The Piazza Tales (AmazonClassics Edition)
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Prime members: New to Audible?Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
The Piazza Tales (AmazonClassics Edition)
Buy for $20.00
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
David deVries
-
By:
-
Herman Melville
About this listen
With disparate settings such as a Massachusetts farmhouse and the strange volcanic clime of the Enchanted Isles, this six-story anthology features some of Herman Melville’s most exceptional works. Included here is “Bartleby,” the dark tale of a Wall Street clerk who possesses a confounding and disarmingly passive insubordination; and “Benito Cereno,” in which the captain of a whaler boards a tattered Spanish slave ship in South America only to be drawn into an intricately plotted mutiny.
Exposing the catastrophes of ambition, deception, and alienation, The Piazza Tales is a wide-ranging display of the author’s storytelling genius and dazzling mastery of styles.
AmazonClassics brings you timeless works from the masters of storytelling. Ideal for anyone who wants to read a great work for the first time or rediscover an old favorite, these new editions open the door to literature’s most unforgettable characters and beloved worlds.
Revised edition: Previously published as The Piazza Tales, this edition of The Piazza Tales (AmazonClassics Edition) includes editorial revisions.
Public Domain (P)2018 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reservedListeners also enjoyed...
-
Moby Dick
- By: Herman Melville
- Narrated by: William Hootkins
- Length: 24 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,623
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 4,115
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,097
"Call me Ishmael." Thus starts the greatest American novel. Melville said himself that he wanted to write "a mighty book about a mighty theme" and so he did. It is a story of one man's obsessive revenge-journey against the white whale, Moby-Dick, who injured him in an earlier meeting. Woven into the story of the last journey of The Pequod is a mesh of philosophy, rumination, religion, history, and a mass of information about whaling through the ages.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent, EXCELLENT reading!
- By Jessica on 02-18-09
By: Herman Melville
-
Alison Larkin Presents: Moby Dick and Two Poems by Herman Melville
- By: Herman Melville
- Narrated by: Jonathan Epstein
- Length: 25 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 50
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 42
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 42
Melville’s epic tale of one man versus a great white whale will delight Melville devotees as well as those who have yet to sail on this adventure in this mesmerizing new recording read by Jonathan Epstein. The mountain whose whale-like shape first gave Melville the idea of writing Moby Dick rests in the Berkshire Hills, Massachusetts, a short drive away from The Alison Larkin Presents recording studio. At the end of the recording, Larkin interviews Jonathan Epstein and recording engineer Galen Wade about the experience recording the great novel.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Absolutely outstanding
- By Mary Katherine Worth on 03-05-21
By: Herman Melville
-
The Iliad & The Odyssey
- By: Homer
- Narrated by: John Lescault
- Length: 28 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 916
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 535
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 536
Little is known about the Ancient Greek oral poet Homer, the supposed 8th century BC author of the world-read Iliad and his later masterpiece, The Odyssey. These classic epics provided the basis for Greek education and culture throughout the classical age and formed the backbone of humane education through the birth of the Roman Empire and the spread of Christianity.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Worth the price, worth the time
- By Sam on 12-31-04
By: Homer
-
Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street
- By: Herman Melville
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 1 hr and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 555
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 499
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 499
Herman Melville’s tale of corporate discontent, Bartleby, the Scrivener, tells the story of a quiet, hardworking legal copyist who works in an office in the Wall Street area of New York City. The business where he works handles the official financial paperwork of wealthy men. One day, Bartleby’s employer requests he proofread one of the documents he has copied. Bartleby declines the assignment with the inscrutable “I would prefer not,” the first of what will become many refusals.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Very strange, very haunting
- By Tad Davis on 11-24-11
By: Herman Melville
-
The Confidence-Man
- His Masquerade
- By: Herman Melville
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 10 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 48
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 40
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 39
Evoking Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, this is a story of interlocking tales from a group of steamboat passengers traveling down the Mississippi toward New Orleans. Aboard the Fidèle can be found all manner of con men, from those selling stock in failing companies and herbal cure-all "medicines" to those who are raising money for supposed charitable organizations and those who simply ask for money outright.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Trust and the confidence man
- By Nelson on 01-24-22
By: Herman Melville
-
Billy Budd
- By: Herman Melville
- Narrated by: Peter Joyce
- Length: 3 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 56
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 51
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 50
On one level...Melville’s tale is an historical adventure telling the story of life aboard ship shortly after the mutiny at Spithead in 1797. Billy is taken from a homeward bound merchantman to serve on the ‘Seventy Four’ HMS Indomitable. He falls foul of Claggart, the ‘Master at Arms’, and the final confrontation results in death. Billy becomes an unwilling martyr - what passes for justice must be implemented because of the rebellious climate of the time.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Well done, a pleasure to listen to!
