Books in A CSA Word Classic series

Charles Dickens classics read by Martin Jarvis. This master of character voices brings to vivid life so many of Dickens' memorable characters from Fagin to Scrooge, Pip to Magwitch. The six abridged novels combine two previous trilogies in one bumper edition comprising: David CopperfieldGreat ExpectationsOliver TwistA Tale of Two CitiesA Christmas CarolNicholas Nickleby

Written as an autobiography, I, Claudius tells the tale of the nobleman Claudius, who is abhorred for his physical infirmities and viewed by his family as little more than a stuttering fool. The mask of idiocy ultimately serves him well: viewed as too insignificant to bother with, Claudius quietly survives the cruelties, intrigues, and bloody purges of the imperial Roman dynasties. From the sidelines, he observes the reigns of its emperors, from the wise Augustus and his wicked wife Livia to the sadistic Tiberius and the excessive Caligula. This historically accurate and vastly entertaining novel paints a vivid picture of the ancient world in all its madness and debauchery, highlighting the complexities and politics inherent in Empire-building. First published in 1934, it endures as one of literature's most celebrated and compelling historical novels.

On the Origin of the Species ranks as one of the most important and influential books ever written, and one that remains as controversial today as upon its initial publication 150 years ago. Here, eminent biologist and staunch Darwinist Richard Dawkins narrates his own expertly abridged version of Darwin's groundbreaking book. In cutting passages that are now proven to be wrong, mostly those dealing with genetics, Dawkins streamlines the book for modern tastes while preserving its sound scientific underpinnings. What's truly remarkable, Dawkins notes, is how much Darwin got right. Remarkable, too, is the clarity of Darwin's prose, which, while necessarily technical in nature, makes the scientific basis for his theory of natural selection accessible to laypeople. For those wavering between creationism and evolution, or for anyone who wants a better understanding of Darwinism, Dawkins' brilliant reading is the perfect entry into a book that truly changed the world.

Three Men in a Boat recounts the semi-autobiographical adventures and misadventures of Harris, George, an unnamed narrator, and the remarkable dog Montmorency during a boat trip from London to Oxford. Harris intended his book to be a travel guide to the Thames Valley, but his publisher found it so entertaining that the book was published as a comic novel and found instant success. Surprisingly modern, marvelously light, and utterly irresistible, it remains one of the most-read and best-loved books of the era.

An obscure civil servant, dead for nearly 500 years, author of but one major work, yet whose name is still in common use. Remarkable? Not when the civil servant is Nicolo Machiavelli, and when the book is The Prince. Written in 1513 as a gift for the ruling prince, Lorenzo de Medici, The Prince has retained its reputation as one of the most perceptive analyses on politics and power ever written. Valued for its brilliant writing, shrewd psychological insight, canny advice, and prophetic qualities, it has never lost its power to shock and influence, or to illuminate the heart of darkness. It is essential reading for anyone who wants to know the real meaning of "political hardball." Ian Richardson's formidable reading of this unabridged translation is an accessible and entertaining introduction to Machiavelli's truly compelling, eerily prescient worldview.

The story of Mr. Chipping, the classics master at Brookfield School since 1870, takes readers on a beguiling journey through the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Sometimes Chips, as he is affectionately known, is an old man who dreams by the fire; then he's a difficult young taskmaster schooling his students, or a middle-aged man encountering the lovely Katherine, whose "new woman" opinions work far-reaching changes in him. As succeeding generations of boys march onward through Chips' mind, Hilton's narrative remains masterful. He seamlessly interweaves a poignant love story with the jokes and eccentricities of English public school life, while also chronicling a new, uncertain world full of conflict and upheaval that extends far beyond the turrets of Brookfield. Award-winning British actor Martin Jarvis takes on the character of Mr. Chips in a versatile, polished performance that is remarkable for its strength, humor, and compassion.

In writing his extraordinary account of the Arab Revolt of 1916–1918 and his own role in it, T.E. Lawrence sought literary advice from his good friends E.M. Forster and George Bernard Shaw. With their encouragement, Lawrence produced an epic manuscript that became the focus of a desperate public search after he lost the majority of the text in a train station. The original was never found, and the indefatigable Lawrence produced a second text from memory. Widely regarded as the last great romantic war story and described by Winston Churchill as one of “the greatest books ever written in the English language,” it conveys a world of wonders from a life less ordinary, transcribed in the same committed fashion that Lawrence applied to his duties in Syria. A towering achievement as both autobiography and military history, as well as a first-rate adventure story, Seven Pillars of Wisdom is a must-listen for all.

Cassandra Mortmain is 17. Her journal describes the weird and wonderful world in which she lives: housed in a crumbling castle, with her writer father (who is "blocked"), her beautiful older sister Rose, her brainy younger brother and her unconventional artist stepmother, Topaz. The sudden arrival of two handsome American strangers is the catalyst for this touching coming-of-age tale, which sees Cassandra taking her first forays in womanhood not without her fair share of grief and giggles.

Francois-Marie Arouet, known better as Voltaire, was hailed as a genius of the Enlightenment, a man dissatisfied with the religious and superstitious attitudes of his time, and a champion of sharp irony and logical reasoning. His most famous book follows Candide and his tutor, Pangloss, as they travel the Earth following the philosophy that "all is for the best in the best of all possible worlds." This adage, however, is disproved at many turns as the characters encounter many obstacles. The initially naïve Candide realizes some of the horrors the 18th-century world contains, but is there any light at the end of the tunnel for the travelers?

"A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction." First published in 1929, Virginia Woolf's pioneering work on women in literature is an accessible yet fiercely astute essay. It is a crystallization of the intelligent analysis behind her novels, and confirms her as a writer not only of style, but of undeniable substance. Ranging from discussing Austen's pandering to a male writing style, to imagining the dreadful fate of Shakespeare's talented, intelligent sister, Woolf makes the topic an enjoyable journey through her imagination, filling in for the undocumented in female history, and exploring the loss to the literary landscape in her own entertaining, convincing prose. The recording also includes a booklet with further information, including a contribution by Ali Smith, author of The Accidental. Unabridged.