Get New Releases Audiobooks in Classics, European Literature

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Title: Camille

Subtitle: or, The Lady of the Camellias

Author: Alexandre Dumas

Narrator: Roe Kendall

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 4 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-01-12

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 8 votes

Genres: Classics, European Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Men of great wealth bought her love. She gave it to only one.

Marguerite Gautier, the greatest beauty in Paris, was known to all as the Lady of the Camellias because she was never seen without her favorite flowers. She was luxuriously kept by the richest men in France, who thronged to her boudoir to lay their fortunes at her feet. She lived violently, spending herself and her money in reckless abandon. She had many lovers, but she never really loved - until she met Armand Duval.

Realizing that her only assets in life were her face and figure, Marguerite had learned how to make men pay. But what happens to a cool, calculating beauty when she herself suffers the wound of love?

Critic Reviews:

One of the greatest love stories of the world. (Henry James)

Members Reviews:

Good writing, but somewhat depressing.

Wouldn't have finished it if I was reading. Sad commentary on 17th century France's treatment of women and their plight in this world (and probably the rest of the world).

Seriously Dated

Sensational, syrupy romance involving a French nobleman of middling importance and a tubercular courtesan. This book isn't that long, but you can fast forward 20 minutes at a time and not miss a thing.

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Title: The Prince

Author: Niccolò Machiavelli

Narrator: Emma Topping

Format: Unabridged

Length: 3 hrs and 14 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-16-12

Publisher: Saland Publishing

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 27 votes

Genres: Classics, European Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Claimed to be one of the first works of modern philosophy, this unabridged version of The Prince is read by Emma Topping. This classic of political writing is Machiavelli's most notorious work. A treatise on gaining and maintaining political power, this is the work that inspired the use of the term "Machiavellian".

Members Reviews:

A Must Read for All People

Although this is a difficult read, you should read it because it is an accurate description of how people behave and react. The challenge is getting past the strange names, and places. Once you get past that, you can absorb the brillance of Machiavelli.

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Title: The Prince

Author: Niccolo Machiavelli, George Bull (translator)

Narrator: Fritz Weaver

Format: Unabridged

Length: 3 hrs and 50 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-11-12

Publisher: HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 43 votes

Genres: Classics, European Literature

Publisher's Summary:

This political-science classic still has the power to shock, just as it did when first published almost 500 years ago. Fritz Weaver reads in an appropriately detached manner, for it is this air of objectivity regarding the ruthless pursuit of political power that has made Machiavelli's name synonymous with evil. This quality recording begins and ends with ceremonial music, which sets the right tone for a treatise directed to royalty.

Critic Reviews:

"Weaver reads with conviction, making deceit and immorality sound reasonable in the quest to govern." (AudioFile)

Contact me for any questions: [email protected]

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Title: The Overcoat, The Lost Letter, and May Night, or the Drowned Maiden [Russian Edition]

Author: Nikolai Gogol

Narrator: Piotr Korshunkov

Format: Abridged

Length: 3 hrs and 19 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-06-12

Publisher: IDDK

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Classics, European Literature

Publisher's Summary:

This collection of stories by the great Russian writer Nikolai Gogol (1809-1852) contains a selection of brilliant stories that show listeners just why he is considered among the best short story writers of all time. Enjoy three of his best: "The Overcoat", "The Lost Letter", and "May Night, or the Drowned Maiden".

Please note: This audiobook is in Russian.

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Title: The Good Soldier Svejk and His Fortunes in the World War [Russian Edition]

Author: Jaroslav Hasek

Narrator: Vladimir Samoylov

Format: Unabridged

Length: 28 hrs and 56 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-03-11

Publisher: New Internet Technologies

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 14 votes

Genres: Classics, European Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Good-natured and garrulous, vejk becomes the Austro-Hungarian army's most loyal Czech soldier when he is called up on the outbreak of the First World War - although his bumbling attempts to get to the front serve only to prevent him from reaching it. Playing cards, getting drunk, and becoming a general nuisance, the resourceful vejk uses all his natural cunning and genial subterfuge to deal with the doctors, police, clergy, and officers who chivvy him towards battle. The story of a "little man" caught in a vast bureaucratic machine, The Good Soldier vejk combines dazzling wordplay and piercing satire to create a hilariously subversive depiction of the futility of war.

