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.
The Inimitable Jeeves
Summary
The Inimitable Jeeves by P.G.Wodehouse Narrated by Graham Scott P.G. Wodehouse's first full-length Jeeves and Wooster book is a sparkling collection of linked stories, in which Bertie Wooster is harried by his fearsome Aunt Agatha, determined to marry him off; snootered by his anarchic cousins, the twins Claude and Eustace, the curse of the human race; and lugged into every romantic misadventure of his warm-hearted boyhood friend young Bingo Little. But through all his tribulations - give or take the occasional difference over purple socks or Old Etonian spats - the ever-faithful Jeeves stands ready to haul Bertie out of the soup.
Public Domain (P)2019 Voices of Today
Antigone by Sophocles
Summary
Antigone by Sophocles. Translated by Sir George Young. Presented by the Online Stage. Sophocles (497 BC-406 BC), Aeschylus, and Euripides formed a trio of ancient Greek tragedians whose works represent the foundation of the Western tradition of classic drama. Of the more than 100 plays written by Sophocles, seven have survived to the present day. Perhaps the most famous of these are the three that are now known as the Theban plays: Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus, and Antigone. After the death of their father, Oedipus, Antigone and Ismene return to Thebes. The ruler is their unyielding uncle by marriage, Creon, who assumed command after the death of the sons of Oedipus, Eteocles, and Polynices in a fratricidal struggle to take control of the city. Creon has the body of one brother buried with full civic honors but forbids the burial of the body of the other, whom he regards as a traitor. Antigone's challenge to Creon's decree, which she considers unjust, results in the extinction of the family line of Oedipus. Cast: Libby Stephenson as Antigone, Amanda Friday as Ismene, Alan Weyman as Creon, Marty Kris as First Senator, Peter Tucker as Sentinel, Jennifer Fournier as Haemon, John Burlinson as Tiresias, K. G.Cross as Messenger in Attendance on Creon, Cate Barratt as Eurydice; Chorus performed by Brett Downey, Elizabeth Klett, Ed Humpal, and Cate Barratt; stage directions read by Grace Garrett.
Public Domain (P)2016 The Online Stage
The Winters Tale
Summary
Leontes, suspecting his wife's infidelity, imprisons her and exiles her infant daughter to a faraway island. Years later, his wife, presumed dead, is returned to him as a statue.
Public Domain (P)2002 Audio Book Contractors, Inc.
The Woman in White (Dramatized)
Summary
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins Presented by The Online Stage Walter Hartright, a struggling art teacher, is stopped for directions while traveling on a dark road by a mysterious woman in white. Thus begins Walter's deep dive into the twists and turns of stolen identities, fraud, spies, conspiracy and death. Along the way, he meets the lovely Laura Fairlie and her emboldened half-sister, Marian Halcombe. Marian is brazen and assertive in her search for the truth, a strong female during a time when women were simply viewed as the weaker sex. She joins Walter on his journey to untangle the web of lies and deceit that has been spun so expertly around his new found friends. The Woman in White is often touted as being the first Victorian crime novel. Cast: Narrator: Maureen Boutilier Walter Hartright: Jeff Moon Marian Halcombe: Amanda Friday Count Fosco: Rob Goll Mr. Fairlie: David Stifel Laura Fairlie: Anna Grace Percival Glyde: Ben Lindsey-Clark Pesca: Russell Gold Anne Catherick: Arielle Lipshaw Mr. Gilmore: Ron Altman Mr. Merriman: Alan Weyman Mrs. Michelson: Elizabeth Klett Countess Fosco: Trisha Rose Maid: Leanne Yau Mr. Dempster: Andy Harringon Mrs. Clements: Sarah Mitchell Mr. Dawson: Denis Daly Hester Pinhorn: P J Morgan Goodricke: Craig Franklin Mr. Kyrle: Ben Stevens Mrs. Catherick: Sara Morsey Audio edited by Amanda Friday
Public Domain (P)2019 The Online Stage
The Aran Islands
Summary
J.M. Synge, one of the greatest English language playwrites of the 20th century, immortalized the Aran Islands and its people with vivid written portraits that are among the greatest in modern literature. Synge’s vibrant language and earthy themes breathtakingly capture the folklore and way of life that has since perished on these remote northern islands. As an aspiring writer in 1897, Synge was commanded by William Butler Yeats to, “Go to the Aran Islands. Live there as one of the people themselves; express a life that has never found expression.” Synge captures his first four visits to the islands in this magical book. However, their influence continued to permeate his work, including The Playboy of the Western World. Filled with the exuberant energy of an artist coming into his own, The Aran Islands provides an unforgettable look at a land that holds Ireland’s ancestral language, culture and uncorrupted heart. Synge’s lyrical glimpses into the past, coupled with Donal Donnelly’s rich, lilting voice transports listeners to these tiny Emerald Islands.
