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Great Classic Stories (BBC Audio)
Great Classic Stories III: 22 Unabridged Classics
A great new collection of classic short fiction, brilliantly read by a selection of narratorsThis recording includes the following stories: - "The Lightening-Rod Man" by Herman Melville- "One of the Missing" by Ambrose Bierce- "The Leopard Man's Story" by Jack London- "Tennessee's Partner" by Bret Harte- "The New Catacomb" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle- "A Pair of Silk Stockings" by Kate Chopin- "My Watch" and "The Widow's Protest" by Mark Twain- "An Ideal Family" by Kate Mansfield- "A Painful Case" by James Joyce- "Small Fry" by Anton Chekhov- "The Road from Colonus" by E. M. Forster- "Silhouettes" by Jerome K Jerome- "The Voice of the City" by O. Henry- "Dalyrimple Goes Wrong" by F. Scott Fitzgerald- "The Diamond Mine" by Willa Cather- "The Man with the Golden Brain" by Alphonse Daudet- "Morella" by Edgar Allan Poe- "The Necklace" by Guy de Maupassant- "The Portrait" by Edith Wharton- "The Philosopher in the Apple Orchard" by Anthony Hope- "Monkey Nuts" by D. H. Lawrence
Audible Audio
First published September 20, 2011
About the author
Herman Melville
2,946 books4,715 followersThere is more than one author with this name
Herman Melville was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works are Moby-Dick (1851); Typee (1846), a romanticized account of his experiences in Polynesia; and Billy Budd, Sailor, a posthumously published novella. At the time of his death, Melville was no longer well known to the public, but the 1919 centennial of his birth was the starting point of a Melville revival. Moby-Dick eventually would be considered one of the great American novels.
Melville was born in New York City, the third child of a prosperous merchant whose death in 1832 left the family in dire financial straits. He took to sea in 1839 as a common sailor on a merchant ship and then on the whaler Acushnet, but he jumped ship in the Marquesas Islands. Typee, his first book, and its sequel, Omoo (1847), were travel-adventures based on his encounters with the peoples of the islands. Their success gave him the financial security to marry Elizabeth Shaw, the daughter of the Boston jurist Lemuel Shaw. Mardi (1849), a romance-adventure and his first book not based on his own experience, was not well received. Redburn (1849) and White-Jacket (1850), both tales based on his experience as a well-born young man at sea, were given respectable reviews, but did not sell well enough to support his expanding family.
Melville's growing literary ambition showed in Moby-Dick (1851), which took nearly a year and a half to write, but it did not find an audience, and critics scorned his psychological novel Pierre: or, The Ambiguities (1852). From 1853 to 1856, Melville published short fiction in magazines, including "Benito Cereno" and "Bartleby, the Scrivener". In 1857, he traveled to England, toured the Near East, and published his last work of prose, The Confidence-Man (1857). He moved to New York in 1863, eventually taking a position as a United States customs inspector.
From that point, Melville focused his creative powers on poetry. Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War (1866) was his poetic reflection on the moral questions of the American Civil War. In 1867, his eldest child Malcolm died at home from a self-inflicted gunshot. Melville's metaphysical epic Clarel: A Poem and Pilgrimage in the Holy Land was published in 1876. In 1886, his other son Stanwix died of apparent tuberculosis, and Melville retired. During his last years, he privately published two volumes of poetry, and left one volume unpublished. The novella Billy Budd was left unfinished at his death, but was published posthumously in 1924. Melville died from cardiovascular disease in 1891.
Herman Melville was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works are Moby-Dick (1851); Typee (1846), a romanticized account of his experiences in Polynesia; and Billy Budd, Sailor, a posthumously published novella. At the time of his death, Melville was no longer well known to the public, but the 1919 centennial of his birth was the starting point of a Melville revival. Moby-Dick eventually would be considered one of the great American novels.
Melville was born in New York City, the third child of a prosperous merchant whose death in 1832 left the family in dire financial straits. He took to sea in 1839 as a common sailor on a merchant ship and then on the whaler Acushnet, but he jumped ship in the Marquesas Islands. Typee, his first book, and its sequel, Omoo (1847), were travel-adventures based on his encounters with the peoples of the islands. Their success gave him the financial security to marry Elizabeth Shaw, the daughter of the Boston jurist Lemuel Shaw. Mardi (1849), a romance-adventure and his first book not based on his own experience, was not well received. Redburn (1849) and White-Jacket (1850), both tales based on his experience as a well-born young man at sea, were given respectable reviews, but did not sell well enough to support his expanding family.
