Classic Essays

Toward the end of the Hundred Years War between France and England, as Merlin predicted, a great warrior emerged, uniting a beleaguered nation and leading it to improbable victories. It was said this warrior was a messenger of God. And it may have been, for a country was saved and a kingdom restored. This great leader of men, this messenger who united a nation, was a 17-year-old maiden named Joan.

The first book in the essays of Seneca deals with good and evil. The dialogue is opened by Lucilius complaining with his friend Seneca that adversities and misfortunes can happen to good men too. How can this fit with the goodness connected with the design of providence? Seneca answers according to the Stoic point of view.

The Virginia Woolf Complete Collection brings together all of her most iconic works, including all 9 of her published novels, a selection of her best short stories, as well as some of her most influential non-fiction writing. From the enduring importance of her ideas of female independence in A Room of One's Own to the modern masterpieces of Mrs Dalloway and To the Lighthouse, alongside many more of her novels, criticism, and essays, this collection takes you across the broad breadth of Woolf's ever-inventive and timeless writings.

Xenophon of Athens (c. 430 BC - 354 BC) was an Athenian historian, philosopher, and soldier. "Hiero", one of Xenophon’s minor works, is a dialogue between Hiero, tyrant of Syracuse, and the lyric poet Simonides, as a response to the assumption that a tyrant's life is more pleasant than that of a commoner. "On Horsemanship" is one of his two treatises on horsemanship. Military training and the duties of the cavalry commander are dealt with in the other, "Hipparchicus", while "On Horsemanship" deals with the selection, care, and training of horses in general.

In this brilliant collection, the follow-up to her New York Times best seller Reading Like a Writer, the distinguished novelist, literary critic, and essayist celebrates the pleasures of reading and pays homage to the works and writers she admires above all others. In an age defined by hyper-connectivity and constant stimulation, Francine Prose makes a compelling case for the solitary act of reading and the great enjoyment it brings. Inspiring and illuminating, What to Read and Why includes selections culled from Prose’s previous essays, reviews, and introductions.

This recording is of the 11 essays and stories contained in Volume Five and includes two examples of Poe’s activity as a literary critic. Poe’s dry wit is laced through many of these tales and will bring a wry smile to your lips even as you shiver at the consequences of “betting the devil your head”.

The Virginia Woolf Complete Collection brings together 6 of her most iconic novels, a selection of her best short stories, as well as some of her most influential non-fiction writing. From the enduring importance of her ideas of female independence in A Room of One's Own to the modern masterpieces of Mrs Dalloway and To the Lighthouse, alongside much more, this collection takes you across the broad breadth of Woolf's ever-inventive and timeless writings.

A selection from the John Updike audio collection. These extraordinarily evocative stories depict the generation born in a small-town America during the Depression and growing up in a world where the old sexual morality was turned around and material comforts were easily had. Yet, as these stories reflect so accurately, life was still unsettling, and Updike chronicles telling moments both joyful and painful.

The Souls of Black Folk is a classic work by W. E. B. Du Bois. Originally published in 1903, it contains many essays on race and equality, but is also a piece of seminal history, laying the groundwork for the field of sociology. Some of the essays in the book were even previously published by the Atlantic Monthly magazine. When writing, Du Bois drew from his personal experiences as an African-American in America to highlight the issues of prejudice that were still going on into the 20th century.

Dive into the art of storytelling with "How to Tell a Story, and Other Essays" by Mark Twain, a collection of essays that offers insights, humor, and wisdom on the craft of narrative. In this audiobook, Twain shares his expertise on the subtle nuances of storytelling, exploring the intricacies of humor, character development, and the art of captivating an audience. With wit and charm, he imparts valuable lessons that are as relevant today as they were in his time.

Three Dialogues Between Hylas and Philonous, or simply Three Dialogues, is a 1713 book on metaphysics and idealism by George Berkeley. The book was written as a response to the criticism of his work A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge. Berkeley faced opposition from many philosophers who held to the Platonic view. He argues that sensible qualities like color, sound, temperature and even shape are not inherent in matter, but are ascribed and understood by the mind.

A selection from the John Updike audio collection.

Jerome K Jerome began writing in 1888 with "On the Stage and Off', followed the next year by his familiar classic "Three Men in a Boat". In this delightful collection of stories, narrated by Hubert Gregg, the author reveals all too well why these stories should only be "told after supper". Listener beware!

Imagine a boardinghouse in the days when the Civil War was still a decade in the future, in which an erudite, polished, witty, sophisticated, learned gentleman holds forth each day at breakfast, entertaining the boarders with fascinating talk: observations on people and nature, occasional flights of verse, remarks on current events, moralizations and philosophical thoughts, and anything else that comes to his mind.

Walden or, "Life in the Woods", is, primarily, a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings. Henry David Thoreau kept a journal during his stay in a cabin beside Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts, for two years, two months, and two days, from July 1845 to Sept 1847. The book is based on that journal.

The Complete Charles Dickens Collection: Part One contains all of Charles Dickens' major published works from 1836 to 1849. From the short stories by 'Boz' which began Dickens' journey as an author, to the great works of literature that have inspired generations - including Oliver Twist, Nicholas Nickleby, The Old Curiosity Shop, and more - and essays that give us a deeper insight into his life, opinions, and travels, this collection is an essential addition to your library.

Mark Twain's marvelous short work relating how to tell a story - an American story that is humorous, not comic as the British or witty as the French. The work also includes four marvelous but little-known essays: "The Wounded Soldier", "The Golden Arm", "Mental Telegraphy", and "The Invalid's Story". Canadian listeners will particularly enjoy "Mental Telegraphy", set in Quebec.

E. L. Doctorow is acclaimed internationally for such novels as Ragtime, Billy Bathgate, and The March. Now here are Doctorow's rich, revelatory essays on the nature of imaginative thought. In Creationists, Doctorow considers creativity in its many forms: from the literary to the comic to the cosmic. As he wrestles with the subjects that have teased and fired his own imagination, Doctorow affirms the idea that "we know by what we create".

There is a well-worn image and phrase for libertarianism: "atomized individualism". This hobgoblin has spread so thoroughly that even some libertarians think their philosophy unreservedly supports private persons, whatever the situation, whatever their behavior. Smith's Self-Interest and Social Order in Classical Liberalism, corrects this misrepresentation with careful intellectual surveys of Hume, Smith, Hobbes, Butler, Mandeville, and Hutcheson and their respective contributions to political philosophy.

A selection from the John Updike audio collection. These extraordinarily evocative stories depict the generation born in a small-town America during the Depression and growing up in a world where the old sexual morality was turned around and material comforts were easily had. Yet, as these stories reflect so accurately, life was still unsettling, and Updike chronicles telling moments both joyful and painful.