Classic Audiobook Collection

Latest Episodes:

Captain Blood by Rafael Sabatini ~ Full Audiobook [adventure] Aug 24, 2022

Show notes

Captain Blood by Rafael Sabatini audiobook.

Genre: adventure

In late 17th-century England, Dr. Peter Blood is a skilled Irish physician who wants nothing more than a quiet life of duty and reason. But when he offers medical aid to a wounded rebel after the failed Monmouth Rebellion, Blood is swept up in the Crown's vengeance. Wrongly condemned as a traitor, he is shipped across the Atlantic and sold into bondage on Barbados, where his sharp mind, steady hands, and stubborn sense of honor make him both valuable and dangerous. When an unexpected opportunity for escape appears, Blood seizes it and is reborn on the high seas as a daring sea captain with a growing reputation, a disciplined crew, and a code that sets him apart from the cutthroats around him. His rising fortunes bring him into conflict with powerful enemies, shifting colonial politics, and the relentless reach of empire, even as his complicated connection to Arabella Bishop, the governor's spirited niece, tests the boundaries between conscience and survival. Captain Blood is a swashbuckling tale of injustice, transformation, and the price of freedom.

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Chapters (Approximate)

(00:00:00) Chapter 1

(00:23:06) Chapter 2

(00:46:04) Chapter 3

(01:23:44) Chapter 4

(01:38:22) Chapter 5

(02:06:38) Chapter 6

(02:39:10) Chapter 7

(03:02:52) Chapter 8

(03:17:18) Chapter 9

(03:44:52) Chapter 10

(03:59:42) Chapter 11

(04:24:52) Chapter 12

(04:39:16) Chapter 13

(04:58:42) Chapter 14

(05:18:35) Chapter 15

(05:44:25) Chapter 16

(06:14:10) Chapter 17

(06:48:47) Chapter 18

(07:16:17) Chapter 19

(07:40:25) Chapter 20

(08:07:10) Chapter 21

(08:37:05) Chapter 22

(08:57:38) Chapter 23

(09:28:22) Chapter 24

(09:57:26) Chapter 25

(10:18:46) Chapter 26

(10:48:58) Chapter 27

(11:10:16) Chapter 28

(11:24:46) Chapter 29

(11:41:46) Chapter 30

(11:56:06) Chapter 31

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Happy Prince and Other Tales by Oscar Wilde ~ Full Audiobook [folklore] Aug 24, 2022

Show notes

Happy Prince and Other Tales by Oscar Wilde audiobook.

Genre: folklore

Oscar Wilde's Happy Prince and Other Tales gathers a set of luminous fairy stories that look like bedtime favorites but speak with sharp tenderness to readers of any age. In the city where a jewel-studded statue of the Happy Prince stands high above the streets, the Prince can finally see the poverty and sorrow around him, and he enlists a small migrating Swallow to carry his gold and gems to those in need - a fragile partnership tested by cold weather, urgent requests, and the cost of compassion. Around this central tale, Wilde introduces princes and paupers, selfish giants, devoted friends, and creatures caught between beauty and survival, each facing choices that measure the difference between comfort and conscience. With wit, lyric imagery, and bittersweet emotion, these stories explore generosity, sacrifice, friendship, social inequality, and the quiet bravery of doing what is right when no one is watching. The collection invites listeners to savor Wilde's elegant voice while discovering how wonder can illuminate hard truths.

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Chapters (Approximate)

(00:00:00) Chapter 01

(00:22:02) Chapter 02

(00:36:25) Chapter 03

(00:46:26) Chapter 04

(01:12:37) Chapter 05

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The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli ~ Full Audiobook [philosophy] Aug 24, 2022

Show notes

The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli audiobook.

Genre: philosophy

Written in the turbulence of Renaissance Italy, The Prince is Niccolo Machiavelli's stark, practical manual on how power is gained, protected, and lost. Addressed to a ruler seeking to unify and stabilize a fractured land, the book studies leaders both celebrated and feared, weighing their choices against the harsh realities of war, loyalty, fortune, and public opinion. Machiavelli asks what a successful prince owes to morality, religion, tradition, and promises when the safety of the state is at stake, and he challenges the comforting idea that good intentions guarantee good outcomes. Moving from the management of armies and territories to the delicate art of alliances and reputation, he examines when generosity becomes weakness, when mercy turns dangerous, and how appearances can decide survival. The Prince is not a tale of heroes but an argument about necessity: a ruler must understand human nature as it is, not as it should be, and must be ready to act decisively when circumstances shift. Provocative, concise, and endlessly debated, this classic invites listeners to confront the uneasy boundary between ethics and effective leadership.

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Chapters (Approximate)

(00:00:00) Chapter 01

(00:34:11) Chapter 02

(01:28:02) Chapter 03

(01:47:23) Chapter 04

(02:09:14) Chapter 05

(02:39:25) Chapter 06

(03:01:16) Chapter 07

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Around the World in Seventy-Two Days by Nellie Bly ~ Full Audiobook [adventure] Aug 24, 2022

Show notes

Around the World in Seventy-Two Days by Nellie Bly audiobook.

Genre: adventure

In 1889, journalist Nellie Bly makes a bold wager against the limits placed on women and on travel itself: she will circle the globe faster than the fictional record set in Jules Verne's novel. Around the World in Seventy-Two Days is her fast-moving, first-person account of that real-life race against time, told through port stops, train rides, steamships, and hurried connections that leave no room for hesitation. Traveling largely alone with little more than a small bag and fierce determination, Bly must navigate unfamiliar languages, tight schedules, rough seas, and skeptical officials while reporting every obstacle with wit and clarity. Along the way, she captures vivid impressions of cities and countryside across Europe, Asia, and beyond, comparing customs, food, and everyday life with a reporter's sharp eye and a storyteller's pace. More than a travelogue, this is a portrait of ambition and self-reliance, as Bly turns a publicity challenge into a headline-making feat and an enduring testament to curiosity, speed, and grit.

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Chapters (Approximate)

(00:00:00) Chapter 1

(00:15:42) Chapter 2

(00:36:11) Chapter 3

(00:53:10) Chapter 4

(01:09:47) Chapter 5

(01:33:04) Chapter 6

(01:51:04) Chapter 7

(02:14:47) Chapter 8

(02:54:37) Chapter 9

(03:23:57) Chapter 10

(03:40:51) Chapter 11

(04:09:02) Chapter 12

(04:39:01) Chapter 13

(04:44:24) Chapter 14

(05:12:48) Chapter 15

(05:24:12) Chapter 16

(05:39:26) Chapter 17

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Euthyphro by Plato ~ Full Audiobook [philosophy] Aug 23, 2022

Show notes

Euthyphro by Plato audiobook.

Genre: philosophy

Set on the steps of an Athenian courthouse, Plato's Euthyphro stages a sharp, suspenseful conversation on a question that still unsettles moral and religious life: what makes an action truly holy or right? Socrates, facing a serious legal charge, encounters Euthyphro, a confident religious expert who has come to prosecute his own father for wrongdoing. Struck by Euthyphro's certainty, Socrates asks him to define piety itself, hoping to learn what holiness is in every case, not just in a single example. What follows is a fast-moving exchange of proposals, objections, and refinements, as Socrates tests each definition for clarity, consistency, and depth. Along the way, the dialogue probes the relationship between human justice and divine approval, the limits of tradition, and the danger of mistaking confidence for knowledge. With wit, precision, and escalating philosophical pressure, Euthyphro invites listeners into the heart of Socratic inquiry and the enduring challenge of grounding ethics in something more solid than mere opinion.

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Chapters (Approximate)

(00:00:00) Chapter 1

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Mr. Spaceship by Philip K. Dick ~ Full Audiobook [scifi] Aug 23, 2022

Show notes

Mr. Spaceship by Philip K. Dick audiobook.

