Walter Zimmerman has narrated 17 audiobooks on Listento.it by 27 authors, with an average listener rating of 3.8★ across 9 ratings. The most-rated is How Much Land Does a Man Need?.
Nana
Summary
Emile Zola, along with fellow novelists Honoré de Balzac and Gustave Flaubert, was an early realist in French literature. In novels such as Flaubert's Madame Bovary and Zola's Nana, sex and violence were examined with vivid clarity. These realists soon adopted the word naturalism to describe their writings. Zola's novels were attacked and even banned for their frankness and sordid detail, causing quite a bit of controversy in their day, with their strong emphasis on the unpleasant and unglamorous side of life. The underbelly of 19th century life was a theme for several of its authors, notably Dickens in English. Because of its film versions (which are considerably toned down) and its controversial subject matter, Nana is Zola's best known novel. It is the story of a prostitute in Paris just before the Franco-Prussian War of 1870.
Public Domain (P)1987 Jimcin Recordings
The Bet
Summary
"The Bet" is one of Chekov's most anthologized stories. A rich banker makes a bet with a poor artist that he cannot voluntarily stay imprisoned for a long period of time. The result of the bet is quite different than either man could have supposed.
©1979 Jimcin Recordings (P)1979 Jimcin Recordings
How Much Land Does a Man Need?
Summary
Tolstoy is primarily know for his impressively long novels, but he also wrote some wonderful short stories. This one, dealing with ambition and greed, has an unforgettable message.
Public Domain (P)1986 Jimcin Recordings
Riki-Tiki-Tavi
Summary
This is a selection from The Jungle Book, in which a mongoose saves the day.
Public Domain (P)1980 Jimcin Recordings
The Turn of the Screw
Summary
The Turn of the Screw has been described by many critics as the most sophisticated and terrifying ghost story in the English language. It is considered one of the great intellectual "spook tales" of all time. The story concerns a naive young governess who is hired to take care of two children in a large mansion in the English countryside. Everything is going fine, until she discovers that the children are not as innocent as they seem. The governess believes they have been communing with the ghosts of the former valet and governess. The problem is no one else on the staff can see the ghosts. She alone suspects that the ghosts are controlling the young boy and girl for some evil purpose. The children are evasive when questioned, and the governess begins to fear that the souls of the two children may be in danger. Henry James manages to generate spine-tingling suspense in this mesmerizing tale.
©1898 Public Domain (P)1979 Jimcin Recordings
Three Lives
Summary
In this, the most memorable of her works, Gertrude Stein paints striking portraits of three women. "The Good Anna" is the story of a sober housekeeper of German stock. "The Gentle Lena" is concerned with a passive German girl who endures her woeful life until she dies in childbirth. "Melanetha" tells of a young, intelligent, half-white girl's sexual searching and tragic love affair. These stories reveal a young Gertrude Stein, who has begun to experiment with language but is still rooted to some extent in traditional narrative.
©1988 Jimcin Recordings
Favorite Children's Stories, Volume 2
Summary
This second delightful collection of children's stories contains the following titles: "The Three Goblins", by Mabel G. Taggart; "Alladin and the Wonderful Lamp", edited by Andrew Lang; "Cinderella", by the Brothers Grimm; "The Griffon and Minor Canon", by Frank Stockton; "Beauty and the Beast", by Madame de Villeneuve; "The Frog Prince", by The Brothers Grimm; "Goody Two Shoes", a traditional tale; "How Fear Came", by Rudyard Kipling; "Jack and the Beanstalk", a traditional tale; "Spindle, Shuttle and Needle", by the Brothers Grimm; "The Minotaur", by Nathaniel Hawthorne; "Thumbelina", by Hans Christian Anderson; "Tiger, Tiger", by Rudyard Kipling; "The Velveteen Rabbit", by Margery Williams; "Lazy Jack", a traditional tale; "The Dragon of the North", edited by Andrew Lang; "King Grisley Beard", by the Brothers Grimm; "The Girl Who Owned a Bear", by Frank Stockton; "The Apple of Contentment", by Howard Pyle; and "Wondering Jack", by James Baldwin.
Public Domain (P)2012 Jimcin Recordings
The Second Jungle Book
Summary
The second books of stories continues the adventures of Mowlgi, the Jungle Boy, and contains the following stories: "How Fear Came", "The Miracle of Purun Bhagat", "Letting in the Jungle", "The Undertakers", "The King's Ankus", "Quiquern", "Red Dog", and "The Spring Running".
