Great Classics

Ten superbly narrated stories that help explain America by America's best writers.

The Book Hunter in London is a fascinating look at those who love books, collect books, and sell books. Published in 1895, this is a remarkable look back at how books were viewed in the 19th century and before.

This outstanding collection of Civil War stories includes "The Little Regiment" by Stephen Crane, "The Die Hard" by Stephen Vincent Benet, "The Brothers" by Louisa May Alcott, "One of the Missing" by Ambrose Bierce, "The Valley Was Still" by Manly Wade Wellman, "The Unknown Soldier" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch, "The Lamp of Psyche" by Edith Wharton, "How Stonewall Came Back" by James Warner, "The Locket" by Kate Chopin, and "The Face" by Ed Gorman.

This book, Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great, Memorial Edition, takes us to 14 homes of the great, including Dickens, Shakespere, Victor Hugo, and Thomas Edison.

The young John Updike’s portrayal of a haughty seminary student working as a lifeguard is witty and poetic, as the naïve hero surveys the beachgoers in his care, and contemplates a future of saving souls as well as bodies.

Nelson Algren brings a deeply personal tone to his reading about Sophie, the doomed wife of card dealer and drug addict Frankie Machine, wanted for murder, as she waits futilely for him to return home.

Ten superbly narrated stories that help explain America by America's best writers.

A fascinating collection of short stories by great writers that examine aspects of the first world war, from action in the trenches, to the psychological impact of war on individuals and their relationships, to heroic adventure stories, to ghosts and war graves. A wonderful collection!

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.

Beatrix Potter was an English writer best known for her children's books featuring animals, such as those in "The Tale of Peter Rabbit". In this audiobook, 10 rare tales by Beatrix Potter : The Tailor of Gloucester; The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin; The Tale of the Pie and the Patty-Pan; The Story of a Fierce Bad Rabbit; The Tale of Samuel Whiskers or, The Roly-Poly Pudding; The Tale of Tom Kitten; The Tale of Ginger and Pickles; The Tale of Pigling Bland; The Tale of Mr. Tod; The Tale of Mrs. Tittlemouse.

In an elaborate house known as the Cloisters, Maud Wainwright rules supreme. The queen of society in the small town of Beverly, she has a table long enough to seat 100, and she keeps an iron grip on the guest list. Her right-hand woman is Pat Abbott, a local girl who is beautiful, innocent, and kind. Pat has no idea how cutthroat high society can be, but she's about to get a deadly first lesson.

历史长河滚滚而去，多少英雄豪杰已湮灭于尘埃之中，唯有那些才子的腕底波澜、笔底明珠仍然留存于世……歷史長河滾滾而去，多少英雄豪傑已湮滅於塵埃之中，唯有那些才子的腕底波瀾、筆底明珠仍然留存於世……

The 1660s were a time of turmoil in England: Cromwell had been defeated and Charles II, who was sympathetic to the Catholics, was restored to the throne; the Dutch declared war on England; the Plague raged; and the Great Fire of London destroyed half the city! Our hero, Cyril, at the death of his father Sir Aubrey Shenstone, inherits nothing except his father's title, and works as a bookkeeper for various London tradesmen.

One of the greatest of all horror writers, Edgar Allan Poe (1809-49) also composed pioneering tales that seized upon the scientific developments of an era marked by staggering change. In this collection of 16 stories, he explores such wide-ranging contemporary themes as galvanism, time travel and resurrection of the dead.

On Christmas Eve, young Pip, an orphan being raised by his sister and her husband, encounters a convict in the village churchyard. The man, a convict who has escaped from a prison ship, scares Pip into stealing him some food and a file to grind away his leg shackle. This incident is crucial: firstly, it gives Pip, who must steal the goods from his sister's house, his first taste of true guilt, and secondly, Pip's kindness warms the convict's heart. The convict, however, waits many years to truly show his gratitude.

When The Great Gatsby was published, commercially it was a failure but critically it was a success. It is still the most admired and well-read of all Scott Fitzgerald’s novels and it is considered a handbook of the 'Jazz Age'. Scott Fitzgerald put much of himself and his life into the book. He created the character of Jay Gatsby to illustrate his own experiences of the illusory and morally bankrupt aspects of 1920s' America, and the character of Nick Carraway to show his disapproval of its destructive effects.

How he put his fist through the oak-panel of the game-room door; how, when Long Merridew was carrying the ball, he caught up Merridew, ball and all, and ran swiftly past every opponent to the goal. It did not seem fit to us that such a one as he should trouble his head about spondees and dactyls, or care to know who signed Magna Charta. When he said in open class that King Alfred was the man, we little boys all felt that very likely it was so, and that perhaps Jim knew more about it than the man who wrote the book.

On publication, it was widely denounced by the press as degenerate and horrific because of its implied sexual content, and the novella hurt Machen's reputation as an author. Beginning in the 1920s, Machen's work was critically re-evaluated and The Great God Pan has since garnered a reputation as a classic of horror.

The tale begins with an experiment to enable a woman named Mary to experience the supernatural realm, which turns her into an idiot. Then follows an account of a series of mysterious occurrences and deaths surrounding a sinister woman named Helen Vaughan. The protagonists eventually confront Helen and forces her to kill herself. Before dying, she undergoes a series of spooky transformations that reveals her to be the daughter of the ill-fated Mary and the god Pan.

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?”