Classic Audiobook Collection

Latest Episodes:

William - The Fourth by Richmal Crompton ~ Full Audiobook [comedy] Dec 08, 2023

Show notes

William - The Fourth by Richmal Crompton audiobook.

Genre: comedy

In William - The Fourth, Richmal Crompton returns to the riotous world of eleven-year-old William Brown, self-appointed leader of the Outlaws and constant thorn in the side of respectable village life. William means well, in his own way, but his fierce sense of justice and unstoppable imagination turn every ordinary afternoon into a campaign. After overhearing grown-up talk about politics and equality, William decides it is time for action - and the Outlaws are drafted into a new movement that no one else quite understands. From schoolroom rivalries and would-be entrepreneurial schemes to misadventures involving photography, fairs, costumes, and mistaken identities, William charges ahead with complete confidence, dragging friends, enemies, and bewildered adults along behind him. At home, his long-suffering parents and siblings brace for the latest disaster, while the formidable Great-Aunt Jane proves one of the few people capable of meeting William on his own ground. Warm, sharp, and relentlessly funny, this collection captures the serious intensity of childhood plans and the comic fallout when they collide with the adult world.

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Chapters (Approximate)

(00:00:00) Chapter 01

(00:21:17) Chapter 02

(00:44:48) Chapter 03

(01:09:04) Chapter 04

(01:31:45) Chapter 05

(01:49:45) Chapter 06

(02:14:40) Chapter 07

(02:37:49) Chapter 08

(03:06:06) Chapter 09

(03:28:19) Chapter 10

(03:53:27) Chapter 11

(04:23:45) Chapter 12

(04:44:18) Chapter 13

(05:08:53) Chapter 14

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Anne of Geierstein, Volume 2 by Sir Walter Scott ~ Full Audiobook [adventure] Dec 07, 2023

Show notes

Anne of Geierstein, Volume 2 by Sir Walter Scott audiobook.

Genre: adventure

In Anne of Geierstein, Volume 2, Sir Walter Scott deepens his tale of perilous travel and political intrigue as the young Englishman Arthur Philipson and his wary companion, Sir Archibald of Ardennes, press onward through a Europe on the brink of upheaval. Guided and challenged by the proud Swiss maiden Anne of Geierstein and the fierce independence of her Alpine countrymen, Arthur is drawn into the sharpening conflict between the Swiss Confederacy and the glittering, ruthless power of Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy. What began as a hazardous journey becomes a test of character: Arthur must navigate shifting alliances, secret councils, and the clash between chivalric ambition and republican liberty, all while guarding a personal mystery that could remake his future. As armies gather and diplomacy turns treacherous, Scott blends romance, battlefield tension, and vivid historical atmosphere, showing how private lives are swept into the tide of nations. Volume 2 raises the stakes with larger dangers, harder choices, and a mounting question of where honor truly lies when every side demands loyalty.

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Chapters (Approximate)

(00:00:00) Chapter 01

(00:57:40) Chapter 02

(01:42:25) Chapter 03

(02:30:14) Chapter 04

(03:06:02) Chapter 05

(03:41:21) Chapter 06

(04:29:36) Chapter 07

(05:16:23) Chapter 08

(05:44:17) Chapter 09

(06:22:28) Chapter 10

(07:11:06) Chapter 11

(07:40:40) Chapter 12

(08:38:40) Chapter 13

(09:09:16) Chapter 14

(10:12:47) Chapter 15

(10:33:58) Chapter 16

(11:14:00) Chapter 17

(11:55:00) Chapter 18

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The Interrupted Kiss by Richard Marsh ~ Full Audiobook [mystery] Dec 07, 2023

Show notes

The Interrupted Kiss by Richard Marsh audiobook.

