Showing titles in Literary Fiction

Winesburg, Ohio, a collection of stories set in a fictitious town in the 1890s, has long been considered Sherwood Anderson's masterpiece. Haunting and powerful, it draws readers into the streets and houses of Winesburg - and into the darkly complex lives of each of Anderson's unforgettable "grotesques."

"At once, like a lash across the face, came the possibility of losing my own age, of being left helpless in this strange new world." In H.G. Wells's classic tale, a time traveler journeys to the distant future and finds the earth a lush Eden, populated by the gentle, pacifistic Eloi. However, he soon sees the dark side of this paradise when his time machine is stolen, trapping him in the future. To recover it, he must confront the Eloi's dreaded cousins and masters of the underworld, the Morlocks. Ralph Cosham's excellent performance of this classic distopian novella was the key in earning it AudioFile's Earphones Award.

While Mark Twain is rightfully famed for such masterpieces as Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, the range and depth of his lesser known works is equally impressive. The Mark Twain Sampler is an unforgettable collection of some of his most witty, passionate, fiery, and profound writings.

This unique collection of lesser-known tales and poems from a master of the macabre demonstrates Poe's literary range. From the title story, which examines the behavior of an old man walking through Baltimore, to the beautiful poetry in "The Sleeper" and "Annabel Lee," these often hard-to-find works are superbly narrated by Ralph Cosham. Also included in the collection is "MS. Found in a Bottle" (one of Poe's first major works), the account of a man who boards the Flying Dutchman; "Eleonora," a tale of a vow of love; "The Oval Portrait," in which a young artist literally captures the life force of his new bride; "Berenice," about a premature burial - with a particularly unnerving effect; "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar," about a macabre experiment in hypnotism; and "The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether" and "The Man That Was Used Up," 2 stories that demonstrate Poe's humor.

What would you say to a young stranger who wishes to die? What arguments would you use to restore his will to live? What ideas and ideals would you invoke to save him? Faced with that dilemma, the principal character of Elie Wiesel's magnificent novel - an old wanderer named Azriel - decides to tell a story: his own. The very one he was not supposed to tell, the one he had pledged to keep to himself.

Mark Twain is at his irreverent best with this hilarious parody of the 19th-century mystery. The tale begins with the murder of Flint Buckner and a heinous crime against a young woman. A man with special gifts - no less a personage than Sherlock Holmes! - enters the scene to solve the mystery and avenge the lady. He matches wits with an improbable villain, Archy Stillman, while Ham Sandwich and Wells Fargo look on, and almost gets himself lynched in the process.

"Grace," a moving account of alcoholism, friendship, and redemption among Irishmen, begins this collection from Dubliners, Joyce's masterwork of short fiction. Richard Setlok's gentle reading matches the elegance of the stories, which also include "After the Race," "Clay," "A Little Cloud," "Counterparts," and "Araby," a bittersweet tale of first love.

A series of engrossing sketches reveals an India that may be surprising to many Westerners. Instead of a single country, the listener will discover, India is a nation of several civilizations in different states of development. The author covers the country from its ancient cultures to her encounters with the film directors and poets and the complicated machination of the world's largest democracy.

When Lilia, an English widow, marries a penniless Italian while on vacation, her dead husband's relatives are not amused. That the marriage should fail and Lilia die tragically are to be expected. But that she should have a baby, and that the baby should be raised Italian, of all things, are matters requiring immediate correction. E.M. Forster's first novel addresses cultural collisions and English middle-class sterility.

These heartwarming stories, from a forgotten 19th-century master, depict the lives of women in the Louisiana of a hundred years ago. The title story, "Charlie," introduces us to a spirited tomboy on the verge of becoming a young lady. "Tante Cat'rinette" is the story of an old black Creole. "A Matter of Prejudice" shows us the changes in a French grandmother. "Beyond the Bayou" tells of a black Creole woman who saves the life of a young boy. "A Pair of Silk Stockings" relates a young mother's temporary escape from poverty, while "Regret" tells the story of a spinster who must deal with 4 young children. Kate Chopin (1850-1904) is one of America's finest writers of short stories. These unabridged selections demonstrate her fine insight. Jacqueline Kinlow's performance is well-suited to the spirit of the works.

DEA agent Kevin Grady discovers that the CIA is turning a blind eye to its allies' drug smuggling in order to further its own ends - and CIA officer Jack Lind is at the center of this conspiracy. Lind allows Panamanian policeman Manuel Noriega to become the country's dictator, ignoring his ties to the Medellin cocaine cartel in order to use Panama as a base for an anti-Communist crusade.

Speculative novelist H.G. Wells wrote engaging short fiction dealing with the strange, the unsettling, and the unknown. Here, Ralph Cosham lends his narrative expertise to 5 classic tales. "The Strange Orchid" concerns a horticulturist who must contend with the macabre appetites of an exotic orchid. "The Truth About Pyecraft" explains why an overbearing fat man wears lead underwear. "The Man Who Could Work Miracles" recounts the problems with defying nature. "The Purple Pileus" deals with a life-altering fungus. Finally, in "Aepyornis Island," a man has a special relationship with a prehistoric bird.

"His soul swooned slowly as he heard the snow falling faintly through the universe and faintly falling, like the descent of their last end, upon all the living and the dead." A sentimental song performed at a Christmas party brings back the memory of a lost love in this extraordinary short story, widely regarded as one of the greatest ever written. The textured language of Joyce's richly-drawn Dubliners comes to life in this masterful reading, which also includes "Ivy Day in the Committee Room."

These brilliant stories deal with love and life in Louisiana during the Civil War through the turn of the century. The Cajun and French-Creole traditions make a rich backdrop for these deeply human tales. In "Disirie's Baby" a young plantation owner marries and has a child with features of the slave race; in "A Lady of Bayou St. John" a young woman becomes a devoted wife after her husband is killed; in "The Story of an Hour" a woman is surprised by her feelings at the news of her husband's death. Other stories include "Love on the Bon-Dieu," "The Unexpected," "Fedora," "The Godmother," and "At the 'Cadian Ball." After more than a half century of neglect, Kate Chopin's writings have at last regained the attention of readers, writers, and critics. These stories, some of her best, demonstrate her special insight and understanding of irony.

Sarah Orne Jewett's fiction depicts, with humor and dignity, the lives and values of the people of New England before the turn of the century. This unabridged collection of four of her best stories, beautifully performed in the dialect of Southern Maine by Tana Hicken, presents the spirit and the humor of a place and an era long past. "Martha's Lady" is the wonderful story of the bond that develops between two young women - one a visiting cousin, the other an awkward and newly employed maid.

Although he is best known for his speculative novels, H.G. Wells also wrote engaging works of short fiction, most dealing with the strange, the unsettling, and the unknown. In this performance, Ralph Cosham brings 4 of Wells's stories to vivid life. "The Cone" is a shocking tale of revenge, "The Diamond Maker" tells of a fortune that might have been, "The Country of the Blind" tells of a man with sight who tries unsuccessfully to be king in a valley where everyone is blind, and the haunting classic "The Door in the Wall" captures the pathos of lost youth.

Anne Shirley, the mischievous, carrot-topped waif of Anne of Green Gables, has grown into a lovely young woman who leaves the security of Prince Edward Island to enroll at Redmond College. There, she discovers a professor who believes education is wasted on women, ponders the security offered in marriage proposals, and a host of other questions of young adulthood.

Four Chinese women, drawn together by the shadow of their past, meet in San Francisco to play mah jong, invest in stocks, eat dim sum, and to "say" stories to each other. Nearly 40 years later, one of the women has died, and her daughter arrives to take her place. However, the daughter never expected to learn of her mother's secret lifelong wish - and the tragic way in which it has come true. The revelation creates among the women an urgent need to remember the past.

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.

Anne Elliott foolishly let true love slip through her fingers when she allowed herself to be persuaded that the man she adored was an unacceptable candidate for marriage. Now, after years of carrying a torch, Anne finds herself confronted by the dashing Wentworth, newly returned from years at sea. In this, her final novel, Jane Austen savagely skewers the rigid social sensibilities of the day with brilliant satire.