Villette

The Warden

• UNABRIDGED (7 hrs and 42 mins)
• By Anthony Trollope
• Narrated By Margaret Hilton
• Whispersync for Voice-ready

The Red and the Black

• UNABRIDGED (20 hrs and 8 mins)
• By Stendhal
• Narrated By Davina Porter

So what would Al Gore choose if he had a book club? Gore named Stendhal's The Red and the Black, a 19th century classic chock full of adultery, betrayal, and moral vacuity, as his favorite book on a recent broadcast of Oprah. It's a bit shocking of a choice, given his wife and running mate's position on clean, wholesome literature. Listen and decide for yourself the merit of this presidential pick.

Howards End

• UNABRIDGED (12 hrs and 48 mins)
• By E.M. Forster
• Narrated By John Franklyn-Robbins
• Whispersync for Voice-ready

E.M. Forster's Howards End is a vivid portrait of London's golden age, before World War I forever changed its values and culture. Forster brings the great city's upper classes to life, detailing their grandiose spending habits, popular fads, Monet and Debussy, the rise of feminism, and the beginnings of urbanization. More than a mere idealization of pre-war London, Howards End provides insightful commentary on the rapid societal changes that occurred at the onset of the 20th century. Masterfully blending the stories of three vastly different groups of people - the independently wealthy, educated Schlegels; the nouveau riche Wilcoxes; and the ambitious but struggling Leonard Bast - Forster weaves a wonderfully rich, unforgettably poignant novel.

Ten Stories

• UNABRIDGED (7 hrs and 49 mins)
• By Katherine Mansfield
• Narrated By Jenny Sterlin

Although Katherine Mansfield was born in New Zealand in 1888, she spent much of her short life in England and on the Continent. As she wrote about the privileged worlds she encountered there, her stories quickly attracted literary attention. Prelude was hand-published by Leonard and Virginia Woolf at their Hogarth Press. Readers today still applaud the grace with which Mansfield fuses image, mood and meaning. Here are ten of Katherine Mansfield’s extraordinary tales.

Barchester Towers

• UNABRIDGED (21 hrs and 54 mins)
• By Anthony Trollope
• Narrated By Margaret Hilton

First, a warning: If you haven’t read any Trollope, start with The Warden; it’s the first in a series of which Barchester is second. Next, a rather shocking warning: Trollope may be as addictive as a soap opera.