Great Classics

Fifty great classic short stories selected from the works of the best writers of the last century.

Manly P. Hall explores the secret purpose of the great pyramid and examines the anatomy of this massive structure’s architecture.

Published after his death, Dickens brilliantly brings to life a broad cast of colorful characters in the never solved mysterious disappearance of one Edwin Drood, all set in the rural hamlet of Cloisterham around the Cathedral close. Against a background of opium dens, nocturnal graveyard visits, and moldering monastic crypts, Dickens weaves a tightly knit plot centered on the ominous disappearance of young Edwin Drood.

The short story is considered to be one of the most challenging genres because of the need for compact plotlines and the ability to conjure up atmosphere and character in a few sentences and to engage the reader instantly. This collection presents 66 of the greatest examples of the genre - many of them well known, some hidden literary treasures, all of them exquisite examples of the short story at its finest.

Recorded ESPECIALLY for kids: The beloved tales of Mowgli the Jungle Boy.

At the heart of each of these great classic stories is an adoptee with an indomitable spirit who becomes the heroine (or hero) of her own life. "The bravery it takes for an unwanted orphan to forge their own path in life was as great when these stories were written as it is today," says narrator Alison Larkin, who draws on her own adoption experience to bring these stories to authentic new life.

Pip's life was stricken with tragedy as a small boy, being orphaned with the loss of his mother, father, and siblings. Pip forms a relationship with the odd Miss Havisham and her lovely adopted daughter, Estella. An anonymous benefactor whisks Pip away from the life he once knew and the people he cared for to one of class and high society. When his beloved Estella enters his life once more after many years apart, she denies him the affections he longs for.

Awful, rich people - and the folks who want to be just like them. Drawing freely from the real people and actual events of its setting in 1920s Long Island (with literary license, of course), The Great Gatsby looks at the acquisition of the American Dream of wealth, power, and prestige, and what the costs are to those who realize that dream. And if that sounds a bit too highbrow for you, there are speakeasies, a broken nose, wild parties, and a bit of rough and tumble as well.

William Wallace is accepted as an even greater hero than King Robert the Bruce; he is Scotland's most honoured son, a patriot unrivalled. Bruce fought for a throne; Wallace fought for the nation's freedom with nothing wanted for himself. Terribly, Wallace paid the price, as this story relates.

Fourteen mysteries to test your inner sleuth! This collection includes "The Stolen White Elephant" by Mark Twain, narrated by Mauro Hantman; "The Fenchurch Street Mystery" by Baroness Orczy, narrated by Davina Porter; "Problem of the Superfluous Finger" by Jacques Futrelle, narrated by Stephen R. Thorne; "The Blue Sequin" by R. Austin Freeman, narrated by Simon Vance; "An Intangible Clue" by Anna Katharine Green, narrated by Angela Brazil; and "The Oblong Box" by Edgar Allan Poe, narrated by Mauro Hantman, among others.

"Great Expectations" is a novel fully narrated in the first person about the personal growth and development of an orphan, nicknamed Pip. The novel is set in Kent and London in the early to mid-19th century and contains some of Dickens' most memorable scenes, including the opening in a graveyard, where the escaped convict, Abel Magwitch, accosts young Pip. "Great Expectations" is full of extreme imagery - poverty; prison ships and chains, and fights till death - and has a colorful cast of characters who have entered popular culture.

After an escaped prisoner bullies him into freeing him using stolen tools, seven-year-old orphan Pip is made to pay regular visits to the mysterious spinster Miss Havisham, who lives in the wedding dress she wore when jilted at the altar and keeps every clock in her crumbling mansion frozen at the same time. While there, he meets and instantly falls in love with her beautiful but aloof ward Estella

In Vitagraph, Andrew A. Erish provides a comprehensive examination and reassessment of the company most responsible for defining and popularizing the American movie. This history challenges long-accepted Hollywood mythology that simply isn't true: that Paramount and Fox invented the feature film, that Universal created the star system, and that these companies, along with MGM and Warner Bros., developed motion pictures into a multimillion-dollar business.

Based on a series of lectures by Leonard Peikoff and edited by Marlene Trollope, Discovering Great Plays provides the ability to understand, judge, and savor the values offered by great drama. Listeners will discover plot-theme as the key to a play; see Antigone as a great heroine and Iago as the darkest villain in literature; learn about the Cornelian hero; see how Schiller's "Grand Inquisitor" scene is the most dramatic and philosophic in all of theater; and discover Shaw's brilliance in presenting the genius against society.

Kendall Taylor examines the dalliance between the southern belle and the French pilot from a fresh perspective. Drawing on conversations and correspondence with Jozan's daughter, as well as materials from the Jozan family archives, Taylor sheds new light on this romantic triangle. More than just a casual fling, Zelda's tryst with Edouard affected Scott as much as it did his wife - and ultimately influenced the author's most famous creation, Jay Gatsby. Were it not for Zelda's affair with the pilot, Scott's novel might be less about betrayal and more about lost illusions.

The 1590s were bleak years for England. The queen was old, the succession unclear, and the treasury empty after decades of war. Amid the rising tension, William Shakespeare published a pair of poems dedicated to the young Earl of Southampton: Venus and Adonis in 1593 and The Rape of Lucrece a year later. Although wildly popular during Shakespeare's lifetime, to modern readers both works are almost impenetrable. But in her enthralling new book, the Shakespearean scholar Clare Asquith reveals their hidden contents.

These audiobooks introduce young listeners to the detective mystery genre. Perfect for the Common Core, kids can problem-solve with Nate, using logical thinking to solve mysteries! Nate, the great detective, depends on his dog, Sludge, to help him solve all of his cases. But Sludge can’t help him this time - Sludge is lost! Lost inside a big department store on a rainy day. Nate frantically searches for his best friend and trusted helper. Salespeople have spotted a wet, slippery, sloppy dog running about. Is Sludge hiding from them?

No one plumbs deeper depths of the psyche than French and Russian authors. This wide-ranging collection of 19th-century literary masterworks, presented in their entirety, not only entertains, but provides insight into 19th-century mores and the mysteries of human nature.

From Plato to Plutarch, Shakespeare to Churchill, Machiavelli to Melville, Jane Austen to Carl Jung, Pericles to Peter Drucker and many more - here are the best leadership ideas of the past 25 centuries. You don't need a big title or a business degree in order to lead with impact. What you need is practical wisdom: the insight, judgment and strength of character that all great leaders have but that most business schools and corporate workshops don't teach.

The Greats Abridged: Great Expectations brings Charles Dickens' iconic coming-of-age tale to life in a concise, compelling format ideal for modern listeners. This expertly abridged version preserves the heart and drama of Pip’s journey—from humble beginnings as an orphaned blacksmith’s apprentice to the glittering illusions of gentlemanly life in London.