Classic Audiobook Collection

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Common Sense by Thomas Paine ~ Full Audiobook [history] Aug 26, 2022

Show notes

Common Sense by Thomas Paine audiobook.

Genre: history

First published in January 1776, Thomas Paine's Common Sense is the fiery pamphlet that helped turn colonial frustration into a direct argument for American independence. Written for ordinary readers rather than lawmakers, it lays out, in plain language, why reconciliation with Britain is neither practical nor desirable, and why a new nation should be built on representative government instead of hereditary monarchy. Paine challenges the legitimacy of kingship, critiques the political and economic costs of continued allegiance to the Crown, and urges the colonies to seize a rare moment when geography, population, and momentum make self-rule achievable. Along the way, he sketches what an independent America might require: a new political framework, unity among the colonies, and the courage to treat independence not as a reckless gamble but as a moral and strategic necessity. Both a historical artifact and a still-provocative piece of political persuasion, Common Sense captures the urgency of a revolutionary turning point and invites listeners to hear the arguments that helped ignite a nation.

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Chapters (Approximate)

(00:00:00) Chapter 0

(00:03:31) Chapter 1

(00:17:40) Chapter 2

(00:40:32) Chapter 3

(01:02:19) Chapter 4

(01:23:00) Chapter 5

(01:49:52) Chapter 6

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The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy ~ Full Audiobook [tragedy] Aug 26, 2022

Show notes

The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy audiobook.

Genre: tragedy

Like all of Hardy's work, The Return of the Native (1878) is passionate and controversial, with themes and sympathies beyond what a good Victorian would ever admit. A modern and honest novel of chance and choice, faith and infidelities, this dark story asks what is free will and what is fate? What is the true nature of nature, and how do we fit together? Can we fit together?

A tragedy set in the barren land of Edgon Heath. Our heroine, Eustacia, is proud, passionate, cruel, fickle, avaricious, and desperate. She burns every life she touches, never able to find the mad love and exotic world she dreams of. Our supposed hero, Clym, is modest, steady, plain, moral, and dutiful. He is satisfied returning from Paris to the simple comfort of home.

When they come together, the Heath will come apart.

Originally released as five books, in classic tragic form, a sixth, tacking on a 'happy ending', was added by editor and public pressure.

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Chapters (Approximate)

(00:00:00) Chapter 1

(00:02:30) Chapter 2

(00:15:30) Chapter 3

(00:32:10) Chapter 4

(01:25:19) Chapter 5

(01:37:36) Chapter 6

(02:09:07) Chapter 7

(02:46:22) Chapter 8

(03:03:09) Chapter 9

(03:15:39) Chapter 10

(03:42:13) Chapter 11

(04:07:10) Chapter 12

(04:29:40) Chapter 13

(04:42:00) Chapter 14

(04:53:57) Chapter 15

(05:07:35) Chapter 16

(05:33:50) Chapter 17

(05:51:18) Chapter 18

(06:17:57) Chapter 19

(06:39:53) Chapter 20

(07:05:26) Chapter 21

(07:19:01) Chapter 22

(07:42:03) Chapter 23

(08:18:55) Chapter 24

(08:39:43) Chapter 25

(08:55:06) Chapter 26

(09:14:34) Chapter 27

(09:50:18) Chapter 28

(10:09:25) Chapter 29

(10:27:33) Chapter 30

(10:54:32) Chapter 31

(11:27:41) Chapter 32

(11:47:36) Chapter 33

(12:00:28) Chapter 34

(12:27:38) Chapter 35

(12:48:31) Chapter 36

(13:10:10) Chapter 37

(13:31:38) Chapter 38

(13:57:02) Chapter 39

(14:18:35) Chapter 40

(14:32:18) Chapter 41

(14:50:16) Chapter 42

(15:08:22) Chapter 43

(15:31:36) Chapter 44

(15:57:44) Chapter 45

(16:26:34) Chapter 46

(16:49:48) Chapter 47

(16:58:23) Chapter 48

(17:12:48) Chapter 49

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Confessions by St. Augustine of Hippo ~ Full Audiobook [religion] Aug 25, 2022

Show notes

Confessions by St. Augustine of Hippo audiobook.

