Historical Classics

In the town of Night Vale, there’s a faceless old woman who secretly lives in everyone’s home, but no one knows how she got there or where she came from...until now. Told in a series of eerie flashbacks, the story of The Faceless Old Woman goes back centuries to reveal an initially blissful and then tragic childhood on a Mediterranean Estate in the early 19th century, her rise in the criminal underworld of Europe, a nautical adventure with a mysterious organization of smugglers, her plot for revenge on the ones who betrayed her, and ultimately her death and its aftermath.

Egypt, 1912. In an alternate Cairo infused with the otherworldly, the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments, and Supernatural Entities investigate disturbances between the mortal and the (possibly) divine. What starts off as an odd suicide case for Special Investigator Fatma el-Sha’arawi leads her through the city’s underbelly as she encounters rampaging ghouls, saucy assassins, clockwork angels, and plot that could unravel time itself, in P. Djèlí Clark's Tor.Com Original, A Dead Djinn in Cairo.

Aria by Aria is an illuminating journey through the history and evolution of the operatic voice, tracing the monumental changes in vocal technique, style, and artistic expression from the early days of opera to the modern era. Spanning centuries of operatic history, this compelling book delves deep into the legendary voices that shaped opera as we know it today, and the fascinating transformations that have defined each musical period. From the Baroque period, when singers like Farinelli and Senesino reigned supreme, to the Golden Age of Bel Canto with icons such as Maria Malibran and ...

Love is in the air when five sisters discover that a wealthy and eligible bachelor is suddenly within reach. But it is his friend, the haughty Mr. Darcy, who becomes smitten. Unfortunately for him, the object of his affection is not so easily swayed. One of the most popular characters in English literature, Elizabeth Bennet is intelligent, witty, well-spoken and ahead of her time. If the terrible rumors about Mr. Darcy are true, he doesn't stand a chance. Yet not all gossip is to be believed when marriage, money, and reputations are on the line.

For the first time as an Orbit special edition, Brent Weeks's blockbuster novella Perfect Shadow tells the origin story of the Night Angel trilogy's most enigmatic character: Durzo Blint. Gaelan Starfire is a farmer, happy to be a husband and a father; a careful, quiet, simple man. He's also an immortal, peerless in the arts of war. Over the centuries, he's worn many faces to hide his gift, but he is a man ill-fit for obscurity, and all too often he's become a hero, his very names passing into legend.

The fantasy novel you’ve always wished Jane Austen had written. When Jane realizes that one of Melody’s suitors is set on taking advantage of her sister for the sake of her dowry, she pushes her skills to the limit of what her body can withstand in order to set things right—and, in the process, accidentally wanders into a love story of her own.

From the magical mysteries of India to the gaslit streets of Victorian London, Mercedes Lackey's unique departure from her Valdemar series follows a young woman doctor as she searches for the secret behind the sorcery in her blood.

Merlyn Britannicus, leader of the Colony known as Camulod, is faced with the task of educating his younger charge, Arthur, future King of the Britons. Fearing for the life of his nephew when an assassination attempt goes awry, Merlyn takes Arthur and his boyhood companions Gwin Ghilleadh, and Bedwyr on a journey that will take then to the ruins of a long-abandoned Roman fort - far from Camulod and the only place where Merlyn feels they will be safe.

From the best-selling author of Wicked comes a magical new twist on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, published to coincide with the 150th anniversary of Lewis Carroll's beloved classic. When Alice toppled down the rabbit hole 150 years ago, she found a Wonderland as rife with inconsistent rules and abrasive egos as the world she left behind. But what of that world? How did 1860s Oxford react to Alice's disappearance?

A daring, compelling, and impeccably researched historical novel that offers dramatic new insight into the life of the greatest composer the world has ever known. Its fresh perspective and deeply felt understanding of Beethoven's motivations, passions, and challenges speak eloquently to us today, connecting us to our own successes, failures, and dreams, and ultimately to the true consequence of our lives. At the moment of his death on a snowy afternoon in March, 1827, Ludwig van Beethoven pleads with Providence to grant him a final wish—one day, just a single day of pure joy. But first he...

