House Classics

This Audible Exclusive performance features a unique introduction written and narrated by Miriam Margolyes. Recognised as one of Dickens' most accomplished titles, Bleak House has impressed critics and audiences alike since it was first published in 1852. The novel boasts one of the most intelligent and engaging plots in all of English literature and is sure to engage the listener's imagination as it transports us back in time to the seedy, grimy and hazardous streets of Victorian London.

London. A city drowning in fog. Amid that fog, a man with no name dies above a strange junkshop. Threads of mist and intrigue weave around a court case with no resolution, linking great country houses with the lowest slum in the city, mingling the high-born with a boy who sweeps the filthy streets, enshrouding devious plots and sudden murder, bringing together two extraordinary women – Lady Dedlock and Esther Summerson - who seem to have nothing whatsoever in common but who will find themselves inextricably linked.

"One day when Pooh Bear had nothing else to do, he thought he would do something, so he went round to Piglet's house to see what Piglet was doing." Thus begins The House At Pooh Corner, A.A. Milne's wonderful companion volume to Winnie-the-Pooh. You will rediscover Pooh, Christopher Robin, Piglet, Eeyore, and all their friends, and be introduced to the irrepressible and very bouncy Tigger.

11-year-old Josh and 12-year-old Amanda just moved into the oldest and weirdest house on the block - the two siblings think it might even be haunted! But of course, their parents don't believe them. You'll get used to it, they say. Go out and make some new friends. But the creepy kids are not like anyone Josh and Amanda have ever met before. And when they take a shortcut through the cemetery one night, Josh and Amanda learn why.

Beautiful, sophisticated and endlessly ambitious Lily Bart endeavours to climb the social ladder of New York's elite by securing a good match and living beyond her means. Now nearing 30 years of age and having rejected several proposals, forever in the hope of finding someone better, her future prospects are threatened. A damning commentary of 20th-century social order, Edith Wharton's tale established her as one of the greatest British novelists of the 1900s.

The spirited Lily Dale, who longs to be loved, is devastated when her fiancé, the self-interested Adolphus Crosbie, jilts her for the aristocratic Lady Alexandrina. Although heartbroken, Lily still loves Crosbie and believes she must remain single despite him being unworthy of her affections. Even when the more deserving John Eame, presents himself she is still unable to see past her feelings for Crosbie. Meanwhile, Lily's sister Bell is also under pressure to marry for money, not for love.

The case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce has ground its way through the courts for generations. At its heart are Ada Clare and Richard Carstone, who find love - and terrible loss - through their involvement in the endless battle. Meanwhile, her friend Esther Summeson, who believes she is an orphan, gradually discovers the truth of her identity. The court case throws out a web ensnaring all who come near it, including Lady Dedlock, the menacing lawyer Tulkingham, detective Bucket and tragic little waif Jo.

Four seekers have come to the ugly, abandoned old mansion: Dr. Montague, an occult scholar looking for solid evidence of the psychic phenomenon called haunting; Theodora, his lovely and lighthearted assistant; Eleanor, a lonely, homeless girl well acquainted with poltergeists; and Luke, the adventurous future heir of Hill House.

Fatty, Larry, Diasy, Pip and Bets are forbidden to solve any mysteries this summer. Then they meet Ern, Mr Goon's nephew, and can't help giving him a few false clues. But they don't expect their fake mystery to turn into a real one, or for Ern to go missing!

Told from four-year-old Laura's point of view, this story begins in 1871 in a little log cabin on the edge of the Big Woods of Wisconsin. Laura lives in the little house with her pa, her ma, her sisters Mary and Carrie, and their trusty dog, Jack. Pioneer life is sometimes hard for the family, since they must grow or catch all their own food as they get ready for the cold winter. But it is also exciting as Laura and her family celebrate Christmas with homemade toys and treats, do the spring planting, bring in the harvest, and make their first trip into town.

When three little pigs set off into the big world to build their homes, they must decide if they’ll do things the easy way or work hard for what they want. Two of the little pigs do not like to work, so they quickly build homes of straw and sticks. But the hard-working little pig builds a home of bricks. Whose home will be sturdy enough to withstand the big bad wolf as he huffs, puffs, and tries to blow their homes down? Listen along as the pig brothers learn a valuable lesson!

Not merely stories of suspense and horror, these are stories of honor and the struggle for justice. Howard Levy's original music complements these horror stories.

A collection of German fairy tales first published in 1812 by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, the famous Brothers Grimm. Their most famous tales are instantly recognizeable: "Rumpelstiltskin", "Snow White", "Rapunzel", "Cinderella", "Hansel and Gretel", and "The Frog Prince." The collection is often known today as "Grimms' Fairy Tales".

The adventures continue for Laura Ingalls and her family as they leave their little house in the Big Woods of Wisconsin and set out for Kansas. They travel for many days in their covered wagon until they find the best spot to build their little house on the prairie. Soon they are planting and plowing, hunting wild ducks and turkeys, and gathering grass for their cows. Sometimes pioneer life is hard, but Laura and her folks are always busy and happy in their new little house.

In three beautifully crafted, dramatic acts, James's little-known novel unravels the painfully complicated emotional bonds which exist within a group of friends and lovers connected by two neighboring homes as they fight publicly for preferment, reciprocation, and successful marriage....

This is the autobiographical novel by Harriet Wilson, the first African-American to publish a novel in North America. Originally published in 1859, it was rediscovered in 1982.

Spanning an extraordinary range of subjects and locations, these ten gripping essays show why Jon Krakauer is considered a standard-bearer of modern journalism.

Edgewood Rectory may be set in an ancient landscape, but the Grantly family are very much of their time. Caught up in the uncertain world that has emerged since the outbreak of peace, the Rector and Mrs Grantly are bewildered by the challenges facing their eldest children: Eleanor, longing for more excitement than can be found in the Red Cross Library; and Tom, struggling to readjust to student life at Oxford after his military service.

In this collection you'll hear Stephen Fry narrating Great Expectations, Scrooge's ghostly journey narrated by Jason Isaacs, Juliet Stevenson leading us through The Old Curiosity Shop, and many more award-winning narrators bringing Dickens' words to life. Also included here is a short introduction to Dickens' life and works from Dr Pete Orford, an internationally renowned Dickens expert and the Course Director for the Charles Dickens Studies MA at the University of Buckingham.

A complex plot of love and inheritance is set against the English legal system of the mid-19th century. As the case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce drags on, it becomes an obsession to everyone involved. And the issue on an inheritance ultimately becomes a question of murder.