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  Ashputtel - Story Time Episode 1...

  Brothers Grimm

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  Ashputtel is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world. The protagonist is a young woman living in forsaken circumstances that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune, with her ascension to the throne via marriage. The story of Rhodopis, recounted by the Greek geographer Strabo sometime between around 7 BC and AD 23, about a Greek slave girl who marries the king of Egypt, is usually considered to be the earliest known variant of the Cinderella story.

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  The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

  Mark Twain

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  Published in 1876, "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" is an American classic written by Mark Twain. The novel focuses on the youthful escapades of Tom Sawyer, a mischievous and imaginative boy who lives in the fictional town of St. Petersburg, Missouri. Along with his friends, particularly Huckleberry Finn, Tom embarks on a series of adventures ranging from treasure hunting to fighting crime. The book explores themes of childhood, friendship, and moral development and offers a nostalgic look at life along the Mississippi River during the 19th century.

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  Cool Air - From their pens to...

  H P Lovecraft

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  Howard Phillips Lovecraft is among the greatest American masters of fantasy and the supernatural.  
  Born in 1890, a native of Providence, Rhode Island, his health was uncertain from childhood and he led a sheltered early life. His semi-invalidism enabled him to read omnivorously, and as a shy imaginative child he began to invent what would in his adult life become a whole macabre fantastic world of his own, peopled by creatures out of his own weird imagination.  
  As an adult he was retiring, almost a recluse. Tall, thin and pale, but with bright alert eyes, he was much given to wandering his native city in the dark hours of the night, and he became a devoted student of its antiquities.  
  Although he began to write early he had nothing published until he was in his twenties. He set many of his stories around the imaginary town of Arkham, and invented an entire mythology of his own, its core being the demoniac cult of Cthulhu, based on the lore or legend that the world was at one time inhabited by another race who, in practising black magic, lost their foothold or were expelled, yet live on outside, ever ready to take possession of this earth again. 
  Since his early death in 1937 his stories have continued to attract attention and praise from an ever-growing audience.

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  The Merchant Of Venice

  William Shakespeare

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  The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare is a timeless classic that explores themes of justice, mercy, love, and prejudice. Set in the vibrant city of Venice, the story follows the complex relationship between Antonio, a melancholic merchant, and Shylock, a Jewish moneylender. 
   
  Antonio’s dear friend Bassanio seeks to court the wealthy and beautiful Portia but lacks the funds to do so. To help his friend, Antonio borrows money from Shylock, offering a pound of his own flesh as collateral if he cannot repay the loan. As circumstances unfold, Antonio’s ships are lost at sea, and he finds himself unable to repay the debt. Shylock, deeply wronged by the discrimination he has faced, seeks to enforce their bond and claim his pound of flesh, sparking a tense legal battle that tests the concepts of justice and revenge. 
   
  Portia, disguised as a lawyer, enters the courtroom in a dramatic attempt to save Antonio, ultimately challenging Shylock’s rigid interpretation of the law. Through its intricate plot and memorable characters, the play delves into the moral and ethical dilemmas faced by each individual, offering a thought-provoking reflection on human nature and the consequences of our choices. 
   
  This audiobook brings the rich language of Shakespeare to life, immersing listeners in the intensity of the courtroom drama, the romance of Bassanio and Portia, and the profound struggles of identity and morality. With its engaging narration and timeless relevance, The Merchant of Venice continues to captivate audiences with its exploration of loyalty, vengeance, and the complexity of mercy. A must-listen for lovers of classic literature, this audiobook provides a fresh and dynamic interpretation of one of Shakespeare's most iconic works.

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  Frankenstein

  Mary Shelley

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  A POWERFUL FULL-CAST DRAMATIC MARATHON “Beware; for I am fearless, and therefore powerful.” Mary Shelley was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus in 1818, which is considered an early example of science fiction. She also edited and promoted the works of her husband, the Romantic poet, and philosopher Percy Bysshe Shelley. Her father was the political philosopher William Godwin and her mother the philosopher and feminist activist Mary Wollstonecraft.Shelley's mother died less than a month after giving birth to her. She was raised by her father, who provided her with a rich if informal education, encouraging her to adhere to his own anarchist political theories. When she was four, her father married a neighbor, Mary Jane Clairmont, with whom Shelley came to have a troubled relationship.In 1814, Shelley began a romance with one of her father's political followers, Percy Bysshe Shelley, who was already married. Together with her stepsister, Claire Clairmont, she and Percy left for France and traveled through Europe. Upon their return to England, Shelley was pregnant with Percy's child. Over the next two years, she and Percy faced ostracism, constant debt, and the death of their prematurely born daughter. They married in late 1816, after the suicide of Percy Shelley's first wife, Harriet.In 1816, the couple and her stepsister famously spent a summer with Lord Byron and John William Polidori near Geneva, Switzerland, where Shelley conceived the idea for her novel Frankenstein. The Shelleys left Britain in 1818 for Italy, where their second and third children died before Shelley gave birth to her last and only surviving child, Percy Florence Shelley.

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  A Respectable Woman - From their...

  Kate Chopin

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  Katherine O'Flaherty was born on the 8th February 1850 in St Louis, Missouri to parents of French and Irish descent. 
  At age 5, she was sent to the Sacred Heart Academy and, apart from a 2 year period at home when her father died, remained there until graduating in 1868.  Whilst there she began writing and became an avid reader of almost anything that crossed her path.   
  Kate married Oscar Chopin in 1870 and the couple moved to New Orleans, and later to the rural setting of Cloutierville, Louisiana to raise their 6 children.  
  In 1882 her husband died leaving her in a deep trench of debt.  Despite her best efforts to turn the businesses around they were sold, and she moved the family back to St Louis and the financial help of her mother.  Sadly, her mother died within the year.  Kate, now struggling with depression, pushed herself to write and gained a local reputation as a writer of short stories that captured the local color and vibrancy of her surroundings. 
  By the early 1890’s her short stories were published nationally.  With this widespread audience also came negative reviews, controversy, and cries of immorality as themes such as interracial relationships, the rights of women and other burning issues of the day were written about. 
  Despite the criticism, which unnerved her, she continued to write though in the main her works, around 100 short stories and two novels, were not attributed with any literary worth. 
  Kate Chopin died from a brain haemorrhage in St Louis Missouri on the 22nd of August 1904.  She was 54. 
  For much of the 20th Century her work was forgotten and out of print.  It was only in early 1970’s, with the rise of feminism and the call for a more just society that she was given the status her works had long described and shone a literary light at.  She is now safely revered as one of America’s great authors.

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