Genre: scifi

In a far-future war against the enigmatic Yuks, Terra's fleet keeps losing to weapons that are not machines at all, but living, adaptive organisms that can outthink any automated guidance system. Technocrat Philip Kramer and his colleague Gross propose a breakthrough that sounds like sacrilege: replace the standard Johnson Control with something faster, subtler, and unmistakably human - a living brain. The only problem is finding a donor and deciding what, exactly, is being sacrificed when a mind is removed from its body and wired into a warship. Enter Professor Thomas, Kramer's former teacher, dying and willing to volunteer for the procedure. The project succeeds beyond anyone's expectations, and the newly built cruiser earns a nickname that is half joke, half prayer: Mr. Spaceship. But the moment the ship takes to the stars, Kramer discovers that intelligence cannot be treated as a mere component. As military necessity collides with personal loyalty, Kramer and his wife, Dolores, are drawn into a struggle over control, identity, and whether a civilization obsessed with winning wars deserves the future it is trying to reach.

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Chapters (Approximate)

(00:00:00) Chapter 1

(00:16:33) Chapter 2

(00:30:41) Chapter 3

(00:47:06) Chapter 4

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Psmith in the City by P. G. Wodehouse ~ Full Audiobook [comedy] Aug 23, 2022

Show notes

Psmith in the City by P. G. Wodehouse audiobook.

Genre: comedy

When impecunious but unflappably confident Rupert Psmith and his steady, athletic friend Mike Jackson arrive in London, they are fresh from school and short on funds, which means only one thing: employment. Soon they find themselves drafted into the gray world of a City bank, where clerks shuffle papers, superiors bark orders, and every day threatens to smother youth under a blanket of routine. Psmith, however, is not built for quiet obedience. With his unmistakable monocle, elaborate vocabulary, and heroic devotion to personal dignity, he turns the office into a stage, needling pompous managers, defending downtrodden coworkers, and treating every rule as an invitation to creative interpretation. As Mike tries to balance responsibility, ambition, and loyalty, Psmith's principled mischief draws the pair into workplace rivalries, after-hours scrapes, and a tangle of friendships and romances that complicate their precarious position. Packed with sparkling dialogue and sharply observed social satire, Psmith in the City is a warm, whirlwind comedy about class, courage, and the art of staying cheerful while the grown-up world tries its best to be dull.

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Chapters (Approximate)

(00:00:00) Chapter 01

(00:29:51) Chapter 02

(00:59:17) Chapter 03

(01:43:48) Chapter 04

(02:25:32) Chapter 05

(02:33:37) Chapter 06

(02:45:52) Chapter 07

(02:59:15) Chapter 08

(03:29:42) Chapter 09

(03:59:01) Chapter 10

(04:34:55) Chapter 11

(05:13:19) Chapter 12

(05:24:49) Chapter 13

(05:40:39) Chapter 14

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A Damsel in Distress by P. G. Wodehouse ~ Full Audiobook [comedy] Aug 23, 2022

Show notes

A Damsel in Distress by P. G. Wodehouse audiobook.

Genre: comedy

When wealthy, amiable American George Finch arrives in England, he expects country houses, polite society, and perhaps a little leisure. Instead, he collides with Maud Marsh - spirited, proud, and very much not looking for rescue - and promptly convinces himself that fate has handed him the perfect role: gallant savior to a damsel in distress. Maud, however, is entangled in the quiet crises of a respectable but cash-strapped family: a domineering, status-minded relative who believes money solves everything, a household balancing on appearances, and a brother whose reckless choices threaten to pull them all into scandal. As George tries to help, his well-intentioned interventions ricochet through drawing rooms and country lanes, stirring up misunderstandings, unwanted engagements, wounded pride, and a parade of eccentrics with strong opinions on how love and duty ought to work. With P. G. Wodehouse's signature sparkle and precision, A Damsel in Distress turns romance into high comedy - a battle between sincerity and social maneuvering, where the hardest thing about playing the hero is figuring out what the heroine actually wants.

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Chapters (Approximate)

(00:00:00) Chapter 01

(00:29:25) Chapter 02

(00:49:31) Chapter 03

(01:06:01) Chapter 04

(01:20:49) Chapter 05

(01:33:42) Chapter 06

(01:59:50) Chapter 07

(02:19:54) Chapter 08

(02:32:59) Chapter 09

(02:50:25) Chapter 10

(03:01:30) Chapter 11

(03:17:12) Chapter 12

(03:25:41) Chapter 13

(03:42:11) Chapter 14

(03:58:44) Chapter 15

(04:28:08) Chapter 16

(04:48:52) Chapter 17

(05:00:03) Chapter 18

(05:11:13) Chapter 19

(05:26:32) Chapter 20

(05:40:41) Chapter 21

(06:08:22) Chapter 22

(06:23:36) Chapter 23

(06:42:51) Chapter 24

(06:55:58) Chapter 25

(07:03:13) Chapter 26

(07:22:45) Chapter 27

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The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne ~ Full Audiobook [drama] Aug 23, 2022

Show notes

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne audiobook.

Genre: drama

In a rigid 17th-century Puritan settlement, Hester Prynne is forced to stand before her community branded as an adulteress, marked by a scarlet letter sewn to her clothing. Refusing to name the child's father, she raises her spirited daughter Pearl on the edge of society, living under constant scrutiny and moral judgment. As Hester struggles to protect her child and carve out a life with dignity, the town's most revered young minister, Arthur Dimmesdale, begins to wither under a private burden that no sermon can ease. When Hester's long-lost husband returns in secret, taking the name Roger Chillingworth, he becomes obsessed with uncovering the truth behind Hester's shame, turning his sharp intelligence into a tool of quiet vengeance. Set amid stark forests, stern meetinghouses, and the watchful eyes of neighbors, The Scarlet Letter follows a web of sin, punishment, and mercy, asking who truly has the right to judge. Hawthorne's classic novel explores secrecy and confession, public law and private conscience, and the fierce cost - and surprising strength - of love and redemption.

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Chapters (Approximate)

(00:00:00) Chapter 1

(00:51:29) Chapter 2

(01:38:23) Chapter 01

(01:41:37) Chapter 02

(02:02:10) Chapter 03

(02:23:39) Chapter 04

(02:40:37) Chapter 05

(03:01:56) Chapter 06

(03:24:31) Chapter 07

(03:40:47) Chapter 08

(03:59:23) Chapter 09

(04:21:34) Chapter 10

(04:44:46) Chapter 11

(05:02:21) Chapter 12

(05:28:18) Chapter 13

(05:48:34) Chapter 14

(06:03:45) Chapter 15

(06:19:17) Chapter 16

(06:33:38) Chapter 17

(07:00:24) Chapter 18

(07:14:29) Chapter 19

(07:31:01) Chapter 20

(07:52:12) Chapter 21

(08:11:16) Chapter 22

(08:40:34) Chapter 23

(08:57:17) Chapter 24

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In the Bishop’s Carriage by Miriam Michelson ~ Full Audiobook [mystery] Aug 23, 2022

Show notes

In the Bishop’s Carriage by Miriam Michelson audiobook.

Genre: mystery

Nancy 'Nance' Olden has learned to survive by her wits. Raised in a brutal charity home the girls bitterly nickname the Cruelty, she runs away into a city that offers little mercy and plenty of temptation. On the streets she falls in with Tom Dorgan, a charming, dangerous crook who sees her quick mind as an asset, and together they play confidence games and thefts that keep the police close behind. During a frantic escape, Nance slips into the wrong carriage and collides with an unlikely protector: a dignified bishop whose intervention turns a near-capture into a baffling second chance. But escaping the law is not the same as escaping a past, and Nance soon finds herself pulled between two worlds - the electric thrill and loyalty of her old partnership with Tom, and the promise of a respectable life offered by new allies who recognize her talent for mimicry and performance. As Nance is drawn toward the stage and a different name for herself, the city tightens its net, old crimes resurface, and she must decide what she truly wants to steal: money, freedom, or a future.

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Chapters (Approximate)

(00:00:00) Chapter 01

(00:35:33) Chapter 02

(01:12:37) Chapter 03

(01:25:39) Chapter 04

(01:51:20) Chapter 05

(02:09:52) Chapter 06

(02:25:37) Chapter 07

(02:44:01) Chapter 08

(03:10:11) Chapter 09

(03:26:04) Chapter 10