Public Domain (P)1982 Jimcin Recordings
Favorite Children's Stories, Volume 5
Summary
Volume 5 of this popular series consists of the following stories: "The Books of Beasts" by Edith Nesbit "Prince Sneeze" by Henry Beston "Kind Little Edmund" by Edith Nesbit "The Plate of Pancakes" by Maude Lindsey "The Castle of Life" by Edward Deboulyea "The Glass Dog" by L. Frank Baum "The Country Called Nanomia" by Evelyn Sharp "The Sea Dragon" by Alan McCall "The Professor of Practical Jokes" by Evelyn Sharp "Revenge of the Fireflies" by Abbie Phillips Walker "Snow White and Rose Red" by The Brothers Grimm "Jean Mailin and the Bull Man" by Louisa Bontemps "The Marvelous Dog and the Wonderful Cat" by Henry Beston "Circe's Palace" by Nathaniel Hawthorne "The Boy Who Wanted More Cheese" by William Eliot Griffis "Oh" by Nicolas Shebresky "The Princess Eglantine" by Constance Harrison "The Stuffed Alligator" by Frank Stockton "The Wise Girl" by Miroslav Lukin
Public Domain (P)2018 Jimcin Recordings
A Christmas Carol and Other Stories
Summary
A Christmas Carol is undoubtedly the most famous supernatural story in English. However, it was not the only supernatural story of the season that Charles Dickens wrote. In Victorian England, Christmas was the time to explore the supernatural in stories, and Charles Dickens was one of the best at it. Included in this volume are a full-cast dramatization of A Christmas Carol, plus three more of Dickens' best stories of the season: "The Story of the Bagman's Uncle", "The Signalman", and "The Trial for Murder".
©1843 Public Domain (P)1979 Jimcin Recordings
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
Summary
The hit on the head that sends Hank Morgan back through 13 centuries does not affect his natural resourcefulness. Using his knowledge of an upcoming eclipse, Hank escapes a death sentence, and secures an important position at court. Gradually, he introduces 19th century technology and soon has an easy life. He becomes "The Boss" of the Kingdom, second only to the King. That does not stop him from making a disparaging remark which touches off an incredible series of events. Twain weaves many of the well-known Arthurian characters into his story, and includes a pitched battle between Morgan's men and the nobility. This is Mark Twain at his best.
Public Domain (P)1979 Jimcin Recordings
The King of the Golden River
Summary
"The King of the Golden River" is the magical story of a boy named Gluck, his evil brothers, and a dangerous quest to find treasure lurking in the Golden River. It is a classic tale and the only fairy tale the famous English author and critic ever wrote. It could also be classified as a fable or parable since it it explains "how things came to be".
Public Domain (P)2009 Jimcin Recordings
The Jungle Book
Summary
Raised by wolves, young Mowgli is taught the law of the jungle by his animal friends: Old Baloo the wise brown bear, and Bagheera, the sleek, black Panther. Slowly, Mowgli learns the language and ways of the jungle animals and his childhood seems quite idyllic. But looming in the darkness of the jungle is the cunning and sinister tiger, Shere Khan, who silently watches Mowgli, awaiting his moment to pounce. Some of the stories included are:"Mowgli's Brothers", "Kaa's Hunting", "Tiger Tiger", "The White Seal", "Riki-Tiki-Tavi", "Toomai of the Elephants", and "Servants of the Queen".
Public Domain (P)1980 Jimcin Recordings
Main Travelled Roads
Summary
Hamlin Garland is mostly remembered today for his innovative collections of short stories; Main Travelled Roads is his most famous collection. It contains six stories and is an undisputed American classic. "Under the Lion's Paw" shows an honest, hardworking farmer victimized by a greedy landlord. Another powerful story is the semiautobiographical "Up the Coulee", about a successful son who returns from the East to find his mother and brother trapped on a poor farm, defeated in spite of their best efforts. "Mrs. Ripley's Trip" is a tender story of an elderly couple settled in their frugal country ways, with the wife determined to realize her dream of revisiting childhood scenes. Rounding out the collection are "The Return of a Private", "The Branch Road", and "Among the Corn Rows". Garland did not write "pretty" stories, but he describes exhilarating moments in the lives of these farm people and often highlights the strength of extraordinary characters.
Public Domain (P)1986 Jimcin Recordings
The Story of the Goblins Who Stole a Sexton
Summary
Charles Dickens, like many Victorian writers, loved to write supernatural stories during the Christmas season. The most famous, of course, is A Christmas Carol, but there were many other such stories including, Number One Branch Line: The Signalman, The Trial for Murder, and The Story of the Goblins Who Stole a Sexton. This particular story has many parallels to A Christmas Carol but also has many unique feathers.
Public Domain (P)1987 Jimcin Recordings
The Scarlet Pimpernel
Summary
A blood-red flower is his calling card, daring rescues are his mission. The Scarlet Pimpernel is a daring English aristocrat who rescues French nobles from death at the hands of Madame Guillotine, patron saint of the French Revolution's Reign of Terror. This popular romantic adventure is filled with skin-of-the-teeth escapes and spine-tingling intrigue. It is presented here in unabridged form so you won't miss a moment of swashbuckling suspense.
Public Domain (P)1983 Jimcin Recordings
The Death of Ivan Ilych
Summary
This short but powerful novel was acclaimed by Vladimir Nabokov and Mahatma Gandhi as the greatest in the whole of Russian literature. It is one of Tolstoy's most celebrated pieces of late fiction. At the center of the story is an examination of the nature of both life and death and how man can come to terms with death's inevitability. It was widely acclaimed when it was published in 1886 and remains a compelling narrative today. The Death of Ivan Illyich is a small book with singular depth of insight and is considered to be one of the great explorations of death and dying in all of Western literature. No author in so few words summons so many emotions.
©1886 Public Domain (P)1986 Jimcin Recordings