-
The Charterhouse of Parma
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 19 hrs and 34 mins
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy for $38.49
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Life at the Bottom
- The Worldview that Makes the Underclass
- By: Theodore Dalrymple
- Narrated by: James Cameron Stewart
- Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Theodore Dalrymple, a British psychiatrist who treats the poor in a slum hospital and a prison in England, has seemingly seen it all. Yet in listening to and observing his patients, he is continually astonished by the latest twist of depravity that exceeds even his own considerable experience. Dalrymple's key insight in Life at the Bottom is that long-term poverty is caused not by economics, but by a dysfunctional set of values, one that is continually reinforced by an elite culture searching for victims.
-
-
Excellent!
- By Amazon Man on 02-15-21
-
The Red and the Black
- By: Stendhal
- Narrated by: Bill Homewood
- Length: 22 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Young Julien Sorel, the son of a country timber merchant, carries a portrait of his hero Napoleon Bonaparte and dreams of military glory. A brilliant career in the Church leads him into Parisian high society, where, 'mounted upon the finest horse in Alsace', he gains high military office and wins the heart of the aristocratic Mlle Mathilde de la Mole. Julien's cunning and ambition lead him into all sorts of scrapes.
-
-
Slow and wordy
- By Chrissie on 08-30-14
By: Stendhal
-
The Master and Margarita
- By: Mikhail Bulgakov
- Narrated by: Julian Rhind-Tutt
- Length: 16 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Devil comes to Moscow, but he isn't all bad; Pontius Pilate sentences a charismatic leader to his death, but yearns for redemption; and a writer tries to destroy his greatest tale, but discovers that manuscripts don't burn. Multi-layered and entrancing, blending sharp satire with glorious fantasy, The Master and Margarita is ceaselessly inventive and profoundly moving. In its imaginative freedom and raising of eternal human concerns, it is one of the world's great novels.
-
-
Satisfying Satanic Satire
- By Jacob on 12-06-11
By: Mikhail Bulgakov
-
The Three Musketeers (AmazonClassics Edition)
- By: Alexandre Dumas
- Narrated by: Guy Mott
- Length: 27 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Young nobleman d’Artagnan has arrived in Paris intent on joining the guardians of King Louis XIII. He befriends the regiment’s most formidable musketeers, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, and together they unite in their commitment to uphold justice. Soon, a royal indiscretion thrusts them into an audacious escapade of courtly intrigue, thwarted romance, and daring rescue. But it’s the Machiavellian schemes of a powerful enemy and the wicked seductions of an ingenious female spy that will be their greatest challenges.
-
-
terrible narrator. every comma is a 3 second pause
- By Anonymous User on 09-21-21
By: Alexandre Dumas
-
Devils
- By: Fyodor Dostoevsky
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 28 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Exiled to four years in Siberia, but hailed by the end of his life as a saint, prophet, and genius, Fyodor Dostoevsky holds an exalted place among the best of the great Russian authors. One of Dostoevsky’s five major novels, Devils follows the travails of a small provincial town beset by a band of modish radicals - and in so doing presents a devastating depiction of life and politics in late 19th-century Imperial Russia.
-
-
Excellent translation and narration
- By L. Kerr on 09-06-13
-
Tristram Shandy
- By: Laurence Sterne
- Narrated by: Anton Lesser
- Length: 19 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Laurence Sterne’s most famous novel is a biting satire of literary conventions and contemporary 18th-century values. Renowned for its parody of established narrative techniques, Tristram Shandyis commonly regarded as the forerunner of avant-garde fiction. Tristram’s characteristic digressions on a whole range of unlikely subjects (including battle strategy and noses!) are endlessly surprising and make this one of Britain’s greatest comic achievements.
