The Comedy of Errors
Argo Classics
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $14.51
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
About this listen
William Collins Books and Decca Records are proud to present ARGO Classics, a historic catalogue of classic prose and verse read by some of the world’s most renowned voices. Originally released as vinyl records, these expertly remastered stories are now available to download for the first time.
‘We came into the world like brother and brother,
And now let's go hand in hand, not one before another.’
How do any of us really know who we are? A man arrives in a strange town only to find that everyone knows his name, but thinks he’s someone else. A woman wonders why her husband is not the man he was, but starts to rather like it. Confusion mounts as everyone uncouples from themselves. Will they ever find themselves again? And do they really want to?
All of the Shakespeare plays within the ARGO Classics catalogue are performed by the Marlowe Dramatic Society and Professional Players. The Marlowe was founded in 1907 with a mission to focus on effective delivery of verse, respect the integrity of texts, and rescue neglected plays by Shakespeare’s contemporaries and the less performed plays of Shakespeare himself. The Marlowe has performed annually at Cambridge Arts Theatre since its opening in 1936 and continues to produce some of the finest actors of their generations.
Thurston Dart, Professor of Music at London University and a Fellow of Jesus College Cambridge, directed the music for this production.
The full cast includes: Denis McCarthy; Michael Hordern; George Rylands; George Rylands; Michael Bates; Michael Bates; Peter Orr; Clive Swift; Terrence Hardiman; Dudley Jones; Lally Bowers; Joan Hart; Janette Richer; Janette Richer; Prunella Scales.
Public Domain (P)2020 HarperCollins Publishers LtdListeners also enjoyed...
-
The Comedy of Errors
- Arkangel Shakespeare
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: David Tennant, Brendan Coyle, Alan Cox, and others
- Length: 1 hr and 27 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Chaos and confusion mount to a crescendo in a wild and fast-paced comedy of mistaken identity, one of Shakespeare's earliest plays. Young Antipholus of Syracuse is searching the world for his identical twin brother, separated from him at birth. With him is his servant Dromio, who lost his twin brother at the same time. The pair arrive in Ephesus where, unbeknownst to them, their twins are living.
-
-
Ill deeds is doubled with an evil word
- By Darwin8u on 03-16-17
-
Measure for Measure
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: John Gielgud, Ralph Richardson
- Length: 2 hrs and 26 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Renowned Shakespearean actors John Gielgud and Ralph Richardson lead a full-cast performance of this beloved Shakespeare play. Dealing with issues of mercy, justice, and truth, and their relationship to pride and humility, this is Shakespeare at his most complex and rewarding.
-
-
wonderful production
- By KSK5 on 01-26-19
-
The Taming of the Shrew
- Arkangel Shakespeare
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Frances Barber, Roger Allam, Alan Cox
- Length: 2 hrs and 17 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Padua holds many suitors for the hand of fair Bianca, but Bianca may not be married until her spinster sister, Kate, is wed. Could any man be rash enough to take on Kate? The witty adventurer Petruchio undertakes the task. While he sets about transforming Kate from foul-tempered termagant to loving wife, young Lucentio and his clever servant, Tranio, plot to win Bianca.
-
-
Problem play
- By Tad Davis on 01-24-15
-
Coriolanus
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Richard Burton, Jessica Tandy
- Length: 3 hrs and 20 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A classic performance of one of the Bard's classics.
-
-
Amazing
- By Fificat on 04-01-18
-
Macbeth: The Arkangel Shakespeare
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Hugh Ross, Harriet Walter
- Length: 2 hrs and 18 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The brave warrior Macbeth allows himself to be persuaded by Lady Macbeth, his wife, to slay good King Duncan and seize the throne of Scotland for himself. Macbeth achieves his ambition, but one murder proves not to be enough as he desperately attempts to eliminate all who might threaten his ill-gotten power. Descending into paranoia, Macbeth achieves his ambition but ravages his soul.
-
-
Best theatrical recording for teaching!!!
- By Amazon Customer on 11-19-18
-
Timon of Athens
- Arkangel Shakespeare
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Alan Howard, Norman Rodway, Damian Lewis
- Length: 2 hrs and 18 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The fabulously rich Timon believes all his friends to be as open-hearted and generous as himself. When his wealth suddenly evaporates, however, he discovers the truth and his altruism turns to a bitter hatred of mankind. Stirred up by the cynical Apemantus, Timon retreats to the woods where he plots the destruction of Athens, the city that had formerly seemed to embody everything pleasurable and civilized. The cosmic scope of his hatred is communicated in a series of powerful and disturbing dramatic tableaux.
-
-
Here lies a wretched corse of wretched soul bereft
- By Darwin8u on 11-01-17
-
The Comedy of Errors
- Arkangel Shakespeare
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: David Tennant, Brendan Coyle, Alan Cox, and others
- Length: 1 hr and 27 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Chaos and confusion mount to a crescendo in a wild and fast-paced comedy of mistaken identity, one of Shakespeare's earliest plays. Young Antipholus of Syracuse is searching the world for his identical twin brother, separated from him at birth. With him is his servant Dromio, who lost his twin brother at the same time. The pair arrive in Ephesus where, unbeknownst to them, their twins are living.
-
-
Ill deeds is doubled with an evil word
- By Darwin8u on 03-16-17
-
Measure for Measure
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: John Gielgud, Ralph Richardson
- Length: 2 hrs and 26 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Renowned Shakespearean actors John Gielgud and Ralph Richardson lead a full-cast performance of this beloved Shakespeare play. Dealing with issues of mercy, justice, and truth, and their relationship to pride and humility, this is Shakespeare at his most complex and rewarding.
-
-
wonderful production
- By KSK5 on 01-26-19
-
The Taming of the Shrew
- Arkangel Shakespeare
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Frances Barber, Roger Allam, Alan Cox
- Length: 2 hrs and 17 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Padua holds many suitors for the hand of fair Bianca, but Bianca may not be married until her spinster sister, Kate, is wed. Could any man be rash enough to take on Kate? The witty adventurer Petruchio undertakes the task. While he sets about transforming Kate from foul-tempered termagant to loving wife, young Lucentio and his clever servant, Tranio, plot to win Bianca.
-
-
Problem play
- By Tad Davis on 01-24-15
-
Coriolanus
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Richard Burton, Jessica Tandy
- Length: 3 hrs and 20 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A classic performance of one of the Bard's classics.
-
-
Amazing
- By Fificat on 04-01-18
-
Macbeth: The Arkangel Shakespeare
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Hugh Ross, Harriet Walter
- Length: 2 hrs and 18 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The brave warrior Macbeth allows himself to be persuaded by Lady Macbeth, his wife, to slay good King Duncan and seize the throne of Scotland for himself. Macbeth achieves his ambition, but one murder proves not to be enough as he desperately attempts to eliminate all who might threaten his ill-gotten power. Descending into paranoia, Macbeth achieves his ambition but ravages his soul.
-
-
Best theatrical recording for teaching!!!
- By Amazon Customer on 11-19-18
-
Timon of Athens
- Arkangel Shakespeare
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Alan Howard, Norman Rodway, Damian Lewis
- Length: 2 hrs and 18 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The fabulously rich Timon believes all his friends to be as open-hearted and generous as himself. When his wealth suddenly evaporates, however, he discovers the truth and his altruism turns to a bitter hatred of mankind. Stirred up by the cynical Apemantus, Timon retreats to the woods where he plots the destruction of Athens, the city that had formerly seemed to embody everything pleasurable and civilized. The cosmic scope of his hatred is communicated in a series of powerful and disturbing dramatic tableaux.
-
-
Here lies a wretched corse of wretched soul bereft
- By Darwin8u on 11-01-17
-
As You Like It
- Arkangel Shakespeare
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Niamh Cusack, Stephen Mangan, Victoria Hamilton, and others
- Length: 2 hrs and 27 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Rosalind, daughter of the deposed Duke Senior, is exiled from the court by her wicked uncle. Disguising herself as a young man and accompanied by her cousin Celia, she takes refuge in the Forest of Arden. In the forest Rosalind meets Orlando with whom she is in love, but her male disguise complicates matters, especially when Rosalind finds she has unwittingly attracted the shepherdess Phebe. But out of the confusion comes reconciliation and forgiveness, and all ends happily.
