Showing results for "simon hester"

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Homer

Narrated by

Simon Hester

One of the greatest adventure stories ever written, The Odyssey follows the long and perilous journey of Odysseus as he struggles to return home after the Trojan War. Along the way he faces monsters, storms, enchantresses, and the wrath of the gods, while his faithful wife Penelope and son Telemachus endure trials of their own in Ithaca.Samuel Butler's celebrated translation presents Homer's epic in clear, natural English, making this timeless tale accessible to modern rea...

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Gaston Leroux

Narrated by

Simon Hester

When stripped of the musical and cinematic additions which have clung to the story over the last 100 years, Gaston Leroux's tragic tale still sounds fresh and engaging. A beautifully crafted tale with at its heart the brooding, monstrous, yet pitiful figure of the Phantom. Around him swirl the young and naive lovers and the almost comic comings and goings of the 18th century Paris Opera House.Head Stories Audio present this classic tale narrated by Simon Hester. With original music...

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Oscar Wilde

Narrated by

Simon Hester

The four tales gathered here reveal Oscar Wilde’s gift for blending wit, irony, and moral reflection within the form of the short story.Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime is a darkly comic exploration of fate and free will, where polite society collides with the absurd.The Canterville Ghost playfully turns the traditional ghost story on its head, offering satire as sharp as it is humorous.In The Sphinx Without a Secret

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Jules Verne

Narrated by

Simon Hester

The imperturbable Englishman Phileas Fogg attempts to makes an exciting journey around the World in 80 Days. By his side is the ever resourceful and faithful Passpartout and on his heels is the determined Detective Fix.Jules Verne's classic story brims with colour and adventure as we follow Mr Fogg around the globe through all the travails of Victorian transportation, death defying escapes and ferocious weather. Will he return to London in time to win his wager? Will he return home...

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Andrew Lang

Narrated by

Simon Hester

Audiobook 1 -

Andrew Lang - The Fairy Tale Books

Andrew Lang (1844–1912) in collaboration with his wife Leonora Blanche Alleyne (1851-1933) published The Blue Fairy Book in 1889 and it was to become the first of a series of twenty five collections of fantastical tales from around the world, ending with “The Strange Story Book” published in 1923.In this first collection we find many of the traditional favourites from the “Fairy Tale” world, including amongst others “Goldilocks”, “Sleeping Beauty”, “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves”,...

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H.G Wells

Narrated by

Simon Hester

First published in 1905 Kipps soon became H.G Wells’ most popular novel. It is a rags to riches story of a “simple soul” Arthur Kipps, a naïve young man who finds himself suddenly struggling to keep afloat in the deep waters of unlooked for wealth. He reaches out to those he considers his betters to anchor himself in this new world, so far removed from his relatively humble life of apprentice to a Draper.Young Kipps is quick to abandon his first love Ann for the allure of Helen Wal...

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E. Nesbit

Narrated by

Simon Hester

The story of three wishes being granted is an old one and often takes the form of a precautionary tale with the resultant moral being “be careful what you wish for!” Such is the fallibility of human nature that we can’t easily be trusted to use those wishes wisely.The great children’s author Edith Nesbit (1858 – 1924) took this popular concept for her 1903 book “Five Children and It” and extended the wishes from three to eleven, now granted to five young siblings in Edwardian Engla...

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H.G Wells

Narrated by

Simon Hester

"This is a history and not a glorification of Mr. Polly, and I tell of things as they were with him”So writes H.G Wells towards the end of his story of Mr Polly and indeed the narrator’s voice throughout the book leaves us altogether ambivalent about his protagonist.The diminutive Everyman of the story is neither fully hero nor villain.A book that, although gently humorous, gives us no facile answers to life's frustrations and conundrums, but leaves us with a fittin...

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Jerome K. Jerome

Narrated by

Simon Hester

““What is a ‘Bummel’?” said George. “How would you translate it?”“A ‘Bummel’,” I explained, “I should describe as a journey, long or short, without an end; the only thing regulating it being the necessity of getting back within a given time to the point from which one started.””Written in 1900, Jerome. K. Jerome’s sequel to his successful “Three Men in a Boat” (1889) retains his same three men; Harris, George, and himself. They are now older, if not always wiser, and decide...

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Hugh Lofting

Narrated by

Simon Hester

Hugh Lofting’s The Story of Doctor Dolittle is a timeless tale that has delighted readers of all ages for over a century. Published in 1920, this charming story introduces us to the peculiar yet endearing Dr. John Dolittle, whose love for animals transcends the ordinary bounds of human-animal relationships. With the aid of his unique ability to speak the languages of animals, Dr. Dolittle embarks on adventures that are as whimsical as they are heartwarming.It is also impor...

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Jerome. K. Jerome

Narrated by

Simon Hester

Jerome. K. Jerome allows us to laugh, with and at, both himself and ourselves in his writing. As we peruse his “Idle Thoughts” on subjects ranging from babies to ambition, from dogs to poverty, we find that the dust of over a hundred years have not dimmed the mirror in which we look.Jerome, as in his other comic works presents a seeming stream of consciousness that can shift in a moment from the ridiculous to the sublime, from self-deprecation to intense longing.Such “Idle ...

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Oscar Wilde

Narrated by

Simon Hester

It is all to easy to be familiar with Oscar Wilde the aesthete. The limpid sophisticate ever ready with a witty epigram designed to both shock and stimulate.However, here in this set of short stories Wilde, at least partly, lays aside his barbs and is careful to not let cynicism cloud the parable like innocence of these tales.There is an undeniable purity in these tales which Wilde’s simple lyrical style beautifully enhances. For all the hypocrisy of the Remarkable Rocket a...