Classic Audiobook Collection

Rappaccini's Daughter by Nathaniel Hawthorne audiobook. Genre: tragedyIn a shadowed corner of old Padua, a young scholar named Giovanni Guasconti arrives to continue his studies and finds himself drawn to a mysterious garden unlike any he has ever seen. Tended by the brilliant and secretive Dr. Rappaccini, the walled enclosure blooms with vivid, almost unnatural beauty - and an undercurrent of danger that seems to cling to every leaf and petal. From his window, Giovanni glimpses Beatrice, Rappaccini's secluded daughter, moving among the plants with an eerie grace, as if she belongs to the garden as much as it belongs to her. As Giovanni's fascination turns to love, he is pulled into a tense struggle between devotion and suspicion, innocence and experience, and the competing ambitions of men who claim to act in the name of science and mercy. With its intoxicating atmosphere and moral unease, Hawthorne's tale explores obsession, the costs of tampering with nature, and the tragic consequences of trying to possess or purify what we do not fully understand.For ad-free listening try our premium subscription Chapters (Approximate)(00:00:00) Chapter 1(00:24:20) Chapter 2(00:55:21) Chapter 3 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our Old Home by Nathaniel Hawthorne audiobook. Genre: historyIn Our Old Home, Nathaniel Hawthorne turns a diplomat's posting into a quietly sharp-eyed journey through the landscapes, streets, and social rituals of mid-19th-century England. Writing as an American abroad, Hawthorne wanders from foggy port cities to country lanes and ancient manor grounds, lingering over everyday scenes that reveal a nation shaped by tradition, class, and history. He observes public ceremonies and private manners with a mix of curiosity, restraint, and occasional impatience, weighing the comfort of inherited culture against the stifling pull of convention. Along the way, he revisits places and stories that have long haunted the American imagination, testing romantic expectations against what he actually finds: weathered stone, bustling commerce, guarded courtesies, and the persistent presence of the past. Part travelogue, part cultural portrait, and part personal reflection, these sketches explore what it means to call a place home when your roots and your ideals belong to a newer world. The central tension is Hawthorne's own: admiration and skepticism, nostalgia and distance, as he tries to understand the old country without surrendering his American self.For ad-free listening try our premium subscription Chapters (Approximate)(00:00:00) Chapter 01(00:29:15) Chapter 02(01:02:06) Chapter 03(01:25:39) Chapter 04(01:47:05) Chapter 05(02:19:16) Chapter 06(02:48:12) Chapter 07(03:14:13) Chapter 08(03:47:36) Chapter 09(04:23:48) Chapter 10(05:06:54) Chapter 11(05:41:34) Chapter 12(06:09:19) Chapter 13(06:35:57) Chapter 14(07:08:15) Chapter 15(07:56:47) Chapter 16(08:32:03) Chapter 17(09:08:17) Chapter 18(09:42:18) Chapter 19(10:28:42) Chapter 20(11:06:48) Chapter 21(11:45:38) Chapter 22(12:08:44) Chapter 23(12:32:08) Chapter 24 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Colonial Days by Nathaniel Hawthorne audiobook. Genre: folkloreIn Colonial Days gathers four linked tales that turn Boston's Old Province House into a doorway to New England's haunted past. A modern-day visitor, drawn off bustling Washington Street into the inn that once housed royal governors, listens as the building's creaking halls and fading portraits seem to summon earlier occupants: British officers and loyalist grandees, wary townspeople, and solitary figures whose private choices collide with public judgment. In 'Howe's Masquerade,' the gaiety of a grand ball strains against the unease of a city on the brink. 'Edward Randolph's Portrait' lingers on the power a face in a frame can hold over those who fear scrutiny and remember old wrongs. 'Lady Eleanore's Mantle' follows a proud noblewoman whose glittering arrival tests the boundaries between rank, charity, and responsibility. And 'Old Esther Dudley' centers on a woman clinging to vanished authority as history moves on without her. With Hawthorne's signature blend of moral inquiry and spectral atmosphere, these stories explore memory, guilt, status, and the uneasy inheritance of colonial rule.For ad-free listening try our premium subscription Chapters (Approximate)(00:00:00) Chapter 01(00:30:51) Chapter 02(00:57:43) Chapter 03(01:30:43) Chapter 04 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A Wonder Book for Girls and Boys by Nathaniel Hawthorne audiobook. Genre: folkloreIn A Wonder Book for Girls and Boys, Nathaniel Hawthorne invites young listeners into a lively, story-within-a-story gathering where a kindly college student, Eustace