Great Classics

Ruthless and supremely powerful, the Great Library is now a presence in every major city, governing the flow of knowledge to the masses. Alchemy allows the library to deliver the content of the greatest works of history instantly - but the personal ownership of books is expressly forbidden. Jess Brightwell believes in the value of the library, but the majority of his knowledge comes from illegal books obtained by his family, who are involved in the thriving black market.

Publishers Weekly praises Steven Barnes’ Shadow Valley as “all at once rugged and elegant in style, a mix of harsh bloodletting with a primeval close-to-the-land beauty.” This mythical tale—a sequel to Barnes’ Great Sky Woman - is set in Africa in 28,000 B.C. and follows a tribal leader who must find a new land for her people.

The 1945 novel, The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis is a classic Christian allegorical tale, inspired by a dream. A meditation on good and evil, the book presents a novel idea on the Christian conception of heaven and hell. Drawing on the works of St. Augustine, Dante Alighieri, John Milton, John Bunyan, Emanuel Swedenborg, and Lewis Carroll, the author describes a hell where the gates are locked on the inside.

As Pip unravels the truth behind his own "great expectations" in his quest to become a gentleman, the mysteries of the past and the convolutions of fate through a series of thrilling adventures serve to steer him toward maturity and his most important discovery of all - the truth about himself.

Speeding motorcars, wild parties, and dangerous business collide as gorgeous Daisy Buchanan must choose between the husband she can’t trust and the old flame who still owns her heart. Is Jay Gatsby an honorable man who wants to risk everything to recapture long-lost desire — or a cad who cheats and steals to get what he wants?

Machen's novella The Great God Pan is often cited as one of Lovecraft's most notable influences. In it, Dr. Raymond's ultimate goal is to devise a way to open the mind of man so that he may experience all the world has to offer. He calls this "seeing the great god Pan". After much study of the human mind, he devises an experiment that involves minor brain surgery. He performs this experiment on a young woman named Mary, but when she awakens she is terrified and mentally crippled.

Inspired by a trip to a graveyard in Wales, the novella was originally not well received. The Great God Pan is now considered an excellent example of Gothic fiction, and has influenced such writers as Bram Stoker, H.P. Lovecraft, Stephen King, and Ray Bradbury.

An engrossing collection of detective stories featuring all the great classic sleuths, including Sherlock Holmes, Father Brown, Max Carrados, J. G. Reeder, and C. Auguste Dupin. 1.The Tea-Leaf by Edgar Jepson & Robert Eustace 2.The Queer Feet by G. K. Chesterton 3.The Curious Circumstances of the Two Left Shoes by Ernest Bramah 4. The Club of One-Eyed Men by Arthur Somers Roche 5.Diamond Cut Diamond by F. Britten Austin 6.The Game Played in the Dark by Ernest Bramah

A heartless convict. The devil's fairy godmother. A beautiful girl with eyes of stone. A spectral benefactor. These and many others shape the fortunes of young Pip, as he is transformed from a blacksmith's apprentice to a young gentleman with great expectations.

Regarded as one of the most important works in American literature and among the greatest American novels of the twentieth century, The Great Gatsby is the quintessential portrait of Jazz Age America, depicting not only the wild parties, romance, love, and the intense and often unfulfilled desire for wealth and status, but also the immorality, loneliness, disappointment and corruption of The Roaring Twenties.

The novel opens with a picture of morals and manners of the French society of the first quarter of the 18th century; with the Negro's life in Paris, his success in French society, and his love affair with a French countess. But "summoned both by Peter and by his own vague sense of duty" Ibrahim returns to Russia. The following chapters, full of historical color and antiquarianism, sketch the different strata of the Russian society. Please note: This audiobook is in Russian.

The short story is considered to be one of the most challenging genres because of the need for compact plotlines and the ability to conjure up atmosphere and character in a few sentences and to engage the reader instantly. This collection presents 66 of the greatest examples of the genre - many of them well known, some hidden literary treasures, all of them exquisite examples of the short story at its finest.

Understood to be a commentary on human nature, consumerism, idealism, prejudice, and American society overall, this novel has become one of the most widely known and read pieces of literature. Thrown in the midst of the age of roaring twenties, tempted by the American dream, luxury, and romance, narrator Nick Carraway joins the elusive and extraordinary Jay Gatsby as the latter continues his dramatic pursuit of his longtime love interest, Daisy Buchanan.

Set against a backdrop of jazz music, bootlegging, and lavish parties, The Great Gatsby is the story of Midwesterner Nick Carraway’s curious introduction to the decadent world of his mysterious, wealthy neighbor Jay Gatsby, whose thirst for riches is matched only by his tragic obsession with the beautiful Daisy Buchanan. This dangerously propulsive tale of glitz and glamour continues to be relevant as listeners long for escapist novels—a chance to flee into Gatsby’s famed mansion and lose oneself in the rush of opulence.

This album contains fully dramatized, true-to-life, character-building audio adventures exemplifying the high moral values necessary for successful living. You'll enjoy hearing of Lottie Moon's courage and compassion for the people of China, Lillian Trasher's dedication and love for Egypt's orphans, the triumphant pursuit of a dream by pioneering educator Dr. Mary Bethune, and the faithfulness of Africa's Mayala, the Congo chief. Enjoy these and other heart-warming stories of courage and character.

Hugo Award nominee Steven Barnes is a successful novelist and scriptwriter who has created episodes of The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, and Stargate SG-1. With Great Sky Woman, he presents a meticulous, vividly imagined vision of the Ibandi - an ancient people striving to maintain their place in the shadow of Africa's Mount Kilimanjaro.

Two works by the Roman historian, Tacitus. Agricola is a portrait of Julius Agricola, a governor of Roman Britain, and the first surviving account of the geography, climate, and peoples of Britain. The German tribes of Northern Europe are discussed in Germania.

The Great Gatsby is a 1925 novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in the Jazz Age on Long Island, the novel depicts narrator Nick Carraway's interactions with mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby and Gatsby's obsession to reunite with his former lover, Daisy Buchanan. A youthful romance Fitzgerald had with socialite Ginevra King, and the riotous parties he attended on Long Island's North Shore in 1922 inspired the novel.

Narrator Nick Carraway tells the story of his neighbour Jay Gatsby, whose parties at his Long Island mansion are as lavish as his past is mysterious. Yet Gatsby cares only for one of his guests: his lost love Daisy Buchanan, now married and living across the bay. 

The world-class writers featured in this collection are adept at conjuring the depth of passion that surrounds all stories of love and loss. The short story form is perfect for capturing the uplift and dizzying heights that accompany a new object of affection, as well as the queasy unease and bottomless longing of lost loves.