-
-
Like discovering Frank Zappa in 250 years
- By Darwin8u on 01-02-14
By: Laurence Sterne
-
Life at the Bottom
- The Worldview that Makes the Underclass
- By: Theodore Dalrymple
- Narrated by: James Cameron Stewart
- Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Theodore Dalrymple, a British psychiatrist who treats the poor in a slum hospital and a prison in England, has seemingly seen it all. Yet in listening to and observing his patients, he is continually astonished by the latest twist of depravity that exceeds even his own considerable experience. Dalrymple's key insight in Life at the Bottom is that long-term poverty is caused not by economics, but by a dysfunctional set of values, one that is continually reinforced by an elite culture searching for victims.
-
-
Excellent!
- By Amazon Man on 02-15-21
-
The Red and the Black
- By: Stendhal
- Narrated by: Bill Homewood
- Length: 22 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Young Julien Sorel, the son of a country timber merchant, carries a portrait of his hero Napoleon Bonaparte and dreams of military glory. A brilliant career in the Church leads him into Parisian high society, where, 'mounted upon the finest horse in Alsace', he gains high military office and wins the heart of the aristocratic Mlle Mathilde de la Mole. Julien's cunning and ambition lead him into all sorts of scrapes.
-
-
Slow and wordy
- By Chrissie on 08-30-14
By: Stendhal
-
The Master and Margarita
- By: Mikhail Bulgakov
- Narrated by: Julian Rhind-Tutt
- Length: 16 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Devil comes to Moscow, but he isn't all bad; Pontius Pilate sentences a charismatic leader to his death, but yearns for redemption; and a writer tries to destroy his greatest tale, but discovers that manuscripts don't burn. Multi-layered and entrancing, blending sharp satire with glorious fantasy, The Master and Margarita is ceaselessly inventive and profoundly moving. In its imaginative freedom and raising of eternal human concerns, it is one of the world's great novels.
-
-
Satisfying Satanic Satire
- By Jacob on 12-06-11
By: Mikhail Bulgakov
-
The Three Musketeers (AmazonClassics Edition)
- By: Alexandre Dumas
- Narrated by: Guy Mott
- Length: 27 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Young nobleman d’Artagnan has arrived in Paris intent on joining the guardians of King Louis XIII. He befriends the regiment’s most formidable musketeers, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, and together they unite in their commitment to uphold justice. Soon, a royal indiscretion thrusts them into an audacious escapade of courtly intrigue, thwarted romance, and daring rescue. But it’s the Machiavellian schemes of a powerful enemy and the wicked seductions of an ingenious female spy that will be their greatest challenges.
-
-
terrible narrator. every comma is a 3 second pause
- By Anonymous User on 09-21-21
By: Alexandre Dumas
-
Devils
- By: Fyodor Dostoevsky
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 28 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Exiled to four years in Siberia, but hailed by the end of his life as a saint, prophet, and genius, Fyodor Dostoevsky holds an exalted place among the best of the great Russian authors. One of Dostoevsky’s five major novels, Devils follows the travails of a small provincial town beset by a band of modish radicals - and in so doing presents a devastating depiction of life and politics in late 19th-century Imperial Russia.
-
-
Excellent translation and narration
- By L. Kerr on 09-06-13
-
Tristram Shandy
- By: Laurence Sterne
- Narrated by: Anton Lesser
- Length: 19 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Laurence Sterne’s most famous novel is a biting satire of literary conventions and contemporary 18th-century values. Renowned for its parody of established narrative techniques, Tristram Shandyis commonly regarded as the forerunner of avant-garde fiction. Tristram’s characteristic digressions on a whole range of unlikely subjects (including battle strategy and noses!) are endlessly surprising and make this one of Britain’s greatest comic achievements.
-
-
Like discovering Frank Zappa in 250 years
- By Darwin8u on 01-02-14
By: Laurence Sterne
-
I, Claudius
- By: Robert Graves
- Narrated by: Nelson Runger
- Length: 16 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Here is one of the best historical novels ever written. Lame, stammering Claudius, once a major embarrassment to the imperial family and now emperor of Rome, writes an eyewitness account of the reign of the first four Caesars: the noble Augustus and his cunning wife, Livia; the reptilian Tiberius; the monstrous Caligula; and finally old Claudius himself. Filled with poisonings, betrayal, and shocking excesses, I Claudius is history that rivals the most exciting contemporary fiction.
