The Classics category has 3,859 audiobooks on Listento.it, with an average listener rating of 4.5★ across 36,161 ratings. The most-rated is The Fellowship of the Ring.
Shadow Worlds
Summary
Now I have become Death, and my shadow shall consume worlds. Samantha continues her journey with the Shadow Corps, an elite group of the universe's most deadly warriors. Their journey takes them into dangerous corners of the universe and up against a notorious space pirate and mind-controlling genetically engineered aliens and to the path of the second ancient Guardian of our side of the universe. Once again Samantha comes out swinging in this action-packed Space Opera with a lite LitRPG angle. With the help of her alien biotech armor, she is able to level up and optimize her skill tree upgrades to bring destruction to evil that lurks in the darkest corners of the universe. She must succeed or see everything she holds dear burn.
©2017 Justin Sloan (P)2018 Podium Publishing
The Lower Depths
Summary
The Lower Depths, also titled At the Bottom, is a 1902 play by the Russian author and playwright Maxim Gorky (1868-1936). This work portrays a group of wretched, impoverished outcasts living in a shelter near the Volga River. They play cards and tell stories, and are briefly uplifted by a new resident called Luca who gives them hope. When he goes off, the illusion of hope collapses, and the result is murder and suicide. The theme of The Lower Depths is that of bitter truth versus the comforting illusion, and the play serves as an indictment of the type of society that allows people to be cast off so that they lose hope and turn to theft and prostitution.
Public Domain (P)2020 Museum Audiobooks
The Wind in the Willows
Summary
The Wind in the Willows is a book for those "who keep the spirit of youth alive in them; of life, sunshine, running water, woodlands, dusty roads, winter firesides." So wrote Kenneth Grahame of his timeless tale of Rat, Mole, Badger, and Toad, in their lyrical world of gurgling rivers and whispering reeds, a world that is both beautiful and benevolently ordered. But it is also a world threatened by dark forces: "the Terror of the Wild Wood" with its "wicked little faces" and "glances of malice and hatred", and defended by the mysterious Piper at the Gates of Dawn. In the end, Grahame triumphantly succeeds in conveying his most precious theme: the miracle of loyalty and friendship.
(P)1992 Blackstone Audio Inc.
Wish Fulfilled
Summary
As we edge toward the 75th anniversary of Osamu Dazai's death, much of his masterful prose remains surprisingly unknown to most English-language audiences. This observational vignette written by a youthful Dazai offers a lovely introduction to the introspective master widely known and loved in Japan. Translated in Japan by Reiko Seri and Doc Kane of Maplopo, this semi-autobiographical account should serve as a nice introduction to those unaware of Dazai's genius. For those well aware of his talents (and possibly the several decades-old translation of this particular work) this updated translation in English provides a fresh look at this masterful vignette.
©2019 Reiko Seri, Doc Kane (P)2019 Reiko Seri, Doc Kane
The Journey to the East
Summary
The story of a youthful pilgrimage that seemingly failed. As the book opens, the narrator is engaged is writing the chronicle of this remembered adventure - the central experience of his youth. As he becomes immersed in retelling the chronicle, the writer realizes that only he has failed, that the youthful pilgrimage continues in a shining and mysterious way.
©2020 Hermann Hesse (P)2020 Hermann Hesse
Siddhartha
Summary
Siddhartha, the ninth book written by Herman Hesse, is about a young Indian boy who leaves his home in hopes of finding enlightenment with the wise "Goutama", which in this story is the Buddha. After learning what he can from Goutama, he decides to go off into the busy city, and leads a life of greed and lust. When he realizes that the lifestyle is not fulfilling, and he reflects on his life, he goes to a river and contemplates suicide. However, it is here that Siddhartha meets a man who will change his life and help lead him to enlightenment, in this classic coming-of-age story about finding meaning and purpose.
Public Domain (P)2016 Dreamscape Media, LLC
The Great Gatsby
Summary
An undisputed masterpiece of 20th-century literature. 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. Penned in the “roaring 20s”, the novel continues to be the subject of numerous film and stage adaptations and has become a fixture in the American classroom. 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. The Great Gatsby audiobook is brought to life by Tim Robbins, famed American actor, screenwriter, director, producer, and musician.
Public Domain (P)2021 Caedmon
Faust
Summary
"Faust" is a tragic play in two parts by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, usually known in English as Faust, Part One and Faust, Part Two. Although rarely staged in its entirety, it is the play with the largest audience numbers on German-language stages. Faust is considered by many to be Goethe's magnum opus and the greatest work of German literature. The earliest forms of the work, known as the Urfaust, were developed between 1772 and 1775; however, the details of that development are not entirely clear. Urfaust has twenty-two scenes, one in prose, two largely prose and the remaining 1,441 lines in rhymed verse. The manuscript is lost, but a copy was discovered in 1886. The first appearance of the work in print was Faust, a Fragment, published in 1790. Goethe completed a preliminary version of what is now known as Part One in 1806. Its publication in 1808 was followed by the revised 1828-29 edition, the last to be edited by Goethe himself. Goethe finished writing Faust Part Two in 1831; it was published posthumously the following year. In contrast to Faust Part One, the focus here is no longer on the soul of Faust, which has been sold to the devil, but rather on social phenomena such as psychology, history and politics, in addition to mystical and philosophical topics. The second part formed the principal occupation of Goethe's last years. Among the most significant works Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: "Faust", "The Sorrows of Young Werther", "Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship", "Elective Affinities", "Prometheus", "Zur Farbenlehre", "Italienische Reise", West-östlicher Divan" and many more.
©2020 Strelbytskyy Multimedia Publishing (P)2020 Strelbytskyy Multimedia Publishing
The Complete Mapp and Lucia, Volume 2
Summary
Sharply observant and wickedly funny, E.F. Benson's six Mapp and Lucia novels satirize the upper-middle-class social climbers in 1920s and '30s rural England. Games of bridge and cups of tea fuel hilarious gossip and vindictive plots a-plenty. It is a masterfully sustained spotlight on the minutiae of village life - a clever and ultimately heartwarming series that seems tailor-made for audio. This second volume contains the second three books. Mapp and Lucia: When Lucia goes to stay in Tilling, Miss Mapp's social pedestal starts to wobble. Far from falling into line as Miss Mapp expects, Lucia soon maneuvers herself - via dinners, luncheons, and games of bridge - into a position of control. Behind a facade of exaggerated manners, the gloves are off! Lucia's Progress: Lucia's 50th birthday is approaching, and she is determined to give her life more meaning. From rumors of pregnancy and Roman remains to Tilling's Town Council elections, renewed rivalry between Lucia and Elizabeth Mapp-Flint (who has married Major Benjy) ripples irresistibly through the novel with many a laugh-out-loud moment. Trouble for Lucia: Lucia is now rich, happily married, and mayor of Tilling - but the village gossip is in full swing, and Lucia's arch-rival Elizabeth is out for revenge. Will Lucia fall at the final hurdle? Delightfully witty and shamelessly entertaining, this is a fitting finale to the series - E.F. Benson's au reservoir! PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2021 Naxos Audiobooks (P)2021 Naxos Audiobooks
Make Westing
Summary
A lifelong waterman, Jack London (1876-1916) left behind a rich store of bold and beautiful prose depicting life upon the sea, under sail, and in step with wild, often perilous nature. Featuring an extended introductory essay by author and sailor Edward Renehan, Make Westing presents the very best of London's nautical prose in one volume for the very first time. In these carefully selected essays, chapters, and short stories, London brings us the sound of the wind in the rigging, the rapture of solitary, starry nights spent out of sight of land, and all the other scents, sounds, emotions, and feelings so familiar to sailors everywhere. Behind every utterance lies a deep and reverent love for the sea and its magnificent, dangerous grandeur. In these testaments London reveals himself as not just an eloquent and authoritative narrator but also a boon companion, friend, and ally of all who share his passion for the delights of blue water. Contents: Introduction (by Edward Renehan); "Small Boat Sailing"; "Typhoon off the Coast of Japan"; "Good Sailors in a Wild Anchorage"; "Perilous Hours"; "White and Yellow"; "Chris Farrington, Able Seaman"; "Make Westing"; Chapter Six from The Sea Wolf; "From the Sandwich Islands to Tahiti" (excerpt from The Voyage of the Snark).
©2015 New Street Communications, LLC (P)2015 New Street Communications, LLC
J'accuse: Zola and the Dreyfus Affair
Summary
A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation by Hattie Naylor. This play was inspired by a newspaper article written by Emile Zola in response to the Dreyfus Affair of the 1890s, when a Jewish army officer was persecuted and wrongly imprisoned by the French military and judicial establishment. Louis Gregori gives a right-wing and nationalistic perspective on the events that led him to believe that the murder of the guiltless Dreyfus was the correct and only action. Starring Mark Heap as Louis, Kathryn Hunt as Dominique, with Graeme Hawley, Conrad Nelson, Paul Mundell, and Jonathan Keeble. Directed by Pauline Harris.
©2010 Hattie Naylor (P)2010 AudioGO Ltd
Die Judenbuche
Summary
Mitte des 18. Jahrhunderts wächst Friedrich Mergel in einem entlegenen Dorf in Westfalen auf. Trotz schwieriger Verhältnisse, wie dem frühen Tod seines trinkenden Vaters, schafft er es, sich zunächst mit der Unterstützung seines Onkels in der dörflichen Gesellschaft zu behaupten. Beeinflusst von den dunklen Machenschaften des Onkels verändert er sich zu einem leichtfertigen und prahlerischen jungen Mann. Er gerät unter Verdacht, in einen Mord verwickelt zu sein, als ein Förster auf der Jagd nach Holzdieben tot aufgefunden wird. Jahre später, nachdem auch der Jude Aaron ermordet unter einer Buche aufgefunden wird, verschwindet Friedrich zunächst spurlos.
©gemeinfrei (P)1964 SR
The Canterville Ghost
Summary
Oscar Wilde’s delightful story comes to life with vivid performances by Mark Redfield and Mackenzie Menter (as Virginia), with an original music score by Jennifer Rouse. One of the first stories Wilde published in 1887, “The Canterville Ghost” tells the story of an American family that moves into a haunted country house in England. At first disbelieving in ghosts, the family soon accepts, and then combats, the ghostly antics of Sir Simon de Canterville. Sir Simon has haunted Canterville Chase in various ghastly disguises for years, and becomes increasingly frustrated at the American family’s attempts to spoil the fun. Only little Virginia reaches out to Sir Simon, and with her help, the garrulous ghost is able to find peace. Wilde’s story combines macabre whimsy and gentle humor, making it perennially popular. “He made me see what Life is, and what Death signifies, and why Love is stronger than both.” ("The Canterville Ghost")
Public Domain (P)2021 Oasis Audio
Let's Kill Uncle
Summary
When recently orphaned Barnaby Gaunt is sent to stay with his uncle on a beautiful remote island off the coast of Canada, he is all set to have the perfect summer holiday. Except there is one small problem: His uncle is trying to kill him. Heir to a ten-million-dollar fortune, Barnaby tries to tell everyone and anyone that his uncle is after his inheritance, but no one will believe him. That is, until he tells the only other child on the island, Chrissie, who concludes that there is only one way for Barnaby to stop his demonic uncle: He will just have to kill him first. With the unexpected help of One-Ear, the aged cougar who has tormented the island for years, Chrissie and Barnaby hatch a foolproof plan. Playful, dark, and witty, Let's Kill Uncle is a surprising tale of two ordinary children who conspire to execute an extraordinary murder - and get away with it.
©1963 June Skinner (P)2012 Audible, Inc.
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Summary
The first novel by James Joyce, this semi-autobiographical narrative depicts the life of Stephen Dedalus, a character created as an allusion to Daedalus, a craftsman in Greek mythology. Beginning by depicting the early stages of Stephen's life, the language of the novel grows with the main character as he awakens sexually and rebels against religion. When he realizes that Ireland is restricting him, he commits to a self-imposed exile and travels elsewhere to grow as an artist - but not before declaring Ireland his homeland.
Public Domain (P)2019 Dreamscape Media, LLC
Brave New World
Summary
Set in 2540 CE, Brave New World is a dystopian novel by Aldous Huxley that was published in 1932. The novel takes place in a futuristic society called The World State, where life revolves around science and efficiency. Emotions and individuality are conditioned out of children, and citizens are socially engineered into an intelligence-based hierarchy. People are kept in a passive state through their consumption of a soothing drug called soma, and trouble-makers are exiled to various islands. The characters include Bernard Marx, a sleep-learning specialist, Helmholtz Watson, a lecturer, Lenina Crowne, a fetus technician, and John, also known as “Mr. Savage”. Brave New World was ranked at number five on the Modern Library’s 1999 list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century.
Public Domain (P)2020 Museum Audiobooks
Romeo and Juliet
Summary
A full-cast BBC Radio 3 production of Shakespeare’s quick-witted summer tragedy.
In a town full of hatred, where the streets ring with the Capulet-Montague feud,and swords are too easily drawn, Romeo and Juliet find each other--and love--and never let go.
In Shakespeare’s famous play, first performed in 1595, the warring Capulets and Montagues have been sworn to keep the peace on pain of death. When Capulet’s daughter, Juliet, meets Montague’s son, Romeo, at a masked ball, they immediately fall in love. With the help of Friar Lawrence and Juliet’s Nurse, the pair decide to marry in secret. Disaster strikes when Romeo is banished for murder,and flees after just one night with his new wife. Juliet, meanwhile, is betrothed against her wishes to Count Paris. Friar Lawrence intervenes to help, but tragedy is at hand…
Rising young stars Trystan Gravelle and Vanessa Kirby play the star-crossed lovers, with David Tennant as Prince Escalus, Rosie Cavaliero as the Nurse, and Ron Cook as Friar Lawrence.
©2015 BBC Worldwide (P)2015 BBC Worldwide
Fortune & Misfortune
Summary
Lifetimes before.... When a fortuneteller at the Netherfield ball tells Lizzy and Fitzwilliam they are soulmates who have lived many lives before, both dismiss the claim. Yet as the days pass, Lizzy finds it harder to disbelieve she was once in love with Mr. Darcy in a previous life. With her loyalties torn between Mr. Wickham, so wronged by Darcy, and the man himself, who draws her, can she separate the truth from the lies? Which man deserves her heart, and which man has held it for innumerable lifetimes before? This story includes a touch of magic, intrigue, danger, and a decidedly fated happily-ever-after for ODC. While Abbey sometimes writes steamy JAFF, this shorter tale is strictly sweet.
©2020 Abbey North (P)2020 Abbey North
Aus dem Leben eines Taugenichts
Summary
Eichendorffs Novelle von 1826 zählt zu den populärsten Werken der Spätromantik. Ein Müller schickt seinen Sohn - einen Taugenichts, der ihm mehr Arbeit macht als abnimmt - auf Reisen. Kurzerhand nimmt dieser seine Geige und geht hinaus in die Welt, die zahllose Abenteuer für ihn bereithält. Stets ein Lied auf den Lippen verliebt er sich, fährt nach Italien, wird Teil eines Verwechslungskomplotts und erlebt schließlich eine Überraschung, die sein Herz rettet. Viele Lieder des Taugenichts, wie "Wem Gott will rechte Gunst erweisen", sind bis heute bekannt und beliebt. Eine zauberhafte Novelle über Fernweh, Unbeschwertheit und Natur - ungekürzt gelesen von Matthias Fuchs.
©Gemeinfrei (P)2015 DAV
The Great Gatsby
Summary
In 1922, F. Scott Fitzgerald announced his decision to write "something new, something extraordinary and beautiful and simple + intricately patterned". That extraordinary, beautiful, intricately patterned, and above all, simple novel became The Great Gatsby, arguably Fitzgerald's finest work and certainly the book for which he is best known. A portrait of the jazz age in all of its decadence and excess, The Great Gatsby captured the spirit of the author's generation and earned itself a permanent place in American mythology. Self-made, self-invented millionaire Jay Gatsby embodies some of Fitzgerald's - and his country's - most abiding obsessions: money, ambition, greed, and the promise of new beginnings. "Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgiastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that's no matter - tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther...and one fine morning..." Gatsby's rise to glory and eventual fall from grace becomes a kind of cautionary tale about the American dream. It's also a love story of sorts, the narrative of Gatsby's quixotic passion for Daisy Buchanan. The pair meet five years before the novel begins, when Daisy is a legendary young Louisville beauty and Gatsby an impoverished officer. They fall in love, but while Gatsby serves overseas, Daisy marries the brutal, bullying, but extremely rich Tom Buchanan. After the war, Gatsby devotes himself blindly to the pursuit of wealth by whatever means and to the pursuit of Daisy, which amounts to the same thing. "Her voice is full of money," Gatsby says admiringly, in one of the novel's more famous descriptions. His millions made, Gatsby buys a mansion across Long Island Sound from Daisy's patrician East Egg address, throws lavish parties, and waits for her to appear. When she does, events unfold with all the tragic inevitability of a Greek drama, with detached, cynical neighbor Nick Carraway acting as chorus throughout. Spare, elegantly plotted, and written in crystalline prose, The Great Gatsby is as perfectly satisfying as the best kind of poem.
Public Domain (P)2020 Fitzgerald LLC