English Literature Great

Pigeonholed in popular memory as a Jazz Age epicurean, a playboy, and an emblem of the Lost Generation, F. Scott Fitzgerald was at heart a moralist struck by the nation's shifting mood and manners after World War I. In Paradise Lost, David Brown contends that Fitzgerald's deepest allegiances were to a fading antebellum world he associated with his father's Chesapeake Bay roots. Yet as a midwesterner, an Irish Catholic, and a perpetually in-debt author, he felt like an outsider in the haute bourgeoisie haunts.

King Lear is perhaps the most poignant character in literature. The aged, abused monarch is at once the consummate figure of authority and the classic example of the fall from majesty. He is widely agreed to be William Shakespeare's most moving, tragic hero. Award-winning writer and beloved professor Harold Bloom writes about Lear with wisdom, joy, exuberance, and compassion. He also explores his own personal relationship to the character.

These treasured stories from the most influential authors of the 19th and early 20th centuries are selected for their literary importance as well as their dramatic, oral qualities. Listen to these 10 unabridged classics by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, O. Henry, and Willa Cather.

Orphan Harriet Jensen inherits a beautiful manor house and turns it into the successful Windrush Hotel. But her estranged relatives—including the handsome Giles—believe they should have inherited the property. Despite their battles, Harriet and Giles find themselves drawn to each other. Vania McAllen runs away to England from her stifling life in America. She gets a job in Harriet’s hotel and the two become firm friends. Then, the man she loves tracks her down.

This mesmerizing, poetic novel won the 2003 National Book Award for fiction and has earned universal acclaim. Set against the beautiful but tragic landscape of post-World War II Asia, The Great Fire tells a sweeping tale of the search for new beginnings in a world ravaged by tragedy.

By July 1914, the ties between Kezia Marchant and Thea Brissenden, friends since girlhood, have become strained - by Thea's passionate embrace of women's suffrage, and by the imminent marriage of Kezia to Thea's brother, Tom, who runs the family farm. When Kezia and Tom wed, just a month before war is declared between Britain and Germany, Thea's gift to Kezia is a book on household management - a veiled criticism of the bride's prosaic life to come.

Accidentally murdered by a cleric in another universe during a botched resurrection, Arnold, a semi-pro gamer, wakes upon an altar to find himself incarnated into the overweight body of a farmer who could have been his fatter twin. He’s not the hero. He’s not the villain. He’s certainly not the chosen one who is there to save the world. He’s a clerical error. It could be a bad joke, but apparently, it happens so often that they have a standard procedure for returning you.

It is said that the canal will be the greatest feat of engineering in history. But first, it must be built. For Francisco, a local fisherman who resents the foreign powers clamoring for a slice of his country, nothing is more upsetting than the decision of his son, Omar, to work as a digger in the excavation zone. But for Omar, whose upbringing was quiet and lonely, this job offers a chance to finally find connection.

Lights! Camera! Action! The latest book in the Big Book Series takes us behind the curtain to uncover the stories that became some of the greatest films of the silver screen. Among these are Robert Louis Stevenson's horrifying tale that was later turned into the iconic movie The Body Snatcher, starring Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff; and "Cyclists' Raid", the short story that formed the basis for the legendary Brando film The Wild One.

Two best-selling Agatha Christie novels in one great audiobook. The Mysterious Affair at Styles - Hercule Poirot solves his first case in the Agatha Christie novel that started it all. Who poisoned the wealthy Emily Inglethorp and how did the murderer penetrate and escape from her locked bedroom? The ABC Murders - Agatha Christie's beloved classic The ABC Murders sets Hercule Poirot on the trail of a serial killer, who is working his way through the alphabet and putting the whole country in a state of panic.

Two best-selling Agatha Christie novels in one great audiobook: What is The Secret of Chimneys? A young drifter finds out when a favor for a friend pulls him into the heart of a deadly conspiracy in this captivating classic from Agatha Christie. Plus: A Murder is Announced in a small-town newspaper advertisement - and Miss Marple must unravel the fiendish puzzle when a crime does indeed occur.

England, 1455 - King Henry VI is proving to be an unstable monarch, prone to bouts of mysterious illness and susceptible to manipulation from others. Richard of York, the most powerful magnate in the land, steps in to manage affairs whilst Henry is unwell. Many people prefer York's rule, which does not please the queen. The country begins to divide and plots start to hatch. York himself is directly descended from the royal family line, in fact, a little more directly than Henry, but he puts this fact aside and strives only to serve the king.

The gathering of the tribes of the Mongols has been a long time in coming, but finally, triumphantly, Temujin of the Wolves, Genghis Khan, is given the full accolade of overall leader and their oaths. Now he can begin to meld all the previously warring people into one army, one nation. But the task Genghis has set himself, and them, is formidable. He is determined to travel to the land of the long-time enemy, the Chin, and attack them there.

Two bestselling Agatha Christie novels in one great audiobook: Hercule Poirot comes out of retirement in one of Agatha Christie’s ten favorite novels, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. Agatha Christie’s classic, The Hollow, finds Poirot entangled in a nasty web of family secrets when he comes across a fresh murder at an English country manor.

Electra Stapleton has no time for romance. She is totally dedicated to her career as a world-class orchid grower. But nothing ever prepared her for the utterly gorgeous Haldane Fox entering her life. But little does she know, Fox is a man on a mission. He is determined to retrieve his father’s priceless stolen orchid—an orchid that Electra believes her own father grew himself. Meanwhile, things are getting steamy in the hot houses. Princess Ileana is visiting the Orchid House on a royal tour and has fallen head over heels for Electra’s head botanist.

Prometheus is missing…Yet the insurrection cannot stop. Can it survive without him? Finally, Alistair’s insurrection returns to our solar system, intent on destroying the Commonwealth. There’s only one problem: after his battle with Hector, Alistair disappeared. Now, Thoreaux faces an impossible decision with ramifications stretching out centuries. Should he invade Neptune without their incredible leader? If he does, will anyone live? If Alistair’s still alive, will he show up in time to save his insurrection, or will it be too late?

Sheep farmer Bryony Whittaker already has every reason to hate Kynaston Germaine. He’s forcing her father to sell their beloved Yorkshire farm, and wants to turn it into a dry-ski resort, of all things. Then Bryn’s sister Katy takes her own life, and Bryn’s hatred for Kynaston can no longer be tempered. She vows revenge, and moves to New York to team up with Kyn’s brother Morgan, who harbors a dangerous grudge against him. Once there, Bryn’s cousin Hadrian grows increasingly concerned by Bryn’s obsessive need for retribution.

Beautiful gallery owner Tahnee Sawyer’s beloved stepmother has been kidnapped and her father is about to have a life-threatening operation. It’s up to her to go to Barbados to deal with it all—in secret. Following the kidnappers’ demands, Tahnee smuggles $50 million worth of uncut diamonds onto the island. She hires bad boy-turned-sea captain Jonah Rodgers to ferry her about. But her seemingly aimless island-hopping soon raises Jonah’s suspicions. He’s convinced she’s mixed up in a drug-smuggling ring. Tahnee’s in a race against time to save her stepmother.

When Ramona King’s fiancé, Keith, dies from a gunshot wound to the head, she doesn’t believe the ruling verdict of “suicide.” She suspects murder. Keith had sunk all his money into a luxury cruise liner, along with an even larger chunk of cash that wasn’t his. Could that be why he was killed? Ramona books herself onto its maiden voyage to find out. Her prime suspect is the ship’s owner, the devastatingly handsome and charismatic Damon Alexander. Passions ignite when they meet. Ramona has vowed nothing will stand in her way, but she’s never felt anything like this before.

Alistair knows the risks, but he must take the Ice Queen’s military and the gigante to Planet Phoenix. In order to defeat the Ascendant, Alexander de Finita, and put this nightmare behind him, it’ll take every asset he can bring together. There’s just one problem. The Commonwealth plans to strike first. If they control the star-gate at Phoenix, all is lost. Every choice he’s made has had consequences, but none as gave as Alistair’s next move. The Ascendant has the positional advantage. Should Alistair protect his pieces, make a sacrifice, or play a gambit?