Listen free for 30 days

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo + applicable taxes after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Stories by Heart cover art

Stories by Heart

Written by: John Lithgow, Ring Lardner, W. W. Jacobs, P. G. Wodehouse
Narrated by: John Lithgow
Try for $0.00

$14.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $9.97

Buy Now for $9.97

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Tax where applicable.

Publisher's Summary

What if a world-famous actor came to your home to read you a bedtime story?

In the case of John Lithgow, he’d be reading you selections from his own cherished childhood volume of Tellers of Tales, a famous collection of 100 short stories from all over the world. In the Lithgow household, bedtime stories from this anthology were read aloud to John and his siblings by their father, Arthur Lithgow. It is only fitting then that towards the end of his father’s life, Lithgow read these same stories back to his father, tapping into the power of art to comfort, heal, and transcend.

These stories and remembrances form the basis of Lithgow’s most recent Broadway production, Stories by Heart, with each act anchored by dramatic readings of The Haircut by Ring Lardner and Uncle Fred Flits By by P. G. Wodehouse. In this Audible Original, you will also hear Lithgow narrate a third tale from the anthology, The Monkey’s Paw by W. W. Jacobs. Stories by Heart is a stunning tribute to a father from a son, performed by a Tony, Emmy, and Golden Globe award-winning actor, and now it is available to you, only from Audible.

Please note: "Haircut" by Ring Lardner is included by kind permission of the Estate of Ring Lardner. "Uncle Fred Flits" By by P. G. Wodehouse is included by kind permission of the Estate of P. G. Wodehouse and taken from his collection of short stories, Young Men in Spats (1936).

©2018 John Lithgow (P)2018 AO Media, LLC.

What the critics say

Stories by Heart is delightful: illuminating the stories, uplifting us.” (The New York Times)

“Rarely have I spent so entertaining a night at the theater - or witnessed so touching a tribute to a departed parent.” (The Wall Street Journal)

“John Lithgow is the most personal of performers, and his chatty solo piece John Lithgow: Stories by Heart finds him in a mellow mood, sharing loving memories of his family and of the stories they used to read to one another.” (Variety)

What listeners say about Stories by Heart

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    11
  • 4 Stars
    3
  • 3 Stars
    5
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    3
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    16
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    10
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    6
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    3

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

John Lithgow is hilarious!

Loved avery minute of these short stories, I am longing for more! Please produce another of these as soon as possible! #Audible1

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!