As part of the d'Artagnan Romances following The Three Musketeers and Twenty Years After, and devoted in large part to romantic events at the court of France's King Louis XIV, Louise de La Valliere is the second part of Alexandre Dumas's 268 chapter novel The Vicomte de Bragelonne: Ten Years Later, which first appeared in serial form between 1847 and 1850.

Verona, Italy. Seventeen-year-old aspiring artist Romeo dreams of a quiet life with someone who loves him just as he is. But as the heir to the Montague family, he is expected to give up his "womanly" artistic pursuits and uphold the family honor—particularly in their centuries-old blood feud with a rival family, the Capulets. Worse still, he is also expected to marry a well-bred girl approved by his parents and produce heirs. But the more Romeo is forced to mingle with eligible maidens, the harder it is to keep his deepest secret: He only feels attracted to other boys.

This Audible Exclusive recording of Angela Carter's iconic novel, Nights at the Circus, is brought to you by celebrated actress and voice artist, Adjoa Andoh. It is described by Carter herself as a 'psychedelic Dickens.' A compelling and thought provoking novel which heralds a new age, we're introduced to the unique and mesmerizing character of Sophi Fevvers and her illustrious wings....

A contemporary man, John Thornburn (a meek, non-violent and unpredictable artist) and woman, Derval (his tough, confrontational, strong and warrior-like lover) time travel to ancient Ireland to avenge a Viking attack. Packed with fascinating details of historical time and place in Irish history and delicately balanced on the border between realism and fantasy, the story centers around one of the most famous and beautiful illuminated manuscripts in history, the legendary but entirely real Book of Kells.

In Revolutionary Requiems, renowned author and music scholar Richard Fleischman takes readers on an extraordinary journey through the hauntingly beautiful and profoundly moving history of requiem music. This monumental work explores how composers from Mozart to the present day have used the requiem mass as a powerful tool to memorialize the dead, reflect on grief, and navigate the complex relationship between life, death, and the divine. From the iconic Requiem of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to the modern, avant-garde works of composers like Britten, Penderecki, and Schnittke, this book delves ...

If you want to understand the daily life and psychology of the late Middle Ages, Ronald Ecker’s classic translation of The Canterbury Tales provides one of the very best means of doing so. Within its audio is to be found a broad range of society - high and low, male and female, rich and poor - who express their innermost beliefs and extravagant fantasies in a series of stories they tell as they make their way to Canterbury Cathedral.

From her widow's walk, Bessie King watches and waits for her husband, Adam. For many months, day after day, she climbs that ladder and looks out over the Texas plains. Her sons watch and see her pain and heartache. Andrew, thirteen, slips away early one morning to search for his stepfather. After a year of waiting, Bessie is certain she has lost them both. She is now left to survive on the Texas panhandle with her son, Matthew, and an orphan Kiowa baby, she has named Ki. Mathew's anger grows as he sees his mother climbing to the widow's walk day after day, and coming down with tears in her ...

Losing no faithfulness to Bunyan’s original text, Christiana’s Journey: The Pilgrim’s Progress, Book Two follows the adventures of Christiana, her four boys, and a host of memorable characters who either help or hinder their progress on their journey to faith.

A young girl called Tozi stands at the bottom of a pyramid, waiting to be led to the top where her heart will be cut out.... Pepillo, a Spanish orphan who serves a sadistic Dominican friar, is aboard the Spanish fleet as it sails towards Mexico.... This is the epic story of the clash of two empires, two armies and two gods of war. Five hundred desperate adventurers are about to pit themselves against the most brutal armies of the ancient Americas, armies hundreds of thousands strong.

Eleven-year-old Adam loved to travel throughout 13th-century England with his father, a wandering minstrel, and his dog, Nick. But when Nick is stolen and his father disappears, Adam suddenly finds himself alone.