The Children (Classicus Edition)

Edith Wharton

Summary

The Children is Edith Wharton’s masterful exploration of innocence, responsibility, and the unsettling boundaries of adult desire. Martin Boyne, a respectable Englishman in his forties, encounters a lively band of seven half-abandoned step-siblings wandering through Europe. Drawn to their charm and vulnerability, he finds himself particularly captivated by Judith Wheater, the wise, watchful eldest girl who has taken on the role of surrogate mother. Their growing bond forces Boyne to confront questions of duty, morality, and the aching complexity of love that cannot be spoken.     Set against the elegant yet rootless world of wealthy expatriates in the 1920s, Wharton’s novel dissects the careless adult egos that leave children to fend for themselves in hotels and rail stations. Through crystalline prose and sharp social observation, she reveals a world where divorce and remarriage are treated as fashionable diversions while the youngest pay the price. The children themselves are unforgettable—spirited, loyal, and heartbreakingly aware of the roles they’ve been forced to play too soon.     Wharton balances emotional nuance with unsparing critique, delivering a story that is both tender and unsettling. As Boyne struggles to do right by Judith without betraying his own moral compass, the novel asks difficult questions about protection, temptation, and the real cost of adult failure. The Children stands among Wharton’s most psychologically astute works, illuminating the fragility of childhood and the corrosive power of adult irresponsibility with exquisite precision.     This Classicus edition presents Edith Wharton’s remarkable novel in an elegant, thoughtfully designed volume for contemporary readers. Perfect for lovers of classic literature, social novels, and finely drawn characters, The Children remains a powerful, provocative portrait of lost innocence and moral complexity. Discover or rediscover Wharton’s haunting vision of a world that lets its children wander while the adults look away.

Available since: 07/03/2025.

Other books that might interest you

The Untilled Field

George Moore

"The Untilled Field" by George Moore is a collection of short stories portraying the complexities of Irish rural life in the late 19th century. Moore masterfully explores themes of love, loss, and societal expectations in a landscape shaped by tradition and change. Through vivid characters and evocative settings, the narratives offer a poignant reflection on the clash between old and new, capturing the struggles and joys of individuals navigating a transforming Ireland. Moore's prose unveils the human condition with sensitivity, making this collection a timeless exploration of the universal challenges faced by those living in the untamed fields of cultural transition.

Show book

Ghosts - Audiobook

Henrik Ibsen, Classic...

Ghosts is a controversial three-act play by Henrik Ibsen that confronts taboo subjects such as inherited sin, illness, hypocrisy, and moral decay. Mrs. Alving, the central character, faces the tragic consequences of concealing the truth about her late husband from their son.Shocking for its time, Ghosts challenged the foundations of 19th-century morality and social convention. Its unflinching look at family, duty, and repression continues to provoke and move audiences more than a century later.

Show book

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall

Anne Brontë

A mysterious woman arrives at a crumbling mansion—and nothing in the quiet village will ever be the same.
When Helen Graham moves into Wildfell Hall with her young son, rumors swirl. She is guarded, secretive, and unwilling to explain her painful past. But as one man grows closer to her, the truth slowly emerges: a story of a toxic marriage, personal courage, and a daring escape in an age when women had no right to choose their own fate.

Celebrated today as "one of the earliest and most powerful feminist novels," Anne Brontë's masterpiece still shocks with its honesty and inspires with its strength. Readers praise its emotional depth, gripping suspense, and unforgettable heroine.

If you love dramatic character journeys, forbidden romance, and classics that feel ahead of their time, this novel will captivate you from the first page to the last.

Open the door to Wildfell Hall—start reading now and witness a woman's fight for freedom.

Show book

Carmen

Prosper Mérimée

In the rugged hills of southern Spain, a chance encounter sets in motion a story of obsession, freedom, and inevitable ruin. 
When a wandering scholar meets the infamous outlaw Don José, he hears the confession of a man undone by passion. At the center of his story is Carmen—a woman as captivating as she is untamable. Fiercely independent and bound only to her own desires, Carmen refuses to belong to anyone… and it is that very freedom that draws José into a dangerous spiral of jealousy, crime, and despair. 
Set against the sunlit landscapes and shadowed roads of Andalusia, Carmen is a powerful tale of love turned destructive, where desire collides with fate and no one escapes unchanged. 
First published in 1845, Prosper Mérimée’s classic novella inspired one of the most famous operas in history, yet its original form remains darker, sharper, and more intimate—an unflinching portrait of passion without restraint. 
Narrated by Christopher Mireider, this audiobook brings Mérimée’s timeless story vividly to life with a performance grounded in emotional intensity and literary depth. 
This production is part of the Certified Human Voice™ collection—performed entirely by a human narrator, with no AI-generated voices.

Show book

Moby Dick - "Or The Whale"

Herman Melville

Moby-Dick; or, The Whale is an 1851 epic novel by American writer Herman Melville. The book is centered on the sailor Ishmael's narrative of the maniacal quest of Ahab, captain of the whaling ship Pequod, for vengeance against Moby Dick, the giant white sperm whale that bit off his leg on the ship's previous voyage. A contribution to the literature of the American Renaissance, Moby-Dick was published to mixed reviews, was a commercial failure, and was out of print at the time of the author's death in 1891. Its reputation as a Great American Novel was established only in the 20th century, after the 1919 centennial of its author's birth. William Faulkner said he wished he had written the book himself, and D. H. Lawrence called it "one of the strangest and most wonderful books in the world" and "the greatest book of the sea ever written". Its opening sentence, "Call me Ishmael", is among world literature's most famous.

Show book

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Pierre Arthur Laure, William...

Shakespeare’s most imaginative and merry play is set in an enchanted wood amidst fairies and sprites.
When Oberon, King of the Fairies, uses his magic upon four runaway lovers in a midsummer wood outside Athens, chaos ensues. Who really loves whom? Meanwhile, a band of well-meaning but bungling local actors have their rehearsal sabotaged by the mischievous Puck, who bewitches their leader, Bottom, and Titania, the Fairy Queen. The result is a lively and anarchic comedy which can only be resolved by an elaborate disentangling of spells.
Hermia is played by Amanda Root, Oberon by David Harewood, and Bottom by Roy Hudd.
ACT IScene 1. In Athens, preparations are underway for the wedding of Duke Theseus to Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons. An angry father, Egeus, comes to the ducal palace and accuses Lysander of bewitching his daughter Hermia, even though she is already betrothed to Demetrius. Hermia confesses her love for Lysander, and Theseus tells her that according to the law, she must either die or enter a nunnery if she refuses to marry the man chosen by her father. He gives her until the new moon to decide. Hermia and Lysander decide to run away; they agree to meet the following night in a wood outside the city. They tell Helena, Hermia’s childhood friend, of their plan; she, however, is in love with Demetrius, who has rejected her for Hermia, and she hopes to regain his favor by telling him of the lovers’ intentions.Scene 2. A group of Athenian workmen, “rude mechanicals,” are preparing an entertainment to be performed at the Duke’s wedding. They have chosen “the most lamentable comedy and most cruel death of Pyramus and Thisby.”
ACT IIScene 1. In a wood near Athens, Oberon and Titania, King and Queen of the Fairies, argue over a changeling boy. Titania has adopted him, but Oberon wants him for an attendant. When Titania refuses to give in, Oberon summons his servant, the mischievous sprite Puck. Oberon instructs him to find an enchanted flower, the juice of which, when laid on a sleeper’s eyelid, will cause him or her to fall in love with the first creature seen on awaking. He thus hopes to force her into giving him the boy. While Puck is gone, Oberon observes Helena and Demetrius, who have followed Hermia and Lysander into the wood. Demetrius rejects Helena peremptorily. When Puck returns with the flower, Oberon tells him to lay some of its juice on the eye of the “disdainful youth,” whom he will know by his Athenian clothes.Scene 2. Oberon squeezes the juice of the magic flower on Titania’s eyelids. Lysander and Helena fall asleep nearby. Puck mistakes Lysander for Demetrius and drops the juice on his eye. Demetrius and Helena arrive and Lysander awakes, promptly falling in love with Helena. Hermia wakes to find herself left alone.
ACT IIIScene 1. Near where Titania lies sleeping, the “rude mechanicals” rehearse their play. Puck, who has been watching the rehearsal with amusement, places the head of an ass on Bottom’s shoulders. His fellow actors run away terrified. Titania awakes and falls instantly in love with Bottom.Scene 2. Oberon is delighted at what has happened to Titania, but angered when he realizes that the sprite has mistaken Lysander for Demetrius. To right the error, he lays juice on the lids of the sleeping Demetrius. When the young man wakes, the first person he sees is Helena, and he duly falls in love with her. Helena, now beloved of both the youths, is certain they are teasing her cruelly. Hermia is distraught when Lysander rejects her and accuses Helena of stealing her beloved. Lysander and Demetrius leave to settle their quarrel over Helena by combat, but Oberon orders Puck to send them to sleep. Puck then lays an antidote to the love juice on Lysander’s eyelids. Meanwhile Helena and Hermia fall asleep beside their lovers.
ACT IVScene 1. Oberon sees Titania sleeping beside Bottom. He pities her and, on undoing the spell, they are reconciled. Puck removes Bottom’s

Show book