Public Domain (P)1997 Recorded Books, LLC
The Merchant of Venice
Summary
Shylock, a Jewish moneylender, agrees to lend Antonio, a Venetian merchant, three thousand ducats so that his friend Bassanio can afford to court his love, Portia. However, Shylock has one condition: Should the loan go unpaid, he will be entitled to a pound of Antonio's own flesh. Meanwhile in Belmont, according to the terms of her father's will, Portia's many suitors must choose correctly from three caskets. Bassanio arrives at Portia's estate and they declare their love for one another before he picks the correct casket. Antonio falls into bad fortune and finds he cannot repay Shylock: A dramatic trial ensues to decide his fate.
©2008 Naxos Audiobooks (P)2008 Naxos Audiobooks
Doctor Who: Autonomy
Summary
Hyperville is 2013's top hi-tech, 24-hour entertainment complex - a sprawling palace of fun under one massive roof. You can go shopping, or experience the excitement of Doomcastle, Winterland, or Wild West World. But things are about to get a lot more exciting - and dangerous! What unspeakable horror is lurking on Level Zero of Hyperville? And what will happen when the entire complex goes over to Central Computer Control?
Available exclusively for download, other unabridged readings in the range include: The Krillitane Storm and Autonomy.
©2010 BBC Audiobooks Ltd (P)2010 BBC Audiobooks Ltd
Cyrano de Bergerac
Summary
One of the most enduring love stories of all time. Cyrano de Bergerac is the Platonic ideal of the fearless warrior who is paralyzed by romantic yearning. Confident in battle, but relentlessly self-doubting in love, Cyrano is unable to express his devotion to the beautiful Roxane. And when she falls in love with a handsome young cadet named Christian, Cyrano seizes the opportunity to use Christian as a proxy for his own unrequited feelings. An L.A. Theatre Works full cast recording featuring: Caroline Aaron as Lise/Mother Marguerite Hugo Armstrong as Le Bret Kalen Harriman as Foodseller/Others Gregory Itzin as Comte De Guiche Hamish Linklater as Cyrano Anna Mathias as Duenna/Others Morgan Ritchie as Valvert/Bellerose/Others Jason Ritter as Christian André Sogliuzzo as Ragueneau/Ligniere/Others Devon Sorvari as Roxane Matthew Wolf as Cuigy/Others Original music composed by Mark Holden. Includes a conversation with Sue Lloyd, author of The Man Who Was Cyrano: A Life of Edmond Rostand. Directed and adapted for radio by Barry Creyton. Recorded in Los Angeles before a live audience at The James Bridges Theater, UCLA in December of 2014.
Public Domain (P)2014 L.A Theatre Works
The Virginia Woolf Collection
Summary
Four books...one groundbreaking author. Mrs Dalloway (1925) One day; two lives. Mrs Dalloway prepares for a party, whilst a First World War veteran treads the same streets. Follow 24 hours in the lives of two extraordinary people, each of them recovering from the First World War. A hostess and a soldier come together...in the most unexpected of ways. Kristin Scott Thomas performs. To the Lighthouse (1927) A family’s summer holidays see them return to the Isle of Skye over days and years, sailing boats and enduring wars. As we follow the slow unfolding of the Ramsays' fortunes, both children and adults grow, love, lose. Listed as one of the best novels of the 20th century. Jessie Buckley performs. A Room of One’s Own (1929) Based on a series of lectures to women’s colleges, this collection of essays first published in 1929 explores a female’s need to have space to create, exist...survive. A must-listen for anyone exploring the roots of feminism - or simply what it is to be a woman. A provocative and pervasive listen that remains relevant to listeners of any age. Tilda Swinton performs. The Waves (1931) A dreamscape novel that follows six characters united by a single friend. Set against a stunning English coastal landscape, the novel dares to be one of Woolf’s most inventive narratives as it explores the journey from childhood to adulthood and beyond that - death, and all that we may learn. Vanessa Kirby, Adetomiwa Edun, Andrea Riseborough, Tracy Ifeachor, Samuel Barnett, Johnny Flynn and Juliet Stevenson perform.
Public Domain (P)2021 Audible, Ltd
Study Guide: The Inferno by Dante Alighieri
Summary
SuperSummary, a modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, offers high-quality instructional study guides for challenging works of literature. This audio study guide for The Inferno by Dante Alighieri includes detailed summary and analysis of each chapter and an in-depth exploration of the book’s multiple symbols, motifs, and themes such as sin and the contrapasso (“counter-suffering”), language, and divine grace. Featured content also includes commentary on major characters, 25 important quotes, essay questions, and discussion topics. The Inferno is the first part of Italian poet Alighieri’s medieval epic, The Divine Comedy: a monument of world literature. Written in the 14th century, the poem’s form - terza rima, a circling pattern of interweaving triple rhymes - reflects its major theme: the wisdom, power, and love of the trinitarian Christian God. Over the course of The Inferno, Dante’s encounters in Hell provide personal and political critiques, sending warnings to his warring enemies back on Earth and forcing him to grapple with his own shortcomings. This audio study guide presents the same expert content - written by experienced teachers, professors, and literary scholars - in an easy-to-access audio format. SuperSummary study guides demonstrate an authoritative voice, present expert analysis, offer big picture ideas, and help listeners understand a work’s underlying meanings and conclusions.
©2020 SuperSummary (P)2021 SuperSummary
Three Gothic Tales
Summary
"Transformation" "Fernando Eboli" "The Evil Eye" These three tales were written for the popular literary gift annual The Keepsake in 1828, 1829, and 1831. Their "sensational" themes include exotic locations, dire misfortune, long-lost kin, stolen identity, evil redeemed, plots resolved by strange coincidences, and in one case at least, an encounter with a supernatural being. Gothic fare. The cover image is taken from an illustration to "The Evil Eye" in The Keepsake for 1830.
Public Domain (P)2020 Voices of Today
Carry On, Jeeves
Summary
Listen to hilarious unabridged stories starring the ever-popular Jeeves and Wooster from the master of great British comedy: P. G. Wodehouse. Stories featured: "Jeeves Takes Charge", "Jeeves and The Unbidden Guest", "The Artistic Career of Corky", "The Aunt and the Sluggard", "Clustering Round Young Bingo", "Jeeves and the Hard-boiled Egg", and "The Rummy Affair of Old Biffy".
©2004 CSA Telltapes Ltd. (P)2004 CSA Telltapes Ltd.
The Inimitable Jeeves
Summary
A hilarious romp from start to finish, with a lord and his man having a rollicking good time with subtlety of all kinds.
Public Domain (P)2019 Deaver Brown
Sense and Sensibility
Summary
"The more I know of the world, the more I am convinced that I shall never see a man whom I can really love. I require so much!" (Marianne Dashwood) Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility is a classic staple of English literature. Published in 1811, this novel tells the story of the Dashwood ladies - Elinor, Marianne, and Margaret - as their family is forced to move to a new estate. Elinor and Marianne, the oldest of the trio, come of age in a tumultuous time, and the novel focuses on their romances, tribulations, and relationships with one another as they grow up. Like Austen's other famous novels, Sense and Sensibility has been successful since its publication and is often adapted for stage and screen. The story of Elinor and Marianne's first forays into love and heartbreak is relatable to audiences several decades removed from Austen's time. People across generations identify with the headstrong women who seek love and companionship, often in the wrong places.
Public Domain (P)2020 InAudio
When We Dead Awaken: Full Cast Production
Summary
An audiobook adaptation of Iben's classic, When We Dead Awaken. First published in 1899 it is a despairing and dream-like play rich in symbolism. This was also Ibsen's final play written at the time of his return to Norway after an extended absence a theme which is also reflected in the plot and it is interesting to speculate how much of Ibsen is contained in the lead character, the sculptor, Rubek, including Ibsen's own relationship with his masterpiece, A Doll's House. It is a relatively underperformed work compared to Ibsen's more well-known classics, though this lack of stage-time appears unwarranted. The play tells of a famous sculptor, his wife, and his muse, and offers an apparently bleak interpretation on aspects of life and death. Rich in metaphor this is a theatrical audio-production by a full cast. It is adapted for audio by Argentine playwright Juan Franco Siri. The play is in some ways evocative of Brand and The Master Builder, and is believed to be inspired by Auguste Rodin's relationship with his student Camille Claudet. This version also includes introductory and concluding comments by Siri. This is an important piece of classic Ibsen theater.
