never been translated into English before, from acclaimed scholar and translator Dick Davis. From Rabe'eh in the 10th century to Fatemeh Ekhtesari in the 21st, the women poets found in The Mirror of My Heart write across the millennium on such universal topics as marriage, children, political climate, death, and emancipation, recreating life from hundreds of years ago that is strikingly similar to our own today and giving insight into their experiences as women.

This Nathaniel Hawthorne Collection includes Nathaniel Hawthorne's most notable works: The Scarlet Letter, The House of the Seven Gables, and The Birthmark. Get your copy today!

Listening to The Satires by Juvenal is to come face to face with the corruption, the debauchery, the waste, the sloth, and the mean-spirited greed of ancient Rome...or is it more like modern times? Indeed, these masterpieces of biting social commentary could easily have been written today about any number of metropolitan areas we are all familiar with.

Award-winning storyteller Barbara McBride-Smith breathes life (albeit a wizened Texan version) into the old Greek myths. With her incurable Texas drawl, she spins the Greek myths as you've never heard them before, rendering them 99% more fun while retaining 100% of their original insights into the crooked ways of the human heart and the no less crooked ways of the ancient Greek gods.

23 stories, all unabridged, from a diverse group of star writers and readers. A truly memorable collection with a wide appeal. Includes "The Years Midnight" by Helen Simpson, read by Harriet Walter; "On Seeing the 100% Perfect Girl One Beautiful Morning" by Haruki Marukami, read by Walter Lewis; "Bablady" by A. S. Byatt, read by Roslaind Eyres; "Hotel des Vaoyaguerus" by William Boyd, read by Martin Jarvis; and "Who?" by Fay Weldon, read by Julie Christie.

Enjoy a whole summer of fun with this fantastic collection of 30 short stories - the perfect holiday listen for children aged seven and up. From picnics in the sunshine to daring outdoor adventures, celebrate the excitement and magic of summertime with these fun-filled short stories by Enid Blyton. These entertaining tales are the perfect length for listening to at bedtime or in the classroom.

Experience the thrilling adventures of a young man seeking justice for himself and his family in 15th-century England. With his father unfairly outlawed by King Henry IV, Myles Falworth faces enormous odds before he can become a knight and champion his family's cause against powerful foes. With the help of loyal friends, Myles demonstrates courage and persistence as he confronts his opponents one-by-one, winning self-understanding and love along the way.

Step into the mind of James Allen, a pioneer in personal development. The Complete James Allen Collection: A Modern Translation brings together all his works, adapted for today’s readers.

The Alexandre Dumas Collection, with its deep roots in French history, sheds light on the innate sense of honor, duty, responsibility, and love felt by those who lived during the time. Listen as the author takes you on a historical journey to a time when men fought to the death for what they believed in, when executions were a public event, and jewels were traded for secrets! Join us for a reading of The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers and where you will be enchanted by the adventure, danger, and vengeance that these two tales depict.

This is the audio program to play at home over Christmas or during the car journey to see relatives. Dylan Thomas, "The Little Match Girl," and "The Nutcracker" are read by Jenny Agutter with accompanying Tchaikovsky's music - this is a must for Christmas. It contains new recordings as well as some of the finest tracks from the Naxos AudioBooks catalogue.

Inside this bundle, you’ll find three stories which established Edith Wharton as a literary legend. Originally written over a hundred years ago, these stories have stood the test of time to resonate in the hearts of people to this very day. Reflecting the life of the upper-class aristocrats and socialites, The House of Mirth and The Age of Innocence offer tragic tales, while Ethan Frome tells a story in a small wintery town of Massachusetts.

The 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. The texts are taken from his recent omnibus, The Early Stories, 1953-1975.

You can travel back through time to the Christmas season during the Victorian era with Charles Dickens’ cast of characters in the Charles Dickens Complete Christmas Collection. It includes A Christmas Carol, The Chimes, The Cricket on the Hearth, The Battle of Life, The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain, and Dickens' original biography The Life of Dickens.

The Art of War, As a Man Thinketh, Tao Te Ching, The Manual, and Self Reliance are five historical works that deal with self-development. The Art of War deals with military strategy, As a Man Thinketh is a self-help book, The Tao Te Ching is comprised of a series of meditations that reflect on the nature of the Tao, The Manual is a short manual of Stoic ethical advice, and Self Reliance is an essay about the need for each individual to avoid conformity and false consistency.

Faust is a tragic play in two parts that reworks the late medieval myth of a brilliant but disillusioned scholar who makes a deal with the devil. it is widely considered to be Goethe's masterpiece and the greatest work of German literature. The novel Elective Affinities is the story of Eduard and Charlotte, an aristocratic couple enjoying an idyllic but rather dull life on their rural estate. They invite the Captain, Eduard's childhood friend, and Ottilie, the orphaned niece of Charlotte, to live with them, with tragic results.

Aesop's Fables are stories based on analogies and caricatures featuring mostly animals. These stories got the collective name Aesop’s Fables from the person who collected the stories. Aesop, popularly believed to have been a Phrygian slave, collected his fables sometime around the sixth century BC. Whatever his real story may be, the fables he collected feature valuable lessons.

The Aeneid is one of the greatest works in all of world literature. It is filled with mythology, history, and archaeology; it is infused with patriotism, religious feeling, and pathos; it is rich in adventure and romance. As the story begins, a storm shipwrecks Aeneas and his Trojan followers near Carthage in North Africa. There, Aeneas falls in love with Dido, queen of Carthage. But the gods order him to leave for Italy. In despair, Dido commits suicide. Upon finally reaching Italy, Aeneas goes down into the lower world and learns about his future descendants, the Romans.

These timeless stories are perfect for young fans of mystery, adventure or detective series. A store of stolen silver, a surprising view through a telescope, a shrill scream on a night out, a disappearing cash box, a dangerous accident and a trap for the Secret Seven! Solve the mystery with the Secret Seven in these six classic short stories by Enid Blyton - perfect for bedtime listening! The stories were originally published in books and magazines in the 1940s and 1950s. This audio recording features the classic texts.