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Darwin8u

Darwin8u Mesa, AZ, United States Member Since 2011

A part-time buffoon and ersatz scholar specializing in BS, pedantry, schmaltz and cultural coprophagia.

HELPFUL VOTES
3115
ratings
REVIEWS
227
223
FOLLOWERS
FOLLOWING
538
11
  • "!"

    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    Les Misérables is one of those defining social/protest novels that deserves to be read (and listened to) in its entirety. It is easily on par with the great social novels of the 19th century: Brothers Karamazov, Anna Karenina, Uncle Tom's Cabin and Hard Times.

    I remember the first time I read the unabridged version in high school, I was stunned that Hugo could engage me with such force. I practically read it straight through. Listening to Rose's relatively new translation and Guidall's audio version, I was transported back to the emotions and engagement I felt 20 years ago. All those memories and I was again anchored to my pro-unabridged novel bias. If you are going to attempt this work, please go the unabridged route, you will NOT regret it. There are few books I've read twice, but Les Misérables defintely makes the cut.

    When you begin this novel it DOES looks like a beast (1376 pgs or 60.5 hours), but when you finish it you realize you have sat down to a feast with a master novelist and social gospel writer. Dollar per page or dollar per minute, you can't get much better for its price, unless you steal it.

    More

    Les Misérables: Translated by Julie Rose

    • UNABRIDGED (60 hrs and 31 mins)
    • By Victor Hugo, Julie Rose (translator)
    • Narrated By George Guidall
    Overall
    (556)
    Performance
    (465)
    Story
    (464)

    One of the great classics of world literature and the inspiration for the most beloved stage musical of all time, Les Misérables is legendary author Victor Hugo’s masterpiece. This extraordinary English version by renowned translator Julie Rose captures all the majesty and brilliance of Hugo’s work. Here is the timeless story of the quintessential hunted man—Jean Valjean—and the injustices, violence, and social inequalities that torment him.

    Darwin8u says: "!"
  • "Mitchell's Translation is Brilliant..."

    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    I would love to write like a blast of a sudden squall
    whose strong five-beat rhythm can with light and thunder, churning
    the dark page into a fury, and countless words
    surge and toss on its pages, high-arched and white-capped,
    and crash down onto the Internets in endless ranks:
    just so did the translators charge in their ranks, each simile
    packed close together.

    More

    The Iliad

    • UNABRIDGED (16 hrs and 9 mins)
    • By Homer, Stephen Mitchell (translator)
    • Narrated By Alfred Molina
    Overall
    (106)
    Performance
    (91)
    Story
    (88)

    The power and the beauty of The Iliad resound again across 2,700 years in Stephen Mitchell's exciting new translation, as if the lifeblood of its heroes Achilles and Patroclus, Hector and Priam flowed in every word. And we are there with them amid the horror and ecstasy of war, carried along by a poetry that lifts even the most devastating human events into the realm of the beautiful.

    Darwin8u says: "Mitchell's Translation is Brilliant Poetry"
  • "Simple, Beautiful, and Exquisitely ..."

    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    I am a ravenous reader. I consume books (audio, electronic, and paper) by the pound and byte. I RARELY go back and reread a novel I've read before. It just seems a waste of time, a waste of an opportunity for another book, another story. The Great Gatsby, however, is one of those handful of books, those rare literary jewels, where this rule of thumb is consistently bent and re-broken. For readers of good literature, this novel is like scripture. IT is something you read to enjoy the page, the paragraphs, the sentences, the words. It draws you back. It haunts future books you read. It invades you.

    For American Literature, The Great Gatsby stands with 'Moby-Dick' and 'Huckleberry Finn' as a monument of not just literature but the uniquely American experience. It captures the excess, the energy, and the decadence of the 'Lost Generation'. Other Fitzgerald books are amazing, but Gatsby is one of those novels that seems to have surprised everyone, even Fitzgerald.

    Finding the right narrator for any book is an art form (often misunderstood, almost always ignored). Certain books require a certain type of reader. Gyllenhaal was an inspired pick for the Great Gatsby. He has the range to subtly capture the different characters, but the charisma and the energy to embody the dialogue of Gatsby and the easygoing narrator Nick.

    More

    The Great Gatsby

    • UNABRIDGED (4 hrs and 52 mins)
    • By F. Scott Fitzgerald
    • Narrated By Jake Gyllenhaal
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (448)
    Performance
    (410)
    Story
    (414)

    F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic American novel of the Roaring Twenties is beloved by generations of readers and stands as his crowning work. This new audio edition, authorized by the Fitzgerald estate, is narrated by Oscar-nominated actor Jake Gyllenhaal (Brokeback Mountain). Gyllenhaal's performance is a faithful delivery in the voice of Nick Carraway, the Midwesterner turned New York bond salesman, who rents a small house next door to the mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby....

    Darwin8u says: "Simple, Beautiful, and Exquisitely Textured"
  1. Les Misérables: Translate...
  2. The Iliad
  3. The Great Gatsby
  4. .

A Peek at C. Telfair's Bookshelf

Helpful
Votes
517
 
San Jose, CA, United States 171 REVIEWS / 181 ratings 159 Followers / Following 2
 
C. Telfair's greatest hits:
  • The Tenant of Wildfell Hall

    "My favorite Bronte book"

    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    Despite being lesser known than her sisters' works, "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall" may be the best of the Bronte books. Anne is a good writer; terrific at description, and there is humor here and richness of character development. I really loved this listen. The story is long and, I will admit, tedious at times (it's a Victorian novel after all!), but this edition of the audio book has handled the strange structure of the book very well. Both Alex Jennings and Jenny Agutter render their portions of the narrative beautifully.
    A word of warning, however. This claims to be an Unabridged version, but it is not so. Because I was listening to the book as a book club assignment, I followed along with the written version and found some puzzling omissions. Just why they chose to abridge some parts -- especially in the central, diary portion of the book -- I can't imagine. The cuts are small and not terribly important, but nevertheless are there. Anyone wishing to experience the entire work should be aware of the abridgment.
    But it's a fine trip! I'm very pleased to have learned that there is more to the Brontes than "Jane Eyre" and "Wuthering Heights".

