Thursday 26 February 2015

The Wanderer [by Frances Burney]

This is the fourth and final novel by Fanny Burney, the author of Evelina, Cecilia, and Camilla. "Who is "Miss Ellis?" Why did she board a ship from France to England at the beginning of the French revolution? Anyway, the loss of her purse made this strange "wanderer" dependent upon the charity of some good people and, of course, bad ones. But she always comforts herself by reminding herself that it's better than "what might have been..." This is not only a mystery, not at all. It's also a romance which reminds readers of novels by Jane Austen. Published in 1814, the same year as Mansfield Park, it shares some themes with it. It is also very modern, speaking freely of independent women (like Elinor), weak male characters, and unrequited love.

link to the free audiobook


The Ghost of Guir House [by Charles Willing Beale]

Do you think you understand ghosts? Now you will. Paul Henley, seemingly summoned to a mysterious rural Virginia mansion from his home in New York, finds himself as a guest at a remote, dilapidated colonial house with a host and a hostess every bit as mysterious as the house itself. Might Dorothy, his hostess, somehow be implicated in the hideous crime which he came to know took place in the hidden depths of Guir House some years ago? He hardly thought so, she seemed so innocent. And yet ....

LibriVox recording of The Ghost of Guir House, read by Roger Melin.

link to the free audiobook

Fifty One Tales [by Lord Dunsany]

Very brief, well-crafted stories, many having surprise endings, all steeped in the dye of myth and calling to every reader's neglected imagination. This is a Librivox recording narrated by Thomas Copeland.

link to the free audiobook
Fifty One Tales [by Lord Dunsany]

The Vicar of Wakefield [by Oliver Goldsmith]


First published in 1766, the loveable and innocent Dr Primrose and his family have given pleasure to all that have read it.The story opens with the vicar losing his fortune and moving to another parish. What follows is a tale of love, deceit, betrayal, humour and a hidden hero…..It was one of Charles Dickens favourite books and a source of inspiration to him. o here is the Vicar of Wakefield, by Oliver Goldsmith. Read by Tadhg.

link to the free audiobook

Young Robin Hood [by George Finn]

Ever wonder how Robin Hood became Robin Hood? Well, now you can read how a young boy was molded into the famous hero who "robbed from the rich and gave to the poor". This imaginative story gives zesty details into the development and growth of the famous Robin Hood LibriVox recording read by Phil Chenevert.

link to the free audiobook
Young Robin Hood [by George Finn]

Voyage Round the World in His Majesty's Frigate Pandora [by George Hamilton]


George Hamilton was the surgeon assigned to the frigate Pandora. The British Admiralty ordered the ship to the Pacific to arrest the Bounty mutineers and bring them back to England for trial. The commander, Captain Edward Edwards, also was ordered to chart the passage between Australia and New Guinea. While Edwards managed to arrest the mutineers still on Tahiti, he sank the Pandora on a reef near Australia. Hamilton tells this story and also the story of the crew's fate after the Pandora sank. LibriVox recording read by Roy Schreiber.



link to the free audiobook


The Doctor's Dilemma [by George Bernard Shaw]


The Doctor's Dilemma is about Dr. Colenso Ridgeon, who has recently been knighted because of a miraculous new treatment he developed for tuberculosis. As his friends arrive to congratulate him on his success, he is visited by two figures who present him with a difficult decision. He has room for one more patient in his clinic; should he give it to Louis Dubedat, a brilliant but absolutely immoral artist, or Dr. Blenkinsop, a poor and rather ordinary physician who is a truly good person? Dr. Ridgeon's dilemma is heightened when he falls for Jennifer Dubedat, the artist's wife, who is innocent of her husband's profligacy. 

This is a Librivox recording of The Doctor's Dilemma by George Bernard Shaw. Performed by a full cast.


link to the free audiobook


Wednesday 25 February 2015

The Raven And Other Poems [by Edgar Allan Poe] [read by Phil Chenevert] [Audiobook]


Edgar Allan Poe [1809-1849] was an American author, poet, editor, and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story, and is generally considered the inventor of the detective fiction genre.






link to the free audiobook

The Raven And Other Poems [by Edgar Allan Poe] [read by Phil Chenevert] [Audiobook]

Monday 23 February 2015

Dead [by James Joyce] [Audiobook]

A group of Dubliners gather together for a Christmas celebration in James Joyce's transcendent tale of the mundanity and magic in life and death. "The Dead" is from Joyce's collection of short stories entitled Dubliners.

