The Enchanted Collection: Alice in Wonderland, the Wind in the Willows, Black Beauty, Little Women, the Secret Garden

by Anna Sewell, Susan Duerden (Narrator), Simon Vance (Narrator)

Set out with timid Mole as he explores the world, learning about courage and friendship through a series of misadventures with Rat, Toad, and Badger in The Wind in the Willows. From the River Bank, tumble down the rabbit hole with Alice to a madcap world where nonsense rules in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. From Victorian England, it's on to a small New England town in Little Women, where Jo March and her three sisters struggle to achieve their dreams amid the shifting roles of women in the Civil War era. Sent to live with her uncle, orphan Mary Lennox uncovers the mysteries of Misselthwaite Manor in The Secret Garden. Then journey through the English countryside and London with a gentle, hardworking horse who experiences kindness and cruelty at the hands of different masters in Black Beauty. Whether encountering these cherished tales for the first or the fiftieth time, fans will find enchantment in this collection.

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Childrens, Audiobook, Ebooks, Young Adult, Historical

Audible Audio

First published November 13, 2012

About the author

Anna Sewell was an English novelist who wrote the 1877 novel Black Beauty, her only published work. It is considered one of the top ten best-selling novels for children, although the author intended it for adults. Sewell died only five months after the publication of Black Beauty, but long enough to see her only novel become a success.

Reviews

[A.J. Urban · Rating 5 out of 5]

Black Beauty taught me empathy long before I had the word for it. I remember reading about his suffering and his gentle heart, and realizing how deeply animals feel - how they endure and trust despite how humans treat them. That story gave me a quiet sense of responsibility, a belief that kindness isn’t a weakness but a strength.

[Louise Wilford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book. It is written from the point of view of the horse, in the 19th century. I found it very interesting, as I know very little about horses. It was very heart warming and well written.

[Jordan Mealer · Rating 5 out of 5]

All of my favorites in one place?? Yes PLEASE!

[Marsha · Rating 5 out of 5]

So this was in keeping with my thread of children's books. It is actually five different books, all of them classics, and mostly for children.
The first one, _Alice's Adventures in Wonderland_ is probably a children's book, but it is undeniably my favorite by my favorite author ever. This particular version, and audio recording by Brilliance Audio, was good, with Michael Page narrating. Of course, my immediate desires was to hear _Through the Looking Glass_ next, but that's not part of the current collection; I'll have to go back and listen to that separately :-).
The next book is _The Secret Garden_. I read this book back in junior high or high school, and I had totally forgotten the beginning foundation, but it's narrated well by Susan Duerden (I believe). My mother was surprised when I read it, because she said it was usually aimed at much younger girls than I at the time. I enjoyed it both then and now, but it's not as impressive now as it was then.
The third book was _Black Beauty_. I had never read that, although my older sister did, and she loved it, but she was a "horsey " person as a child – as were many girls at that time – so I never read it, because I definitely was not. The book is totally different than I expected! I expected horseracing and horse shows and all kinds of things like that. That is NOT the basis of this book! This is one particular horse going through different stages of domestic ownership and different kinds of things he was required to do by different owners. I enjoyed the book a lot; it may have been an early book that tried to present feelings and attitudes of creatures other than humans. And it was nice that he went through a lot of different types of owners and levels of employment.
The fourth book was/is _The Wind in the Willows_. I attempted to read this as a child and I got bored. I attempted to listen to it as an adult, and I got bored. I only got about halfway through. I know I'm supposed to think it's a wonderful book, and everybody loves it, but he bores me. Sigh.
The last book is _Little Women_(my husband points out that it has nothing to do with Lilliputian wives :-)). This is not specifically a children's book, although many girls read it as a child, but I did not. I have at least two friends who read it, and one of them absolutely loves it where the other hates it. I like it pretty well; I am interested in reading more of Louisa May Alcott's books. I read a little bit more about her her: did you know that she was never married and she died at 55 I (believe – anyway, younger than I am now…?) It's a good book, but it does seem rushed at the end. That's another one that my older sister bread, but she found it boring. She also read _Little Man_, also by Louisa May Alcott, and she found it more interesting. Now I have to go back and read that, too. Anyway, I am through with my children stories and classics binge for the moment! Time to go back to science and mysteries!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

June 26: Finished the first book in the collection, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. As a child I enjoyed watching the Disney cartoon version of the book (although I realize now they used elements from both this book and its sequel, Through the Looking Glass). I loved the talking flowers, the silly Mad Hatter, and Alice's conversations with the Cheshire Cat. But I never thought I would enjoy reading the book; I assumed it would be boring. And now that I've just finished listening to it, I found I was totally wrong! It's a great book filled with complete nonsense and wit and humor. And as should have been obvious to me, my kids will enjoy this book too as it was originally written for children. Now I'm off to read Through the Looking Glass!

July 13: Finished the second book,The Secret Garden. Sadly, the narrator and her different character voices nearly killed me as I was listening. I also didn't remember all the "magic" elements and philosophical parts at the end of the book. I definitely prefer reading this story.

July 15: Finished Black Beauty. Enjoyed the narrator and the story. It's one of the few "animal" books I read as a child. I did find out that this is the first book to have an animal in the first-person narration.

[Mirel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was looking for a copy of Black Beauty with audible, and this is the only one I found. I'd already read all the other books (some several times), but this one I somehow missed growing, especially odd given the fact that it was my best friend's favorite book. I don't think it would have gone into my favorite list, (at the time, that was reserved for Little Women), but despite being familiar with the story and some of its background, I enjoyed reading and listening to the story and could easily understand why my friend loved it so.

The story tells the story of the horse, Black Beauty, and through it Anna Sewell speaks out against the cruel and unfeeling treatment of horses at the time. The book led to "the development of legislation in various states that would condemn such abusive behaviours towards animals...." and is considered "the most influential anticruelty novel of all time"...Comparisons have also been made between Black Beauty and the most important social protest novel in the United States, Uncle Tom's Cabin, by Harriet Beecher Stowe, on account of the strong degree of outrage and protest action that both novels triggered in society." (Wikipedia).

[Michael Stanley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a collection of five classic children's books.
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is one of two books that most influenced me as a writer. (The other is On The Beach.) It is brilliant and multi-layered. It was delightful to hear it after reading it many years ago.
I never read The Secret Garden as a child, and thoroughly enjoyed listening to it. The narrator did an exceptional job.

It must be 60 years since I read Black Beauty. I enjoyed it, but not as much as I did the two previous books in the set.

(More to come....)

[Fran · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely collection. The books themselves are of course great, and I loved the cover art too

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved re-reading these wonderful novels of my youth. They never get old. And the movies associated with them are wonderful as well.

[Jason]

Listened to Black Beauty and Alice.

[Kimberly]

audiobook