©2021 Historical Audiobooks (P)2021 Historical Audiobooks
Powers of Darkness
Summary
Powers of Darkness is an incredible literary discovery. In 1900, Icelandic publisher and writer Valdimar Asmundsson set out to translate Bram Stoker's world-famous 1897 novel Dracula. Called Makt Myrkranna (literally, 'Powers of Darkness'), this Icelandic edition included an original preface written by Stoker himself. Makt Myrkranna was published in Iceland in 1901 but remained undiscovered outside of the country until 1986, when Dracula scholarship was astonished by the discovery of Stoker's preface to the book. However, no one looked beyond the preface and deeper into Asmundsson's story. In 2014, literary researcher Hans de Roos dove into the full text of Makt Myrkranna, only to discover that Asmundsson hadn't merely translated Dracula but had penned an entirely new version of the story, with all new characters and a totally reworked plot. The resulting narrative is one that is shorter, punchier, more erotic, and perhaps even more suspenseful than Stoker's Dracula. Incredibly, Makt Myrkranna has never been translated or even read outside of Iceland until now. Powers of Darkness presents the first ever translation into English of Stoker and Asmundsson's Makt Myrkranna. With a foreword by Dacre Stoker, Bram Stoker's great-grandnephew and best-selling author, and an afterword by Dracula scholar John Edgar Browning, Powers of Darkness will amaze and entertain legions of fans of Gothic literature, horror, and vampire fiction. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.
©2018 Blackstone Audio, Inc. (P)2018 Hans Corneel de Roos
Narrative of a Ghost of a Hand
Summary
Joseph Thomas Sheridan Le Fanu (1814-1873) was an Irish writer of Gothic tales and mystery novels. He was the leading ghost-story writer of the 19th century and was central to the development of the genre in the Victorian era. 'Narrative of a Ghost of a Hand' is a strange story about a haunted house in Ireland. The only part of the sinister apparition which is visible is a white hand which becomes increasingly threatening as the tale goes on.
Public Domain (P)2016 Red Door Audiobooks
The Portrait of a Lady
Summary
“Things are always different than what they might be.... If you wait for them to change, you will never do anything.” Isabel Archer is a young woman who has inherited a large sum of money after the death of her father. She is invited to visit her aunt and uncle’s estate in London, where she is greeted by a cast of eclectic neighbors, many of whom offer her marriage very quickly due to her status. Isabel is set on maintaining independence though and refuses several offers of marriage as she lives in pursuit of her destiny. Eventually, she does fall prey to the people trying to gain her fortune and settles into an unhappy marriage with an egotistical man named Gilbert Osmond. The rest of her tale plays out sadly, with her stepdaughter being pursued by one of her own prior suitors, a selfish husband scheming to take control of her wealth, and a constant pull between all of the people who feel they have a claim to a bit of Isabel’s life and fortune. The Portrait of a Lady is one of Henry James’ most popular works and was a milestone work for its successful portrayal of in-depth motivation and humanity. Henry James’ masterful characterization of Isabel has served as inspiration for a century’s worth of introspective and complex characters.
Public Domain (P)2021 InAudio
Agnes Grey
Summary
“Well! What is there remarkable in all this? Why have I recorded it? Because, reader, it was important enough to give me a cheerful evening, a night of pleasing dreams, and a morning of felicitous hopes.” Agnes Grey is a young woman determined to prove to her family that she is mature and able to contribute financially to the household when her father’s investment plan goes awry. Agnes seeks out placements as a governess, and her jobs takes her between wealthy households far from home with unruly children and untidy houses. Despite her self-perceived independence and maturity, Agnes lives an isolated life that is full of oppressive rules and strictures. Though she is constantly surrounded by people, she has to sacrifice close supportive familial and romantic relationships in her pursuit of her career. The novel follows her journey as she learns that independence is not the most valuable part of life and as she finds her way back to her home to build a life among those she loves. Anne Bronte’s debut novel gives a uniquely firsthand perspective into the isolating and difficult lives that governesses of the time faced through their years of service. The events in the novel have close ties to Anne Bronte’s real experiences as a governess, and it has been suggested that this semi-autobiographical narrative opened readers’ eyes to the unfair and restrictive lives of 19th-century governesses. A realistically humanizing story told in beautifully simple prose, Agnes Grey is a delightful Bronte novel that is not to be overlooked.
Public Domain (P)2021 InAudio