This is a Librivox recording of The Dead by James Joyce, read by Iremonger.

Dead [by James Joyce] [Audiobook]






Sunday 22 February 2015

Songs of Action [by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle]

Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle [22 May 1859-7 July 1930] was a Scottish writer and physician, most noted for his fictional stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, which are generally considered milestones in the field of crime fiction. He was also a prolific writer of fantasy and science fiction stories, plays, romances, poetry, non-fiction and historical novels. This is a collection of poems by Arthur Conan Doyle centering around the theme of war, action and adventure.






Read by Assaf Koss; Jeanie; L. Christopherson; Anusha Iyer; Greg Giordano; Leonard Wilson; Inflected; Martin Geeson; Shakira Searle; Etel Buss; Amanda Vickery

link to the free audiobook
Songs of Action [by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle]






Thursday 19 February 2015

Wilderness Ways [by William J. Long]


Late nineteenth-century naturalist William J. Long invites us into the secret worlds of woodland animals in this, his second, fascinating book. Long's stories of the secret lives of woodland animals come from time he spent in the woods, observing the behaviors and characteristics of the wilderness inhabitants directly. His method? Sit quietly, wait (sometimes for hours), and the animals will come. This book, unlike his first, Ways of Wood Folk, seems to be directed at his critics who accused him of assigning human emotions and intentions to the animals he profiles in his writings; Wilderness Ways very deliberately tells the unvarnished truth about animal behaviors, both tender caring and vicious murder are illustrated herein. Wilderness Ways opens up the hidden world of its woodland subjects with beautiful imagery and descriptive prose which is accessible enough for a child to read while at the same time engaging for readers of all ages. Be transported into Long's hidden wilderness world.

Read by Librivox volunteers Kangaroo692; JenMitchell; Nathan Yoder; Pazappy; laurencetrask

link to the free audiobook
Wilderness Ways [by William J. Long]



The Bishop's Apron [by W. Somerset Maugham]


"Canon Spratte saw himself as he thought others might see him: mediocre, pompous, self-assertive, verbose." Maugham could have added ambitious, hypocritical, and vain. In this engrossing social satire, Theodore Spratte, a cleric, motivated by an obsessive desire to be elevated to bishop, embellishes his family history and intrudes upon his son's and daughter's courtships. A reviewer in 1906 wrote, "The whole book is an admirable blend of cynical gaiety and broadly farcical comedy; it is the smartest and most genuinely humorous novel that the season has yet given us.

LibriVox recording read by Lee Smalley



David Copperfield [by Charles Dickens]

LibriVox recording of David Copperfield, condensed by the Author for his Dramatic Readings inAmerica . This short collection of 6 selected scenes from "David Copperfield" were abridged and performed by Dickens himself during his American Tour of 1867 and 1868." Read by Michael Armenta.

link to the free audiobook
David Copperfield [by Charles Dickens]

The Fearsome Island [by Albert Kinross]


No ordinary sailor's tale, this. Based allegedly on the real experiences of Silas Fordred, Master Mariner of Hythe, this is a story of shipwreck on an uncharted island and his supernatural adventures there with a witch, a hairy man, and various devilish devices and traps. The author, Kinross, adds an appendix purporting to explain the marvels which Fordred encountered.

Kinross claims to have stolen the sailor's original account from Hythe Town Hall while helping the Town Clerk to sort newly discovered old papers. This is credible, as it is well-known that there were many such documents rescued from destruction in the late nineteenth century. The names of Fordred and his shipmate Snoad are also old-established Hythe families.

link to the free audiobook
The Fearsome Island [by Albert Kinross]

The Ballad of Reading Gaol [by Oscar Wilde]


In 1895, Oscar Wilde was sentenced to 2 years of hard labor for acts of 'gross indecency'. During his time at Reading Gaol, he witnessed a rare hanging, and in the three years between his release and his untimely death in 1900, was inspired to write the following poem, a meditation on the death penalty and the importance of forgiveness, even for (and especially for) something as heinous as murdering one's spouse; for even the murderer, Wilde argues, is human and suffers more so for being the cause of his own pain, for 'having killed the thing he loved'; for everyone is the cause of someone else's suffering and suffers at the hands of another.

"The Ballad of Reading Gaol" was published in 1898 and would gain Wilde greater recognition as a poet (in addition to being a great playwright); although his only other volume of poetry, one of his earliest works that he'd published, was also well-received. Sadly, 'The Ballad' would be his last.

Librivox recording of the Ballad of Reading Gaol, by Oscar Wilde read by Linda Leu.

link to the free audiobook
The Ballad of Reading Gaol [by Oscar Wilde]

The Adventures of Old Man Coyote [by Thornton W. Burgess]

The Adventures of Old Man Coyote is another in the long list of children's books by conservationist Thornton W. Burgess. In this book, the residents of The Green Pasture and The Green Forest are concerned about a strange newcomer, Old Man Coyote. Old Many Coyote matches wits with Old Granny Fox and has encounters with Reddy Fox and Peter Rabbit, and a particularly sharp confrontation with Prickly Porky.  This is a LibriVox recording read by John Lieder

link to the free audiobook
The Adventures of Old Man Coyote [by Thornton W. Burgess]


Wednesday 18 February 2015

John Sherman and Dhoya [by W.B. Yeats]

In 1891, Yeats published "John Sherman", a novella, and "Dhoya", a Celtic mythologic story. Ganconagh, Yeats’s nom de plume for this work, is the name of a male faerie in Irish mythology that is known for seducing human women. This is a LibriVox recording of John Sherman and Dhoya, by William Butler Yeats. Read by David Wales.

link to the free audiobook
John Sherman and Dhoya [by W.B. Yeats]


The Blue Fairy Book [by Andrew Lang] [1899]



Andrew Lang [1844-1912] was a Scottish poet, novelist, literary critic. He is best known as a collector of folk and fairy tales. Lang’s Blue Fairy Book [1889] was a beautifully produced and illustrated edition of fairy tales that has become a classic. This was followed by eleven other collections of fairy tales, collectively known as Andrew Lang’s Fairy Books.




The storys in the Blue Fairy Book

The Bronze Ring, Prince Hyacinth and the Dear Little Princess
East of the Sun and West of the Moon, The Yellow Dwarf
Little Red Riding Hood, The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood
Cinderella or the Little Glass Slipper, Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp
The Tale of a Youth Who Set Out to Learn What Fear Was, Rumpelstiltskin
Beauty and the Beast, The Master Maid, Why the Sea Is Salt
The Master Cat or Puss in Boots, Felicia and the Pot of Pinks, The White Cat
The Water-lily, The Gold-spinners, The Terrible Head, The Story of Pretty Goldilocks
The History of Whittington, The Wonderful Sheep, Little Thumb, The Forty Thieves
Hansel and Gretel, Snow-White and Rose-Red, The Goose-girl, Toads and Diamonds
Prince Darling, Blue Beard, Trusty John, The Brave Little Tailor, A Voyage to Lilliput
The Princess on the Glass Hill, The Story of Prince Ahmed and the Fairy Paribanou
The History of Jack the Giant-killer The Black Bull of Norroway, The Red Etin

link to the free audiobook
The Blue Fairy Book [by Andrew Lang] [1899]


Tuesday 17 February 2015

The Adventure of the Speckled Band [by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle]

Sherlock Holmes and Watson are awoken early by a distraught woman desperately seeking their aid. Something is terribly wrong and she fears for her life. Upon hearing her story, Sherlock agrees and springs into action to track down and deal with the sinister Speckled Band who have killed once already. Listen to another exciting adventure of the super sleuth as he uses his powers of observation and deduction to solve this perplexing case. Will he be in time to save the lady's life? Will his powers fail him this time? Listen and find out on this LibriVox recording read by Phil Chenevert.


link to the free audiobook

Monday 16 February 2015

The Invisible Man [by H.G. Well's]

The Invisible Man published in 1897 is one of the most famous science fiction novels of all time. Written by H.G. Wells [1866-1946], it tells the story of a scientist who discovers the secret of invisibility and uses it on himself. The story begins as the Invisible Man, with a bandaged face and a heavy coat and gloves, takes a train to lodge in a country inn whilst he tries to discover the antidote and make himself visible again. The book inspired several films and is notable for its vivid descriptions of the invisible man--no mean feat, given that you can't see him!

link to the free audiobook
The Invisible Man [by H.G. Well's]

Saturday 14 February 2015

The Sea Fairies [by L. Frank Baum]

This is an adventure in the undersea world. Mayre, whose nickname is Trot, and Cap'n Bill are turned into mermaids through fairy magic and visit Aquareine, the mermaid queen. While on a tour of the marvels of the deep they are made prisoners of Zog the Terrible, a magician who is part man, beast, serpent, and fish. He is out to destroy them in a contest of magic. The story was written by L. Frank Baum the man who wrote the Wizard Of Oz and is read here by Roy Trumbull.

link to the free audiobook

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde [by Robert Louis Stevenson]

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is a novella by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, first published in 1886. London lawyer Utterson is driven to investigate Edward Hyde, the unlikely protege of his friend Dr Henry Jekyll, suspecting the relationship to be founded on blackmail. The truth is worse than he could have imagined. Jekyll's 'full statement of the case', the final chapter of the book, explores the idea of dual personality that led him to his experiments, and his inexorable and finally fatal descent into evil.

Read by David Barnes

The Tinker's Wedding [by J.M. Synge]

The Tinker's Wedding is a two-act play written by Irish playwright J. M. Synge. The author's only comedy, it is set on a roadside near a chapel in rural Ireland.

Cast:
Michael Byrne: mb
Mary Byrne: Elizabeth Klett
Sarah Casey: Arielle Lipshaw
A Priest: Algy Pug
Narrator: Frances Brown
Audio edited by Arielle Lipshaw

link to the free audiobook

Thursday 12 February 2015

Boston Blackie [by Jack Boyle]

Boston Blackie is the novelization of a group of pulp short stories by Jack Boyle [1881-1928]. Blackie, an ex-con with a college education, is a jewel thief based in San Francisco, who outwits the cops with the help of his wife Mary. The character was altered for a later series of popular films and radio shows to become a “reformed” jewel thief turned private eye. This edition is read by Winston Tharp.

link to the free audiobook

Tenterhooks [by Ada Leverson]

The second of the 'Little Ottleys' trilogy, an Edwardian comedy of manners. Several years have passed since the events in 'Love's Shadow', but Bruce Ottley is as difficult and irksome as ever. His beautiful wife Edith continues to gently manage his foibles, and regards him with a fond tolerance. But then she meets the enchanting and very handsome Aylmer Ross. The attraction between them is undeniable, and Edith's quiet serenity is shattered. Could this spell the end for the Ottley's marriage? Feather light, dialogue-packed and often tongue-in-cheek, this is a charming second instalment of a story which - despite its apparent superficiality - shows that Leverson had a keen understanding of human nature and of the society in which she moved.

link to the free audiobook
Tenterhooks [by Ada Leverson]


Tom Swift and His Submarine Boat [by Victor Appleton]

Otherwise known as 'Under the Ocean for Sunken Treasure', is Volume 4 in the original Tom Swift novel series. Tom persuades his father to use his own submarine to hunt for treasure on a sunken ship. The book follows his adventures in this pursuit.

Read by LibriVox Volunteers.

link to the free audiobook
Tom Swift and His Submarine Boat [by Victor Appleton]

The Story of Doctor Dolittle [by Hugh Lofting]

In The Story of Doctor Dolittle [1920], the first of Hugh Lofting's Doctor Dolittle books, we are introduced to the good doctor who gives up treating people after Polynesia, his parrot, teaches him animal languages. His fame in the animal kingdom spreads throughout the world and soon he sets off to cure a monkey epidemic in Africa, finding all sorts of exciting adventures on the way.

A Study in Scarlet [by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle]

A Study in Scarlet, a short novel published in 1887, was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's first Sherlock Holmes story. At the beginning of the book, Dr. Watson meets the detective for the first time and we ride along with them to the scene of a murder. The crime baffles the Scotland Yard detectives, but of course Holmes solves it easily. In the second half of the story, the scene shifts to Utah as we learn the murderer's history. The action returns to London in the last two chapters. In his first adventure, Holmes demonstrates many of the traits for which he later became well known: meticulous study of a crime scene, brilliant deductive reasoning, aptitude for chemistry and music, and the somewhat annoying habit of withholding crucial facts from Watson until the conclusion of the case.

This is a LibriVox recording of A Study in Scarlet, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Read by Laurie Anne Walden.

Wednesday 11 February 2015

Crossways [by W. B. Yeats]

Crossways [1889] was the first collection of poetry by Irish-born poet William Butler Yeats. Many decades before his mysterious and austere Modernist verse earned him a nobel prize, Yeats achieved renown as one of the last major poets in the High Romantic tradition. These poems showcase his Celtic imagination, his love for Irish folk-tales, and his commitment to the Romantic ideal of love.

01 - The Song of the Happy Shepherd
02 - The Sad Shepherd
03 - The Cloak, The Boat and The Shoes
04 - Anashuya and Vijaya
05 - The Indian Upon God
06 - The Indian To His Love
07 - The Falling of the Leaves
08 - Ephemera
09 - The Madness of King Goll
10 - The Stolen Child
11 - To an Isle in the Water
12 - Down by the Salley Gardens
13 - The Meditation of the Old Fisherman
14 - The Ballad of John O'Hart
15 - The Ballad of Moll Magee
16 - The Ballad of the Foxhunter

link to the free audiobook



Lady Chatterley's Lover [by D.H. Lawrence]

Lady Chatterley's Lover became notorious for its story of the physical (and emotional) relationship between a working-class man and an upper-class woman, its explicit descriptions of sex, and its use of then-unprintable words.The story is said to have originated from events in Lawrence's own unhappy domestic life, and he took inspiration for the settings of the book from Eastwood, Nottinghamshire, This audio is part of the collection: Community Audio. This audio production of Lady Chatterley's Lover is part of the collection: Community Audio and is beautifully read by Jan McLaughlin.

link to the free audiobook
Lady Chatterley's Lover [by D.H. Lawrence]

The Dead [by James Joyce]

This is a Librivox recording of The Dead by James Joyce and is read by the strangely named Iremonger. Here is a brief summary of the classic tale. A group of Dubliners gather together for a Christmas celebration in James Joyce's transcendent tale of the mundanity and magic in life and death. "The Dead" is from Joyce's collection of short stories entitled Dubliners.

link to the free audiobook
The Dead [by James Joyce]


American Indian Fairy Tales [by William Trowbridge Larned]

American Indian Fairy Tales, collected by Henry R. Schoolcraft and retold by William Trowbridge Larned With no written language, Native Americans living in the Lake Superior region passed their cultural identity down through the generations by way of stories. Far more than mere tales to amuse children, they passed along the collective wisdom of the tribes. In the 1830s, government Indian Agent and ethnologist Henry R Schoolcraft learned the language of these people and went out to collect and preserve their stories before the tribes disappeared under the westward rush of American civilization. Though these stories were recast as children's fairy tales in the 1920s, they contain much of the old wisdom of a culture which has largely disappeared.

link to the free audiobook
American Indian Fairy Tales [by William Trowbridge Larned]

Tuesday 10 February 2015

War of the Worlds [by H.G. Wells]

War of the Worlds by Herbert George Wells [H.G. Wells] was published in 1898 at a time when he wrote a series of novels related to a number of historical events of the time. The most important of these was the unification and militarization of Germany. The story, written in a semi-documentary style, is told in the first person by an unnamed observer. It tells of the events which happen mostly in London and the county of Surrey, England, when a number of vessels manned by aliens are fired from Mars and land on Earth

link to the free audiobook
War of the Worlds [by H.G. Wells]




Sunday 8 February 2015

The Turn of the Screw [by Henry James]

The Turn of the Screw is a novella written by Henry James. It is a ghost story that was originally published in 1898. A nameless governess reports the events of two ghosts who stalk the young children she has charge over. Is she reliable, or an imaginative neurotic?

A Librivox recording read by: Nikolle Doolin

link to the free audiobook
The Turn of the Screw [by Henry James]

Saturday 7 February 2015

The Little Wizard Stories of Oz [by L. Frank Baum]

The Little Wizard Stories of Oz are six short stories written by L. Frank Baum in 1913. By all accounts, Baum intended to finish the Oz series with "The Emerald City of Oz," published in 1910. Following that, he attempted to write non-Oz books, publishing "The Sea Fairies" in 1911 and "Sky Island" in 1912. But, (as Baum himself laments in the prefaces of many of his Oz books,) his "little tyrants" were only interested in hearing more Oz stories. So in 1913, he returned to writing about Oz, putting out both The "Little Wizard Stories" and "The Patchwork Girl of Oz" that year. The Little Wizard Stories were geared toward younger children and were originally published separately, "similar in style to today's Little Golden Books." The next year, they were published together as one volume. Each Little Wizard Story revolves around the adventures of two famous Oz characters, and their humorous adventures in and around the land of Oz.

A Librivox recording read by: Maddie.

link to the free audiobook


Friday 6 February 2015

Welsh Fairy Tales And Other Stories [by P.H. Emerson]

These tales were collected by P.H. Emerson whilst living in Anglesea during the winter 1891-2. With the exception of the French story, they were told him and he took them down at the time. In most cases Emerson has done very little editing, preferring to relate the stories as they where originally told to him.

link to the free audiobook
Welsh Fairy Tales And Other Stories [by P.H. Emerson]



Thursday 5 February 2015

Ten Days In A Madhouse [by Nellie Bly]

In 1887 Nellie Bly, one of the first female newspaper writers, and a young reporter who would soon go on to make a career for herself as an investigative journalist and "stunt" reporter, had herself committed to the Blackwell's Island Insane Asylum in New York. Her purpose was to discover what life was like for those who had been deemed insane. She was surprised to discover the depth of mistreatement of the patients. Partially as a result of her reporting, more money was allocated to the asylum and reforms were put into place.

link to the free audiobook
Ten Days In A Madhouse [by Nellie Bly]


Through The Looking Glass [by Lewis Carroll]

Through the Looking Glass, the sequel to Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, was written in 1872 and it finds Alice in a land when she walks through a mirror into the Looking-Glass House. The land is full of mythological creatures and characters and nursery rhyme characters. Alice makes a guest appearance in a bizarre game of chess with Humpty Dumpty! A charming, witty story!

Read for Librivox by: Brad Bush, Kara Shallenberg, Betsie Bush, Chip, Kristen McQuillin, Alessia, Alice Elizabeth Still, Robert Garrison, Marlo Dianne and Peter Yearsley.

link to the free audiobook
Through The Looking Glass [by Lewis Carroll]

The Great Big Treasury Of Beatrix Potter [by Beatrix Potter]

Born in Victorian London on July 28th, 1866, Beatrix Potter created some of the best-loved children's stories of all time. Starting with Peter Rabbit and moving through the rest of these delightful tales, the Great Big Treasury of Beatrix Potter will warm the hearts both of those who remember her fondly from their childhoods and those who discover for the first time the magic of these timeless stories.

Read by: Kara Shallenberg, Marilyn Saklatvala, Sherry Crowther, Geva, Hugh McGuire, Jeremy, Wedschild, Retswerb, Brad Bush, Betsie Bush, Neils Clemenson, Vlooi, Annie Coleman, Frank, Chris Vee and Marlo Dianne.

link to the free audiobook
The Great Big Treasury Of Beatrix Potter [by Beatrix Potter]

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow [by Washington Irving]

The quiet Dutch community of Sleepy Hollow lay in the Adirondack mountains on the western shore of the mighty Hudson River in America's colonial period. The solitude of the woods was breathtaking, and not even a schoolmaster was immune from the eerie miasma which everyone knew permeated the dense forest. Written in 1820, Washington Irving's The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow has become a classic of American literature, and has been retold in many different ways. Here is the original, from Irving's own hand.

link to the free audiobook
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow [by Washington Irving]

Call Of The Wild [by Jack London]

The Call of the Wild is a novel by Jack London published in 1903. The story is set in the Yukon during the 1890s Klondike Gold Rush, a period when strong sled dogs were in high demand. The novel's central character is a dog named Buck, a domesticated dog living at a ranch in the Santa Clara Valley of California as the story opens. Stolen from his home and sold to a trainer of sled dogs in Alaska. He adapts to the brutal conditions and is finally acquired by a loving man. When this new owner is killed, Buck follows the ‘call of the wild’ and joins a pack of wolves.

link to the free audiobook
Call Of The Wild [by Jack London]

A Christmas Carol [by Charles Dickens]

A collaborative reading of Charles' Dickens  A Christmas Carol first published in London by Chapman & Hall on 19 December 1843. It is the classic tale of Christmas and is beautifully read by Librivox volunteers: 

Mark Bradford,
 Kara Shallenberg, 
Kristen McQuillin, 
Hugh McGuire 
Bill Stackpole.



link to the free audiobook
A Christmas Carol [by Charles Dickens]

Celtic Twilight [by WB Yeats]

The Celtic Twilight consists of 42 Irish and Celtic folklore tales. Read by Shakira Searle; Arie; Russell Hughes; Jordan Heron; John O'Riordan; Luna Pierson; KHand; Tim Rainey; Anusha Iyer; Robert Dixon; John Van Stan; Simon Smoke; Kathy Wright; JamesMcAndrew; Glenn O'Brien; MaryAnne; ImkeStevens; Max Wainer; MaryAnn; and Erin B. Lillis.

Yeats makes no secret of his fascination and even belief in the world of the occult and the existence of faeries. His passion in these tales comes forth through the pages and adds a new dimension to these age-old tales.


"Let us go forth, the tellers of tales, and seize whatever prey the heart long for, and have no fear. Everything exists, everything is true, and the earth is only a little dust under our feet". W. B. Yeats

link to the free audiobook


Tuesday 3 February 2015

The Willows [by Algernon Blackwood]

The Willows is one of Algernon Blackwood's best known and creepiest stories. Many say it is his best and scariest. American horror author H.P. Lovecraft considered it to be the finest supernatural tale in English literature. Here art and restraint in narrative reach their very highest development, and an impression of lasting poignancy is produced without a single strained passage or a single false note. The Willows is an example of early modern horror and is connected within the literary tradition of weird fiction.

link to the free audiobook
The Willows [by Algernon Blackwood]


Monday 2 February 2015

The Happy Prince And Other Tales [by Oscar Wilde]

A collection of five stories by Oscar Wilde, all incorporating his inimitable style and wit. Sometimes sweet and uplifting, sometimes caustic and pointed, they all are well worth listening to. The Happy Prince is a beautiful tale about a statue of a prince, but one who can now see his city and kingdom and the sadness of his people. With the help of a little swallow he does what he can to help others. The Nightingale and the Rose is a tale of self sacrifice, selfishness and misunderstanding. The Selfish Giant learns a valuable lesson about the laughter of children, The Devoted Friend is a caustic tale about false friendship, and The Remarkable Rocket explores the self delusion of people (and rockets) who think the world revolves around them.

Read by Phil Chenevert

The Importance Of Being Earnest [by Oscar Wilde]

The Importance of Being Earnest is a classic comedy of manners, in which two flippant young men, in order to impress their respected beloveds, pretend that their names are "Ernest," which both young ladies believe confers magical qualities on the possessor. It was first performed for the public on February 14, 1895 at the St. James' Theatre in London, and is regarded by many critics and scholars as being the wittiest play in the English language. [Summary from Wikipedia.org]

Characters:
John Worthing, J.P. - Read by John Gonzalez
Algernon Moncrieff - Read by Gord Mackenzie
Rev. Canon Chasuble, D.D. - Read by Chris Goringe
Merriman, Butler - Read by Peter Yearsley
Lane, Manservant - Read by Hugh McGuire
Lady Bracknell - Read by Kristen McQuillin
Hon. Gwendolen Fairfax - Read by Deana
Cecily Cardew - Read by Kara Shallenberg
Miss Prism, Governess - Read by Sureka
Narrator - Read by Betsie Bush


link to the free audiobook


Monkey's Paw [by W. W. Jacobs]

The Monkey's Paw was written in 1902 by W.W. Jacobs. It's a dark brooding tale which promises from the start that the light you see at the end of the tunnel is actually an oncoming train. Mr and Mrs White of Laburnum Villas step out toward that light by taking up the three wishes granted to the owner of the Monkey's Paw. Terrible things have happened to previous owners of this artifact but surely the Whites will fare better than those who have gone before...

Read by: Peter Yearsley, David Barnes, Cori Samuel, Jim Mowatt and Stuart Pyle.



link to the free audiobook
Monkey's Paw [by W. W. Jacobs]