The Unknown Masterpiece
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.
The Unknown Masterpiece
Buy for $5.44
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Katie Haigh
-
By:
-
Honoré de Balzac
About this listen
Paul Cézanne famously said "I am Frenhofer", identifying with the old master around which the story revolves. Pablo Picasso himself was absolutely fascinated by the text, so much that he had his studio moved in the Parisian street named in the story; there, he painted his own masterpiece, Guernica.©2016 Compagnie du Savoir (P)2016 Compagnie du Savoir
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Elixir of Life
- By: Honoré de Balzac
- Narrated by: Paul Spera
- Length: 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 6
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 5
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 5
The spoiled son of a Spanish nobleman, Don Juan Belvidero cannot wait for the moment to claim the family wealth and title for himself. His father calls to his death-bed to inform him that he is in possession of a magic, death-defying potion. If the son will only rub the liquid on his dead body, the father will come back to life. Don Juan assures his father that he will resurrect him, but will he keep his promise or betray the old man?
By: Honoré de Balzac
-
Sarrasine
- By: Honoré De Balzac
- Narrated by: John Lang
- Length: 1 hr and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 10
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 10
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 10
"Sarrasine" (1830) is a novella by Honoré de Balzac, part of his Comédie Humaine. The stage is set around midnight during a ball, the narrator is sitting at a window. There is an unknown old man around the house, whom the family was oddly devoted to, and who frightened and intrigued the partygoers. When the man sits next to the narrator's guest, Beatrix Rochefide, she touches him, and the narrator rushes her out of the room. The narrator knows who the man is and says he will tell her his story the next evening.
By: Honoré De Balzac
-
Colonel Chabert
- By: Honoré de Balzac
- Narrated by: Bill Homewood
- Length: 2 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 9
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 7
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 7
In the brutal Prussian winter of 1807, Emperor Napoléon Bonaparte’s Grande Armée suffered massive losses to the Russians in the Battle of Eylau. Many thousands died. Young Colonel Chabert falls heroically, his actions having turned the tide of the battle, but he is buried anonymously on the battlefield in a mass grave. Incredibly, he is alive, but severely injured, and digs himself out. On his eventual return to Paris, he finds his wife, the beautiful and ambitious Rosine, now remarried, and his fortune gone.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Thought provoking tale by Balzac
- By Simon Brodie on 07-05-21
By: Honoré de Balzac
-
Eugenie Grandet
- By: Honoré de Balzac
- Narrated by: Peter Newcombe Joyce
- Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 18
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 16
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 16
At the beginning of the story the heroine lives an unfulfilled life in rural France, her nature crushed by a domineering and miserly father. Gallant cousin Charles arrives and acts as a catalyst on Eugénie's personality and emotions. Will her love survive the strong self-opinion of the young man and the selfishness of her father or is Eugénie's reward destined to be in heaven?
By: Honoré de Balzac
-
The Magic Mountain
- By: Thomas Mann
- Narrated by: David Rintoul
- Length: 37 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,001
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 869
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 863
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.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A Magical Journey
- By Paul on 08-20-20
By: Thomas Mann
-
The Sun Also Rises
- By: Ernest Hemingway, Colm Toibin
- Narrated by: William Hurt
- Length: 7 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 6,015
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 5,122
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 5,115
A poignant look at the disillusionment and angst of the post-World War I generation, The Sun Also Rises introduces two of Hemingway’s most unforgettable characters: Jake Barnes and Lady Brett Ashley. The story follows the flamboyant Brett and the hapless Jake as they journey from the wild nightlife of 1920s Paris to the brutal bullfighting rings of Spain with a motley group of expatriates. In his first great literary masterpiece, Hemingway portrays an age of moral bankruptcy, spiritual dissolution, unrealized love, and vanishing illusions.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Great actor, terrible reader, kills classic
- By Kerry on 09-14-14
By: Ernest Hemingway, and others
-
The Elixir of Life
- By: Honoré de Balzac
- Narrated by: Paul Spera
- Length: 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 6
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 5
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 5
The spoiled son of a Spanish nobleman, Don Juan Belvidero cannot wait for the moment to claim the family wealth and title for himself. His father calls to his death-bed to inform him that he is in possession of a magic, death-defying potion. If the son will only rub the liquid on his dead body, the father will come back to life. Don Juan assures his father that he will resurrect him, but will he keep his promise or betray the old man?
By: Honoré de Balzac
-
Sarrasine
- By: Honoré De Balzac
- Narrated by: John Lang
- Length: 1 hr and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 10
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 10
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 10
"Sarrasine" (1830) is a novella by Honoré de Balzac, part of his Comédie Humaine. The stage is set around midnight during a ball, the narrator is sitting at a window. There is an unknown old man around the house, whom the family was oddly devoted to, and who frightened and intrigued the partygoers. When the man sits next to the narrator's guest, Beatrix Rochefide, she touches him, and the narrator rushes her out of the room. The narrator knows who the man is and says he will tell her his story the next evening.
By: Honoré De Balzac
-
Colonel Chabert
- By: Honoré de Balzac
- Narrated by: Bill Homewood
- Length: 2 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 9
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 7
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 7
In the brutal Prussian winter of 1807, Emperor Napoléon Bonaparte’s Grande Armée suffered massive losses to the Russians in the Battle of Eylau. Many thousands died. Young Colonel Chabert falls heroically, his actions having turned the tide of the battle, but he is buried anonymously on the battlefield in a mass grave. Incredibly, he is alive, but severely injured, and digs himself out. On his eventual return to Paris, he finds his wife, the beautiful and ambitious Rosine, now remarried, and his fortune gone.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Thought provoking tale by Balzac
- By Simon Brodie on 07-05-21
By: Honoré de Balzac
-
Eugenie Grandet
- By: Honoré de Balzac
- Narrated by: Peter Newcombe Joyce
- Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 18
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 16
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 16
At the beginning of the story the heroine lives an unfulfilled life in rural France, her nature crushed by a domineering and miserly father. Gallant cousin Charles arrives and acts as a catalyst on Eugénie's personality and emotions. Will her love survive the strong self-opinion of the young man and the selfishness of her father or is Eugénie's reward destined to be in heaven?
By: Honoré de Balzac
-
The Magic Mountain
- By: Thomas Mann
- Narrated by: David Rintoul
- Length: 37 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,001
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 869
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 863
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.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A Magical Journey
- By Paul on 08-20-20
By: Thomas Mann
-
The Sun Also Rises
- By: Ernest Hemingway, Colm Toibin
- Narrated by: William Hurt
- Length: 7 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 6,015
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 5,122
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 5,115
A poignant look at the disillusionment and angst of the post-World War I generation, The Sun Also Rises introduces two of Hemingway’s most unforgettable characters: Jake Barnes and Lady Brett Ashley. The story follows the flamboyant Brett and the hapless Jake as they journey from the wild nightlife of 1920s Paris to the brutal bullfighting rings of Spain with a motley group of expatriates. In his first great literary masterpiece, Hemingway portrays an age of moral bankruptcy, spiritual dissolution, unrealized love, and vanishing illusions.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Great actor, terrible reader, kills classic
- By Kerry on 09-14-14
By: Ernest Hemingway, and others
-
Illuminations
- Essays and Reflections
- By: Walter Benjamin, Hannah Arendt
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 10 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 31
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 26
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 25
Walter Benjamin was an icon of criticism, renowned for his insight on art, literature, and philosophy. This volume includes his views on Kafka, with whom he felt a close personal affinity; his studies on Baudelaire and Proust; and his essays on Leskov and Brecht’s epic theater. Illuminations also includes his penetrating study “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction”, an enlightening discussion of translation as a literary mode, and his theses on the philosophy of history.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
finally
- By Anonymous User on 12-08-21
By: Walter Benjamin, and others
-
Art Is Life
- Icons and Iconoclasts, Visionaries and Vigilantes, and Flashes of Hope in the Night
- By: Jerry Saltz
- Narrated by: Jerry Saltz, Mark Bramhall
- Length: 16 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 92
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 76
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 76
Jerry Saltz is one of our most-watched writers about art and artists and a passionate champion of the importance of art in our shared cultural life. Since the 1990s he has been an indispensable cultural voice: Witty and provocative, he has attracted contemporary listeners to fine art as few critics have.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
WRONG for audio program
- By Karen Lehrer on 11-07-22
By: Jerry Saltz
-
Ninth Street Women
- Lee Krasner, Elaine de Kooning, Grace Hartigan, Joan Mitchell, and Helen Frankenthaler: Five Painters and the Movement That Changed Modern Art
- By: Mary Gabriel
- Narrated by: Lisa Stathoplos
- Length: 40 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 488
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 401
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 401
Five women revolutionize the modern art world in postwar America in this "gratifying, generous, and lush" true story from a National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize finalist (Jennifer Szalai, New York Times). Set amid the most turbulent social and political period of modern times, Ninth Street Women is the impassioned, wild, sometimes tragic, always exhilarating chronicle of five women who dared to enter the male-dominated world of 20th-century abstract painting - not as muses but as artists.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Painful pronunciation issues!
- By Curious Artist Librarian on 05-20-19
By: Mary Gabriel
-
Crown & Sceptre
- A New History of the British Monarchy, from William the Conqueror to Elizabeth II
- By: Tracy Borman
- Narrated by: Tracy Borman
- Length: 20 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 152
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 136
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 135
Since William the Conqueror, duke of Normandy, crossed the English Channel in 1066 to defeat King Harold II and unite England’s various kingdoms, 41 kings and queens have sat on Britain’s throne. “Shining examples of royal power and majesty alongside a rogue’s gallery of weak, lazy, or evil monarchs,” as Tracy Borman describes them in her sparkling chronicle, Crown & Sceptre.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great book for those new to the monarchy
- By Chris Corsini on 04-05-22
By: Tracy Borman
-
How to Be an Artist
- By: Jerry Saltz
- Narrated by: Jerry Saltz
- Length: 2 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 540
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 437
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 430
Art has the power to change our lives. For many, becoming an artist is a lifelong dream. But how to make it happen? In How to Be an Artist, Jerry Saltz, one of the art world’s most celebrated and passionate voices, offers an indispensable handbook for creative people of all kinds. From the first sparks of inspiration - and how to pursue them without giving in to self-doubt - Saltz offers invaluable insight into what really matters to emerging artists: originality, persistence, a balance between knowledge and intuition, and that most precious of qualities, self-belief.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Terrible Book Waste of Money
- By Classic on 04-22-20
By: Jerry Saltz
-
Color
- A Natural History of the Palette
- By: Victoria Finlay
- Narrated by: Victoria Finlay
- Length: 15 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 32
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 27
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 27
In this vivid and captivating journey through the colors of an artist’s palette, Victoria Finlay takes us on an enthralling adventure around the world and through the ages, illuminating how the colors we choose to value have determined the history of culture itself. Color is full of extraordinary people, events, and anecdotes—painted all the more dazzling by Finlay’s engaging style. The colors that craft our world have never looked so bright.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A scrumptious, colorful adventure. Must read
- By Esio Trot on 07-26-23
By: Victoria Finlay
-
The Complete Essays of Montaigne
- By: Michel Eyquem de Montaigne, Donald M. Frame - translator
- Narrated by: Christopher Lane
- Length: 49 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 461
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 386
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 377
“A faithful translation is rare; a translation which preserves intact the original text is very rare; a perfect translation of Montaigne appears impossible. Yet Donald Frame has realized this feat. One does not seem to be reading a translation, so smooth and easy is the style; at each moment, one seems to be listening to Montaigne himself - the freshness of his ideas, the unexpected choice of words. Frame has kept everything.” (Andre Maurois, The New York Times Book Review)
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Stands next to the Bible and M.A.'s Meditations
- By Darwin8u on 05-21-12
By: Michel Eyquem de Montaigne, and others
-
The Myth of Sisyphus
- By: Albert Camus
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 5 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 967
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 804
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 805
One of the most influential works of this century, The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays is a crucial exposition of existentialist thought. Influenced by works such as Don Juan and the novels of Kafka, these essays begin with a meditation on suicide; the question of living or not living in a universe devoid of order or meaning.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Brilliant work, excellently narrated
- By Richard B. on 04-30-19
By: Albert Camus
-
Pale Fire
- By: Vladimir Nabokov
- Narrated by: Marc Vietor, Robert Blumenfeld
- Length: 9 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 539
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 455
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 456
A 999 line poem in heroic couplets, divided into 4 cantos, was composed - according to Nabokov's fiction - by John Francis Shade, an obsessively methodical man, during the last 20 days of his life.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
An amazing feat for such a unique novel
- By AmazonCustomer on 03-27-12
By: Vladimir Nabokov
-
The Wings of the Dove
- By: Henry James
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 22 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 144
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 128
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 128
Milly Theale is a young, beautiful, and fabulously wealthy American. When she arrives in London and meets the equally beautiful but impoverished Kate Croy, they form an intimate friendship. But nothing is as it seems: materialism, romance, self-delusion, and ultimately fatal illness insidiously contaminate the glamorous social whirl.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Not an easy read but SO worth it!
