Showing results by narrator "Sara Nichols" in All Categories

A Little Princess is Frances Hodgson Burnett's beloved novel of privilege, hardship, and redemption. It is regularly listed among the finest children's books ever written and has been adapted to the stage and screen dozens of times.

On a miserable summer trip to Geneva with her future husband, Percy Bysshe Shelley, poet Lord Byron and a small group of friends, writer Mary Wollstonecraft was asked to participate in a game where the guests would create a ghost story and share it with the group. Everyone told their stories, but Mary's creation surprised them all. She had conceived of the idea that would later become her best known work, a tale of horror and creation, the legendary early science fiction classic: Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus.

The most romantic literary lovers in history: Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester. Oliver Mellors and Constance Chatterley. Marie Shabata and Emil Bergson. Now, all three of their classic stories are collected in one volume.

Presented here is Volume III of our Feminist Literary Classics series, featuring three of the most important feminist novels ever written: Orlando: A Biography by Virginia Woolf, O Pioneers! by Willa Cather and So Big by Edna Ferber. The first book in this collection is Orlando: A Biography, a groundbreaking English novel by Virginia Woolf that explores English history, gender roles and sexual politics in a way few books have before or since.

Universally acknowledged as one of the most popular and brilliant books ever written, "Jane Eyre" is Charlotte Brontë's masterpiece, often listed with Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" as among the finest romance novels ever published. The story follows the hardscrabble life of its eponymous lead character, Jane Eyre, who is orphaned at a young age and forced to live under the rule of her heartless Aunt Reed and her equally cruel children.

In "The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes," Sir Arthur Conan Doyle attempted a feat that even the greatest criminal minds in England could not accomplish: He tried to kill off Sherlock Holmes. (And he very nearly succeeded.) Doyle's 1894 collection of short stories—which featured some of the most enjoyable tales in the Holmes canon, including "Silver Blaze," "The Musgrave Ritual" and "The Crooked Man"—concludes with what was meant to be the last Sherlock Holmes story, "The Final Problem."

A blistering criticism of the literary world in which she lived, Charlotte Brontë's "The Biographical Notes on the Pseudonymous Bells" contains two fascinating and insightful essays by the author of "Jane Eyre" addressing her late sisters, Emily and Anne's writing careers (Emily wrote "Wuthering Heights," Anne created "Agnes Grey" and "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall").

Jane Austen's "Northanger Abbey" took a meandering course toward publication. Originally written in 1803 as a satire of the popular Gothic novels of the day, the book was not published until after Austen's death in 1817. The story concerns seventeen-year-old Catherine Morland, who has lived her entire life in the small village of Fullerton with her parents and nine siblings. This sedate (and frankly boring) life is upended when Catherine receives an invitation to visit the resort city of Bath and thus break out of her humdrum existence.

Long hailed as one of the most brilliant and beloved authors of the Edwardian era, E.M. Forster's works have become among the most critically acclaimed and cherished novels of the past hundred years and have been adapted numerous times for the stage and screen. "A Room With a View" and "Howards End" are presented here in their original and unabridged formats, narrated by renowned audiobook performer Sara Nichols, best known for her readings of Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre" and Willa Cather's Prairie Trilogy.

A powerful and disturbing adventure story set in the wilds of Mexico after the First World War, "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" is B. Traven's much-beloved and thrilling tale of three desperate men who set out to make their fortune in the gold-filled Sierra Madre Mountains...and wind up confronting their own greed and paranoia along the way.

The story revolves around three disparate families: the idealistic Schlegels (consisting of Margaret, Helen and brother Tibby), the wealthy Wilcox family (parents Henry and Ruth and their children) and the impoverished Basts (Leonard and his wife Jacky). When the Wilcox family moves to London and discover they are living close to their new acquaintances the Schlegels, a friendship is kindled between the infirm Ruth Wilcox and Margaret Schlegel. Ruth - who has a strong attachment to her country house called Howards End - pens a note leaving the house to Margaret.

The most romantic literary lovers in history: Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth. Lucy Honeychurch and George Emerson. Helen Graham and Gilbert Markham. Now, all three of their classic stories are collected in one volume: the Classic Romance Collection - Volume III featuring Jane Austen's "Persuasion," E.M. Forster's "A Room With a View," and Anne Brontë's "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall."

"The Secret Garden" is Frances Hodgson Burnett's most beloved and popular book, a childre's classic that has been adapted dozens of times for the stage and screen. When Mary Lennox — an ill-tempered and lonely orphan — is sent to live with her gloomy uncle in England, her future prospects appear dim. Her only companions are her cousin Colin, who is wheelchair bound, and the local boy Dickon Sowerby...and none of the children seem to have anything in common.

In this story, we are introduced to the Bennet family: Mr. and Mrs. Bennet...and their five daughters, each of whom (according to Mrs. Bennet) must find rich husbands as soon as possible. When Mr. Bingley - a wealthy bachelor - takes up residence in a nearby estate, the Bennets kindle hopes that he might be a good match for their eldest, Jane. Invited to a party at Bingley's estate, they are introduced to Mr. Bingley, his two sisters and his close friend Mr. Darcy, whose aloof and off-putting manner hides his secret interest in the Bennet's second oldest daughter, Elizabeth.

Author Edith Wharton is best known for her books set amongst the upper-echelon of New York society, including "The House of Mirth" and "The Age of Innocence," (the latter of which won her the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction). But Wharton also wrote two American classics that take place in rural settings: the then-scandalous tale of youthful rebellion,"Summer" and her haunting novel of love and regret, "Ethan Frome." Both have gone on to be considered among the finest novels of the early 20th century.

Author Edith Wharton was born to an extremely wealthy family and was raised among the elites of New York society. This gave Wharton a front-row seat to the goings-on, intrigues and drama of that strange and fascinating world, which she exposed and satirized in her two best known novels: "The House of Mirth" and "The Age of Innocence" (the latter of which won her the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, the first for a female writer).

"Summer" is one of only two novels Edith Wharton wrote that takes place in a rural setting (the other being her classic "Ethan Frome.") Given the subject matter (and the behavior of its lead character), the book was considered scandalous in its day, but it is now considered a classic of early 20th century American literature. The story follows the life and sexual awakening of Charity Royall, a young girl living in a small town who has dreams of moving out of her poverty-stricken community.

"Ethan Frome" is one of Edith Wharton's best known works and has become a staple of American literature classes around the globe since it was first published in 1911. The story is a simple tale of desire, regret and forbidden love. The title character, Ethan, has resigned himself to living in a loveless, sterile marriage with his wife Zenobia. But when his wife's young cousin Mattie moves into the house and both she and Ethan are drawn together, it begins a romance that can only end in heartbreak... or tragedy.

"The Age of Innocence" is considered by many critics to be author Edith Wharton's masterpiece. When it was published in 1920, it was received with rapturous reviews and earned Wharton the 1921 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, making her the first woman in history to receive this honor. Set amid the aristocracy of New York City in the early part of the 20th century—a world with which Wharton was deeply familiar—the book relates the story of Newland Archer, a rich New York bachelor who has become engaged to fellow socialite May Welland.

In this tale, Holmes and his faithful companion Dr. John Watson are told of a curse which haunts the wealthy Dartmoor family of Sir Charles Baskerville. This centuries-old curse manifests itself as a gigantic and ferocious hound that is said to prowl the moors adjacent to the Baskerville estate. When Sir Charles drops dead of fright just outside the moor and the footprints of an enormous hound are discovered nearby, the cry goes out for Holmes to come to Dartmoor and solve the mystery.