-
Father Goriot
- Narrated by: Bill Homewood
- Length: 12 hrs
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Prime members: New to Audible?Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Father Goriot
Buy for $26.77
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Publisher's summary
Impoverished young aristocrat Eugene de Rastignac is determined to climb the social ladder and impress himself on Parisian high society. While staying at the Maison Vauquer, a boarding house in Paris's rue Neuve-Sainte-Genevieve, he encounters Jean-Joachim Goriot, a retired vermicelli maker who has spent his entire fortune supporting his two daughters. The boarders strike up a friendship and Goriot learns of Rastignac's feelings for his daughter Delphine. He begins to see Rastignac as the ideal son-in-law, and the perfect substitute for Delphine's domineering husband. But Rastignac has other opportunities too, as the notorious criminal Vautrin, "The Death Dodger", offers to murder the brother of a wealthy woman, giving the ambitious young lawyer a clear path to her fortune. Profound and realistic, Father Goriot is a startling glimpse into the vanity and selfishness of 19th-century Paris. It is considered one of the finest works of Balzac's La Comedie Humaine.
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
La Rabouilleuse
- The Black Sheep; The Two Brothers
- By: Honoré de Balzac
- Narrated by: Bill Homewood
- Length: 12 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 21
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 19
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 19
Brothers Philippe and Joseph Bridau are completely unalike: Philippe, braggart and soldier, formerly aide-de-camp to Napoleon, is their mother Agathe's favorite; Joseph, a poor and aspiring artist, is raised in his brother's shadow. When Agathe is reduced to poverty and Philippe accrues gambling debts, the family join forces to focus their attentions on Agathe's brother, Jean-Jacques Rouget, heir to the family fortune. The struggle for his inheritance pits the family against Rouget's beautiful maid Flore ("La Rabouilleuse"), the apple of her master's eye, and her crafty lover.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Brutal poetic justice
- By Tad Davis on 06-23-20
By: Honoré de Balzac
-
Sentimental Education
- By: Gustave Flaubert
- Narrated by: Andrew Wincott
- Length: 20 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 22
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 20
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 20
Upon arriving home in Normandy, Frederick catches his first glimpse of Marie Arnoux, a mysterious and beautiful woman who leaves a lasting impression on him. Eventually they make each other's acquaintance and Marie becomes a symbol of unattainable perfection for Frederick, whose unrequited infatuation leaves him bouncing from one passion to another, falling in and out of love, money and society.
By: Gustave Flaubert
-
Cousin Bette
- By: Honoré de Balzac
- Narrated by: Lucy Scott
- Length: 16 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 13
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 8
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 7
Lisbeth Fischer has lived in the shadow of her beautiful cousin Adeline for much of her life. Pampered while Lisbeth works in the fields, Adeline makes an enviable leap in status when Baron Hulot offers her his hand in marriage. Out of kindness, they bring Lisbeth to Paris, where she falls in love with the artist Wenceslas, her protege. However, when she is jilted for Adeline's daughter Hortense, her jealousy and rage exponentially intensify, and she resolves to bring the Hulot family to ruin, employing the cold seductress Valerie Marneffe as her vehicle for revenge.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A Masterpiece!
- By Huntress of Erudition on 10-07-23
By: Honoré de Balzac
-
Le Pere Goriot
- By: Honoré de Balzac
- Narrated by: Paul Hecht
- Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 188
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 143
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 139
At the shabby boarding house in the rue Neuve-Sainte-Geneviève, petty Madame Vauquer and her tenants wonder at the plight of the aging resident Goriot. Once a well-heeled merchant, Goriot was, at first, afforded special treatment from the Madame. But now something is clearly amiss in his financial affairs, and his increasingly tawdry appearance makes him a subject of ridicule in the household.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
balzac rocks
- By beatrice on 03-12-10
By: Honoré de Balzac
-
Eugénie Grandet
- By: Honoré de Balzac
- Narrated by: Jonathan Fried
- Length: 7 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 60
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 50
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 50
Hailed as the father of the naturalist novel, French author and playwright Honoré de Balzac left a legacy of treasured literary works that include Père Goriot and Cousin Bette. The daughter of a wealthy but miserly man, Eugénie Grandet falls in love with her penniless cousin, Charles. The two plan to marry, but at the behest of her father, Charles must first go overseas to make his fortune. Returning years later, Charles calls off the engagement, leaving Eugénie heartbroken and vengeful.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Unpleasant people
- By Tad Davis on 06-08-14
By: Honoré de Balzac
-
The Man Without Qualities
- By: Robert Musil
- Narrated by: John Telfer
- Length: 60 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 52
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 42
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 43
In 1913, the Viennese aristocracy is gathering to celebrate the 17th jubilee of the accession of Emperor Franz Josef, even as the Austro-Hungarian Empire is collapsing and the rest of Vienna is showing signs of rebellion. At the centre of this social labyrinth is Ulrich: a veteran, a seducer and a scientist, yet also a man 'without qualities' and therefore a brilliant and detached observer of his changing world.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
An unmatched intellectual epic
- By Delano on 06-23-22
By: Robert Musil
-
La Rabouilleuse
- The Black Sheep; The Two Brothers
- By: Honoré de Balzac
- Narrated by: Bill Homewood
- Length: 12 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 21
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 19
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 19
Brothers Philippe and Joseph Bridau are completely unalike: Philippe, braggart and soldier, formerly aide-de-camp to Napoleon, is their mother Agathe's favorite; Joseph, a poor and aspiring artist, is raised in his brother's shadow. When Agathe is reduced to poverty and Philippe accrues gambling debts, the family join forces to focus their attentions on Agathe's brother, Jean-Jacques Rouget, heir to the family fortune. The struggle for his inheritance pits the family against Rouget's beautiful maid Flore ("La Rabouilleuse"), the apple of her master's eye, and her crafty lover.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Brutal poetic justice
- By Tad Davis on 06-23-20
By: Honoré de Balzac
-
Sentimental Education
- By: Gustave Flaubert
- Narrated by: Andrew Wincott
- Length: 20 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 22
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 20
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 20
Upon arriving home in Normandy, Frederick catches his first glimpse of Marie Arnoux, a mysterious and beautiful woman who leaves a lasting impression on him. Eventually they make each other's acquaintance and Marie becomes a symbol of unattainable perfection for Frederick, whose unrequited infatuation leaves him bouncing from one passion to another, falling in and out of love, money and society.