- By Julie Gray on 10-31-17
By: Henry James
-
The Found and the Lost
- The Collected Novellas of Ursula K. Le Guin
- By: Ursula K. Le Guin
- Narrated by: Alyssa Bresnahan, Jefferson Mays
- Length: 34 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 416
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 366
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 368
Every novella by Ursula K. Le Guin, an icon in American literature, collected for the first time - and introduced by the legendary author - in one breathtaking volume. Ursula K. Le Guin has won multiple prizes and accolades, from the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters to the Newbery Honor, Nebula, Hugo, World Fantasy, and PEN/Malamud awards. She has had her work collected over the years but never as a complete retrospective of her longer works.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
You gotta be kidding me.
- By Spam on 07-02-19
-
Burr
- A Novel (Narratives of Empire, Book 1)
- By: Gore Vidal
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 21 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 939
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 804
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 804
Here is an extraordinary portrait of one of the most complicated - and misunderstood - figures among the Founding Fathers. In 1804, while serving as vice president, Aaron Burr fought a duel with his political nemesis, Alexander Hamilton, and killed him. In 1807, he was arrested, tried, and acquitted of treason. In 1833, Burr is newly married, an aging statesman considered a monster by many. But he is determined to tell his own story, and he chooses to confide in a young New York City journalist. Burr is the first novel in Gore Vidal's Narratives of Empire series.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Finally! Vidal's Great Take on the Life of Burr
- By John Norton on 06-12-19
By: Gore Vidal
Related to this topic
-
The Belly of Paris
- By: Émile Zola, Ernest Alfred Vizetelly - translator
- Narrated by: Frederick Davidson
- Length: 13 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 66
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 60
-
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.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Not keen on Davidson’s voice
- By Jeff Lacy on 05-08-21
By: Émile Zola, and others
-
The Bridge of San Luis Rey
- By: Thornton Wilder
- Narrated by: Sam Waterston
- Length: 3 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 618
-
Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 457
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 454
Wilder's stories consistently explored the connections between the commonplace and cosmic dimensions of human experience, always returning to fundamental questions about the meaning of life. This Pulitzer Prize-winning tale concerns the lives of five people who fall to their deaths from a Peruvian rope bridge in 1714. A humble Franciscan, Brother Juniper, witnesses the accident and determines to learn about the lives of the victims in order to find out whether this accident happened by chance or by plan.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent Story, But Poor Audiobook Technically
- By RKL on 11-15-13
By: Thornton Wilder
-
The Scarlet Pimpernel
- By: Baroness Orczy
- Narrated by: Flo Gibson
- Length: 8 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 12
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 10
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 10
The mysterious Scarlet Pimpernel's daring rescues of French nobility from the threat of the guillotine and the evil Chauvelin's efforts to track him down are all part of the intrigue in this swashbuckling adventure.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
nostalgic
- By theamazingcatherine on 07-29-18
By: Baroness Orczy
-
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 House of the Seven Gables
- By: Nathaniel Hawthorne
- Narrated by: Anthony Heald
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 400
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 313
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 316
In a sleepy little New England village stands a dark, weather-beaten, many-gabled house. This brooding mansion is haunted by a centuries-old curse that casts the shadow of ancestral sin upon the last four members of the distinctive Pyncheon family of Salem.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A Classic Thriller
- By E. Pearson on 12-03-10
-
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 Belly of Paris
- By: Émile Zola, Ernest Alfred Vizetelly - translator
- Narrated by: Frederick Davidson
- Length: 13 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 66
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 60
-
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.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Not keen on Davidson’s voice
- By Jeff Lacy on 05-08-21
By: Émile Zola, and others
-
The Bridge of San Luis Rey
- By: Thornton Wilder
- Narrated by: Sam Waterston
- Length: 3 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 618
-
Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 457
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 454
Wilder's stories consistently explored the connections between the commonplace and cosmic dimensions of human experience, always returning to fundamental questions about the meaning of life. This Pulitzer Prize-winning tale concerns the lives of five people who fall to their deaths from a Peruvian rope bridge in 1714. A humble Franciscan, Brother Juniper, witnesses the accident and determines to learn about the lives of the victims in order to find out whether this accident happened by chance or by plan.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent Story, But Poor Audiobook Technically
- By RKL on 11-15-13
By: Thornton Wilder
-
The Scarlet Pimpernel
- By: Baroness Orczy
- Narrated by: Flo Gibson
- Length: 8 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 12
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 10
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 10
The mysterious Scarlet Pimpernel's daring rescues of French nobility from the threat of the guillotine and the evil Chauvelin's efforts to track him down are all part of the intrigue in this swashbuckling adventure.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
nostalgic
- By theamazingcatherine on 07-29-18
By: Baroness Orczy
-
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 House of the Seven Gables
- By: Nathaniel Hawthorne
- Narrated by: Anthony Heald
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 400
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 313
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 316
In a sleepy little New England village stands a dark, weather-beaten, many-gabled house. This brooding mansion is haunted by a centuries-old curse that casts the shadow of ancestral sin upon the last four members of the distinctive Pyncheon family of Salem.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A Classic Thriller
- By E. Pearson on 12-03-10
-
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
-
Les Miserables
- By: Victor Hugo
- Narrated by: Frederick Davidson
- Length: 57 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,257
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,572
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,585
Set in the Parisian underworld and plotted like a detective story, Les Miserables follows Jean Valjean, originally an honest peasant, who has been imprisoned for 19 years for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his sister's starving family. A hardened criminal upon his release, he eventually reforms, becoming a successful industrialist and town mayor. Despite this, he is haunted by an impulsive former crime and is pursued relentlessly by the police inspector Javert.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
one happy insomniac
- By Kathryn on 01-27-05
By: Victor Hugo
![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)
-
El conde de Montecristo [The Count of Monte Cristo]
- By: Alejandro Dumas
- Narrated by: Joan M Martinez
- Length: 46 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 379
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 342
-
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.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Qué bonita historia y que gran narración.
- By Luis Enrique Cuevas Hernández on 02-14-21
By: Alejandro Dumas
-
Death in Venice
- By: Thomas Mann
- Narrated by: Peter Batchelor
- Length: 3 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 212
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 183
-
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.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
A problem with the narration
- By Erez on 03-19-12
By: Thomas Mann
-
Sentimental Education
- By: Gustave Flaubert
- Narrated by: Michael Maloney
- Length: 15 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 80
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 73
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 73
Frederic Moreau is a law student returning home to Normandy from Paris when he first notices Mme Arnoux, a slender, dark woman several years older than himself. It is the beginning of an infatuation that will last a lifetime. He befriends her husband, an influential businessman, and their paths cross and re-cross over the years. Through financial upheaval, political turmoil, and countless affairs, Mme Arnoux remains the constant, unattainable love of Moreau’s life.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
When Crimes of Passion Were All the Fashion
- By W Perry Hall on 03-12-17
By: Gustave Flaubert
-
Tales of Terror
- By: Edgar Allan Poe
- Narrated by: Jack Foreman
- Length: 4 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 66
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 33
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 31
Edgar Allan Poe, the master of terror, wrote some of literature's most entertaining and influential short stories, works that invented or anticipated modern detective novels, science fiction, and the horror genre. Tales of Terror collects nine of Poe's best-loved stories, all performed in chilling, highly dramatic readings by Jack Foreman. This collection includes such classics as "The Tell-Tale Heart", "The Pit and the Pendulum", "The Fall of the House of Usher", and what many consider his masterpiece, "The Murders in the Rue Morgue."
