Showing results by narrator "Sara Nichols" in All Categories

In 1886, a struggling young doctor and part-time author named Arthur Conan Doyle picked up his pen and created what is arguably the most famous character in the history of mystery and detective fiction: the consulting detective known as Sherlock Holmes. Forty years later, Doyle would conclude this astonishing series of adventures having penned four full novels and fifty-six short stories featuring Holmes and - in most of these stories - his friend and crime-fighting partner, Dr. John Watson (who often served as the fictional chronicler of these tales).

Dashiell Hammett was already a well-established hard-boiled mystery writer by the time he released what would turn out to be his masterpiece, The Maltese Falcon in 1930. But with the release of this novel, Hammett would be catapulted to the forefront of American crime writers. The novel has been adapted several times for the screen and the 1941 film version—starring Humphrey Bogart and Mary Astor—has become a film noir classic.

The Prairie Trilogy is a series of three novels centered around life in the Midwest during the late 19th/early 20th centuries by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Willa Cather. First, in "O Pioneers!," we meet Alexandra Bergson, who inherits the family farm after her father dies and leaves her to care for her three siblings. While many immigrant families are giving up their farms and moving back to the city (or to their home countries), Alexandra decides to try to tough it out on the prairie.

Few families in history can boast of the incredible literary achievements of the Brontë sisters - Anne, Emily and Charlotte - who penned three of the most beloved novels ever written: Anne's "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall," Emily's "Wuthering Heights" and Charlotte's "Jane Eyre." Collected here are all three of these classic novels, plus a pair of essays penned by Charlotte fiercely defending her sister's books and drawing attention to the literary misogyny of the time, which forced the sisters to publish their novels under male pseudonyms.

A powerful and disturbing adventure story set in the wilds of Mexico after the First World War, "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" is B. Traven's much-beloved and thrilling tale of three desperate men who set out to make their fortune in the gold-filled Sierra Madre Mountains...and wind up confronting their own greed and paranoia along the way.

Collected here are three of E.M. Forster's classic novels: "A Room With a View," "Howards End" and "A Passage to India," each a stand-alone masterpiece and all of them celebrated as among the finest novels of early 20th century literature.

Every great hero has an origin story and for the legendary Sherlock Holmes, it was A Study in Scarlet, Arthur Conan Doyle's 1887 novel which introduced the world's leading (and only) consulting detective to the reading public. Though not an immediate sensation (the novel was received with moderate acclaim), it has gone on to become one of the most revered detective novels in history and its protagonists—Dr. John Watson and Sherlock Holmes—are easily the most recognized and celebrated crime fighting duo in all of literature.

Viewed from an historical perspective, Jane Austen's novels should not exist. She was born during a period where female writers (if they dared to write at all) were dismissed, ignored, and dissuaded from writing altogether. The fact that Ms. Austen went ahead and created the novels contained in this collection—which have gone on to become some of the most treasured books in literary history—is nothing short of a miracle.

"The House of Mirth" was the breakthrough novel for Edith Wharton and its immediate commercial and critical success put her on the American literary map. Based on Wharton's own experiences among the elite of the New York City social set in the late 1890's, "The House of Mirth" is both a fascinating glimpse into the upper-reaches of high society and a searing satire of the cruelties, frivolities and hypocrisy of the city's ultra-rich.

William Strunk, Jr., a professor of English literature at Cornell University, penned The Elements of Style in 1918 as a guide for his students in the proper use of grammar and composition.

Presented here are three of the six novels written by the legendary British author Jane Austen, each a beloved and cherished masterpiece of Regency-era literature. In Volume I, we present Austen's timeless classics "Pride and Prejudice," "Mansfield Park" and "Persuasion." Though the books only received modest attention and few reviews at the time of their first release ("Persuasion" was, in fact, published posthumously), all of these books have gone on to become best-sellers are now considered to be among the finest examples of 19th century literature.

In Volume II, we present Austen's timeless classics "Sense and Sensibility," "Northanger Abbey" and "Emma." Though the books only received modest attention and few reviews at the time of their first release ("Northanger Abbey" was, in fact, published posthumously), all of these books have gone on to become best-sellers are now considered to be among the finest examples of 19th century literature.

Here is Hugh Lofting's classic tale of the English doctor who learns how to speak to his non-human patients—dogs, cats, rhinos, and monkeys alike—as he travels from England to the jungles of Africa and back again. Doctor Dolittle's entourage of animal friends, including Polynesia the parrot, Gub-Gub the pig, Jip the dog, and Dab-Dab the duck, journey with the doctor and team up to help him out of one scrape after another.

Pooh and all of his friends are here: Piglet, Eeyore, Tigger, Rabbit, Owl, Kanga, Roo, and Christopher Robin. As they explore the Hundred Acre Wood, they have all sorts of adventures: tracking the Heffalump, visiting with Rabbit (and getting stuck in a very tight place), dressing up as a little black rain cloud to get honey from the bees, and even going on an "expotition" to the North Pole!

Presented here are four of Edith Wharton's best known works: "The Age of Innocence," "The House of Mirth," "Ethan Frome" and "Summer," each considered a classic of the early 20th century. The first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for fiction (for "Age of Innocence"), Wharton enjoyed an astonishing career as a short story writer and novelist, blazing a trail for the female writers who followed her.

The story - one of Forster's darkest tales - revolves around a trip to India by British schoolmistress Adela Quested and her companion, Mrs. Moore. After meeting with a local physician, Dr. Aziz, the two visitors travel with him on a tour of the famous Marabar Caves. While exploring a dark cave alone, Adela is forced to fend off a mysterious attacker and Dr. Aziz - who became separated from the party - is accused of assault.

"The Blue Castle" is one of the few books author L.M. Montgomery (author of the "Anne of Green Gables" series) wrote for an adult audience. It is a romantic novel set in early 20th-century Ontario, Canada, that follows the emotional and romantic awakening of Valancy Stirling, a 29-year-old spinster trapped in a stifling, judgmental family. Valancy appears trapped, living a dull, joyless life while her relatives order her about. Her only escape is her imagination, where she dreams of a beautiful place she calls the Blue Castle-a symbol of freedom, love, and happiness.

The Sign of the Four is the thrilling follow-up to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's premiere novel, A Study in Scarlet in which he introduced the world's first unofficial consulting detective, the legendary and brilliant Sherlock Holmes.

A missing girl... The manipulative aristocrat, Marcus Dreadbury. A local gangster with a drug-dealing problem. The Manor's locked room, with a dusty handle. Stables, but with no sign of any horses. A subterranean stream. Marcus' madcap father. And a Manor-House full of surprises. Trench and Old Tom must somehow make the connection, if they are to succeed at playing find-the lady...

Collected here are three of Dorothy Parker's earliest works: two collections of poetry—Enough Rope and Sunset Gun as well as her short, hilarious collection of stories recounting all of the men she managed to avoid marrying named (appropriately) Men I'm Not Married To.