-
-
Can't bother with a title
- By Darwin8u on 07-27-17
-
Macbeth
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Stephen Dillane, Fiona Shaw, full cast
- Length: 2 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
By the time Shakespeare came to write Macbeth - almost certainly in 1605/1606 - he had already completed three of the great tragedies with which modern audiences are so familiar: Hamlet (1601), Othello (1603), and King Lear (1605). Each of those plays gives us an eponymous hero who is in some significant way flawed, but for whom we also inevitably feel deep sympathy, whatever his errors or crimes. But in MacBeth, Shakespeare has chosen for his tragic hero a man guilty of the most terrible crime imaginable to a Jacobean audience, that of regicide - the murder of a king.
-
-
Fire burn and cauldron bubble - an excellent stew
- By Marius on 04-06-04
-
Romeo and Juliet
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Calista Flockhart, Matthew Wolf, Julie White, and others
- Length: 2 hrs and 53 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The most iconic love story of all time, Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is an epic-scale tragedy of desire and revenge. Despite the bitter rivalry that exists between their families, Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet have fallen madly in love. But when the long-running rivalry boils over into murder, the young couple must embark on a dangerous and deadly mission to preserve their love at any cost. An L.A. Theatre Works full-cast performance featuring Calista Flockhart as Juliet.
-
-
Listening to Shakespeare is easier than reading
- By A. Yoshida on 04-19-14
-
The Taming of the Shrew
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Trevor Howard, Margaret Leighton, David Dodimead, and others
- Length: 1 hr and 58 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Kiss me, Kate, we will be married o'Sunday
-
-
Ahh, Shakespeare ...
- By Vasilia on 11-25-13
-
Julius Caesar
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Andrew Buchan, Sean Barrett
- Length: 2 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Julius Caesar is one of Shakespeare’s most compelling Roman plays. The plot against Caesar and the infamous assassination scene make for unforgettable listening. Brutus, the true protagonist of the play, is mesmerizing in his psychological state of anguish, forced to choose between the bonds of friendship and his desire for patriotic justice.
-
-
The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars
- By David on 04-05-14
-
The Merchant of Venice
- Arkangel Shakespeare
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Trevor Peacock, Bill Nighy, Haydn Gwynne, and others
- Length: 2 hrs and 16 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Shakespeare's most controversial play, the opposing values of justice and mercy must be resolved. Antonio promises money to help his friend Bassanio woo Portia. He borrows the sum needed from the cruel Shylock, but there will be a dreadful penalty if the loan is not repaid. The golden world of Portia's Belmont calls forth some of Shakespeare's most lyrical love poetry. But the dark shadow of Shylock is never far from the heart of this brilliant comedy as it moves toward its courtroom climax.
-
-
One Of Shakespeare's Best
- By M. J. Christensen on 06-07-15
-
Henry V
- Arkangel Shakespeare
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Jamie Glover, Brian Cox, Elizabeth Spriggs
- Length: 3 hrs and 8 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Henry V is a study of kingship, patriotism, and heroic determination tempered by tender comedy as Henry courts Katherine, princess of France. Henry, the noble and courageous young king of England, decides to invade France, believing he has a rightful claim to the throne. At Agincourt he leads his army into battle against the powerful French forces and, against all the odds, wins a famous victory.
-
-
The Best Version of the Best Thing Ever Written
- By Millerhaus on 02-04-17
-
King Lear
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Paul Scofield, Alec McCowen, Kenneth Branagh
- Length: 3 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The tragedy of King Lear receives an outstanding performance in an all-star cast led by Britain’s senior classical actor, Paul Scofield. He is joined by Alec McCowen as Gloucester, Kenneth Branagh as The Fool, Harriet Walter as Gonerill, Sara Kestelman as Regan and Emilia Fox as Cordelia. This is the ninth recording of Shakespeare plays undertaken by Naxos AudioBooks in conjunction with Cambridge University Press, and is directed by John Tydeman. It was released to mark the 80th birthday of Paul Scofield in January 2002.
-
-
This cold night will turn us all to fools & madmen
- By Darwin8u on 11-01-17
-
Much Ado about Nothing
- Arkangel Shakespeare
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Saskia Reeves, Samuel West, Paul Jesson, and others
- Length: 2 hrs and 8 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Young Claudio has fallen for the lovely heiress Hero, who also loves him. Their path to the altar looks smooth, until the evil Don John intervenes. All ends happily, thanks to his incompetent assassins and the lucky discoveries of the bungling constable Dogberry. Central to the play, one of Shakespeare's best-loved comedies, are Beatrice and Benedick, masters of wit and sworn foes to marriage - until a plot is hatched to bring them together.
-
-
Live in thy heart, die in thy lap
- By Darwin8u on 06-29-17
-
Classic BBC Radio Shakespeare: Tragedies
- Hamlet; Macbeth; Romeo and Juliet
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: full cast, Paul Scofield, Peggy Ashcroft, and others
- Length: 7 hrs and 23 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Three powerful radio productions from the BBC archives starring Ian McKellen, Ronald Pickup and Paul Scofield and a host of celebrated acting talent. These three legendary plays, performed by some of the best-known theatrical actors of the 20th century, are the perfect way to commemorate England's greatest dramatist.
-
-
Abridged
- By Kindle Customer on 07-08-17
-
Twelfth Night
- Arkangel Shakespeare
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Niamh Cusack, Jonathan Firth, Amanda Root, and others
- Length: 2 hrs and 11 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Shakespeare's most sophisticated comedy is a riotous tale of hopelessly unrequited passions and mistaken identity. Duke Orsino is in love with the noblewoman Olivia. She, however, has fallen for his servant Cesario, who is actually Viola, a woman disguised as a man, who loves Orsino: Confusion is rife. Meanwhile, Olivia's arrogant steward Malvolio is cruelly tricked by her uncle Sir Toby Belch, his friend Sir Andrew Aguecheek, and the maidservant Maria into believing his mistress loves him.
-
-
If you be not mad, be gone
- By Darwin8u on 08-24-17
-
Love's Labor's Lost: The Arkangel Shakespeare
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Alex Jennings, Emma Fielding, Samantha Bond, and others
- Length: 2 hrs and 26 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The young king of Navarre and three of his courtiers have vowed to lock themselves away for three years of study and fasting, and to forswear the company of women for this period. No sooner is their vow made than it is tested, however, as the princess of France and three of her ladies arrive in Navarre on a diplomatic mission. The young men fall instantly and hopelessly in love, and the tension between their vow and their passion forms the subject of this charming and sparkling early comedy.
-
-
Honorificabilitudinitatibus!
- By Darwin8u on 03-29-17
Related to this topic
-
The Comedy of Errors
- Arkangel Shakespeare
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: David Tennant, Brendan Coyle, Alan Cox, and others
- Length: 1 hr and 27 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Chaos and confusion mount to a crescendo in a wild and fast-paced comedy of mistaken identity, one of Shakespeare's earliest plays. Young Antipholus of Syracuse is searching the world for his identical twin brother, separated from him at birth. With him is his servant Dromio, who lost his twin brother at the same time. The pair arrive in Ephesus where, unbeknownst to them, their twins are living.
-
-
Ill deeds is doubled with an evil word
- By Darwin8u on 03-16-17
-
The Merchant of Venice
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Antony Sher
- Length: 2 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Shylock, a Jewish moneylender, agrees to lend Antonio, a Venetian merchant, three thousand ducats so that his friend Bassanio can afford to court his love, Portia. However, Shylock has one condition: Should the loan go unpaid, he will be entitled to a pound of Antonio's own flesh. Meanwhile in Belmont, according to the terms of her father's will, Portia's many suitors must choose correctly from three caskets. Bassanio arrives at Portia's estate and they declare their love for one another before he picks the correct casket.
-
-
Great production, difficult play
- By Tad Davis on 08-31-09
-
The Decameron
- By: Giovanni Boccaccio
- Narrated by: Simon Russell Beale, Gunnar Cauthery, Alison Pettitt, and others
- Length: 28 hrs and 5 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Decameron is one of the greatest literary works of the Middle Ages. Ten young people have fled the terrible effects of the Black Death in Florence and, in an idyllic setting, tell a series of brilliant stories, by turns humorous, bawdy, tragic and provocative. This celebration of physical and sexual vitality is Boccaccio's answer to the sublime other-worldliness of Dante's Divine Comedy.
