Stories by Heart

By: John Lithgow, Ring Lardner, W. W. Jacobs, P. G. Wodehouse

Narrated by: John Lithgow

What if a world-famous actor came to your home to read you a bedtime story?

In the case of John Lithgow, he’d be reading you selections from his own cherished childhood volume of Tellers of Tales, a famous collection of 100 short stories from all over the world. In the Lithgow household, bedtime stories from this anthology were read aloud to John and his siblings by their father, Arthur Lithgow. It is only fitting then that towards the end of his father’s life, Lithgow read these same stories back to his father, tapping into the power of art to comfort, heal, and transcend.

These stories and remembrances form the basis of Lithgow’s most recent Broadway production, Stories by Heart, with each act anchored by dramatic readings of The Haircut by Ring Lardner and Uncle Fred Flits By by P. G. Wodehouse. In this Audible Original, you will also hear Lithgow narrate a third tale from the anthology, The Monkey’s Paw by W. W. Jacobs. Stories by Heart is a stunning tribute to a father from a son, performed by a Tony, Emmy, and Golden Globe award-winning actor, and now it is available to you, only from Audible.

Please note: "Haircut" by Ring Lardner is included by kind permission of the Estate of Ring Lardner. "Uncle Fred Flits" By by P. G. Wodehouse is included by kind permission of the Estate of P. G. Wodehouse and taken from his collection of short stories, Young Men in Spats (1936).

©2018 John Lithgow (P)2018 AO Media, LLC.

Superb story telling of lost stories

Thoroughly enjoyed the diverse stories during a long road trip across the country. Hearing how they tied to the Lithgow family made listening a richer experience. More please!

Excellent

Excellent reading by John Lithgow. I reallly enjoyed the stories. Everyone should listen to this book.

could have been longer

I love John Lithgow and I love the way he tell stories and I mostly like the stories that are in this book. however not a lot of stories I think there are three I think each of them are pretty well told I think what John has to say about each of the stories is pretty good I definitely enjoyed listening to them but I also did not really get what I wanted I guess I hope there would be more here I should have probably checked before I bought the book but I was so excited after the poet's corner that I just jumped in head first and this is what you get when you do that I would recommend reading it it's definitely a good read it's great listen but it's not very long

John Lithgow’s Storytelling Highly Enjoyable

3 short stories read so wonderfully by John Lithgow!! A quick and excellent listen! I recommend

Big Fan

I had always loved John Lithgow. And since getting into audiobooks, I realize that a really good story is made even greater by a good performer. And he is one of the best.

Entertaining Stories

John Lithgow gives a masterful performance in this collecttion of old stories. Mr Lithgow's personal reflections of his Dad reading to John and his siblings and John returning the favor when he Dad was in poor health near the end of his life was incredibly powerful andoving. A very sweet and excellent performance.

A Lovely Treat

All three stories are classics. It has been over five decades since I’ve read them. They all were like meeting up with old friends.
John Lithgow’s performances were superb. I could listen to him read Webster’s Dictionary and walk away smiling.

Boring show by great actor.

Love Lithgow but he over does it with his rendition of the stories. And why these 3 stories which creak with irrelevance?

Outstanding storytelling

John Lithgow is a wonderful talent! I had no idea how multi-faceted his skill is. So many expressions, so many voices, so much range. I would love to hear more from John.

Lithgow’s personal reflections are the best part.

Of the three stories read, I found two compelling, one not so much. Though all three are certainly well written, and masterfully narrated, it is a matter of personal taste if these stories speak to you or not,

I found the best part of the book to be the passages where Lithgow speaks from his heart about his childhood, his parents, especially his dad, and his lifelong appreciation of stories. I wish there had been more of that.