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Anne of Green Gables (dramatic reading)
Red-haired Anne Shirley, the orphan girl mistakenly sent to live with Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, has been one of the world's most beloved characters since the publication of Anne of Green Gables in 1908. In this dramatic reading, readers tell the story of Anne's adventures as she grows up on Prince Edward Island. -
Christmas Carol, A (Version 3)
Old miser Ebenezer Scrooge undergoes a major transformation after being visited by his deceased colleague Jacob Marley, who warns him to change his ways and has three spirits visit him on the night of Christmas Eve. -
Little Women (version 3)
This story follows the lives of four sisters Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy. Set in the tumultuous days of the American Civil war, readers grow to love the four sisters as they grow and mature into young women. This book has characters any girl can relate to because each of the four March sisters has a unique and different personality. A story that the young and old have enjoyed for years, this book truly is a classic. -
Dog's Tale, A
This short novel of Twain’s, from 1903, is told from the point of view of a loyal and beloved family pet. Themes of heroics, valor and heart-wrenching tenderness fill this work. The story is also filled with happy events as well as sad ones and is ultimately about what dogs are to us … best friends. A Dog’s Tale is quintessentially Twain. -
Vicar of Wakefield, The, version 2
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. No further recommendation is needed. Enjoy. -
What Maisie Knew
When Beale and Ida Farange are divorced, the court decrees that their only child, the very young Maisie, will shuttle back and forth between them, spending six months of the year with each. The parents are immoral and frivolous, and they use Maisie to intensify their hatred of each other. -
New Chronicles of Rebecca
This book tells further stories from the period of Rebecca's sojourn in Riverboro. -
Old Christmas
A tale of the quaint and old English traditions of celebrating Christmas. Irving travels to the English countryside and meets an old schoolmate, who invites him home to spend Christmas at the family estate. -
Chimes, The
The Chimes: A Goblin Story of Some Bells that Rang an Old Year Out and a New Year In is the second of Charles Dickens' Christmas books, published in 1844. Its contemporary setting is the "Hungry Forties", a time of social and political unrest, and the book has a strong moral message. It remained popular for many years, although its fame has since been eclipsed by that of A Christmas Carol, the first of the series.
Our hero Toby ("Trotty") Veck is a poor but hard-working man, whose beloved daughter Meg is due to marry on New Year's Day. Trotty, who is appalled by newspaper reports of crime and immorality, is further depressed by his encounters with the rich and influential Alderman Cute and Sir Joseph Bowley, who make him feel that the poor have no right to exist in society, and his daughter has no right to marry. Trotty hears messages in the chimes of the church bells, which lead him to visit the belfry at night on New Year's Eve... -
One Day More
A one-act play. Eccentric (crazy?) Captain Hagberd has been waiting for years for his son to come home from the sea. He has scrimped and saved, outfitting a house for Harry to inherit upon his return, which will be in only "one day more." He has also planned that Harry will marry Bessie, the repressed maiden next door. Note: The recording was done outside, so there will be some ambient noise (airplanes, lawn mowers, birds, children... etc). -
Domestic Bliss
This scene of 'Domestic Bliss' is from Poems of Cheer by Ella Wheeler Wilcox. (Pub 1914) -
Mother
With seven children and a home to take care of, Margaret wondered how her Mother could be so happy living a life that seemed all drudgery. As Margaret has new experiences, she comes to realize that "her mother was not only the truest, the finest, the most generous woman she had ever known, but the happiest as well". -
Spirit of Christmas, The (version 2)
A collection of short Christmas works by the author of The Story of the Fourth Wise Man -
Consequences
Set in late Victorian England, “Consequences” follows the life of Alexandra Clare, a girl born into an upper class Catholic London family. Raised from birth for the privileged life of a wife and mother, Alexandra never quite fits in with her or her family’s expectations and fails at seemingly everything she tries – school, the marriage market, family life. -
Whole Family: a Novel by Twelve Authors, The
A 1908 NaNoWriMo forerunner, told in twelve chapters, each with a different author. The basic plot was to show how an engagement or marriage would affect and be affected by an entire family. The project became somewhat curious for the way the authors' contentious interrelationships mirrored the sometimes dysfunctional family they described in their chapters. The collaboration may have been an uncomfortable one, but a final product did emerge with some clever and entertaining contributions from its often squabbling authors. -
That Mother-in-Law of Mine
Here we were, only a month married, and spending our honeymoon at a most charming summer resort, where there was no excuse for getting out of patience. Everything was beautiful and attractive: Little hotel, strange to say, quite delightful; no fault to find with surroundings and accommodations; my darling Bessie, as sweet as an angel and determined to be happy and to make me happy; everything, in short, calculated to give us a long summer of delight.
