Classic Audiobook Collection

The Return of the Soldier by Rebecca West audiobook. Genre: dramaIn the shadow of World War I, life at Baldry Court seems settled: Captain Chris Baldry is away at the front, his elegant wife Kitty maintains the routines of privilege, and Chris' cousin Jenny narrates from the quiet center of the household. Then Chris returns home - not as the man they remember, but as a soldier shaken by shell shock and missing years of his life. His memory has slipped back to an earlier time, erasing his marriage and the careful identity the family has built around him. The shock of his condition cracks open long-buried tensions: Kitty's polished control gives way to desperation, Jenny confronts her own unspoken devotion to Chris, and an unexpected figure from Chris' past arrives with a claim that cannot be ignored. As doctors, loved ones, and social expectations press for a cure, the women of Baldry Court must decide what 'recovery' really means - and what it may cost. Rebecca West's poignant, psychologically sharp novel explores the collisions between love and duty, class and authenticity, and the wounds war inflicts far beyond the battlefield.For ad-free listening try our premium subscription Chapters (Approximate)(00:00:00) Chapter 01(00:27:57) Chapter 02(00:57:47) Chapter 03(01:12:45) Chapter 04(01:46:46) Chapter 05(02:11:50) Chapter 06 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Life in the Iron Mills by Rebecca Harding Davis audiobook. Genre: dramaIn a smoky industrial town where the furnaces never seem to cool, Life in the Iron Mills follows Hugh Wolfe, a weary mill hand whose days are measured in heat, soot, and exhaustion. Gifted with a sculptor's eye but trapped by poverty, Hugh works alongside his cousin Deborah, a quiet, fiercely devoted woman who endures long hours and constant hardship simply to stay near him. When a group of wealthy visitors tours the mill, their casual curiosity collides with the workers' relentless reality, and Hugh is briefly pulled into a world that can admire his talent without offering him a way out. As the gulf between classes becomes impossible to ignore, Hugh and Deborah face a tightening web of hunger, ambition, shame, and desperation. Told through a sharp, compassionate narrator who asks the listener to look closely at lives society prefers to overlook, this landmark realist novella confronts the human cost of industrial progress and the question of what becomes of genius when it is born in chains.For ad-free listening try our premium subscription Chapters (Approximate)(00:00:00) Chapter 1(00:26:21) Chapter 2(00:56:00) Chapter 3 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Children of Odin by Padraic Colum audiobook. Genre: folkloreMaster storyteller Padraic Colum's rich, musical voice captures all the magic and majesty of the Norse sagas in his retellings of the adventures of the gods and goddesses who lived in the Northern paradise of Asgard before the dawn of history. Here are the matchless tales of All-Father Odin, who crosses the Rainbow Bridge to walk among men in Midgard and sacrifices his right eye to drink from the Well of Wisdom; of Thor, whose mighty hammer defends Asgard; of Loki, whose mischievous cunning leads him to treachery against the gods; of giants, dragons, dwarfs and Valkyries; and of the terrible last battle that destroyed their world.For ad-free listening try our premium subscription Chapters (Approximate)(00:00:00) Chapter 01(00:14:33) Chapter 02(00:35:33) Chapter 03(00:45:58) Chapter 04(01:01:41) Chapter 05(01:12:16) Chapter 06(01:27:07) Chapter 07(01:46:45) Chapter 08(01:54:47) Chapter 09(02:05:59) Chapter 10(02:22:37) Chapter 11(02:43:13) Chapter 12(02:55:46) Chapter 13(03:13:04) Chapter 14(03:33:20) Chapter 15(03:50:33) Chapter 16(04:04:35) Chapter 17(04:13:33) Chapter 18(04:32:47) Chapter 19(04:38:59) Chapter 20(04:52:16) Chapter 21(05:02:34) Chapter 22(05:15:27) Chapter 23(05:30:32) Chapter 24(05:46:27) Chapter 25(05:59:23) Chapter 26(06:13:15) Chapter 27 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Adventures of Odysseus and the Tale of Troy by Padraic Colum audiobook. Genre: folklorePadraic Colum retells two of the ancient world's most enduring legends with a storyteller's clarity and momentum: the siege of Troy and the long, perilous homecoming of Odysseus. Beginning with the tangled rivalries and vows that draw Greek kings to the walls of Troy, the narrative introduces larger-than-life heroes and tragic choices on both sides, while the gods watch, argue, and intervene for reasons that are never purely noble. From the clash of champions and the testing of pride to the clever strategies that decide battles, the war becomes a crucible where honor and ambition constantly collide. When Troy's fate is sealed, the focus shifts to Odysseus, a warrior defined less by brute strength than by quick wits and stubborn endurance. His journey across wine-dark seas brings him face-to-face with monstrous dangers, enchanting islands, treacherous hospitality, and temptations that threaten to erase his name and his purpose. At its heart, this is a tale about courage under pressure, the cost of glory, and the fierce, sustaining pull of home and