Genre: religion

The Confessions outlines Augustine's sinful youth and his conversion to Christianity. It is widely seen as the first Western autobiography ever written, and was an influential model for Christian writers throughout the following 1,000 years, through the Middle Ages. It is not a complete autobiography, as it was written in his early 40s, and he lived long afterwards, producing another important work (City of God). It does, nonetheless, provide an unbroken record of his development of thought and is the most complete record of any single person from the 4th and 5th centuries. It is a significant theological work, featuring spiritual meditations and insights.

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Chapters (Approximate)

(00:00:00) Chapter 01

(00:28:40) Chapter 01

(00:54:14) Chapter 02

(01:27:15) Chapter 03

(01:57:03) Chapter 03

(02:12:20) Chapter 04

(02:37:59) Chapter 04

(03:06:00) Chapter 05

(03:29:48) Chapter 05

(03:55:51) Chapter 06

(04:26:21) Chapter 06

(04:54:59) Chapter 07

(05:31:14) Chapter 07

(05:57:44) Chapter 08

(06:30:36) Chapter 08

(06:57:38) Chapter 09

(07:35:53) Chapter 09

(08:01:49) Chapter 10

(08:29:29) Chapter 10

(08:58:32) Chapter 10

(09:28:02) Chapter 10

(09:57:37) Chapter 11

(10:21:35) Chapter 11

(10:46:37) Chapter 11

(11:16:09) Chapter 12

(11:31:06) Chapter 12

(11:54:26) Chapter 12

(12:14:13) Chapter 13

(12:33:18) Chapter 13

(13:04:12) Chapter 13

(13:36:16) Chapter 13

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The White Company by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle ~ Full Audiobook [adventure] Aug 25, 2022

Show notes

The White Company by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle audiobook.

Genre: adventure

Set during the Hundred Years' War with France, The White Company tells the story of a young Saxon man who is learning what it is to be a knight. Raised by Cistercian Monks and rejected by a violent elder brother, Alleyn Edricson takes service with one of the foremost knights in the country. When Alleyn falls in love with the knight's daughter, he must prove himself to be a courageous and honourable knight before he can win her hand. Alleyn and his friends set forth with the other men-at-arms to join Prince Edward in Bordeaux, from where they will take part in the Prince's campaign into Spain. It is in Spain that Alleyn and others must prove themselves to be very valiant and hardy cavaliers.

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Chapters (Approximate)

(00:00:00) Chapter 1

(00:21:44) Chapter 2

(00:34:55) Chapter 3

(00:47:52) Chapter 4

(01:15:32) Chapter 5

(01:43:03) Chapter 6

(02:09:09) Chapter 7

(02:33:46) Chapter 8

(02:55:42) Chapter 9

(03:36:20) Chapter 10

(04:20:42) Chapter 11

(04:51:17) Chapter 12

(05:14:23) Chapter 13

(05:30:42) Chapter 14

(05:54:03) Chapter 15

(06:21:57) Chapter 16

(06:40:00) Chapter 17

(06:56:38) Chapter 18

(07:19:49) Chapter 19

(07:44:13) Chapter 20

(08:04:39) Chapter 21

(08:26:38) Chapter 22

(08:42:46) Chapter 23

(09:04:35) Chapter 24

(09:25:18) Chapter 25

(09:38:50) Chapter 26

(10:08:21) Chapter 27

(10:29:39) Chapter 28

(10:57:42) Chapter 29

(11:22:51) Chapter 30

(11:42:45) Chapter 31

(12:05:51) Chapter 32

(12:22:36) Chapter 33

(12:41:42) Chapter 34

(13:04:08) Chapter 35

(13:33:22) Chapter 36

(14:04:33) Chapter 37

(14:25:48) Chapter 38

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The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle ~ Full Audiobook [mystery] Aug 25, 2022

Show notes

The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle audiobook.

Genre: mystery

When Sir Charles Baskerville is found dead on the lonely moor near his ancestral home, the whispered legend of a supernatural hound returns to haunt the Baskerville family. With the young heir, Sir Henry Baskerville, newly arrived from London and marked as the next possible victim, Dr. James Mortimer turns to the only man who might untangle terror from truth: Sherlock Holmes. Holmes dispatches Dr. John Watson to Baskerville Hall to guard Sir Henry and report every strange occurrence - eerie cries in the night, suspicious neighbors, secretive servants, and a landscape that seems to swallow sound and light. As Watson navigates the brooding manor and the treacherous, fog-laced moor, he uncovers a web of motives tied to inheritance, hidden histories, and desperate ambition. Meanwhile, Holmes pursues the invisible thread connecting rumor, evidence, and human deception. With danger tightening around Sir Henry and fear feeding on the old curse, the investigation becomes a race to identify the real predator before the moor claims another life.