  • The Hobbit

    "Gather Around and Listen!"

    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    If ever a book was meant to be read aloud, it's this one! The storyteller is a tremendously important part of "The Hobbit", and Inglis just does a wonderful job enthralling us all with this adventure.

    The tone and significance of this work is very different from that of "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy. As long as you recognize that and accept "The Hobbit" for the children's book it basically is, you will enjoy this version of a classic. And, when it comes to a good tale, there's a child in each of us who will absolutely love it!

  • Becoming Shakespeare: The Unlikely Afterlife That Turned a Provincial Playwright into the Bard

    "Underwhelmed"

    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    I'm not sure what I expected from this work, but I am an enthusiastic fan of nearly all things Shakespeare, so I thought I'd try it. It isn't a bad listen, but it's not really much about Shakespeare. The narrator is wonderful, and there are some interesting bits about various actors through the centuries and how different audiences relate to the Bard. Generally, though, I could take or leave this one. There are many more interesting books about Shakespeare and his life and times. If you want something introductory, for example, try a short biography by Bill Bryson.

  • Adam Bede

    "First George Eliot Novel and First-Rate!"

    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    This has it all - great setting, characters, love triangles, tragedy, and a lot very welcome comedy, as well!

    I had never read this first book by George Eliot, but I must now rate it as one of my favorites. And I suspect that is partly because I have just first experienced "Adam Bede" in the audio format! The dialects of Eliot's wonderful people would be hard-going in book form, but Wanda McCaddon renders them understandable yet full of character and personality.

    This is a familiar old story. Class distinction, misplaced affection in Victorian England leads to unhappiness and tragedy. Yet the strong, the hard working, and the morally resolute prevail in the end.

    Adam Bede, the title character, is not necessarily the most interesting or the most important character in this book, yet one understands why the author chose him to represent what she believes to be the epitome of British virtue. It's not a revolutionary or a shocking novel, but Eliot weaves the old tale with a real mastery of description, characterization, and humor. I highly recommend this book, and especially the narration of Wanda McCaddon.

ESK

ESK Moscow, Russia 12-26-12 Member Since 2011

There are books of the same chemical composition as dynamite. The only difference is that a piece of dynamite explodes once, whereas a book explodes a thousand times. ― Yevgeny Zamyatin

HELPFUL VOTES
74
ratings
REVIEWS
303
54
FOLLOWERS
FOLLOWING
8
1
  • "The Anthology of 'Music-Makers'"

    6 of 6 helpful votes

    Poetic delight. Lyric ecstasy. Personally, it's the best collection of poems ever. Should you have any doubts about that, look at the list of poems and the narrators.
    (Part I/Disc I)
    1. Autumn from 4 Seasons/Capella Istropiltana - Stephen Gunzenhauser (conductor)
    2. Shakespeare, Seven Ages from As You Like It, Act II Scene VII - Sir Ian McKellen
    3. A Fancy - The Rose Consort Of Viols
    4. Shakespeare, From All the world's a stage: Infant (excerpt) - Sir Ian McKellen
    5. Thom Gunn, Baby Song - Catherine McCormack
    6. Ann Stevenson, The Victory - Richard Jackson
    7. Emily Dickinson, Surgeons - Gayle Hunnicutt
    8. Shakespeare, Fancy from Merchant of Venice, Act III Scene 2 - Mark Rylance
    9. Ogden Nash, Guppy - Prunella Scales
    10. Edward Lear, Quangle Wangle's Hat - Connie Booth
    11. Thomas Hood, I Remember, I Remember - Ralph Fiennes
    12. William Allingham, The Fairies - Juliet Stevenson
    13. Thomas Hood, A Parental Ode - Ralph Fiennes
    14. Robert L. Stevenson, My Shadow - Stella Gonet
    15. Edward Lear, The Owl and the Pussy Cat - John Cleese
    16. A. A. Milne, Sneezles - Andrew Sachs
    17. Lewis Carroll, The Walrus and the Carpenter - Joss Ackland w/ Peter Bayliss
    18. Ted Hughes, Jellyfish - Leo Sayer
    19. G.K. Chesterton, The Donkey - Emma Fielding
    20. Anonymous (or Christopher Isherwood?), The Common Cormorant - Andrew Sachs
    21. R.L. Stevenson, Where Go the Boats - Stella Gonet
    22. Ted Hughes, Crab - Leo Sayer
    23. A.A. Milne, The End - Catherine McCormack
    24. Midsummer Nights Dream (Uphill Down Dale) - Barry Wordsworth (conductor)
    25. Shakespeare, From All the world's a stage: School - Sir Ian McKellen
    26. R.L. Stevenson, To Any Reader - John Sessions
    27. Dylan Thomas, Under Milk Wood - Ioan Gruffudd
    28. Vernon Watkins, The Collier - Ioan Gruffudd
    29. Shel Silverstein, Sick - Catherine McCormack
    30. John Whitworth, Boring - John Cleese
    31. John Whittier, From The Barefoot Boy - Jenny Agutter
    32. Full Fathom Five from Tempest, Act I Scene 2 - Dame Glenda Jackson
    33. Oscar Wilde, Rosa Mystica - Michael Williams
    34. Rudyard Kipling, A Smuggler's Song - Michael Caine
    35 C. Day Lewis, Walking Away - Timothy West
    36 Hilaire Belloc, Tarantella - Terence Stamp
    37 T.S. Eliot, Macavity - David Suchet
    38 Rudyard Kipling, If - Michael Caine
    39 Shakespeare, From Hamlet: This Above All - Michael Maloney
    40. M. George Whitehead and His Almand - performed by Rose Consort Of Viols
    41. Shakespeare, From All the World's a Stage: Lover - Sir Ian McKellen
    42. W.B. Yeats, The Arrow - Art Malisk
    43. H.W. Longfellow, The Arrow and the Song - HRH The Duchess Of Kent
    44. Rabindranath Tagore, They Who Are Near to Me - Art Malik
    45. Christina Rossetti, The First Day - Felicity Kendal
    46. T.L. Beddoes, From The Song of Torrismond - Janet Suzman
    47. R.S. Bridges, My Delight and Thy Delight - Ralph Fiennes
    48. E.B. Browning, Sonnet 43 - Hannah Gordon
    49. R. Kipling, The Virginity - Terence Stamp
    50. P.B. Shelley, The Longest Journey - Samuel West
    51. Anonymous, We Have Known Treasure - Charles Dance
    52. Shakespeare, Sonnet 138 - Robert Lindsay
    53. C. Rossetti, Echo - Dame Glenda Jackson
    54. R. Tagore, Delusions I Did Cherish - Art Malik
    55. Shakespeare, Sonnet 18 - Dame Glenda Jackson
    56. A. E. Housman, When I Was One-And-Twenty - Pete Postlethwaite
    57. W. B. Yeats, The Mermaid - Juliet Stevenson
    58. Robert Herrick, Upon the Nipples of Julia's Breast - Terence Stamp
    59. Robert Burns, My Love Is Like a Red, Red Rose - John Sessions
    60. Shakespeare, Sonnet 116 - Robert Lindsay
    61. D. H. Lawrence, New Year's Eve - Michael Maloney
    62. D. H. Lawrence, Green - Michael Maloney
    63. John Keats, A Thing of Beauty Is a Joy Forever - Mark Rylance

    (Part II/Disc II)
    1. Stravinsky: A Soldier's Tale - Nicholas Ward (conductor)
    2. Shakespeare, From All the world's a stage: Soldier - Sir Ian McKellen
    3. Shakespeare, Prologue from King Henry 5 - Mark Rylance
    4. Julian Grenfell, Into Battle - Juliet Stevenson
    5. W. B. Yeats, An Irish Airman Foresees His Death - William Houston
    6. James Russell Lowell, Once to Every Man and Nation - Dame Judi Dench
    7. Seamus Heaney, Whatever You Say, Say Nothing - William Houston
    8. John McCrea, In Flanders Fields - Robert Powell
    9. Vera Brittain, Perhaps - Dame Judi Dench
    10. Wilfred Owen, Anthem for Doomed Youth - Robert Powell
    11. Wilfred Owen, Dulce at Decorum Est / Lord Owen
    12. Eva Dobell, Pluck - Felicity Kendal
    13. W. H. Auden, From In Memory of W.B. Yeats - Art Malik
    14. John Jarmain, At a War Grave - Michael Malony
    15. John Jarmain, El Alamein - Michael Malony
    16. Ruth Fainlight, Handbag - Prunella Scales
    17. Elsie Cawser , Salvage Song - Michael Maloney
    18. Rudyard Kipling, England - Michael Caine
    19. Matthew Arnold, Dover Beach - Michael Williams
    20. Dan Pagis, Written With a Pencil in a Sealed Wagon - Janet Suzman
    21. John Donne, No Man Is an Island - Ed Bishop
    22. Luis de Narvaez: Fantasia - Shirley Rumsey
    23. Shakespeare, From All the World's a Stage: Wisdom - Sir Ian McKellen
    24. Shakespeare, The Quality of Mercy from Merchant of Venice, Act IV Scene 1 - Ralph Fiennes
    25. John Boyle O’Reilly , What Is Good - Dame Judi Dench
    26. Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass - Art Malik
    27. Anonymous, Addendum to the Ten Commandments - Michael Caine
    28. Geoffrey Chaucer, From The Canterbury Tales: A Student - Emma Fielding
    29. James Leigh Hunt, Abou Ben Adhem - Robert Powell
    30. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Song of Hiawatha (excerpt) - Clarke Peters
    31. William Wordsworth, My Heart Leaps Up - Robert Hardy
    32. William Blake, Auguries of Innocence - Timothy West
    33. William Blake, The Tyger - Timothy West
    34. Emily Dickinson, Of All Souls That Stand Create - Gayle Hunnicutt
    35. Percy Bysshe Shelley, Chorus of Spirits - Prunella Scales
    36. Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Kubla Khan - Pete Postlethwaite
    37. Robert Burns, A Man's a Man for A' That - John Sessions
    38. Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken - John Cleese
    39. Anonymous, The Bleed'n' Sparrer - Michael Caine
    40. The King of Denmark's Galiard performed by the Rose Consort of Viols
    41. Shakespeare, From All the World's a Stage: Sixth Age - Sir Ian McKellen
    42. W. B. Yeats, Politics - Michael Caine
    43. Ogden Nash, Peekaboo, I Almost See You - David Suchet
    44. Ogden Nash, Samson Agonistes - David Suchet
    45. John Masefield , Sea Fever - Terence Stamp
    46. Emily Dickinson, Exultation - Gayle Hunnicutt
    47. Morris Bishop, We Have Been Here Before - Charles Dance
    48. Alfred, Lord Tennyson From The Brook - Janet Suzman
    49. William Wordsworth, Upon Westminster Bridge - Robert Hardy
    50. J. Wilmot, Earl of Rochester, A Song of a Young Lady to Her Ancient Lover - Janet Suzman
    51. Robert Burns, John Anderson, My Jo - Stella Gonet
    52. Stanley J. Sharples, In Praise of Cocoa, Cupid's Nightcap - Emma Fielding
    53. Rudyard Kipling, The Way Through the Woods - Art Malik
    54. Christina Rossetti, From Uphill - HRH The Duchess Of Kent
    55. Shakespeare, From All the World's a Stage: Last Scene - Sir Ian McKellen
    56. Dylan Thomas, Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night - Ioan Gruffudd
    57. Christina Rossetti, Song - Jenny Agutter
    58. Leo Marks, Code Poem for the French Resistance - Ralph Fiennes
    59. Emily Dickinson, This World Is Not Conclusion - Gayle Hunnicutt
    60. Robert Louis Stevenson, Requiem - John Sessions
    61. Christina Rossetti, Sleeping at Last - Dame Judi Dench
    62. Shakespeare, Fear No More from Cymbeline, Act IV Scene 2 - Sir Ian McKellen
    63. John Banister Tabb, Evolution/Autumn from Four Seasons (Reprise) - Mark Rylance

