Classic Audiobook Collection

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The Black Candle by Emily Murphy ~ Full Audiobook [history] Jul 10, 2023

Show notes

The Black Candle by Emily Murphy audiobook.

Genre: history

First published in 1922, The Black Candle is Emily F. Murphy's hard-hitting and highly influential exposé on narcotics in early 20th-century Canada. Writing from the vantage point of a public magistrate (and drawing on earlier journalism under her pen name, Janey Canuck), Murphy assembles courtroom anecdotes, police accounts, medical claims, and sensational reportage to argue that opium, cocaine, morphine and heroin, and the then-new specter of marijuana are not private vices but a national emergency. Moving from city streets and alleged opium dens to the machinery of trafficking and corruption, she portrays addiction as a force that can hollow out families, exploit the vulnerable, and undermine social order. The book's central conflict is not a single mystery to be solved, but a campaign: Murphy presses for stronger enforcement, harsher penalties, and broader public vigilance against dealers and users alike. At the same time, the narrative reveals the era's moral panic and the racialized assumptions that shaped public debate, making the work both a period artifact and a document with lasting consequences for drug policy and social attitudes.

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Chapters (Approximate)

(00:00:00) Chapter 00

(00:06:08) Chapter 01

(00:24:09) Chapter 02

(00:41:00) Chapter 03

(00:57:06) Chapter 04

(01:14:39) Chapter 05

(01:29:18) Chapter 06

(01:43:27) Chapter 07

(01:56:59) Chapter 08

(02:28:00) Chapter 09

(02:50:01) Chapter 10

(03:08:52) Chapter 11

(03:30:58) Chapter 12

(03:49:18) Chapter 13

(04:16:55) Chapter 14

(04:38:50) Chapter 15

(04:55:22) Chapter 16

(05:17:06) Chapter 17

(05:43:37) Chapter 18

(06:09:06) Chapter 19

(06:30:38) Chapter 20

(06:47:59) Chapter 21

(07:12:13) Chapter 22

(07:40:41) Chapter 23

(07:55:27) Chapter 24

(08:17:32) Chapter 25

(08:39:35) Chapter 26

(09:00:18) Chapter 27

(09:25:53) Chapter 28

(09:38:51) Chapter 29

(09:59:20) Chapter 30

(10:22:31) Chapter 31

(10:44:04) Chapter 32

(11:10:32) Chapter 33

(11:26:03) Chapter 34

(11:44:34) Chapter 35

(12:03:09) Chapter 36

(12:14:56) Chapter 37

(12:37:28) Chapter 38

(12:53:55) Chapter 39

(13:13:43) Chapter 40

(13:27:51) Chapter 41

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File No. 113 by Emile Gaboriau ~ Full Audiobook [mystery] Jul 10, 2023

Show notes

File No. 113 by Emile Gaboriau audiobook.

Genre: mystery

As the story opens the impregnable safe of the Fauvel bank is robbed of 350,000 francs. As the only keyholders are Andre Fauvel the owner and his trusted head cashier it stands to reason that one of the two must be guilty. Both adamantly refute the charge. Enter the celebrated detective, and master of disguise, Monsieur Le coq who is determined to prove the accused Prosper Bertomy innocent and why he was framed. Believing the crimes linked he enlists the aid of 'The Squirrel'', an aspiring detective, in order to unravel the ingenuous plot of two despicable scoundrels, the Marquis de Clameran and Raoul Lagors, who have coerced the banker's wife and his niece Madeleine into giving up their money and precious jewels. With his methodical and superior investigative skills Le Coq uncovers the past betrayals, deceit, lies and family secrets that led to this vile plot which has affected so many lives.

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Chapters (Approximate)