-
-
Unsurpassed, addictive brilliance
- By Chris on 06-09-09
By: Robert Graves
-
Sentimental Education
- By: Gustave Flaubert
- Narrated by: Andrew Wincott
- Length: 20 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Upon arriving home in Normandy, Frederick catches his first glimpse of Marie Arnoux, a mysterious and beautiful woman who leaves a lasting impression on him. Eventually they make each other's acquaintance and Marie becomes a symbol of unattainable perfection for Frederick, whose unrequited infatuation leaves him bouncing from one passion to another, falling in and out of love, money and society.
By: Gustave Flaubert
-
Wuthering Heights
- Penguin Classics
- By: Emily Brontë
- Narrated by: Aimee Lou Wood, Kristin Atherton - introduction
- Length: 13 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lockwood, the new tenant of Thrushcross Grange on the bleak Yorkshire moors, is forced to seek shelter one night at Wuthering Heights, the home of his landlord. There he discovers the history of the tempestuous events that took place years before: of the intense passion between the foundling Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw, and her betrayal of him. As Heathcliff's bitterness and vengeance is visited upon the next generation, their innocent heirs must struggle to escape the legacy of the past.
-
-
Easier to read than listen to.
- By Kim Williams on 12-26-22
By: Emily Brontë
-
The Denial of Death
- By: Ernest Becker
- Narrated by: Raymond Todd
- Length: 11 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1974 and the culmination of a life's work, The Denial of Death is Ernest Becker's brilliant and impassioned answer to the "why" of human existence. In bold contrast to the predominant Freudian school of thought, Becker tackles the problem of the vital lie: man's refusal to acknowledge his own mortality. In doing so, he sheds new light on the nature of humanity and issues a call to life and its living that still resonates more than 30 years after its writing.
-
-
Not for the closed-minded
- By Yhatze on 05-27-17
By: Ernest Becker
-
Notes from the Underground
- By: Fyodor Dostoevsky
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 4 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A predecessor to such monumental works such as Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov, Notes From Underground represents a turning point in Dostoyevsky's writing towards the more political side.
In this work, we follow the unnamed narrator of the story, who, disillusioned by the oppression and corruption of the society in which he lives, withdraws from that society into the underground.
-
-
Awful hero, great narrator
- By Tad Davis on 10-13-09
-
The Magic Mountain
- By: Thomas Mann
- Narrated by: David Rintoul
- Length: 37 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hans Castorp is, on the face of it, an ordinary man in his early 20s, on course to start a career in ship engineering in his home town of Hamburg, when he decides to travel to the Berghof Santatorium in Davos. The year is 1912 and an oblivious world is on the brink of war. Castorp’s friend Joachim Ziemssen is taking the cure and a three-week visit seems a perfect break before work begins. But when Castorp arrives he is surprised to find an established community of patients, and little by little, he gets drawn into the closeted life and the individual personalities of the residents.
-
-
worth the wait
- By L. Kerr on 06-01-20
By: Thomas Mann
-
The Decameron
- By: Giovanni Boccaccio
- Narrated by: Simon Russell Beale, Gunnar Cauthery, Alison Pettitt, and others
- Length: 28 hrs and 5 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Decameron is one of the greatest literary works of the Middle Ages. Ten young people have fled the terrible effects of the Black Death in Florence and, in an idyllic setting, tell a series of brilliant stories, by turns humorous, bawdy, tragic and provocative. This celebration of physical and sexual vitality is Boccaccio's answer to the sublime other-worldliness of Dante's Divine Comedy.
