Michael Henchard, drunk at a country fair, sells his wife and baby daughter for five guineas. The following day, in despair and remorse, he forswears alcohol and sets out to redeem himself. In time, he becomes a respected merchant and eventually the mayor of the town. But Fate is not to be so easily appeased, and Henchard finds his past actions resonate through and destroy his plans for the future. One of the greatest novels in the English language, the Mayor of Casterbridge sees Thomas Hardy at his best, bringing landscape and richly imagined characters to life, and setti.

Rip Van Winkle (Unabridged)

When the naïve David Balfour sets out on his quest for a long-lost relative, a terrifying chain of events is set in motion. He is plunged into a world of infamy and violence from which there seems no escape, until, that is, he meets the enigmatic and valiant Highlander, Alan Breck.

Following the success of the first Great Scientists title in the "Junior Classics" range, this collection features the lives of nine more remarkable scientists, with descriptions of their discoveries. From the astronomy of Copernicus and Halley to the natural science of Linnaeus and Humboldt, and from the discoveries of Pascal, Davy, Volta and Babbage to the harnessing of atomic power by Julius Oppenheimer, it explores the contrubtions made by these great scientists, and the impact on our everyday lives. This audiobook is a marvellous snapshot of nine of the world's greatest scientists, written and narrated so as to spark the interest of a junior audience in the fascinating topic of science.

With printed plans.

The Metamorphoses, by Publius Ovidius Naso (43 BC&;AD 17) has, over the centuries, been the most popular and influential work from our classical tradition. This extraordinary collection of some 250 Greek and Roman myths and folk tales has always been a popular favourite and has decisively shaped western art and literature from the moment it was completed in AD 8. The stories are particularly vivid when read by David Horovitch in this new lively verse translation by Ian Johnston.

In One of the First Novels in the English Language, We Follow the Picaresque Adventures of Joseph Andrews, a Virtuous Young Man Who Is Keen to Maintain His Innocence Despite Being Coerced By Nearly Every Woman He Encounters. The Episodic Journey Sees Him Travel Home to London with His Tutor, Parson Adams, As He Heads to Find His Sweetheart, Fanny. Much Mayhem Ensues Along the Way As They Become Embroiled in a Series of Escapades and Slapstick Brawls. An Expert Satirist, Henry Fielding (1707-54), Through the Many Twists and Turns of Narration, Combines High and Low Literature, and High and Low Humor to Create a Wittily Funny Novel That He Aptly Named a 'Comic Epic Poem in Prose'. This 11 CD Set, Approx. 14 Hours in Running Time, Marks the First Complete Recording of Fielding's Great Comic Work.

When his ship is wrecked in a storm, Robinson Crusoe finds himself stranded on a desert island with no one to help him and no chance of rescue. Scared and alone, he tries to make a life for himself, building shelters, hunting food, taming animals, crafting boats and making clothes. But just as his life appears to be settled, he sees someone else's footprint on the beach and a different struggle for survival begins, this time against cannibals and pirates. Published in 1719, the novel was an immediate success and continue to fascinate new generations.

Prince Lev Nikolayevich Myshkin is one of the great characters in Russian literature. Is he a saint or just naive? Is he an idealist of, as many in General Yepanchin's society feel, an "idiot"? Certainly his return to St. Petersburg after years in a Swiss clinic has a dramatic effect on the beautiful Aglaya, youngest of the Yepanchin daughters, and on the charismatic but willful Nastassya Filippovna. As he paints a vivid picture of Russian society, Dostoyevsky shows how principles conflict with emotions - with tragic results. The Idiot is considered to be one of Dostoyevsky's finest novels. Reader Constantine Gregory is an accomplished Russian speaker - he imbues the novel with understanding and invites his listeners in to share it.

L.P. Hartley’s heartbreaking novel The Go-Between is a haunting, moving, and evocative work about social constraints and childhood innocence. The story is set during the long hot summer of 1900 and follows young Leo Colston who is invited to stay for a month at an aristocratic manor in Norfolk. While there he falls in love with his friend’s sister who commissions him to carry secret notes to her lover, the local farmer. This story has been adapted multiple times for stage and screen, most recently the BBC One TV film starring Jim Broadbent. The story is exclusively licensed to Naxos Audiobooks. Sean Barrett gives a tender and sympathetic interpretation, full of warmth and insight.

Considered one of China's great classical novels, Wu Ch'�ng-�n's Journey to the West was translated by Arthur waley in abridged form as Monkey in 1942 and has delighted English readers ever since. It is a riveting adventure story about a priest's quest to obtain holy Buddhist scriptures for the Tang emperor; joining him on this rollicking journey: Sandy, Pigs and the mischievous Monkey King, Sn Wukong, whose flying cloud and magic cudgel are never far from his infamous deeds. Waley's accessible rendition of Wu Ch'�ng-�n's novel has become a classic in it's own right: Gods, demons and disobedient monkey spirits all come alive in this entertaining work.

Rousseau's Discourse sets out to explore the origin of inequality among people, a journey that sees him trace the evolution of humans from the savage man to the foundations of civil society. With verve and passion, the philosopher argues that the birth of private property was the 'beginning of evil'. Throughout the book we are lead to consider the development of language, reason, self-preservation, benevolence, pity and law - all through the lens of perhaps the most original thinker of the 18th c. Neville Jason trained at RADA, where he was awarded the diction prize by Sir John Gielgud. He has been a member of the BBC Radio Drama Company three times, and may be heard in radio plays, documentaries and arts programs. For Naxos AudioBooks his readings include War and Peace, The Once and Future King, Evgenii Onegin and Remembrance of Things Past, both unabridged and abridged.

The Story of My Life is the explosive and exhilarating autobiography by the infamous libertine Giacomo Casanova. Intense and scandalous, Casanova's extraordinary adventures take the listener on an incredible voyage across 18th-century Europe - from France to Russia, Poland to Spain and Turkey to Germany, with Venice at their heart. He falls madly in love, has wild flings and delirious orgies, and encounters some of the most brilliant figures of his time, including Catherine the Great, Louis XV and Benjamin Franklin. He holds a verbal duel with Voltaire, a pistol duel with a Polish noble, and finds himself hauled before the court multiple times, including in London, where the judge in question turns out to be none other than Henry Fielding. His appetite for life is voracious; for him, a life lived close to the precipice is the only life worth living. The book is divided into six sections. Volume 2 contains the third and fourth sections: '3: The Eternal Quest' and '4: Adventures in the South'.

Oliver Twist (Unabridged)

The Scarlet Letter is one of the great classics of American literature. One of the first, and most popular stories from 19th-century American literature, the book has been the subject of numerous film, television, and stage adaptations and is commonly found on school and university syllabi across the world. Set in the harsh Puritan environment of 17th-century Boston, it describes the plight of Hester Prynne, an independent-minded woman who stands alone against society. Having given birth to a child after an illicit affair, she refuses to name the father and is forced to wear the letter 'A' for Adulteress, embroidered on her dress. Adam Sims, experienced in radio, television and theatre performances, captures the elegance of Hawthorne's rich and lyrical language.