    More

    Seven Ages: An Anthology of Poetry with Music (Unabridged Selections)

    • ORIGINAL (2 hrs and 35 mins)
    • By William Shakespeare, Emily Dickinson, Ted Hughes
    • Narrated By Ralph Fiennes, Dame Judi Dench
    Overall
    (42)
    Performance
    (25)
    Story
    (25)

    This highly entertaining anthology of verse is the comic, tragic, tender, and telling story of life's seven ages, from childhood to old age. Within the framework of Shakespeare's speech, "The Seven Ages of Man," performed by Sir Ian McKellen, are 150 great poems from all ages, from Chaucer to Emily Dickinson to Walt Whitman and many others. The poem are presented by the finest cast ever assembled on one recording and includes Ralph Fiennes, Dame Judi Dench, John Cleese, Michael Caine, and more.

    Crystal says: "Wonderful Readings"

What's Trending in Classics:

  • 4.8 (1109 ratings)
    The Two Towers: Book Two in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy
    Play The Two Towers: Book Two in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy

    The Two Towers: Book Two in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy

    • UNABRIDGED (16 hrs and 40 mins)
    • By J. R. R. Tolkien
    • Narrated By Rob Inglis
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (1109)
    Performance
    (981)
    Story
    (1004)

    The Two Towers is the second volume of J.R.R. Tolkien's epic saga, The Lord of the Rings. The Fellowship has been forced to split up. Frodo and Sam must continue alone towards Mount Doom, where the One Ring must be destroyed. Meanwhile, at Helm’s Deep and Isengard, the first great battles of the War of the Ring take shape. In this splendid, unabridged audio production of Tolkien’s great work, all the inhabitants of a magical universe - hobbits, elves, and wizards - spring to life. Rob Inglis’ narration has been praised as a masterpiece of audio.

    Anna says: "Thank you, Audible! Tolkien at long last!"
  • 4.8 (983 ratings)
    The Return of the King: Book Three in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy
    Play The Return of the King: Book Three in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy

    The Return of the King: Book Three in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy

    • UNABRIDGED (18 hrs and 18 mins)
    • By J. R. R. Tolkien
    • Narrated By Rob Inglis
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (983)
    Performance
    (856)
    Story
    (878)

    The Return of the King is the towering climax to J. R. R. Tolkien’s trilogy that tells the saga of the hobbits of Middle-earth and the great War of the Rings. In this concluding volume, Frodo and Sam make a terrible journey to the heart of the Land of the Shadow in a final reckoning with the power of Sauron. In addition to narrating the prose passages, Rob Inglis sings the trilogy’s songs and poems a capella, using melodies composed by Inglis and Claudia Howard, the Recorded Books studio director.

    Natalie says: "Finally!"
  • 4.8 (135 ratings)
    The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Volume 1: The War of the Ring
    Play The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Volume 1: The War of the Ring

    The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Volume 1: The War of the Ring

    • UNABRIDGED (7 hrs and 28 mins)
    • By J.R.R. Tolkien
    • Narrated By Rob Inglis
    Overall
    (135)
    Performance
    (61)
    Story
    (62)

    The Companions of the Ring have become involved in separate adventures as the quest continues. Aragon, revealed as the hidden heir of the ancient Kings of the West, joined with the Riders of Rohan against the forces of Isengard, and took part in the desperate victory of the Hornburg. Merry and Pippin, captured by orcs, escaped into Fangorn Forest and there encountered the Ents. And all the time the armies of the Dark Lord are massing.

    Catherine says: "Inglis sounds like Tolkien!"
  • 4.8 (131 ratings)
    The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Volume 1: The Treason of Isengard
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    The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Volume 1: The Treason of Isengard

    • UNABRIDGED (9 hrs and 23 mins)
    • By J.R.R. Tolkien
    • Narrated By Rob Inglis
    Overall
    (131)
    Performance
    (66)
    Story
    (67)

    Frodo and the Companions of the Ring have been beset by danger during their quest to prevent the Ruling Ring from falling into the hands of the Dark Lord by destroying it in the Cracks of Doom. Now they continue their journey alone down the great River Anduin, alone, that is, save for the mysterious creeping figure that follows wherever they go.