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Chapters (Approximate)

(00:00:00) Chapter 01

(00:14:39) Chapter 02

(00:36:57) Chapter 03

(00:54:20) Chapter 04

(01:18:15) Chapter 05

(01:39:06) Chapter 06

(02:00:26) Chapter 07

(02:31:03) Chapter 08

(02:47:46) Chapter 09

(03:27:42) Chapter 10

(03:49:53) Chapter 11

(04:17:20) Chapter 12

(04:42:19) Chapter 13

(05:06:01) Chapter 14

(05:30:37) Chapter 15

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The Story of the Middle Ages by Samuel B. Harding ~ Full Audiobook [history] Aug 25, 2022

Show notes

The Story of the Middle Ages by Samuel B. Harding audiobook.

Genre: history

In The Story of the Middle Ages, historian Samuel B. Harding guides listeners through the long, dramatic centuries that bridged the ancient world and the modern age. Beginning with the fragmentation of the Roman world and the rise of new kingdoms, Harding traces how Europe slowly reorganized itself around the competing forces of kingship, feudal obligation, and the authority of the Church. Along the way, he introduces the people and movements that shaped medieval life - warriors and monks, emperors and popes, townsmen and merchants - and explains how their ambitions and conflicts remade politics, society, and belief. From noticing how law and custom evolved to understanding why crusades, reform movements, and dynastic struggles mattered, the book connects everyday institutions to the era's larger turning points. Clear, steady, and focused on the forces that drove change, Harding's narrative helps listeners see the Middle Ages not as a dark gap between brighter ages, but as a complex period of creation and transformation whose legacies still echo in modern Europe.

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Chapters (Approximate)

(00:00:00) Chapter 1

(00:05:33) Chapter 2

(00:20:23) Chapter 3

(00:32:39) Chapter 4

(00:44:06) Chapter 5

(01:06:57) Chapter 6

(01:22:21) Chapter 7

(01:43:09) Chapter 8

(01:57:52) Chapter 9

(02:18:30) Chapter 10

(02:30:58) Chapter 11

(02:48:08) Chapter 12

(03:09:54) Chapter 13

(03:24:48) Chapter 14

(03:43:37) Chapter 15

(04:11:46) Chapter 16

(04:28:30) Chapter 17

(04:47:40) Chapter 18

(05:12:51) Chapter 19

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The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson ~ Full Audiobook [mystery] Aug 25, 2022

Show notes

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson audiobook.

Genre: mystery

In fog-bound Victorian London, reputable lawyer Gabriel John Utterson becomes troubled by an unsettling name that keeps surfacing in connection with his longtime friend, the brilliant and charitable Dr Henry Jekyll. The name is Edward Hyde - a violent, secretive figure who seems to possess an uncanny claim on Jekyll's life, fortune, and even his safety. As disturbing incidents mount across the city, Utterson is drawn into a slow, obsessive investigation, navigating locked doors, contradictory testimonies, and a growing fear that something unnatural is at work behind Jekyll's respectable facade. Meanwhile, Jekyll retreats from society, his behavior shifting between warmth and cold panic, as if he is fighting a private battle no one else can see. What begins as a legal concern over a troubling will becomes a tense psychological mystery about identity, temptation, and the masks people wear to keep their darkest impulses hidden. With each clue, the boundary between civilized appearance and savage desire grows thinner, and Utterson must confront a question that threatens the very idea of a single, stable self: how well can anyone truly know another person - or themselves?

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Chapters (Approximate)

(00:00:00) Chapter 1

(00:43:09) Chapter 2

(01:22:06) Chapter 3

(02:14:47) Chapter 10

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More William by Richmal Crompton ~ Full Audiobook [comedy] Aug 25, 2022

Show notes

More William by Richmal Crompton audiobook.

Genre: comedy

The second of Crompton's series of 39 books about William Brown, our cheeky 11 year-old protagonist. A hero to some, a dastardly villain to others, this book is structured round a year in his life. Starting with William waking up on Christmas morning and ending with him going to sleep the following Christmas Eve, there are the usual round of misadventures, misunderstanding and general mayhem in between. When a boy like William wakes up under a motto that says 'A Busy Day Is A Happy Day' alongside a copy of 'Things A Boy Can Do', the chaos is just around the corner. Includes the very first William short story - 'Rice Mould'. Often dismissed as children's literature, the first few books of William stories were probably aimed more at an adult audience. They resonate with a distinctly English humour, but there are obvious echoes from 'Tom Sawyer' and 'Huckleberry Finn'.

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Chapters (Approximate)

(00:00:00) Chapter 1

(00:31:34) Chapter 2

(00:57:36) Chapter 3

(01:21:31) Chapter 4

(01:36:25) Chapter 5

(01:50:17) Chapter 6

(02:17:08) Chapter 7

(02:34:49) Chapter 8

(02:58:23) Chapter 9

(03:15:04) Chapter 10

(03:36:49) Chapter 11

(04:08:45) Chapter 12

(04:29:50) Chapter 13

(04:47:29) Chapter 14

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And Then the Town Took Off by Richard Wilson ~ Full Audiobook [scifi] Aug 25, 2022

Show notes

And Then the Town Took Off by Richard Wilson audiobook.

Genre: scifi

The town of Superior, Ohio, certainly was living up to its name! In what was undoubtedly the most spectacular feat of the century, it simply picked itself up one night and rose two full miles above Earth! Radio messages stated simply that Superior had seceded from Earth. But Don Cort, stranded on that rising town, was beginning to suspect that nothing was simple about Superior except its citizens. Calmly they accepted their rise in the world as being due to one of their local townspeople, a crackpot professor. But after a couple of weeks of floating around, it began to be obvious that the professor had no idea how to get them down. So then it was up to Cort: either find a way to anchor Superior, or spend the rest of his days on the smallest—and the nuttiest—planet in the galaxy!

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Chapters (Approximate)

(00:00:00) Chapter 1

(00:32:00) Chapter 2

(01:10:13) Chapter 3

(01:34:13) Chapter 4

(02:02:21) Chapter 5

(02:55:37) Chapter 6

(03:38:42) Chapter 7

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Scaramouche by Rafael Sabatini ~ Full Audiobook [adventure] Aug 25, 2022

Show notes

Scaramouche by Rafael Sabatini audiobook.

Genre: adventure

Set in pre-revolutionary France, Scaramouche follows Andre-Louis Moreau, a sharp-tongued young lawyer of uncertain birth who believes he can stay above politics - until injustice forces him into the widening conflict between privilege and the people. When a nobleman kills Andre-Louis' friend and the courts offer no remedy, Andre-Louis is driven from his quiet provincial life into a perilous journey through radical pamphleteering, political agitation, and the dangerous spotlight of public debate. Hunted by powerful enemies and betrayed by shifting alliances, he discovers that wit can be a weapon, but survival demands reinvention. Taking refuge with a traveling theater troupe, Andre-Louis learns the art of performance and adopts the mask of Scaramouche, using the stage to hide in plain sight and to strike back with satire as France edges toward upheaval. Along the way he crosses swords and hearts with Aline de Kercadiou, whose loyalties and affections complicate his pursuit of justice, and he is repeatedly drawn into confrontation with the ruthless Marquis de La Tour d'Azyr. Swashbuckling action, romance, and political intrigue combine in a story about identity, courage, and the price of speaking truth to power.

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Chapters (Approximate)

(00:00:00) Chapter 1

(00:24:42) Chapter 2

(00:52:06) Chapter 3

(01:18:44) Chapter 4

(01:34:07) Chapter 5

(01:46:32) Chapter 6

(02:07:44) Chapter 7

(02:45:37) Chapter 8

(03:08:53) Chapter 9

(03:32:05) Chapter 10

(04:10:48) Chapter 11

(04:33:46) Chapter 12

(05:04:08) Chapter 13

(05:27:39) Chapter 14

(05:51:38) Chapter 15

(06:30:28) Chapter 16

(06:56:19) Chapter 17

(07:15:18) Chapter 18

(08:09:07) Chapter 19

(08:35:41) Chapter 20

(09:24:12) Chapter 21

(10:07:32) Chapter 22

(10:29:07) Chapter 23

(10:55:08) Chapter 24

(11:37:01) Chapter 25

(12:05:38) Chapter 26

(12:31:23) Chapter 27

(13:01:55) Chapter 28

(13:25:01) Chapter 29

(14:04:37) Chapter 30

(14:30:56) Chapter 31

(14:52:01) Chapter 32

(15:40:57) Chapter 33

(16:05:27) Chapter 34

(16:32:43) Chapter 35

(16:55:59) Chapter 36

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