Showing results by author "Mark Twain" in All Categories

Locked in his desk for 25 years, What Is Man? was Twain's most serious, philosophical, and private work. The narrative appears in the form of a Socratic dialogue between a romantic young idealist and an elderly cynic. The pair debate issues of mankind, such as whether man is free to act or is more of a machine, whether personal merit is meaningless given how the environment shapes us, and if man truly has impulses other than to pursue pleasure and avoid pain.

A nineteenth-century boy from a Mississippi River town recounts his adventures as he travels down the river with a runaway slave, encountering a family involved in a feud, two scoundrels pretending to be royalty, and Tom Sawyer's aunt who mistakes him for Tom.

The best selling of any of Twains’s works during his lifetime. A masterpiece of American literature. The adventures of a young boy growing up along the Mississippi River. The preamble to Twain’s most famous work, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

The wilderness--forest, desert, glacier, jungle--has been the scene of the past century's most exciting stories, inspiring many of its greatest writers, including Jack London, Norman Maclean, Evelyn Waugh, Redmond O'Hanlon, Sir Wilfred Thesiger, H.M. Tomlinson and Algernon Blackwood. Selections from these authors' most gripping works are delivered by equally compelling narration producing an audiobook experience ideal for people who are fascinated by the beauty, insight and danger that awaits us all in the wild!

When you dive into Mark Twain’s The Innocents Abroad, you have to be ready to learn more about the unadorned, ungilded reality of 19th-century “touring” than you might think you want to learn. This is a tough literary journey. It was tough for Twain and his fellow “pilgrims”, both religious and otherwise. They set out, on a June day in 1867, to visit major tourist sites in Europe and the near east, including Greece, Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, “the Holy Land”, and Egypt. What Twain records are the day-to-day ups and downs of discovering the truth about people and places.

Four delightful essays penned by Mark Twain, including “How To Tell a Story”, performed by Mark Redfield as Twain. Recorded before a live audience.

On the Decay of the Art of Lying is a classic essay penned by Mark Twain in 1880. This narration is performed by Larry G. Jones.

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.

When Connecticut mechanic and foreman Hank Morgan is knocked unconscious, he wakes not to the familiar scenes of 19th-century America but to the bewildering sights and sounds of sixth-century Camelot. Although confused at first and quickly imprisoned, he soon realises that his knowledge of the future can transform his fate. Correctly predicting a solar eclipse from inside his prison cell, Morgan terrifies the people of England into releasing him and swiftly establishes himself as the most powerful magician in the land, stronger than Merlin and greatly admired by Arthur himself.

When Mark Twain reflects on childhood you can be certain humor will follow. Such is the case with a young boy and an attempt to capture a turkey bare handed. You may wonder if you should sympathize with the turkey - or the boy.

1601, written by Mark Twain, is a supposititious conversation which takes place in Queen Elizabeth's closet between the Queen, Ben Jonson, Beaumont, Sir Walter Raleigh, the Duchess of Bilgewater, and one or two others... If there is a decent word findable in it, it is because I overlooked it. 1601 depicts a highfalutin and earthy discussion between the Queen and her court about farting and a variety of sexual peccadillos, narrated disapprovingly and sanctimoniously by the Queen's Cup-Bearer, an eyewitness at the Social Fireside.

Long considered the first great American novel, this delightful classic is brought to life by excellent actor Chris Hendrie, who creates scores of memorable characters. This is a tale of a young runaway boy's adventures on the Mississippi River with his friend Jim, a runaway slave. The unlikely pair survive an incredible journey and become the best of friends, overcoming racism and hardships as they search for freedom.

Mark Twain décrit avec beaucoup de talent les frasques et mésaventures de Tom Sawyer, jeune garçon à l'esprit vif et débordant d'imagination, élevé par sa tante Polly, au bord du Mississipi. Tom ne loupe pas une occasion de se distinguer pour plaire à la jolie Becky, et il est toujours prêt pour vivre des aventures en compagnie de son inséparable ami Huckleberry Finn, fils de l'ivrogne du village. Un soir dans un cimetière, Tom et Huck sont témoins d'un meurtre. Muff Potter est accusé du crime, mais Tom et Huck savent que le véritable assassin est Joe l'Indien...

Even if the act of travel has been transformed beyond recognition in a mere decade or two, how much has actually changed in our favorite destinations in the past two hundred years? Listeners are invited to compare their impressions with those of veteran travelers and literary legends: Charles Dickens on Rome; Mark Twain on Paris and Versailles; and Washington Irving on Stratford On Avon. Added to this mix is elegiac verse by Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Christina Rossetti.

Narrator Nigel Hawthorne's exceptional talents as an actor bring comedy to the fore in this collection, extracting every nuance of humour from these seven great stories. Featuring "Brugglesmith" by Rudyard Kipling, "The Cricket Match" (from England, Their England) by A.G. Macdonell, "Reginald on House Parties" by Saki, "Winglebury Duel" by Charles Dickens, and more.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a novel by Mark Twain, first published in the US in 1885. Commonly named among the great American novels, the work is among the first in major American literature to be written throughout in vernacular English, characterized by local color regionalisms. It is told in the first person by Huckleberry "Huck" Finn, the narrator of two other Twain novels (Tom Sawyer Abroad and Tom Sawyer, Detective) and a friend of Tom Sawyer. It is a direct sequel to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

It is England in the time of Henry VII. Two boys meet. They were born on the same day; they look identical but they are not from the same family. Tom Canty is a pauper living in a hovel in the back streets of London, surviving as a beggar. Edward is Prince of Wales and about to become Edward VI. By a sudden twist of fate, they find themselves in each other's circumstances, the pauper raised to royalty and the prince - to the state of a pauper.

Fifty unusual and enchanting short stories.

Mark Twain's marvelous short work relating how to tell a story - an American story that is humorous, not comic as the British or witty as the French. The work also includes four marvelous but little-known essays: "The Wounded Soldier", "The Golden Arm", "Mental Telegraphy", and "The Invalid's Story". Canadian listeners will particularly enjoy "Mental Telegraphy", set in Quebec.

A vintage collection of some of the greatest short stories ever written