(00:00:00) Chapter 01

(00:27:10) Chapter 02

(01:00:23) Chapter 03

(01:31:50) Chapter 04

(02:03:45) Chapter 05

(02:38:00) Chapter 06

(03:02:24) Chapter 07

(03:26:40) Chapter 08

(03:57:47) Chapter 09

(04:24:54) Chapter 10

(04:44:17) Chapter 11

(05:10:14) Chapter 12

(05:36:25) Chapter 13

(05:59:29) Chapter 14

(06:21:41) Chapter 15

(06:46:58) Chapter 16

(07:07:04) Chapter 17

(07:36:47) Chapter 18

(08:06:28) Chapter 19

(08:45:34) Chapter 20

(09:16:32) Chapter 21

(09:44:24) Chapter 22

(10:07:18) Chapter 23

(10:28:12) Chapter 24

(10:53:58) Chapter 25

(11:24:45) Chapter 26

(11:52:00) Chapter 27

(12:26:54) Chapter 28

(12:55:52) Chapter 29

(13:21:21) Chapter 30

(13:50:36) Chapter 31

(14:15:07) Chapter 32

(14:39:43) Chapter 33

(14:58:38) Chapter 34

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The Birth of Tragedy by Friedrich Nietzsche ~ Full Audiobook [philosophy] Jul 08, 2023

Show notes

The Birth of Tragedy by Friedrich Nietzsche audiobook.

Genre: philosophy

In The Birth of Tragedy, a young Friedrich Nietzsche sets out to explain how the greatest achievements of ancient Greek art emerged - and why modern culture so often feels artistically and spiritually exhausted. Moving from myth and music to drama and philosophy, Nietzsche argues that Greek tragedy was born from a volatile tension between two forces: the Apollonian impulse toward form, clarity, and luminous images, and the Dionysian impulse toward ecstasy, intoxication, and the breakdown of ordinary boundaries. At the center of the story stands tragedy's rise and decline, from the choral origins of ritual to the stagecraft of Aeschylus and Sophocles, and then toward a turning point Nietzsche links to the ascendancy of rational explanation. Along the way he confronts Socrates, probes the role of suffering in art, and offers an audacious defense of music - especially the kind of primal, world-shaping music he associates with the spirit of Wagner. Provocative, lyrical, and combative, this book invites listeners to ask what art is for, what a culture needs in order to flourish, and whether modern life can recover a tragic wisdom without surrendering to despair.

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Chapters (Approximate)

(00:00:00) Chapter 00

(00:44:40) Chapter 01

(01:21:05) Chapter 02

(01:24:20) Chapter 03

(01:38:55) Chapter 04

(01:49:35) Chapter 05

(02:00:20) Chapter 06

(02:12:31) Chapter 07

(02:30:51) Chapter 08

(02:42:51) Chapter 09

(02:59:06) Chapter 10

(03:19:46) Chapter 11

(03:38:11) Chapter 12

(03:49:06) Chapter 13

(04:06:11) Chapter 14

(04:24:21) Chapter 15

(04:34:46) Chapter 16

(04:48:41) Chapter 17

(05:04:56) Chapter 18

(05:23:26) Chapter 19

(05:41:11) Chapter 20

(05:54:23) Chapter 21

(06:18:53) Chapter 22

(06:27:43) Chapter 23

(06:49:08) Chapter 24

(07:02:48) Chapter 25

(07:16:28) Chapter 26

(07:30:23) Chapter 27

(07:35:30) Chapter 28

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The Soul or Rational Psychology by Emanuel Swedenborg ~ Full Audiobook [philosophy] Jul 08, 2023

Show notes

The Soul or Rational Psychology by Emanuel Swedenborg audiobook.

Genre: philosophy

In The Soul, or Rational Psychology, Emanuel Swedenborg brings the mind of an 18th-century scientist to one of humanity's oldest questions: what is the soul, and how does it work within a living person? Writing before his later visionary theological works, Swedenborg sets out to build a rational account of the soul's nature, its relationship to the body, and the inner machinery of human life - sensation, imagination, memory, understanding, and will. Moving between careful observation, philosophical argument, and the anatomical knowledge of his era, he challenges the listener to consider whether thought and feeling can be reduced to matter alone, or whether a deeper principle must be admitted to explain consciousness, freedom, and moral responsibility. Along the way, Swedenborg explores how the soul communicates with the senses, how the mind forms ideas from experience, and how a person can be both a physical organism and a self-aware agent. Dense, ambitious, and often surprisingly modern in its aims, this work is a rigorous invitation to follow reason as far as it can go in the search for the soul.

