Great Classics

A collection of four short stories by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the common theme of which is New Hampshire's White Mountains. Consists of: "The Great Stone Face", written in 1850 and revolves around the "Old Man of the Mountain" (Cannon Mtn.) in New Hampshire which sadly collapsed on May 3, 2003; "The Ambitious Guest", written in 1835; "The Great Carbuncle", written in 1837; and "Sketches From Memory", written sometime prior to "The Great Carbuncle" as will become obvious.

No one plumbs deeper depths of the psyche than French and Russian authors. This second wide-ranging collection of 19th-century literary masterworks, presented in their entirety, not only entertains, but provides insight into 19th-century mores and the mysteries of human nature.

"In his blue gardens, men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars." It’s the height of the roaring 20’s. Every Saturday, the doors to Gatsby’s gothic mansion are flung wide to the bright young things of New York - the music is loud, the dancing is wild, and the champagne flows freely. Gatsby’s new neighbor, Nick Carraway, is fascinated by the spectacle. But when he pushes beyond the shimmering, glistening veneer of Gatsby’s charmed life, Nick discovers his new friend is tortured by a profound yearning for the one thing - and one person - he can’t have.

Often described as the great American novel, The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald's masterpiece of the Jazz Age - has become one of the most beloved and revered books of the 20th century. Narrated by the enigmatic Nick Carraway, the story takes place in the well-to-do section of Long Island, New York, where socialites and millionaires cavort about on their yachts and hydroplanes, oblivious to the day-to-day drudgery of the working-class drones they motor past each day.

Often considered one of the greatest novels in American classic literature, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is the story about a young man named Nick Carraway, who moves to Long Island in pursuit of his dream of becoming a bond salesman, and his next door neighbor, a self-made millionaire named Jay Gatsby, a man who lives a lavish lifestyle, and likes to throw extravagant parties every weekend. As the two get better acquainted, Carraway is thrust into Gatsby’s world of over the top parties, and his love and desire for a married woman he once knew named Daisy Buchanan.

Jay Gatsby is a millionaire who throws extravagant parties that attract famous celebrities, but no one really knows him - no one except for his neighbor, Nick Carraway. Often touted as a Great American Novel, The Great Gatsby is Nick's account of one summer spent with his wealthy friend and Nick's front-row seat to Gatsby's wealth, his dreams, and his impossible quest for love with the enigmatic Daisy Buchanan.

The Great Gatsby, the 1925 novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, follows a cast of characters on Long Island in the summer of 1922. It is considered a classic of the Jazz Age or Roaring Twenties. The story is told by Nick Carraway, a Yale University graduate from the Midwest who has moved to New York to pursue a stock-market career. Recounting the events of a summer he spent on Long Island, his narrative emerges as a series of flashbacks.

Here is perhaps Charles Dickens’ most beloved story, Philip Pirrip, known as “Pip”, narrates his own incredible journey, from the hindsight of 50 years. Pip grows up with his older sister after losing his parents as a boy. His sister, a tough woman, rules Pip and her husband Joe with an iron fist. While playing in the marshes, Pip is accosted by an escaped criminal whom he decides to help by stealing food from his own home. Miss Havisham, an eccentric recluse, sends for Pip to come to her house to play with Estella, a haughty girl about his age.

Nick Carraway's mysterious neighbour Gatsby gazes across the dark bay at a distant green light. As the summer unfolds, Nick is drawn into Gatsby's world of luxury cars, speedboats and extravagant parties. But the more he hears about Gatsby - even from what Gatsby himself tells him - the less he is sure of the truth. Did Gatsby really go to Oxford University? Was he a hero in the war? Did he once kill a man? Nick recalls how he came to know Gatsby.

Four years after the Great War, America is enjoying an economic boom. Enigmatic veteran Jay Gatsby, who's risen from being nobody from nowhere to self-made millionaire, is along for the ride. Upwardly mobile, he reaches for status among the "old money" on Long Island - and for all that it promises across the bay, namely Daisy, the lost love of his youth, who has been married for five years to Gatsby's contemptible rival, Tom Buchanan. With all his wealth and charmed aspirations to restore the past, Gatsby is certain he can win her back.

This great American novel describes the lavish lifestyle, along with the cruelty and ugliness, of Long Island society during the Jazz Age. Told through the eyes of Nick Carraway, the book follows events surrounding Jay Gatsby, who, despite his enormous wealth, longs desperately for those things that money can't buy.

Great Expectations is arguably Dickens' greatest achievement, and remains a joy from start to finish. Featuring many of his most memorable characters and scenes, the novel follows the narrator, Pip, as he grows from a frightened child of the marsh country, to be transmuted into a prosperous young gentleman by a mysterious benefactor; and the story explores themes of crime and punishment, guilt and innocence, revenge and reward, wealth and poverty, love and rejection, and good and evil.

Another great audiobook classic from the world’s most prolific and prestigious new company, Icon Audio Arts. Presented by actor author Geoffrey Giuliano, here is an exciting "listen while you learn" audio production which promises to entertain, enlighten, and enliven the listener. Icon productions offers a daring, fresh perspective on the hundreds of perennial favorite tales which have inspired generations and imbued a deep love of literature and art in millions over time.

Professor von Baumgarten wants to prove his theory that the sprits of hypnotized people can see one another. His student, Fritz von Hartmann, participates in the experiment. A switch of souls and bodies takes place....

The story is told from the point of view of Pip, an orphan of humble origins who dreams of being a gentleman. From a chilling encounter with a convict when he was seven, through his coming of age and early adulthood, he tells of his "memorable days" and the "great changes" they wrought in him. Pip is apprenticed to kind-hearted Joe Gargery, the blacksmith, husband to his ill-tempered sister. On meeting the eccentric and reclusive Miss Havisham and her proud and haughty ward, the beautiful Estella, Pip becomes ashamed of his origins and hopes to one day better himself.

A children’s story about the origin of the Great Bear constellation. There was a drought on the earth: The rivers dried up and the trees withered, and and men and beasts died of thirst. One night, a little girl went out with a pitcher to find some water for her sick mother. On her journey, the water and the pitcher took on miraculous properties.

Ray did not expect his life to take the turns it did. He had always been a simple man who enjoyed modest pleasures and a few travel experiences. In fact, he thought he might have traveled more. But life just sort of happened, and he never got around to the things he wanted to see. Now, on the biggest journey of his life, going places he could only imagine in his dreams, he is not sure he wants to be on this path. He is not sure how he got on this path or where it will take him next. Perhaps the biggest question is: “Who is in control?”

In this unflaggingly suspenseful story of aspirations and moral redemption, humble, orphaned Pip, a ward of his short-tempered older sister and her husband, Joe, is apprenticed to the dirty work of the forge, but dares to dream of becoming a gentleman. And, indeed, it seems as though that dream is destined to come to pass - because one day, under sudden and enigmatic circumstances, he finds himself in possession of "great expectations."

In the first authoritative biography of Alexander the Great written for a general audience in a generation, classicist and historian John C Martin tells the remarkable life of the great conqueror. The celebrated Macedonian king has been one of the most enduring figures in history.

Great Expectations is the 13th novel by Charles Dickens and his penultimate completed novel: a bildungsroman that depicts the personal growth and personal development of an orphan nicknamed Pip. It is Dickens's second novel, after David Copperfield, to be fully narrated in the first person. The novel was first published as a serial in Dickens's weekly periodical All the Year Round, from 1 December 1860 to August 1861.