Short Classics

In the final years of his life, Chekhov produced some of the stories that rank among his masterpieces and some of the most highly-regarded works in Russian literature. The poignant 'The Lady with the Little Dog' and 'About Love' examine the nature of love outside of marriage - its romantic idealism and the fear of disillusionment. And in stories such as 'Peasants', 'The House with the Mezzanine' and 'My Life' Chekhov paints a vivid picture of the conditions of the poor and of their powerlessness in the face of exploitation and hardship.

In this gem of a short story, Edith Wharton's talent for satire shines. Mrs. Ballinger and the ladies of the Lunch Club, that exclusive group dedicated to literature and erudition, are eagerly anticipating a visit by the noted novelist Osric Dane. Her books have been read by all the members except their newest, Mrs. Roby, whose idea of a perfect novel is one that entertains and preferably ends with marriage for the hero and heroine. It's painfully clear to Mrs. Ballinger and the others that Mrs. Roby is not on their intellectual plane.

A thoroughly engaging collection of great classic tales by the very best American authors. 1. 'From Beyond' by H. P. Lovecraft 2. 'The Mysterious Card and the Card Unveiled' by Cleveland Moffett 3. 'Pigs Is Pigs' by Ellis Parker Butler 4. 'The Club of One-Eyed Men' by Arthur Somers Roche 5. 'Afterward' by Edith Wharton 6. 'The Furnished Room' by O. Henry 7. 'A Descent into the Maelström' by Edgar Allan Poe 8. 'Regret' by Kate Chopin 9. 'The Terrible Old Man' by H. P. Lovecraft 10. 'The Dumb Man' by Sherwood Anderson

The hunter becomes the hunted. You listened to The Most Dangerous Game in high school and college, but you've never experienced Richard Connell's classic short story like this before! As part of our Otio Dramatized Classic series, Otio Stutios has transformed this iconic story into a full-cast audio production skillfully assembled by world-class sound designer Brandon Leith and executive producer George Caudill.

This choice collection of spine tingling tales runs the gamut from slightly spooky to "I'm sleeping with all the lights on tonight!" A splendid grouping of tales from the pens of some of the great writers of the past. Enjoy these classic stories alone or with a friend, whenever your ears are free.

This story is a gem representing the delightful stories from the Indian subcontinent which capture the simple essence of everyday life in India. The simple pleasures of life indicate a time gone by before the advent of cellphones and Facebook, a time which almost stood still, a time where children could revel in the rain, make paper boats and race them down a drain, play marbles and generally pass time.

As William turns 12, he wonders if Jason is still his best friend. In the past year, Jason has grown a foot taller, while William is still a shrimp. When Jason challenges William to “jump the trains,” William is terrified. How else can he prove himself to Jason? William gets his answer when his former housekeeper sends him a magic token that once again transports him to Sir Simon’s castle in the Middle Ages, this time with Jason.

Volume ten launches with Doug Bradley's well-researched insight into the stories and their authors. This is followed by HP Lovecraft's evocative tale of exploration, "The Strange High House in the Mist". Next we hear Ambrose Bierce's truly chilling "A Diagnosis of Death", and Jeffery Combs reads Edgar Allan Poe's classic revenge tale, "The Cask of Amontillado".

Herbert George Wells was one of the most prolific and visionary British writers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. H. G. Wells is now best remembered for his science fiction novels, although he wrote across many genres, including nonfiction. His fiction embraces history, science fiction, horror, satire, fantasy, and social commentary. Wells was also a futurist, foreseeing air travel, tanks (as in “The Land Ironclads” - part of this anthology) space travel, nuclear weapons, and even satellite television.

Something between a tale and a polemic, these 'fables of reason' are feats of narrative compression and contain much of Voltaire's best and funniest writing. From ribald tales of adultery to conversations between cosmic travellers, the stories in this collection pose moral, philosophical and social questions. Listener and protagonist alike find their assumptions challenged as Voltaire mingles rationality and fantasy.

