Great Classic Stories II: Eighteen Unabridged Classics

Great Classic Stories (BBC Audio)

by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edgar Allan Poe, James Joyce

Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe
Cousin William by Harriet Beecher Stowe
How I Edited an Agricultural Paper by Mark Twain
A Piece of String by Guy Le Maupassant
Angela, An Inverted Love Story by W.S. Gilbert
Oh, The Public by Anton Chekhov
The Nightingale and the Rose by Oscar Wilde
The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin
A Coward by Edith Wharton
A Jury of Her Peers by Susan Glaspell
Araby by James Joyce
The Mark on the Wall by Virginia Woolf
The Interlopers by Saki
Head and Shoulders by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Stranger by Katherine Mansfield
The Blind Man by D.H. Lawrence
Nuns at Luncheon by Aldous Huxley

Genres: Short Stories, Classics, Fiction, Audiobook

1 pages, Audio CD

First published September 28, 2010

About the author

Nathaniel Hawthorne was a 19th century American novelist and short story writer. He is seen as a key figure in the development of American literature for his tales of the nation's colonial history.

Shortly after graduating from Bowdoin College, Hathorne changed his name to Hawthorne. Hawthorne anonymously published his first work, a novel titled Fanshawe, in 1828. In 1837, he published Twice-Told Tales and became engaged to painter and illustrator Sophia Peabody the next year. He worked at a Custom House and joined a Transcendentalist Utopian community, before marrying Peabody in 1842. The couple moved to The Old Manse in Concord, Massachusetts, later moving to Salem, the Berkshires, then to The Wayside in Concord. The Scarlet Letter was published in 1850, followed by a succession of other novels. A political appointment took Hawthorne and family to Europe before returning to The Wayside in 1860. Hawthorne died on May 19, 1864, leaving behind his wife and their three children.

Much of Hawthorne's writing centers around New England and many feature moral allegories with a Puritan inspiration. His work is considered part of the Romantic movement and includes novels, short stories, and a biography of his friend, the United States President Franklin Pierce.

Reviews

[Joseph Spuckler · Rating 4 out of 5]

A concise survey of unabridged short stories.

[Dee Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audible Plus 7 hours 47 min. Various exceptional readers

A short story can be every bit as good as a novel. This collection introduced me to some authors of whom I had never heard, and these were writers of my favorite stories. I will only note my favorites.

How I Edited an Agricultural Paper by Mark Twain Many chuckles
A Piece of String by Guy De Maupassant Sobering piece of the vanity of redemption of character by protestations of innocence. 4 stars
The Nightingale and the Rose by Oscar Wilde "For want of a red rose is my life made wretched." Pity the poor Nightingale who gave her own life blood for a shallow student. 😢
The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin Sobering
A Jury of Her Peers by Susan Glaspell Very impressive! I had to look up this author. It was first written as a one act play and later published as a short story. Both the play and story are available on YouTube. 5 stars
Araby by James Joyce I''ve never been able to wrap my brain around Joyce, but this was a good story about a young teen's first crush.
The Mark on the Wall by Virginia Woolfe Boring. Sorry, her works have never appealed to me.
A Coward by Edith Wharton The title didn't make sense until the poignant ending.
The Stranger by Katherine Mansfield Brought tears to my eyes
The Interloper by Saki Another writer about whom I had to discover.more, including an explanation about the end of the story and its interpretation. This story should be included in h s literature. 5 stars This one will haunt me because of its message.
The Blind Man by D.H.Lawrence Another powerful message

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved listening to these short stories, especially as a break from full-length books. Really enjoyed: Young Goodman Brown (Nathaniel Hawthorne, 1835); How I Edited An Agricultural Paper (Mark Twain, 1870); A Piece of String (Guy Le Maupassant, 1883); Angela, An Inverted Love Story (W.S. Gilbert, 1890); A Jury of Her Peers (Susan Glaspell, 1917); The Stranger (Katherine Mansfield, 1921); and Nuns at Luncheon (Aldous Huxley, 1922). The Huxley is so current in its examination of journalists and writers who skewer individuals when their stories have potential to titillate readers; people become objects when the story is good.

