Books in The Classic Collection series

When Fanny Price is sent to live with her wealthy relations at Mansfield Park she seems shy and withdrawn beside her witty and vivacious cousins. But Fanny's steadfast and purposeful character makes her an indispensable part of the household. As the others become entangled in a maze of flirtation and intrigue, it is only Fanny whose deep but secret love for Edmund Bertram remains true despite his fascination with her brilliant but frivolous cousin Mary."Frances Barber offers a sterling performance, bringing life and sparkle to each character....Barber convincingly shifts from lord of the manor to sniveling servitude at the change of a sentence. And her narrative passages transparently tie the whole family together into one beautiful package." —AudioFile

Ichabod Crane is the teacher in a little village called Sleepy Hollow. Everyone in Sleepy Hollow believes in ghosts and ghouls and loves to tell spooky stories, their favourite being the legend of the headless horseman. However, things become a little too real for Ichabod when that very ghost appears one night and chases him. Why is the horseman after Ichabod and will he escape? Carefully retold in clear contemporary language, and presented with stunning illustrations, these favourite horror classics will capture the hearts and imagination of young readers.

Set in the rural midlands of England, The Rainbow revolves around three generations of Brangwens.When Tom Brangwen marries a Polish widow, Lydia Lensky, and adopts her daughter, Anna, as his own, he is unprepared for the conflict and passion that erupts between them. Their stories continue in Women in Love.This novel is part of Brilliance Audio's extensive Classic Collection, bringing you timeless masterpieces that you and your family are sure to love.

Published in 1934, Tender Is the Night was one of the most talked-about books of the year."It's amazing how excellent much of it is," Ernest Hemingway said to Maxwell Perkins. "I will say now," John O'Hara wrote to Fitzgerald, "Tender Is the Night is in the early stages of being my favorite book, even more than This Side of Paradise." And Archibald MacLeish exclaimed: "Great God, Scott.… You are a fine writer. Believe it—not me."Set on the French Riviera in the late 1920s, Tender Is the Night is the tragic romance of the young actress Rosemary Hoyt and the stylish American couple Dick and Nicole Diver. A brilliant young psychiatrist at the time of his marriage, Dick is both husband and doctor to Nicole, whose wealth goads him into a lifestyle not his own, and whose growing strength highlights Dick's harrowing demise. A profound study of the romantic concept of character—lyrical, expansive, and hauntingly evocative—Tender Is the Night, Mabel Dodge Luhan remarked, raised F. Scott Fitzgerald to the heights of a "modern Orpheus."

"It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known."From the author of David Copperfield and A Christmas Carol comes a novel which is among the most celebrated works in the history of literary fiction.Dickens' two cities are London and Paris during the time of the French Revolution. Dr. Manette, a French physician, having been called in to treat a young peasant and his sister, realizes that they have been cruelly abused by the Marquis de St. Evremonde and his brother. To ensure Dr. Manette's silence, the Marquis has him confined for eighteen years in the Bastille. As the story opens, the doctor has just been released. He is brought to England where he gradually recovers his health and his sanity.Charles Darnay, concealing his identity as the cruel Marquis' nephew, has left France and renounced his heritage. He falls in love with Lucie, Dr. Manette's daughter, and they are happily married. When he is called to Paris to save a servant condemned by the mob, Darnay himself is imprisoned, setting off a chain of events which will entwine the lives of Darnay and the degenerate barrister Sydney Carton in ways that reveal the profound effects of revenge, love, and redemption.This novel is part of Brilliance Audio's extensive Classic Collection, bringing you timeless masterpieces that you and your family are sure to love.

William Shakespeare was born in 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon. His father, John Shakespeare, was a store owner and a farmer, and at one point, also served as the town's mayor. William was the third of eight children. He was married to Anne Hathaway who was eight years older than himself. They had three children: Susanna (1583), and twins—Hamnet and Judith (1585). Shakespeare wrote 36 plays, 154 Sonnets and two narrative poems. He died on April 23, 1616, and was buried at Trinity Church in Stratford, England.

A selection of eight stories from Chaucer's time-tested collection of talesThe narrator of Chaucer's tale, a traveler, finds himself welcomed into a fellow group of travelers, all of whom are on their way to receive the blessings of St. Thomas à Becket in Canterbury. To ensure a pleasant journey, a storytelling contest is suggested, with the winner promised a sumptuous dinner from the party's other members. Thus begins The Canterbury Tales. Eight of these tales are showcased in this charming collection, including words from the Host as well as words from Chaucer. The stories include: "The Miller's Tale""The Franklin's Tale""The Nun's Priest's Tale""The Wife of Bath's Tale""The Friar's Tale"

The Black CatWhen it comes to short stories, Edgar Allan Poe is considered by many to be the master of terror and the macabre. This is one of his most famous stories. A man is tormented by a cat and decides to take a terrible vengeance, but things do not go as planned.The Gold BugEdgar Allan Poe, American poet and master of the horror tale, is also credited by many with inventing the American mystery story. "The Gold Bug" is one of his most famous stories. It was first published in the Philadelphia Dollar Newspaper in June 1843, after Poe had won a competition held by the paper and received a prize of $100.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.