identity.For ad-free listening try our premium subscription Chapters (Approximate)(00:00:00) Chapter 01(00:12:11) Chapter 02(00:18:00) Chapter 03(00:26:59) Chapter 04(00:39:09) Chapter 05(00:48:18) Chapter 06(01:02:05) Chapter 07(01:13:06) Chapter 08(01:24:04) Chapter 09(01:31:34) Chapter 10(01:43:28) Chapter 11(01:55:25) Chapter 12(02:05:56) Chapter 13(02:18:17) Chapter 14(02:29:47) Chapter 15(02:39:48) Chapter 16(02:50:03) Chapter 17(03:00:19) Chapter 18(03:17:34) Chapter 19(03:31:01) Chapter 20(03:39:20) Chapter 21(03:49:57) Chapter 22(03:56:47) Chapter 23(04:07:30) Chapter 24(04:14:51) Chapter 25(04:25:48) Chapter 26(04:34:41) Chapter 27(04:48:18) Chapter 28(05:01:31) Chapter 29(05:11:41) Chapter 30 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Not George Washington by P. G. Wodehouse audiobook. Genre: comedyBefore Jeeves, before Blandings, P. G. Wodehouse turned his comic eye on the making of a writer. Co-written with Herbert Westbrook, Not George Washington follows James Orlebar Cloyster, a mild-mannered young man with big literary ambitions and a talent for presenting himself as far more upright than his actions suggest. Through a brisk, multi-voiced narrative, we watch Cloyster navigate early jobs, journalistic hustle, and the temptations of quick success in London, while his romantic entanglement with Margaret Goodwin adds both warmth and complication to his plans. As friends, rivals, and would-be benefactors tell their sides of the story, the picture that emerges is less a heroic rise than a wry study of how reputation is manufactured - and how easily people bend the truth when applause, money, or simple gratification is at stake. Part lightly fictionalized memoir and part satire of literary posturing, this early Wodehouse novel sparkles with sharp social observation, playful shifts in perspective, and a central question: what does it really take to become somebody, if you are not exactly George Washington?For ad-free listening try our premium subscription Chapters (Approximate)(00:00:00) Chapter 01(00:11:00) Chapter 02(00:20:59) Chapter 03(00:32:57) Chapter 04(00:45:30) Chapter 05(00:56:05) Chapter 06(01:07:00) Chapter 07(01:16:43) Chapter 08(01:26:07) Chapter 09(01:35:30) Chapter 10(01:46:35) Chapter 11(02:00:54) Chapter 12(02:14:51) Chapter 13(02:30:56) Chapter 14(02:38:58) Chapter 15(02:45:43) Chapter 16(02:52:04) Chapter 17(02:58:33) Chapter 18(03:11:07) Chapter 19(03:21:15) Chapter 20(03:40:27) Chapter 21(03:46:54) Chapter 22(03:58:43) Chapter 23(04:08:29) Chapter 24(04:19:49) Chapter 25(04:29:46) Chapter 26(04:39:05) Chapter 27(04:48:23) Chapter 28(04:59:31) Chapter 29 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Early History of the Airplane by Orville and Wilbur Wright audiobook. Genre: historyThe Brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright made the first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air flight, on 17th December 1903. They were not the first to build and fly aircraft, but they invented the controls that were necessary for a pilot to steer the aircraft, which made fixed wing powered flight possible. The Early History of the Airplane consists of three short essays about the beginnings of human flight. The second essay retells the first flight: This flight lasted only 12 seconds, but it was nevertheless the first in the history of the world in which a machine carrying a man had raised itself by its own power into the air in full flight, had sailed forward without reduction of speed and had finally landed at a point as high as that from which it started.For ad-free listening try our premium subscription Chapters (Approximate)(00:00:00) Chapter 1(00:33:07) Chapter 2(00:59:19) Chapter 3 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Quicksand by Nella Larsen audiobook. Genre: dramaIn 1920s America and Europe, Helga Crane moves through elegant parlors, classrooms, and crowded streets with a restless sense that she never quite belongs. The daughter of a Black father and a white mother, Helga is sharp-eyed, proud, and hungry for a life that feels truthful - yet every community she enters demands she trim herself to fit. When she leaves a restrictive Southern school, her search for independence carries her north to Harlem's glittering social world, then onward to spaces where race, class, faith, and desire tighten into new kinds of rules. Helga's intelligence and beauty open doors, but they also invite scrutiny, projection, and loneliness, forcing her to confront how quickly admiration can turn into control. As she reaches for love, security, and self-definition, she must decide what she is willing to sacrifice - and what she cannot. Taut, psychologically incisive, and quietly devastating, Quicksand traces one woman's struggle against the shifting expectations placed on her body, her ambitions, and her identity, capturing the seductive promises and hidden costs of belonging.For ad-free listening try our premium subscription Chapters (Approximate)(00:00:00) Chapter 01(00:22:03) Chapter 02(00:34:48) Chapter 03(00:48:57) Chapter 04(00:59:34) Chapter 05(01:07:55) Chapter 06(01:21:27) Chapter 07(01:34:00) Chapter 08(01:43:15) Chapter 09(01:56:59) Chapter 10(02:06:51) Chapter 