Great Classics

Henry James was born 15th April 1843, in New York City. A prolific author he was able to easily move across genres to create vivid and totally real worlds and situations and to offer sophisticated observations of human relations as well as realistic social criticism. The Great Good Place is a formidable short story with a sharp view of a writer who really needs to find peace but unexpectedly finds himself in paradise. Or does he?

Pearl Zane Grey was born on 31st January 1872, in Zanesville, Ohio. From an early age, he was intrigued by history, fishing, baseball, and writing. Grey was an avid reader of adventure stories, consuming dime store novels by the dozen. His first magazine article, about one of his fishing expeditions, was published in 1902. It was not until 1910 that he wrote his first Western, ‘The Heritage of the Desert’. It was a breakthrough title and quickly became a bestseller.

Herbert George "H. G." Wells (1866 - 1946) was an English writer.

He was prolific in many genres, including the novel, history, politics, social commentary, and textbooks and rules for war games. Wells is now best remembered for his science fiction novels and is called a "father of science fiction"

THE GREAT CHANGE: My uncle had been hectic all day. I knew and dreaded what was coming, and said nothing that by any chance could lead up to it.

The Great Gatsby is a triumph of descriptive prose, and has entered into the annuls of fame of both American literature as well as Americana. The story transcends time, and while set in the Roaring Twenties, describes the human psyche—its needs, desires, obsessions—in both detail and depth. A must listen for anyone wanting to gain a deeper understanding into the mindset of that time, as well as perhaps modern-day America.

Herbert George "H. G." Wells (1866 - 1946) was an English writer. He was prolific in many genres, including the novel, history, politics, social commentary, and textbooks and rules for war games. Wells is now best remembered for his science fiction novels and is called a "father of science fiction"

BOOK THE THIRD: THE GREAT DAYS OF TONO-BUNGAY: But now that I resume the main line of my story it may be well to describe the personal appearance of my uncle as I remember him during those magnificent years that followed his passage from trade to finance.

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.

"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.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, unique tales inspired by traditional literary forms appeared frequently in socialist-leaning British periodicals, such as the Clarion, Labour Leader, and Social Democrat. Based on familiar genres, these stories were meant to entertain readers of all ages - and some challenged the conventional values promoted in children’s literature for the middle class. Acclaimed critic and author Michael Rosen brings together more than 40 of the best and most enduring examples of these stories in one beautiful volume.

Pip—the orphaned hero of Great Expectations—is one of Charles Dickens's best-loved characters. Young Philip Pirrip—nicknamed Pip—is apprenticed to his blacksmith brother-in-law, but an anonymous benefactor changes the boy's future. After he is lifted to what seems a higher station in life, Pip shuns his kind friends and slips into debt. But as he matures, he progresses from thoughtless selfishness to humble industry.

In Dickens' most beloved novel, encounters with an escaped convict, the mysterious Miss Havisham, the beautiful but cold Estella, and his ups and downs with the kindly Joe Gargery all influence Pip's expectations and inform his struggle for moral redemption.

Great Expectations is a novel by Charles Dickens, first serialised in All the Year Round from December 1860 to August 1861. The action of the story takes place from Christmas Eve 1812, when the protagonist is about seven years old, to the winter of 1840. Great Expectations is written in a semi-autobiographical style, and is the story of the orphan Pip, tracing his life from his early days of childhood until adulthood.

After an escaped prisoner bullies him into freeing him using stolen tools, seven-year-old orphan Pip is made to pay regular visits to the mysterious spinster Miss Havisham, who lives in the wedding dress she wore when jilted at the altar and keeps every clock in her crumbling mansion frozen at the same time. While there, he meets and instantly falls in love with her beautiful but aloof ward Estella

While visiting his parents gravesite in the marshy mists of a village graveyard, Pip, a young orphan living with his older sister, encounters a shivering, limping convict on the run. In spite of his fear of the man, Pip befriends the convict and gives aid, an act that spells considerable consequences for Pip later in life. Fate intervenes and Pip is sent to the household of Miss Havisham, a wealthy and eccentric spinster. Pip shares the household with Miss Havisham and her beautiful, but cold, adopted daughter Estella.

Listen to the story of Pip, an English orphan who rises to wealth. After he deserts his true friends, he becomes humbled by his own arrogance. Great Expectations is Dickens at his finest.

Serialised between December 1860 to August 1861, it tells the heartwarming story of Pip, a poor boy who gets an unexpected chance to move up in society. Charles Dickens (1812 - 9 June 1870) is arguably the greatest novelist England ever produced. His innate comic genius and shrewd depictions of Victorian life - along with his memorable characters - have made him beloved by readers the world over.

Great Expectations is one of Charles Dickens’ greatest critical and popular successes. The first-person narrative relates the coming-of-age of Pip (Philip Pirrip). Reared in the marshes of Kent by his disagreeable sister and her sweet-natured husband, the blacksmith Joe Gargery, the young Pip one day helps a convict to escape. Later he is sent to live with Miss Havisham, a woman driven half-mad years earlier by her lover's departure on their wedding day. Her other ward is the orphaned Estella, whom she is teaching to torment men with her beauty.

A wonderful collection of great classic love stories for the incurable romantic in all of us. "The Scrupulous Father" by George Gissing, "The Marquise" by George Sand, "Her Lover" by Maxim Gorky, "A Long-Ago Affair" by John Galsworthy, "A Dill Pickle" by Katherine Mansfield, "Portrait of a Lady" by Jerome K. Jerome, "The Pig and Whistle" by George Gissing, "A Race for a Bride" by H. K. Hales, "The Christmas Tree and the Wedding" by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, "The Girl Who Was Tired of Love" by Leonard Merrick...

After the smashing success of his first novel, This Side of Paradise, written when he was 23, F. Scott Fitzgerald rocked the literary world with his masterpiece, The Great Gatsby, in l925 - a passionate love story about a poor young man's unwavering love for the lovely Daisy, belle of Louisville. Told with extraordinarily beautiful language, Fitzgerald's characters sizzle with vitality and life as Gatsby pursues the love of his life amid the splendor of his Long Island estate by throwing truly amazing parties set to the music of the Jazz Age.

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.