-
-
Not Up to the Usual Naxos Standard
- By John on 11-15-17
-
Falstaff
- Give Me Life
- By: Harold Bloom
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 3 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Falstaff is both a comic and tragic central protagonist in Shakespeare's three Henry plays. He is companion to Prince Hal (the future Henry V), who loves him, goads him, teases him, indulges his vast appetites, and commits all sorts of mischief with him. Award-winning author and esteemed professor Harold Bloom examines Falstaff with the deepest compassion and sympathy and also with unerring wisdom. He uses the relationship between Falstaff and Hal to explore the devastation of severed bonds and the heartbreak of betrayal.
-
-
Falstaff brooks no rebuttal.
- By Darwin8u on 02-06-20
By: Harold Bloom
-
Tales from Shakespeare
- By: Charles Lamb, Mary Lamb
- Narrated by: David McCallion
- Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Tales from Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb is a retelling of 20 of Shakespeare’s most beloved stories. Within the pages of this book, the 19th-century authors bring to life the Shakespearean plots and characters of another age in an easy-to-understand prose of a newer generation.
-
-
A classic
- By Jacque Eddy on 10-07-19
By: Charles Lamb, and others
-
Lear
- The Great Image of Authority
- By: Harold Bloom
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 3 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
King Lear is perhaps the most poignant character in literature. The aged, abused monarch is at once the consummate figure of authority and the classic example of the fall from majesty. He is widely agreed to be William Shakespeare's most moving, tragic hero. Award-winning writer and beloved professor Harold Bloom writes about Lear with wisdom, joy, exuberance, and compassion. He also explores his own personal relationship to the character.
-
-
Bloom being Bloom
- By C. Yuen on 10-05-23
By: Harold Bloom
-
The Comedy of Errors
- Arkangel Shakespeare
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: David Tennant, Brendan Coyle, Alan Cox, and others
- Length: 1 hr and 27 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Chaos and confusion mount to a crescendo in a wild and fast-paced comedy of mistaken identity, one of Shakespeare's earliest plays. Young Antipholus of Syracuse is searching the world for his identical twin brother, separated from him at birth. With him is his servant Dromio, who lost his twin brother at the same time. The pair arrive in Ephesus where, unbeknownst to them, their twins are living.
-
-
Ill deeds is doubled with an evil word
- By Darwin8u on 03-16-17
-
The Merchant of Venice
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Antony Sher
- Length: 2 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Shylock, a Jewish moneylender, agrees to lend Antonio, a Venetian merchant, three thousand ducats so that his friend Bassanio can afford to court his love, Portia. However, Shylock has one condition: Should the loan go unpaid, he will be entitled to a pound of Antonio's own flesh. Meanwhile in Belmont, according to the terms of her father's will, Portia's many suitors must choose correctly from three caskets. Bassanio arrives at Portia's estate and they declare their love for one another before he picks the correct casket.
-
-
Great production, difficult play
- By Tad Davis on 08-31-09
-
The Decameron
- By: Giovanni Boccaccio
- Narrated by: Simon Russell Beale, Gunnar Cauthery, Alison Pettitt, and others
- Length: 28 hrs and 5 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Decameron is one of the greatest literary works of the Middle Ages. Ten young people have fled the terrible effects of the Black Death in Florence and, in an idyllic setting, tell a series of brilliant stories, by turns humorous, bawdy, tragic and provocative. This celebration of physical and sexual vitality is Boccaccio's answer to the sublime other-worldliness of Dante's Divine Comedy.
-
-
Not Up to the Usual Naxos Standard
- By John on 11-15-17
-
Falstaff
- Give Me Life
- By: Harold Bloom
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 3 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Falstaff is both a comic and tragic central protagonist in Shakespeare's three Henry plays. He is companion to Prince Hal (the future Henry V), who loves him, goads him, teases him, indulges his vast appetites, and commits all sorts of mischief with him. Award-winning author and esteemed professor Harold Bloom examines Falstaff with the deepest compassion and sympathy and also with unerring wisdom. He uses the relationship between Falstaff and Hal to explore the devastation of severed bonds and the heartbreak of betrayal.