Genre: mystery

In a quiet household where propriety is meant to keep life orderly, Clare is jolted awake in the dead of night by a nameless unease. Her husband, Rupert, is not beside her, and when she searches the shadowed rooms she collides with her cousin Elsie, who has heard Rupert cry out in fear. Clare returns to find a baffling, unsettling sight: Rupert feeding papers into the fire, as if desperate to erase evidence before dawn. By morning, the family is struck by a brutal discovery - Uncle John, a grasping and thoroughly disliked moneylender, has been murdered. With motives scattered through old debts, bruised pride, and private entanglements, suspicion settles over everyone who shared a roof with the victim, and even the smallest domestic detail begins to feel like a clue. As Clare tries to protect the life she thought she understood, she is forced to weigh loyalty against truth, and affection against doubt, while the mystery tightens around a household full of secrets. At stake is not only the answer to a killing, but whether Clare and Rupert can reclaim the intimacy that was interrupted before everything went wrong.

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Chapters (Approximate)

(00:00:00) Chapter 01

(00:34:49) Chapter 02

(01:12:31) Chapter 03

(01:41:15) Chapter 04

(02:22:47) Chapter 05

(02:51:14) Chapter 06

(03:25:33) Chapter 07

(03:55:08) Chapter 08

(04:29:21) Chapter 09

(05:02:12) Chapter 10

(05:39:11) Chapter 11

(06:08:20) Chapter 12

(06:43:38) Chapter 13

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Judith Lee - Pages From Her Life by Richard Marsh ~ Full Audiobook [mystery] Dec 07, 2023

Show notes

Judith Lee - Pages From Her Life by Richard Marsh audiobook.

Genre: mystery

In Judith Lee - Pages From Her Life, Richard Marsh introduces an unconventional sleuth whose sharp eye for human nature is matched only by her refusal to be underestimated. Judith Lee, a young woman of independent means and restless intelligence, keeps careful notes on the odd incidents and private dramas that cross her path - and those pages soon become a record of mysteries no one else can quite explain. From chance encounters in drawing rooms and on city streets to puzzling disappearances and seemingly trivial clues that point to darker designs, Judith follows the thread of each case with calm persistence, practical courage, and a knack for noticing what others overlook. As rumors, misdirection, and social expectations close in, she must navigate a world where appearances are weaponized and where the smallest detail can expose a carefully hidden truth. Blending brisk investigations with the atmosphere of late-Victorian and Edwardian London, Marsh crafts a portrait of a pioneering female detective who turns everyday observation into a quiet form of power - and proves that the most dangerous secrets are often the ones kept in plain sight.

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Chapters (Approximate)

(00:00:00) Chapter 01

(00:36:02) Chapter 02

(01:27:23) Chapter 03

(02:10:45) Chapter 04

(02:55:23) Chapter 05

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Ancient Tales and Folklore of Japan by Richard Gordon Smith ~ Full Audiobook [folklore] Dec 06, 2023

Show notes

Ancient Tales and Folklore of Japan by Richard Gordon Smith audiobook.

Genre: folklore

Collected and retold by British traveler and naturalist Richard Gordon Smith, Ancient Tales and Folklore of Japan gathers 57 legends, ghost stories, and local traditions recorded during his years journeying through Japan and listening to fishermen, farmers, priests, and townspeople. Rather than drifting in a vague fairy-tale past, most of these narratives are anchored to specific provinces, temples, lakes, and villages, giving each wonder a distinct sense of place. Across the collection, ordinary lives collide with the unseen: willow spirits that demand respect, haunted wells and temples that refuse to stay silent, and encounters shaped by Shinto reverence for landscapes, trees, and the sea. Alongside the supernatural run intensely human stakes - love strained by social boundaries, pride and loyalty tested by samurai ideals, and moral choices framed by Buddhist ethics. Smith's plain, unsentimental style lets the strangeness speak for itself, moving from eerie to moving to darkly ironic without losing its grounded, historical texture. The result is an immersive doorway into Japan's storytelling traditions, where every path, river, and household might hide a spirit, a warning, or a hard-won lesson.

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Chapters (Approximate)

(00:00:00) Chapter 00

(00:04:14) Chapter 01

(00:29:17) Chapter 02

(00:45:51) Chapter 03

(00:58:47) Chapter 04

(01:13:18) Chapter 05

(01:27:15) Chapter 06

(01:35:31) Chapter 07

(01:50:50) Chapter 08

(02:03:36) Chapter 09

(02:12:33) Chapter 10

(02:20:55) Chapter 11

(02:29:17) Chapter 12

(02:42:16) Chapter 13

(02:52:29) Chapter 14

(02:58:34) Chapter 15

(03:10:17) Chapter 16

(03:20:11) Chapter 17

(03:34:16) Chapter 18

(03:45:27) Chapter 19

(03:53:26) Chapter 20

(04:04:53) Chapter 21

(04:16:58) Chapter 22

(04:24:06) Chapter 23

(04:38:37) Chapter 24

(04:49:09) Chapter 25

(05:02:05) Chapter 26

(05:11:50) Chapter 27

(05:21:07) Chapter 28

(05:36:51) Chapter 29

(05:46:21) Chapter 30

(05:55:50) Chapter 31

(06:08:32) Chapter 32

(06:18:57) Chapter 33

(06:35:09) Chapter 34

(06:47:59) Chapter 35

(07:01:13) Chapter 36

(07:12:32) Chapter 37

(07:25:54) Chapter 38

(07:39:01) Chapter 39

(07:57:19) Chapter 40

(08:07:40) Chapter 41

(08:26:53) Chapter 42

(08:42:04) Chapter 43

(08:59:49) Chapter 44

(09:08:15) Chapter 45

(09:14:26) Chapter 46

(09:28:44) Chapter 47

(09:41:44) Chapter 48

(09:49:39) Chapter 49

(09:59:07) Chapter 50

(10:09:59) Chapter 51

(10:21:07) Chapter 52

(10:29:57) Chapter 53

(10:40:29) Chapter 54

(10:53:05) Chapter 55

(11:04:16) Chapter 56

(11:17:12) Chapter 57

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The Crimson Gardenia And Other Tales Of Adventure by Rex Beach ~ Full Audiobook [adventure] Dec 06, 2023

Show notes

The Crimson Gardenia And Other Tales Of Adventure by Rex Beach audiobook.

Genre: adventure

First published in 1916, The Crimson Gardenia and Other Tales of Adventure gathers eleven fast-moving stories from Rex Beach at the height of his popularity. The title novella drops blasé New York society man Roland Van Dam into the riotous color of Mardi Gras in New Orleans, where a simple costume and a white flower pinned to his chest turn him into the wrong man at the wrong moment. A masked young woman begs him to follow, warns him that danger is near, and pulls him into a night of secret signals, shadowy pursuers, and sudden tests of nerve, as carnival gaiety collides with real violence. From there, Beach ranges widely: a desperate fight for survival in the wake of political unrest, a hard bargain struck on the edges of the law, a storm-bound tale where words and courage matter as much as weapons, and Western episodes of gunplay, stampedes, and brand marks that can ruin a life. Across deserts, dance halls, and lonely outposts, Beach favors plain-spoken heroes who discover, too late to back out, what they will risk for love, pride, or simple decency.

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Chapters (Approximate)

(00:00:00) Chapter 01

(00:33:37) Chapter 02

(01:01:03) Chapter 03

(01:37:20) Chapter 04

(01:58:13) Chapter 05

(02:28:22) Chapter 06

(02:53:34) Chapter 07

(03:12:20) Chapter 08

(03:49:19) Chapter 09

(04:18:22) Chapter 10

(04:41:49) Chapter 11

(05:06:23) Chapter 12

(05:55:28) Chapter 13

(06:33:59) Chapter 14

(07:07:31) Chapter 15

(07:45:46) Chapter 16

(07:59:59) Chapter 17

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John Thorndyke's Cases by R. Austin Freeman ~ Full Audiobook [mystery] Dec 05, 2023

Show notes

John Thorndyke's Cases by R. Austin Freeman audiobook.

Genre: mystery

In John Thorndyke's Cases, R. Austin Freeman introduces a different kind of detective story - one in which crimes are solved not by hunches or theatrics, but by patient observation and the cool logic of science. Dr. John Evelyn Thorndyke is a barrister and physician whose specialty is the shadowy borderland where medicine, physical evidence, and the law collide. When puzzling deaths, disputed wills, and apparently impossible thefts leave police and families grasping for answers, Thorndyke turns to the smallest clues: a smear of dust, a faint odor, a fragment of paper, a curious footprint, a tool mark, a microscope slide. Often assisted by a practical narrator who records both the procedures and the human stakes, Thorndyke follows each problem from baffling discovery through careful experiment and courtroom-ready proof. These cases reveal a London of cramped lodgings, quiet offices, and tense inquests, where a single overlooked detail can decide guilt or innocence. Blending legal drama with early forensic detection, the book invites listeners to think alongside its methodical hero as justice is pursued one measurable fact at a time.

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Chapters (Approximate)

(00:00:00) Chapter 01

(01:00:46) Chapter 02

(02:03:03) Chapter 03

(02:59:13) Chapter 04

(03:46:48) Chapter 05

(04:28:25) Chapter 06

(05:27:30) Chapter 07

(06:38:14) Chapter 08

(07:41:20) Chapter 09

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Eryxias by Plato ~ Full Audiobook [philosophy] Dec 05, 2023

Show notes

Eryxias by Plato audiobook.

Genre: philosophy

In Eryxias, a short Socratic dialogue traditionally transmitted under Plato's name (though often considered spurious), Socrates steps into the Stoa of Zeus Eleutherios and is drawn into a sharp public argument about money and the good life. Eryxias is confident that material prosperity is plainly beneficial: with enough silver, he insists, a person can secure comfort, influence, and freedom from want. Critias, less impressed, counters that wealth can just as easily amplify vice, feed reckless desires, and bring new dangers in its wake. As the discussion tightens, Socrates presses both men to say what wealth is for, what makes anything genuinely useful, and whether value belongs to objects by nature or only by social agreement. Each example meant to defend riches becomes a test case, as Socrates separates possessing resources from possessing wisdom, and asks whether buying what helps you is the same as being helped. The conversation turns into an early meditation on ethics and economics, challenging listeners to examine what they call 'profit' and what they are truly seeking when they chase more.

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Chapters (Approximate)

(00:00:00) Chapter 01

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Charmides by Plato ~ Full Audiobook [philosophy] Dec 04, 2023

Show notes

Charmides by Plato audiobook.

Genre: philosophy

In Charmides, Plato stages a tense, witty conversation about what it really means to be temperate - and why the answer matters for how a person should live. Returning to Athens after military service, Socrates meets the striking young Charmides and the influential guardian Critias. What begins as a seemingly simple request to define sophrosyne (often translated as temperance, moderation, or self-control) quickly becomes a searching investigation of character, knowledge, and moral authority. Charmides offers confident definitions drawn from good manners and quiet behavior; Critias pushes more sophisticated claims about self-knowledge and the mind's ability to know itself. Socrates, with relentless questions and careful logic, tests each proposal, exposing hidden assumptions and the risks of treating virtue as a slogan rather than a discipline. As the discussion tightens, the stakes rise: if temperance is a kind of knowledge, what does it know, and how could it guide a life? At the heart of the dialogue is a conflict between reputation and genuine wisdom, and between political power and ethical clarity. The result is a brisk, dramatic introduction to Socratic inquiry and the uneasy gap between seeming good and being good.

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Chapters (Approximate)

(00:00:00) Chapter 01

(00:38:20) Chapter 02

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Anno Domini 2071 by Pieter Harting ~ Full Audiobook [scifi] Dec 04, 2023

Show notes

Anno Domini 2071 by Pieter Harting audiobook.

Genre: scifi

Curious to see how the world was imagined to be 50 years from now? Harting, under the pseudonym Dr. Dioscorides, originally published his steampunk utopian novelette in 1865 under the title Anno 2065, but soon had to publish new editions because of all the changes happening at the time. We have in the catalogue the 1870 edition 'Anno 2070' recorded in Dutch. This is the English translation of that edition, published in 1871, and naturally titled 'Anno Domini 2071'. It isn't free from racial defamation, but it does contain some radical ideas for its time, like the Suffragette movement, the Darwinian Evolution model, and many creatively imagined inventions!

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Chapters (Approximate)

(00:00:00) Chapter 00

(00:02:24) Chapter 01

(00:16:57) Chapter 02

(00:33:58) Chapter 03

(00:46:18) Chapter 04

(01:00:21) Chapter 05

(01:12:14) Chapter 06

(01:32:08) Chapter 07

(01:45:33) Chapter 08

(01:54:23) Chapter 09