Great Classic Stories: 22 Unabridged Classics

Great Classic Stories (BBC Audio)

by Alphonse Daudet (Contributor), Barbara Leigh-Hunt (Narrator), Derek Jacobi (Narrator)

A treasure-chest of the written and spoken word, this collection is read by brilliant actors who make this audio anthology a genuine treat for the listener. Includes:

Reginald on House Parties by Saki, read by Nigel Hawthorne

The Sphinx Without a Secret by Oscar Wilde, read by Martin Jarvis

Tobermory by Saki, read by Barbara Leigh-Hunt

On Being Idle by Jerome K. Jerome, read by Hugh Laurie

For Better or Worse by W.W. Jacobs, read by Joanna David

The Model Millionaire by Oscar Wilde, read by T.P. McKenna

The Garden of Truth by E. Nesbit, read by Harriet Walker

The Cat That Walked by Himself, by Rudyard Kipling, read by Liza Goddard

The Girl from Arles by Alphonse Daudet, read by Stephen Fry

Mr. & Mrs. Dove by Katherine Mansfield, read by Rosalind Ayres

Georgie Porgie by Rudyard Kipling, read by Edward Fox

Caterpillars by E.F. Benson, read by Patrick Malahide

Lost Hearts by M.R. James, read by Richard Pasco

Ship to Tarshish by John Buchan, read by Iain Cuthbertson

The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe, read by Richard Pasco

The Man of the Night by Edgar Wallace, read by Robin Bailey

Dr. Heidegger's Experiment, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, read by Nicky Henson

B 24 by Arthur Conan Doyle, read by Brian Cox

Pat Hobby & Orson Welles by F. Scott Fitzgerald, read by Kerry Shale

Mad by Guy de Maupassant, read by Derek Jacobi

The Black Cat by Edgar Allan Poe, read by Richard Griffiths

The Monkey's Paw by W.W. Jacobs, read by Patrick Malahide

For your convenience, CD tracks are marked every 4-5 minutes.

Genres: Short Stories, Classics, Fiction, Audiobook, Horror, Anthologies, Suspense

6 pages, Audio CD

First published September 7, 2006

About the author

Stories of life of French writer Alphonse Daudet of the naturalist school in his native Provence include Lettres de mon moulin (1869).

Louis Marie Alphonse Daudet authored novels. He was the younger brother of Ernest Daudet. He was married to Julia Daudet and the father of Léon Daudet, Lucien Daudet and Edmée Daudet, all writers.

Family on both sides belonged to the bourgeoisie. Vincent Daudet, the father, manufactured silk, but misfortune and failure dogged the man through life. A boyhood depressed Alphonse amid much truancy had. He spent his days mainly at Lyon, left in 1856, and began life as a schoolteacher at Alès, Gard, in the south. The position proved intolerable. As Charles Dickens declared that all through his prosperous career, the miseries of his apprenticeship to the blacking business haunted him in dreams, so after Daudet left Alès, he woke with horror, thinking for months that he still dwelt among his unruly pupils.

On 1 November 1857, he abandoned teaching and took refuge with Ernest Daudet, his brother only some three years his senior, who tried "soberly" to make a living as a journalist in Paris. Alphonse took to writing, and a small volume, Les Amoureuses (1858), collected his poems and met with a fair reception. He obtained employment on Le Figaro, then under energetic editorship of Cartier de Villemessant, and wrote two or three plays; those interested in literature began to recognize him as possessing individuality and promise. Morny, all-powerful minister of Napoleon III, appointed Daudet, who held a post of his secretaries till death of Morny in 1865, and Morny showed Daudet no small kindness. Daudet put his foot on the road to fortune.

From Wikipedia

Reviews

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

8 hours of audio with 22 short stories.

Some were very well known, like "The Monkey's Paw" and "The Tell-Tale Heart" but most I had never heard of. Many are from authors that are not very well-known. Each story had a different narrator, which helped make each story feel fresh.

Overall I liked the collection. It seemed like spooky/horror stories were over-represented, and there were a few snoozers I didn't see the point of, but there was lots of great stuff. Some of my favorites:

"The Garden of Truth" by E. Nesbit. A man has some mysterious dreams about a woman.