-
-
Falstaff brooks no rebuttal.
- By Darwin8u on 02-06-20
By: Harold Bloom
-
Tales from Shakespeare
- By: Charles Lamb, Mary Lamb
- Narrated by: David McCallion
- Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Tales from Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb is a retelling of 20 of Shakespeare’s most beloved stories. Within the pages of this book, the 19th-century authors bring to life the Shakespearean plots and characters of another age in an easy-to-understand prose of a newer generation.
-
-
A classic
- By Jacque Eddy on 10-07-19
By: Charles Lamb, and others
-
Lear
- The Great Image of Authority
- By: Harold Bloom
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 3 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
King Lear is perhaps the most poignant character in literature. The aged, abused monarch is at once the consummate figure of authority and the classic example of the fall from majesty. He is widely agreed to be William Shakespeare's most moving, tragic hero. Award-winning writer and beloved professor Harold Bloom writes about Lear with wisdom, joy, exuberance, and compassion. He also explores his own personal relationship to the character.
-
-
Bloom being Bloom
- By C. Yuen on 10-05-23
By: Harold Bloom
-
Don Quixote (Adapted for Modern Listeners)
- By: Miguel de Cervantes
- Narrated by: Johnny Heller
- Length: 4 hrs and 39 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Quixotic is a word that the dictionary defines as "extravagantly chivalrous or romantic; visionary...." and that is a fitting definition, indeed, for this charming retelling of Don Quixote, the 17t- century Spanish classic by Miguel de Cervantes, now updated for the modern listener. The gallant and fragile Quixote will touch listeners, as will his faithful squire Sancho Panza and the tragically beautiful heroine of the gentle Don’s chivalries, the fair Dulcinea.
-
-
Great way in
- By pxriver on 07-12-18
-
Don Quixote
- By: John Ormsby - translator, Miguel de Cervantes
- Narrated by: Roy McMillan
- Length: 36 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The most influential work of the entire Spanish literary canon and a founding work of modern Western literature, Don Quixote is also one of the greatest works ever written. Hugely entertaining but also moving at times, this episodic novel is built on the fantasy life of one Alonso Quixano, who lives with his niece and housekeeper in La Mancha. Quixano, obsessed by tales of knight errantry, renames himself ‘Don Quixote’ and with his faithful servant Sancho Panza, goes on a series of quests.
-
-
More than funny
- By Colin on 08-21-11
By: John Ormsby - translator, and others
-
The Arabian Nights
- By: Andrew Lang - translator
- Narrated by: Suehyla El Attar
- Length: 11 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Full of mischief, valor, ribaldry, and romance, The Arabian Nights has enthralled readers for centuries. These are the tales that saved the life of Scheherazade, whose husband, the king, executed each of his wives after a single night of marriage. Beginning an enchanting story each evening, Scheherazade always withheld the ending: A thousand and one nights later, her life was spared forever.
-
-
Not unabridged Burton--this is Lang
- By Richard and Diana Chicago on 06-25-12
-
Gargantua and Pantagruel
- By: François Rabelais
- Narrated by: Bill Homewood
- Length: 34 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Here is a grotesque and carnivalesque collection of exuberant, fantastical stories that takes us from the ancient world through to the European Renaissance. At the heart of these tall tales are the giant Gargantua and his equally seismic son, Pantagruel. Containing magical adventures, maniacal punning, slapstick humor, erudite allusions, and just about any bodily function one can think of, here is quite possibly the zaniest, most risqué book ever written.
-
-
The king of all the narrators
- By amazon on 02-13-20
-
Tales from Shakespeare
- The Lambs' Tales (Puffin Classics)
- By: Charles Lamb, Mary Lamb, William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Alan Cumming, Nigel Davenport, Andrew Sachs, and others
- Length: 3 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A perfect introduction for all ages to the breadth and beauty of Shakespeare's work, Tales from Shakespearehas become a classic work in its own right. The tales bring vividly alive the power of Hamlet and Macbeth, the fun of A Midsummer Night's Dream, and the drama of The Tempest. Blending detailed narrative with original dialogue and poetic language, they fully convey the wit, wisdom, and imagination of Shakespeare's magnificent plays.
-
-
Not all of the stories
- By GPH on 08-22-18
By: Charles Lamb, and others
-
Shakespeare for Children
- By: Charles Lamb, Mary Lamb
- Narrated by: Josephine Bailey
- Length: 5 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Introduce your children to the magic of Shakespeare with these 20 favorite tales. Although simplified, these lively stories don't underestimate young readers; they keep the complexity, twists of plot, and turns of fate found in the originals.
-
-
NOT unabridged
- By Erica on 11-06-07
By: Charles Lamb, and others
-
The Canterbury Tales: A Retelling
- By: Peter Ackroyd
- Narrated by: Keith Moore, Toby Leonard Moore, Colin McPhillamy, and others
- Length: 16 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Author Peter Ackroyd has won the Somerset Maugham Award, the Whitbread Novel of the Year, and the Guardian Fiction Prize, and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Based on Geoffrey Chaucer’s immortal work, this retelling of The Canterbury Tales follows a party of travelers as they tell stories amongst themselves about love and chivalry, saints and legends, travel and adventure. Through allegory, satire, and humor, the tales help pass the time during their journey.
-
-
WOW
- By Mitchell Drimmer on 02-25-15
By: Peter Ackroyd
-
Don Quixote
- By: Tobias Smollett - translator, Miguel de Cervantes
- Narrated by: Robert Whitfield
- Length: 36 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Don Quixote, the world's first novel and by far the best-known book in Spanish literature, was originally intended by Cervantes as a satire on traditional popular ballads, yet he also parodied the romances of chivalry. By happy coincidence he produced one of the most entertaining adventure stories of all time and, in Don Quixote and his faithful squire, Sancho Panza, two of the greatest characters in fiction.
-
-
A MUST READ CLASSIC
- By Randall on 04-25-09
By: Tobias Smollett - translator, and others
-
The Plays of Sophocles
- Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus, and Antigone
- By: Sophocles
- Narrated by: David McCallion
- Length: 5 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sophocles was born at Colonus, near Athens in about 496 BC and is considered to be one of the premier playwrights of Greek tragedy. His stories may have been filled with strife, but Sophocles himself was prosperous and came from a good family. It is said that he was handsome, wealthy, and a highly respected citizen of Athens. During his life, he wrote over 120 plays and was instrumental in how plays would eventually be performed, including the addition of stage props.
-
-
Bad Dialogue
- By Zoe Olvera on 08-12-18
By: Sophocles
-
Samson Agonistes
- By: John Milton
- Narrated by: David de Keyser, Philip Madoc, Matthew Morgan, and others
- Length: 1 hr and 51 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Samson Agonistes, the 'dramatic poem' by John Milton, was published in 1671, three years before the poet's death. Written in the form of a Greek tragedy, with the Chorus commenting on the action, it follows the biblical story of the blind Samson as he wreaks his revenge on the Philistines who have imprisoned him. A powerful subject, with a personal resonance for the blind Milton, it is a perfect work for the medium of audiobook where poetry and drama can be balanced equally.
-
-
Unbelievable
- By Anonymous User on 11-06-20
By: John Milton
-
Don Quixote
- By: Miguel de Cervantes, Gerald J. Davis - translator
- Narrated by: John Hanks
- Length: 20 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes, follows the adventures of Alonso Quijano, a hidalgo who reads so many chivalric novels that he decides to set out to revive chivalry, under the name Don Quixote. This is the story that a Nobel Prize Committee survey of one hundred of the world's best writers named "the greatest book of all time."
-
-
A wonderful, magical listen
- By K on 12-01-13
By: Miguel de Cervantes, and others
-
Candide (AudioGO Edition)
- By: Voltaire
- Narrated by: Jack Davenport
- Length: 3 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When first published in 1759, Candide became an instant best seller and is now regarded as one of the key texts of the Enlightenment. Voltaire’s preoccupations with evil and with various kinds of human folly and intolerance found a perfect vehicle in this philosophical tale. A master storyteller, he combined often wildly entertaining action with profoundly serious sense, parodying the traditional chivalric and oriental tales with which his public was more familiar.
-
-
Guaranteed to keep you smiling if not LOL
- By Robert on 08-09-12
By: Voltaire