-
-
Not Up to the Usual Naxos Standard
- By John on 11-15-17
-
Zorba the Greek
- By: Nikos Kazantzakis
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 12 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A wonderful tale of a young man’s coming of age, Zorba the Greek has been a classic of world literature since it was first translated into English in 1952 and made into an unforgettable movie with Anthony Quinn. Zorba, an irrepressible, earthy hedonist, sweeps his young disciple along as he wines, dines, and loves his way through a life dedicated to fulfilling his copious appetites. Zorba is irresistible in this charming audio production by veteran narrator George Guidall.
-
-
Drink life to the lees
- By Scot Potts on 04-25-13
-
The Man Without Qualities
- By: Robert Musil
- Narrated by: John Telfer
- Length: 60 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1913, the Viennese aristocracy is gathering to celebrate the 17th jubilee of the accession of Emperor Franz Josef, even as the Austro-Hungarian Empire is collapsing and the rest of Vienna is showing signs of rebellion. At the centre of this social labyrinth is Ulrich: a veteran, a seducer and a scientist, yet also a man 'without qualities' and therefore a brilliant and detached observer of his changing world.
-
-
An unmatched intellectual epic
- By Delano on 06-23-22
By: Robert Musil
-
Father Goriot
- By: Honoré de Balzac
- Narrated by: Bill Homewood
- Length: 12 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Impoverished young aristocrat Eugene de Rastignac is determined to climb the social ladder and impress himself on Parisian high society. While staying at the Maison Vauquer, a boarding house in Paris's rue Neuve-Sainte-Genevieve, he encounters Jean-Joachim Goriot, a retired vermicelli maker who has spent his entire fortune supporting his two daughters. The boarders strike up a friendship and Goriot learns of Rastignac's feelings for his daughter Delphine. He begins to see Rastignac as the ideal son-in-law, and the perfect substitute for Delphine's domineering husband. But Rastignac has other opportunities too....
-
-
Astounding performance
- By Laurence Grey on 04-05-21
By: Honoré de Balzac
-
A Gentleman in Moscow
- A Novel
- By: Amor Towles
- Narrated by: Nicholas Guy Smith
- Length: 17 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1922, Count Alexander Rostov is deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal, and is sentenced to house arrest in the Metropol, a grand hotel across the street from the Kremlin. Rostov, an indomitable man of erudition and wit, has never worked a day in his life, and must now live in an attic room while some of the most tumultuous decades in Russian history are unfolding outside the hotel’s doors. Unexpectedly, his reduced circumstances provide him entry into a much larger world of emotional discovery.
-
-
A Reprieve Amidst Ugly News, Relentless Negativity
- By Cathy Lindhorst on 08-27-17
By: Amor Towles
-
The Evening and the Morning
- Kingsbridge, Book 4
- By: Ken Follett
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 24 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is 997 CE, the end of the Dark Ages. England is facing attacks from the Welsh in the west and the Vikings in the east. Those in power bend justice according to their will, regardless of ordinary people and often in conflict with the king. Without a clear rule of law, chaos reigns. In these turbulent times, three characters find their lives intertwined.
-
-
I was really waiting for this book!
- By Firebolt on 09-20-20
By: Ken Follett
Publisher's Summary
In the coming-of-age story, we follow a young Italian nobleman, Fabrizio Valserra, Marchesino del Dongo, on many adventures, including his experiences at the Battle of Waterloo, and romantic intrigues.
More from the same
Narrator
What listeners say about The Charterhouse of Parma
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Grant
- 03-23-14
Amazing novel finally available on audio!
One of my favorite books, this title has not been available in audio in English until very recently. The work is hard to define -- part adventure, part a shameless exercise in romanticism, and part a realistic portrait of court politics that feels surprisingly contemporary. The text presupposes a basic knowledge of European history and politics of the period, and without such knowledge I found bits of the text confusing, especially when zipping by at audio speed. (In particular, replay chapter 1 before proceeding to start on a firm footing.) But the general flow of events becomes clear over time, and missing a few political nuances does not detract from a very enjoyable experience. Beautifully read by a skilled narrater.
20 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Patricia
- 04-25-14
A classic you don't want to miss
This is another classic I never got around to reading and finally Audiobooks made it possible for me to finally get to it. I thought it started a little slow but oh how it developed. It was hard to stop my walks and turn off my iPod. I walked extra just to keep listening. It is a French author writing about an Italian hero and I enjoyed the comments about the two different cultures. The beautiful Italian names will ring in my head forever. Don't miss it.
17 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- hans sandberg
- 06-04-16
Surprisingly modern
I read Red and Black many years ago, and I loved it then, but for some reason, I was ignorant of this beautiful and stirring novel.
7 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Canon John 3
- 08-19-15
Another version of Candide
Any additional comments?
This is a remarkable enjoyable epic of a young man in search of love encountering the ways of the world which have not changed since this book was written. It reminded me of Voltaire's Candide but far more sophisticated in nuance and breadth and soul. It's comparison of the French and Italian personas is very interesting.
7 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Tad Davis
- 12-07-15
I was wrong
** ORIGINAL REVIEW **
I enjoyed The Red and The Black and was shocked to find this one dull and rambling, despite a clear and sympathetic narration by Edoardo Ballerini. It's more of a sketch for a novel than a finished work. The story skips from dramatic scene to tedious summary at the drop of a hat, sometimes (seemingly) within the same paragraph. It skips over months at a time and mentions in passing that some life-changing event or other occurred along the way. Then without prelude or setting, it leaps into extended dialogue; then back into summary. I couldn't get a handle on it, and I never cared much for the foolish and selfish hero Fabrice.
** LATER THOUGHTS **
I seem to have gotten it completely wrong the first time around. I’ve had a chance to re-read the novel, using the same translation as the audiobook, and found it fascinating and Fabrice foolish but sympathetic. Stendhal’s account of Waterloo had me on the edge of my seat — not the least because Fabrice is so naive he’s not sure if he’s even in a battle. I’m still finding the audiobook a little monotonous, as opposed to the book itself. Is it the narration? Having been so wrong about the book, I hesitate to say so.
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Marianne
- 10-17-15
Napoleonic fiction
Where does The Charterhouse of Parma rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
very high
Who was your favorite character and why?
Mosca, a complicated character
What does Edoardo Ballerini bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
Depth, feeling, and wonderful pronunciation.
If only all your readers of books with European words could pronounce them as well as he does.
I look for books that he reads.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
all of it
Any additional comments?
Get Ballerini to do more readings.
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- W Perry Hall
- 12-24-17
O wretched soul, what sweetness it was!
'O wretched soul, what sweetness it was!
How we burned at the moment when I saw
those eyes that I might never see again.'
-----
Lines from Petrarch, on handkerchief given secretly as a gift in novel's forbidden love affair
The 1839 The Charterhouse of Parma represented a movement away and forward from the romanticism of Stendhal's time, this was one of the earliest examples of realism in a way that was considered revolutionary then; Balzac considered it the most important novel of his time. Though some elements of the romantic emotionalism linger, the novel turns to realism in more fully exploring human nature and psychology of its primary characters.
Stendhal, like the protagonist Fabrice del Dongo, served with Napoleon's army in the 1812 campaign into Russia. After Napoleon's fall, Stendhal lived six years in Italy, a country he fell in love with, before returning to his native France.
Upon return from serving with Napoleon's army, del Dongo returns to the intrigue and politics of the court of Parma and fends off repeated advances from his relatively young aunt by marriage, 15 years his senior. He falls head over heels for the young maiden Clelia and they begin a platonic affair...until after she is married (and insists that they have sex in complete darkness so she would not be fully aware that she was committing an adulterous sin).
Once he deems the affair hopeless, that he can never be with his love, he turns to the cloth, escaping the cruel world into the charterhouse, or monastery.
I enjoyed it as a unique departure in my reading, appreciating the blend of the realism with some of the dramatically emotional pull of hopeless love.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Merlin
- 10-03-17
Disappointing-neither serious nor all that funny
Stendhal's 'The Red and the Black' is one of my favorite novels. I found this one disappointing. It isn't as amusing. It gets bogged down at times in tedious court intrigue (the narrator himself admits this in one place!). And the way it ends tells me that Stendhal didn't really know where he was going with it.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- SandyK
- 09-19-22
Highly Regarded, But…
This novel is highly regarded in literary circles through time.
I see many reasons why.
But I don’t think it’s great, however great might be defined.
I won’t bother you with all the features that are traditionally regarded as excellent or those that I admire. I’ll just say that I think the plot unwinds in ways that aren’t particularly interesting, and the characters sort of meander on to the end on disparate courses that seem rather contrived to me.
I take leave of the story with little of the inspiration or glow I tend to have after reading a great piece of literature.
The narration is more than satisfactory.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- DFK
- 06-25-22
Started out great, but disappointed
I thoroughly enjoyed the first part of the book, when the young and naive Fabrice sets out to join Napoleon. There is humor, satire, and adventure in this portion, in some ways reminding me of the adventures of The Three Musketeers (in the many volumes of Dumas’ books), and I was hoping it would continue in that vein. But following that, the endless intrigues with far too many characters and fickle romances and love affairs, frequently obsessive, become tedious and drawn out. Perhaps a good editor could have done something to improve the book, because it certainly started out great. I listened to Ballerini read a different book and enjoyed his reading much more. Here, it was fine, but did not make the book any less tedious as it dragged on to the end. Sometimes “quit while you are ahead” can be excellent advice!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Mr Henry
- 07-15-17
Bonkers and crazy
Laughed at this many, many times. What a life the hero has in this huge book that only took Stendhal 50-odd days to write. Overlook silly plot twists and general silliness and you'll uncover a work of comic and satirical genius.
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- jessycamden
- 12-13-21
Such a great story and the reader is excellent
This is one of my favourite books, and I am delighted to find the reader so skilled at bringing out Stendahl's wonderful characterisation and subtle humour. What a pleasure!
1 person found this helpful
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
The Charterhouse of Parma
- By: Stendhal
- Narrated by: Nicholas Boulton
- Length: 19 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Charterhouse of Parma is a twisting tale of passion and intrigue following the adventures of Fabrizio del Dongo, a young Italian nobleman who dreams of glory on the battlefields of Europe and finds himself fighting alongside Napoleon at Waterloo. After returning home, Fabrizio becomes entangled in Machiavellian scheming, an ill-advised romance, and a fatal duel that lands him in prison, where he begins a star-crossed love affair with the ethereal Clelia, the commandant’s daughter.
-
-
Censored.
- By Amazon Customer on 04-28-23
By: Stendhal
-
The Red and the Black
- By: Stendhal
- Narrated by: Davina Porter
- Length: 20 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Almost perfect
- By Erez on 05-29-08
By: Stendhal
-
The Red and the Black
- By: Stendhal
- Narrated by: Bill Homewood
- Length: 22 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Young Julien Sorel, the son of a country timber merchant, carries a portrait of his hero Napoleon Bonaparte and dreams of military glory. A brilliant career in the Church leads him into Parisian high society, where, 'mounted upon the finest horse in Alsace', he gains high military office and wins the heart of the aristocratic Mlle Mathilde de la Mole. Julien's cunning and ambition lead him into all sorts of scrapes.
-
-
Slow and wordy
- By Chrissie on 08-30-14
By: Stendhal
-
Eugénie Grandet
- By: Honoré de Balzac
- Narrated by: Jonathan Fried
- Length: 7 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hailed as the father of the naturalist novel, French author and playwright Honoré de Balzac left a legacy of treasured literary works that include Père Goriot and Cousin Bette. The daughter of a wealthy but miserly man, Eugénie Grandet falls in love with her penniless cousin, Charles. The two plan to marry, but at the behest of her father, Charles must first go overseas to make his fortune. Returning years later, Charles calls off the engagement, leaving Eugénie heartbroken and vengeful.
-
-
Unpleasant people
- By Tad Davis on 06-08-14
By: Honoré de Balzac
-
Sentimental Education
- By: Gustave Flaubert
- Narrated by: Andrew Wincott
- Length: 20 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Upon arriving home in Normandy, Frederick catches his first glimpse of Marie Arnoux, a mysterious and beautiful woman who leaves a lasting impression on him. Eventually they make each other's acquaintance and Marie becomes a symbol of unattainable perfection for Frederick, whose unrequited infatuation leaves him bouncing from one passion to another, falling in and out of love, money and society.
By: Gustave Flaubert
-
The Idiot
- By: Fyodor Dostoevsky
- Narrated by: Jefferson Mays
- Length: 27 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Idiot, Prince Myshkin possesses a childlike innocence and trusting nature that leave him vulnerable to abuse by those around him. Returning to St. Petersburg to collect an inheritance, Myshkin realizes he is a stranger in a society obsessed with wealth, manipulation and power.
-
-
Avoid Constance Garnett
- By Anthony on 04-09-17
-
The Charterhouse of Parma
- By: Stendhal
- Narrated by: Nicholas Boulton
- Length: 19 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Charterhouse of Parma is a twisting tale of passion and intrigue following the adventures of Fabrizio del Dongo, a young Italian nobleman who dreams of glory on the battlefields of Europe and finds himself fighting alongside Napoleon at Waterloo. After returning home, Fabrizio becomes entangled in Machiavellian scheming, an ill-advised romance, and a fatal duel that lands him in prison, where he begins a star-crossed love affair with the ethereal Clelia, the commandant’s daughter.
-
-
Censored.
- By Amazon Customer on 04-28-23
By: Stendhal
-
The Red and the Black
- By: Stendhal
- Narrated by: Davina Porter
- Length: 20 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Almost perfect
- By Erez on 05-29-08
By: Stendhal
-
The Red and the Black
- By: Stendhal
- Narrated by: Bill Homewood
- Length: 22 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Young Julien Sorel, the son of a country timber merchant, carries a portrait of his hero Napoleon Bonaparte and dreams of military glory. A brilliant career in the Church leads him into Parisian high society, where, 'mounted upon the finest horse in Alsace', he gains high military office and wins the heart of the aristocratic Mlle Mathilde de la Mole. Julien's cunning and ambition lead him into all sorts of scrapes.
-
-
Slow and wordy
- By Chrissie on 08-30-14
By: Stendhal
-
Eugénie Grandet
- By: Honoré de Balzac
- Narrated by: Jonathan Fried
- Length: 7 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hailed as the father of the naturalist novel, French author and playwright Honoré de Balzac left a legacy of treasured literary works that include Père Goriot and Cousin Bette. The daughter of a wealthy but miserly man, Eugénie Grandet falls in love with her penniless cousin, Charles. The two plan to marry, but at the behest of her father, Charles must first go overseas to make his fortune. Returning years later, Charles calls off the engagement, leaving Eugénie heartbroken and vengeful.
-
-
Unpleasant people
- By Tad Davis on 06-08-14
By: Honoré de Balzac
-
Sentimental Education
- By: Gustave Flaubert
- Narrated by: Andrew Wincott
- Length: 20 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Upon arriving home in Normandy, Frederick catches his first glimpse of Marie Arnoux, a mysterious and beautiful woman who leaves a lasting impression on him. Eventually they make each other's acquaintance and Marie becomes a symbol of unattainable perfection for Frederick, whose unrequited infatuation leaves him bouncing from one passion to another, falling in and out of love, money and society.
