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.
A Prayer for Owen Meany
Summary
Earphones Award Winner (AudioFile Magazine) Of all of John Irving's books, this is the one that lends itself best to audio. In print, Owen Meany's dialogue is set in capital letters; for this production, Irving himself selected Joe Barrett to deliver Meany's difficult voice as intended. In the summer of 1953, two 11-year-old boys – best friends – are playing in a Little League baseball game in Gravesend, New Hampshire. One of the boys hits a foul ball that kills the other boy's mother. The boy who hits the ball doesn't believe in accidents; Owen Meany believes he is God's instrument. What happens to Owen after that 1953 foul ball is extraordinary and terrifying. As an added bonus, when you purchase our Audible Modern Vanguard production of John Irving's book, you'll also get an exclusive Jim Atlas interview that begins when the audiobook ends.
©1989 Garp Enterprises Ltd (P)2008 Audible, Inc.
The Wandering Inn
Summary
"No killing Goblins." So reads the sign outside of the Wandering Inn, a small building run by a young woman named Erin Solstice. She serves pasta with sausage, blue fruit juice, and dead acid flies on request. And she comes from another world. Ours. It’s a bad day when Erin finds herself transported to a fantastical world and nearly gets eaten by a dragon. She doesn’t belong in a place where monster attacks are a fact of life, and where humans are one species among many. But she must adapt to her new life. Or die. In a dangerous world where magic is real and people can level up and gain classes, Erin Solstice must battle somewhat evil goblins, deadly rock crabs, and hungry [necromancers]. She is no warrior, no mage. Erin Solstice runs an inn. She’s an [innkeeper].
©2018 pirateaba (P)2019 Podium Publishing
Catch-22
Summary
Fifty years after its original publication, Catch-22 remains a cornerstone of American literature and one of the funniest - and most celebrated - novels of all time. In recent years, it has been named to "best novels" lists by Time, Newsweek, the Modern Library, and the London Observer. Set in Italy during World War II, this is the story of the incomparable, malingering bombardier Yossarian, a hero who is furious because thousands of people he has never met are trying to kill him. But his real problem is not the enemy - it is his own army, which keeps increasing the number of missions the men must fly to complete their service. Yet if Yossarian makes any attempt to excuse himself from the perilous missions he's assigned, he'll be in violation of Catch-22, a hilariously sinister bureaucratic rule: A man is considered insane if he willingly continues to fly dangerous combat missions, but if he makes a formal request to be removed from duty, he is proven sane and therefore ineligible to be relieved. Since its publication in 1961, no novel has matched Catch-22's intensity and brilliance in depicting the brutal insanity of war. This 50th-anniversary edition commemorates Joseph Heller's masterpiece with a new introduction by Christopher Buckley; personal essays on the genesis of the novel by the author; a wealth of critical responses and reviews by Norman Mailer, Alfred Kazin, Anthony Burgess, and others; rare papers from Joseph Heller's personal archive; and a selection of advertisements from the original publishing campaign that helped turn Catch-22 into a cultural phenomenon. Here, at last, is the definitive edition of a classic of world literature.
©1955, 1961 Joseph Heller. Copyright renewed (c) 1989 Joseph Heller. All rights reserved (P)2017 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved
The Prince
Summary
The Prince, Machiavelli's 'little book', was written in 1513 and is dedicated to Lorenzo de' Medici. It remains a compelling and controversial treatise on politics, dispensing often cynical, sometimes brutal advice on gaining power and retaining it. Essential listening for our masters perhaps, but most certainly for those of us who would not be mastered. The text used here is the unabridged and classic translation by W. K. Marriott.
Public Domain (P)2013 Magpie Audio
The Time Machine
Summary
When a Victorian scientist propels himself into the year 802,701 AD, he is initially delighted to find that suffering has been replaced by beauty, contentment and peace. Entranced at first by the Eloi, an elfin species descended from man, he soon realises that this beautiful people are simply remnants of a once-great culture - now weak and childishly afraid of the dark. But they have every reason to be afraid: in deep tunnels beneath their paradise lurks another race descended from humanity - the sinister Morlocks. And when the scientist's time machine vanishes, it becomes clear he must search these tunnels, if he is ever to return to his own era. About the Narrator: John Banks is one of the UK's most prolific audiobook narrators, working for the likes of Big Finish, Audible, Random House and Games Workshop. He is a true multi-voice, creating everything from monsters to marauding aliens. He is also an accomplished stage and TV actor. About the Author: Herbert George Wells was a novelist, teacher, historian and journalist, who has become known as the "father of science fiction." His works have been adapted countless times, and provided the basis for many literary and theatrical productions.
©2017 Fantom Films (P)2017 Spokenworld Audio & Ladbroke Audio Ltd/Fantom Publishing
Journey to the Center of the Earth: A Signature Performance by Tim Curry
Summary
Journey to the Center of the Earth is one of literature’s earliest works of science fiction. It vividly animates a fantastical subterranean world as an intrepid crew, led by the eccentric Otto Lidenbrock, traverses the planet’s core and its various bizarre obstacles: giant mushrooms and insects, a herd of mastodons, prehistoric humans, a treacherous pit of magma, and more. Tim Curry, narrator of the customer favorite A Christmas Carol, returns for an encore performance that delivers a range of distinct character voices and captures the energy and enthusiasm of a time when scientific exploration was a brand new adventure.
Public Domain (P)2010 Audible, Inc.
The Time Traveler's Wife
Summary
Clare and Henry have known each other since Clare was six and Henry was 36. They were married when Clare was 23 and Henry was 31. Impossible but true, because Henry is one of the first people diagnosed with Chrono-Displacement Disorder: periodically his genetic clock resets and he finds himself misplaced in time, pulled to moments of emotional gravity from his life, past and future. His disappearances are spontaneous, his experiences unpredictable, alternately harrowing and amusing. Clare and Henry's story unfolds from both points of view, depicting the effects of time travel on their marriage and their passionate love for each other. They attempt to live normal lives, pursuing familiar goals: steady jobs, good friends, children of their own. All of this is threatened by something they can neither prevent nor control, making their story intensely moving and entirely unforgettable.
©2003 Audrey Niffenegger; 2005 HighBridge Company (P)2003 BBC Audiobooks Ltd.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Dramatised)
Summary
One of the greatest epic fantasies of our time, The Fellowship of the Ring has inspired generations of fans, thanks to Tolkien's unparalleled skill for crafting intricately woven narratives. In audiobook form, the story is taken to a whole new level. A BBC radio full-cast dramatisation of the first book in JRR Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy. Brian Sibley's famous 1981 adaptation, starring Ian Holm and Michael Hordern, has been divided into three corresponding parts, with newly recorded beginning and end narration by Ian Holm.
©2018 BBC Worldwide Ltd trading as BBC Studios (P)2018 BBC Worldwide Ltd trading as BBC Studios
Bloody Rose
Summary
A stand-alone epic fantasy adventure featuring a band of legendary mercenaries set in the world of Kings of the Wyld from author Nicholas Eames, who has been hailed as "the voice of modern fantasy" by Michael R. Fletcher. Live fast, die young. Tam Hashford is tired of working at her local pub, slinging drinks for world-famous mercenaries and listening to the bards sing of adventure and glory in the world beyond her sleepy hometown. When the biggest mercenary band of all rolls into town, led by the infamous Bloody Rose, Tam jumps at the chance to sign on as their bard. It's adventure she wants - and adventure she gets as the crew embark on a quest that will end in one of two ways: glory or death. It's time to take a walk on the wyld side. For more from Nicholas Eames, check out Kings of the Wyld.
©2018 Nicholas Eames (P)2018 Hachette Audio
Fate of the Fallen
Summary
Fate of the Fallen is the start of a brand-new adventure from New York Times best-selling author Kel Kade. Not all stories have happy endings. Everyone loves Mathias. Naturally, when he discovers it’s his destiny to save the world, he dives in headfirst, pulling his best friend, Aaslo, along for the ride. However, saving the world isn’t as easy, or exciting, as it sounds in the stories. The going gets rough, and folks start to believe their best chance for survival is to surrender to the forces of evil, which isn’t how the prophecy goes. At all. As the list of allies grows thin and the friends find themselves staring death in the face, they must decide how to become the heroes they were destined to be or, failing that, how to survive.
