Books in Classic Collections series

The last novel to be completed by one of the masters of Victorian-era fictionLike his novels A Tale of Two Cities and David Copperfield, Our Mutual Friend stands as a landmark of English literature. John Harmon returns from England expecting to receive an inheritance, though he knows that he must marry a stranger in order to collect it. Deciding that it would be best to discreetly observe the woman he has been constrained to marry, he fakes his own death in the Thames and takes on a new identity.Some of the memorable characters in this timeless novel include Bella who, unlike other Dickens heroines, cannot be accused of unnatural virtue; the insolent barrister Eugene Wrayburn; the amiable Boffin; and the rascal Silas Wegg.This novel is part of Brilliance Audio's extensive Classic Collection, bringing you timeless masterpieces that you and your family are sure to love.

Another captivating novel of social disparities from the author of The Portrait of a LadyEugenia, an American expatriate brought up in Europe, arrives in rural New England with her charming brother Felix, hoping to find a wealthy second husband after the collapse of her marriage to a German prince.Their exotic, sophisticated airs cause quite a stir with their affluent, God-fearing American cousins, the Wentworths—and provoke the disapproval of their uncle, suspicious of foreign influences. To Gertrude Wentworth, struggling against her somber puritan upbringing, the arrival of the handsome Felix is especially enchanting.This novel is part of Brilliance Audio's extensive Classic Collection, bringing you timeless masterpieces that you and your family are sure to love.

A young British girl born and reared in India loses her neglectful parents in an earthquake. She is returned to England to live at her uncle's castle. Her uncle is very distant due to the loss of his wife ten years before. Neglected once again, she begins exploring the estate and discovers a garden that has been locked and neglected. Aided by one of the servants' boys, she begins restoring the garden, and eventually discovers some other secrets of the manor.

In this treasured story, the orphan child, Heidi, is sent to live with her embittered grandfather high in the Swiss Alps. Heidi's innocent joy of life and genuine concern and love for all living things become the old man's salvation. From the goatherder Peter and his family to the sickly girl Clara and her desperate father, Heidi's special charm enriches everyone she meets. Unselfish to the core, Heidi's goodness overcomes all obstacles - even those seemingly insurmountable. Remembered and loved as a child's story, Heidi remains a testimony of redemption and salvation for all ages. Uplifting and enjoyable, Heidi makes superior family listening.

The Time Traveler thought he could take the lessons of the future home to the past, if only he could get home.…When the Time Traveler boldly stepped out of his machine for the first time, he found himself in the far future, in an almost unrecognizable world. In another, more utopian age, creatures seemed to live together free of strife and competition. The Time Traveler thought he could learn the secrets of these happy beings and take the lessons of life to his own time - until he discovered that his marvelous invention, his only means of escape, had been stolen.This novel is part of Brilliance Audio's extensive Classic Collection, bringing you timeless masterpieces that you and your family are sure to love.

Top 5 Finalist on PBS's The Great American Read in 2018Jane Austen’s insightful and sometimes wry Pride and Prejudice provides today’s listeners with a fascinating look into the British society during the nineteenth century.This delightful novel of manners follows the Bennets, a family of five daughters and humble fortune. With her savory wit and satire, Jane Austen unveils the lives of the Bennet sisters as they endeavor to find their place in society—some taking a long road to get there. The arrival of Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy turn their pastoral lives upside down, and listeners will take in the story with rapt attention, eager to discover if Elizabeth, cured of her prejudice, and Mr. Darcy, cured of his pride, will finally fall into each other’s arms.This novel is part of Brilliance Audio’s extensive Classic Collection, bringing you timeless masterpieces that you and your family are sure to love.

Neither before nor after the publication of Uncle Tom’s Cabin has a woman ever so moved America to take action against injustice as Harriet Beecher Stowe.Published in 1852, Uncle Tom's Cabin brought the abolitionists' message to the public conscience. Indeed, Abraham Lincoln greeted Stowe in 1863 as "the little lady who made this big war."Eliza Harris, a slave whose child is to be sold, escapes her beloved home on the Shelby plantation in Kentucky and heads North, eluding the hired slave catchers. Aided by the Underground Railroad, Quakers, and others opposed to the Fugitive Slave Act, Eliza, her son, and her husband George run toward Canada.As the Harrises flee to freedom, another slave, Uncle Tom, is sent "down the river" for sale. Too loyal to abuse his master's trust, too Christian to rebel, Tom wrenches himself from his family. Befriending a white child, Evangeline St. Clare, Tom is purchased by her father and taken to their home in New Orleans. Although Evangeline's father finally resolves to free his slaves, his sudden death alters their fates, sending Tom farther downriver to Simon Legree's plantation, and the whips of Legree's overseers.This novel is part of Brilliance Audio's extensive Classic Collection, bringing you timeless masterpieces that you and your family are sure to love.

Featured title on PBS's The Great American Read in 2018A classic tale of Gothic horror, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein has been a world favorite since it was first published in 1818.Originally published as part of a contest between Mary Shelley, her husband Percy Bysshe Shelley, and Lord Byron, Frankenstein has since captured countless imaginations. When Dr. Victor Frankenstein learns the secret of imparting life to inanimate matter, he is eager to test his theories. The bones he collects to construct his human subject become a gruesome, frightening creature, endowed with supernatural size and strength. Lonely and miserable, the created comes to hate his creator. When the monster murders Frankenstein’s brother and his bride, the doctor embarks on a heated pursuit, only to put his own life in grave danger.This novel is part of Brilliance Audio's extensive Classic Collection, bringing you timeless masterpieces that you and your family are sure to love.

This magical collection brings together well-loved, traditional favorites and introduces new intriguing tales by contemporary authors. Wonderful retellings, ideal for reading aloud, range from classics such as Puss in Boots and Rapunzel, to the less-familiar, The Anklet -- a tale from the Arabian Nights -- to the modern story, The Boy Who Could Read Aloud.