Critically acclaimed audiobook reader Barnaby Edwards (Doctor Who, The Voyage of the Beagle, Space Danger) performs 11 tales of ghostly gothic spookiness. From tales of vampyres and spirits to devil’s deals and ethereal coachmen. Short but oh so sweet, these 11 stories from some of the most lauded authors of the Gothic period prove that you need only a few pages to tell a truly terrifying tale.

Nelson Mandela's Favorite African Folktales is an audiobook benefiting children orphaned and impacted by HIV/AIDS in South Africa, featuring Gillian Anderson, Benjamin Bratt, LeVar Burton, Ricardo Chavira, Don Cheadle, Matt Damon, Whoopi Goldberg, Sean Hayes, Hugh Jackman, Samuel L. Jackson, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Scarlett Johansson,

Debra Messing, Helen Mirren, Parminder Nagra, Sophie Okonedo, CCH Pounder, Alan Rickman, Jurnee Smollett, Charlize Theron, and Blair Underwood.

La Main est une nouvelle fantastique de Guy de Maupassant parue en 1883. "Or, j'appris un jour qu'un Anglais venait de louer pour plusieurs années une petite villa au fond du golfe. Il avait amené avec lui un domestique français, pris à Marseille en passant. Bientôt tout le monde s'occupa de ce personnage singulier, qui vivait seul dans sa demeure, ne sortant que pour chasser et pour pêcher.

In his only work of political satire, The Short Reign of Pippin IV, John Steinbeck turns the French Revolution upside down as amateur astronomer Pippin Héristal is drafted to rule the unruly French. Steinbeck creates around the infamous Pippin the most hilarious royal court ever: Pippin's wife, Queen Marie, who "might have taken her place at the bar of a very good restaurant"; his uncle, a man of dubious virtue; and his glamour-struck daughter and her beau, the son of the so-called "egg king" of Petaluma, California.

Alison Larkin Presents is delighted to publish these selected New York short stories by Edith Wharton, whose inside knowledge of New York's upper class is put to sparkling use here.

Nine of Wodehouse's funniest stories, as the Oldest Member reminisces about misadventures among the golf-obsessed. Including the eponymous 'goof' Ferdinand Dibble, a man whose non-success at golf has reduced him to such a state of diffidence as to hamper his romantic aspirations; high-stakes betting on the course among America's tainted millionaires; the heroic Rollo Podmarsh, persevering in the best round of his life under sentence of death; and the saga of William Bates, Jane Packard, and self-confessed vers libre poet Rodney Spelvin.

A towering figure in the pantheon of twentieth-century literature, Thomas Mann has often been perceived as a dry and forbidding writer—"the starched collar," as Bertolt Brecht once called him. But in fact, his fiction is lively, humane, sometimes hilarious. In these fresh renderings of his best short work, award-winning translator Damion Searls casts new light on this underappreciated aspect of Mann's genius.

James Joyce's disillusion with the publication of Dubliners in 1914 was the result of ten years battling with publishers, resisting their demands to remove swear words, real place names and much else, including two entire stories. Although only 24 when he signed his first publishing contract for the book, Joyce already knew its worth. Joyce's aim was to tell the truth — to create a work of art that would reflect life in Ireland at the turn of the last century.

In this compilation from Skyboat Media, composers and artists, miners and soldiers, tinkerers and amateur psychologists must fend for themselves in the struggle for their own “ideal” wherein they may find either happiness and salvation, or tragedy and madness. Originally published in German from 1816-1818 and in English from 1885-1908.

Jack London was one of the most notable authors of his time, and this collection showcases some of his most popular short stories. Filled with reflections on the human condition, our interactions with wilderness, and the chance of underlying magic that surrounds us all, these short stories offer a brief respite from the bustling world around us. This collection of short stories contains "A Thousand Deaths", "An Odyssey of the North", "A Relic of the Pliocene", "The Law of Life", "The Minions of Midas", "To Build a Fire", "Grit of Women", "That Spot", "Flush of Gold", and "Lost Face".