That is, if Bessie had only been an orphan. But there was her mother, who had joined us on our summer trip, after the first two weeks of unalloyed happiness, and threatened to accompany us through life. (excerpt from chapter 1)
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Trials and Confessions of a Housekeeper
Is housekeeping such a trial? Mrs. Smith thinks so and confesses all in this merry account of her escapades and near disasters! -
Prophet
The prophet Al Mustafa, before leaving the city where he has been living twelve years, stops to address the people. They call out for his words of wisdom on many sides of the human condition, and he addresses them in terms of love and care. He has much to offer from his observations of the people, and he illustrates with images they can relate to.The author, Gibran, was influenced by the Maronites, the Sufis, and the Baha’i. His philosophy, though deist, is primarily aimed at the good within ourselves, and the common-sense ways in which we can unlock it. An illustration from his chapter on Friendship:“And let your best be for your friend.If he must know the ebb of your tide, let him know its flood also.For what is your friend that you should seek him with hours to kill?Seek him always with hours to live.”The prophet’s gentle words have inspired their translation into over 108 languages. Listen to them with an open mind. You may find some burdens and frustrations hidden within you eased. -
Brothers Karamazov (version 2)
Described as the Great Book of Wonders by Arthur Miller, this everyday tale of fraternal affection, sibling rivalry, obsession, lust, parricide, family intrigue, spiritual faith, death by economic deprivation and ultimate salvation in the soul, boasts (among other wonders) the perfect role for Marilyn Monroe, had Arthur only ever written the play. Madness, murder, mayhem and the courtroom drama to end all courtroom dramas it may be, but it is also (strangely) hilariously funny. It's all in the point of view. -
Madame Bovary (Version 2)
Written over a century and a half ago, Madame Bovary is still an extraordinarily fresh, exciting and shockingly frank novel, at once an acute psychological study of a woman drawn into adultery through circumstances we can partly understand, and a sharply-observed comedy that offers a fascinating glimpse of the social and cultural divisions running through French provincial society in the mid nineteenth century. This translation is by Eleanor Marx-Aveling, a prominent social activist and literary translator. She was the youngest daughter of Karl Marx. -
Woman in White - version 2
Possibly Wilkie Collins' most famous novel, The Woman In White remade the Gothic Horror novel by taking its characters and tropes and setting them in commonplace surroundings among "people like us", Featuring unforgettable characters such as the incomparable Count Fosco and the redoubtable Marion Halcombe (a woman for whom male Victorian readers politely inquired of Wilkie the address as they wanted to marry her), The Woman In White with its compassionate treatment of those suffering mental distress ought to be credited with having put the cause of mental health care a hundred years ahead - had not Jane Eyre with its madwoman in the attic been generally credited with the reverse. Read it for the female doubling central plot device alone - a rare feature in the writing of men about women. -
Rilla of Ingleside (version 2)
Rilla of Ingleside (1921) is the final book in the Anne of Green Gables series by Lucy Maud Montgomery, but was the sixth of the eight "Anne" novels she wrote. This book draws the focus back onto a single character, Anne and Gilbert's youngest daughter Bertha Marilla "Rilla" Blythe. It has a more serious tone, as it takes place during World War I and the three Blythe boys -- Jem, Walter, and Shirley -- along with Rilla's sweetheart Ken Ford, and playmates Jerry Meredith and Carl Meredith -- end up fighting in Europe with the Canadian Expeditionary Force. -
Rainbow Valley
Rainbow Valley, the seventh book in the Anne of Green Gables series explores the world of Anne & Gilbert’s six children along with the exploits of the Merediths, the children of the town’s new minister. With no mother and an absent-minded father, the Meredith children are not being properly brought up. This leads to their many adventures causing the ladies of the town to gossip, risking their father's job. These kind-hearted, but misguided children fumble their way through bringing themselves up, and learn about life and love along the way -
Cane
Reading this book, I had a vision of a land, heretofore sunk in the mists of muteness, suddenly rising up into the eminence of song. Innumerable books have been written about the South; some good books have been written in the South. This book is the South. . . . . Part One is the primitive and evanescent world of Georgia. Part Two is the threshing and suffering brown world of Washington. . . . Part Three is Georgia again . . . this black womb of the ferment seed: the neurotic, educated, spiritually stirring Negro. From the Forward by Waldo Frank -
Wives and Daughters (solo version)
Elizabeth Gaskell's last novel was serialized in Cornhill Magazine from 1864 to 1866, and completed by her editor posthumously. It looks at English life in the 1830s through the experiences of Molly Gibson, the daughter of a widowed doctor growing up in the provincial town of Hollingford. When Mr. Gibson decides to marry again, Molly is forced to contend with a pretentious stepmother, but consoled by a close friendship with Cynthia, her new stepsister. The girls' relations with the local residents, particularly the Squire of Hamley Hall and his family, make for incidents comic, romantic, and tragic, by turns. -
Wives and Daughters (Dramatic Reading)
Molly and her father have lived alone since the death of her mother. Now Mr Gibson decides it will be in Molly's best interests for him to marry again. The new "Mama" brings to the household many changes, including a glamorous new step-sister. Mrs Gibson starts scheming to have Cynthia marry one of the sons of the local squire, but she does not understand Cynthia's reluctance or why Molly is meeting Mr Preston in the forest. Secrets, love affairs and society gossip abound in this social commentary novel written by Mrs Gaskell (author of North and South and Mary Barton). Love across the class divide, love of parents for children and step-children, love which is a 'heated fancy', love between sisters, and sincere self-sacrificing love of one person for another whether brother or beloved - all are delicately and delightfully drawn in this masterpiece of 19th century literature, and all are brought to life in this dramatic reading with a stunning cast of voices. -
Old-Fashioned Girl (Version 3 Dramatic Reading)
When country girl Polly Milton comes to visit her friend Fanny Shaw, city life isn’t all she had hoped it would be. Thrown in the middle of a dysfunctional family, Polly remembers the teachings of her wise mother, and does her best to plant seeds of cheerfulness, honesty, and respect -- and teaching virtue by example.
Four years later, Polly returns to scratch out a living as a music teacher, but finds herself mixed up in much more than piano lessons. Through heartache and love triangles, temptation and tragedy, Polly’s story shows that even the dreams of old-fashioned girls can come true. -
Eight Cousins (Version 3)
Eight Cousins, or The Aunt-Hill was published in 1875 by American novelist Louisa May Alcott. It is the story of Rose Campbell, a lonely and sickly girl who has been recently orphaned and must now reside with her maiden great aunts, who are the matriarchs of her wealthy Boston family. When Rose's guardian, Uncle Alec, returns from abroad, he takes over her care. She is suddenly confronted with a male guardian and seven male cousins, none of whom she knows well. -
Homesteader
The Homesteader is a semi-autobiographic novel about Jean Baptiste, an African-American homesteader in the Dakotas. He meets Agnes who he falls in love with, however as Agnes is presumed to be white, he is not allowed to marry her, so instead he marries the daughter of a black preacher, Orlean, which eventually, due to family issues, ends in a tragedy. Returning to his homestead, he finds Agnes again and discovers her upbringing and past, which brings the book to its conclusion. -
Doctor Thorne (version 2)
This is the third book in The Chronicles of Barsetshire, the first two being The Warden and Barchester Towers; however, although some characters from the first two books are referred to, there is no need to read/ listen to them first to enjoy Dr. Thorne.
It is mainly concerned with the romantic problems of Mary Thorne, niece of Doctor Thomas Thorne (a member of a junior branch of the family of Mr. Wilfred Thorne, who appeared in Barchester Towers), and Frank Gresham, the only son of the local squire, although Trollope as the omniscient narrator assures the reader at the beginning that the hero is really the doctor.
Themes of the book are the social pain and exclusion caused by illegitimacy, the nefarious effects of the demon drink and the difficulties of romantic attachments outside one's social class. The novel also gives a vivid picture of electioneering and all the barely legal shenanigans that accompany the event. Most of the action takes place in a village of Barsetshire and a country house not far off.When their father dies, Doctor Thomas Thorne and his younger, ne'er-do-well brother Henry are left to fend for themselves. Doctor Thorne begins to establish a medical practice, while Henry seduces Mary Scatcherd, the sister of stonemason Roger Scatcherd. When Scatcherd finds out that Mary has become pregnant, he seeks out Henry and kills him in a fight.
While her brother is in prison, Mary gives birth to a girl. A former suitor offers to marry her and emigrate to the United States to start a new life but refuses to take the baby. Doctor Thorne persuades her to accept the generous offer, promising to raise his niece. He names her Mary Thorne but wishing neither to have her illegitimacy made public nor to have her associate with the uncouth Roger Scatcherd, he keeps her birth secret. He tells Scatcherd that the baby had died.
After his release, Scatcherd rises quickly in the world as a railway project undertaker. In time, his skills make him extremely rich. When he completes a seemingly-impossible important project on time, he is made a baronet for his efforts. Throughout his career, he entrusts his financial affairs to Doctor Thorne. When Thorne becomes the family doctor to the Greshams, he persuades Scatcherd to lend ever growing sums to the head of the family, the local squire, who has troubles managing his finances. Eventually, much of the Gresham estate is put up as collateral. -
What Katy Did (Dramatic Reading)
Katy Carr always gets in trouble for everything. When her mother died, she told Katy to be a mother to the little ones. But it seems like Katy can't do anything right. Her Aunt Izzie always scolds her, so one day Katy decides to ignore her aunt's command and ride the swing in the barn. Suddenly, something cracks, Katy feels like she's falling, and everything goes dark. -
What Katy Did at School (version 2 Dramatic Reading)
Following Katy's recovery in What Katy Did, Katy and Clover go to Hillsover, a boarding school. Together with their new friend Rosamond Redding, or "Rose Red", they form a Society for the Suppression of Unladylike Conduct--but then they are accused of sending notes to a boy outside the school. Katy and Clover know they have nothing to do with it, but can they prove their innocence to the teachers and principal before they are expelled? -
Diana of the Crossways
Inspired by the real life story of Caroline Norton, a friend of the author's, this book tells about a lively woman who is trapped in a miserable marriage. Yet Diana is not one to give up in her quest for love, happiness and fulfillment. -
Cloudy Jewel
Julia Cloud, the oldest--and most responsible--child of her family, helped raise her four siblings due to their mother's long-time illness and father's death. After faithfully nursing two ill brothers (who died), she then cared for her invalid mother for many years. When Julia's mother passes on, her only surviving sibling Ellen fully expects--and nearly demands--that her spinster sister come live with her family. But to earn her keep, Julia must be their live-in housekeeper and babysitter for Ellen's four children. But Julia's college-age niece and nephew arrive unexpectedly from California and offer Aunt Cloudy Jewel a surprise opportunity she never expected in her wildest dreams. -
Marcia Schuyler
A compelling love triangle. Marcia is young and sweet. Her older sister Kate is vain and selfish. Marcia deeply admires the man that Kate is to marry: handsome and respected David Spafford. But on the eve of the wedding, Kate elopes with another man. Marcia is there when the note is found...the note that effectively breaks David's heart. Out of pity for his situation, Marcia offers to take Kate's place, in order to save David from humiliation. She grows in love for him, all the while aware that he's still grieving for his lost Kate. What will happen when Kate returns, fully intending to get David back? Will Marcia have the strength to fight for the man she now loves? -
So Big
The story of Selina DeJong and her son Dirk, whom she affectionately calls So Big. After the death of her husband, Selina raises So Big on her own while managing her deceased husband's farm in Illinois. When So Big grows up, he moves to Chicago, where he finds himself drawn to the fast-money stock-broker lifestyle of the 1920s. So Big is conflicted: he wants to live in the world of speculation and finance, but he's aware that his mother (and his love interest, an artist) are disappointed that he hasn't lived up to the hard-working, hardscrabble values instilled by his mother. -
Still - William
More humorous adventures (1925) by the world’s most misunderstood English boy. -
Tom and Some Other Girls: A Public School Story
Impetuous, self-centered Rhoda goes to boarding school and learns hard lessons. This is a story of recklessness and forgiveness. -
Story Of A Needle
A story told, through the viewpoint of a sewing needle, about family life and siblings. The narration from the needle tells how he was made and witnesses the relationships within the family. The needle also makes friends with a thimble and some scissors. -
Cradock Nowell Vol. 1
Cradock Nowell: a Tale of the New Forest is a three-volume novel by R. D. Blackmore published in 1866. Set in the New Forest and in London, it follows the fortunes of Cradock Nowell who is thrown out of his family home by his father following the suspicious death of Cradock's twin brother Clayton. It was Blackmore's second novel, and the novel he wrote prior to his most famous work Lorna Doone. -
Egoist
The Egoist is a tragi-comical novel by George Meredith published in 1879. The novel recounts the story of self-absorbed Sir Willoughby Patterne and his attempts at marriage; jilted by his first bride-to-be, he vacillates between the sentimental Laetitia Dale and the strong-willed Clara Middleton. More importantly, the novel follows Clara's attempts to escape from her engagement to Sir Willoughby, who desires women to serve as a mirror for him and consequently cannot understand why she would not want to marry him. Thus, The Egoist dramatizes the difficulty contingent upon being a woman in Victorian society, when women's bodies and minds are trafficked between fathers and husbands to cement male bonds. -
Cricket on the Hearth, The
John Peerybingle, a carrier, lives with his wife Dot (who is much younger than he), their baby, their nanny Tilly Slowboy, and a mysterious lodger. A cricket constantly chirps on the hearth and acts as a guardian angel to the family, at one point assuming a human voice to warn John that his suspicions that Dot is having an affair with the lodger are wrong.