    Catherine says: "third book of the series"
  •  
  • 4.8 (81 ratings)
    SmartPass Plus Audio Education Study Guide to Hamlet (Dramatised, Commentary Options)
    Play SmartPass Plus Audio Education Study Guide to Hamlet (Dramatised, Commentary Options)

    SmartPass Plus Audio Education Study Guide to Hamlet (Dramatised, Commentary Options)

    • UNABRIDGED (12 hrs and 9 mins)
    • By William Shakespeare, Simon Potter
    • Narrated By Joan Walker, Stephen Elder, Paul Clayton
    Overall
    (81)
    Performance
    (52)
    Story
    (52)

    The multi award-winning SmartPass study guide with and without commentary options. This is a full-cast, unabridged performance with comprehensive commentary and analysis for any student to fully understand and appreciate the play. Universally accepted as Shakespeare's finest play, we peel back the layers of Hamlet to discover how and why it deserves such a place of honour in world literature.

    Jane says: "Great introduction to Hamlet"
  • 4.8 (54 ratings)
    SmartPass Plus Audio Education Study Guide to Macbeth (Unabridged, Dramatised, Commentary Options)
    Play SmartPass Plus Audio Education Study Guide to Macbeth (Unabridged, Dramatised, Commentary Options)

    SmartPass Plus Audio Education Study Guide to Macbeth (Unabridged, Dramatised, Commentary Options)

    • UNABRIDGED (7 hrs and 7 mins)
    • By William Shakespeare, Simon Potter
    • Narrated By Full-Cast featuring Joan Walker, Nick Murchie, Coralyn Sheldon
    Overall
    (54)
    Performance
    (27)
    Story
    (27)

    Combined for great value! The multi-award-winning SmartPass study guide with and without commentary options. Full-cast, unabridged performance with comprehensive commentary and analysis for any student to fully understand and appreciate the play.

    "And nothing is, but what is not." Macbeth may be mystified by the Weird Sisters' words but this intense performance with incisive commentary cuts to the heart of Shakespeare's complex psychological tragedy.

    Philip says: "Shakespeare made easy to understand!"
  • 4.8 (32 ratings)
    SmartPass Plus Audio Education Study Guide to Romeo and Juliet (Unabridged, Dramatised, Commentary Options)
    Play SmartPass Plus Audio Education Study Guide to Romeo and Juliet (Unabridged, Dramatised, Commentary Options)

    SmartPass Plus Audio Education Study Guide to Romeo and Juliet (Unabridged, Dramatised, Commentary Options)

    • UNABRIDGED (7 hrs and 51 mins)
    • By William Shakespeare, Simon Potter
    • Narrated By Full-Cast featuring Joan Walker, Chris Kelham, Sara Bowes
    Overall
    (32)
    Performance
    (15)
    Story
    (15)

    Combined for great value! The multi-award-winning SmartPass study guide with and without commentary options. Full-cast, unabridged performance with comprehensive commentary and analysis for any student to fully understand and appreciate the play. The poetry of Shakespeare's star crossed lovers is poignantly performed and expertly explained in this unique production: "Passion lends them power."

    Cheryl says: "Very Helpful"
  • 4.8 (30 ratings)
    A Christmas Carol
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    A Christmas Carol

    • UNABRIDGED (2 hrs and 54 mins)
    • By Charles Dickens
    • Narrated By Simon Vance
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (30)
    Performance
    (26)
    Story
    (26)

    A Christmas Carol is a novella by English author Charles Dickens first published by Chapman and Hall and first released on 19 December 1843. The story tells of sour and stingy Ebenezer Scrooge's ideological, ethical, and emotional transformation after the supernatural visitations of Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of Christmases Past, Present, and Yet to Come.

    Tad Davis says: "One of the best"
  •  
  • 4.9 (13 ratings)
    Master i Margarita [The Master and Margarita]
    Play Master i Margarita [The Master and Margarita]

    Master i Margarita [The Master and Margarita]

    • UNABRIDGED (16 hrs and 40 mins)
    • By Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov
    • Narrated By Vladimir Ivanovich Samoylov
    Overall
    (13)
    Performance
    (10)
    Story
    (10)

    Master i Margarita - "posledniy zakatnyy" roman M.A. Bulgakova, roman zaveshchanie, voskresshiy iz pepla unichtozhennoy avtorom pervoy redaktsii. V Mastere i Margarite fantastika natalkivaetsya na realizm, mif na istoricheskuyu dostovernost, teosofiya na demonizm, romantika na klounadu.

  • 4.8 (12 ratings)
    Tales from Shakespeare: The Lambs' Tales
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    Tales from Shakespeare: The Lambs' Tales

    • UNABRIDGED (3 hrs and 54 mins)
    • By Charles Lamb, Mary Lamb, William Shakespeare
    • Narrated By Alan Cumming, Nigel Davenport, Andrew Sachs, and others
    Overall
    (12)
    Performance
    (8)
    Story
    (7)

    A perfect introduction for all ages to the breadth and beauty of Shakespeare's work, Tales from Shakespearehas become a classic work in its own right. The tales bring vividly alive the power of Hamlet and Macbeth, the fun of A Midsummer Night's Dream, and the drama of The Tempest. Blending detailed narrative with original dialogue and poetic language, they fully convey the wit, wisdom, and imagination of Shakespeare's magnificent plays.

    Heidi says: "My daughter's absolute favorite!"
  • 4.8 (10 ratings)
    Captains Courageous
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    Captains Courageous

    • UNABRIDGED (5 hrs and 57 mins)
    • By Rudyard Kipling
    • Narrated By George Guidall
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (10)
    Performance
    (8)
    Story
    (8)

    Captains Courageous is Rudyard Kipling’s classic fable of a boy’s initiation into the fellowship of men, played out on the high seas of the late 1800s. When he falls overboard from a luxury liner, Harvey Cheyne, the spoiled son of an American millionaire, is rescued by a small New England fishing schooner. To earn his keep, Harvey must prove his worth in the only way the skipper and his hardy crew will accept: through the grueling mastery of a fisherman’s skills.

    Walt Robertson says: "A case where a good movie ruined a great book"
  • 4.5 (4626 ratings)
    The Hobbit
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    The Hobbit

    • UNABRIDGED (11 hrs and 8 mins)
    • By J. R. R. Tolkien
    • Narrated By Rob Inglis
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (4626)
    Performance
    (4137)
    Story
    (4186)

    Like every other hobbit, Bilbo Baggins likes nothing better than a quiet evening in his snug hole in the ground, dining on a sumptuous dinner in front of a fire. But when a wandering wizard captivates him with tales of the unknown, Bilbo becomes restless. Soon he joins the wizard’s band of homeless dwarves in search of giant spiders, savage wolves, and other dangers. Bilbo quickly tires of the quest for adventure and longs for the security of his familiar home. But before he can return to his life of comfort, he must face the greatest threat of all.

    Darwin8u says: "Victory after all, I suppose!"
  • The Great Gatsby
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    The Great Gatsby

    • UNABRIDGED (4 hrs and 52 mins)
    • By F. Scott Fitzgerald
    • Narrated By Jake Gyllenhaal
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (448)
    Performance
    (410)
    Story
    (414)

    F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic American novel of the Roaring Twenties is beloved by generations of readers and stands as his crowning work. This new audio edition, authorized by the Fitzgerald estate, is narrated by Oscar-nominated actor Jake Gyllenhaal (Brokeback Mountain). Gyllenhaal's performance is a faithful delivery in the voice of Nick Carraway, the Midwesterner turned New York bond salesman, who rents a small house next door to the mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby....

    Darwin8u says: "Simple, Beautiful, and Exquisitely Textured"
  • Heart of Darkness: A Signature Performance by Kenneth Branagh
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    Heart of Darkness: A Signature Performance by Kenneth Branagh

    • UNABRIDGED (3 hrs and 51 mins)
    • By Joseph Conrad
    • Narrated By Kenneth Branagh
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (775)
    Performance
    (579)
    Story
    (579)

    A Signature Performance: Kenneth Branagh plays this like a campfire ghost story, told by a haunted, slightly insane Marlow.

    Darwin8u says: "Conrad's Brilliant & Wild Novella"
  • The Hobbit
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    The Hobbit

    • UNABRIDGED (11 hrs and 8 mins)
    • By J. R. R. Tolkien
    • Narrated By Rob Inglis
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (4626)
    Performance
    (4137)
    Story
    (4186)

    Like every other hobbit, Bilbo Baggins likes nothing better than a quiet evening in his snug hole in the ground, dining on a sumptuous dinner in front of a fire. But when a wandering wizard captivates him with tales of the unknown, Bilbo becomes restless. Soon he joins the wizard’s band of homeless dwarves in search of giant spiders, savage wolves, and other dangers. Bilbo quickly tires of the quest for adventure and longs for the security of his familiar home. But before he can return to his life of comfort, he must face the greatest threat of all.

    Darwin8u says: "Victory after all, I suppose!"
  • The Fellowship of the Ring: Book One in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
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    The Fellowship of the Ring: Book One in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy

    • UNABRIDGED (19 hrs and 11 mins)
    • By J. R. R. Tolkien
    • Narrated By Rob Inglis
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (1889)
    Performance
    (1660)
    Story
    (1693)

    The Fellowship of the Ring, the first volume in the trilogy, tells of the fateful power of the One Ring. It begins a magnificent tale of adventure that will plunge the members of the Fellowship of the Ring into a perilous quest and set the stage for the ultimate clash between the powers of good and evil.

    Ellen says: "At last - The Definitive Recording!"
  •  
  • Jane Eyre [Brilliance Edition]
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    Jane Eyre [Brilliance Edition]

    • UNABRIDGED (17 hrs and 21 mins)
    • By Charlotte Bronte
    • Narrated By Susan Ericksen
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (653)
    Performance
    (397)
    Story
    (404)

    After a sad and neglected childhood as an orphan, Jane Eyre was hired by Edward Rochester as governess for his ward. Jane was pleased with the quiet country life at Thornfield, with the beautiful old manor house and gardens, with the book-filled library, and with her own comfortable room. But there were stories of a strange tenant, a woman who laughed like a maniac, and who stayed in rooms on the third floor.

    Elizabeth says: "a book that can be heard/read again and again"
  • The Great Gatsby
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    The Great Gatsby

    • UNABRIDGED (5 hrs and 44 mins)
    • By F. Scott Fitzgerald
    • Narrated By Tim Robbins
    Overall
    (1084)
    Performance
    (540)
    Story
    (540)

    The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald's portrait of the Jazz Age in all its decadence and excess, is, as editor Maxwell Perkins praised it in 1924, "a wonder". It remains one of the most widely read, translated, admired, imitated, and studied 20th-century works of American fiction.

    Erin says: "Something you won't fall asleep to..."
  • Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: A Signature Performance by Elijah Wood
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    Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: A Signature Performance by Elijah Wood

    • UNABRIDGED (10 hrs and 12 mins)
    • By Mark Twain
    • Narrated By Elijah Wood
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (1537)
    Performance
    (1100)
    Story
    (1077)

    A Signature Performance: Elijah Wood becomes the first narrator to bring a youthful voice and energy to the story, perhaps making it the closest interpretation to Twain’s original intent.

    James says: "Worthy "signature" premiere"
  • The Return of the King: Book Three in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy
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    The Return of the King: Book Three in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy

    • UNABRIDGED (18 hrs and 18 mins)
    • By J. R. R. Tolkien
    • Narrated By Rob Inglis
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (983)
    Performance
    (856)
    Story
    (878)

    The Return of the King is the towering climax to J. R. R. Tolkien’s trilogy that tells the saga of the hobbits of Middle-earth and the great War of the Rings. In this concluding volume, Frodo and Sam make a terrible journey to the heart of the Land of the Shadow in a final reckoning with the power of Sauron. In addition to narrating the prose passages, Rob Inglis sings the trilogy’s songs and poems a capella, using melodies composed by Inglis and Claudia Howard, the Recorded Books studio director.

    Natalie says: "Finally!"
  •  
  • Gulliver's Travels: A Signature Performance by David Hyde Pierce
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    Gulliver's Travels: A Signature Performance by David Hyde Pierce

    • UNABRIDGED (9 hrs and 52 mins)
    • By Jonathan Swift
    • Narrated By David Hyde Pierce
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (399)
    Performance
    (241)
    Story
    (247)

    A Signature Performance: Four-time Emmy Award winner David Hyde Pierce delivers an air of lovable self-importance in his rendition of the classic social satire that remains as fresh today as the day it was published.

    Lara says: "Timeless Humor"
  • The Two Towers: Book Two in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy
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    The Two Towers: Book Two in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy

    • UNABRIDGED (16 hrs and 40 mins)
    • By J. R. R. Tolkien
    • Narrated By Rob Inglis
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (1109)
    Performance
    (981)
    Story
    (1004)

    The Two Towers is the second volume of J.R.R. Tolkien's epic saga, The Lord of the Rings. The Fellowship has been forced to split up. Frodo and Sam must continue alone towards Mount Doom, where the One Ring must be destroyed. Meanwhile, at Helm’s Deep and Isengard, the first great battles of the War of the Ring take shape. In this splendid, unabridged audio production of Tolkien’s great work, all the inhabitants of a magical universe - hobbits, elves, and wizards - spring to life. Rob Inglis’ narration has been praised as a masterpiece of audio.

    Anna says: "Thank you, Audible! Tolkien at long last!"
  • The Great Gatsby
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    The Great Gatsby

    • UNABRIDGED (4 hrs and 52 mins)
    • By F. Scott Fitzgerald
    • Narrated By Jake Gyllenhaal
    Overall
    (13)
    Performance
    (12)
    Story
    (12)

    F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic American novel of the Roaring Twenties is beloved by generations of readers and stands as his crowning work. This new audio edition, authorized by the Fitzgerald estate, is narrated by Oscar-nominated actor Jake Gyllenhaal (Brokeback Mountain). Gyllenhaal's performance is a faithful delivery in the voice of Nick Carraway, the Midwesterner turned New York bond salesman, who rents a small house next door to the mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby. There, he has a firsthand view of Gatsby’s lavish West Egg parties - and of his undying love....

    MATTHEW says: "Just the right reading style"
  • Dracula [Audible Edition]
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    Dracula [Audible Edition]

    • UNABRIDGED (15 hrs and 28 mins)
    • By Bram Stoker
    • Narrated By Alan Cumming, Tim Curry, Simon Vance, and others
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (1143)
    Performance
    (1038)
    Story
    (1048)

    The modern audience hasn't had a chance to truly appreciate the unknowing dread that readers would have felt when reading Bram Stoker's original 1897 manuscript. Most modern productions employ campiness or sound effects to try to bring back that gothic tension, but we've tried something different. By returning to Stoker's original storytelling structure - a series of letters and journal entries voiced by Jonathan Harker, Dr. Van Helsing, and other characters - with an all-star cast of narrators, we've sought to recapture its originally intended horror and power.

    N. Houghton says: "Gothic Horror Never Sounded So Good"
  • The Best War Stories Ever Told: Best Stories Ever Told
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    The Best War Stories Ever Told: Best Stories Ever Told

    • UNABRIDGED (29 hrs and 25 mins)
    • By UNKNOWN
    • Narrated By Narrated by Bob Hennessey
    Overall
    (0)
    Performance
    (0)
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    (0)

    From Julius Caesar to the King James Bible, from modern masters like Theodore Roosevelt and Stephen Crane, this thought-provoking and compelling collection captures the variety and depth of feeling inspired by war, from the devastating to the uplifting.

  • The Black Soul
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    The Black Soul

    • UNABRIDGED (5 hrs and 25 mins)
    • By Liam O'Flaherty
    • Narrated By John Lee
    Overall
    (0)
    Performance
    (0)
    Story
    (0)

    Intense, compelling, beautifully descriptive - as Wuthering Heights is to the Yorkshire moors, so The Black Soul is to the Aran Islands. The sea roars dismally round the shores of Inverara. A stranger takes a room on the island. Here lives a couple whose married years have been joyless, until the presence of the stranger unleashes their passions.... For as spring softens the wild beauty of Inverara, the stranger becomes conscious of the dark-haired Mary - how summer makes her shiver with life. He is the first man she has ever loved, and she thrills with sexual awakening.

  • El Arte de la Guerra [The Art of War] (Spanish Edition)
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    El Arte de la Guerra [The Art of War] (Spanish Edition)

    • UNABRIDGED (1 hr and 7 mins)
    • By Sun Tzu
    • Narrated By Caroline Simone, Luis Fernando Hernandez
    Overall
    (0)
    Performance
    (0)
    Story
    (0)

    Esta obra es importante no porque sus reflexiones sean una invitacion a practicar la guerra, sino porque para Sun Tzu la guerra es algo mas que la simple fuerza bruta y la irracionalidad de la destruccion. Se trata del arte de evitar los conflictos; requiere de una sabiduria mayor, pero sobre todo, exige de nuestra parte una gran sensibilidad para detectar cuales son las exigencias que nos demanda la armonia universal. Please Note: This audiobook is in Spanish.