By: Gustave Flaubert
-
The Idiot
- By: Fyodor Dostoevsky
- Narrated by: Jefferson Mays
- Length: 27 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Idiot, Prince Myshkin possesses a childlike innocence and trusting nature that leave him vulnerable to abuse by those around him. Returning to St. Petersburg to collect an inheritance, Myshkin realizes he is a stranger in a society obsessed with wealth, manipulation and power.
-
-
Avoid Constance Garnett
- By Anthony on 04-09-17
-
Cousin Bette
- By: Honoré de Balzac
- Narrated by: Johanna Ward
- Length: 16 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Bette referred to in this magnificent novel's title is Lisbeth Fischer, an excruciatingly cunning poor relation who both depends upon and nurses a terrible grudge against the family of her beautiful cousin, Adeline. That family is slowly being ruined by the uncontrollable sexual appetites of Adeline's husband, Baron Hulot - appetites that will, in time, give Cousin Bette opportunity to exact her vengeance.
-
-
Narrator!
- By Murasaki on 12-03-06
By: Honoré de Balzac
-
The Master and Margarita
- By: Mikhail Bulgakov
- Narrated by: Julian Rhind-Tutt
- Length: 16 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Devil comes to Moscow, but he isn't all bad; Pontius Pilate sentences a charismatic leader to his death, but yearns for redemption; and a writer tries to destroy his greatest tale, but discovers that manuscripts don't burn. Multi-layered and entrancing, blending sharp satire with glorious fantasy, The Master and Margarita is ceaselessly inventive and profoundly moving. In its imaginative freedom and raising of eternal human concerns, it is one of the world's great novels.
-
-
Satisfying Satanic Satire
- By Jacob on 12-06-11
By: Mikhail Bulgakov
-
Life at the Bottom
- The Worldview that Makes the Underclass
- By: Theodore Dalrymple
- Narrated by: James Cameron Stewart
- Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Theodore Dalrymple, a British psychiatrist who treats the poor in a slum hospital and a prison in England, has seemingly seen it all. Yet in listening to and observing his patients, he is continually astonished by the latest twist of depravity that exceeds even his own considerable experience. Dalrymple's key insight in Life at the Bottom is that long-term poverty is caused not by economics, but by a dysfunctional set of values, one that is continually reinforced by an elite culture searching for victims.
-
-
Excellent!
- By Amazon Man on 02-15-21
-
Le Pere Goriot
- By: Honoré de Balzac
- Narrated by: Paul Hecht
- Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At the shabby boarding house in the rue Neuve-Sainte-Geneviève, petty Madame Vauquer and her tenants wonder at the plight of the aging resident Goriot. Once a well-heeled merchant, Goriot was, at first, afforded special treatment from the Madame. But now something is clearly amiss in his financial affairs, and his increasingly tawdry appearance makes him a subject of ridicule in the household.
-
-
balzac rocks
- By beatrice on 03-12-10
By: Honoré de Balzac
-
The Sorrows of Young Werther
- By: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
- Narrated by: Leighton Pugh
- Length: 4 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Werther, a sensitive young artist, finds himself in Wahlheim, a quiet, attractive village in Germany where he seeks solace from the turmoils of love. It is a young spring, and he hopes that arcadian solitude will prove a genial balm to his mind. But his romantic tendency rules otherwise, and he falls in love with Charlotte - Lotte - even though he knows she is affianced to another.
-
-
Great performance for a classical story.
- By Brandon Shaw on 09-15-17
-
Sentimental Education
- By: Gustave Flaubert
- Narrated by: Michael Maloney
- Length: 15 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Frederic Moreau is a law student returning home to Normandy from Paris when he first notices Mme Arnoux, a slender, dark woman several years older than himself. It is the beginning of an infatuation that will last a lifetime. He befriends her husband, an influential businessman, and their paths cross and re-cross over the years. Through financial upheaval, political turmoil, and countless affairs, Mme Arnoux remains the constant, unattainable love of Moreau’s life.
-
-
When Crimes of Passion Were All the Fashion
- By W Perry Hall on 03-12-17
By: Gustave Flaubert