Books published by publisher Astorg Audio

The Mutineers of the Bounty is a short story by Jules Verne, part of the series The Extraordinary Voyages. It is based on a true story a mutiny that occured on the Royal Navy vessel HMS Bounty in 1789. The ship had been sent to Tahiti, and the relations between Captain William Bligh and his crew quickly deteriorated, leading to increasingly harsh punishments and abuse. A cabal formed between the men, and one night, they overpowered the captain, seized the ship, and sent him and 18 of his loyalists out at sea to die. Bligh and his fellow sailors had to sail for 4000 miles before finally reaching safety. This audiobook relates the story of the mutiny, their plight and efforts to survive, and the unforeseen legacy of the mutineers.

Learn wisdom with 300 quotes by the three most famous classical Greek philosophers: Plato, Socrates and Aristotle. Pupil of the great Plato, teacher of Alexander the Great, Aristotle is a massively influential figure in Western philosophy. Cicero described his literary style as "a river of gold". Modern ethics are based on his ideas about virtue; his writings literally encompassed all the scientific knowledge of the time and beyond, so much that many of his findings were still considered cutting-edge many century afterwards. Aristotle also shaped modern logic, and put his mark on all subsequent philosophy and theology. We have selected for you 100 of his most profound and influent quotes, so that you can see for yourself how modern these fundamental ideas still are. Nourish your daily life with Aristotle's ethics, strengthen your thoughts with his logic, and adopt his scientific ways for a clearer life. Alfred North Whitehead once noted: "the safest general characterization of the European philosophical tradition is that it consists of a series of footnotes to Plato." Plato is indeed considered the most pivotal figure in the development of philosophy, along with his teacher, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle. But his writings are often light, fresh and funny; it was Plato who invented the dialogue in philosophy, which make a point very easy to follow and the occasion of various scenic arrangements. Plato is one of the most dazzling writers ever known; we have selected for you 100 of his best quotes, for you to find inspiration and get acquainted with this fundamental part of our culture. Socrates is an enigmatic figure, known chiefly through the accounts of others like Plato and Aristophanes. His was one of the most brilliant intellects ever, and he devised what would later be called the Socratic method, which is a way of leading one's interlocutor to see his errors and contradictions through clever questioning before leading him to the truth. In ancient Athens, Socrates was widely known as a "gadfly", that is, an annoying insect buzzing at people's ears, because he kept questioning prejudices and contradictions; he was eventually tried and executed for "corrupting the minds of the youth". We have selected for you 100 of his best quotes, so you can decide whether this can be considered corruption, or an incredibly efficient way of learning to think for oneself.

"Just So Stories" is a classic of children's literature, and one of Rudyard Kipling's best known books. It was published in 1902, as a collection of the stories he told his daughter Josephine at bedtime; the little girl insisted that the stories be told "just so" or she would wake up and add the missing sentence, eventually making all these stories like charms, effective if untouched. They depict how one animal or another acquired its distinctive features: delight your children with the tale of how the camel got his lump, how the leopard got his spots, and why rhinos have folds in their skins and bad tempers, among many others. This audio includes four different stories : How The Whale Got His Throat, How The Camel Got His Hump, How The Rhinoceros Got His Skin and How The Leopard Got His Spots. Read by Katie Haigh.

Jack the Giant Killer is a British fairy tale in which a young man uses clever tricks to outwit terrible giants and rid the country of the threat they pose. The tale is set during King Arthur's reign. The witty Jack encounters terrible giants, each one more threatening and dangerous than the others. They devour cattle, emprison women, and maintain the country in a state of fear and confusion; but, armed only with his brain and a few magical objects he gathered, Jack will gain the advantage and slay the monsters. This is a classic tale, of which child psychologist Bruno Bettleheim observed that it could play a crucial role in child development: the giants can represent the towering adults, and Jack's legend may give the child a way of retaliating in fantasy against their threatening dominance in reality.

The story tells of a prince who wants to marry a princess, but is having difficulty finding a suitable wife. Something is always wrong with those he meets, and he cannot be certain they are real princesses. One stormy night a young woman drenched with rain seeks shelter in the prince's castle. She claims to be a princess. But how can the prince ascertain she really is? This classic tale tells the story of how he put her to the test. In addition, following this classic tale, you have The Ridiculous Wishes or The Three Ridiculous Wishes. It is a French literary fairy tale by Charles Perrault. A woodcutter complained of his poor lot. Jupiter granted him three wishes. The woodcutter went home, and his wife persuaded him to put off the wishing until the next day, after he had thought, but while sitting by the fire, he wished for sausages. His wife taxed him for his folly, and angry, he wished the sausages on her nose. Finally, they agreed to use the last wish to take the sausages off her nose, leaving them no better off than before...

Sleeping Beauty in the Wood (French: La Belle au bois dormant) is a classic fairy tale written by Charles Perrault which involves a beautiful princess, a sleeping enchantment, and a handsome prince. Once upon a time, when the Queen gave birth to a baby princess, Angels came down and gave the infant blessings. However one evil Angel set a curse that would make the princess prick her finger on a spindle of a spinning wheel and die. Another Angel set a magic on the princess that she would sleep, instead of dying, for a hundred years until a prince comes and awakes her from her sleep. At the age of 16, the princess gets her finger pricked by the sprindle, and falls asleep. After 100 years, a prince hears about a beautiful princess sleeping in the castle...

Cinderella, or The Little Glass Slipper(French: Cendrillon or La Petite Pantoufle de verre), is a very famous European folk tale. Once upon a time, there was a wealthy widower who married a proud and haughty woman as his second wife. She had two daughters, who were equally vain and selfish. By his first wife, he'd had a beautiful young daughter, a girl of unparalleled goodness and sweet temper. The stepmother and her daughters forced the first daughter into servitude, where she was made to work day and night doing menial chores. One day, the Prince invited all the young ladies in the land to a ball, planning to choose a wife from amongst them. The two stepsisters gleefully planned their wardrobes for the ball, and taunted Cinderella by telling her that maids were not invited to the ball. As the sisters departed to the ball, Cinderella cried in despair. Her Fairy Godmother magically appeared and immediately began to transform Cinderella from house servant to the young lady she was by birth, all in the effort to get Cinderella to the ball. She turned a pumpkin into a golden carriage, mice into horses, a rat into a coachman, and lizards into footmen. She then turned Cinderella's rags into a beautiful jeweled gown, complete with a delicate pair of glass slippers. The Godmother told her to enjoy the ball, but warned that she had to return before midnight, when the spells would be broken...

This classic adaptation of James Barrie's play tells the story of Peter Pan, a mischievous little boy who can fly, and his adventures on the island of Neverland with Wendy Darling and her brothers, the fairy Tinker Bell, the Lost Boys, and the pirate Captain Hook. In addition, following this classic tale, you have The Wolf and the Fox , a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm. The story involves a greedy, gluttonous wolf living with a fox. The wolf makes the fox do all his work and threatens to eat him if he doesn't otherwise comply. The fox, in turn, devises a scheme to rid himself of the wolf.

"Hop-o'-My-Thumb" (Hop-on-My-Thumb), or "Hop o' My Thumb", also known as "Little Thumbling" or "Little Poucet" is one of the eight fairytales published by Charles Perrault in "Histoires ou Contes du temps passé" (1697). "Hop-o'-My-Thumb" is the youngest of seven children in a poor woodcutter's family, and his greater wisdom compensates for his smallness of size. When the children are abandoned by their parents, he finds a variety of means to save his life and the lives of his brothers, eventually confronting a scary ogre. This tale has its origins in French medieval folklore and is now world-renowned thanks to Perrault and Robert Samber's translation; it is here brought to life by Katie Haigh.

Beauty and the beast (French: La Belle et la Bête) is a very famous traditional fairy tale written by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont. A wealthy widowed merchant lives in a mansion with his three daughters. All are equal in beauty, but the youngest, Beauty, is kind and pure of heart; while the two elders, in contrast, are wicked, selfish, vain and secretly taunt and treat Beauty more like a servant than a sister. The merchant eventually loses all of his wealth in a tempest at sea. One day, the merchant becomes lost in a forest. Seeking shelter, he enters a dazzling palace. A hidden figure opens the giant doors and silently invites him in. The merchant finds tables inside laden with food and drink, which seem to have been left for him by the palace's invisible owner. The merchant accepts this gift and spends the night there. The next morning, as the merchant is about to leave, he sees a rose garden and recalls that Beauty had desired a rose. Upon picking the loveliest rose he can find, the merchant is confronted by a hideous "Beast" which tells him that for taking his most precious possession after accepting his hospitality, the merchant must die. The merchant begs to be set free, arguing that he had only picked the rose as a gift for his youngest daughter. The Beast agrees to let him give the rose to Beauty, but only if the merchant will return. The merchant is upset, but accepts this condition. Beauty says she wants to go to the Beast's castle. The Beast receives her graciously and informs her that she is now mistress of the castle, and he is her servant. He gives her lavish clothing and food and carries on lengthy conversations with her. Every night, the Beast asks Beauty to marry him, only to be refused each time. For several months, Beauty lives a life of luxury at the Beast's palace, having every whim catered to by servants, with no end of riches to amuse her and an endless supply of exquisite finery to wear...

The Baron Munchausen's Narrative of his Marvellous Travels and Campaigns in Russia, or the Startling adventures of Baron Munchausen, is one of the funniest texts ever written. It relates the exploits of a grandiloquent figure, in a series of absurd, impossible and extravagant feats. It is a charming tale of dreamlike adventures, a powerful satire and a personal attack, as it was meant to mock a real Baron known for telling outrageous tall tales based on his military career during the Russo-Turkish war. The adventures of the Baron will have you roar with laughter and unleash your imagination as you witness his cannonball ride or travels to the moon. This beloved text has spawned numerous adaptations, such as movies and plays; medical syndromes have even been named after this character.

Donkeyskin (French: Peau d'Âne) is a French literary fairytale written in verse by Charles Perrault. A king had a beautiful wife and a rich castle, including a marvelous donkey whose droppings were gold. One day his wife died, after making him promise not to marry except to a woman whose beauty and attributes equaled hers. The king grieved, but was, in time, persuaded to seek another wife. It became clear that the only woman who would fit the promise was his own daughter. She went to her fairy godmother who advised her to make impossible demands as a condition of her consent: a dress in the color of the sky, a dress in the color of the moon, a dress as bright as the sun, and finally, the hide of his marvelous donkey. Such was the king's desire to marry her that he granted all of them. The fairy godmother gave her a marvelous chest to contain all she owned and told her that the donkeyskin would make an excellent disguise. The princess fled and eventually found a royal farm where they let her work in the kitchen, despite her ugliness in the donkeyskin. On feast days, she would dress herself in the fine gowns her father had given her, and one such day, the prince came by her room and peeped through the keyhole. He fell in love at once, fell ill with his longing, and declared that nothing would cure him but a cake baked by Donkeyskin, and nothing they could say of what a dirty creature she was dissuaded him...