[Cindy B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

American stories - an easy, clean, and pleasant read. Some old favorites, a few new ones. Narrators were different with each plot. Each was clear and entertaining. 👍🏼

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a lot to choose from here, and some of the choices are very good, some are intense, and some are lacking. Overall it is worth checking out.
YOUNG GOODMAN BROWN by Nathaniel Hawthorne (1835). 2 stars. Not for me.
THE CASK OF AMONTILLADO by Edgar Allan Poe (1846). 4 stars. This story is a classic for a reason. Maybe the theme of this story is that we can never know what is in the hearts and minds of others. A scary proposition.
COUSIN WILLIAM by Harriet Beecher Stowe. 2 stars. This was too dated for me.
How I Edited An Agricultural Paper, by Mark Twain. 3 stars. An amusing story about editing an agricultural newspaper, with a shot across the bow at critics who know nothing about the subjects they critique. Incompetence and outrageousness sells; Twain was ahead of his time.
A Piece of String by Guy de Maupassant. 2 stars. Not very interesting.
Angela, An Inverted Love Story, by W.S. Gilbert. 2 stars. Okay. A bit weird.
Oh, The Public by Anton Chekhov. 4 stars. A short treat, for when one is in need of a good laugh.
The Nightingale and the Rose by Oscar Wilde. 3 stars. So dark.
The Story of an Hour, by Kate Chopin. 5 stars. So much can happen in an hour. This is a poignant story of a woman living in the late 1800's who gets news of a tragic accident. The writing is captivating.
A Coward by Edith Wharton. 2 stars. Life is disappointing for Mrs. Carstyle, and her constant jabs at her situation are tedious. Mr. Carstyle is the 'coward' of the title, and he shares his backstory with a young man who is more of a backdrop than an actual character in the story. There is a long build up, then the plot goes in a completely different direction.
A Jury of Her Peers by Susan Glaspell. 5 stars. Powerful and tragic.
Araby by James Joyce. 1 star. Not for me.
The Mark on the Wall by Virginia Woolf. 0 stars. That's 20 minutes I'll never get back.
The Interlopers, by Saki. 3.5 stars. A story of two feuding neighbors who end up in a predicament in the forest. There is tension that resolves in a thought-provoking ending. A generations old dispute over land may or may not be resolved on a dark winter night.
Head and Shoulders, by F. Scott Fitzgerald. 3 stars. The young couple, one is the head and one is the shoulders, literally switch roles. It seems like Fitzgerald is getting his digs in on popular best sellers versus literature or scholarly tomes.
The Stranger, by Katherine Mansfield. 3 stars. Portrait of a marriage. A husband anxiously awaits his wife's return from a trip. She has had an unusual encounter while on the ship coming home.
The Blind Man, by D.H. Lawrence. 3 stars. This story is unsettling. It is a story of quiet resilience, and a story of comprehension.
Nuns at Luncheon, by Aldous Huxley. 4 stars. A humorous story of a formidable woman journalist relating a tale to a friend who is a fiction writer.

[obituary mambo · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were a handful of truly outstanding stories (I particularly enjoyed The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin and A Jury of Her Peers by Susan Glaspell), some delightfully amusing ones (How I Edited an Agricultural Paper by Mark Twain; Oh, The Public by Anton Chekhov), several that were middle of the road or really nothing special, and a few that sucked the life right out of me (Cousin William by Harriet Beecher Stowe; A Coward by Edith Wharton; Araby by James Joyce).

As for narration, How I Edited an Agricultural Paper, Oh, The Public, The Mark on the Wall by Virginia Woolf and Nuns at Luncheon by Aldous Huxley (the last of which just so happens to be narrated by my personal favourite, Simon Vance) earn top marks.

In all honesty the fact that Cousin William came so early in the collection nearly caused me to throw in the towel - it was that mind-numbingly boring. All in all, I'm glad I stuck with it as I discovered some real gems.

[Marina Gaston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good varied collection from well known authors. Like any anthology, some stories were great and others not so much. The narrators performed very well and enhanced the story telling. Definitely worth the read.
Didn't get 5 stars because the chapters were not labeled. There is no title and author description and I find that irritating.

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of stories written between 1835 to 1922, the narration of all of the stories is excellent with very good inflection and emphasis without being overly/uneccesarily dramatic. John Chancer's reading of Young Goodman Brown is particularly good (it is also the best story of the bunch, followed by Sarah LeFevre's rendition of The Mark on the Wall).

[Heather Larcombe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the stories were quite good. Others I utterly failed to grasp why they were "classic" as they were almost unreadable and had no particular point.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection of short stories was not as entertaining as the first volume...perhaps due to the readers. However, it's worth a listen...some of the Poe works are classic!

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this collection of stories - especially one by Harriet Beecher Stowe. All of the stories had an interesting premise and fascinating characters.

[Djrmel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a lot of “great” here, story or narration.

A Jury of Her Peers by Susan Glaspell was a new discovery for me, and I will look for more by Glaspell. Of course a Mark Twain story read by Bronson Pinchot is a can’t miss paring. But beyond those, there’s nothing very memorable.

[scherzo♫ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Five stars for:
A Jury of Her Peers by Susan Glaspell
The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe
The Nightingale and the Rose by Oscar Wilde
The Mark on the Wall by Virginia Woolf

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some were better than others but overall a very good collection. "A jury of her peers" was my personal favorite.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very hard to judge classics. This collection was very broad in its selection and the narration gave the fullest of the material. I would not be surprised if a classics fan would rate this a five star.