Please note: This audiobook is in Russian.

Members Reviews:

The most entertaining book I've read in years!

Interesting, hilarious, confusing at times, entertaining, addictive, amazing! This book was recommended to me by my parents and to be honest I don't really read books about war...at all. But after I started listening to this audio book I was hooked! Would recommend it to anyone!

no story wahatsoever

Would you try another book from Jaroslav Hasek and/or Vladimir Samoylov?

no

Has Pohozhdeniya bravogo soldata Shveyka [The Good Soldier Svejk and His Fortunes in the World War] turned you off from other books in this genre?

Yes

What didnt you like about Vladimir Samoylovs performance?

no story. just empty talk

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

disappointment

Any additional comments?

very dull and boring book, waited for the story but it never came. It started and ended on the same note.

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Titel: Drei Kriminalromane

Autor:: Friedrich Dürrenmatt

Erzähler: Hans Korte

Format: Unabridged

Spieldauer: 12 hrs and 3 mins

Sprache: Deutsch

Veröffentlichungsdatum: 11-23-11

Herausgeber: Diogenes Verlag AG

Bewertung: 5 von 5 von 9 Stimmen

Kategorien: Classics, European Literature

Zusammenfassung des Herausgebers:

In "Der Richter und sein Henker" bereits todkrank, bleibt Kommissär Bärlach nicht viel Zeit, seinen ewigen Gegenspieler, den Meisterverbrecher Gastmann, zu überführen. Doch ein Mord (den nicht Gastmann begangen hat) scheint eine Möglichkeit zu bieten ...

"Das Versprechen" behandelt ein ganz anderes Thema von jedoch trauriger Aktualität: Sexualverbrechen an Kindern. Verbissen ist hier Kommissär Matthäi auf der Jagd nach einem Kindermörder. Um ihn zur Strecke zu bringen, scheut er keine Gefahr.

Enthalten sind die Kriminalromane:

Mitglieder Bewertungen:

Very well done performance

Would you consider the audio edition of Drei Kriminalromane to be better than the print version?

I absolutely think that it's very helpful to listen to the book. I tried to read "Der Richter und sein Henker," and stopped, because I just couldn't get into the story on my own. Hans Korte made the story's come to life and kept me listening all day long. I am native German and could understand the performance easily--the print versions were tougher to understand. I finished the books in one day at 2X speed and it feels like an accomplishment to have read something I wanted to read for a long time in such a short time.

What did you like best about this story?

There is a timelessness these stories. They are crime novels, but they have a timeless moral so to speak. They speak of evil, revenge, and the desire to bring justice into a world where that's not always possible.

Which scene was your favorite?

I'd have to say when in the third book the narrator goes into what could have become of the story if it were a film with a hero, which this book became with Heinz Ruehmann and Gert Froebe.

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Title: The Aran Islands

Author: J. M. Synge

Narrator: Donal Donnelly

Format: Unabridged

Length: 6 hrs and 4 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-17-11

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 21 votes

Genres: Classics, European Literature

Publisher's 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. Synges 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 Irelands ancestral language, culture and uncorrupted heart. Synges lyrical glimpses into the past, coupled with Donal Donnellys rich, lilting voice transports listeners to these tiny Emerald Islands.

Editorial Reviews:

The Aran Islands are a tiny cluster of Irish-speaking lands off the western coast of Ireland, far removed from Irelands cultural and literary center. John Millington Synge, one of the wild boys of Irish writing, took a trip to the islands in 1898 on advice from William Butler Yeats. Soon after, he published "his first serious piece of work", this memoir of life on the traditional islands.

Performed in a beautifully rolling Irish tenor by Donal Donnelly, The Aran Islands treats the listener to "long-legged pigs...playing in the surf", sweeping fogs, and a cast of unforgettable, rustic characters. A fresh memory in its time, The Aran Islands now has the whisper of elegy. Dont skip the introduction by the late contemporary master, Frank McCourt.

Members Reviews:

A glimpse of civilization's primitive past

Any additional comments?

This book is a very dark glimpse into a dying world that once existed through all of human civilization. Fairies and giants and ghost ships are as much a part of these people's real world as is God and the police who come onto the islands to kick people out of their homes.

I do wonder, however, what Synge's intention was to portray these people as being so simple. He does admire their skill with the boats but he spends so much time with old men who tell tales that have no point that it's easy to think the whole island lives and thinks as these old men do. Yet the young men, Michael in particular, leaves the islands to find work elsewhere because he knows there is no future on those grey, wet rocks. And the other danger is that we get pulled into a nostalgic portrait of the islands that never really existed outside of the imaginations of these old men.

Still, there are moments that are quite beautiful and telling as to how things really are on the Aran Islands. First is the priest, whom we never meet but are always told about braving the rough sees day after day and risking his life as he tends to his flock. Though we never meet this man, I couldn't get the image out of my head of a man dressed in priest's black, standing upright on a small boat tumbling upon the waves in a fierce gale. I would love to have heard his story. The other telling moment was for the funeral of the young man.

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Title: The Black Tulip

Author: Alexandre Dumas

Narrator: Peter Joyce

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-03-11

Publisher: Naxos AudioBooks

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 62 votes

Genres: Classics, European Literature

Publisher's Summary:

When tulip-grower Cornelius van Baerle is framed for treason and sentenced to death, he is powerless against the brutal factional politics that put him in prison. But Rosa, the jailers daughter, is beautiful and strong-willed, and when they fall in love she determines not only to save him but also to grow the near mythical flower: the black tulip.S et in the savage turmoil of Hollands late 17th century, this intimate novel celebrates the power of integrity over obsession, and tolerance over violence; and it creates in the black tulip a symbol of humanitys potential.

Editorial Reviews:

The quest to grow a black tulip doesn't have the same narrative appeal as Dumas's Count of Monte Cristo or Three Musketeers, but it provides adventure enough for those who love the great melodramas of the nineteenth century. Peter Joyce delivers a fine rendition of Dumas's meaty prose and is especially good at depicting villains and brutal jailers, less effective at conveying his nubile heroine. Although this is a lesser work by Dumas, the author's judicious detachment, voiced so well in Joyce's calm and untroubled delivery, holds the promise throughout that innocence will triumph and justice eventually prevail: The villain will be vanquished, and the power of the black tulip will somehow open the prison doors and unite the fateful lovers.

Members Reviews:

Terrific

Thanks Audible. I have been able to enjoy this book due to the great reading of Peter Joyce. I had tried several times to listen to this book by a different narrator but without success.

A simple story

Less complex and enjoyable than either The Count of Montechristo or The Three Musketeers. While the presenter is great with the narration, a few parts of the character voices (especially when they are weepy) are grating. But he has a strong and clear voice otherwise.

Love and romance

I enjoyed The Count of Monte Christo and Queen Margot. I liked the 3 Musketeers and the rest of that series, but I loved this book.

Tulips, murder, love, and mystery

The Black Tulip is an engaging romp through Holland in 1673 when religious differences cost people their lives in brutal fashion and tulip bulbs were so highly valued as to provide fodder for a tale of spying, mystery and imprisonment. Alexandre Dumas is on a par with Walter Scott for creating novels filled with intrigue, mystery, action and passion.

Other reviewers have praised Dumas' gift for dialogue. I find that his dialogue is elevated, yet still usually a pleasure to read. It is, however, unlikely to be reflective of the reality of speech of the uneducated peasant characters. On the other hand, his appreciation for human motivations and personlities is superb, his sense of pacing in building suspense keeps the pages turning, and his third person narration style is highly entertaining. His asides to his "gentle readers" lend personal warmth, amusement, and intimacy to his tale.

While this novel does not provide great philosophic depth, that would be equivalent to criticizing shrimp for not tasting like steak. My only real complaint is the overblown romance scenes with the constrained desires, pent up yearning, and prudery of Walt Disney's Cinderella.

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Title: Ragged Trousered Philanthropists

Author: Robert Tressell

Narrator: David Timson

Format: Unabridged

Length: 23 hrs and 36 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-07-11

Publisher: Naxos AudioBooks

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 14 votes

Genres: Classics, European Literature

Publisher's Summary:

The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists is the classic working-class novel. It was written in 1906 by an impoverished house painter, Robert Tressell, and within its framework contains a manifesto for socialism. It tells of the appalling working conditions of a group of painters and decorators and their struggle to survive at the most basic level. It is moving, grimly humorous, and tragic. It has sold over six million copies worldwide since it was published, and it has the power to change lives.

Members Reviews:

A Sermon on Socialism

A tedious waste of time. The narrator did a fine job with material that was utterly tiresome.

Amazing performance of a classic

A great book beautifully illuminated by the narrator. He breathes life into every sentence with an array of voices, humour, pathos, gravitas and even song.

things don't change

This book is as applicable today as it was when it was written. A fabulous book but very frustrating, I never tire of it. The audible book is excellent I picked up on bits which I had missed when reading it.

A Classic

It's interesting to listen to something that was written almost a century ago and hear a tale that still has echoes within today's times. Narration is superb, and the book has a great array of characters that there's never a dull moment. It doesn't matter which side of the political fence you are on, you will find this an intriguing window into the times in which it was written. Agree, disagree, makes no odds - it is a well constructed piece of writing. I found it highly entertaining, and have gained quite an insight into my own beliefs and values. Highly recommended.

A superb book !

So relevant that, if in a more modern setting, could have been written yesterday ! More people need to read this book !

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Title: Kalevala: The Ancient Epic of Finland

Author: Elias Lonnrot, John Martin Crawford (translator)

Narrator: Robert Bethune

Format: Unabridged

Length: 14 hrs and 10 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-02-11

Publisher: Freshwater Seas

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 46 votes

Genres: Classics, European Literature

Publisher's Summary:

The Kalevala is the signature work of traditional Finnish culture. In story after story, it explores the human and divine world as understood by the traditional runic singers of the north. It sings of how the universe came to be, how the natural world works, how divine and supernatural worlds relate to the world of humankind, how human beings relate to each other, how good and evil and life and death function in the world.

Many of the stories focus on Wainamoinen, "old and trustiy", an ancient singer, magician, and chieftain of the land of Kalevala. He plays a leading part in the struggle of the land of Kalevala against the land of Pohyola, the realm of warmth and light against the realm of cold and darkness. His brother, the blacksmith Ilmarinen, and the reckless young magician Lemminkainen, wage war with Louhi, the ancient woman, leader of the people of Pohyola. This is a war in which songs and magic are as much weapons as are swords and arrows, in which adventure can begin anywhere and victory is as much a matter of wit and ingenuity as of strength and courage.

This recording is of the English translation of John Martin Crawford, which follows the original, traditional meter - the meter which Longfellow knew from the Kalevala and which he used in his famous Song of Hiawatha. In this translation, to help the listener follow the story, the names of characters and places are pronounced as they would be in English except for the leading character, Wainamoinen. Please enjoy these wonderful stories from a Nordic world of magic and adventure, of darkness and light!

Members Reviews:

Great Book

This is John Martin Crawfords 1888 translation of the Kalevala. Though some of the language may be a little outdated it is one of the few English translations that tried to keep the original trochaic tetrameter rhyme pattern. While some may enjoy a more modern translation like Keith Bosleys 1989 translation (published by Oxford University Press), I dont think you could ask for a better translation to be read aloud. It almost becomes more of a song than a book. I love that the Kalevala not only has the warrior and magic events of a typical epic, but also some great scenes of home life such as the wedding feast. This is defiantly a book to listen too.

Beer Making, Heroic Wooing, and Magical Singing!

If you like epic poems like The Odyssey, if you are interested in a big influence on Tolkien (especially his Silmarillion), or if you enjoy fantasy full of exuberant imagination, you should read The Kalevala (1835/49) by Elias Lonnrot. As a doctor in the early 19th century, Lonnrot traveled around Finland listening to people singing the ancient stories of the legendary founding heroes of their land, copying the songs, and editing and assembling them into a coherent whole in 1835 and more completely in 1849.