Discover the New Releases Audiobooks in Classics, British Literature Best Sellers

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Title: The Ballad of Reading Gaol

Author: Oscar Wilde, Frank Harris

Narrator: Denis Daly

Format: Unabridged

Length: 33 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-30-17

Publisher: Spoken Realms

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Between 1895 and 1897 Oscar Wilde served a prison sentence for offences "of gross indecency". Most of this time was spent at Reading Gaol, where Wilde encountered another prisoner, Harles Thomas Wooldridge, a trooper in the Royal Horse Guards, who had been sentenced to death for the murder of his wife. Wooldrige was hanged at the gaol on 7th July, 1896. Wilde wrote the poem in France in 1897 after his release from prison. The first published version identified the author only as C.3.3, the name allocated to Wilde as a prisoner. The poem is a long reflection on the inequity and ineffectiveness of statutory punishment and the redeeming power of the Christian message of forgiveness. In his foreword, Frank Harris wrote: I venture to repeat here what I have said in various ways for nearly twenty years now, that Oscar Wilde's condemnation of prisons and punishment must lead directly to their abolition. The old bad past will die and Oscar Wilde's ballad helped to kill it.

Members Reviews:

I'm garbage at reading poem books

I have to say, I'm garbage at reading poem books. I was originally interested in this because I had read The Picture of Dorian Gray, and afterwards I had looked up Oscar Wilde. I had found that this verse:

And alien tears will fill for him

Pity's long-broken urn,

For his mourners will be outcast men,

And outcasts always mourn.

is on his grave from the Ballad of Reading Gaol, and that's why I read it. Instead of being only about his imprisonment, I got a lot of fanciful poems that were a little superfluous. I thought the best poem in the book was the actual Ballad of Reading Gaol. It was vivid and accessible, unlike the heavy poems with all the mythology references. (I even like mythology!)

Anyway, took me awhile to get through this, even though it's pretty short.

Great writing, but I only liked it

I am biased, I love Wilde-- he can be a touch over the op (:D), but he's never dull. This is a long poem... or series of poems etched~stitched~crocheted together (at least in my mind). Mostly 1st person, but other forms are used yet reverts back to author's eyes view. I like to try to put them together in a longer narrative, even if that isn't the way the author intended them... because that is just something I like to do.

The Ballard of Reading Gaol

There was no doubt that Mr. Wilde is a master of the poetic word. All of his poetry that was written before he went to gaol was full of flowers, Gods and Goddesses and idyllic meadows. I was quite breathless from all that tulip tripping but I'm glad I sloughed on through to "Reading". This is by far Oscars most worthy poem. He perfectly caught the helpless cadence of men trapped in their own crime and punishment. I felt this unhappy man's plight like it were my own. Yes, Oscar, we do kill the ones we love. You also killed yourself but in the process created your most worthy words.

?Rating a classic of literature?

This is a classic. It is free. It was written by an acknowledged master. How very late-20th Century egocentrism to be asked to RATE something which has been a dip-and-taste book for decades. I'm a writer, I loved it. I don't give a damn about sexual proclivity, but you may turn up your nose because of the author, no matter the literary merit.

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Title: The Prisoner of Chillon

Author: Lord Byron

Narrator: Rob Goll

Format: Unabridged

Length: 19 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-13-17

Publisher: Spoken Realms

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

A narrative poem of 14 stanzas, written by Lord Byron following a visit to the Château of Chillon on Lake Geneva in 1816. It was inspired by the story of 16th-century Swiss monk and patriot François Bonivard, held captive in the dungeons of Chillon between 1532 and 1536.

The poem takes the form of a dramatic monologue in which the prisoner reflects on the fates of his father and five brothers, and chronicles his own sufferings and the glimmerings of hope which exist in the beauty just outside his dungeon walls.

Members Reviews:

Good companion story for a visit to Chillon castle

Read this after touring Chillon castle. Good description of the dungeon pillars. Had some French text describing historical background. Be nice if it had English translation.

Captivity

Culture the captivation of captivity. An early study in institutionalism. How man adjusts and incorporates the surroundings. And the terror of freedom.

I needed to read this poem before visiting Chillon. ...

I needed to read this poem before visiting Chillon. The annotations were very helpful filling in the background of the real prisoner and the life of Byron.

Enjoy this!

Oh....this was fun in that I read it before going to the actual prison. Amazing that Lord Byron! Read it.

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Title: Eliza

Author: Barry Pain

Narrator: Roy Macready

Format: Unabridged

Length: 2 hrs and 1 min

Language: English

Release date: 08-01-17

Publisher: Spiders' House Audio

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Eliza was the first volume of the Eliza Stories by Barry Pain (1864-1928). It was published in 1900 and was the first of these stories that appeared in cheap editions and were sold on railway bookstalls. The stories were hugely popular and made Pain's name. Although the book is titled Eliza, it is her husband who is its comic hero.

The husband, whose name we never learn, is an overbearing, pretentious prig who believes he is right about everything but is constantly undermined and proved wrong by his long-suffering wife. He is without doubt one of the great comic creations in the tradition of Mr Pooter in The Diary of a Nobody.

Members Reviews:

Amazon's Book Cover is misleading

The nude woman bookcover on Amazon's page seems to imply this is perhaps a racy type book which couldn't be further from the truth.

It is a series of anecdotes about a @1900 English fictional couple in their 40s I'd guess who are childless.

Very tame short humorous stories told by the husband about his life with his wife, Eliza. The couple are like an English version of George Burns and Gracie Allen.

A gentle chuckle of a book. Get it free from MobileRead.

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Title: Lord Arthur Savile's Crime

Author: Oscar Wilde

Narrator: Alan Weyman

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 18 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-31-17

Publisher: Spoken Realms

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

When Lord Arthur learns of his awful destiny, how will he deal with the consequences? As this is Wilde, it's not what you might expect.

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Title: The Cuckoo Clock

Author: Mrs. Molesworth

Narrator: Flo Gibson

Format: Unabridged

Length: 3 hrs and 36 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-25-17

Publisher: Audio Book Contractors, LLC

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

A cuckoo fills the life of a lonely little girl with excitement, friendship, and travels to imaginative far-off lands.

Members Reviews:

Probably best if you read it at the right age

I can see people having a sentimental attachment to this book if they read it at the right age in childhood. It is sweet, magical, and has little "lessons" to learn. But as an adult reading this for the first time it just feels like a poor man's Alice in Wonderland. It also reminds me a bit of Five Children and It (another "lessons" story), but again I liked Five Children more. That isn't to say this isn't readable, but really I'd only tell a friend to read it if they are looking for a nice little story for their children.

Childhood's First Memory

This was the first book I truly remember reading, and then reading again, as a child. My 7-year old daughter has started the book now, and seems to love it too. Great details for the imagination and just enough excitement to keep you coming back.

Cuckoos are real!

Great Kids story about how a little girl finds a needed friend and some helpful advice all with the aid of the Cuckoo.

Fabulous Book!

This book was read to me as a child and I loved (LOVED) it! I spent years - decades actually - trying to find it again. Finally found it and it was as marvelous as an adult as it was as a child. It is a real treasure!

Three Stars

loved this book as a child--now it seems nit very imaginative.

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Título: El Príncipe Felíz [The Happy Prince]

Autor: Oscar Wilde

Narrador: Staff Audiolibros Colección

Formato: Abridged

Duración: 32 mins

Idioma: Español

Fecha de publicación: 07-25-17

Editor: Audiolibros Colección

Categorías: Classics, British Literature

Resumen del editor:

La estatua del Príncipe Feliz estaba cubierta por hojas de oro, sus ojos eran dos zafiros, y tenía un rubí en el puño de su espada. Una noche llegó a la ciudad una golondrina, y al posarse en la estatua vio que esta lloraba, porque desde lo alto podía ver toda la miseria de su ciudad. Entonces decidió quedarse un poco más para ser su mensajera, a pesar de que sus amigas ya habían partido para Egipto y de que cada vez hacía más frío.

Please note: This audiobook is in Spanish.

Opiniones de los miembros:

I loved, it is one of my favorite books

I loved, it is one of my favorite books, I used to read it to my daughter and she learned about generosity.

Simple...

Simple and beautifully antique.

Muy bella historia

El pricipe feliz es una muy bella historia, con una profunda enseñanza para todas las edades.

La pluma delicada de Oscar Wilde se aprecia en toda su magnitud.

Este libro es una novela muy entretenida y el escritor ...

Este libro es una novela muy entretenida y el escritor es muy bueno tambien cuenta un poco como se vivia en aquel tiempo

Excelente mensaje

Deja un buen mensaje , me gustó la manera que la golondrina se aferró al príncipe y el tipo de recompensa que estos tuvieron por hacer el bien.

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Title: Love and Freindship and Other Early Works

Author: Jane Austen

Narrator: Noel Badrian

Format: Unabridged

Length: 4 hrs and 26 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-07-17

Publisher: Paperless

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

"Love and Freindship" [sic] is a juvenile story by Jane Austen, dated 1790. From the age of 11 until she was 18, Austen wrote her tales in three notebooks. These still exist, one in the Bodleian Library and the other two in the British Museum. They contain, among other works, "Love and Freindship", written when she was 14, and "The History of England", written when she was 15.

Members Reviews:

A couple diamonds in the rough, but mostly rubbish

I am a big Jane Austen fan, but some of this was actually painful to read. This is a collection of works she never finished, and honestly, if I were her, I'd be embarrassed to have anyone reading most of what's in this.

The first part is the worst, the second is improved but not great. Her history of England is amusing, but hardly grounded in fact - this was the most enjoyable part of the collection.

After there is a disconnected collection of fictional letters (one of which is of interest for I feel it formed the idea of Sense and Sensibility to her) & lastly another incomplete book.

All the incomplete works are epistolary novels. Her history is complete.

The diverment of the history & the singular letter mentioned are the only things I consider worth the time of reading. Otherwise, please pass this by & read one of her complete works.

Good for Austen Completists, But Consider a Different Edition

This is an early Jane Austen work, written when she was a teenager and unpublished during her lifetime. It's not a great story, but is a good read for serious Austen fans - you can see her experimenting with the ideas and techniques that she would later use to better effect. The book is a romance told in a series of letters, but mocks many of the conventions of romances.

My main complaint about this particular edition is the typesetting, which is done with unappealing and difficult to read block print. If you're interested, I would recommend that you start with the (free) Kindle version, or look atLove and Freindship: And Other Early Works of Jane Austen (Classic Reprint), which looks like it was typeset more appealingly.

For Austen Fans Only

Early works from Jane Austen. Some of the stories are funny, but in that dry, British kind of funny. Others were just annoying, like an Aunt going on-and-on about how put out they were about what to do with wedding dinner after the groom died just before the wedding. Not the best, but again, it's early works, so definitely doesn't have the same polish as many of her other stories.

A Naughty Austen!

That Jane, she is such a naughty writer. For those of you who think her the height of Victorian respectability and prudence, delve into the tale where she shows her wickedly funny side.

This is a collection of letters, rather than a traditional novel. She wrote this in notebooks prior to becoming an adult and it reads like the 'rough drafts' it probably was. Actually most of the book reads like a really funny Saturday Night Live skit.

It is a story told through letters about a young couple in love. Naturally, one of them dies and the other is left to carry on in a cruel and wicked world. Sound sad? Not an all! The entire thing is a parody of the sentimentality that was so popular in the novels of the time. A tongue in cheek classic that was delight from the first page.

Well then.

I wasn't sure what to expect but I read it. Just a bunch of letters from different people in life.

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Title: The Devoted Friend

Author: Oscar Wilde

Narrator: Alan Weyman

Format: Unabridged

Length: 27 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-26-17

Publisher: Spoken Realms

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

A moral fable on true and fake friendship. Hugh the Miller is little Hans's best friend...or is he? First published in 1888 in The Happy Prince and Other Tales.

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Title: The Happy Prince

Author: Oscar Wilde

Narrator: Alan Weyman

Format: Unabridged

Length: 23 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-12-17

Publisher: Spoken Realms

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

The little Swallow befriends the Happy Prince's statue and learns what love is. One of Wilde's magical morality tales.

Members Reviews:

Lovely, bittersweet, and nostalgic

I had an audio book of The Happy Prince when I was a child, which id what made me look for this book now. Mind you, this story is slightly different than the one I listened to in my youth(the one I had didn't end on a religious note, to be sure), but I still enjoyed it. The addition of several other selfless tales of love were a delightful surprise (I suppose I didn't read the description too carefully). These stories are beautiful and bittersweet, descriptions of selfless love given without expectation of reciprocation. Enjoy and share with the young.

An Entirely Different Side of Oscar Wilde

This collection - one of thousands of worthwhile 'freebies' available for Kindle - offers a side of Oscar Wilde unknown to those who've only experienced his witty, cynical plays. These 'fairy tales' are gentle, moralistic, and only sometimes sardonic. I downloaded it in order to have my favorite of Wilde's short stories, "The Selfish Giant", which blends children's fantasy with Christian iconography in a charming, emotionally affecting way. Now I've read them all and I'm glad I have the set. This also led me to download another freebie, "Lord Arthur Savile's Crime", also recommended.

Heartbreaking Tales of Magic and Life

These stories are beautifully written (of course!) and enchanting for little ones.

Some are more accessible than others (for example The Remarkable Rocket went a little above my five year old's head, while they could relate very well to The Happy Prince and The Selfish Giant).

The stories do raise some potentially heavy topics for children (for example death, sacrifice, God, poverty...) so I think it's good to be prepared for questions afterwards, as you might end up talking about the stories with your children long after they have finished.

Oscar Wilde's story of the HAPPY Prince is a timeless story for both young and ...

Oscar Wilde's story of the HAPPY Prince is a timeless story for both young and old as it defines greatness as one who cares for others more than self - and sacrificing, even unto death for the good of others. Wilde sums up what inspires one to act in the behalf of others, is one who has a loving, caring, and humble heart whether that heart is the prince of the sparrow. It is the 'heart' of the prince that remains when his battered and eye sore statue is torn down and melted,

Good moral tales!

These are moral tales of selflessness and selfishness. I was very touched by each of them and still feel a little choked up just thinking about most of them. They would be good for everyone to read as older children or adults, but I think might be too sad for young children. It's a very quick read with a big impact - at least on me!

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Title: My Recollections

Author: Adeline Louise Maria

Narrator: Flo Gibson

Format: Unabridged

Length: 2 hrs and 59 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-12-17

Publisher: Audio Book Contractors, LLC

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

The Countess of Cardigan shares her life and loves and along the way lets us in on some scandals that absolutely shocked Victorian England at the time.

A fun fact: the Countess' husband, the Earl of Cardigan, was the gentleman who, in 1854, led the famous Charge of the Light Brigade during the Crimean War.