By: Gustave Flaubert
-
Cousin Bette
- By: Honoré de Balzac
- Narrated by: Lucy Scott
- Length: 16 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 13
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 8
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 7
Lisbeth Fischer has lived in the shadow of her beautiful cousin Adeline for much of her life. Pampered while Lisbeth works in the fields, Adeline makes an enviable leap in status when Baron Hulot offers her his hand in marriage. Out of kindness, they bring Lisbeth to Paris, where she falls in love with the artist Wenceslas, her protege. However, when she is jilted for Adeline's daughter Hortense, her jealousy and rage exponentially intensify, and she resolves to bring the Hulot family to ruin, employing the cold seductress Valerie Marneffe as her vehicle for revenge.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A Masterpiece!
- By Huntress of Erudition on 10-07-23
By: Honoré de Balzac
-
Le Pere Goriot
- By: Honoré de Balzac
- Narrated by: Paul Hecht
- Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 188
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 143
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 139
At the shabby boarding house in the rue Neuve-Sainte-Geneviève, petty Madame Vauquer and her tenants wonder at the plight of the aging resident Goriot. Once a well-heeled merchant, Goriot was, at first, afforded special treatment from the Madame. But now something is clearly amiss in his financial affairs, and his increasingly tawdry appearance makes him a subject of ridicule in the household.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
balzac rocks
- By beatrice on 03-12-10
By: Honoré de Balzac
-
Eugénie Grandet
- By: Honoré de Balzac
- Narrated by: Jonathan Fried
- Length: 7 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 60
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 50
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 50
Hailed as the father of the naturalist novel, French author and playwright Honoré de Balzac left a legacy of treasured literary works that include Père Goriot and Cousin Bette. The daughter of a wealthy but miserly man, Eugénie Grandet falls in love with her penniless cousin, Charles. The two plan to marry, but at the behest of her father, Charles must first go overseas to make his fortune. Returning years later, Charles calls off the engagement, leaving Eugénie heartbroken and vengeful.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Unpleasant people
- By Tad Davis on 06-08-14
By: Honoré de Balzac
-
The Man Without Qualities
- By: Robert Musil
- Narrated by: John Telfer
- Length: 60 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 52
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 42
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 43
In 1913, the Viennese aristocracy is gathering to celebrate the 17th jubilee of the accession of Emperor Franz Josef, even as the Austro-Hungarian Empire is collapsing and the rest of Vienna is showing signs of rebellion. At the centre of this social labyrinth is Ulrich: a veteran, a seducer and a scientist, yet also a man 'without qualities' and therefore a brilliant and detached observer of his changing world.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
An unmatched intellectual epic
- By Delano on 06-23-22
By: Robert Musil
-
The Iliad & The Odyssey
- By: Homer
- Narrated by: John Lescault
- Length: 28 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 916
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 535
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 536
Little is known about the Ancient Greek oral poet Homer, the supposed 8th century BC author of the world-read Iliad and his later masterpiece, The Odyssey. These classic epics provided the basis for Greek education and culture throughout the classical age and formed the backbone of humane education through the birth of the Roman Empire and the spread of Christianity.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Worth the price, worth the time
- By Sam on 12-31-04
By: Homer
-
The Decameron
- By: Giovanni Boccaccio
- Narrated by: Simon Russell Beale, Gunnar Cauthery, Alison Pettitt, and others
- Length: 28 hrs and 5 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 249
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 219
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 220
The Decameron is one of the greatest literary works of the Middle Ages. Ten young people have fled the terrible effects of the Black Death in Florence and, in an idyllic setting, tell a series of brilliant stories, by turns humorous, bawdy, tragic and provocative. This celebration of physical and sexual vitality is Boccaccio's answer to the sublime other-worldliness of Dante's Divine Comedy.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Not Up to the Usual Naxos Standard
- By John on 11-15-17
-
Swann's Way
- By: Marcel Proust
- Narrated by: Neville Jason
- Length: 21 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 682
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 603
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 598
Swann’s Way is the first of seven volumes in Remembrance of Things Past. It sets the scene with the narrator’s memories being famously provoked by the taste of that little cake, the madeleine, accompanied by a cup of lime-flowered tea. It is an unmatched portrait of fin-de-siècle France.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Not a book one reads but inhabits & floats through
- By Darwin8u on 02-24-13
By: Marcel Proust
-
Tom Jones
- The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling
- By: Henry Fielding
- Narrated by: Bill Homewood
- Length: 37 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 138
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 126
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 127
Tom Jones, a foundling, is brought up by the kindly Mr. Allworthy as if he were his own son. Forced to leave the house as a young man after tales of his disgraceful behavior reach his benefactor's ears, he sets out in utter despair, not only because of his banishment but because he has now lost all hope of gaining the hand of the beautiful Sophia. But she too is forced to flee her parental home to escape an undesirable marriage and their stories and adventures intertwine.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
terrific story BUT
- By tom on 01-28-14
By: Henry Fielding
-
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
- By: Victor Hugo
- Narrated by: Bill Homewood
- Length: 22 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 563
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 517
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 518
In the grotesque bell-ringer Quasimodo, Victor Hugo created one of the most vivid characters in classic fiction. Quasimodo's doomed love for the beautiful gypsy girl Esmeralda is an example of the traditional love theme of beauty and the beast. Yet, set against the massive background of Notre Dame de Paris and interwoven with the sacred and secular life of medieval France, it takes on a larger perspective.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
More than I bargained for...
- By 1DrummingAddict on 07-18-15
By: Victor Hugo
-
The Red and the Black
- By: Stendhal
- Narrated by: Bill Homewood
- Length: 22 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 142
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 121
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 120
Young Julien Sorel, the son of a country timber merchant, carries a portrait of his hero Napoleon Bonaparte and dreams of military glory. A brilliant career in the Church leads him into Parisian high society, where, 'mounted upon the finest horse in Alsace', he gains high military office and wins the heart of the aristocratic Mlle Mathilde de la Mole. Julien's cunning and ambition lead him into all sorts of scrapes.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Slow and wordy
- By Chrissie on 08-30-14
By: Stendhal
-
Les Misérables
- By: Victor Hugo
- Narrated by: Bill Homewood
- Length: 67 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 705
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 635
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 641
Les Misérables is set in Paris after the French Revolution. In the sewers and backstreets, we encounter "the wolf-like tread of crime", and assassination for a few sous is all in a day's work. We weep with the unlucky and heart-broken Fantine, and we exult with the heroic revolutionaries of the barricades; but above all we thrill to the steadfast courage and nobility of soul of ex-convict Jean Valjean, always in danger from the relentless pursuit of the diabolical Inspector Javert.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Use earphones that are light on bass
- By Tad Davis on 11-08-15
By: Victor Hugo
-
The Count of Monte Cristo
- By: Alexandre Dumas
- Narrated by: Bill Homewood
- Length: 52 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 19,392
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 17,725
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 17,683
On the eve of his marriage to the beautiful Mercedes, having that very day been made captain of his ship, the young sailor Edmond Dantès is arrested on a charge of treason, trumped up by jealous rivals. Incarcerated for many lonely years in the isolated and terrifying Chateau d'If near Marseille, he meticulously plans his brilliant escape and extraordinary revenge.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
This is the one to spend 50 hours listening to!
- By james on 03-05-13
By: Alexandre Dumas
-
Mrs. Dalloway
- By: Virginia Woolf
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 7 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,547
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,349
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 1,337
It is a June day in London in 1923, and the lovely Clarissa Dalloway is having a party. Whom will she see? Her friend Peter, back from India, who has never really stopped loving her? What about Sally, with whom Clarissa had her life’s happiest moment? Meanwhile, the shell-shocked Septimus Smith is struggling with his life on the same London day.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
One Tough Read Perfectly Delivered
- By Chris on 06-11-12
By: Virginia Woolf
-
Jane Eyre
- By: Charlotte Brontë
- Narrated by: Thandiwe Newton
- Length: 19 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 20,492
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 18,741
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 18,662
Following Jane from her childhood as an orphan in Northern England through her experience as a governess at Thornfield Hall, Charlotte Brontë's Gothic classic is an early exploration of women's independence in the mid-19th century and the pervasive societal challenges women had to endure. At Thornfield, Jane meets the complex and mysterious Mr. Rochester, with whom she shares a complicated relationship that ultimately forces her to reconcile the conflicting passions of romantic love and religious piety.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Perfect!!
- By Amazon Customer on 04-21-16
By: Charlotte Brontë
-
The Sorrows of Young Werther
- By: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
- Narrated by: Leighton Pugh
- Length: 4 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 155
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 133
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 133
Werther, a sensitive young artist, finds himself in Wahlheim, a quiet, attractive village in Germany where he seeks solace from the turmoils of love. It is a young spring, and he hopes that arcadian solitude will prove a genial balm to his mind. But his romantic tendency rules otherwise, and he falls in love with Charlotte - Lotte - even though he knows she is affianced to another.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great performance for a classical story.
- By Brandon Shaw on 09-15-17
-
Middlemarch
- By: George Eliot
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 35 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5,145
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 4,665
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,628
Dorothea Brooke is an ardent idealist who represses her vivacity and intelligence for the cold, theological pedant Casaubon. One man understands her true nature: the artist Will Ladislaw. But how can love triumph against her sense of duty and Casaubon’s mean spirit? Meanwhile, in the little world of Middlemarch, the broader world is mirrored: the world of politics, social change, and reforms, as well as betrayal, greed, blackmail, ambition, and disappointment.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Best Audible book ever
- By Molly-o on 12-25-11
By: George Eliot
Related to this topic
-
Le Pere Goriot
- By: Honoré de Balzac
- Narrated by: David McCallion
- Length: 9 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 71
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 61
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 57
Honoré de Balzac uses his classic style of detail to describe a most controversial setting in his novel Le Pere Goriot. The story takes place in Paris just after the fall of Napoleon in 1819. The story focuses on three characters, Rastignac, a student who wants to try and make it big in the capital, Vautrin, an interesting and funny character who is also quite mysterious, and the main character, Goriot, that carries a heavy burden that only a loving parent would endure.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A minor masterpiece
- By Jack Rock on 03-04-18
By: Honoré de Balzac
-
Le Pere Goriot
- By: Honoré de Balzac
- Narrated by: Paul Hecht
- Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 188
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 143
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 139
At the shabby boarding house in the rue Neuve-Sainte-Geneviève, petty Madame Vauquer and her tenants wonder at the plight of the aging resident Goriot. Once a well-heeled merchant, Goriot was, at first, afforded special treatment from the Madame. But now something is clearly amiss in his financial affairs, and his increasingly tawdry appearance makes him a subject of ridicule in the household.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
balzac rocks
- By beatrice on 03-12-10
By: Honoré de Balzac
-
Lady Audley's Secret
- By: Mary Elizabeth Braddon
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 5 hrs and 12 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 104
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 85
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 86
A fast-paced Victorian thriller that will delight audiences today as it did 100 years ago, Lady Audley's Secret has subterfuge, kidnapping, jealousy, and fraud, all thrown into the mix and shaken up for good measure.
A mystery which keeps a listener guessing until the last moments, this production is a must-listen for anyone who enjoys playing detective.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Narrator creates the listen
- By connie on 02-06-12
![The Idiot [Blackstone] Audiobook By Fyodor Dostoevsky cover art](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41XO98tJ7HL._SL320_.jpg)
-
The Idiot [Blackstone]
- By: Fyodor Dostoevsky
- Narrated by: Robert Whitfield
- Length: 22 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,093
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 812
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 820
Prince Myshkin, is thrust into the heart of a society more concerned with wealth, power, and sexual conquest than the ideals of Christianity. Myshkin soon finds himself at the center of a violent love triangle in which a notorious woman and a beautiful young girl become rivals for his affections. Extortion, scandal, and murder follow, testing the wreckage left by human misery to find "man in man."
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Intense and painfully sad
- By Tad on 04-27-12
-
The Count of Monte Cristo (Dramatized)
- By: Orson Welles
- Narrated by: Orson Welles
- Length: 59 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 55
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 43
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 45
Starring Orson Welles, Anges Moorehead, and Ray Collins, The Count of Monte Cristo is a tale of revenge and retribution. Edmond Dantès, a young, energetic sailor, is falsely accused of treason on his wedding day and incarcerated in the forbidding Château d'If. His escape and ultimate revenge on those who wronged him makes this one of the most thrilling stories in French literature, as compelling now as when it was first published in 1846.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent
- By Stefanie on 05-19-14
By: Orson Welles
-
Middlemarch
- By: George Eliot
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 35 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5,145
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 4,665
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,628
Dorothea Brooke is an ardent idealist who represses her vivacity and intelligence for the cold, theological pedant Casaubon. One man understands her true nature: the artist Will Ladislaw. But how can love triumph against her sense of duty and Casaubon’s mean spirit? Meanwhile, in the little world of Middlemarch, the broader world is mirrored: the world of politics, social change, and reforms, as well as betrayal, greed, blackmail, ambition, and disappointment.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Best Audible book ever
- By Molly-o on 12-25-11
By: George Eliot
-
Le Pere Goriot
- By: Honoré de Balzac
- Narrated by: David McCallion
- Length: 9 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 71
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 61
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 57
Honoré de Balzac uses his classic style of detail to describe a most controversial setting in his novel Le Pere Goriot. The story takes place in Paris just after the fall of Napoleon in 1819. The story focuses on three characters, Rastignac, a student who wants to try and make it big in the capital, Vautrin, an interesting and funny character who is also quite mysterious, and the main character, Goriot, that carries a heavy burden that only a loving parent would endure.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A minor masterpiece
- By Jack Rock on 03-04-18
By: Honoré de Balzac
-
Le Pere Goriot
- By: Honoré de Balzac
- Narrated by: Paul Hecht
- Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 188
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 143
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 139
At the shabby boarding house in the rue Neuve-Sainte-Geneviève, petty Madame Vauquer and her tenants wonder at the plight of the aging resident Goriot. Once a well-heeled merchant, Goriot was, at first, afforded special treatment from the Madame. But now something is clearly amiss in his financial affairs, and his increasingly tawdry appearance makes him a subject of ridicule in the household.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
balzac rocks
- By beatrice on 03-12-10
By: Honoré de Balzac
-
Lady Audley's Secret
- By: Mary Elizabeth Braddon
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 5 hrs and 12 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 104
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 85
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 86
A fast-paced Victorian thriller that will delight audiences today as it did 100 years ago, Lady Audley's Secret has subterfuge, kidnapping, jealousy, and fraud, all thrown into the mix and shaken up for good measure.
A mystery which keeps a listener guessing until the last moments, this production is a must-listen for anyone who enjoys playing detective.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Narrator creates the listen
- By connie on 02-06-12
-
The Idiot [Blackstone]
- By: Fyodor Dostoevsky
- Narrated by: Robert Whitfield
- Length: 22 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,093
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 812
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 820
Prince Myshkin, is thrust into the heart of a society more concerned with wealth, power, and sexual conquest than the ideals of Christianity. Myshkin soon finds himself at the center of a violent love triangle in which a notorious woman and a beautiful young girl become rivals for his affections. Extortion, scandal, and murder follow, testing the wreckage left by human misery to find "man in man."
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Intense and painfully sad
- By Tad on 04-27-12
-
The Count of Monte Cristo (Dramatized)
- By: Orson Welles
- Narrated by: Orson Welles
- Length: 59 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 55
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 43
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 45
Starring Orson Welles, Anges Moorehead, and Ray Collins, The Count of Monte Cristo is a tale of revenge and retribution. Edmond Dantès, a young, energetic sailor, is falsely accused of treason on his wedding day and incarcerated in the forbidding Château d'If. His escape and ultimate revenge on those who wronged him makes this one of the most thrilling stories in French literature, as compelling now as when it was first published in 1846.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent
- By Stefanie on 05-19-14
By: Orson Welles
-
Middlemarch
- By: George Eliot
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 35 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5,145
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 4,665
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,628
Dorothea Brooke is an ardent idealist who represses her vivacity and intelligence for the cold, theological pedant Casaubon. One man understands her true nature: the artist Will Ladislaw. But how can love triumph against her sense of duty and Casaubon’s mean spirit? Meanwhile, in the little world of Middlemarch, the broader world is mirrored: the world of politics, social change, and reforms, as well as betrayal, greed, blackmail, ambition, and disappointment.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Best Audible book ever
- By Molly-o on 12-25-11
By: George Eliot
-
The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby
- By: Charles Dickens
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 30 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 348
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 298
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 291
The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby is closely modelled on the 18h-century novels that Charles Dickens loved as a child, such as Robinson Crusoe, in which the fortunes of a hero shape the plot. The likeable young Nicholas, left penniless on the death of his father, sets off in search of better prospects.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
loved it much more than expected!
- By Blue Ridge Book Lover on 05-29-12
By: Charles Dickens
-
The Count of Monte Cristo
- By: Alexandre Dumas
- Narrated by: Bill Homewood
- Length: 52 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 19,392
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 17,725
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 17,683
On the eve of his marriage to the beautiful Mercedes, having that very day been made captain of his ship, the young sailor Edmond Dantès is arrested on a charge of treason, trumped up by jealous rivals. Incarcerated for many lonely years in the isolated and terrifying Chateau d'If near Marseille, he meticulously plans his brilliant escape and extraordinary revenge.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
This is the one to spend 50 hours listening to!
- By james on 03-05-13
By: Alexandre Dumas
-
North and South
- By: Elizabeth Gaskell
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 18 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 7,371
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 6,560
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 6,564
Written at the request of Charles Dickens, North and South is a book about rebellion that poses fundamental questions about the nature of social authority and obedience. Gaskell expertly blends individual feeling with social concern and her heroine, Margaret Hale, is one of the most original creations of Victorian literature. When Margaret Hale's father leaves the Church in a crisis of conscience she is forced to leave her comfortable home in the tranquil countryside of Hampshire....
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Delightful
- By Sally on 01-04-10
![The Brothers Karamazov [Naxos AudioBooks Edition] Audiobook By Constance Garnett - translator, Fyodor Dostoevsky cover art](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51DpA-g11JL._SL320_.jpg)
-
The Brothers Karamazov [Naxos AudioBooks Edition]
- By: Constance Garnett - translator, Fyodor Dostoevsky
- Narrated by: Constantine Gregory
- Length: 37 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5,786
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 5,198
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 5,182
Fyodor Dostoyevsky is a titanic figure among the world's great authors, and The Brothers Karamazov is often hailed as his finest novel. A masterpiece on many levels, it transcends the boundaries of a gripping murder mystery to become a moving account of the battle between love and hate, faith and despair, compassion and cruelty, good and evil.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A Spiritual and Philosophical Tour-de-Force
- By Rich on 02-27-16
By: Constance Garnett - translator, and others
-
Dombey and Son
- By: Charles Dickens
- Narrated by: Frederick Davidson
- Length: 36 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 123
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 68
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 66
In this carefully crafted novel, Dickens reveals the complexity of London society in the enterprising 1840s as he takes the listener into the business firm and home of one of its most representative patriarchs, Paul Dombey.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Perfect pair
- By Philip on 03-25-08
By: Charles Dickens
-
The Good Soldier
- By: Ford Madox Ford
- Narrated by: Frank Muller
- Length: 6 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 198
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 150
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 149
On the face of it Captain Edward Ashburnham's life was unimpeachable. But behind the mask where passion seethes, the captain's "good" life was rotting away.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Treachery in the Troops
- By Mel on 01-08-15
By: Ford Madox Ford
-
Anna Karenina
- By: Leo Tolstoy
- Narrated by: David Horovitch
- Length: 38 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,003
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,569
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,557
Anna Karenina seems to have everything - beauty, wealth, popularity and an adored son. But she feels that her life is empty until the moment she encounters the impetuous officer Count Vronsky.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Beautiful story, amazing narration
- By Marcus Vorwaller on 08-02-08
By: Leo Tolstoy
-
The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas
- By: Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis
- Narrated by: Edoardo Camponeschi
- Length: 7 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 43
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 32
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 32
Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis (1839-1908) was the greatest writer ever to come from Brazil and one of the masters of nineteenth-century fiction. Susan Sontag calls him "the greatest writer ever produced in Latin America", surpassing even Borges. Harold Bloom says that Machado is "the supreme black literary artist to date". And Allen Ginsburg calls him "another Kafka". And The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas is his masterpiece, a dazzling, tragic, and profound novel that belongs next to the greatest works of his contemporaries Melville and Dostoevsky.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A hidden masterpiece
- By C. Park on 08-09-18
-
Oblomov
- By: Ivan Goncharov
- Narrated by: Leighton Pugh
- Length: 20 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 84
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 75
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 75
A member of the landed gentry, with a seemingly guaranteed income from his estate in the country, Oblomov lives in Petersburg, uninterested in the business that provides his living and barely aware that the revenue is diminishing. Not that he leads a dissolute life of extravagance, balls and entertainment. Instead he is a dreamer, a sybarite, content above all to spend most of the day supine, in bed. The novel opens with Oblomov thus ensconced, attended only by his dirty, grumbling, indolent servant Zahar, who has looked after him since childhood, catering to his every need.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
funny and smart
- By Bennett Weiss on 07-29-20
By: Ivan Goncharov
-
Anna Karenina
- By: Leo Tolstoy
- Narrated by: Lorna Raver
- Length: 39 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 166
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 138
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 137
Vladimir Nabokov called Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina "one of the greatest love stories in world literature." Set in imperial Russia, Anna Karenina is a rich and complex meditation on passionate love and disastrous infidelity. Married to a powerful government minister, Anna Karenina is a beautiful woman who falls deeply in love with a wealthy army officer, the elegant Count Vronsky.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Not good dramatization but an ok reading
- By Bookoholics Anon on 05-07-11
By: Leo Tolstoy
-
Mary Barton
- A Tale of Manchester Life
- By: Elizabeth Gaskell
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 16 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,101
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,001
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 993
When her father assassinates Henry Carson, his employer's son and Mary's admirer, suspicion falls on Mary's second admirer, Jem, a fellow worker. Mary has to prove her lover's innocence without incriminating her own father.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Mrs. Gaskell was so far ahead of her time
- By Pat on 08-20-13
-
Jude The Obscure
- By: Thomas Hardy
- Narrated by: Stephen Thorne
- Length: 15 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 254
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 206
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 205
This is the story of a young country workman obsessed by his ambition to become an Oxford student, interwoven with his fraught relationships with two women.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Staggering
- By Tad Davis on 02-16-10
By: Thomas Hardy
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
Le Pere Goriot
- By: Honoré de Balzac
- Narrated by: David McCallion
- Length: 9 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 71
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 61
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 57
Honoré de Balzac uses his classic style of detail to describe a most controversial setting in his novel Le Pere Goriot. The story takes place in Paris just after the fall of Napoleon in 1819. The story focuses on three characters, Rastignac, a student who wants to try and make it big in the capital, Vautrin, an interesting and funny character who is also quite mysterious, and the main character, Goriot, that carries a heavy burden that only a loving parent would endure.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A minor masterpiece
- By Jack Rock on 03-04-18
By: Honoré de Balzac
-
Le Pere Goriot
- By: Honoré de Balzac
- Narrated by: Paul Hecht
- Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 188
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 143
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 139
At the shabby boarding house in the rue Neuve-Sainte-Geneviève, petty Madame Vauquer and her tenants wonder at the plight of the aging resident Goriot. Once a well-heeled merchant, Goriot was, at first, afforded special treatment from the Madame. But now something is clearly amiss in his financial affairs, and his increasingly tawdry appearance makes him a subject of ridicule in the household.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
balzac rocks
- By beatrice on 03-12-10
By: Honoré de Balzac
-
Eugénie Grandet
- By: Honoré de Balzac
- Narrated by: Jonathan Fried
- Length: 7 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 60
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 50
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 50
Hailed as the father of the naturalist novel, French author and playwright Honoré de Balzac left a legacy of treasured literary works that include Père Goriot and Cousin Bette. The daughter of a wealthy but miserly man, Eugénie Grandet falls in love with her penniless cousin, Charles. The two plan to marry, but at the behest of her father, Charles must first go overseas to make his fortune. Returning years later, Charles calls off the engagement, leaving Eugénie heartbroken and vengeful.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Unpleasant people
- By Tad Davis on 06-08-14
By: Honoré de Balzac
-
Old Goriot
- By: Honoré de Balzac
- Narrated by: Frederick Davidson
- Length: 10 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 28
-
Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 23
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 22
Balzac’s universally loved novel explores the great theme of money and its effect on the human character. Old Goriot is a lodger at Madame Vauquer’s Parisian boarding house. At first, his wealth inspires respect, but as his circumstances are reduced, he is gradually shunned. He moves into smaller and less desirable rooms in the house, and soon his only remaining visitors are two beautiful young women. The mystery as to who they are and what is happening to Goriot’s fortune involves several other boarders, including Rastignac, an ambitious youth who hopes to rise in society.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Horrible narrator
- By Diana on 03-30-11
By: Honoré de Balzac
-
La Rabouilleuse
- The Black Sheep; The Two Brothers
- By: Honoré de Balzac
- Narrated by: Bill Homewood
- Length: 12 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 21
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 19
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 19
Brothers Philippe and Joseph Bridau are completely unalike: Philippe, braggart and soldier, formerly aide-de-camp to Napoleon, is their mother Agathe's favorite; Joseph, a poor and aspiring artist, is raised in his brother's shadow. When Agathe is reduced to poverty and Philippe accrues gambling debts, the family join forces to focus their attentions on Agathe's brother, Jean-Jacques Rouget, heir to the family fortune. The struggle for his inheritance pits the family against Rouget's beautiful maid Flore ("La Rabouilleuse"), the apple of her master's eye, and her crafty lover.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Brutal poetic justice
- By Tad Davis on 06-23-20
By: Honoré de Balzac
-
Oblomov
- By: Ivan Goncharov
- Narrated by: Leighton Pugh
- Length: 20 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 84
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 75
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 75
A member of the landed gentry, with a seemingly guaranteed income from his estate in the country, Oblomov lives in Petersburg, uninterested in the business that provides his living and barely aware that the revenue is diminishing. Not that he leads a dissolute life of extravagance, balls and entertainment. Instead he is a dreamer, a sybarite, content above all to spend most of the day supine, in bed. The novel opens with Oblomov thus ensconced, attended only by his dirty, grumbling, indolent servant Zahar, who has looked after him since childhood, catering to his every need.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
funny and smart
- By Bennett Weiss on 07-29-20
By: Ivan Goncharov
-
Le Pere Goriot
- By: Honoré de Balzac
- Narrated by: David McCallion
- Length: 9 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 71
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 61
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 57
Honoré de Balzac uses his classic style of detail to describe a most controversial setting in his novel Le Pere Goriot. The story takes place in Paris just after the fall of Napoleon in 1819. The story focuses on three characters, Rastignac, a student who wants to try and make it big in the capital, Vautrin, an interesting and funny character who is also quite mysterious, and the main character, Goriot, that carries a heavy burden that only a loving parent would endure.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A minor masterpiece
- By Jack Rock on 03-04-18
By: Honoré de Balzac
-
Le Pere Goriot
- By: Honoré de Balzac
- Narrated by: Paul Hecht
- Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 188
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 143
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 139
At the shabby boarding house in the rue Neuve-Sainte-Geneviève, petty Madame Vauquer and her tenants wonder at the plight of the aging resident Goriot. Once a well-heeled merchant, Goriot was, at first, afforded special treatment from the Madame. But now something is clearly amiss in his financial affairs, and his increasingly tawdry appearance makes him a subject of ridicule in the household.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
balzac rocks
- By beatrice on 03-12-10
By: Honoré de Balzac
-
Eugénie Grandet
- By: Honoré de Balzac
- Narrated by: Jonathan Fried
- Length: 7 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 60
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 50
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 50
Hailed as the father of the naturalist novel, French author and playwright Honoré de Balzac left a legacy of treasured literary works that include Père Goriot and Cousin Bette. The daughter of a wealthy but miserly man, Eugénie Grandet falls in love with her penniless cousin, Charles. The two plan to marry, but at the behest of her father, Charles must first go overseas to make his fortune. Returning years later, Charles calls off the engagement, leaving Eugénie heartbroken and vengeful.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Unpleasant people
- By Tad Davis on 06-08-14
By: Honoré de Balzac
-
Old Goriot
- By: Honoré de Balzac
- Narrated by: Frederick Davidson
- Length: 10 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 28
-
Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 23
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 22
Balzac’s universally loved novel explores the great theme of money and its effect on the human character. Old Goriot is a lodger at Madame Vauquer’s Parisian boarding house. At first, his wealth inspires respect, but as his circumstances are reduced, he is gradually shunned. He moves into smaller and less desirable rooms in the house, and soon his only remaining visitors are two beautiful young women. The mystery as to who they are and what is happening to Goriot’s fortune involves several other boarders, including Rastignac, an ambitious youth who hopes to rise in society.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Horrible narrator
- By Diana on 03-30-11
By: Honoré de Balzac
-
La Rabouilleuse
- The Black Sheep; The Two Brothers
- By: Honoré de Balzac
- Narrated by: Bill Homewood
- Length: 12 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 21
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 19
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 19
Brothers Philippe and Joseph Bridau are completely unalike: Philippe, braggart and soldier, formerly aide-de-camp to Napoleon, is their mother Agathe's favorite; Joseph, a poor and aspiring artist, is raised in his brother's shadow. When Agathe is reduced to poverty and Philippe accrues gambling debts, the family join forces to focus their attentions on Agathe's brother, Jean-Jacques Rouget, heir to the family fortune. The struggle for his inheritance pits the family against Rouget's beautiful maid Flore ("La Rabouilleuse"), the apple of her master's eye, and her crafty lover.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Brutal poetic justice
- By Tad Davis on 06-23-20
By: Honoré de Balzac
-
Oblomov
- By: Ivan Goncharov
- Narrated by: Leighton Pugh
- Length: 20 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 84
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 75
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 75
A member of the landed gentry, with a seemingly guaranteed income from his estate in the country, Oblomov lives in Petersburg, uninterested in the business that provides his living and barely aware that the revenue is diminishing. Not that he leads a dissolute life of extravagance, balls and entertainment. Instead he is a dreamer, a sybarite, content above all to spend most of the day supine, in bed. The novel opens with Oblomov thus ensconced, attended only by his dirty, grumbling, indolent servant Zahar, who has looked after him since childhood, catering to his every need.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
funny and smart
- By Bennett Weiss on 07-29-20
By: Ivan Goncharov
-
Cousin Bette
- By: Sylvia Raphael - translator, Honoré de Balzac
- Narrated by: Paul Hecht
- Length: 18 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 37
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 32
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 34
Honore de Balzac's classic book of revenge and passion in which the title character Bette plots the destruction of various men including her cousin-in-law, Baron Hector Hulot. Bette enlists the help of Valérie, an unhappily married young woman, to seduce Hulot, destroy his life, and take his family's fortune.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Sweat Land of Libertine (Hell Hath No Fury....)
- By W Perry Hall on 02-02-14
By: Sylvia Raphael - translator, and others
-
Sentimental Education
- By: Gustave Flaubert
- Narrated by: Andrew Wincott
- Length: 20 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 22
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 20
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 20
Upon arriving home in Normandy, Frederick catches his first glimpse of Marie Arnoux, a mysterious and beautiful woman who leaves a lasting impression on him. Eventually they make each other's acquaintance and Marie becomes a symbol of unattainable perfection for Frederick, whose unrequited infatuation leaves him bouncing from one passion to another, falling in and out of love, money and society.
By: Gustave Flaubert
-
Demons
- By: Fyodor Dostoyevsky
- Narrated by: Malk Williams
- Length: 28 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2
-
Performance1.5 out of 5 stars 2
-
Story3 out of 5 stars 2
Inspired by the true story of a political murder that horrified Russians in 1869, Dostoevsky conceived of Demons as a "novel-pamphlet" in which he would say everything about the plague of materialist ideology that he saw infecting his native land. What emerged was a prophetic and ferociously funny masterpiece of ideology and murder in pre-revolutionary Russia.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
A Masterful Critique of Atheism and Nihilism
- By Zach on 07-21-24
-
Pere Goriot
- By: Honoré de Balzac
- Narrated by: Walter Covell
- Length: 11 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 111
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 38
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 39
One of the greatest of French novelists, Balzac, trained as a lawyer, was a great judge of human nature. In 1833 he conceived the idea of linking together his novels so that they would comprehend the whole society in a series of books. This plan eventually led to 90 novels and novellas (including more than 2,000 characters) that he called "The Human Comedy". Balzac's huge and ambitious plan drew a picture of the customs, atmosphere, and habits of the bourgeois France.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Wonderful social novel
- By Ted on 08-09-04
By: Honoré de Balzac
-
Cousin Bette
- By: Honoré de Balzac
- Narrated by: Johanna Ward
- Length: 16 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 423
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 315
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 317
The Bette referred to in this magnificent novel's title is Lisbeth Fischer, an excruciatingly cunning poor relation who both depends upon and nurses a terrible grudge against the family of her beautiful cousin, Adeline. That family is slowly being ruined by the uncontrollable sexual appetites of Adeline's husband, Baron Hulot - appetites that will, in time, give Cousin Bette opportunity to exact her vengeance.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Narrator!
- By Murasaki on 12-03-06
By: Honoré de Balzac
-
Selected Stories of Anton Chekhov
- By: Anton Chekhov, Richard Pevear - introduction translator, Larissa Volokhonsky - translator
- Narrated by: Jim Frangione
- Length: 20 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 11
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 9
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 9
Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky, the highly acclaimed translators of War and Peace, Doctor Zhivago, and Anna Karenina, which was an Oprah Book Club pick and million-copy bestseller, bring their unmatched talents to The Selected Stories of Anton Chekhov, a collection of thirty of Chekhov’s best tales from the major periods of his creative life.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
The stories, of course, are great.
- By Eclectic Reader on 03-10-24
By: Anton Chekhov, and others
-
Le père Goriot
- By: Honoré de Balzac
- Narrated by: Éric Herson-Macarel
- Length: 8 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 51
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 48
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 49
Voici donc l'histoire de ce père Goriot, vermicellien ayant fait fortune et qui, tel l'Albatros de Baudelaire, se déchirera les entrailles pour élever ses enfants. Mais, malgré le titre du roman, en est-ce vraiment le héros où est-ce Eugène de Rastignac, jeune homme issu d'une noble mais pauvre famille, venu faire des études de droit à Paris et qui va essayer par tous les moyens de se hisser dans l'échelle sociale parisienne ?
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Roman magnifique et encore si vrai aujourd’hui
- By SANDRINE on 06-09-24
By: Honoré de Balzac
-
The Red and the Black
- By: Stendhal
- Narrated by: Bill Homewood
- Length: 22 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 142
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 121
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 120
Young Julien Sorel, the son of a country timber merchant, carries a portrait of his hero Napoleon Bonaparte and dreams of military glory. A brilliant career in the Church leads him into Parisian high society, where, 'mounted upon the finest horse in Alsace', he gains high military office and wins the heart of the aristocratic Mlle Mathilde de la Mole. Julien's cunning and ambition lead him into all sorts of scrapes.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Slow and wordy
- By Chrissie on 08-30-14
By: Stendhal
-
The Charterhouse of Parma
- By: Henri Beyle Stendhal
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 19 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 190
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 172
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 168
In the coming-of-age story, we follow a young Italian nobleman, Fabrizio Valserra, Marchesino del Dongo, on many adventures, including his experiences at the Battle of Waterloo, and romantic intrigues.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Amazing novel finally available on audio!
- By Grant on 03-23-14
-
The Red and the Black
- By: Stendhal
- Narrated by: Davina Porter
- Length: 20 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 354
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 268
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 264
So what would Al Gore choose if he had a book club? Gore named Stendhal's The Red and the Black, a 19th century classic chock full of adultery, betrayal, and moral vacuity, as his favorite book on a recent broadcast of Oprah. It's a bit shocking of a choice, given his wife and running mate's position on clean, wholesome literature. Listen and decide for yourself the merit of this presidential pick.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Almost perfect
- By Erez on 05-29-08
By: Stendhal
-
The Diary of a Madman and Other Stories
- By: Nikolai Gogol
- Narrated by: Nicholas Boulton
- Length: 17 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 88
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 70
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 70
The Diary of a Madman and Other Stories is a bizarre and colorful collection containing the finest short stories by the iconic Russian writer Nikolai Gogol. From the witty and Kafkaesque "The Nose", where a civil servant wakes up one day to find his nose missing, to the moving and evocative "The Overcoat", about a reclusive man whose only ambition is to replace his old, threadbare coat, Gogol gives us a unique take on the absurd.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Brilliant writer, fantastic narration, plus TOC
- By Reader on 04-01-22
By: Nikolai Gogol
-
The Magic Skin
- By: Honoré de Balzac
- Narrated by: John Bolen
- Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall3 out of 5 stars 56
-
Performance3 out of 5 stars 28
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 28
"The possession of power, no matter how enormous, does not bring the knowledge how to use it." Raphael, a failed writer, deep in debt, and unrequited in love, is about to take a suicidal plunge into the Seine River. Just in time, he discovers the "Magic Skin" in an antiquity shop. Its supernatural powers grant every wish but it extracts a terrible toll! This parable depicts the malaise of 19th century France.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
poor reading
- By Maria on 02-04-04
By: Honoré de Balzac
What listeners say about Father Goriot
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Michael Muse
- 06-10-21
Materialism and Greed.
Balzac exposes the lack of humanistic and Democratic values in early 19th century Paris, France.
Only a minority believed in community, family and democracy.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Tom - Charlottesville,Virginia
- 06-28-20
My first Balzac
Wonderful and old fashion. But such joy! I will read more. The reader was excellent and if you spend any time with it you will be well rewarded!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Betty
- 08-10-22
We’ll worth revisiting this classic
The story is a satire of 19C France. I found it gripping and heart breaking at the same time. The narration was splendid.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Laurence Grey
- 04-05-21
Astounding performance
Bill's performance renders the work so accessible and touching. The book can have rather longer commentaries esp at the beginning, but story also amazing as it gathers pace
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Lorenzo Coopman
- 09-15-20
lots to think about
I listened to this book as it is mentioned by Thomas Piketty in his book 'capital in the 21 century.' He may take much data from it I mostly read this as an ethical story. This is not a subtle story but it is a dark counterpart for war and peace and even a foreboding for Proust' recherche.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful