Showing results by publisher "Phoenix Books" in Classics

Ranier Maria Rilke challenges you, "...to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answers." Rilke's ability to combine the sensual and the spiritual into an inspired vision of the art of living is brought to vivid life in his letters. Through his eyes, the everyday difficulties of love, sex, solitude, sadness, and doubt are seen as the archetypal elements of the drama called life.

Washington Irving's tales of romance, travel, biographical discourse, and literary musing introduced such classic fictional figures as Rip Van Winkle, Ichabod Crane, and the Headless Horsemen of Sleepy Hollow. A sage, storyteller, and wit, Irving earned his preeminence in early American literature with these masterpieces in miniature.

Jacob Ericson, a shy, enigmatic, and somewhat inept ranch hand learns that his hands possess the mysterious gift of healing: a gift he uses to cure animals and Sharon, the woman he adores. His gift is quickly exploited and the boundaries of his charm and naïveté begin to stretch. Following Sharon to Los Angeles, Jacob offers his healing powers for free at a church in Los Angeles, and then at a seedy stage show where his beloved Sharon also works.

In this classic, romantic ghost story, a governess on a remote country estate begins to believe her charges are possessed by the spirits of 2 dead former servants. Are her perceptions simply the fruit of her neuroses - or could they possibly be valid? A foray into the very heart of evil, Henry James's masterful novel is also remarkable for its psychological acuity and evocation of mood.

The disastrous banjo-playing of Bertram "Bertie" Wooster has driven the otherwise steadfast gentleman's gentleman Jeeves to give notice—because even butlers have limits. In anger, Bertie disappears to the country with his new valet Brinkley as a guest of Lord “Chuffy” Chuffnell, who has employed the services of the recently resigned Jeeves. Bertie soon finds himself in no shortage of trouble as he encounters his ex-fiancée Pauline, her formidable father, and the eminent looney-doctor Sir Roderick Glossop.

Originally meant to be heard rather than read, this great epic returns to the oral form for today's listeners.

In a timeless tale of misguided romance and heartbreak, Jane Austen's first novel of love and marriage is seen through the eyes of two very different heroines, the Dashwood sisters—cautious, level-headed Elinor and impulsive lively Marianne—one representing sense and the other sensibility.

A 19th century novel that defied the repressive moral conventions of Victorian England. Young Tess Durbeyfield comes from an impoverished home. Her father, desperate to alleviate the family's financial plight, presses his daughter into work for the wealthy D'Urbervilles. But in doing so, Tess meets the manipulative Alec, who forces himself upon her. And though Tess later meets a kinder man who proposes marriage, her salvation is jeopardized when she reveals to him her troubled past.

It is 1757, the third year of the French and Indian War. Deep in the forests of New York State, the brave woodsman Hawkeye and his loyal Mohican friends become involved in the bloody French and Indian War. Hawkeye, a colonial scout, Chingachgook, the Mohican chief, and Uncas, his son, risk their lives to guide two English sisters through hostile territory and evade the evil Huron chief, Magua, who is determined to destroy them. The thrilling events that lead to the final tragic confrontation between rival war parties create an unforgettable, spine-tingling picture of life on the frontier.

Set in the frozen wasteland of the Yukon, Jack London's most popular and enduring work is a tale about unbreakable spirit and the fight for survival. Buck—a mix of St. Bernard and Scotch Shepherd—is a loyal family pet until cruel men steal him and make him a pawn in their feverish search for gold. Brutally beaten into serving as a sled dog, Buck finds the blood of his wolf ancestors rising within him. Unable to resist the call from the Alaskan wilderness, he breaks free to roam as the leader of a ferocious wolf pack.

It is 1792, during the French Revolution's Reign of Terror. An English aristocrat regarded as an ineffectual fop is actually a master of disguises who—with a small band of dedicated friends—undertakes dangerous missions to save members of the French nobility from the guillotine. His friends and foes know him only as the Scarlet Pimpernel. But the ruthless French agent Chauvelin is sworn to hunt him down and uncover his identity.

When Quasimodo appears before the masses as the "Pope of Fools," the crowd beholds an enormous cyclops-like creature—the hunchback's whole body seems a twisted grimace. Yet, with all his deformity, there is a certain grace and agility in him, and he possesses an endearing passion. When Esmerelda, the beautiful Romani woman, stands between his two executioners, Quasimodo makes the ultimate sacrifice.

Has Jeeves finally lost his grip? Wealthy, scatterbrained Bertie Wooster—with the aid of his ever-faithful butler, Jeeves—attempts to romantically link dreamy, soulful Gussie Fink-Nottle with soppy, sweet Madeline Bassett. But as soon as Bertie takes Gussie and Madeline's love connection into his own hands, things go disastrously wrong! Fortunately, Jeeves steps in to set matters straight. But the characters must endure tangled layers of comedic complications before they reach the invariably clever and satisfying finale.

Isabel Archer is a young American orphan who receives an inheritance from an uncle. Taken under her aunt's wings, she meets Madame Merle, her aunt's worldly friend, who instills in Isabel a sense of European sophistication, a trait that comes to overpower her own common sense. Isabel marries widower Gilbert Osmond, who projects refined tastes and intellectual detachment. Isabel is utterly captivated by Osmond's languid charm, and he is thrilled to have his superior prize.

Considered by many critics to be Jane Austen's finest achievement, Emma is the witty classic about youthful hubris and matchmaking gone awry. Emma Woodhouse, a privileged young lady with little to occupy her time, imagines that she dominates those around her in the small town of Highbury, but her inept matchmaking creates problems for herself and others.

Raised in the wild by the mighty ape Kala, Tarzan the ape-man must learn to talk with the animals, swing through the trees, and fight great predators to survive in the jungle. Along with him are his childhood friends, Tanto the elephant, Ska the vulture, and Numa the lion. When white men invade his paradise, Tarzan's life is forever changed, for it is then that he meets Jane Porter, the first white woman he has ever seen. Set amid the vibrant colors and sounds of the savage African jungle, Edgar Rice Burroughs' classic work takes listeners on a glorious, adventurous, and romantic journey.

Athos, Porthos, Aramis, and D'Artagnan—the four musketeers—find themselves caught between conflicting loyalties. Deep inside the Bastille, a young prisoner called merely "Philippe" has languished for eight long years, completely unaware of his real name or the nature of his crime. But Aramis knows his secret—a secret so dangerous that it could change the face of the French monarchy and topple the King from his throne! Will Aramis' cause divide the once indivisible band of musketeers?

A baffling series of incidents at the majestic Paris Opera sparks frightening rumors about a mysterious opera ghost. Performers are ill-at-ease when they sit alone in their dressing rooms, alleging to have seen the enigma in evening clothes moving about in the shadows. Then a young and beautiful prima donna is visited by a masked "Angel of Music" who teaches her to sing and jealously demands her devotion—but with a price. With an increasing pattern of fear and violence, the phantom of the opera begins to strike, but always with a beautiful young performer at the center of his deadly desires.

A masterpieces of horror literature, Dracula brilliantly evokes a nightmare world of vampires and vampire hunters and illuminates the dark corners of Victorian sexuality and desire. Count Dracula travels from his castle in the Carpathian Mountains to England on a ship in which the entire crew is lost. Upon his arrival, the count entrances Lucy Westenra and Mina Harker, both women doomed to become vampires—unless Jonathan Harker and Professor Abraham Van Helsing can stop the count.

This swashbuckling epic of intrigue, romance, and swordplay has earned a reputation as one of the most thrilling adventure novels ever written. A young Gascon nobleman, D'Artagnan, makes his way to Paris, hoping to join the Musketeers, a legion of heroes held in high esteem by the king. D'Artagnan quickly proves he has the heart of a Musketeer and earns himself a place beside Athos, Porthos, and Aramis. Relying on their wits and skills with the sword, the Musketeers set out to preserve the honor of the king and foil the nefarious schemes of the wicked Cardinal Richelieu.