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Petruchio tames Katherina, an unwilling participant in the relationship, with various psychological torments, such as keeping her from eating and drinking, until she becomes a desirable, compliant and obedient bride. This edition of The Taming of the Shrew is an adaptation of Shakespeare's eponymous drama, narrated in plain modern English, capturing the very essence and key elements of the original Shakespeare work.

Helena, the low-born ward of a French countess, is in love with the countess' son, Bertram, who is indifferent to her. Bertram goes to Paris to replace his late father as attendant to the ailing King of France. Helena, the daughter of a recently deceased doctor, follows Bertram, ostensibly to offer the King her services as a healer. The King is sceptical, and she guarantees the cure with her life: if he dies, she will be put to death, but if he lives, she may choose a husband from the court.

The Comedy of Errors is one of William Shakespeare's shortest and one of his most farcical comedies, with a major part of the humour coming from slapstick and mistaken identity, in addition to puns and word play. This edition of The Comedy of Errors is an adaptation of Shakespeare's eponymous drama, narrated in plain modern English, capturing the very essence and key elements of the original Shakespeare's work.

We continue to explore the world of our feral friends and learn about some of their darker secrets, some of the naughty episodes of their hidden lives, and some of the most revealing confessions of what cats think about their human masters. It may come as a surprise, but cats often do watch humans and attempt to imitate their behaviour, albeit not always very successfully. And in the second half of this collection we meet humans who don't seem to know how to handle their pets without embarrassment and even those humans who try to be a bit too close to nature for their own good.

The theme of romance continues in this volume and begins with iconic 'The Lady with the Dog' by Anton Chekhov. Set in Yalta, Crimea, appears at first as a holiday romance. Gurov is a married man but he holidays on his own and has a history of holiday affairs. He meets the lady of the story’s title with her Pomeranian dog. But Chekhov’s love stories are not romantic accounts of unrequited love or of love at first sight. Or, even of tortured love that is amplified by the agony of being unfulfilled. No, these are Chekhovian tales that surprise and intrigue our imagination. The second of this collection continues with King Lear.

Shakespeare instructed by delighting. His comedies and tragedies contain more actual wisdom than the whole body of English learning. He is the teacher of all good - pity, generosity, true courage, love. His bright wit is cut out into little stars. This collection of Shakespeare tales includes The Tempest, Much Ado About Nothing and Cymbeline. These timeless stories are retold in modern English, retaining all key elements of Shakespeare's original story line, characters and wisdom. Read in English, unabridged.

This selection of stories and tales is perfect for that cold winter night to cosy up around fireplace and enter magical world of far away lands or kingdoms of the past. This volume opens with two tales from Beatrix Potter: 'The Tale of Mrs. Tittlemouse' and 'The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin', followed by 'Puss in Boots' by Charles Perrault. And in the second half we have Anton Chekhov's story, 'A Gentleman Friend', followed by William Shakespeare's 'Twelfth Night'. Read in English, unabridged.

Shakespeare was familiar with all beautiful forms and images, with all that is sweet or majestic in the simple aspects of nature and human life, of that indestructible love, and clear waters, and soft airs and sounds, and bright skies and woodland solitudes, and moon-light bowers. The writings of Shakespeare have been justly termed the richest, the purest, the fairest, that genius uninspired ever penned.

Pericles, the young Prince of Tyre in Phoenicia, modern day Lebanon, hears the riddle, and instantly understands its meaning: Antiochus is engaged in an incestuous relationship with his daughter. If he reveals this truth, he will be killed, but if he answers incorrectly, he will also be killed. This edition of Pericles is an adaptation of Shakespeare's eponymous drama, narrated in plain modern English, capturing the very essence and key elements of the original Shakespeare's work. Read in English, unabridged.

The Winter's Tale follows two childhood friends: Leontes, King of Sicilia, and Polixenes, the King of Bohemia. Polixenes is visiting the kingdom of Sicilia and is enjoying catching up with his old friend. However, after nine months, Polixenes yearns to return to his own kingdom to tend to affairs and see his son. This edition is an adaptation of Shakespeare's eponymous comedy, narrated in plain modern English, capturing the very essence and key elements of the original Shakespeare's drama. Read in English, unabridged.

Where does love come from? How are questions of personal happiness of consequence in love? This audiobook collection of stories by Anton Chekhov is united by the theme of love, featuring: 'About Love', 'The Helpmate' and 'Polinka'. Read in English, unabridged, and accompanied by orchestral music based on original Antonin Dvorak compositions.

A beautiful Christmas story of love, forgiveness and uneasy life. Set in Chicago on a bitterly cold Christmas night. William considers stealing both to satisfy his hunger and to find excitement in his dull life, but when a woman drops a parcel, he gives it to her instead of running off with it. He feels as if he is a failed thief, in the same manner as he has failed at everything - college, journalism, real estate, performing.

In Shakespeare plays the tragic and the comic often fade into each other, turning into a harmonious blending of these two elements. Shakespeare takes a special delight in the employment of such harmonies. His tragedies never fail having their comic interludes, and his comedies often have a serious undertone. Still, the comic is not the tragic, and in this collection we offer some of the more humorous and witty tales from Shakespeare. The following Shakespeare adaptations are included here: A Midsummer Night's Dream, As You Like It and Measure for Measure.

Valentine is preparing to leave Verona for Milan so as to broaden his horizons. He begs his best friend, Proteus, to come with him, but Proteus is in love with Julia and refuses to leave. The play deals with the themes of friendship and infidelity, the conflict between friendship and love, and the foolish behaviour of people in love. This edition of The Two Gentlemen of Verona is an adaptation of Shakespeare's eponymous drama, narrated in plain modern English, capturing the very essence and key elements of the original Shakespeare work.

A brave Scottish general named Macbeth receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders King Duncan and takes the Scottish throne for himself. He is then wracked with guilt and paranoia. Forced to commit more and more murders to protect himself from enmity and suspicion, he soon becomes a tyrannical ruler.

This edition of A Midsummer Night's Dream is an adaptation of Shakespeare's eponymous comedy. The events surrounding the marriage of Theseus, the Duke of Athens, to Hippolyta, the former queen of the Amazons.

Benedick and Beatrice are tricked into confessing their love for each other, and Claudio is tricked into rejecting Hero at the altar on the erroneous belief that she has been unfaithful. This edition of Much Ado About Nothing is an adaptation of Shakespeare's eponymous comedy, narrated in plain modern English, capturing the very essence and key elements of Shakespeare's original drama.

There plenty of spooky action in this volume of tales. Ghosts, apparitions, entire armies of fairies and fairy queens. The volume opens with Shakespeare's timeless classic A Midsummer Night's Dream and continues to get more frightening with haunted castles in Leskov's The Ghost of the Engineers' Castle.

Cymbeline, the Roman Empire's vassal king of Britain, once had two sons, Guiderius and Arvirargus, but they were stolen twenty years earlier as infants by an exiled traitor named Belarius. Cymbeline now discovers that his only child left, his daughter Imogen, has secretly married her lover Posthumus Leonatus, an otherwise honourable man of Cymbeline's court. This edition of Cymbeline is an adaptation of Shakespeare's eponymous drama, narrated in plain modern English, capturing the very essence and key elements of the original Shakespeare's work. Read in English, unabridged.

Enter the world of mystery with this timeless audiobook adaptation of Leskov's classic ghost story uncovering mysteries of a haunted castle with a reputation going back several centuries. Featuring ghost action and audio effects, it includes a story that takes you through events unfolding in St. Petersburg in 1859 or 1860. This release also includes another story of mysterious disappearance. A 19th-century nobleman goes missing in Turgenev's "Hunting Sketches".