Melville's growing literary ambition showed in Moby-Dick (1851), which took nearly a year and a half to write, but it did not find an audience, and critics scorned his psychological novel Pierre: or, The Ambiguities (1852). From 1853 to 1856, Melville published short fiction in magazines, including "Benito Cereno" and "Bartleby, the Scrivener". In 1857, he traveled to England, toured the Near East, and published his last work of prose, The Confidence-Man (1857). He moved to New York in 1863, eventually taking a position as a United States customs inspector.
From that point, Melville focused his creative powers on poetry. Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War (1866) was his poetic reflection on the moral questions of the American Civil War. In 1867, his eldest child Malcolm died at home from a self-inflicted gunshot. Melville's metaphysical epic Clarel: A Poem and Pilgrimage in the Holy Land was published in 1876. In 1886, his other son Stanwix died of apparent tuberculosis, and Melville retired. During his last years, he privately published two volumes of poetry, and left one volume unpublished. The novella Billy Budd was left unfinished at his death, but was published posthumously in 1924. Melville died from cardiovascular disease in 1891.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 29, 2021
Not so great.
January 16, 2022
While listening to this, I was reminded that Cousin Balky is now a frequent reader of audiobooks. He's a lot of fun at it, too. A big part of why this is 4 stars instead of 3, because unfortunately, a lot of these tales range from "slightly obnoxious views about women" to "Dear Lord, why is this author (looking at you DH Lawrence) ever, EVER read again?"
Highlights were the usual suspects (Twain, Poe, Wharton, Doyle, Melville, and O Henry). I was surprised at Meville's comedy, delighted by Doyle's homage to Poe in a tale of delicious revenge, and Wharton's just so criminally underrated to my eyes.
It's a very well curated collection ranging from the better Victorian-era writers to the early modernists, but a few of these might make you want to stuff your ears with cotton, no matter how well the narrators do with them.
Highlights were the usual suspects (Twain, Poe, Wharton, Doyle, Melville, and O Henry). I was surprised at Meville's comedy, delighted by Doyle's homage to Poe in a tale of delicious revenge, and Wharton's just so criminally underrated to my eyes.
It's a very well curated collection ranging from the better Victorian-era writers to the early modernists, but a few of these might make you want to stuff your ears with cotton, no matter how well the narrators do with them.
September 1, 2025
Like GCS I and II, I enjoyed III. The short story is unique in not having to be perfect but just present an interesting idea or question. Plotlines and characters roll around in one's head after reading the story, only to pop out at odd times. I wonder if the writer meant this or that? What happened after the story ended? are frequent questions after reading (or, in this case, hearing) a story.
October 29, 2021
These stories may be classics in some minds, but not for mine. The only stories I enjoyed were "The New Catacomb" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, "A Painful Case" by James Joyce, "The Necklace" by Guy de Maupassant and "The Voice of the City" by O. Henry.
April 7, 2023
22 stories by great writers, but in my opinion few if any of them leant themselves very well to audiobook format. Pretty boring overall. The ones that stood out as better than average were "My Watch" by Mark Twain and "Monkey Nuts" by DH Lawrence.
Maybe 2.5 stars.
Maybe 2.5 stars.
April 27, 2023
This compilation is not great; the only good stories are by F. Scott Fitzgerald and Edgar Allan Poe. Otherwise, this work helped me to discover that I don’t care for short stories.
May 21, 2024
The stories in this collection were interesting, sometimes charming, but not exciting. They were the perfect stories to listen to during a busy time.
April 8, 2021
Well, I finished it. That's something anyway. It was close at times. Short is good. I reviewed the index of stories in this collection and found that within a week of hearing these stories, I can only remember half of them with any clarity. I expect that to deteriorate by nearly 90 percent eventually, which basically means these stories are preeminently forgettable. No offense to the authors, some of whom I admire and enjoy. But I remember "The Necklace," "Dalrymple Goes Wrong" (mostly because it portrays politics as a refuge for criminals, an idea I heartily endorse), and Tennessee's Partner. But basically, this was just a pleasant diversion for light reading between deeper reads.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews