Showing results by publisher "InAudio" in Historical Fiction

As she emerges from the prison of a Puritan New England town, Hester Prynne defies the dark gloom much as the rose blooms against the prison door. With her illegitimate baby, Pearl, clutched in her arms and the letter A - the mark of an adulteress - embroidered in scarlet thread on her breast, Hester holds her head high as she faces the malice and scorn of the townsfolk. Her powerful, bittersweet story is an American classic that continues to touch the hearts of modern readers with its timeless themes of guilt, passion and repentance.

As his tale begins, Orlando is a passionate young nobleman whose days are spent in rowdy revelry, filled with the colourful delights of Queen Elizabeth's court. By the close, he will have transformed into a modern, thirty-six-year-old woman and three centuries will have passed. Orlando will not only witness the making of history from its edge, but will find that his unique position as a woman who knows what it is to be a man will give him insight into matters of the heart.

In 1665, London was struck by the bubonic plague, an epidemic that was the last major instance of the bubonic plague in England. This instance of the plague killed 100,000 people over a year and a half, and was transmitted through rats that ran through the city. A Journal of the Plague Year was presented as an eyewitness account of the epidemic through the eyes of Londoners.

Anthony Patch is a young socialite living in the exciting world of New York City in the early years of the Jazz Age. He has graduated from Harvard but has remarkably few accomplishments and spends most of his time pretending to work on a novel rather than truly creating anything. When he is introduced to another socialite, Gloria Gilbert, he is inspired to jump into the next phase of his life by marrying her despite being hesitant to share his comfortable life with another. Their married life is full of conflict and tension, as Gloria expects to have a fully funded, glamorous life.

Tess of the d’Urbervilles is a complex and impactful novel by Thomas Hardy. The novel follows the life of Tess, the eldest child of a family who believes they have a small claim to royalty because of their family name. When misfortune hits the family, Tess takes it upon herself to seek out a wealthier relative and ask for money, but instead is taken into the service of a libertine, who takes advantage of her situation and youth.

The two oldest Dashwood sisters approach romance differently. One impulsively jumps into love while the other is far more prudent. When tragedy strikes they find themselves searching for suitable husbands. Elinor feels ill-equipped to compete with the self-centred, fortune-driven society she finds herself in, whilst Marianne's unshakeable belief in her own feelings makes her susceptible to the designs of unscrupulous men. Can they find true love?

At the height of the Reign of Terror, executions were a daily occurrence. Any members of the French aristocracy merely suspected of treason could be sentenced to death by the tribunal. There was no hope of justice or mercy, or even a fair trial. Only the Scarlet Pimpernel could rescue them from their fate and bring them to safety at the coast of England. With each rescue, the public prosecutor would find a paper with the image of a little red flower, a scarlet pimpernel.

It is in this environment that The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man is written. In this novel, the narrator describes his life as a Black child and young adult, working his way through the various social classes. He becomes a musician and travels the world as a free Black man for much of his life, but eventually makes the decision to live as a White man after witnessing a horrific lynching. The rest of his life is spent keeping a piece of himself hidden from everyone in an attempt at safety.

Catherine’s favorite genre to read is Gothic fiction, a romanticized, dark, and mysterious genre. As Catherine grows older and begins to meet more of the world outside of her family to increase her social circle, her imagination begins to get the better of her. Everyday scenarios become romanticized and dramatic, natural deaths become mysterious, and innocent motives are questioned as Catherine fancies herself a character in a Gothic drama. Catherine’s naivete and escapism are what holds her back from maturing into an adult.

Mansfield Park was Jane Austen’s third novel, and is often stated to be her most mature. The complex love entanglements, mature situations, and familial drama are common in Austen’s literature, but Mansfield Park is one of the most complex of her novels. The book has been lauded for its challenging of the conservative values of the age, and for its masterful artistry which cleverly disguises the social commentary within.

Oliver Twist follows the titular character from an early age as a young orphan. He faces a cruel and unfair system of disenfranchisement and is forced to beg and work in grueling workplaces to earn money and food as a child. As he grows older, he runs away to London to seek out a better life but continues to face hardship and villainy along his journey.

Robin Hood is one of the most well-known stories about a well-meaning outlaw. Robin Hood is an outlaw who robs from the rich to feed the poor. He sets about on adventures through the country to recruit people to assist in his robberies, to cause mischief to the royalty seeking to have him captured, and to give money and resources to the poor and needy in society.

Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility is a classic staple of English literature. Published in 1811, this novel tells the story of the Dashwood ladies - Elinor, Marianne, and Margaret - as their family is forced to move to a new estate. Elinor and Marianne, the oldest of the trio, come of age in a tumultuous time, and the novel focuses on their romances, tribulations, and relationships with one another as they grow up.