- By Kindle Customer on 10-17-18
By: Herman Melville
-
Moby Dick
- By: Herman Melville
- Narrated by: William Hootkins
- Length: 24 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,623
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 4,115
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,097
"Call me Ishmael." Thus starts the greatest American novel. Melville said himself that he wanted to write "a mighty book about a mighty theme" and so he did. It is a story of one man's obsessive revenge-journey against the white whale, Moby-Dick, who injured him in an earlier meeting. Woven into the story of the last journey of The Pequod is a mesh of philosophy, rumination, religion, history, and a mass of information about whaling through the ages.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent, EXCELLENT reading!
- By Jessica on 02-18-09
By: Herman Melville
-
Alison Larkin Presents: Moby Dick and Two Poems by Herman Melville
- By: Herman Melville
- Narrated by: Jonathan Epstein
- Length: 25 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 50
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 42
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 42
Melville’s epic tale of one man versus a great white whale will delight Melville devotees as well as those who have yet to sail on this adventure in this mesmerizing new recording read by Jonathan Epstein. The mountain whose whale-like shape first gave Melville the idea of writing Moby Dick rests in the Berkshire Hills, Massachusetts, a short drive away from The Alison Larkin Presents recording studio. At the end of the recording, Larkin interviews Jonathan Epstein and recording engineer Galen Wade about the experience recording the great novel.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Absolutely outstanding
- By Mary Katherine Worth on 03-05-21
By: Herman Melville
-
The Iliad & The Odyssey
- By: Homer
- Narrated by: John Lescault
- Length: 28 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 916
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 535
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 536
Little is known about the Ancient Greek oral poet Homer, the supposed 8th century BC author of the world-read Iliad and his later masterpiece, The Odyssey. These classic epics provided the basis for Greek education and culture throughout the classical age and formed the backbone of humane education through the birth of the Roman Empire and the spread of Christianity.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Worth the price, worth the time
- By Sam on 12-31-04
By: Homer
-
Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street
- By: Herman Melville
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 1 hr and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 555
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 499
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 499
Herman Melville’s tale of corporate discontent, Bartleby, the Scrivener, tells the story of a quiet, hardworking legal copyist who works in an office in the Wall Street area of New York City. The business where he works handles the official financial paperwork of wealthy men. One day, Bartleby’s employer requests he proofread one of the documents he has copied. Bartleby declines the assignment with the inscrutable “I would prefer not,” the first of what will become many refusals.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Very strange, very haunting
- By Tad Davis on 11-24-11
By: Herman Melville
-
The Confidence-Man
- His Masquerade
- By: Herman Melville
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 10 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 48
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 40
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 39
Evoking Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, this is a story of interlocking tales from a group of steamboat passengers traveling down the Mississippi toward New Orleans. Aboard the Fidèle can be found all manner of con men, from those selling stock in failing companies and herbal cure-all "medicines" to those who are raising money for supposed charitable organizations and those who simply ask for money outright.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Trust and the confidence man
- By Nelson on 01-24-22
By: Herman Melville
-
Billy Budd
- By: Herman Melville
- Narrated by: Peter Joyce
- Length: 3 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 56
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 51
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 50
On one level...Melville’s tale is an historical adventure telling the story of life aboard ship shortly after the mutiny at Spithead in 1797. Billy is taken from a homeward bound merchantman to serve on the ‘Seventy Four’ HMS Indomitable. He falls foul of Claggart, the ‘Master at Arms’, and the final confrontation results in death. Billy becomes an unwilling martyr - what passes for justice must be implemented because of the rebellious climate of the time.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Well done, a pleasure to listen to!
- By Kindle Customer on 10-17-18
By: Herman Melville
-
Typee
- A Peep at Polynesian Life
- By: Herman Melville
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 11 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 101
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 82
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 82
Herman Melville is one of the greatest figures in literary history. His classic Moby Dick is generally considered the finest novel ever written by an American. Yet in Melville’s day, Typee was a far more popular book. Largely autobiographical, this classic adventure story is set in the South Seas, where a runaway sailor is captured by the Typees. Described as “a fierce and unrelenting tribe of savages," the islanders have no intention of letting their captive go.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Peeping Typee is Tapu; Reading Typee is Noa!
- By Darwin8u on 04-21-14
By: Herman Melville
-
Omoo
- By: Herman Melville
- Narrated by: Robert Blumenfeld
- Length: 10 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 41
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 34
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 34
Following the commercial and critical success of Typee, Herman Melville continued his series of South Sea adventure-romances with Omoo. Named after the Polynesian term for a rover, or someone who roams from island to island, Omoo chronicles the tumultuous events aboard a South Sea whaling vessel and is based on Melville's personal experiences as a crew member on a ship sailing the Pacific.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
See Melville's Fiction Genius Pushing Hard
- By Darwin8u on 05-16-14
By: Herman Melville
-
Tristram Shandy
- By: Laurence Sterne
- Narrated by: Anton Lesser
- Length: 19 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 221
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 201
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 196
Laurence Sterne’s most famous novel is a biting satire of literary conventions and contemporary 18th-century values. Renowned for its parody of established narrative techniques, Tristram Shandyis commonly regarded as the forerunner of avant-garde fiction. Tristram’s characteristic digressions on a whole range of unlikely subjects (including battle strategy and noses!) are endlessly surprising and make this one of Britain’s greatest comic achievements.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Like discovering Frank Zappa in 250 years
- By Darwin8u on 01-02-14
By: Laurence Sterne
-
Benito Cereno
- By: Herman Melville
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 3 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 276
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 241
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 239
This is the epic sea adventure, a harrowing tale of slavery and revolt aboard a Spanish ship, is often regarded as Melville's finest short story. The balance of forces is complete, the atmosphere one of epic significance, the light cast upon the hero intense to the highest degree, the realization of the human soul profound, and the telling of the story orchestrated like a great symphony.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
The literary equivalent of a caste painting from the same time
- By Auggie on 09-10-20
By: Herman Melville
-
Child of God
- By: Cormac McCarthy
- Narrated by: Tom Stechschulte
- Length: 3 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,578
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,434
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 1,435
In this taut, chilling audiobook, Lester Ballard - a violent, dispossessed man falsely accused of rape - haunts the hill country of East Tennessee when he is released from jail. While telling his story, Cormac McCarthy depicts the most sordid aspects of life with dignity, humor, and characteristic lyrical brilliance.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
And HE has sent me here?
- By Darwin8u on 04-14-13
By: Cormac McCarthy
-
Don Quixote
- Translated by Edith Grossman
- By: Edith Grossman - translator, Miguel de Cervantes
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 39 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 6,285
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 5,682
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 5,663
Sixteenth-century Spanish gentleman Don Quixote, fed by his own delusional fantasies, takes to the road in search of chivalrous adventures. But his quest leads to more trouble than triumph. At once humorous, romantic, and sad, Don Quixote is a literary landmark. This fresh edition, by award-winning translator Edith Grossman, brings the tale to life as never before.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
My Fourth Try at an Audible Quixote
- By James on 12-24-12
By: Edith Grossman - translator, and others
![A Tale of Two Cities [Tantor] Audiobook By Charles Dickens cover art](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51Ecc++n0tL._SL320_.jpg)
-
A Tale of Two Cities [Tantor]
- By: Charles Dickens
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 13 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 7,477
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 6,522
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 6,565
A Tale of Two Cities is one of Charles Dickens's most exciting novels. Set against the backdrop of the French Revolution, it tells the story of a family threatened by the terrible events of the past. Doctor Manette was wrongly imprisoned in the Bastille for 18 years without trial by the aristocratic authorities.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
it's the singer not the song*
- By Maynard on 11-09-13
By: Charles Dickens
-
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
- By: Mark Twain
- Narrated by: Lee Howard
- Length: 9 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 221
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 188
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 187
First published in 1884, Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is among the first novels in American literature to be written throughout in vernacular English. Some have called it the first Great American Novel, and the book has become required reading in many schools throughout the United States. The story is set along the Mississippi River in Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky and Arkansas around 1840. It depicts the development of Huckleberry (Huck) Finn, a boy about thirteen years old.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great Book
- By Cory Horton on 09-04-19
By: Mark Twain
-
The Sirens of Titan
- By: Kurt Vonnegut
- Narrated by: Jay Snyder
- Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,891
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,265
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,269
The richest, most depraved man on Earth, Malachi Constant, is offered a chance to take a space journey to distant worlds with a beautiful woman at his side. Of course, there's a catch to the invitation....
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Absolutely Outstanding
- By Robert on 01-07-12
By: Kurt Vonnegut
-
BBC Radio Shakespeare: A Collection of Eight Comedies
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Anne-Marie Duff, David Tennant, Full Cast, and others
- Length: 16 hrs and 28 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 55
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 43
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 41
A collection of BBC Radio 3's iconic Shakespeare productions: eight comedies with all-star casts including David Tennant, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne-Marie Duff, Martin Jarvis, Siân Phillips and Miriam Margolyes. The plays included in this collection are: Much Ado About Nothing, As You Like It, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Merchant of Venice, Twelfth Night, The Tempest, The Taming of the Shrew, and All's Well That Ends Well.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Not told entirely
- By Gabsalot on 12-11-21
-
Macbeth: The Arkangel Shakespeare
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Hugh Ross, Harriet Walter
- Length: 2 hrs and 18 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 185
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 149
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 146
The brave warrior Macbeth allows himself to be persuaded by Lady Macbeth, his wife, to slay good King Duncan and seize the throne of Scotland for himself. Macbeth achieves his ambition, but one murder proves not to be enough as he desperately attempts to eliminate all who might threaten his ill-gotten power. Descending into paranoia, Macbeth achieves his ambition but ravages his soul.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Best theatrical recording for teaching!!!
- By Amazon Customer on 11-19-18
-
Anna Karenina
- By: Leo Tolstoy
- Narrated by: Maggie Gyllenhaal
- Length: 35 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 13,691
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 12,525
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 12,454
Leo Tolstoy's classic story of doomed love is one of the most admired novels in world literature. Generations of readers have been enthralled by his magnificent heroine, the unhappily married Anna Karenina, and her tragic affair with dashing Count Vronsky.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Need to Disclose and Highlight Name of Translator
- By Charles B on 08-27-18
By: Leo Tolstoy
Related to this topic
-
Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street
- By: Herman Melville
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 1 hr and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 555
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 499
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 499
Herman Melville’s tale of corporate discontent, Bartleby, the Scrivener, tells the story of a quiet, hardworking legal copyist who works in an office in the Wall Street area of New York City. The business where he works handles the official financial paperwork of wealthy men. One day, Bartleby’s employer requests he proofread one of the documents he has copied. Bartleby declines the assignment with the inscrutable “I would prefer not,” the first of what will become many refusals.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Very strange, very haunting
- By Tad Davis on 11-24-11
By: Herman Melville
-
Benito Cereno
- By: Herman Melville
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 3 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 276
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 241
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 239
This is the epic sea adventure, a harrowing tale of slavery and revolt aboard a Spanish ship, is often regarded as Melville's finest short story. The balance of forces is complete, the atmosphere one of epic significance, the light cast upon the hero intense to the highest degree, the realization of the human soul profound, and the telling of the story orchestrated like a great symphony.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
The literary equivalent of a caste painting from the same time
- By Auggie on 09-10-20
By: Herman Melville
-
Heart of Darkness (Unabridged)
- By: Joseph Conrad
- Narrated by: Charles Constant
- Length: 4 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 63
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 53
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 53
Long hailed as one of the greatest novels of the 20th century, Joseph Conrad's tale of one man's descent into the mysterious and deadly Congo jungle to find a messianic ivory trader is a journey into the depths of man's own greed and quest for power. Marlow, our narrator, relates his story of his slow upriver quest to meet the strange and enigmatic Kurtz, who lives isolated in the jungle and is revered by the natives he exploits.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great Narrator!
- By BOA on 09-25-20
By: Joseph Conrad
-
Jules Verne Collection
- Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Journey to the Center of the Earth, Around the World in 80 Days and The Mysterious Island
- By: Jules Verne
- Narrated by: Jim D. Johnston
- Length: 43 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 207
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 179
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 178
From the pen of one of the literary world’s finest explorers of the imagination, these classic tales of fantastical habitats and intrepid adventurers delve deep into every mysterious corner of planet Earth. Whether you’ve adventured with Verne before or are only just setting off on your maiden voyage, this collection encompasses the most extraordinary adventures the father of science fiction has to offer.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Classics, But Hours of Scientific Exposition.
- By Sarah on 05-02-21
By: Jules Verne
-
Edgar Allan Poe - The Complete Short Stories
- By: Edgar Allan Poe
- Narrated by: Bob Thomley
- Length: 16 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,310
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 1,157
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,164
All of Edgar Allan Poe’s great short stories in one 16-hour collection.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
NEVERMORE
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 11-23-15
By: Edgar Allan Poe
-
The Toilers of the Sea
- By: Victor Hugo
- Narrated by: Patrick Dickson
- Length: 6 hrs and 52 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 43
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 39
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 38
Victor Hugo wrote this wonderful story while living in exile on the island of Guernsey, which is where the adventure unfolds. Set in the early 1800s, The Toilers of the Sea tells off a young reclusive fisherman who falls dangerously in love with a beautiful island girl. Her uncle, himself an intrepid seafarer, is the owner of a paddle-steamer, which plies its trade to and from St. Malo on the coast of Brittany.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Interesting, could without the special effects
- By Louise on 07-21-16
By: Victor Hugo
-
Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street
- By: Herman Melville
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 1 hr and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 555
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 499
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 499
Herman Melville’s tale of corporate discontent, Bartleby, the Scrivener, tells the story of a quiet, hardworking legal copyist who works in an office in the Wall Street area of New York City. The business where he works handles the official financial paperwork of wealthy men. One day, Bartleby’s employer requests he proofread one of the documents he has copied. Bartleby declines the assignment with the inscrutable “I would prefer not,” the first of what will become many refusals.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Very strange, very haunting
- By Tad Davis on 11-24-11
By: Herman Melville
-
Benito Cereno
- By: Herman Melville
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 3 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 276
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 241
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 239
This is the epic sea adventure, a harrowing tale of slavery and revolt aboard a Spanish ship, is often regarded as Melville's finest short story. The balance of forces is complete, the atmosphere one of epic significance, the light cast upon the hero intense to the highest degree, the realization of the human soul profound, and the telling of the story orchestrated like a great symphony.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
The literary equivalent of a caste painting from the same time
- By Auggie on 09-10-20
By: Herman Melville
-
Heart of Darkness (Unabridged)
- By: Joseph Conrad
- Narrated by: Charles Constant
- Length: 4 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 63
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 53
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 53
Long hailed as one of the greatest novels of the 20th century, Joseph Conrad's tale of one man's descent into the mysterious and deadly Congo jungle to find a messianic ivory trader is a journey into the depths of man's own greed and quest for power. Marlow, our narrator, relates his story of his slow upriver quest to meet the strange and enigmatic Kurtz, who lives isolated in the jungle and is revered by the natives he exploits.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great Narrator!
- By BOA on 09-25-20
By: Joseph Conrad
-
Jules Verne Collection
- Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Journey to the Center of the Earth, Around the World in 80 Days and The Mysterious Island
- By: Jules Verne
- Narrated by: Jim D. Johnston
- Length: 43 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 207
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 179
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 178
From the pen of one of the literary world’s finest explorers of the imagination, these classic tales of fantastical habitats and intrepid adventurers delve deep into every mysterious corner of planet Earth. Whether you’ve adventured with Verne before or are only just setting off on your maiden voyage, this collection encompasses the most extraordinary adventures the father of science fiction has to offer.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Classics, But Hours of Scientific Exposition.
- By Sarah on 05-02-21
By: Jules Verne
-
Edgar Allan Poe - The Complete Short Stories
- By: Edgar Allan Poe
- Narrated by: Bob Thomley
- Length: 16 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,310
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 1,157
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,164
All of Edgar Allan Poe’s great short stories in one 16-hour collection.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
NEVERMORE
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 11-23-15
By: Edgar Allan Poe
-
The Toilers of the Sea
- By: Victor Hugo
- Narrated by: Patrick Dickson
- Length: 6 hrs and 52 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 43
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 39
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 38
Victor Hugo wrote this wonderful story while living in exile on the island of Guernsey, which is where the adventure unfolds. Set in the early 1800s, The Toilers of the Sea tells off a young reclusive fisherman who falls dangerously in love with a beautiful island girl. Her uncle, himself an intrepid seafarer, is the owner of a paddle-steamer, which plies its trade to and from St. Malo on the coast of Brittany.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Interesting, could without the special effects
- By Louise on 07-21-16
By: Victor Hugo
-
James Cook
- The Story Behind the Man Who Mapped the World
- By: Peter FitzSimons
- Narrated by: Michael Carman
- Length: 21 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 272
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 230
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 231
The name Captain James Cook is one of the most recognisable in Australian history - an almost mythic figure who is often discussed, celebrated, reviled and debated. But who was the real James Cook? This Yorkshire farm boy would go on to become the foremost mariner, scientist, navigator and cartographer of his era, and to personally map a third of the globe. His great voyages of discovery were incredible feats of seamanship and navigation.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Great. But...
- By Virgil Tracy on 05-01-21
By: Peter FitzSimons
-
Nostromo
- By: Joseph Conrad
- Narrated by: Frank Muller
- Length: 16 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 119
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 54
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 58
One of the great adventure novels of our language creates a most engaging central character, Nostromo. A picturesque man of action and popular hero, Nostromo lives to be "well-spoken of" by the citizens of Costaguana, the mythical South American banana republic where the story takes place. Around this figure, Conrad spins a story of revolution, politics, and racial conflict as complex as Nostromo, the man whose greatest enemy is himself.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Wow!
- By Amazon Customer on 07-11-03
By: Joseph Conrad
-
The Sea Wolf
- By: Jack London
- Narrated by: Frank Muller
- Length: 9 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 802
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 686
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 692
Wealthy ne'er-do-well Humphrey Van Weyden is a castaway who is put to work on the schooner Ghost, run by brutal Wolf Larsen. Toughened by life at sea, Humphrey develops the strength to protect another castaway, Maud Brewster, and stand up to the increasingly deranged Larsen. Experience the crashing, relentless power of the sea through this compelling story, made hauntingly immediate by author London's vivid prose.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great entertainment
- By Ross on 05-31-03
By: Jack London
-
Tales of Terror
- By: Edgar Allan Poe
- Narrated by: Jack Foreman
- Length: 4 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 66
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 33
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 31
Edgar Allan Poe, the master of terror, wrote some of literature's most entertaining and influential short stories, works that invented or anticipated modern detective novels, science fiction, and the horror genre. Tales of Terror collects nine of Poe's best-loved stories, all performed in chilling, highly dramatic readings by Jack Foreman. This collection includes such classics as "The Tell-Tale Heart", "The Pit and the Pendulum", "The Fall of the House of Usher", and what many consider his masterpiece, "The Murders in the Rue Morgue."
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Poe's Best Horror by an Outstanding Narrator
- By Gary on 08-29-04
By: Edgar Allan Poe
-
H. P. Lovecraft's Book of the Supernatural
- 20 Classic Tales of the Macabre, Chosen by the Master of Horror Himself
- By: Henry James, Washington Irving, Edgar Allan Poe, and others
- Narrated by: Davina Porter, Steven Crossley, Bronson Pinchot
- Length: 16 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 137
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 123
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 122
H. P. Lovecraft is arguably the most important horror writer of the 20th century. Culled from his 1927 essay "Supernatural Horror in Literature”, Lovecraft acknowledges those authors and stories that he feels are the very finest the horror field has to offer, including Washington Irving, Edgar Allan Poe, Henry James, Rudyard Kipling, Bram Stoker, Robert Louis Stevenson, Guy de Maupassant, Ambrose Bierce, and Arthur Conan Doyle. This chilling collection includes 20 works, each prefaced by Lovecraft's own opinions and insights in each author’s work.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Not all the stories are complete
- By SteffiT on 10-21-13
By: Henry James, and others
-
Master and Commander
- Aubrey/Maturin Series, Book 1
- By: Patrick O'Brian
- Narrated by: Patrick Tull
- Length: 16 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 7,306
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 5,722
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 5,692
This, the first in the splendid series of Jack Aubrey novels, establishes the friendship between Captain Aubrey, Royal Navy, and Stephen Maturin, ship's surgeon and intelligence agent, against the thrilling backdrop of the Napoleonic wars. Details of life aboard a man-of-war in Nelson's navy are faultlessly rendered: the conversational idiom of the officers in the ward room and the men on the lower deck, the food, the floggings, the mysteries of the wind and the rigging, and the road of broadsides as the great ships close in battle.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Choice of Narrators
- By Frank R. Adams on 04-23-10
By: Patrick O'Brian
-
The Happy Prince and other Tales
- By: Oscar Wilde
- Narrated by: B.J. Harrison
- Length: 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 68
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 56
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 58
In "The Model Millionaire", the destiny of a young, ambitious, brilliant pauper changes with an act of his misplaced generosity. "The Happy Prince" is one of Oscar Wilde’s renowned fairy tales. From his vantage point, high above the city, the statue of The Happy Prince gives of himself in a way most astonishing. In "The Sphinx Without a Secret", we learn of an enigmatic woman who holds a secret so close, no suitor can win her.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
"Curiouser & Curiouser"
- By Jade Dragon on 09-14-16
By: Oscar Wilde
-
Blue Lagoon
- Booktrack Edition
- By: H. De Vere Stacpoole
- Narrated by: Adrian Praetzellis
- Length: 7 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 30
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 28
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 28
Listen to Blue Lagoon with a movie-style soundtrack and amplify your audiobook experience. Two shipwrecked children grow up on a South Pacific island. This beautiful story of adventure and innocent love was H.D. Stacpoole’s most popular work.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
love it
- By Angel K on 04-18-24
-
Sacred Hunger
- By: Barry Unsworth
- Narrated by: David Rintoul
- Length: 22 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 205
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 181
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 179
In this Booker Prize-winning work, Barry Unsworth follows the failing fortunes of William Kemp, a merchant pinning his last chance to a slave ship; his son, who needs a fortune because he is in love with an upper-class woman; and his nephew, who sails on the ship as its doctor because he has lost all he has loved. The voyage meets its demise when disease spreads among the slaves and the captain's drastic response provokes a mutiny.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Wise, Perceptive, Heart-breaking
- By S. Coldsmith on 04-16-16
By: Barry Unsworth
-
The Eerie Adventures of the Lycanthrope Robinson Crusoe
- By: Peter Clines
- Narrated by: Tim Gerard Reynolds
- Length: 8 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 406
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 370
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 369
Robinson Crusoe is one of the most enduring adventures of the past four centuries and one of the most well-known works in the English language. Or is it? Recently discovered amidst the papers of the 20th-century writer and historian H. P. Lovecraft is what claims to be the true story of Robinson Crusoe. Taken from the castaway's own journals and memoirs, and fact-checked by Lovecraft himself, it is free from many of Defoe's edits and alterations. From Lovecraft's work a much smoother, simpler tale emerges - but also a far more disturbing one.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
95% verbatim Robinson Crusoe
- By La suede on 07-20-18
By: Peter Clines
-
The Captain of the Pole Star
- By: Arthur Conan Doyle
- Narrated by: B. J. Harrison
- Length: 1 hr and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 333
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 283
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 280
Word goes among the crew of the Pole Star that the captain is haunted by demons. And after the days turn into weeks in the frigid Arctic Ocean, stories begin to circulate of ghosts and midnight hauntings.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Conan Doyle wrote more than Mr. Holmes.
- By Kristi R. on 11-14-11
-
Howard Pyle's Book of Pirates
- By: Howard Pyle, Merle Johnson
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 7 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 163
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 112
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 111
Merle Johnson has here gathered together in one volume all of the nineteenth-century author-artist's classic pirate stories that had been scattered through many magazines and books. Well researched and with richly drawn characters, Pyle's work will appeal to students of history and adventure lovers alike.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Fascinating and wonderfully read
- By Fletch on 09-08-06
By: Howard Pyle, and others
What listeners say about The Piazza Tales (AmazonClassics Edition)
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Christopher Grear
- 07-10-24
It Was Good
It was my first audible book. the speaker did a great job. the short stories were good. Melville's best work will always be Moby Dick.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Frank Donnelly
- 10-10-24
Vintage Melville
This is excellent. Mr. Melville is very stylized. I find it helpful to read along and repeat listen. It is not a light reading experience.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Julie Rae Loving
- 01-28-20
Something Different from Melville
Some of the stories were quite entertaining. Some didn't seem like the kind of thing Melville would have written. All in all, enjoyable!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Tad Davis
- 08-14-19
A Melville sampler
The stories in this collection by Herman Melville cover a lot of territory in terms of style and subject. It starts off with a haunting tale of the mountains that reminded me of Nathaniel Hawthorne. It includes a darkly comic tale of Wall Street (Bartleby the Scrivener) and a grimly suspenseful tale of mutiny on the high seas (Benito Cereno). One of the stories is actually a collection of short sketches about the Galápagos Islands. And there’s a kind of ghost story that is not especially scary but is filled with dread.
Hearing the stories can bring out qualities that may not be apparent when reading them. When I tried to read the opening story — The Piazza — I found the prose so convoluted as to be almost unreadable. But listening to it, I found myself drawn in by its hypnotic quality: not for the first time in this collection, I could swear that long passages had been written in blank verse.
David deVries does an excellent job as narrator. There are other excellent readings of individual stories (like Bartleby and Benito Cereno) on Audible; but this is the best reading of the whole collection. If you’ve “done” Moby Dick and Billy Budd and want to sample Melville’s other wares, this is the place to start.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
4 people found this helpful