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  God Sees the Truth But Waits -...

  Leo Tolstoy

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  Leo Tolstoy was born in 1828 in the Russian province of Tula to a wealthy noble family. As a child, he had private tutors but he showed little interest in any formal education. When he went to the University of Kazan in 1843 to study oriental languages and law, he left without completing his courses.  Life now was relaxed and idle but with some writing also taking place.  Gambling debts forced an abrupt change of path and he joined the army to fight in the Crimean War.  He was commended for his bravery and promoted but was appalled at the brutality and loss of life.  He recorded these and other earlier experiences in his diaries which formed the basis of several of his works. 
  In 1852 ‘Childhood’ was published to immediate success and was followed by ‘Boyhood’ and ‘Youth’. 
  His experience in the army and the horrors he witnessed resulted in ‘The Cossacks’ in 1862 and the trilogy ‘Sevastopol Tales’. After the war he travelled around Europe, visiting London and Paris and meeting such luminaries as Victor Hugo and Charles Darwin.  
  It was now that Tolstoy began his masterpiece, ‘War and Peace’. Published in 1869 it was an epic work that changed literature. He quickly followed this with ‘Anna Karenina’.  
  These successes made Tolstoy rich and helped him accomplish many of his dreams but also brought problems as he grappled with his faith and the lot of the oppressed poor. These revolutionary views became so popular that the authorities now kept him under surveillance.  
  He led a life of asceticism and vegetarianism and put his socialist ideals into practice by establishing numerous schools for the poor and food programmes. He also believed in giving away his wealth, which caused much discord with his wife.  
  His writing continued to bring forth classics such as ‘The Death of Ivan Ilyich’ and many brilliant and incisive short stories such as ‘How Much Land Does A Man Need’.  
  In 1901 Tolstoy was excommunicated from the Church and controversially deselected for the Nobel Prize for Literature. 
  Whilst undertaking a pilgrimage by train in October 1910 with his daughter Aleksandra he caught pneumonia in the nearby town of Astapovo.  Leo Tolstoy died on November 9th, 1910, he was 82.

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  The Nutcracker and the Mouse King

  E. T. A. Hoffman

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  This timeless story written in 1816 continues to enchant audiences of all ages. When young Marie Stahlbaum's favorite Christmas toy, the Nutcracker, comes alive, she realizes that she is about to start the adventure of a lifetime. After defeating the evil Mouse King in battle, her handsome Nutcracker whisks her away to a magical kingdom populated by dolls.

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  Heidi

  Johanna Spyri

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  A heartwarming, classic tale that has been enjoyed by generations of children and adults alike, Heidi tells the story of a young orphan whose innocent and boundless love transforms the lives of all she encounters. Having to adapt to new and uncomfortable surroundings more often than most by her age, Heidi finds joy in the mundane, beauty in the outcasts, and hope in the most dismal of situations. An inspiration not just to the friends she makes along the way, but also to anyone who has heard her story, this novel will inspire optimism and a longing for the beauty of nature in anyone who hears it, young and old.This series, published by ONE audiobooks, seeks to produce Classic titles read by well known and loved audiobook narrators. ONE takes great care to cast these titles with readers who will provide an unmatched listening experience for these important works.Tamaryn Payne brings her passion to every performance and is considered to be one of the top audiobook narrators in the industry.

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  Dracula

  Bram Stoker

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  "I could feel the soft, shivering touch of the lips on the super-sensitive skin of my throat and the hard dents of two sharp teeth, just touching and pausing there. I closed my eyes in a languorous ecstasy and waited waited with beating heart." 
  In equal measures mesmerizing as it is diabolical, Dracula, told in epistolary format, is the story of Count Dracula and his attempt to move from Transylvania to England and the battle between him and a small team of people led by Professor Abraham Van Helsing.

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  Lord of the Dynamos The...

  H. G. Wells

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  "The Lord of the Dynamos" is a British short story by H.G. Wells. It was originally published in the Pall Mall Budget (6 September 1894), and then included in the collection The Stolen Bacillus and Other Incidents, published by Methuen & Co. in 1895, and subsequently in his Complete Short Stories. It deals with what Wells describes as "certain odd possibilities of the negro mind brought into abrupt contact with the crown of our civilisation" and the narration displays racist attitudes common among British society of the time, in addition to the overt thuggish racism of the character Holroyd.

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  Agnes Grey

  Anne Brontë

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  "Agnes Grey" is a novel written by Anne Brontë, the youngest of the Brontë sisters. The book was first published in 1847 under the pseudonym Acton Bell. It is a semi-autobiographical novel that provides a poignant and insightful portrayal of the life of a governess in the 19th century. The novel follows the life of the protagonist, Agnes Grey, who becomes a governess to support her financially struggling family. Agnes faces various challenges and hardships in her role as a governess, dealing with unruly and spoiled children as well as indifferent and sometimes cruel employers. The narrative explores themes of social class, morality, and the limited opportunities available to women in the Victorian era. Through Agnes's experiences, the novel offers a critical commentary on the treatment of governesses and the prevailing social norms of the time.

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