The life of the Peerybingles frequently intersects with that of Caleb Plummer, a poor toymaker employed by the miser Mr. Tackleton. Caleb has a blind daughter Bertha and a son Edward, who travelled to South America and seemingly never returned. Tackleton is now on the eve of marrying Edward's sweetheart, May.
In the end, the lodger is revealed to be none other than Edward. Tackleton's heart is melted by the Christmas season, like Ebeneezer Scrooge, and surrenders May to marry her true love. It is suggested ambiguously that Bertha regains her sight at the end. (Wikipedia)
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Laddie
Based on the author's own life, this book tells the story of "little sister". The youngest of eleven, she is unwanted in the beginning. The brother who loved her most, and whom she loved most in the world, is Laddie. She is almost lonely, and it's hard for her to study, so her comfort is nature. In an unforgettable way, which is funny and sad, little sister tells us her story. -
Family Man
John Builder is a solid, middle-class Englishman. He is very domineering but finds that the women around him are insistent on living their own lives. They will not let him take control. His world begins to fall apart around him -
Aunt Crete's Emancipation
Aunt Lucretia — 'Crete' to her family — is a sweet, patient older woman, who lives with her narrow-minded sister and spoilt niece, acting as their unpaid and unappreciated domestic servant. When they leave town in order to avoid the unexpected visit of a "backwoods" cousin, she is left at home to welcome him. She's willing to love him whatever he's like, and he's looking for a home having lost his mother years before, so the two are ready to become fast friends. But what does that mean for Aunt Crete's prejudiced relatives and how can their wrongs against her be remedied? -
William -- The Fourth
The world’s most confident, most chaos-creating eleven year old boy is at it again in these fourteen glorious and funny 1924 short stories. -
Fairy Prince and Other Stories
A charming family story told from the viewpoint of a nine-year-old girl. “You don't seem to understand," I whispered. "It's Christmas relationships that are worrying Carol and me so! It worries us dreadfully! Oh, of course we understand all about the Little Baby Christ! And the camels! And the wise men! And the frankincense! That's easy! But who is Santa Claus? Unless—unless—?" It was Carol himself who signaled me to go on. "Unless—he's the Baby Christ's grandfather?" I thought Derry Willard looked a little bit startled. Carol's ears turned bright red. "Oh, of course—we meant on his mother's side!" I hastened to assure him.” - Quote from the book. -
By The Turtles of Tasman
Turn of the century sibling rivalry between successful but uptight California businessman and his ne'er-do-well older brother, both widowers with equally-different 20-ish daughters. Written in 1911. -
Victorian Short Stories of Troubled Marriages
A delightful collection of short stories by some of the luminary authors of the Victorian era. These stories explore the truth behind the Victorian marriage. -
Stories of Troubled Marriages
Anyone who is, or has been, married knows that marriage takes work. While some marriages may be 'made in heaven', others, quite simply, are not. This short anthology comprises stories of the second variety, as expounded by some of our favorite authors: Conan Doyle, Gissing, Kipling, D'Arcy and Morrison. -
Bilingual Versions - Alice's in Wonderland (English – Spanish)
This book tells of a girl named Alice falling through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world populated by peculiar, anthropomorphic creatures.