Great Literature

The Diary of Samuel Pepys is one of the most entertaining documents in English history. Written between 1660 and 1669, as Pepys was establishing himself as a key administrator in the Navy Office, it is an intimate portrait of life in 17th-century England, covering his professional and personal activities, including, famously, his love of music, theatre, food, and wine and his peccadilloes.

What you’re about to hear takes place in West Inch, a city on the English-Scottish border. The title is an unusual reference to a shadow forming over the city that’s said to be about the influence and reputation of the infamous Napoleon. This is all a change of literary output by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, famed for his stories about Sherlock Holmes. He had gotten a little tired of that character and turned, at least for a while, to a man named Jock Calder, who was one of the soldiers at the scene of military activity, including the battle of Waterloo.

In spring 1942, Royal Air Force Pilot Bill Ash’s plane was shot down by Germans, who captured and eventually brought him to Stalag Luft III, a notorious camp for prisoners of war. The Germans boasted that the camp - which was isolated, heavily guarded, and surrounded by wire fences - was escape proof.

Tig Costello has arrived in Darren, Kentucky, commissioned to paint a portrait honoring her grandfather Benjamin. His contributions to the rural Appalachian town and his unimpeachable war service have made him a local hero. But to Tig, he’s a relative stranger. To find out more about him, Tig wants to talk to the person who knew her grandfather best: Eloise Price, the woman who murdered him fifty years ago.

Your Story Hour is proud to present this new set of exciting, dramatized stories. You’ll enjoy hearing the adventure of Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton, the classis stories of the 'Golden Locket' and 'Alone for Christmas', and other heart-warming stories of courage and character. Great listening and entertainment for the whole family!

The fun of an English baking contest set in the beautiful English countryside complete with witches, recipes, and murder. Join Poppy and her friends as she puzzles out another complex murder that might have ties to her!

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.

1921. Survivors of the Great War are desperately trying to piece together the fragments of their broken lives. While many have been reunited with their loved ones, Edie’s husband Francis has not come home. Francis is presumed to have been killed in action, but Edie believes he might still be alive. Harry, Francis’s brother, was there the day Francis was wounded. He was certain it was a fatal wound, but Harry begins questioning his memory of what happened. Hired by grieving families, Harry returns to the Western Front to photograph gravesites. He searches for evidence of Francis.

When he graduated from Columbia in 1958, John Giorno was handsome, charismatic, ambitious, and eager to soak up as much of Manhattan's art and culture as possible. Poetry didn't pay the bills, so he worked on Wall Street, spending his nights at the happenings, underground movie premiers, art shows, and poetry readings that brought the city to life. An intense romantic relationship with Andy Warhol - not yet the global superstar he would soon become - exposed Giorno to even more of the downtown scene, but after starring in Warhol's first movie, Sleep, they drifted apart.

It’s almost one hundred years since The Great Turning, the catastrophic meteor strike that changed the world forever. Russell Owens is a recently discharged New North Americas Army sniper who only wants to return to his home just outside of Yellowstone to resume life with his gentle husband, Ted. Russell doesn’t want to re-up and hates that he had to kill for a living.

Stranded on an inhospitable planet. Lost in an unknown time. Faced with an unfamiliar galaxy. And a dear friend nearing death. Nathan Scott and the crew of the Aurora must make alliances quickly, or they will lose one of their own.

The Great Guilds, fearing the loss of their control of the world of Dematr, have gathered their power and joined it with the relentless legions of the Empire. The full might of that host will fall upon the fortress city of Dorcastle. If Dorcastle falls, the revolt led by Master Mechanic Mari and Mage Alain will fail, and their world will soon descend into chaos.

The ultimate collection of great short stories by the best Russian classic authors. 1. "Her Lover" by Maxim Gorky 2. "The Empty Drum" by Count Leo Tolstoy 3. "The Hoop" by Fedor Sologub 4. "The District Doctor" by Ivan Turgenev 5. "The White Dog" by Fedor Sologub 6. "The Cloak" by Nikolai Gogol 7. "A Soothing Dream" by Fedor Sologub 8. "The Christmas Tree and the Wedding" by Fyodor Dostoyevsky 9. "A Work of Art" by Anton Chekhov 10. "Children Wiser Than Their Fathers" by Count Leo Tolstoy

It’s the first day of the Prowess Trials, with all the royals - and the dark fae Owalin - gathered for Tye’s grand performance. When the magic wards fall right in the middle of Tye’s routine, Lera does what she must to save his life - giving Owalin just the opening he needs. River is in love with Lera, but he can’t be with someone who lies. As he turns his back on her to focus on defending the academy, he expects the decision to hurt.

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.

A Golden Heart Award winner and Christy Award finalist, Maureen Lang enthralls listeners with Look to the East, the first entry in her sweeping World War I trilogy. Caught on the front lines of the Great War and torn by feuding families, the French village of Briecort is rocked by fear, suspicion, and blame. As the tale unfolds, the chaste and tender love of an adopted villager and a Belgian refugee shines brightly against a dark backdrop of pride, vanity and greed.

Eighteen years ago, Sir Richmond le Bec, a knight in the service of Henry of Bolingbroke, was tasked with a mission of great importance. Young Henry had an affair with a married woman who bore him a child, and the woman's husband vowed to kill both his wife and the child she birthed. Richmond was charged with taking the baby to safety and acting as her protector. Even though Richmond has risen to become Henry's greatest knight, the protection of his illegitimate daughter has been his most important task.

The year is 1918, the war on the Western Front all but over. An ambitious officer, Lieutenant Henry D'Aulnay-Pradelle, sends two soldiers over the top and then surreptitiously shoots them in the back to incite his men to attack the German lines. When another of D'Aulnay-Pradelle's soldiers, Albert Maillard, reaches the bodies and discovers how they died, the lieutenant shoves him into a shell hole to silence him. Albert is rescued by fellow soldier, the artist Edouard Péricourt, who takes a bullet in the face.

In 12th century London, Magdalene la Bâtarde is the madam of the Old Priory Guesthouse in Southwark. She is not in the least bit sorry to learn that Bertrild, the unpleasant wife of Master Mainard, is dead. Bertrild was insulting to most people. She made threats, using terrible revelations as a weapon against those who would not bow down to her demanding ways.

The final three books in the Great Iron War steampunk dystopian adventure series, collected together in a digital box set. Join Jacob, Whistler, General Rommond, and Taberah as they take to the rails, to the sky, and to the homeworld of the Regime in their desperate attempt to save humanity.