  • New Atlantis
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    New Atlantis

    • UNABRIDGED (1 hr and 43 mins)
    • By Francis Bacon
    • Narrated By Don Hagen
    Overall
    (0)
    Performance
    (0)
    Story
    (0)

    The crew of a European ship discovers the utopian island of Bensalem, having gotten lost in the Pacific Ocean somewhere near Peru. The crew spend time learning about the ways of the people of Bensalem, a very chaste group of Christians. The most important part of the island is their university, a state-sponsored scientific institution known as Salomon's House. The narrator is chosen from amongst the crew to get a one-on-one explanation of the way their society works, and he learns about the various buildings and jobs that exist on Bensalem.

  •  
  • Rough-Hew Them How We Will
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    Rough-Hew Them How We Will

    • UNABRIDGED (31 mins)
    • By P. G. Wodehouse
    • Narrated By David Ian Davies
    Overall
    (0)
    Performance
    (0)
    Story
    (0)

    This short story from Wodehouse’s collection The Man with Two Left Feet was also included in P. G. Wodehouse All Time Greatest Works. Paul Bioelle lives in an attic. By day he makes eighteen shillings a week as a waiter; by night he paints, perfecting his masterpiece so that he might earn his fortune. The money from the painting would go toward achieving his dreams: marriage to Jean Le Brocq and ownership of a little cigar shop on Brixton. For to Paul, achieving those two things would be heaven on Earth.

  • The Grateful Beasts
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    The Grateful Beasts

    • UNABRIDGED (25 mins)
    • By Andrew Lang
    • Narrated By Tavia Gilbert
    Overall
    (0)
    Performance
    (0)
    Story
    (0)

    Ferko, a handsome young man, was born into a very poor family with very wicked brothers. Because the family is so poor, the parents have to send the three brothers away, with only a loaf of bread each. The brothers gang up on Ferko while he is sleeping, stealing his bread and convincing him he consumed it in his sleep. Taking advantage of his starvation, they trick him into allowing them to blind him and break his legs.

  • Moskva i moskvichi [Moscow and Muscovites]
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    Moskva i moskvichi [Moscow and Muscovites]

    • UNABRIDGED (2 hrs and 59 mins)
    • By Mihail Nikolaevich Zagoskin
    • Narrated By Galina Samojlova
    Overall
    (0)
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    (0)
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    (0)

    Kniga Moskva i moskvichi napisana Mikhailom Nikolayevichem Zagoskinym (1789 - 1852), avtorom izvestnykh istoricheskikh romanov Yuriy Miloslavskiy, Roslavlev, i mnogikh drugikh proizvedeniy. Moskva i moskvichi - eto zhivye i uvlekatel'nye ocherki, rasskazy, sceny «iz domashnej i obschestvennoj moskovskoj zhizni». Please note: This audiobook is in Russian.

  • Vintage Reading: From Plato to Bradbury: A Personal Tour of Some of the World's Best Books
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    Vintage Reading: From Plato to Bradbury: A Personal Tour of Some of the World's Best Books

    • UNABRIDGED (6 hrs and 55 mins)
    • By Robert Kanigel
    • Narrated By Denise Washington Blomberg
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    A friendly literary companion, Kanigel shares the books he loves best. Vintage Reading is like those samples that seduce you into tasting because Kanigel’s enthusiastic eclecticism makes it clear that a good listener is really someone ready to venture between the covers, and Kanigel’s mini-forays between those covers seem cozy not intimidating. The antidote to Cliff’s Notes, Vintage Reading’s unpretentious appetite for literature will inspire listeners young and old to new adventures and, most importantly, a confidence in themselves.

  •  
  • The Garden
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    The Garden

    • UNABRIDGED (11 hrs and 15 mins)
    • By L. A. G. Strong
    • Narrated By Derek Perkins
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    (0)
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    (0)
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    (0)

    The Garden is set in Dublin in the early years of the 20th century. Dermot, whose family has settled in England, returns for his summers from English Public School to visit his grandfather, and develops affection for the city. During the course of the novel, war breaks out, bringing an end to the Edwardian summer for a whole generation....

  • Anna
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    Anna

    • UNABRIDGED (18 hrs and 55 mins)
    • By Norman Collins
    • Narrated By Tatyana Yassukovich
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    (0)
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    Anna is the story of a woman and an era. Against the background of France and Germany at the time of the Franco-Prussian war of 1870, Norman Collins tells with great brilliance the story of Anna, a beautiful woman. Born in Rhineland, when she was 19 she fell in love with a French cousin whom she followed to Paris on the eve of the outbreak of war. When he was killed by her compatriots she found herself in besieged Paris, destitute, alone, and a German.

  • The Purloined Letter
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    The Purloined Letter

    • UNABRIDGED (41 mins)
    • By Edgar Allan Poe
    • Narrated By Cathy Dobson
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    (0)
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    (0)
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    When a letter of great significance is stolen from the royal palace in Paris, the prefect of police is at great pains to discover its whereabouts. The identity of the thief is known, but try as the detectives will, they are unable to pinpoint the hiding place where the incriminating letter is secreted. When the Prefect approaches Dupin for his advice on the matter, the latter sees the solution immediately. An insight from which he is able to profit handsomely. Poe at his most ingenious!

  • The Husband's Story
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    The Husband's Story

    • UNABRIDGED (13 hrs and 32 mins)
    • By Norman Collins
    • Narrated By Matthew Frow
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    This - as only Norman Collins can tell it - is the story of Stanley Pitts, a contracts filing clerk in the Admiralty, a small man - small in stature, small in ambition and achievement, happy in his work, and devoted to his hobby of photography. For Stan himself, his latest failure with the Civil Service Selection Board might not have mattered too much. But it mattered to his wife, Beryl. For Beryl is a social climber....