©2019 Kel Kade (P)2019 Macmillan Audio
A Farewell to Arms
Summary
The best American novel to emerge from World War I, A Farewell to Arms is the unforgettable story of an American ambulance driver on the Italian front and his passion for a beautiful English nurse. Hemingway's frank portrayal of the love between Lieutenant Henry and Catherine Barkley, caught in the inexorable sweep of war, glows with an intensity unrivaled in modern literature, while his description of the German attack on Caporetto, of lines of fired men marching in the rain, hungry, weary, and demoralized, is one of the greatest moments in literary history. A story of love and pain, of loyalty and desertion, A Farewell to Arms, written when he was 30 years old, represents a new romanticism for Hemingway.
©1929 Charles Scribner's Sons. Copyright renewed 1957 Ernest Hemingway (P)2006 Simon & Schuster Inc. AUDIOWORKS is an imprint of Simon & Schuster Audio Division, Simon & Schuster, Inc.
War and Peace
Summary
Often called the greatest novel ever written, War and Peace is at once an epic of the Napoleonic wars, a philosophical study, and a celebration of the Russian spirit. Tolstoy's genius is clearly seen in the multitude of characters in this massive chronicle, all of them fully realized and equally memorable. Out of this complex narrative emerges a profound examination of the individual's place in the historical process, one that makes it clear why Thomas Mann praised Tolstoy for his Homeric powers and placed War and Peace in the same category as The Iliad. War and Peace was translated by Constance Garnett.
Public Domain (P)2009 Blackstone Audio
Silence Fallen
Summary
In the New York Times best-selling Mercy Thompson novels, the coyote shapeshifter has found her voice in the werewolf pack. But when Mercy's bond with the pack - and her mate - is broken, she'll learn what it truly means to be alone.... Attacked and abducted in her home territory, Mercy finds herself in the clutches of the most powerful vampire in the world, taken as a weapon to use against alpha werewolf Adam and the ruler of the Tri-Cities vampires. In coyote form Mercy escapes - only to find herself without money, without clothing, and alone in the heart of Europe. Unable to contact Adam and the rest of the pack, Mercy has allies to find and enemies to fight, and she needs to figure out which is which. Ancient powers stir, and Mercy must be her agile best to avoid causing a war between vampires and werewolves, and between werewolves and werewolves. And in the heart of the ancient city of Prague, old ghosts rise....
©2017 Patricia Briggs (P)2017 Penguin Audio
Crime and Punishment
Summary
A century after it first appeared, Crime and Punishment remains one of the most gripping psychological thrillers. A poverty-stricken young man, seeing his family making sacrifices for him, is faced with an opportunity to solve his financial problems with one simple but horrifying act: the murder of a pawnbroker. She is, he feels, just a parasite on society. But does the end justify the means? Rodion Romanovitch Raskolnikov makes his decision and then has to live with it. Dostoyevsky, in masterly fashion, contrasts the comedy and tragedy of life in St. Petersburg with the anguish and turmoil of Raskolnikov's inner life. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.
Public Domain (P)2013 Naxos AudioBooks
The Left Hand of Darkness
Summary
Winner of the Hugo and Nebula Awards. A groundbreaking work of science fiction, The Left Hand of Darkness tells the story of a lone human emissary to Winter, an alien world whose inhabitants can change their gender. His goal is to facilitate Winter's inclusion in a growing intergalactic civilization. But to do so he must bridge the gulf between his own views and those of the completely dissimilar culture that he encounters. Embracing the aspects of psychology, society, and human emotion on an alien world, The Left Hand of Darkness stands as a landmark achievement in the annals of intellectual science fiction.
©1969 Ursula K. Le Guin (P)2016 Recorded Books
Le comte de Monte-Cristo 2
Summary
Le comte de Monte-Cristo s'est installé à Paris. Par sa magnificence, sa spiritualité et ses étranges manières, il devient la personnalité la plus recherchée de la haute société. C'est justement ce qu'il voulait afin de pouvoir mettre en place son implacable vengeance. ´ Ainsi, tous les protagonistes de cette affaire, tous ceux qui participèrent à l'horrible machination dont le jeune Edmond Dantès fut autrefois la victime, s'avancent en toute innocence dans les rets tendus par le comte. Et pour chacun un piège longuement, patiemment, diaboliquement construit se prépare. Le comte, tel un chat, va jouer avec ses victimes, savourant le moment où il les fera basculer dans la déchéance. Un à un, sans qu'aucune pitié ne vienne à un quelconque moment troubler son auteur, les victimes succomberont sous les terribles coups du comte.
©Domaine public (P)2015 Sixtrid SAS
Le comte de Monte-Cristo 1
Summary
Marseille, 1815. Edmond Dantès ramène à bon port, après la mort de son capitaine, le trois-mâts "Le pharaon". Bientôt capitaine de ce bateau et fiancé à la belle Mercédès, il voit ses espérances comblées. Jamais le bonheur n'a été aussi proche. Mais soudain, le soir du repas de fiançailles le rêve se brise. Une dénonciation anonyme, une machination diabolique le sépare de son amour, l'enterre vivant dans un cachot, séparé à jamais du monde des vivants. Edmond Dantès se retrouve prisonnier au château d'If. Qui veut lui nuire ? Pourquoi ? Dantès l'ignore et se raccroche aux belles paroles de ses geôliers. Mais les années passent et la folie le guette ! Au plus profond du désespoir, dans la nuit perpétuelle de sa cellule, Edmond fait connaissance d'un autre prisonnier, l'abbé Faria. Il apprendra alors, outre une phénoménale connaissance de l'être humain, le secret de l'emplacement d'un inestimable trésor. Edmond Dantès disparaîtra à tout jamais, à la mort de son ami, lorsqu'il prendra la place de son cadavre pour fuir. Après un long séjour en Italie et la découverte effective du fabuleux trésor de l'abbé Faria, il renaîtra en comte de Monte-Cristo et reviendra en France pour se préparer à assouvir son inexorable vengeance.
©Domaine public (P)2015 Sixtrid SAS
Persuasion
Summary
Anne Elliot has grieved for seven years over the loss of her first love, Captain Frederick Wentworth. But events conspire to unravel the knots of deceit and misunderstanding in this beguiling and gently comic story of love and fidelity.
©2007 Naxos AudioBooks Ltd. (P)2007 Naxos AudioBooks Ltd.
Blackwater: The Complete Saga
Summary
Blackwater is the saga of a small town, Perdido, Alabama, and Elinor Dammert, the stranger who arrives there under mysterious circumstances on Easter Sunday, 1919. On the surface, Elinor is gracious, charming, anxious to belong in Perdido, and eager to marry Oscar Caskey, the eldest son of Perdido's first family. But her beautiful exterior hides a shocking secret. Beneath the waters of the Perdido River, she turns into something terrifying, a creature whispered about in stories that have chilled the residents of Perdido for generations. Some of those who observe her rituals in the river will never be seen again.... Originally published as a series of six volumes in 1983, Blackwater is the crowning achievement of Michael McDowell, author of the Southern Gothic classics Cold Moon Over Babylon and The Elementals and screenwriter of Beetlejuice and The Nightmare Before Christmas. This first-ever one-volume edition will allow a new generation of listeners to discover this modern horror classic.
©1983, 2017 Michael McDowell (P)2017 Valancourt Books LLC
The Mayor of Noobtown
Summary
It could be worse. You could be stuck with a literal shoulder demon. After dying and being reborn into a world that's built like a video game, Jim has found himself stuck in a very old-world style new-player zone for low-level adventurers. Unfortunately, the zone fell out of use centuries ago, and no one told the monsters they were supposed to take it easy on the Noobs. Even worse, the only new player around is Jim. Jim has been given an opportunity, and he'll do his best to take advantage of it.
©2019 Ryan Rimmel (P)2019 Podium Publishing