Bright, entertains a group of children at an old country house called Tanglewood. As the days pass, Eustace spins fresh, approachable retellings of famous Greek myths, shaping ancient heroes and monsters into vivid adventures that feel close to a child's world. You will meet brave Perseus as he faces fearful odds, watch Hercules struggle with overwhelming tasks, and follow other figures whose courage, curiosity, and mistakes echo familiar growing-up lessons. Hawthorne balances wonder with warmth, mixing playful humor, gentle suspense, and clear moral questions without turning the tales into lectures. Beneath the magic shields, winged sandals, and enchanted gardens runs a steady theme: how to act when strength is tested, when temptation appears, and when kindness matters most. Perfect for families and classrooms, this collection makes timeless mythology welcoming, memorable, and full of heart.For ad-free listening try our premium subscription Chapters (Approximate)(00:00:00) Chapter 00(00:02:52) Chapter 01(00:26:18) Chapter 02(00:47:00) Chapter 03(01:03:47) Chapter 04(01:24:40) Chapter 05(01:48:29) Chapter 06(02:11:45) Chapter 07(02:28:42) Chapter 08(02:54:19) Chapter 09(03:22:40) Chapter 10(03:46:13) Chapter 11(04:09:58) Chapter 12(04:38:53) Chapter 13 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Journal of Lewis and Clark by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark audiobook. Genre: historyThe expedition of Messrs. Lewis and Clark, for exploring the river Missouri, and the best communication from that to the Pacific Ocean, has had all the success which could be expected. They have traced the Missouri nearly to its source; descended the Columbia to the Pacific Ocean, ascertained with accuracy the Geography, of that interesting communication across the continent; learned the character of the country, its commerce and inhabitants; and it is but justice to say that Messrs. Lewis and Clark, and their brave companions, have, by this arduous service, deserved well of their country.For ad-free listening try our premium subscription Chapters (Approximate)(00:00:00) Chapter 01(00:04:31) Chapter 02(00:17:11) Chapter 03(00:19:23) Chapter 04(00:36:54) Chapter 05(00:42:20) Chapter 06(00:52:56) Chapter 07(01:07:10) Chapter 08(01:44:50) Chapter 09(01:54:47) Chapter 10(02:20:06) Chapter 11(02:59:49) Chapter 12(03:05:41) Chapter 13(03:20:25) Chapter 14(03:37:27) Chapter 15(04:00:23) Chapter 16(04:17:34) Chapter 17(04:35:55) Chapter 18(04:42:03) Chapter 19(04:50:12) Chapter 20(05:09:39) Chapter 21(05:27:50) Chapter 22(06:17:15) Chapter 23(06:46:28) Chapter 24(07:17:28) Chapter 25(07:51:49) Chapter 26(08:29:01) Chapter 27(08:42:45) Chapter 28 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands by Mary Seacole audiobook. Genre: biographyIn Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands, Mary Seacole tells her own story with wit, candor, and an unshakable sense of purpose. Born in Jamaica to a free woman of color who kept a boarding house and practiced healing, Seacole grows up learning herbal remedies, nursing skills, and the art of caring for travelers far from home. Restless and ambitious, she crosses oceans and borders, moving between the Caribbean, Central America, and Britain, testing her resourcefulness in bustling ports, rough frontier towns, and moments of epidemic danger. When war news reaches London, Seacole fights to be useful on a larger stage, confronting skepticism, prejudice, and bureaucracy as she tries to bring her experience to those in need. Her journey becomes a portrait of courage under pressure and practical compassion in the face of suffering, as well as a sharp look at class, race, and empire in the 19th century. Part travelogue, part memoir, and part tribute to the ordinary people she meets, Seacole's narrative celebrates determination, enterprise, and the hard-won dignity of service.For ad-free listening try our premium subscription Chapters (Approximate)(00:00:00) Chapter 01(00:09:49) Chapter 02(00:29:59) Chapter 03(00:42:06) Chapter 04(01:02:50) Chapter 05(01:24:29) Chapter 06(01:46:53) Chapter 07(02:12:21) Chapter 08(02:28:32) Chapter 09(02:45:50) Chapter 10(03:02:24) Chapter 11(03:22:16) Chapter 12(03:41:57) Chapter 13(04:00:10) Chapter 14(04:20:58) Chapter 15(04:34:50) Chapter 16(04:59:24) Chapter 17(05:16:40) Chapter 18(05:35:49) Chapter 19 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ophelia, The Rose of Elsinore by Mary Cowden Clarke audiobook. Genre: dramaIn Ophelia, The Rose of Elsinore, Mary Cowden Clarke reimagines the world of Hamlet by stepping back before Shakespeare's tragedy begins and placing the court of Denmark's most enigmatic young woman at the center of the story. Ophelia grows up amid the glittering ceremony and hidden tensions of Elsinore, where loyalty is demanded, reputations are fragile, and every friendship can become a political liability. As she comes of age, she is drawn into the orbit of Prince Hamlet, whose brilliant mind and uneasy spirit both attract and unsettle her, and she must also navigate the stern expectations of her father Polonius and the watchful pressures of court life. Through Ophelia's eyes, familiar figures appear in new light, and private hopes collide with public duty. Blending romance, intrigue, and psychological portraiture, Clarke explores innocence tested by power, the cost of obedience, and the quiet ways a young woman tries to claim a voice in a world that prefers her silent.For ad-free listening try our premium subscription Chapters (Approximate)(00:00:00) Chapter 1(00:19:56) Chapter 2(00:42:50) Chapter 3(01:05:06) Chapter 4(01:27:07) Chapter 5(02:04:14) Chapter 6(02:29:05) Chapter 7 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pauline's Passion and Punishment by Louisa May Alcott audiobook. Genre: dramaBefore she wrote Little Women and Little Men, Louisa, writing under the pseudonym A.M. Barnard, had this `blood and thunder' thriller (as she called them) published in 1863 by a weekly pulp magazine. This was during the period when Louisa worked a nurse during the American Civil war. The rigid and unfair roles of men and women of this period, their expectations and desires, plays a large in this story of betrayed love, anger, petulance, and ultimately, vengeance. The story is well written and plotted of course, being an Alcott story, so listeners can expect to enjoy a captivating and satisfying story read to them by one of the best and most highly polished readers aroundFor ad-free listening try our premium subscription Chapters (Approximate)(00:00:00) Chapter 1(00:21:14) Chapter 2(00:56:17) Chapter 3(01:28:44) Chapter 4 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Behind a Mask, or a Woman's Power by Louisa May Alcott audiobook. Genre: mysteryIn a respectable English country house, the well-to-do Coventry family believes they have hired a quiet, capable governess to guide their youngest daughter. But Jean Muir arrives with more than lesson plans. Plainly dressed and seemingly modest, she quickly learns the household's habits and weak points, studying the rhythms of drawing rooms, garden walks, and late-night conversations with a keen eye for opportunity. As the proud matriarch and her strong-willed adult children size her up, Jean begins to reshape how each of them sees her - and how they see one another. A stray remark becomes leverage, a look becomes a promise, and a reputation becomes a tool. When private writings and hidden encounters hint at a carefully maintained secret life, the Coventrys realize that their new governess may be the most dangerous person under their roof. Behind a Mask, or a Woman's Power is a fast, sly tale of performance and deception, where love and ambition collide and a woman with few conventional choices tests how far intelligence, charm, and sheer will can bend a rigid society.For ad-free listening try our premium subscription Chapters (Approximate)(00:00:00) Chapter 1(00:24:02) Chapter 2(00:55:12) Chapter 3(01:34:05) Chapter 4(01:54:33) Chapter 5(02:26:22) Chapter 6(03:00:24) Chapter 7(03:28:21) Chapter 8(03:46:11) Chapter 9 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Story of a Candy Rabbit by Laura Lee Hope audiobook. Genre: fantasyIn The Story of a Candy Rabbit, Laura Lee Hope spins a sweet, make-believe adventure that begins after closing time in a toy store, when the Candy Rabbit discovers he can sit up, look around, and talk with the other wonders on the Easter novelty counter. Surrounded by glittering eggs with tiny window scenes, a clockwork Fuzzy Bunny, and a friendly Chocolate Rabbit, the Candy Rabbit feels as if he has stepped into Fairyland, even though morning customers will soon return and everything must look ordinary again. When a shopper chooses him as a special Easter gift for a little girl named Madeline, the Candy Rabbit sets off on a new life beyond the store, full of excitement and uncertainty. Being made of candy and sugar is not as safe as it sounds, and he must face accidents, separations, and animal mischief that threaten his chance to stay loved and protected. Through each small escapade, he learns what courage looks like for someone so fragile, and why friendship, hope, and a warm home matter most.For ad-free listening try our premium subscription Chapters (Approximate)(00:00:00) Chapter 01(00:09:52) Chapter 02(00:21:09) Chapter 03(00:29:29) Chapter 04(00:38:28) Chapter 05(00:50:02) Chapter 06(00:56:58) Chapter 07(01:04:36) Chapter 08(01:12:21) Chapter 09(01:22:02) Chapter 10 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices