Classics Collection

"What is your favorite story?" is the question children across the country often ask professional storyteller Pleasant DeSpain. As he attempts to answer, his list grows longer and longer, until he confesses he likes them all. An untiring researcher of oral traditions, DeSpain is known for his concise versions of world folktales specifically crafted for retelling.

Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) was a naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher. Thoreau's literary style combines the observation of nature with personal experience, symbolic meaning, and historical lore. His books, articles, essays, journals, and poetry amount to more than 20 volumes.

James Bond is shattered by the murder of his wife at the hands of Ernst Stavro Blofeld, and only the prospect of a particularly challenging mission can draw him out of his deep depression. Determined to restore 007 to his former effectiveness, M sends Bond to Japan, where a criminal mastermind is using a poisonous garden inside a rocky island fortress to lure people to their deaths. Bond will have to infiltrate and destroy this mysterious Castle of Death in exchange for top secret Japanese intelligence.

A collection of both classic intrigue and intrepid self-examination, For Your Eyes Only packs full, vibrant worlds into five classic tales.

Five classic novelisations of TV adventures featuring the Doctor's arch enemy, the Master! In Doctor Who and the Doomsday Weapon by Malcolm Hulke, the Master has stolen the Time Lord's files on a weapon which could make him ruler of the Galaxy. In Doctor Who and the Daemons by Barry Letts, secret ceremonies have been designed to conjure up a horribly powerful being from another planet.

Mr Galliano's famous circus has come to town! Join young Jimmy Brown and his family as they enter a thrilling world of incredible animals, colourful clowns and daring acrobats. Meet cheeky chimps, kindly elephants, fearsome tigers and one very special little dog called Lucky as Jimmy discovers what it takes to become part of Mr Galliano's Circus.

Greek poet Homer established the standard for tales of epic quests and heroic journeys with The Odyssey. Crowded with characters, both human and nonhuman, and bursting with action, The Odyssey details the adventures of Ulysses, king of Ithaca and hero of the Trojan War, as he struggles to return to his home and his waiting, ever-faithful wife, Penelope.

All the delightful and bizarre inhabitants of Wonderland are here: the White Rabbit and the Cheshire Cat, the hooka-smoking Caterpillar and the Mad Hatter, the March Hare and the Ugly Duchess... and, of course, Alice herself - growing alternately taller and smaller, attending demented tea parties and eccentric croquet games, and observing everything with clarity and rational amazement.

There's more to life than lessons at Malory Towers, Enid Blyton's best-loved boarding school series. This fantastic bumper collection contains Malory Towers audiobooks 4-6. In Upper Fourth, Darrell Rivers is head girl of her class, and her sister Felicity has joined Malory Towers. It looks set to be a wonderful term until Felicity makes friends with young trouble-maker June. With twins Connie and Ruth causing problems in their form too, Darrell's first term in charge is a big challenge....

Jason Watkins, the award-winning stage and screen actor best-known for his roles in The Lost Honour and A Very English Scandal, masterfully performs this brand-new recording of Barnaby Rudge; first published in 1841, it was Dickens’ fifth title and his first historical novel. Set against the backdrop of the Gordon Riots of 1780, Barnaby Rudge reflects back on a time of revolt against the British parliament, following the Catholic Relief Act of 1778.

Here are four of your favorite Arnold Lobel stories together in one audio collection! From Owl's surprising house-guest to the small pig's quest for the perfect mud puddle, Arnold Lobel's stories are filled with one-of-a-kind characters and more than a little silliness too.

The Republic is perhaps the single most important, the most studied and the most quoted text of all of Plato's Socratic Dialogues. Through the medium of Socrates, Plato outlines his view and ideas concerning the ideal working of the city-state. Socrates narrates a conversation that took place the previous day with Cephalus, Glaucon, Thrasymachus and others. The dialogue is organised into 10 books and covers a broad range of topics, including the ideal community and the ideal rulers of the community.

The Barsoom Collection: Books 1-6 is the collection of the first six novels in Edgar Rice Burroughs' Barsoom series, read by esteemed narrator Christopher Ragland.

Step into the captivating world of The Brothers Grimm. This charming collection features more than 60 of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm’s most beloved and enduring stories, including Little Red Riding Hood, The Frog Prince, Rumpelstiltskin, Briar Rose, Rapunzel, Tom Thumb, Hansel & Gretel, The Story of the Youth Who Went Forth to Learn What Fear Was, and more. Whether you grew up with these stories or are discovering them for the first time, the Grimm Fairy Tale Collection delivers a perfect blend of magical adventures, romantic fantasies, and grizzly cautionary tales.

The Odyssey tells of the heroic journey of Odysseus after the Trojan war. In his attempt to return home to Ithaca, this ancient hero is faced with obstacle after obstacle, mythic creature after mythic creature. This is an epic poem encompassing an epic journey as famous as it is classic. Translated by Stanley Lombardo.

Enchanting, tragic, and hilarious fairy tales for adults and children grace these pages. An initial glance might lead you to assume that these are satirical versions of classic Christmas ghost stories. However, beneath the humorous stories involving ghosts, repentant sinners, miracles, and good peasants who find well-deserved happiness, lies a psychological undercurrent that sharpens the sense of intrigue and plot movement. Often this is aided by the unrelenting social exposure of the authors who always understood how intangible the "bourgeois paradise" truly was.

The Odyssey is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the Iliad, the poem is divided into 24 books. It follows the Greek hero Odysseus, king of Ithaca, and his journey home after the Trojan War. After the war, which lasted ten years, his journey lasted for ten additional years, during which time he encountered many perils and all his crew mates were killed..

He's the ass-kicking, wise-cracking, hard-drinking demon hunter you never knew you needed. He's Quincy Harker, and he's here to save your ass whether you want it or not. The immortal magic-wielding son of Jonathan Harker and Mina Murray from the classic novel Dracula, Harker now lives in North Carolina hunting down demons and sending them back to Hell. This Omnibus Edition collects the first 12 novellas in the Quincy Harker series.

Schooldays at St Clare's are never dull for twins Pat and Isabel O'Sullivan in Enid Blyton's much-loved boarding school audio series.

Here are twelve magnificent stories in which John Cheever celebrates—with unequaled grace and tenderness—the deepest feelings we have.