"The Cat that Walked by Himself" by Rudyard Kipling. Wild animals in the forest encounter humans. I really liked the wordplay in the story.

"Mr. & Mrs. Dove" by Katherine Mansfield. An interesting story about romance.

"Georgie Porgie" by Rudyard Kipling. I really liked both Kipling stories in this collection, and I think I'll have to read more of him.

"Ship to Tarshish" by John Buchan. A very dark story about a disturbed man. For me this was the spookiest story in the whole collection

"The Black Cat" by Edgar Allan Poe. I've read a few stories from Poe recently and I'm gaining a lot of appreciation for him.

I also enjoyed "The Monkey's Paw" and "The Tell-Tale Heart", but I was already very familiar with those stories. The "The Tell-Tale Heart" was worth listening to again because the narrator, Richard Pasco, was awesome.

Looking forward to checking out Volume 2!

[Dee Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audible Plus 7 hours 43 min. Various readers

More stories by Saki. These two included tongue-in-cheek witty characterizations on house parties, hosts, and guests. "I knew it was morning because the lawn looked like it had been left out all night." :)
I was also introduced to a French writer, Alphonse Daudet, whose two stories were polar opposites. One was quite funny; the other quite morose.
This collection includes a number of horror stories, which is not my favorite category. I will never forget "Caterpillars" by E.F.Henson Yikes!
I was able to get through Poe's "The Tell-tale Heart" only to be haunted now by his "Black Cat."
My favorite was the longest story "Ship to Tarshish" by John Buchan, which is a twist on Jonah's visit to Nineveh. A coward overcomes his fear of disgrace.
I forgot to mention my favorite quote from Edith Nesbit's story, "I am right sometimes even if I am your mother." I have needed that line for 45 years!

[Realini Ionescu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Classic Stories read by Derek Jacobi, Hugh Laurie, and Stephen Fry



Most of the stories included here have been reviewed separately and they are great: Mad, The Sphinx without a Secret, The Monkey’s Paw, the Girl from Arles and more. The great discovery I made some years ago was the audio book. It was in the British Library that I could enjoy books on tape for the first time: Shakespeare, Arthur Conan Doyle and C. S. Lewis: The Screwtape Letters, read by John Cleese, of Monty Python fame. In fact you can now listen to almost any comedy, or show: Little Britain, Monty Python’s Life of Brian. It used to be audio tapes, now it is mp3, wma, etc.

I got the habit of recording the plays broadcast on the radio and even now I have some of those in the attic, even though they are obsolete. Because there is little chance that they will ever be played again, in the absence, years from now, of the means (tape recorder, player) to play it, I decided to give those precious memories to my macaws. They enjoy them, not the voices, alas, but the tapes as toys to be destroyed and played with little wheels, screws and all.

Fortunately, there are quite a few major projects which provide you with the chance to download for free audio books and under legal circumstances. Many excellent books no longer have the initial copyright protection. Quite a few never had one to start with. At issue are not printed editions, which we obviously cannot Xerox. But the copyrights for Medeea, Oedipus, Plato’s works and many more cannot be claimed, if you go to Livrivox.com or Audio BooksforFree.com, where a bunch of enthusiasts have volunteered and read many of the major works of humanity. I have downloaded recently Gargantua and Pantagruel. They have War and peace, Madame Bovary and many more. Check it out.



You can also try the eBook version at the Gutenberg project, which may be .org, but I am not sure and as I come to think of it, I am not sure for Livrivox or Audiobooksfor free, what the end is: whether .com, org or something else. You Google them and find out.

[Tom Mueller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most of these short stories fit the general 19th Century Gothic theme; all but a handful of the authors are British, with a couple French and American authors thrown into the mix.
I love the short story format when produced by great authors. It takes a teriffic imagination to produce interesting tales in so few words, and great expertise to then condense these tales while developing characters and settings to the fullest extent possible. Add a wonderful voice actor and the result is magic!
I'll add more as I progress with my listening.

The 22 Stories in this anthology are:
Reginald on House Parties - Saki
The Sphinx without a Secret - Oscar Wilde
Tobermory - Saki
On Being Idle - Jerome K Jerome
The Model Millionaire - Oscar Wilde
The Garden of Truth - E. Nesbit
The Cat that Walked by Himself - Rudyard Kipling
The Girl from Arles - Alphonse Daudet
Mr. & Mrs. Dove - Katherine Mansfield
Georgie Porgie - Rudyard Kipling
Caterpillars - E.F. Benton - also just read in Strange and Fantastic Stories: Fifty Tales of Terror, Horror and Fantasy

Lost Hearts - MR James
Ship to Tarshish - John Buchan
The Tell-Tale Heart - Edgar Allan Poe
The Man of the Night - Edgar Wallace
Dr. Heidegger's Experiment - Nathaniel Hawthorne
B 24 - Arthur Conan Doyle
Pat Hobby & Orson Welles - F. Scott Fitzgerald
Mad - Guy de Maupassant
The Black Cat - Edgar Allan Poe
The Monkey's Paw - WW Jacobs

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good assortment of short stories by classic authors, read by excellent narrators.

I enjoyed many of these stories, or at least found them worth listening to. Similar collections of audio short stories have introduced me to some new (to me) authors, including one of my new favorites, Saki. I enjoyed both his stories in this collection, "Reginald on House Parties" and "Tobermory" about the social chaos caused by a talking cat at a house party.

“Caterpillars” by E.F Benson is really weird and exceedingly creepy, and would work well with "Lost Hearts" by M.R. James and "The Monkey's Paw" by W.W. Jacobs for some Halloween horror listening. "B 24" by Arthur Conan Doyle is a strong first person narration that leaves the reader as the judge.

I played “The Cat Who Walked by Himself” by Rudyard Kipling a second time for my 8-year-old niece, and she enjoyed it. The only story I skipped was John Buchan’s “Ship to Tarshis.” I started it several times, and just couldn't get into it. "Mad" by Guy de Maupassant was similarly difficult to get into, but I did listen to it.

I've read "The Tell Tale Heart" and "The Black Cat" by Edgar Allan Poe before, but hearing them close together in this collection, I noticed there are a lot of similarities in the plot. I remember visiting one of Poe's houses and seeing the bricked up place in the basement that inspired the latter story (no sign of a cat, though).

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some old familiars and some I had never encountered before in this collection. Really enjoyed "Pat Hobby and Orson Welles" by F. Scott Fitzgerald, about Old Hollywood; "The Model Millionaire" by Oscar Wilde; "Tobermorey" by Saki; and adored "On Being Idle" by Jerome K. Jerome, but maybe, just maybe because Hugh Laurie narrated it. Enjoy is not the right word for a few excellent but distressing stories, especially "Georgie Porgie" by Rudyard Kipling and "Mad" by Guy de Maupassant. "The Girl from Arles" by Daudet remains too tragique for me, but it is nice to revisit the original idea for something that became a play, music by Bizet, and the inspiration for many paintings and other works of art.

[Juli · Rating 3 out of 5]

The stories were uneven in quality; the narrators were all excellent.

[SheriC · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've had mixed results with this type of audio collection of classic stories. Not necessarily due to the quality of the individual stories, it's more about the mix and production quality. This collection was a pleasant surprise though. It's a refreshing mix of genre, from Romance to Mystery to Horror. There were some familiar old favorites, like "The Monkey's Paw" and "The Tale-Tell Heart" but most were new to me. The stories are all read by recognizable actors, who all do a fine job - film and TV actors are not necessarily the best at reading audio, and the language in these 100+ year old stories is often stilted to my ears, so these are a particular challenge. The sound quality was excellent, and the start of each short story mostly corresponded to the next chapter, but they were labeled Chapter One, Chapter Two, etc., rather than with the title of the story, requiring me to go back and consult the title description frequently.

This is the first volume of three, so I'll be downloading and reading the rest.

Free audio via Audible Plus library.

[Geve_ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty meh imo. I love short stories, and I needed an audio book for lab work, but these were kinda boring. Maybe too gothic and british for me, I dunno. The narrations were mostly pretty great, but couldn't redeem the stories.

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

More "meh" than "classic."

[Zora · Rating 4 out of 5]

A few of these were quite familiar, but the ones I didn't know about pleased me quite a bit.

[Phrodrick slowed his growing backlog · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found these 22 stories to cover a fair range of perhaps conventional but still varied short stories. I was hooked by the very short comic opening story "Reginald on House Parties" (Saki, read by Nigel Hawthorne) almost right through to the campfire favorite "The Monkey’s Paw (W. W. Jacobs read by Patrick Malahide). Between stories progressed through the comic to adventure, romantic to crime and finally to the scary or campfire ghost types.

Classic seems to mean that the preference is for 19th and early 20th century, mostly male and mostly English speaking authors, "Mr. and Mrs Dove" (Katherine Mansfield read by Rosalind Ayres) and " Mad" (Guy De Maupassant read by Derek Jacobi) being two exceptions. This being a BBC production the readers all seemed to be from the deep list of British talent.

The result is a satisfying tour of a few too many classic and not enough unusual selections.

I am not a major fan of the short story and a few were too hoary for my taste. Poe’s "The Tell Tale Heart" and the a fore mentioned "The Monkey’s Paw" came across as too predictable. Given that I most like to have things read to me while I am on long drives, less demanding and short stories seem to best serve my interest in literature without demanding too much of my attention.

Most of the performances were just as one might expect from finely trained English performers. Rudyard Kipling’s "The Cat Who Walks by Himself" was a little long to maintain all of the childhood bedtime story conventions but Liza Goddard handles it well enough. In fact many of these stories could have been invitations to over acting but such was rare.

[Rob · Rating 5 out of 5]

This excellent collection of short stories was really enjoyable. Featuring some of the lesser known works of some of the best authors of all time, these stories are like stepping out of the world of modern literature into the late 1800s and early 1900s. One or two of the 22 stories weren't as interesting as the rest, but overall, a really outstanding collection of stories. Great for your commute!

[Magali Najarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some stories were great some were a miss for me.

My favorites:
- For Better or Worse by W.W. Jacobs
- The Cat that Walked by Himself by Rudyard Kipling
- The Girl from Arles by Alphonse Daudet
- Georgie Porgie by Rudyard Kipling
- Dr. Heidegger's Experiment by Nathaniel Hawthorne
- Pat Hobby & Orson Welles by F.Scott Fitzgerlad
- The Monkey's Paw by W.W. Jacobs

[Alaina Sloo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great readers, like Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry, and you can't go wrong with Edgar Allen Poe or Saki, but many of these classic short stories haven't aged well...

[A · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection started out great. I thoroughly enjoyed the first couple of hours, and it peaked with The Cat That Walked by Himself. After that it descended into the dark, grim, disgusting, racist, misogynistic and finally the dull. I'm also not sure why a collection of 22 would have more than one story by the same author. The narration was excellent throughout.

Reginald on House Parties by Saki, narrated by Nigel Hawthorne The Sphinx Without a Secret by Oscar Wilde, narrated by Martin Jarvis
Tobermory by Saki, narrated by Barbara Leigh-Hunt
On Being Idle by Jerome K. Jerome, narrated by Hugh Laurie
For Better or Worse by W.W. Jacobs, narrated by Joanna David
The Model Millionaire by Oscar Wilde, narrated by T.P. McKenna
The Garden of Truth by E. Nesbit, narrated by Harriet Walker
The Cat That Walked by Himself by Rudyard Kipling, narrated by Liza Goddard
The Girl From Arles by Alphonse Daudet, narrated by Stephen Fry Mr. & Mrs. Dove by Katherine Mansfield, narrated by Rosalind Ayres Georgie Porgie by Rudyard Kipling, narrated by Edward Fox Caterpillars by E.F. Benson, narrated by Patrick Malahide
Lost Hearts by M.R. James, narrated by Richard Pasco
Ship to Tarshish by John Buchan, narrated by Iain Cuthbertson
The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe, narrated by Richard Pasco The Man of the Night by Edgar Wallace, narrated by Robin Bailey
Dr. Heideggers Experiment by Nathaniel Hawthorne, narrated by Nicky Henson
B-24 by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, narrated by Brian Cox
Pat Hobby & Orson Welles by F. Scott Fitzgerald, narrated by Kerry Shale
Mad by Guy de Maupassant, narrated by Derek Jacobi
The Black Cat by Edgar Allan Poe, narrated by Richard Griffiths
The Monkeys Paw by W. W. Jacobs, narrated by Patrick Malahide

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

This collection has a selection of different kinds of stories and readers that entertain for the whole production. The readers are trained experts but I found that the stories are dated and not what appeal to me, some are good but others bored me. An older person might find this collection more to their taste but I need something a little more recent.

[Katrina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't love every story in here, but overall, I definitely enjoyed it. It was an easy way to able to listen to several stories I might have otherwise never picked up. Some of them were a bit boring though, and many of them are running together. However, "The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Black Cat" by Edgar Allen Poe were fantastic. And "The Monkey's Paw" is always a good treat.

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

I stumbled on this collection while I was looking for audiobooks from my library. I was familiar with many of these authors, but most of these specific stories were new to me. Overall, I found it very enjoyable and and interesting, and all of the readers are excellent.

Here's how I would assess the quality of the stories themselves:

Favorites:
"Reginald on House Parties" by Saki, read by Nigel Hawthorne
"On Being Idle" by Jerome K. Jerome, read by Hugh Laurie
"For Better or Worse" by W.W. Jacobs, read by Joanna David
"The Garden of Truth" by E. Nesbit, read by Harriet Walker-
"Lost Hearts" by M. R. James, read by Richard Pasco-
"Dr. Heidegger's Experiment" by Nathaniel Hawthorne, read by Nicky Henson-
"Ship to Tarshish" by John Buchan, read by Iain Cuthbertson-
"The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe, read by Richard Pasco-
"B-24" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, read by Brian Cox-
"Pat Hobby & Orson Welles" by F. Scott Fitzgerald, read by Kerry Shale-
"The Black Cat" by Edgar Allan Poe, read by Richard Griffiths-
"The Monkey's Paw" by W. W. Jacobs, read by Patrick Malahide

Honorable Mention:
"The Sphinx without a Secret" by Oscar Wilde, read by Martin Jarvis-
"Tobermory" by Saki, read by Barbara Leigh-Hunt-
"The Girl from Arles" by Alphonse Daudet, read by Stephen Fry-
"Mr. & Mrs. Dove" by Katherine Mansfield, read by Rosalind Ayres
"Mad" by Guy de Maupassant, read by Derek Jacobi-
"The Model Millionaire" by Oscar Wilde, read by T. P. McKenna-
"The Cat That Walked by Himself" by Rudyard Kipling, read by Liza Goddard-
"The Man of the Night" by Edgar Wallace, read by Robin Bailey-

I have no recollection of "Georgie Porgie" by Rudyard Kipling "Caterpillars" by E. F. Benson. I must have accidentally skipped them. Oops.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four stars. What an enjoyable collection of stories. Each narrator was different and as delightful a treat as the story itself. Only a couple I clicked past. This was the perfect "palate cleanser" after a group of just-so books.

DD@Phila

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a thoroughly entertaining collection of short stories from authors you may have heard of...read by narrators from across the pond (some of whom you may have heard of.)
It's just plain fun, and a good 'read' for those pandemic walks.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent collection that showcases the best of the era. Requires a bit of broad education and familiarity with cultures of different eras and countries to be best appreciated, or at least a willingness to learn.

[Hannah K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent selection of short stories. Narrators varied according to stories and their narration was all amazing. It was fun to hear stories from E. Nesbit, Conan Doyle, and other familiar authors whose longer works I have read. If you find it available on Libby or Audible, read it by all means!

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read novels most of the time. Short stories collections are a real treat, though, interesting ideas. character development done very quickly, and an end before the story begins to lag. I started Great Classic Stories II right after I finished this one.

[Mary Peble · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great collection! Good variety, and none too long. I really enjoyed the performances in the audiobook version.

[msleighm · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lot of gems!

[Robin Black · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great stories for my ride home

[Dananna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow, I'm glad I get to read modern books and not only old classics. These stories are bizarre and some scary. I'm grateful that the world has changed from the hard lives depicted in these tales.

[Alia Makki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Incredible reading.

[Stuart]

Excellent narrators, but hardly the greatest short stories.