Classic Audiobook Collection

Clarence Darrow explores crime as a product of social conditions, challenging the notion of moral failings. He critiques the punitive legal system, arguing for rehabilitation over punishment. The discussion links poverty, environment, and heredity to criminal behavior, revealing deeper societal issues. Darrow highlights the instincts and emotions that drive crime, while advocating for treating criminals with compassion and scientific understanding. His insights urge a shift towards more humane, reformative measures in the face of complex social realities.

Hero and Leander by Christopher Marlowe audiobook. Genre: poetryIn Christopher Marlowe's lush, witty narrative poem Hero and Leander, a familiar classical myth becomes a daring study of desire, persuasion, and the risks lovers take to reach each other. Hero is a celebrated young priestess living in Sestos, pledged to a life of chastity and honored for her beauty and status. Across the narrow but treacherous Hellespont, Leander, a handsome youth of Abydos, sees her at a festival and is struck with an obsession that quickly turns into a campaign to win her heart. Marlowe follows their courtship with sensual detail and gleeful intelligence, blending romance with sharp commentary on vows, reputation, and the gap between public virtue and private longing. As attraction intensifies, geography becomes a real antagonist: water separates them, rules constrain them, and every meeting demands secrecy, courage, and cunning. Rich with classical allusion, comic asides, and soaring imagery, the poem invites listeners into an ancient world where love is both an exquisite pleasure and a perilous test, and where a single choice can set a life on a new and uncertain course. Chapters (Approximate)(00:00:00) Chapter 00(00:03:40) Chapter 01(00:19:19) Chapter 02(00:37:47) Chapter 03(00:46:46) Chapter 04(01:04:21) Chapter 05(01:17:09) Chapter 06(01:35:10) Chapter 07(01:54:34) Chapter 08(02:14:09) Chapter 09(02:26:19) Chapter 10(02:37:35) Chapter 11(02:50:21) Chapter 12(02:57:20) Chapter 13(03:09:50) Chapter 14(03:24:12) Chapter 15 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Secret history revealed by Lady Peggy OMalley by Charles Norris Williamson audiobook. Genre: romanceSixteen-year-old Marguerite - Peggy - O'Malley has come to London from Ireland with her beautiful sister Diana, carrying more pride than money and a sharp eye for the rules of fashionable society. When Peggy falls in love with a white frock trimmed with roses in a Selfridge's window, her desperate wish to afford it sparks a chain of encounters that will pull the O'Malley sisters into a far larger drama than either expects. Told in Peggy's witty, candid voice, this 'secret history' follows her as she navigates drawing rooms and gossip, family strains and sudden invitations, and the confusing loyalties of first love. At the center of it all is Captain Eagleston 'Eagle' March, an American aviator whose charm and shadowed mission make him both thrilling and dangerous to know, and Major Vandyke, whose presence hints that private feelings may be tangled with public consequences. As Peggy pieces together what she has witnessed - and what others are determined to conceal - romance, reputation, and a quiet international crisis begin to collide, proving how the smallest desire can ignite the biggest events. Chapters (Approximate)(00:00:00) Chapter 01(00:34:44) Chapter 02(00:55:43) Chapter 03(01:14:41) Chapter 04(01:43:37) Chapter 05(02:23:11) Chapter 06(02:53:39) Chapter 07(03:21:51) Chapter 08(03:39:12) Chapter 09(04:06:54) Chapter 10(04:27:32) Chapter 11(05:02:47) Chapter 12(05:25:14) Chapter 13(05:54:46) Chapter 14(06:18:27) Chapter 15(06:49:53) Chapter 16(07:05:55) Chapter 17(07:27:35) Chapter 18(07:42:44) Chapter 19(08:22:21) Chapter 20(08:58:43) Chapter 21(09:18:27) Chapter 22(09:45:55) Chapter 23(10:09:59) Chapter 24(10:28:48) Chapter 25 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Fourth Dimension by Charles Howard Hinton audiobook. Genre: scienceFirst published in the late Victorian era, Charles Howard Hinton's The Fourth Dimension is an ambitious attempt to make a new kind of space feel thinkable. Writing for readers who may not have advanced mathematics, Hinton starts with a simple but unsettling question: if we live comfortably in three dimensions, what would it mean for a fourth spatial direction to exist alongside length, breadth, and height? Through vivid thought experiments, he compares our situation to that of an imagined two-dimensional world, where inhabitants can reason about their plane yet struggle to grasp an 'up' they cannot experience. Step by step, Hinton guides the listener toward the strange logic of higher space: how solid objects might appear as shifting cross-sections, how a hypercube (later called a tesseract) can be approached through analogy, and how perception itself limits what we take to be real. Along the way, the book blends geometry with a distinctly philosophical aim, urging a disciplined re-training of imagination and a loosening of everyday assumptions about viewpoint, self, and certainty. The result is part popular science lecture, part mental workout, and part meditation on what lies just beyond the edges of ordinary experience. Chapters (Approximate)(00:00:00) Chapter 01(00:13:15) Chapter 02(00:34:21) Chapter 03(00:50:01) Chapter 04(01:11:24) Chapter 05(01:30:24) Chapter 06(01:41:46) Chapter 07(02:01:02) Chapter 08(02:15:58) Chapter 09(02:33:02) Chapter 10(02:50:01) Chapter 11(03:08:17) Chapter 12(03:22:19) Chapter 13(03:36:09) Chapter 14(03:52:43) Chapter 15(04:07:42) Chapter 16(04:25:41) Chapter 17(04:38:20) Chapter 18(04:48:52) Chapter 19(05:05:26) Chapter 20(05:23:07) Chapter 21(05:58:36) Chapter 22(06:25:18) Chapter 23(06:47:33) Chapter 24(07:14:48) Chapter 25(07:45:33) Chapter 26(07:58:31) Chapter 27(08:19:17) Chapter 28(08:46:22) Chapter 29 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Laws and Practice of the Game of Euchre. As Adopted by the Washington, D.C. Euchre Club by Charles Henry Wharton Meehan audiobook. Genre: self helpCharles Henry Wharton Meehan's The Laws and Practice of the Game of Euchre is a clear, club-tested guide to one of the most beloved partnership card games, presenting the rules as adopted by the Washington, D.C. Euchre Club. Written for players who want more than casual, house-rule play, it lays out how a proper game should be organized - from seating and dealing to calling trump, playing tricks, and keeping score. Meehan focuses on the situations that most often spark arguments at the table: misdeals and irregular deals, exposed or misplayed cards, reneging (revoking), claims about what was said or signaled, and how penalties should be assessed so that a match stays fair and consistent. Alongside the formal 'laws,' the book also explains practical play: what each player is expected to know, how partners coordinate within the bounds of etiquette, and how disciplined procedure protects both the pace and the pleasure of the game. Part rulebook, part referee's handbook, this is a snapshot of a social card culture that prizes skill, clarity, and good manners under pressure. Chapters (Approximate)(00:00:00) Chapter 01(00:14:41) Chapter 02(00:24:49) Chapter 03(00:41:48) Chapter 04(01:03:30) Chapter 05(01:14:42) Chapter 06(01:32:21) Chapter 07(01:50:51) Chapter 08(02:08:22) Chapter 09 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Knave of Diamonds by Ethel M. Dell audiobook. Genre: romanceOn her twenty-fifth birthday, Lady Anne Carfax slips away from the glare of a country Hunt Ball, certain only of her own exhaustion and the cold civility of a marriage that has long since curdled into duty. In a quiet card room she meets an audacious American outsider, Napoleon 'Nap' Errol, who amuses himself by telling fortunes with a deck of cards - and seems disturbingly quick at reading the truths Anne works hardest to hide. What begins as a reckless conversation becomes a dangerous thread of fascination, especially when an accident on the hunting field pulls Anne into the orbit of the Errol household at Baronmead: a warm, unconventional refuge ruled by Nap's formidable adoptive mother and by Lucas Errol, Nap's wealthy, physically fragile brother whose calm integrity stands in sharp contrast to Nap's volatile charm. As Anne recovers, gossip tightens, loyalties are tested, and the 'knave' proves both protector and temptation - a man with a shadow in his past and a fierce, restless code of his own. Caught between vows, longing, and the perilous bonds of brotherhood, Anne must decide what love demands, and what it might cost. Chapters (Approximate)(00:00:00) Chapter 01(00:01:01) Chapter 02(00:14:54) Chapter 03(00:31:09) Chapter 04(00:39:36) Chapter 05(00:49:56) Chapter 06(01:05:49) Chapter 07(01:15:19) Chapter 08(01:25:21) Chapter 09(01:36:52) Chapter 10(01:46:06) Chapter 11(02:02:47) Chapter 12(02:16:58) Chapter 13(02:28:01) Chapter 14(02:41:45) Chapter 15(03:01:54) Chapter 16(03:13:29) Chapter 17(03:27:38) Chapter 18(03:37:10) Chapter 19(03:49:23) Chapter 20(04:11:21) Chapter 21(04:24:45) Chapter 22(04:36:02) Chapter 23(04:51:51) Chapter 24(05:12:38) Chapter 25(05:25:00) Chapter 26(05:38:13) Chapter 27(05:55:00) Chapter 28(06:15:53) Chapter 29(06:47:04) Chapter 30(06:57:56) Chapter 31(07:12:10) Chapter 32(07:21:49) Chapter 33(07:28:56) Chapter 34(07:40:07) Chapter 35(07:56:49) Chapter 36(08:04:45) Chapter 37(08:18:33) Chapter 38(08:33:55) Chapter 39(08:47:18) Chapter 40(09:02:46) Chapter 41(09:09:50) Chapter 42(09:20:55) Chapter 43(09:35:47) Chapter 44(09:44:51) Chapter 45(09:51:26) Chapter 46(10:01:33) Chapter 47(10:08:57) Chapter 48(10:16:29) Chapter 49(10:25:22) Chapter 50(10:34:48) Chapter 51(10:39:18) Chapter 52(10:50:21) Chapter 53(11:03:31) Chapter 54(11:10:26) Chapter 55(11:20:41) Chapter 56(11:30:48) Chapter 57(11:46:39) Chapter 58(11:52:47) Chapter 59(12:11:37) Chapter 60 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Greatheart by Ethel M. Dell audiobook. Genre: romanceIn a glittering Alpine winter resort, spirited Dinah Bathurst and her younger brother, Billy, chafe under the sharp-eyed guardianship of the de Vigne household, where every waltz, whisper, and moonlit walk is weighed against duty and reputation. Into this charged world come the Studleys: Sir Eustace, handsome, confident, and dangerously persuasive, and his brother Scott, small and lame, moving quietly at the edge of the crowd. Scott is there for one reason above all others: to protect their sister Isabel, a beautiful woman worn thin by longing and illness, who clings to a love that may be slipping beyond reach. As Dinah is drawn toward the glamour of Eustace's attention, she finds herself equally haunted by Scott's steady goodness, the kind that asks for nothing yet seems to hold a fierce strength of its own. She begins to call him 'Mr. Greatheart' - the helper of everyone but himself. Caught between temptation and conscience, laughter and fear, Dinah must decide what love is worth when it threatens to upend families, expose old wounds, and demand courage from the most unlikely heart of all. Chapters (Approximate)(00:00:00) Chapter 01(00:13:24) Chapter 02(00:28:41) Chapter 03(00:42:29) Chapter 04(00:58:41) Chapter 05(01:11:54) Chapter 06(01:31:23) Chapter 07(01:44:24) Chapter 08(02:21:12) Chapter 09(02:33:08) Chapter 10(02:49:27) Chapter 11(03:06:25) Chapter 12(03:22:15) Chapter 13(03:42:06) Chapter 14(03:55:38) Chapter 15(04:15:35) Chapter 16(04:35:01) Chapter 17(05:06:31) Chapter 18(05:28:11) Chapter 19(05:48:56) Chapter 20(06:05:37) Chapter 21(06:22:39) Chapter 22(06:37:02) Chapter 23(06:56:52) Chapter 24(07:16:49) Chapter 25(07:37:53) Chapter 26(08:00:24) Chapter 27(08:16:46) Chapter 28(08:32:55) Chapter 29(08:54:21) Chapter 30(09:17:54) Chapter 31(09:42:25) Chapter 32(10:02:19) Chapter 33(10:14:50) Chapter 34(10:27:24) Chapter 35(10:41:03) Chapter 36(10:58:11) Chapter 37(11:19:10) Chapter 38(11:31:11) Chapter 39(11:46:26) Chapter 40(11:58:57) Chapter 41(12:13:02) Chapter 42(12:23:52) Chapter 43(12:45:28) Chapter 44(13:01:46) Chapter 45(13:12:19) Chapter 46(13:27:10) Chapter 47(13:47:49) Chapter 48(14:10:23) Chapter 49(14:36:34) Chapter 50(14:57:44) Chapter 51(15:17:14) Chapter 52(15:33:51) Chapter 53(15:46:16) Chapter 54(16:04:29) Chapter 55(16:18:57) Chapter 56(16:45:56) Chapter 57(17:07:29) Chapter 58(17:23:28) Chapter 59 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rain Magic by Erle Stanley Gardner audiobook. Genre: adventureIn Rain Magic, Erle Stanley Gardner (best known for Perry Mason) turns to fast-moving pulp adventure with a strange, half-believed tale that begins in the California desert. A drifter is found exhausted and nearly dead, and when he revives he insists he has just returned from tropical Africa - carrying a story so vivid and bizarre that listeners are left wondering how much is truth, how much is invention, and why it still terrifies him. His account plunges into shipwreck and survival, where hostile terrain is matched by human danger: wary villagers, rival groups at the edge of conflict, and ruthless opportunists who will kill for a rumor. Somewhere beyond the next stretch of jungle lies a secret worth risking everything for - a hidden gold ledge guarded by traps, superstition, and a kind of natural menace that feels almost intelligent. As the narrator pushes deeper into unfamiliar country, he must decide whom to trust, how far to bargain with local power, and whether any treasure is worth the price of getting out alive. Rain Magic blends lost-world peril, greed, and uncanny atmosphere into a breathless expedition story. Chapters (Approximate)(00:00:00) Chapter 01(00:09:05) Chapter 02(00:21:17) Chapter 03(00:38:50) Chapter 04(00:55:25) Chapter 05(01:06:55) Chapter 06 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A Love Episode, Book Eight of Rougon-Macquart Cycle by Emile Zola audiobook. Genre: dramaSet in the quiet, respectable neighborhoods of Second Empire Paris, A Love Episode follows Helene Grandjean, a young widow determined to build a calm life for herself and her fragile daughter, Jeanne. Keeping her past buried and her ambitions modest, Helene tries to find safety in routine and propriety, believing that stability is the only cure for loss. But when Jeanne's recurring illnesses draw the attention of Dr. Henri Deberle, Helene is pulled into the doctor's orbit and into the polished, demanding world of his family and social circle. What begins as gratitude and careful friendship threatens to become something far more dangerous as longing, pride, and fear collide. Zola watches every small gesture and self-justification with his trademark naturalist precision, revealing how environment, class expectations, and private desire can push ordinary people toward extraordinary choices. As Helene struggles between duty to her child, the strict codes of bourgeois respectability, and the force of a love she did not seek, the novel becomes an intimate study of passion, conscience, and the cost of emotional honesty. Chapters (Approximate)(00:00:00) Chapter 00(00:07:30) Chapter 01(00:34:19) Chapter 02(01:01:41) Chapter 03(01:33:33) Chapter 04(02:03:42) Chapter 05(02:32:51) Chapter 06(03:04:44) Chapter 07(03:33:56) Chapter 08(04:01:49) Chapter 09(04:37:05) Chapter 10(05:06:33) Chapter 11(05:45:55) Chapter 12(06:20:24) Chapter 13(06:52:22) Chapter 14(07:26:12) Chapter 15(07:56:04) Chapter 16(08:28:38) Chapter 17(09:03:29) Chapter 18(09:37:55) Chapter 19(09:58:08) Chapter 20(10:31:05) Chapter 21(11:02:30) Chapter 22(11:38:14) Chapter 23(12:15:42) Chapter 24(12:50:06) Chapter 25(13:19:51) Chapter 26 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

LAssommoir, Book Seven of Rougon-Macquart Cycle by Emile Zola audiobook. Genre: tragedyIn L'Assommoir, Emile Zola turns to the working-class streets of mid-19th-century Paris to follow Gervaise Macquart, a laundress determined to build a decent life through steady work, cleanliness, and a stubborn faith in ordinary happiness. Abandoned by a lover and left with little more than her hands and her children, Gervaise tries to carve out security in a neighborhood where wages are uncertain, debts multiply, and temptation waits on every corner. When she finds companionship and marriage with the roofer Coupeau, hope briefly seems possible: a home, a trade, maybe even a small business of her own. But Zola's Paris is not gentle. An accident, shifting fortunes, and the pull of drink begin to erode hard-won stability, drawing family, friends, and neighbors into a widening web of need, pride, and shame. As the pressures of poverty and addiction tighten, Gervaise must fight to keep her dignity, her livelihood, and her loved ones from slipping away. Unsparing yet deeply human, this Rougon-Macquart novel explores ambition, labor, social class, and the devastating cost of escape. Chapters (Approximate)(00:00:00) Chapter 01(00:24:43) Chapter 02(00:41:40) Chapter 03(01:13:46) Chapter 04(01:38:39) Chapter 05(01:55:29) Chapter 06(02:25:52) Chapter 07(02:52:57) Chapter 08(03:18:52) Chapter 09(03:48:05) Chapter 10(04:14:11) Chapter 11(04:38:35) Chapter 12(05:03:59) Chapter 13(05:32:47) Chapter 14(05:54:47) Chapter 15(06:26:11) Chapter 16(06:51:47) Chapter 17(07:13:56) Chapter 18(07:41:24) Chapter 19(08:07:14) Chapter 20(08:30:59) Chapter 21(08:52:25) Chapter 22(09:15:19) Chapter 23(09:38:44) Chapter 24(09:56:00) Chapter 25(10:12:31) Chapter 26(10:41:32) Chapter 27(11:06:56) Chapter 28(11:26:29) Chapter 29(11:43:09) Chapter 30(12:11:27) Chapter 31(12:36:50) Chapter 32(12:54:42) Chapter 33(13:36:51) Chapter 34(14:01:34) Chapter 35(14:33:17) Chapter 36(15:03:09) Chapter 37(15:29:39) Chapter 38(15:53:50) Chapter 39(16:25:21) Chapter 40(16:51:08) Chapter 41 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices