The Enchanted Collection

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, The Secret Garden, Black Beauty, The Wind in the Willows, Little Women (The Heirloom Collection)

By: Anna Sewell, Frances Hodgson Burnett, Kenneth Grahame, Louisa May Alcott, Lewis Carroll

Narrated by: Susan Duerden, Simon Vance, Michael Page, Sandra Burr

Length: 40 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

This is a collection meant to be cherished for a lifetime. Listeners set out with timid Mole as he explores the world, learning about courage and friendship through a series of misadventures with Rat, Toad, and Badger in The Wind in the Willows. From the River Bank, tumble down the rabbit hole with Alice to a madcap world where nonsense rules in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. From Victorian England, it's on to a small New England town in Little Women, where Jo March and her three sisters struggle to achieve their dreams amid the shifting roles of women in the Civil War era. Sent to live with her uncle, orphan Mary Lennox uncovers the mysteries of Misselthwaite Manor in The Secret Garden. Listeners then journey through the English countryside and London with a gentle, hardworking horse who experiences kindness and cruelty at the hands of different masters in Black Beauty.

Whether encountering these cherished tales for the first or the 50th time, listeners will find enchantment in this collection.

©2012 Julie Danielson (About the Author) (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Would Recommend

You get several stories for the cost of one book and the reading is done very well.

Love love love the Secret Garden! Great voices.

Would you consider the audio edition of The Enchanted Collection to be better than the print version?

Yes! For the Secret Garden at least, the narrator does such a fantastic job with the various accents. I have yet to listen to the rest of the collection, but my kids and I really enjoyed what we've heard so far.

Any additional comments?

I've been impressed with the quality; I had pretty low expectations for such a good deal on a compilation. I do wish the chapter titles gave some hint as to what story started where! With five stories; that's a lot of chapters to sort through! But really, it took just a few minutes to figure it out and make some bookmarks.

It's clear why these are classics

So this was in keeping with my thread of children's books. It is actually five different books, all of them classics, and mostly for children.
The first one, _Alice's Adventures in Wonderland_ is probably a children's book, but it is undeniably my favorite by my favorite author ever. This particular version, and audio recording by Brilliance Audio, was good, with Michael Page narrating. Of course, my immediate desires was to hear _Through the Looking Glass_ next, but that's not part of the current collection; I'll have to go back and listen to that separately :-).
The next book is _The Secret Garden_. I read this book back in junior high or high school, and I had totally forgotten the beginning foundation, but it's narrated well by Susan Duerden (I believe). My mother was surprised when I read it, because she said it was usually aimed at much younger girls than I at the time. I enjoyed it both then and now, but it's not as impressive now as it was then.
The third book was _Black Beauty_. I had never read that, although my older sister did, and she loved it, but she was a "horsey " person as a child – as were many girls at that time – so I never read it, because I definitely was not. The book is totally different than I expected! I expected horseracing and horse shows and all kinds of things like that. That is NOT the basis of this book! This is one particular horse going through different stages of domestic ownership and different kinds of things he was required to do by different owners. I enjoyed the book a lot; it may have been an early book that tried to present feelings and attitudes of creatures other than humans. And it was nice that he went through a lot of different types of owners and levels of employment.
The fourth book was/is _The Wind in the Willows_. I attempted to read this as a child and I got bored. I attempted to listen to it as an adult, and I got bored. I only got about halfway through. I know I'm supposed to think it's a wonderful book, and everybody loves it, but he bores me. Sigh.
The last book is _Little Women_(my husband points out that it has nothing to do with Lilliputian wives :-)). This is not specifically a children's book, although many girls read it as a child, but I did not. I have at least two friends who read it, and one of them absolutely loves it where the other hates it. I like it pretty well; I am interested in reading more of Louisa May Alcott's books. I read a little bit more about her her: did you know that she was never married and she died at 55 I (believe – anyway, younger than I am now…?) It's a good book, but it does seem rushed at the end. That's another one that my older sister bread, but she found it boring. She also read _Little Man_, also by Louisa May Alcott, and she found it more interesting. Now I have to go back and read that, too. Anyway, I am through with my children stories and classics binge for the moment! Time to go back to science and mysteries!
(As posted in GoodReads)

great collection of books

throughly enjoyed all the stories within. would reccomend to all lovers of books. and those of the younger generations

Just lovely

Many of the stories were new to me, as I have done my basic schooling in Finnish. Although Wind in the Willows was not my favorite, I heartily enjoyed the stories and the performances! Especially Simon Vance’s and Susan Duerden’s (Alice in Wonderland). My favorite way f listening was while doing manual labor, relaxing yet stimulating the mind in such a refreshing way.

Fantastic to have this one piece with so many books and hours in it!

the story that stood out the most was black beauty the narration was good so i would give it a 10/10 5⭐

I did not like that there's no james Harriet. I did like all the stories were set before 1960

Love this collection!

If you could sum up The Enchanted Collection in three words, what would they be?

Enchanting, inspiring, nostalgic

Any additional comments?

Guide for those looking for the specific chapters where each story begins:
Chapter 1: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Chapter 14: The Secret Garden
Chapter 41: Black Beauty
Chapter 91: The Wind in the Willows
Chapter 104: Little Women

I loved it!

I love all of these books, but having them all in a set? It was AMAZING!

No navigational help

What disappointed you about The Enchanted Collection?

There is no navigate to the stories and I couldn't find the beginning of little woman and each book is introduced as Alice in wonderland for some reason.

What did you like best about this story?

The narrators are great and the stories are classic.

What about the narrators’s performance did you like?

Very soothing great to have a book read to at bed time again as an adult

What character would you cut from The Enchanted Collection?

None

Any additional comments?

It seems Amazon has deleted the audible reviews for the audiobook. It did have mane audible reviews but now the rating on this one relays on the Amazon rating for a regular paper book. Which does not help audiobook users.

5 classics in one!

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland chapter 1; The Secret Garden chapter 14; Black Beauty chapter 41; The Wind in the Willows chapter 91; Little Women chapter 104. You're welcome.