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Physiology of the Opera
- Narrated by: Ella Porter, John H. Swaby
- Length: 2 hrs and 4 mins
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Physiology of the Opera
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Publisher's summary
Excerpt: As an introduction to the dissertation upon which we are about to enter, such an antiquarian view of the subject might be taken as would tend to establish a parallel between the ancient Greek tragedy and the modern sanguinary Italian opera, the strong resemblance therein being displayed of Signor Salvi trilling on the stage, to the immortal Thespis jargoning from a dung-cart. But we shall indulge in no such wearying pedantry. Our intention being merely to "hold the mirror up to nature," in presenting our immaterial reflector to the public, we invite our readers to a view of the present only - a period of time in which they take most interest, since they adorn it with their own presence.
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-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,098
Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion and a life-long committed Darwinist, abridges and reads this special audio version of Charles Darwin's famous book. A literally world-changing book, Darwin put forward the anti-religious and scientific idea that humans in fact evolved over millions of generations from animals, starting with fish, all the way up through the ranks to apes, then to our current form.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A Perfect Abridgement
- By M on 05-28-09
By: Charles Darwin
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A Sentimental Journey
- By: Laurence Sterne
- Narrated by: Anton Lesser
- Length: 4 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 39
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 35
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Story4 out of 5 stars 35
Published just months before his death in 1768, A Sentimental Journey is Sterne's lightly fictionalised account of his own European travels; and being Sterne, it is more about digressions, misunderstandings and risqué jokes than the places he visits. Narrated by the (apparently) innocent Parson Yorick, who appeared in Sterne's other masterpiece, Tristram Shandy, it is full of anecdote and incident, and is far more about the people than the landscapes on the road from Calais.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Glad I Listened, But…
- By SandyK on 09-03-24
By: Laurence Sterne
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The Bad Miss Bennet
- A Novel
- By: Jean Burnett
- Narrated by: Davina Porter
- Length: 10 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 153
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 142
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Story3.5 out of 5 stars 139
Lydia was never the most upstanding of the Bennet sisters, but who ever said that moral rectitude was fun? At least she bested her elder sisters and was the first to get married. She never could understand what all the fuss was about after she left Brighton with her gallant. It is a shame, though, that Mr. Wickham turned out to be a disappointing husband in so many aspects, the most notable being his early demise on the battlefields of Waterloo. And so Lydia, still not yet twenty and full of enterprising spirit, is in urgent need of a wealthy replacement.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Great fun
- By MMRudy on 12-19-12
By: Jean Burnett
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Death in Venice
- By: Thomas Mann
- Narrated by: Peter Batchelor
- Length: 3 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 212
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 183
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Story4 out of 5 stars 185
A stunningly beautiful youth and the city of Venice set the stage for Thomas Mann’s introspective examination of erotic love and philosophical wisdom.
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4 out of 5 stars
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A problem with the narration
- By Erez on 03-19-12
By: Thomas Mann
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Swann's Way
- By: Marcel Proust
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 17 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 72
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 57
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Story4 out of 5 stars 58
Swann's Way is the first novel of Marcel Proust's seven-volume magnum opus In Search of Lost Time. After elaborate reminiscences about his childhood with relatives in rural Combray and in urban Paris, Proust's narrator recalls a story regarding Charles Swann, a major figure in his Combray childhood....
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1 out of 5 stars
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Not the newer, far better translation
- By Samuel Murray on 05-02-11
By: Marcel Proust
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The Belly of Paris
- By: Émile Zola, Ernest Alfred Vizetelly - translator
- Narrated by: Frederick Davidson
- Length: 13 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 66
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 60
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Story4 out of 5 stars 59
Although it is little known in this country, The Belly of Paris is considered one of Émile Zola’s best novels. Set in the newly built food markets of Paris, it is a story of wealth and poverty set against a sumptuous banquet of food and commerce. Having just escaped from prison after being wrongfully accused, young Florent arrives at Paris’ food market, Les Halles, half starved, surrounded by all he can’t have, and indignant at his world, which he now knows to be unjust. He finds that the city’s working classes have been displaced to make way for bigger streets and bourgeois living quarters, so he settles in with his brother’s family.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Not keen on Davidson’s voice
- By Jeff Lacy on 05-08-21
By: Émile Zola, and others
![El conde de Montecristo [The Count of Monte Cristo] Audiobook By Alejandro Dumas cover art](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51Lwcuxfb-L._SL320_.jpg)
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El conde de Montecristo [The Count of Monte Cristo]
- By: Alejandro Dumas
- Narrated by: Joan M Martinez
- Length: 46 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 379
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 342
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Story5 out of 5 stars 341
Ésta es sin duda, la novela de aventuras más famosa de la historia de la literatura. El joven Edmundo Dantés llega al puerto de Marsella, feliz por poder ver a Mercedes, de la que está enamorado. Pero otros pretendientes de Mercedes, van a hacerle la vida imposible, consiguiendo que el mismo día de la boda sea detenido, acusado de traición al rey y enviado directamente a la terrible prisión del castillo de If.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Qué bonita historia y que gran narración.
- By Luis Enrique Cuevas Hernández on 02-14-21
By: Alejandro Dumas
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The Three Musketeers (AmazonClassics Edition)
- By: Alexandre Dumas, William Robson - translator
- Narrated by: Guy Mott
- Length: 27 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 159
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 134
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 135
Young nobleman d’Artagnan has arrived in Paris intent on joining the guardians of King Louis XIII. He befriends the regiment’s most formidable musketeers, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, and together they unite in their commitment to uphold justice. Soon, a royal indiscretion thrusts them into an audacious escapade of courtly intrigue, thwarted romance, and daring rescue. But it’s the Machiavellian schemes of a powerful enemy and the wicked seductions of an ingenious female spy that will be their greatest challenges.
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1 out of 5 stars
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terrible narrator. every comma is a 3 second pause
- By Anonymous User on 09-21-21
By: Alexandre Dumas, and others
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Le Pere Goriot
- By: Honoré de Balzac
- Narrated by: Paul Hecht
- Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 188
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 143
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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.
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5 out of 5 stars
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balzac rocks
- By beatrice on 03-12-10
By: Honoré de Balzac
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Vanity Fair
- By: William Makepeace Thackeray
- Narrated by: John Castle
- Length: 31 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,016
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 882
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 872
Set during the time of the Napoleonic Wars, this classic gives a satirical picture of a worldly society. The novel revolves around the exploits of the impoverished but beautiful and devious Becky Sharp who craves wealth and a position in society. Calculating and determined to succeed, she charms, deceives and manipulates everyone she meets. A novel of early 19th-century English society, it takes its title from the place designated as the centre of human corruption in John Bunyan's 17th-century allegory.
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5 out of 5 stars
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The Best Narration, One of the Greats
- By James Abraham on 05-18-13
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First Love
- By: Ivan Turgenev
- Narrated by: David Troughton
- Length: 2 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 753
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 663
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 659
At the end of a dinner party, the remaining guests drink wine and tell stories of their first love. For one of them, it will be a dark journey into his past, reawakening unbearable memories of his obsession with the beautiful Zinaida.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Turgenev's Famous Novel...
- By Douglas on 01-16-14
By: Ivan Turgenev
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Edgar Allan Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart and Other Stories
- By: Edgar Allan Poe
- Narrated by: Earl Hammond
- Length: 1 hr and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 404
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 362
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Story4 out of 5 stars 363
A collection featuring three classic horror stories, read by actor Earl Hammond: "The Tell-Tale Heart", "The Cask of Amontillado", and "The Black Cat".
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5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent Narrator Brought The Story To Life
- By M.A. Wilson on 11-09-14
By: Edgar Allan Poe
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The Magic Mountain
- By: Thomas Mann
- Narrated by: David Rintoul
- Length: 37 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,000
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 868
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 862
Hans Castorp is, on the face of it, an ordinary man in his early 20s, on course to start a career in ship engineering in his home town of Hamburg, when he decides to travel to the Berghof Santatorium in Davos. The year is 1912 and an oblivious world is on the brink of war. Castorp’s friend Joachim Ziemssen is taking the cure and a three-week visit seems a perfect break before work begins. But when Castorp arrives he is surprised to find an established community of patients, and little by little, he gets drawn into the closeted life and the individual personalities of the residents.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A Magical Journey
- By Paul on 08-20-20
By: Thomas Mann