Other books that might interest you

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  Great Expectations

  Charles Dickens

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  The inimitable Stephen Fry reads this definitive edition of Dickens' most beloved novel, Great Expectations. 
   
  "My father's family name being Pirrip, and my Christian name Philip, my infant tongue could make of both names nothing longer or more explicit than Pip. So, I called myself Pip, and came to be called Pip." 
   
  Great Expectations follows Pip's life from a plucky but poor and put-upon child in the Kent marshes, to a young man with "great expectations" in London and the choices he must make as a result of his winding journey. On the way, we meet some of Dickens' most memorable and unique characters - the mysterious and brutal Magwtich; eternally heartbroken Miss Havisham; and her cold-hearted child Estella. 
   
  In 2015, Great Expectations was placed 4th on the list of the 100 Greatest British Novels and has been beloved by readers and listeners since its original serialisation and publication in 1860-1. 
   
  Stephen Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter, film director and all-round national treasure. 
  Notable acting roles include his award-winning performance in Wilde, his iconic projects with Hugh Laurie such as A Bit of Fry and Laurie, Jeeves and Wooster and Blackadder, and his memorable turns in blockbuster projects V for Vendetta, the Sherlock Holmes films and The Hobbit series. 
  As a proudly out gay man, the award-winning Out There, documenting the lives of lesbian, bisexual gay and transgender people around the world is part of his thirty-year advocacy of the rights of the LGBT community.

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  Ghost Stories of an Antiquary

  M. R. James

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  Ghost Stories of an Antiquary (1931) is the title of M. R. James' first collection of ghost stories. He wrote many of his ghost stories to be read aloud in the long tradition of spooky Christmas Eve tales. By contrast to the gothic tales of his predecessors, James's stories often use rural settings, with a quiet, scholarly protagonist getting caught up in the activities of supernatural forces. The details of horror are almost never explicit, the stories relying on a gentle, bucolic background to emphasize the awfulness of the otherworldly intrusions.

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  Kashtanka

  Anton Chekhov

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  "Kashtanka" — Anton Chekov's short story about a dog with two masters — is a fable about the conundrum of the creative life.
  The dog Kashtanka belongs to a drunken carpenter who takes her out one day, but on the way home loses her in the confusion of a military parade. The story is told by an omniscient narrator who privileges Kashtanka's point of view, so we follow the dog's subsequent adventures largely from her eyes.

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  Wuthering Heights

  Emily Brontë

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  Published in 1847, Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, concerns two families of the landed gentry living on the West Yorkshire moors, the Earnshaws and the Lintons, and their turbulent relationships with the Earnshaws' foster son, Heathcliff. Whilst it is now widely considered to be one of the greatest novels ever written in English, contemporaneous reviews were polarised. It was controversial for its depictions of mental and physical cruelty, including domestic abuse, and for its challenges to Victorian morality and religious and societal values.  
  Narrated by Michael Ward.

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  The Invisible Man

  H. G. Wells

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  Once a brilliant scientist, Griffin has been gradually consumed by his research. When he finally achieves his goal-becoming completely invisible-the final result is his departure from humanity. He feels no remorse in using his invisibility to gratify his increasing desires. As he gradually loses his mind, it is hard to determine if it is a result of his chemical concoction or a simple continuation of his moral decline.At a time when science fiction was depicting what wonders the future would bring, H. G. Wells was one of the first writers to explore the dark side of science and to portray how easily mortal man can be corrupted when tempted by seemingly unlimited power. First published in 1897, The Invisible Man helped establish Wells as one of the first and best writers of science fiction. Notable for its sheer invention, suspense, and psychological nuance, The Invisible Man continues to enthrall science fiction fans today.

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  Far From the Madding Crowd

  Thomas Hardy

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  Thomas Hardy's novel about a British farm girl and her effect on the men who fall in love with her is read by Julie Christie. This rebellious young woman finds her affections a cause for competition between a soldier, a wealthy landowner, and a modest sheep farmer.

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