11(02:18:21) Chapter 12(02:28:01) Chapter 13(02:42:10) Chapter 14(03:01:45) Chapter 15(03:23:47) Chapter 16(03:32:33) Chapter 17(03:39:52) Chapter 18(03:55:07) Chapter 19(04:03:26) Chapter 20(04:16:20) Chapter 21(04:23:05) Chapter 22(04:33:55) Chapter 23(04:43:02) Chapter 24(04:57:13) Chapter 25 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Passing by Nella Larsen audiobook. Genre: dramaIn 1920s New York, Irene Redfield has built a careful life: a respected place in Harlem society, a comfortable home, and a firm commitment to the world she has chosen. Everything shifts when a chance encounter brings back Clare Kendry, a dazzling childhood acquaintance who has been living on the other side of the color line. Clare's decision to pass as white has given her access to wealth and safety, but it has also trapped her in a marriage and a social world where the truth could be catastrophic. Drawn to Irene's community and hungry for connection, Clare pushes her way back into Irene's orbit, unsettling friendships, marriages, and Irene's sense of control. As the two women circle each other, Larsen builds a tense, intimate portrait of desire, envy, fear, and the costs of performance, showing how race, class, and gender shape what a person can risk and what they must hide. Passing is a sharp Harlem Renaissance classic that turns a single reunion into a haunting study of identity and the fragile boundaries that hold a life together.For ad-free listening try our premium subscription Chapters (Approximate)(00:00:00) Chapter 01(00:07:25) Chapter 02(00:48:40) Chapter 03(01:17:41) Chapter 04(01:21:12) Chapter 05(01:43:37) Chapter 06(02:08:44) Chapter 07(02:18:09) Chapter 08(02:24:21) Chapter 09(02:48:41) Chapter 10(02:55:36) Chapter 11(03:02:27) Chapter 12 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Dolliver Romance and Other Pieces by Nathaniel Hawthorne audiobook. Genre: romanceThis post-humous collection of stories, sketches and essays by celebrated quintessential New England author Nathaniel Hawthorne gives us glimpses of the many different facets of Hawthorne's personality. The titular tale The Dolliver Romance was an unfinished manuscript that was edited and prepared for publication after Hawthorne's death and relates the story of an aged man with a small child in his care who swallows a magical tincture daily that rejuvenates his vitality, reversing the aging process. Also in a more fantastical vein are the stories 'The Ancient Ring', a legend told of a ring cursed, and 'Graves a Goblins', a wryly humorous and moving tale from the point of view of a ghost. In addition, found within are non-fiction essays such as 'Sketches from Memory' and 'My Trip to Niagara' where Hawthorne evokes a sense of place and time in a most remarkable and vivid fashion. We also see Hawthorne's somber, allegorical side in stories such as 'Fragments from the Journal of a Solitary Man' and 'The Old Woman's Tale', stories told with a nuanced touch. For fans of Hawthorne, this collection provides a last look at various works a master storyteller has given so generously.For ad-free listening try our premium subscription Chapters (Approximate)(00:00:00) Chapter 01(00:33:57) Chapter 02(00:58:49) Chapter 03(01:34:50) Chapter 04(01:48:36) Chapter 05(02:22:07) Chapter 06(02:39:08) Chapter 07(03:09:27) Chapter 08(03:28:39) Chapter 09(03:47:31) Chapter 10(04:25:23) Chapter 11(04:47:10) Chapter 12(05:05:09) Chapter 13 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Blithedale Romance by Nathaniel Hawthorne audiobook. Genre: romanceThe Blithedale Romance is the story of four principal characters who work with -- and sometimes against -- each other on Blithedale, a communal farm antecedent to those that sprang up later in the 1960s, and similar to one on which Hawthorne himself lived in 1841. These communes arose out of the pressures on society and the individual brought by the Industrial Revolution. Some were organized around religious philosophies, some were secular. Among the secularists, the Transcendental movement mentioned in the novel espoused the idea that the individual's intuition, rather than religious dogma, was the true path to spiritual enlightenment. Our four characters, like so many who fled to these communes, struggle to free mankind from bondage as they struggle with the unaccustomed day-to-day tasks of farm life. But they are plagued by a mystery that follows them from the world, and ultimately leads to tragedy. For ad-free listening try our premium subscription Chapters (Approximate)(00:00:00) Chapter 00(00:05:41) Chapter 01(00:14:24) Chapter 02(00:25:27) Chapter 03(00:44:33) Chapter 04(01:02:38) Chapter 05(01:17:41) Chapter 06(01:39:51) Chapter 07(01:58:59) Chapter 08(02:24:42) Chapter 09(02:52:30) Chapter 10(03:08:13) Chapter 11(03:27:23) Chapter 12(03:43:36) Chapter 13(04:08:09) Chapter 14(04:33:07) Chapter 15(04:51:36) Chapter 16(05:08:48) Chapter 17(05:25:51) Chapter 18(05:40:06) Chapter 19(05:57:56) Chapter 20(06:09:16) Chapter 21(06:25:46) Chapter 22(06:52:35) Chapter 23(07:15:16) Chapter 24(07:34:56) Chapter 25(07:53:25) Chapter 26(08:08:33) Chapter 27(08:26:56) Chapter 28(08:41:45) Chapter 29 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices