Classic Irish Fiction

"A House of Pomegranates" (1891) is a collection of fairy tales, written by Oscar Wilde, that was published as a second collection for "The Happy Prince and Other Tales" (1888). Wilde once said that this collection was "intended neither for the British child nor the British public."

When a student arrives in a small town, seeking a quiet place where he can study in peace, he rents an old mansion where a notorious hanging judge once lived. But once he begins receiving regular nightly visits by an enormous rat with malevolent eyes, he soon discovers why the locals fear the judge’s house.

This collection brings together the best British writing of the 20th century, narrated by a trio of beloved voices from the stage and screen. From the ghost stories of M.R. James to the intensity of D.H. Lawrence’s Sons and Lovers, as well as the intrigue of Joseph Conrad’s spy thriller, The Secret Agent, these enthralling modern classics will delight every listener. These classic stories are read by The Jewel in the Crown’s Tim Pigott-Smith; legendary Shakespearean actor Sir Michael Hordern; and Sir Ian McKellen.

Mary Shelley's 1818 novel presents the Faustian story of a man who aspires to create life out of death, with disastrous results. The novel is constructed as a series of first-person narratives, delivered by Captain Robert Walton, Victor Frankenstein, and his Creature, which makes it perfect for a dramatic reading presented by actor author Geoffrey Giuliano.

James Hogg was an 19th century Scottish writer. Mary Burnet is a traditional Scottish ghost story which he retold.

This classic tale, set in the jungle of the Belgian Congo, tells the story of Marlow's search for the powerful and possibly deranged Kurtz, in an atmosphere of evil. This novel was later adapted and updated by Francis Ford Coppola as his film Apocalypse Now.

À Middlemarch, cité imaginaire de la province anglaise, vers 1830, la jeune et intelligente Dorothée aspire à de grandes réalisations. Elle épouse le pasteur Casaubon, beaucoup plus âgé qu'elle et espère aider son mari dans les travaux de recherche pour un livre qui devrait être son chef d'œuvre. Mais Casaubon ne la prend pas sérieux, la néglige. De plus, il prend ombrage de l'amitié qui rapproche Will Ladislaw, son cousin, et Dorothée. Ce mariage se révèle être une erreur.

Das Leben und die Liebe kennt die junge Catherine Morland nur aus der Literatur - bis sie eines Tages dem charmanten und lebensfrohen Henry Tilney...

A British newspaper editor in India does some favors for a memorable pair of strangers who confide in him their plan to become kings in Afghanistan. Then, two years later, he has a bizarre return visit - kings they have become, sure enough, but they've found the price of kingly mistakes was very high!

The setting is the years prior to the outbreak of World War I. It is a time when Germany is outwardly preparing for war, but Britain continues to believe it is invincible and that no one would challenge her. A vast German spy network flourishes in England, often in plain view. The main character is Francis Norgate, an aspiring British diplomat who falls in disfavor with his superiors for defending a woman while stationed in Berlin. The resulting scandal causes Norgate to be recalled.

A House of Pomegranates (1891) is a collection of four fairy tales by Oscar Wilde: "The Young King," "The Birthday of the Infanta," "The Fisherman and His Soul," and "The Star Child." These magical, beautiful, tragic, and cynical tales will charm listeners of any age. Narrated by Noel Badrian, and performed by a full cast.

La colección Arlequín reúne los cuentos clásicos de siempre en 24 libros de formato muy práctico para los pequeños de la casa, con textos sencillos que ayudarán a los primeros lectores a disfrutar de sus historias preferidas: Bambi, Aladino, Pinocho, Alicia, Ricitos de Oro, La Bella y la Bestia, La ratita presumida, y así hasta 24 títulos.

Amiable but stolid peer Bill, Lord Dawlish, possessor of a slender income and a querulous fiancée, resolves to seek his fortune in America. But before he can even get on the boat, he discovers that the eccentric American millionaire whom he cured of slicing his approach-shots on the links at Marvis Bay a few months earlier has unexpectedly left him five million dollars, as a reward for his altruistic action. But to Bill, noblesse more or less obliges him to share the fortune with the old man's disinherited niece, Elizabeth.

The late 16th-century penal debt bond, which allowed an unsatisfied creditor to seize the body of his debtor, set in motion a series of precedents that would shape the legal, philosophical, and moral issue of property-in-person in England and America for centuries. Focusing on this historical juncture at which debt litigation was not merely an aspect of society but seemed to engulf it completely, Of Bondage examines a culture that understood money and the body of the borrower as comparable forms of property that impinged on one another at the moment of default.

Victor Frankenstein, un jeune étudiant brillant, crée de toutes pièces un être à l'apparence humaine. Bien vite, il regrette son geste. En effet, la créature prend l'apparence d'un monstre sanguinaire qui ne pense qu'à semer la mort et le malheur sur son passage et qui persécute son créateur. Au travers de l'histoire de Victor Frankenstein et de son monstre, Mary W. Shelley nous pose la question de l'origine de la cruauté humaine. Le monstre de Frankenstein est rejeté par tous. Il aimerait avoir des relations avec les humains mais ceux-ci le fuient. Il devient alors violent et s'en prend aux personnes qu'il rencontre.

Dans l'Angleterre victorienne, Oliver Twist, jeune orphelin angélique, est recueilli par l'assistance ; il est placé chez M. et Mme Sowerberry, fabricant de cercueils et croque-mort de son état. Là, il ne connaît que privations et mauvais traitements. Oliver endure tout, jusqu'au jour où une provocation d'un apprenti le pousse à se battre puis à s'enfuir vers Londres.

Ein Wirbelsturm im Chinesischen Meer wird zur dramatischen Zerreißprobe für Schiff, Besatzung und Passagiere.

"The Hunting of the Snark: An Agony in 8 Fits" is usually thought of as a nonsense poem written by Lewis Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson) in 1874, when he was 42 years old. It describes with infinite humour the impossible voyage of an improbable crew to find an inconceivable creature. The poem borrows occasionally from Carroll's short poem "Jabberwocky" in "Through the Looking Glass" (especially the poem's creatures and portmanteau words), but it is a stand-alone work, first published in 1876 by Macmillan.

"Lord Jim" is a novel by Joseph Conrad originally published as a serial in "Blackwood's Magazine" from October 1899 to November 1900. An early and primary event is the abandonment of a ship in distress by its crew including the young British seaman Jim. He is publicly censured for this action and the novel follows his later attempts at coming to terms with his past. In 1998, the Modern Library ranked "Lord Jim" #85 on its list of the 100 best English language novels of the 20th century.

"David Copperfield" ou L'Histoire, les aventures et l'expérience personnelles de David Copperfield le jeune a paru en 1850 sous forme de feuilleton illustré. Orphelin de père, le jeune garçon rebelle sera séparé de sa mère pour l'internat puis envoyé à l'usine et laissé à lui-même mais ses péripéties l'amènent à faire la rencontre de personnages hauts en couleur et à vivre des aventures pleines de rebondissements. À la fois tragique, humoristique, truffée d'anecdotes et très vivante, l'épopée du héros rencontrera un vif succès dès sa parution.