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Poe's Best Horror by an Outstanding Narrator
- By Gary on 08-29-04
By: Edgar Allan Poe
-
The Leopard
- A Novel
- By: Giuseppe di Lampedusa, Archibald Colquhuon - translator
- Narrated by: Paul Woodson
- Length: 9 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 107
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 91
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 90
Set in the 1860s, The Leopard tells the spellbinding story of a decadent, dying Sicilian aristocracy threatened by the approaching forces of democracy and revolution. The dramatic sweep and richness of observation, the seamless intertwining of public and private worlds, and the grasp of human frailty imbue The Leopard with its particular melancholy beauty and power, and place it among the greatest historical novels of our time.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Timeless
- By Robert Massarella on 12-05-23
By: Giuseppe di Lampedusa, and others
-
A Woman of No Importance
- By: Oscar Wilde
- Narrated by: Miriam Margolyes, Samantha Mathis, Rosalind Ayres, and others
- Length: 1 hr and 34 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 225
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 188
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 188
Devilishly attractive Lord Illingworth is notorious for his skill as a seducer. But he is still invited to all the "best" houses, while his female conquests must hide their shame in seclusion. In this devastating drawing-room comedy, Oscar Wilde uses his celebrated wit to expose English society's narrow view of everything from sexual mores to Americans.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Pitch Perfect Performance
- By Cheryl on 08-26-12
By: Oscar Wilde
-
Les Misérables
- Penguin Classics
- By: Christine Donougher, Victor Hugo, Robert Tombs
- Narrated by: Adeel Akhtar, Natalie Simpson, Adrian Scarborough, and others
- Length: 65 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 221
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 194
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 192
Victor Hugo's tale of injustice, heroism and love follows the fortunes of Jean Valjean, an escaped convict determined to put his criminal past behind him. But his attempts to become a respected member of the community are constantly put under threat: by his own conscience and by the relentless investigations of the dogged Policeman, Javert. It is not simply for himself that Valjean must stay free, however, for he has sworn to protect the baby daughter of Fantine, driven to prostitution by poverty.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great Book, Great Translation, 5 Great Narrators
- By Rain Wiegartner on 06-07-20
By: Christine Donougher, and others
-
Villette
- By: Charlotte Brontë
- Narrated by: Davina Porter
- Length: 22 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 451
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 396
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 397
Hailed as Charlotte Brontë’s “finest novel” by Virginia Woolf, Villette is the timeless semi-autobiographical tale of Lucy Snowe. Left with no family and no money, Lucy goes against her own timid nature and travels to the small city of Villette, France, where she becomes a school teacher in Madame Beck’s school for girls. During her stay, she falls in love—twice—and discovers an independent, inner strength rarely seen in women of her time.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
The Divine Ms. Porter delivers as always
- By peachnmario on 03-17-15
By: Charlotte Brontë
-
Thérèse Raquin
- By: Emile Zola
- Narrated by: Kate Winslet
- Length: 7 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,573
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,436
-
Story3.5 out of 5 stars 1,424
Once upon a time, a teenaged Kate Winslet (The Reader, Titanic, Revolutionary Road) received a gift that would leave a lasting impression: a copy of Emile Zola’s classic Thérèse Raquin. Six Academy Award nominations and one Best Actress award later, she steps behind the microphone to perform this haunting classic of passion and disaster.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
worth a listen
- By Kindle Customer on 03-18-12
By: Emile Zola
-
The Three Musketeers (AmazonClassics Edition)
- By: Alexandre Dumas, William Robson - translator
- Narrated by: Guy Mott
- Length: 27 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 159
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 134
-
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.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
terrible narrator. every comma is a 3 second pause
- By Anonymous User on 09-21-21
By: Alexandre Dumas, and others
-
Siddhartha
- By: Hermann Hesse
- Narrated by: Harish Bhimani
- Length: 4 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 196
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 152
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 148
Hermann Hesse’s classic novel Siddhartha, takes place in ancient India around the time of the Buddha (6th century BC). Siddhartha and his companion Govinda set out in search of enlightenment. Siddhartha goes through a series of changes and realizations as he attempts to achieve this goal. Siddhartha joins the ascetics, visits Gotama, embraces his earthly desires, and finally communes with nature, all in an attempt to attain Nirvana.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Sounds rushed
- By Viviane on 10-17-11
By: Hermann Hesse
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
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
-
Colonel Chabert
- By: Honoré de Balzac
- Narrated by: Bill Homewood
- Length: 2 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 9
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 7
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 7
In the brutal Prussian winter of 1807, Emperor Napoléon Bonaparte’s Grande Armée suffered massive losses to the Russians in the Battle of Eylau. Many thousands died. Young Colonel Chabert falls heroically, his actions having turned the tide of the battle, but he is buried anonymously on the battlefield in a mass grave. Incredibly, he is alive, but severely injured, and digs himself out. On his eventual return to Paris, he finds his wife, the beautiful and ambitious Rosine, now remarried, and his fortune gone.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Thought provoking tale by Balzac
- By Simon Brodie on 07-05-21
By: Honoré de Balzac
-
Letters of Two Brides
- By: Honoré de Balzac
- Narrated by: Stacey Lind, Melanie Carey, André Santana
- Length: 9 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall0 out of 5 stars 0
-
Performance0 out of 5 stars 0
-
Story0 out of 5 stars 0
Two girls emerge from a convent in order to marry and assume their places in post-Revolutionary French society. Louise is ruled by passion, Renée by pragmatism, and the intimate details of their trials and triumphs are revealed through their correspondence. Letters of Two Brides follows two strong women across the years as they navigate love, friendship, faith, and the conflicting expectations for women in society.
By: Honoré de Balzac
-
Honoré de Balzac: Pere Goriot, The Black Sheep & More
- Four BBC Radio Full-Cast Dramatisations
- By: Honoré de Balzac
- Narrated by: Stephen Fry, Douglas Hodge, David Ross, and others
- Length: 9 hrs and 30 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 1
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 1
This brilliant collection of France’s foremost nineteenth-century novelist and playwright delivers four of his most fascinating works - stories of love, rivalry, horror and adventure - all brought to life by a stellar cast included Stephen Fry and Alex Kingston. A huge influence on many of the most famous writers from Proust to Kerouac to Dickens, Balzac delivers beautifully observed and complex characters with an unsurpassed attention to the details of society at the time, making him an exemplary of realism in European literature.
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
-
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
-
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
-
Colonel Chabert
- By: Honoré de Balzac
- Narrated by: Bill Homewood
- Length: 2 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 9
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 7
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 7
In the brutal Prussian winter of 1807, Emperor Napoléon Bonaparte’s Grande Armée suffered massive losses to the Russians in the Battle of Eylau. Many thousands died. Young Colonel Chabert falls heroically, his actions having turned the tide of the battle, but he is buried anonymously on the battlefield in a mass grave. Incredibly, he is alive, but severely injured, and digs himself out. On his eventual return to Paris, he finds his wife, the beautiful and ambitious Rosine, now remarried, and his fortune gone.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Thought provoking tale by Balzac
- By Simon Brodie on 07-05-21
By: Honoré de Balzac
-
Letters of Two Brides
- By: Honoré de Balzac
- Narrated by: Stacey Lind, Melanie Carey, André Santana
- Length: 9 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall0 out of 5 stars 0
-
Performance0 out of 5 stars 0
-
Story0 out of 5 stars 0
Two girls emerge from a convent in order to marry and assume their places in post-Revolutionary French society. Louise is ruled by passion, Renée by pragmatism, and the intimate details of their trials and triumphs are revealed through their correspondence. Letters of Two Brides follows two strong women across the years as they navigate love, friendship, faith, and the conflicting expectations for women in society.
By: Honoré de Balzac
-
Honoré de Balzac: Pere Goriot, The Black Sheep & More
- Four BBC Radio Full-Cast Dramatisations
- By: Honoré de Balzac
- Narrated by: Stephen Fry, Douglas Hodge, David Ross, and others
- Length: 9 hrs and 30 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 1
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 1
This brilliant collection of France’s foremost nineteenth-century novelist and playwright delivers four of his most fascinating works - stories of love, rivalry, horror and adventure - all brought to life by a stellar cast included Stephen Fry and Alex Kingston. A huge influence on many of the most famous writers from Proust to Kerouac to Dickens, Balzac delivers beautifully observed and complex characters with an unsurpassed attention to the details of society at the time, making him an exemplary of realism in European literature.
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
-
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
What listeners say about The Unknown Masterpiece
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall3 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- T
- 02-01-18
overpriced but an excellent book
it is well narrated, extremely well written and fun to listen to. unfortunately it costs $6 for less than two hours of audio. this book is free under creative commons anyways so it should really be cheaper
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful