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Audiobooks Narrated by Peter Coates
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"This collection brings together stories and reflections in which Leo Tolstoy turns inward.
Stripped of grandeur, these works offer something more intimate: the inner noise of conscience, the weight of faith, the silence before death.
A servant's silence, a horse's memory, a dying man's doubt—these are not performances.
They are questions, waiting quietly for whoever dares to ask the same.
Tolstoy isn't offering answers. He's writing toward something deeper. And the questions haven't aged a day.
Contents:
• Alyosha the Pot
• Kholstomer: The Story of a Horse
• A Russian Christmas Party
• A Confession
• God Sees the Truth, But Waits
• A Letter to a Hindu
• The Death of Ivan Ilyich"
"Step into the witty, unsettling, and delightfully ironic world of Saki (H.H. Munro), one of the sharpest voices in Edwardian literature. This classic collection gathers his most memorable and darkly humorous short stories, including The Music on the Hill, The Unrest-Cure, Gabriel-Ernest, and the widely loved The Open Window.
Saki's tales are known for their unexpected twists, elegant prose, and subtle satire of British society, often exposing the absurdities behind genteel manners and upper-class conventions. His characters—sometimes mischievous, sometimes monstrous—leave a lasting impression with their razor-sharp wit and unpredictable actions.
This volume is a perfect introduction to Saki's unique storytelling style, blending comedy with the macabre, sophistication with the surreal. Whether you're encountering his work for the first time or returning to a favorite classic, this collection offers a timeless exploration of human folly and social satire at its finest.
Contents
• The Music on the Hill
• The Unrest-Cure
• The Toys of Peace
• The Open Window
• The Boar-Pig
• Sredni Vashtar
• Gabriel-Ernest"
"In The Three Strangers, Thomas Hardy offers a quietly ironic tale shaped by weather, custom, and the unpredictable drift of human fate. Set against the backdrop of rural Wessex, the story unfolds on the border between the ordinary and the uncanny — a place where identity flickers and appearances mislead.
With his signature restraint, Hardy lets the narrative circle slowly inward, revealing not only the secret at its heart, but something of the way justice, chance, and character meet in the dark folds of the countryside."
"In a quiet farmhouse, the ordinary folds into the unseen. A Jury of Her Peers turns a simple domestic scene into a mirror of justice, conscience, and the unspoken weight of women's lives. With spare, careful strokes, Susan Glaspell reveals how silence can testify and how understanding sometimes takes root where authority fails.
A landmark short story of early feminist fiction, it remains haunting not for what is said — but for what is noticed."
"A dog. A child. A rope that drags, and a bond that tightens.
In this brief, haunting tale, Stephen Crane casts a quiet, unflinching gaze at innocence, cruelty, and the strange bargains we make in the name of love.
Told in spare, evocative prose, A Dark Brown Dog is more than it appears — a fable with no moral, a friendship with no promise, a home with no safety.
You may not be sure where the pain ends and the loyalty begins.
But you will know you've seen something true."
"An Evening's Entertainment is a tale that lives up to its deceptively quaint title, offering not comfort, but a slow, tightening dread. In the hands of master ghost-storyteller M. R. James, a quiet rural setting becomes the stage for something far more sinister—where folklore whispers, tradition conceals, and the past refuses to stay buried.
Dripping with unease and the chill of things half-seen, this is a story to be heard in silence, with the lights low and the wind outside. It is not simply entertainment—it is an invocation.
Let the evening begin."
"The Story of a Disappearance and an Appearance is M. R. James at his most disquieting: where festive streets darken quickly, dreams twist into warnings, and something grotesque walks just beyond the edge of understanding.
Blending holiday cheer with a creeping sense of dread, this tale invites the listener to question what hides behind tradition, and what slips through the cracks of propriety.
Laced with unease and subtle horror, it is not merely a ghost story—it is a disturbance in the fabric of the ordinary."
"An Episode of Cathedral History is one of M. R. James's most quietly chilling tales—a masterwork of subtle horror, antiquarian mystery, and creeping dread. Behind the stone walls of a venerable English cathedral, the past stirs with a presence that should have remained undisturbed.
In this haunting narrative, the mundane slips imperceptibly into the macabre. A scholar's inquiry unlocks a forgotten secret; shadows lengthen; and something long sealed away begins to wake. With James's signature blend of erudition, atmosphere, and mounting unease, this tale draws the listener into a world where ancient relics conceal more than dust, and history is anything but dead.
Perfect for a candlelit evening or a solitary walk through fog-bound streets."
"A mournful cry, a well that echoes the past, and an invitation to remember the forgotten.
In Wailing Well, M. R. James crafts a haunting tale of mystery and spectral terror, where the quiet of a rural landscape is disturbed by a cry from the past—an eerie wail that resonates through time.
As James unearths the secrets buried in the forgotten well, he masterfully builds a sense of creeping dread and inevitable doom, reminding us that some things—once heard—can never be forgotten. With his signature style of subtle horror, James plunges the listener into a chilling world where even silence can be deadly."
"A relic buried. A secret watched. A warning unheeded.
In this chilling tale by master of the supernatural M. R. James, the boundaries between legend and reality dissolve into coastal mist. A Warning to the Curious draws the listener into a bleak and beautiful world where ancient guardians still linger—and curiosity can awaken things best left undisturbed.
A haunting meditation on the price of trespass, this is classic ghost storytelling at its most precise and unnerving."
"In the shadowed corners of Barchester Cathedral, a dark and unsettling secret lies hidden, waiting to be uncovered. M. R. James, master of the eerie and the supernatural, weaves a tale of mystery that drips with suspense and an ever-looming sense of dread. The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral invites listeners to step into the quiet, yet perilous world of ancient stone and whispered prayers, where the past's vengeful spirits are not content to remain forgotten. The story entangles curiosity with fear as it explores the strange occurrences in a sacred space, offering an atmospheric journey into the unknown. Prepare to be both mesmerized and unnerved by this hauntingly atmospheric tale of forbidden knowledge and the restless dead."
"'I dare say the place is very picturesque, but it doesn't look exactly cheerful.'
Step into the quiet English countryside, where serenity hides shadows, and ancient grounds guard forgotten secrets. In M. R. James's chilling tale The Rose Garden, a simple act—planting roses on a peaceful estate—unearths more than just soil. Whispers in the wind, a cursed corner of land, and a long-buried injustice begin to stir.
Elegant, eerie, and steeped in the uncanny, this masterfully told ghost story unfolds with James's signature subtlety and scholarly dread. The Rose Garden lures listeners into a world where the past never truly rests—and where even the most beautiful places may conceal the most disturbing truths.
Perfect for fans of classic ghost stories and lovers of refined horror."
