Step into the timeless world of Shakespeare through the E. Nesbit's "Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare" which bring the Bard's greatest plays to life in clear, engaging prose, preserving their drama, romance, humour, and adventure for readers of all ages.Nesbit skilfully distils the essence of each story into a short and accessible chapter, without sacrificing spirit of the original play.From the magic of The Tempest to the tragedy of Hamlet, th...

The Yellow Fairy Book is one of the celebrated fairy-tale collections edited by Andrew Lang (1844–1912), the Scottish poet, folklorist, historian, and literary critic. Lang devoted much of his life to gathering and retelling traditional stories from around the world, making them accessible to generations of readers. Although his name appears on the cover, the work of translating and adapting many of these tales was undertaken with the invaluable assistance of his ...

Although accepted to be a classic of children's literature, Kenneth Grahame's tale of Mole, Ratty, Badger and Toad is layered with the universal themes of nature, longing, belonging, awe and friendship; all woven around the exciting adventures of the incorrigible Mr Toad and his faithful companion's attempts to tame his wayward spirit.

So accustomed are we to numerous cinematic films depicting Dinosaurs (resurrected from their extinction through various dramatic devices) running amok amongst the human race, from King Kong to Jurassic Park, that we forget that it was the creator of Sherlock Holmes who was amongst the first to imagine such a scenario.After so many years of the cerebral Holmes, Conan Doyle must have revelled in his colourful new character of Professor Challenger. He is a bear of a man with an appeti...

In a Study in Scarlet Conan Doyle first presented to the world his unique creation Mr Sherlock Holmes almost complete.Over successive stories we learn a little more about the man, but it is not for character development that we turn to the Chronicles of Dr John Watson M.DAn iconic figure such as Holmes is all the better for his predicatbility, and even in this, the first of his recorded cases we can be confident that our hero is all we would expect.Part of the Compl...

To categorise Chesterton’s tale "The Man Who Was Thursday" is near impossible and ultimately fruitless. Nightmare? Dream? Allegory? It matters little; like all Chesterton’s writing it is packed with rich imagery, whimsical humour and universal wisdom.Like Gabriel Syme, at the conclusion of the story, we may not be quite sure whether we too, were dreaming or not.Narrated by Simon Hester. With original music.

First published in 1895 this classic tale of three friends taking a boating holdiay on the Thames is as fresh as ever and creates a unique blend of humorous travelogue and historical information; even pausing at times, amidst the comedic mishaps, to reflect eloquently upon life and its sufferings.

The famous and thrilling stories of William Shakespeare's plays are lovingly retold in equally poetic language by Charles and Mary Lamb. First published in 1807 and intended as an introduction to the plays for children, these retellings have a beauty of their own which still captivate today.Music and narration by Simon Hester.

Far from its popular image, the story of Frankenstein as told by Mary Shelley is not a tale that finds horror in a hideous "monster" or a "crazed" scientist. The darkness in the narrative is found in the profound loneliness of both Creator and Created as they seek one another in a tragic cycle of unfulfilled longing and revenge.This powerful novel, first published in 1818, still surprises and shocks us with the fundamental questions about the moral boundaries of human discovery and...

Books often suffer when over taken by the notoriety of the adaptations which they inspire. This was never truer than of Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.Yet in his novella Robert Louis Stevenson cleverly takes a primal human fantasy, in this case that of freeing oneself from all moral responsibility with impunity and explores the possibility of separating human nature into the diabolical and the virtuous.Stevenson’s work stands as a work of...

In the pursuit of Christian maturity and guidance, few works have stood the test of time with as much reverence and wisdom as The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis. Written in the 15th century, its profound insights continue to resonate with seekers of truth across generations.This timeless masterpiece simply and clearly points us towards Jesus Christ as the authour of faith and the exemplar of Christian living.Head Stories Audio presents "The Imitaion of Chri...

Charles Pooter in the “Diary of a Nobody” is no mere figure of fun, no suburban snob to be sniggered at.He is a very contented man. Contended in his marriage, devoted to his boss and more than happy in his new six roomed suburban residence. By his own admission he makes no claims to grandiosity or social climbing.As his diary progresses, we find ourselves cheering him on as he navigates many an awkward situation amongst the regulari...