English Literature Great

In this heartfelt memoir by the Masterpiece Theatre host, Pulitzer Prize winner, and groundbreaking New York Times columnist, Russell Baker traces his youth in the mountains of rural Virginia. When Baker was only five, his father died. His mother, strong-willed and matriarchal, never looked back. After all, she had three children to raise. These were Depression years, and Mrs. Baker moved her fledgling family to Baltimore. Baker's mother was determined her children would succeed, and we know her regimen worked for Russell.

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.

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.

Charis Scott, a princess descended from Hawaiian royalty, isn’t prepared for the arrival of Jago Marsh in her life. He flies halfway across the world under the pretense of buying her cosmetics company, but the real reason isn’t business—or even pleasure—it’s revenge. These self-made millionaires are already butting heads. But sparks really fly when a priceless family heirloom—the Heart of Fire—goes missing. Would Jago really stoop that low? Charis is about to find out that she’s met her match…in more ways than one.

Melisande Ray loves the Thames. Her beloved hotel, the Ray of Sunshine, overlooks its banks. But when the wealthy mogul Wendell James looks to set up a rival business nearby, he threatens to destroy everything she cares about. And is his interest in her more than just professional? Gisela Ashley just helped put a robber behind bars. She decides to take a holiday on one of Melisande’s boats, but a mix-up over names leaves her sharing the boat with ex-soldier Keefe Ashleigh. She can’t quite understand why she feels so attracted to him. But who can she trust, and who wants her dead?

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.

Alistair made a single wrong assumption, and now he, Thoreaux, and Caesar battle for their lives in a cruel set of games designed to weed out the weak. Losing means death. The game’s giants aren’t the only threat. The corporation’s CEO is hunting them, too. Faced with the horrible reality of an entire race born into servitude, Alistair now only has one option. Find a way to free them...or die trying.

For two decades he served...and never questioned the orders. Would one act of mercy cost him? Alistair believed in the work. It was important to stop the rebels for the good of the Commonwealth. Over his career he’d become the greatest Titan the Corp had ever seen. It was a simple mission. Then the rebels said one thing...and Alistair’s life changed forever.

Ralph Kern presents Book 2 in the Great War series.

The Man in the Brown Suit is Agatha Christie at her best, as a young woman makes a dangerous decision to investigate a shocking “accidental” death she witnesses at a London tube station. In Agatha Christie’s classic crime adventure novel, They Came to Baghdad, a bright young adventure seeker in the Middle East finds more excitement than she bargained for when a wounded spy expires in her hotel room.

The terror and purges of Stalin's Russia in the 1930s discouraged Soviet officials from leaving documentary records, let alone keeping personal diaries. A remarkable exception is the unique diary assiduously kept by Ivan Maisky, the Soviet ambassador to London between 1932 and 1943. This selection from Maisky's diary grippingly documents Britain's drift to war during the 1930s, appeasement in the Munich era, negotiations leading to the signature of the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact....

In this Audible Exclusive performance by Matt Lucas of Great Expectations, Charles Dickens demonstrates that conscience, loyalty and empathy are virtues far more valuable than intellect, wealth and social standing. First published in Dickens’ own periodical, All the Year Round, the novel was divided into nine monthly instalments, from December 1860 to August 1861. Unsurprisingly, it was an instant success and managed to sell over 100,000 copies per week. Though written at a challenging time in Dickens’ life, when the impending breakdown of his marriage loomed over him, Great Expectations proves to be one of his most optimistic, comical and romantic novels.

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.

Does a great romance make a great marriage? Dara Willcox, up in New York for a weekend, meets Austin Clarke at an art gallery. If love at first sight can happen, it happens to them. These two vivid, ambitious people are on different trajectories—he’s British, working temporarily in New York. She’s set on law school. They don’t care. They will make their lives together happen. At their engagement dinner at Dara’s family home, her mother Lee sets a beautiful table and the family and close friends gather to celebrate.

Sheila Tubman sometimes wonders who she really is: the outgoing, witty, and capable Sheila the Great, or the secret Sheila, who's afraid of the dark, spiders, swimming, and dogs? When her family spends the summer in Tarrytown, Sheila has to face some of her worst fears. Not only does a dog come with the rented house, but her parents expect Sheila to take swimming lessons!

In America, Lady Halcyone Syramore-Forbes, known as Flame, is a student with a talent for designing jewelry. She is introduced to jewelry boss Reece Dexter and finds him arrogant. She is also wildly attracted to him. Then she discovers her mother is marrying Reece’s father.

The end is here...and only one warlord will come out alive. The AllSeer, the Imperial Ascendant, or Alistair? Who wins and who dies? Find out in the final installment of the best-selling science fiction series, The Great Insurrection. Grab it now.

Davina Granger wants revenge. She blames Dr. Gareth Lacey for her brother’s suicide. When she gets a fellowship at his Oxford college, she finally has her chance to punish him. But her plan never included falling in love with him.

Step into the glitz and glamour of the Roaring Twenties with F. Scott Fitzgerald's masterful novel, The Great Gatsby. Immerse yourself in a world of opulence, passion, and shattered dreams as you follow the captivating journey of Jay Gatsby, a man driven by an unrelenting desire to reclaim a lost love. Set against the backdrop of vibrant New York City, this literary classic takes you on a seductive exploration of the American Dream and the illusions it weaves.

Part history, part true-crime, and entirely entertaining, listen to the story of how the behemoth Oxford English Dictionary was made. You'll hang on every word as you discover that the dictionary's greatest contributor was also an insane murderer working from the confines of an asylum.