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Chapters (Approximate)

(00:00:00) Chapter 01

(00:48:30) Chapter 02

(00:52:04) Chapter 03

(00:56:29) Chapter 04

(01:16:05) Chapter 05

(01:25:11) Chapter 06

(01:32:58) Chapter 07

(01:53:49) Chapter 08

(02:22:50) Chapter 09

(02:35:49) Chapter 10

(02:43:53) Chapter 11

(02:57:03) Chapter 12

(03:17:01) Chapter 13

(03:39:38) Chapter 14

(04:01:54) Chapter 15

(04:28:07) Chapter 16

(04:56:19) Chapter 17

(05:22:50) Chapter 18

(05:37:12) Chapter 19

(05:58:25) Chapter 20

(06:20:07) Chapter 21

(06:40:12) Chapter 22

(07:05:02) Chapter 23

(07:32:17) Chapter 24

(07:53:21) Chapter 25

(08:12:25) Chapter 26

(08:39:20) Chapter 27

(09:00:41) Chapter 28

(09:18:56) Chapter 29

(09:41:42) Chapter 30

(09:49:46) Chapter 31

(10:10:05) Chapter 32

(10:30:31) Chapter 33

(10:54:44) Chapter 34

(11:23:53) Chapter 35

(12:01:12) Chapter 36

(12:26:40) Chapter 37

(12:46:36) Chapter 38

(12:57:54) Chapter 39

(13:04:03) Chapter 40

(13:10:46) Chapter 41

(13:20:51) Chapter 42

(13:34:22) Chapter 43

(13:51:38) Chapter 44

(14:05:52) Chapter 45

(14:23:45) Chapter 46

(14:40:21) Chapter 47

(14:48:20) Chapter 48

(15:05:38) Chapter 49

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Settlers of the Marsh by Frederick Philip Grove ~ Full Audiobook [tragedy] Jul 07, 2023

Show notes

Settlers of the Marsh by Frederick Philip Grove audiobook.

Genre: tragedy

In the Big Grassy Marsh country of northern Manitoba in the early twentieth century, Swedish immigrant Niels Lindstedt stakes everything on a simple, burning vision: clear the bush, break the stubborn soil, and build a home that proves he belongs in this new land. Through backbreaking work and fierce self-discipline, he begins to turn raw wilderness into a prosperous farm - and he fixes his hopes on Ellen Amundsen, the capable, guarded daughter of a neighboring settler. But Ellen carries a private vow shaped by the brutal history she has witnessed, and Niels's yearning for domestic happiness meets a refusal he cannot understand. Stung by rejection and swept up by loneliness, he is drawn toward town and into the orbit of Clara Vogel, a woman who offers immediate comfort and dangerous excitement. As prairie respectability, desire, and pride collide, Niels discovers that building a house is easier than building a life, and that one impulsive decision can put a hard-won dream at risk. Frederick Philip Grove's stark, unsentimental novel explores isolation, sexuality, moral consequence, and the relentless pressures of pioneer survival.

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Chapters (Approximate)

(00:00:00) Chapter 01

(00:30:43) Chapter 02

(01:03:18) Chapter 03

(01:36:21) Chapter 04

(02:06:34) Chapter 05

(02:31:56) Chapter 06

(03:00:04) Chapter 07

(03:26:31) Chapter 08

(03:49:31) Chapter 09

(04:17:35) Chapter 10

(04:50:35) Chapter 11

(05:19:53) Chapter 12

(05:53:34) Chapter 13

(06:17:30) Chapter 14

(06:40:08) Chapter 15

(07:06:44) Chapter 16

(07:39:00) Chapter 17

(08:16:19) Chapter 18

(08:43:54) Chapter 19

(09:26:15) Chapter 20

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Animal Ghosts by Elliott ODonnell ~ Full Audiobook [folklore] Jul 07, 2023

Show notes

Animal Ghosts by Elliott ODonnell audiobook.

Genre: folklore

In Animal Ghosts, noted ghost-hunter and storyteller Elliott O'Donnell turns his attention from haunted houses to the creatures that shared them, asking a provocative question: if human beings may survive death, why not animals? Framed by an impassioned preface arguing for animal souls and a just hereafter, the book unfolds as a casebook of eerie reports, letters, and traditional tales gathered from witnesses and old sources. O'Donnell organizes his investigation by kind, moving through cats, dogs, horses, farm animals, and then outward to wild creatures, jungle beasts, and birds. A sinister cat emblem over an ancient manor, phantom dogs that pad through corridors or appear as omens, spectral hunts and riders, and uncanny animal behavior that seems to sense the unseen all become evidence in his wider argument. Part anthology and part inquiry, the narrative blends folklore with first-hand testimony, inviting listeners to weigh coincidence against haunting and compassion against cruelty. By the end, the lingering question is not only what people might see in the dark, but what debts the living may owe to the voiceless dead.

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Chapters (Approximate)

(00:00:00) Chapter 01

(00:21:21) Chapter 02

(00:46:54) Chapter 03

(01:28:27) Chapter 04

(01:52:20) Chapter 05

(02:42:07) Chapter 06

(03:17:45) Chapter 07

(03:31:11) Chapter 08

(04:07:59) Chapter 09

(04:35:15) Chapter 10

(05:18:44) Chapter 11

(06:12:54) Chapter 12

(06:36:49) Chapter 13

(06:55:00) Chapter 14

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The Heart of the New Thought by Ella Wheeler Wilcox ~ Full Audiobook [self help] Jul 07, 2023

Show notes

The Heart of the New Thought by Ella Wheeler Wilcox audiobook.

Genre: self help

In The Heart of the New Thought, bestselling poet and essayist Ella Wheeler Wilcox offers a clear, warmly persuasive introduction to the spiritual philosophy that helped shape early self-improvement movements in America. Speaking directly to the listener, Wilcox argues that the most decisive battles are fought in the unseen world of thought: fear versus faith, resentment versus forgiveness, and passive wishing versus deliberate, constructive intention. Moving between practical counsel and uplifting reflection, she explores how habit, attention, and emotion influence health, work, and relationships, and she urges readers to replace despairing inner talk with chosen ideas that build courage and calm. Throughout, Wilcox returns to a central challenge: how to hold to a higher view of life when daily setbacks, grief, and discouragement tempt the mind to surrender. With an emphasis on personal responsibility, inner discipline, and a hopeful moral vision, this classic New Thought text invites listeners to test its principles in ordinary moments - and to discover a steadier sense of purpose, power, and peace.

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Chapters (Approximate)

(00:00:00) Chapter 00

(00:01:38) Chapter 01

(00:06:52) Chapter 02

(00:12:06) Chapter 03

(00:17:03) Chapter 04

(00:22:20) Chapter 05

(00:27:31) Chapter 06

(00:33:53) Chapter 07

(00:40:00) Chapter 08

(00:44:16) Chapter 09

(00:48:03) Chapter 10

(00:54:02) Chapter 11

(00:58:53) Chapter 12

(01:07:00) Chapter 13

(01:10:36) Chapter 14

(01:17:31) Chapter 15

(01:22:53) Chapter 16

(01:29:36) Chapter 17

(01:33:25) Chapter 18

(01:36:59) Chapter 19

(01:39:10) Chapter 20

(01:47:41) Chapter 21

(01:53:54) Chapter 22

(01:59:09) Chapter 23

(02:04:49) Chapter 24

(02:08:23) Chapter 25

(02:11:27) Chapter 26

(02:15:24) Chapter 27

(02:20:30) Chapter 28

(02:25:56) Chapter 29

(02:31:05) Chapter 30

(02:36:19) Chapter 31

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The Story of a Modern Woman by Ella Hepworth Dixon ~ Full Audiobook [drama] Jul 06, 2023

Show notes

The Story of a Modern Woman by Ella Hepworth Dixon audiobook.

Genre: drama

Set in late-Victorian London at the height of the 'New Woman' debate, The Story of a Modern Woman follows Mary Erle, a bright, ambitious young writer trying to build a life on her own terms. When her family circumstances shift, Mary is forced to exchange genteel expectations for paid work, navigating the precarious world of journalism, publishing, and social connections where a woman's reputation can be made or broken by a rumor. Alongside her are other sharply drawn women - friends and rivals - each testing the era's narrow ideas about love, duty, and respectability. As Mary pursues independence, she confronts the costs of self-reliance: uneven opportunities, patronizing gatekeepers, financial anxiety, and the constant pressure to trade talent for security. A candid, witty, and often melancholy portrait of modernity arriving early, Ella Hepworth Dixon's novel explores the tension between desire and practicality, friendship and competition, and the private sacrifices hidden behind public poise.

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Chapters (Approximate)

(00:00:00) Chapter 01

(00:19:59) Chapter 02

(00:42:07) Chapter 03

(00:58:44) Chapter 04

(01:15:51) Chapter 05

(01:34:34) Chapter 06

(01:53:06) Chapter 07

(02:08:05) Chapter 08

(02:25:54) Chapter 09

(02:41:38) Chapter 10

(02:59:01) Chapter 11

(03:18:12) Chapter 12

(03:37:28) Chapter 13

(03:56:52) Chapter 14

(04:13:17) Chapter 15

(04:28:26) Chapter 16

(04:47:42) Chapter 17

(05:03:48) Chapter 18

(05:19:32) Chapter 19

(05:39:56) Chapter 20

(05:57:18) Chapter 21

(06:16:59) Chapter 22

(06:36:13) Chapter 23

(06:53:57) Chapter 24

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Wired Love - A Romance of Dots and Dashes by Ella Cheever Thayer ~ Full Audiobook [romance] Jul 06, 2023

Show notes

Wired Love - A Romance of Dots and Dashes by Ella Cheever Thayer audiobook.

Genre: romance

In the bustling, wire-laced world of late 19th-century America, Nattie Rogers lives by a strict code: keep your private life private, keep your feelings in check, and never mix romance with the telegraph key. A skilled operator known on the line by a crisp, professional handle, Nattie spends her days translating human urgency into dots and dashes and her nights guarding her independence in a society eager to define what a woman should be. But the telegraph also offers something intoxicating - connection without appearances, intimacy without introductions. When Nattie strikes up a playful, increasingly personal correspondence with a charming operator she knows only by his signal name, the exchange turns into a contest of wit, willpower, and vulnerability. As their messages grow bolder, the risks rise: misunderstandings can travel as fast as electricity, reputations can be damaged by rumor, and the boundary between on-the-wire fantasy and real-world consequence begins to blur. Moving from offices and boardinghouses to social gatherings and chance encounters, this pioneering romance explores identity, trust, and the strange thrill of falling for a voice you cannot see - while asking what it means to choose love on your own terms.

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Chapters (Approximate)

(00:00:00) Chapter 01

(00:17:55) Chapter 02

(00:37:30) Chapter 03

(01:04:13) Chapter 04

(01:20:01) Chapter 05

(01:37:29) Chapter 06

(01:54:06) Chapter 07

(02:10:46) Chapter 08

(02:26:11) Chapter 09

(02:47:31) Chapter 10

(03:10:50) Chapter 11

(03:34:11) Chapter 12

(03:50:07) Chapter 13

(04:03:48) Chapter 14

(04:14:06) Chapter 15

(04:43:54) Chapter 16

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The Autobiography of a Newspaper Girl by Elizabeth L. Banks ~ Full Audiobook [comedy] Jul 06, 2023

Show notes

The Autobiography of a Newspaper Girl by Elizabeth L. Banks audiobook.

Genre: comedy

Elizabeth Banks was an American journalist and author. She grew up in Wisconsin, then lived in England the last forty years of her life. She became a regular contributor to English publications such as The Daily News, Punch, St James' Gazette, and London Illustrated. She created a sensation by recording her observations on the plight of the lower classes, which she researched posing as a housemaid, street sweeper, and Covent Garden flower girl. Her later journalistic writings promoted women's right to vote and denounced prison conditions for jailed suffragettes. This memoir was written about 10 years into her career, when she was better known but was not financially secure.

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Chapters (Approximate)

(00:00:00) Chapter 01

(00:11:01) Chapter 02

(00:33:54) Chapter 03

(01:00:45) Chapter 04

(01:26:34) Chapter 05

(01:47:23) Chapter 06

(02:11:51) Chapter 07

(02:34:10) Chapter 08

(03:00:24) Chapter 09

(03:14:16) Chapter 10

(03:42:00) Chapter 11

(03:57:19) Chapter 12

(04:03:39) Chapter 13

(04:24:22) Chapter 14

(04:38:15) Chapter 15

(05:04:20) Chapter 16

(05:24:30) Chapter 17

(05:50:00) Chapter 18

(06:12:57) Chapter 19

(06:20:21) Chapter 20

(06:42:42) Chapter 21

(07:02:33) Chapter 22

(07:25:48) Chapter 23

(07:46:22) Chapter 24

(08:03:46) Chapter 25

(08:24:57) Chapter 26

(08:48:06) Chapter 27

(09:05:45) Chapter 28

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