Listen to Best Sellers Audiobooks in Classics, British Literature Best Sellers

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Title: The Only Jealousy of Emer

Author: William Butler Yeats

Narrator: Paula Bauersmith, Gerald E. McGonagill, John McLiam

Format: Unabridged

Length: 28 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-17-10

Publisher: Saland Publishing

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

The Only Jealousy of Emer is one of Yeat's five famous Cúchulainn pieces and is written with heavy stylistic influences from the Japanese Noh theatre. Readers Paula Bauersmith, Gerald E. McGonagill, and John McLiam are accompanied by The Lou Harrison Ensemble.

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Title: The Flight of the Falcon

Author: Daphne Du Maurier

Narrator: James Callis

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 50 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-02-10

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 25 votes

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

It is 500 years since Duke Claudio the Falcon lived his brutal life in Ruffano, Italy. Now, the modern-day town has forgotten its violent history. Its university has a shiny new Commerce and Economics building - but have things really changed?

Critic Reviews:

"[T]our guide Armino Fabbio has returned to his childhood home, now alcoholic and homeless, after the murder of an old family servant. There he finds his brother Aldo, supposedly killed during the war; Aldo in turn believed Armino and their mother had also been killed. Aldo, insane and vicious, undertakes a play about the founder of Ruffano, Duke Claudio, against a backdrop of political unrest and town and gown conflicts. It is a dark, harsh tale of good and evil, with family secrets unearthed amidst incest, murder, rape...this is not light listening. James Callis's reading is very good, with fine pacing and easily distinguishable voices." (Library Journal)

Members Reviews:

a trip to Italy

Absolutely wonderful! like taking a trip to Italy

and living the story, The narrator made it deliciously Italian with hypnotic descriptions of the places and the characters. I loved it . twisted family secrets, unraveled with a grand finale.

Better than Gone Girl

Before I bought this product, I knew nothing about it save that it was written by Daphne Du Maurier, read by James Callis and set in Italy. This is uncharacteristically impulsive of me but I was rewarded with a fantastic, yet heartwarming, thriller.

For most of the book, I was convinced I knew the correct solution, only to have it exploded in the final few minutes. I have recently read Gone Girl and I would say that this book is far more gripping.

Disappointing

The least engaging of du Maurier's tales I've read. Not helped by the poor acting. Most of the audio books have excellent actors reading but this one is dire. Rushing through as if he's bored, trying to "act" but all very wooden and cringeworthy. Waste of money!!

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Title: The Heart of It

Subtitle: The Canterbury Tales and Paradise Lost

Author: Elizabeth McNamer

Narrator: Elizabeth Mcnamer

Format: Unabridged

Length: 52 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-28-10

Publisher: Phoenix Books

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Fourth in the new study guide series featuring engaging commentary by writer / lecturer Dr. Elizabeth McNamer on great literary classics. Dr. McNamer now concentrates on Chaucers Canterbury Tales and John Miltons Paradise Lost. Chaucers merry charm and Miltons high seriousness become accessible to modern minds when explored by Dr. McNamer. Chaucers lively, lusty and never boring Pilgrims have tales to tell that for six centuries have delighted the hearts of readers. One of the great epic poems of all time, Paradise Lost tells of Satan and his evil companions who, through pride, lost heaven for mankind.

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Title: The Pickwick Papers

Author: Charles Dickens

Narrator: Paul Scofield

Format: Abridged

Length: 2 hrs and 57 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-24-09

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Helped by Sam Weller, Pickwick's faithful manservant, the Pickwickians bumble through hilarious romantic misadventures and other twists of plot, encountering such characters as the tricky Job Trotter, his quick-witted master Alfred Jingle and the greedy Mr Stiggins along the way.

Members Reviews:

Love Charles Dickens and it was really a joy to ...

Love Charles Dickens and it was really a joy to read. Hated to get to the end of the book. Felt like a friend.

Great edition!

This item took a very long time to arrive - two weeks longer than the deadline, although that is probably due to the problems we've been having with imported products here in Brazil. That said, the edition is absolutely lovely, the facsimile of the edition originally printed in 1937, and a lot lighter than you'd expect a book of this size (which is great if you carry your books around to read them on the tube like I do). A must have for all us book geeks.

Four Stars

Dickens, through and through.

Picaresque classic

Came back to the Pickwick Papers after 30 years -- a school assignment then, a pleasure read now -- and the things I enjoyed remained the same: Dickens' understated humor, his deliberately flowery descriptions, the unexpected pathos of the durance vile in the Fleet. But the more mature version of me is maybe better able to appreciate the wonderful characters created by Dickens, some of whom, such as Pickwick, have become archetypes. The serial nature of the original work, combined with the sometimes hurried circumstances of its creation, sometimes show through, but the story and characters hold up and are timeless despite the passage of nearly two centuries.

While I have made it a Christmas tradition to read ...

While I have made it a Christmas tradition to read A Christmas Carol every December, I have never read much of Dickens other work. I read this book intending to read through the rest of the body of his work. I won't be doing that after all. Perhaps my 21st century lifestyle is incompatible with the flowery, convoluted style and unending sentences of his work. That and the killing off of Nell and this deus ex machina way of dealing with Quilp left me cold. Sorry, Charlie.

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Title: Jane Eyre

Author: Charlotte Bronte

Narrator: Penelope Wilton

Format: Abridged

Length: 3 hrs and 10 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-17-09

Publisher: Hodder Headline Limited

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 2 votes

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Jane begins life penniless and plain: an unlikely romantic heroine. But she is as indomitable in spirit as she is frail in appearance. Taking a position as a governess at Thornfield Hall, her relationship with her employer, the enigmatic Mr Rochester intensifies, until she is forced to choose between the desires of her heart and the demands of a 'moral' society.

Members Reviews:

The free Kindle version is fine...

The free Kindle version is fine if you aren't reading the book for study purposes and if you know a tiny hint of French. In fact, I'm of the opinion that reading 160+ year old books on Kindle has the distinct advantage of access to the built-in English dictionary. You can look up archaic words immediately without losing your page, thanks to the 'back' button. I didn't mind the fact that there were no page breaks between chapters as one previous reviewer did. In fact the novel was so gripping and compelling that the very fact that there were even chapters to break it up left me feeling somewhat impatient!

The reason I am giving it 4 stars instead of 5 probably has more to do with Kindle books in general rather than this book in particular. It reads as easily as any other book I've read on Kindle. But it's the kind of novel where you want to flip back to a certain section and re-read a portion just because of what is currently being said by the characters, and there is no way to do that. As for the French passages I had mentioned earlier, they are really very few in number and even if you don't know any French, don't let it stop you from reading this novel. They're all things said by one character or another, often repeated in English. (Thank you, Charlotte Bront)! None of it is important to the plot or to the characters themselves.

Charlotte Bront shows herself to be an incredibly masterful writer in "Jane Eyre." There were times when I just stopped to admire the style with which she conveyed something and the techniques she used. She is also incredibly insightful into human nature. The main character is an introverted person and all of her thoughts, beautifully laid out, make her into one of the most compelling characters in literature. Although it may be difficult to see this, I do think that the author was showing her feminist colors, such as they were in those days, when she conjured up Jane Eyre.

Thanks for making these classic books available for free on Kindle!

While not fatal, the flaws are serious enough to prevent Jane Eyre from being a true masterpiece

** spoiler alert ** After my extreme disappointment with Shirley, I returned to Jane Eyre, which I first read as a 'tween and from time to time afterwards would dip back into the romantic bits no St. John!) to finally read it again cover-to-cover. In this novel, Bronte writes like a pro, opening the story with a conflict that immediately engages her readers' interest in Jane and quickly follows up with another that firmly cements that affection. When the evil Rev. Brocklehurst asks Jane what she must do to avoid the eternal torture of hell, she replies, "I must keep in good health, and not die," and her immortality as a literary character is secured. One strength of this novel is the first-person narration with everything seen through Jane's eyes.

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Title: The Aspern Papers

Author: Henry James

Narrator: Grover Gardner

Format: Unabridged

Length: 3 hrs and 34 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-06-09

Publisher: Audio Book Contractors, Inc.

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 7 votes

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

In this superb novella, a nameless narrator travels to Venice in search of Juliana Bordereau, the former lover of Jeffrey Aspern, a famous and now dead American poet. We witness the battle between a strong-willed woman who is determined to keep the secrets of a famous poet and an unscrupulous man who is equally determined to uncover them.

©2009 Audio Book Contractors, Inc.; (P)2009 Audio Book Contractors, Inc.

Members Reviews:

Absolutely delightful

I enjoyed every second of this audiobook. The writing is simply superb: rich, candid, subtly ironic, seemingly effortless. Almost needless to say, the characters are portrayed to perfection, with psychological and emotional depth. In short, I can't find a bad word to say about this book.

I should also note that Grover Gardner, as usual, delivers an impeccable and sensitive performance, never missing the subtle nuances in the text and bringing the book to life.

Highly recommended.

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Title: Great Expectations

Author: Charles Dickens

Narrator: Andrew Timothy

Format: Unabridged

Length: 17 hrs and 31 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-31-09

Publisher: RNIB

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Serialised between December 1860 to August 1861, it tells the heartwarming story of Pip, a poor boy who gets an unexpected chance to move up in society.

Charles Dickens (1812 - 9 June 1870) is arguably the greatest novelist England ever produced. His innate comic genius and shrewd depictions of Victorian life - along with his memorable characters - have made him beloved by readers the world over.

Please note: This is a vintage recording. The audio quality may not be up to modern day standards.

Members Reviews:

TV and Movies versions were good, but the book is better. . .

One of my co-workers encouraged me to read this since I have only seen the TV/Movie versions. It was a quick read and very enjoyable. Fortunately, the TV/Movie versions weren't too far off the mark. Regardless, there were facets of the story that you would only get through the book, which is why reading the book will always be my favorite option.

BAH! HUMBUG!! "God bless Us, Every One"

A Christmas Carol is a beloved Christmas favorite. Nothing says Christmas like favorite Christmas stories. This timeless tale has been told in many versions. Iâve seen the movie and play but Iâve never read the book. I thought it was about time to finally read this tale.

The illustrations throughout the book were fun to look at. Not common to find illustrations in books today unless they are children stories.

Lots of great quotes come from this story but the most famous is BAH! HUMBUG! followed by:

"God bless Us, Every One!"

Standalone

As great to read vs as to watch as a production.

We've enjoyed many kinds of productions of this classic Scrooge story. The original makes us 'rise to the occasion' - or at least gets us to mentally take the time to step back in that era. Life was so different, so the real factor is (I think) a little richer, than already assembled viewables. Emotional, and the older language adds some incentive to digging into the story.

A must read!

Dickens has always intimidated me. Somehow, I made my way through high school and college without having to read one of his novels. Finally, a few weeks before Christmas, I decided to give this a try when I learned it is relatively short. I figured if it took some work, at least it wouldn't take all that long. I'm sorry I waited so long. It was impossible for me to separate this from the many versions of A Christmas Carol I've seen over the years. I loved it. I enjoyed the glimpse into the time and place of the story. The story and theme are, of course, legendary.

Don't be intimidated. This is a book everyone should read at least once.

Classic I Know

I have tried this one before and was distracted within the first five chapters but with the advise of a colleague I am going to attempt this one again. I am late 30's and sometimes have a tough time focusing for long spans of time unless the story is captivating from the get go, you have to appreciate writing for the sake of verb-age and description to get into this. So, because it is a classic and I think the classics should be read - I'll give it another go but not looking forward to it despite the wonderful reviews. Hated Pride and Prejudice too - just depends on personal taste I suppose. Loved The Divine Comedy....

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Title: The Poems of Charlotte Brontë

Author: Charlotte Brontë

Narrator: Jan Hartley

Format: Unabridged

Length: 31 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-31-09

Publisher: Matrix Digital Publishing

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 5 votes

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

This audiobook collects together ten of her best works of poetry, first published in the collection 'Poems by Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell' in 1846. This contained poetry by all three Brontë sisters, writing under pseudonyms to avoid contemporary prejudice.

Members Reviews:

Notes From the Heart

I don't "do" much poetry but I have a special place in my heart for the Bronte sisters who I view as a single literary corporation. Long segments of their prose are almost wild unrestrained poetry; I think of "Jane Eyre", "Villette", "Wuthering Heights", "Agnes Grey", etc. even parts of Charlotte's letters. So doing Bronte poetry is not really the same as doing poetry: my guy-think, don't you know. Also, the Brontes even at their most fanciful, stuck pretty close to what they knew. One could, without much trouble, shuffle each of these poems into Elizabeth Gaskell's "The Life of Charlotte Bronte". Jan Hartley did an absolute fabulous narration. I don't know where she hails from but her voice carries a sense of the inner-music, determination, isolation and hard knocks one imagines was the life of the Brontes. I have only one quibble, the word "Unabridged". Frankly, I don't see why all of the three sister's poems were not included; one more hour would have finished the job. Just a suggestion; I got more than my money's worth. One of my creative writing professors, William "Kit" Hathaway called his sections "poultry" classes. He along with the likes of Warren Eyster and Simone Di Piero did their level best to pound some "poultry" and a bit of literature into my thick head, without much success. The English Department probably breathed a long sigh of relief when I graduated. My professors would have been shocked if they knew much more than the requirements I read but I wound up with an abiding affection for prose from about 1600 to about 1950. Poetry, not so much but I have given it a heroic try. Yet, even poetry has rubbed off on me a bit because I tend to prefer "poetic" prose such as the Bronte sisters' or Thomas Hardy's writings while, for instance, Hemingway and many modern writers leave me where they found me. I would read the Bronte's laundry list.

Esential reading for Brontë fans

Well narrated book, although the music before each poem is relatively too loud and jarring.

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Title: Idylls of the Kings - The Passing of Arthur

Author: Alfred Tennyson

Narrator: Basil Rathbone

Format: Abridged

Length: 27 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-25-09

Publisher: Saland Publishing

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 3 votes

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

The legends of King Arthur remained one of Tennyson's major interests during his long life. The Idylls of the King is his longest and most ambitious work, read here by Basil Rathbone.

©2008 Saland Publishing; (P)2008 Saland Publishing

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Title: Idylls of the Kings - Lancelot & Elaine

Author: Alfred Tennyson

Narrator: Basil Rathbone

Format: Abridged

Length: 1 hr and 17 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-19-09

Publisher: Saland Publishing

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 3 votes

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

The legends of King Arthur remained one of Tennyson's major interests during his long life. The Idylls of the King is his longest and most ambitious work read here by Basil Rathbone.

©2008 Saland Publishing; (P)2008 Saland Publishing

Members Reviews:

Oh, to be English !!!

I had not heard Basil Rathbone read/perform poetry. He is famous for his Sherlock Holmes portrayals in olden times, when they had steam engines and movies were all in black and white, don't you know..

But this and the final segment found here on Audible are spectacular and make my flesh all aquiver to be English and to hear such beauty and such a wonderful story.