Books in the Svenska Ljud Classica series

The humour in `Cranford‘ (1853) is so sly it is can be difficult to believe it was written over 150 years ago. Originally published in instalments and edited by Charles Dickens, the novel follows a delightful group of women in a small town who are united by all being single, poor, and proud. Written with acute observation,`Cranford‘is in equal parts affectionate, moving and darkly satirical. `Cranford‘ has been adapted for television by BBC three times, and the latest version from 2007 featured Dame Judy Dench and Dame Eileen Atkins.Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell (1810-1865) was an English novelist, short story writer, and biographer, best known for her novels `North and South‘ and `Wives and Daughters‘ as well as her biography of Charlotte Brontë. Gaskell was viewed as a minor author until the 1950s where it became evident that her depiction of industrial environments and social problems was brilliant and poignant.

Captains Courageous is an 1897 novel, by Rudyard Kipling, that follows the adventures of fifteen year old Harvey Cheyne Jr., the arrogant and spoiled son of a railroad tycoon. The novel originally appeared as a serialization in McClure's, beginning with the November 1896 edition.

The Idiot is anything but, yet his fellow boarders at Mrs. Smithers Pedagog's home for single gentlemen see him as such. His brand of creative thought is dismissed as foolishness yet it continues to get under their skin, because when you're beneath contempt you can say what you please. - This is the first of John Kendrick Bangs' "Idiot" books and was published by Harper and Brothers in 1895.

One night at Christmas, Ebenezer Scrooge, a mean and greedy man, gets a visit from the ghost of his dead business partner. The ghost warns him about the awful punishment that awaits if he continues to live his life selfishly. The next three nights, Scrooge is visited by three separate spirits who confront him with Christmas Past, Christmas Present, and Christmas Yet to Come. Will the horrors and the joy Scrooge sees make him change his ways? Adapted for film and television more times than any other Charles Dickens story, A Christmas Carol (1843) is one of the most famous Christmas stories ever told. In the popular 2009 animated film, Jim Carrey voices the grouchy main character alongside Gary Oldman and Colin Firth. Warm, empathetic, and socially aware, this classic novella is bound to put any listener in the proper Christmas mood.Charles Dickens (1812-1870) was an English author, social critic, and philanthropist. Much of his writing first appeared in small instalments in magazines and was widely popular. Among his most famous novels are Oliver Twist (1839), David Copperfield (1850), and Great Expectations (1861).

Fröken Julie uppfostrades av sin mor att ta för sig och tänka självständigt, något som inte alltid uppskattas av hennes omgivning under det konservativa 1800-talet. Hon vet hur hon ska få allt hon vill ha men hon vet inte alltid vad det är hon vill ha. Just nu vill Julie ha sin pappas stiliga betjänt, Jean. Det är midsommar och just som Jeans fästmö gått och lagt sig och gårdens arbetsfolk dragit sig tillbaka ser Julie sin chans. Men är Julies och Jeans kärlek verkligen möjlig? "Fröken Julie" är en tragedi från 1888 och är en av de mest spelade Strindberg-pjäserna genom tiderna. August Strindberg (1849-1912) var, och är fortfarande, en av Sveriges mest framstående författare genom tiderna. Han var också bildkonstnär, dramatiker och journalist, och är känd för sin produktivitet. Han slog igenom med romanen "Det röda rummet" 1879 och har sedan dess varit en mycket prominent gestalt i det litterära Sverige.

Milton is an epic poem by William Blake, written and illustrated between 1804 and 1810. Its hero is John Milton, who returns from Heaven and unites with Blake to explore the relationship between living writers and their predecessors, and to undergo a mystical journey to correct his own spiritual errors.

Bernice is turned into a proper society girl by her more desirable cousin, who feels Bernice is a drag on her social life. But when Bernice starts to win over all the boys in town, the girls turn viciously against each other. Based on letters F. Scott Fitzgerald originally sent to his little sister advising her on how to be more attractive to men, `Bernice Bobs Her Hair‘ is one of eight vivid stories in Fitzgerald‘s first short story collection. In another, `The Off-Shore Pirate‘, a girl gets captured by pirates and falls in love with the captain. It was adapted into a romantic comedy and starred silent movie actress Viola Dana. `Flappers and Philosophers‘ (1920) are tales about young dreamers whose dreams get broken, tales which perfectly encompass thezeitgeist of the 1920s.F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940) is one of the greatest American novelists of the 20th century and author of the classics `Tender is the Night‘ and `The Great Gatsby‘. His writing helped illustrate the 1920s Jazz Age that he and wife Zelda Fitzgerald were in the centre of.

Thornton Waldo Burgess was a conservationist and author of children's stories. He loved the beauty of nature and its living creatures so much that he wrote about them for 50 years. By the time he retired, he had written more than 170 books. Many of his outdoor observations in nature were used as plots for his stories. In his first book, "Old Mother West Wind," published in 1910, the reader meets many of the characters found in later books and stories. These characters include Peter Rabbit, Jimmy Skunk, Sammy Jay, Bobby Raccoon, Joe Otter, Grandfather Frog, Billy Mink, Jerry Muskrat, Spotty the Turtle and of course, Old Mother West Wind and her Merry Little Breezes. Note to parents of very small children: in Chapter 15, little Tommy Trout gets eaten by a pickerel.

Rupert of Hentzau is a sequel by Anthony Hope to The Prisoner of Zenda, written in 1895, but not published until 1898. This story commences three years after the conclusion of Zenda, and deals with the same fictional country somewhere in Germanic Middle Europe, the kingdom of Ruritania.

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times," writes Charles Dickens in the opening of this dark and meaningful classic novel. It is the year 1775 and Jarvis Lorry is tasked with a secret mission for his employer. 17-year-old Lucie Manette joins him on his travels from London to Paris and is shocked to learn that her father is alive and has been released from eighteen years in a Paris prison. Set in the two metropolises just prior (and during) the French Revolution, Dickens paints a distinct picture of the social and political events of the time. `A Tale of Two Cities‘ is masterfully written, includes Dickens' perhaps greatest villain, and ties up everything in an especially satisfying ending.Charles Dickens (1812-1870) was an English author, social critic, and philanthropist. Much of his writing first appeared in small instalments in magazines and was widely popular. Among his most famous novels are Oliver Twist (1839), David Copperfield (1850), and Great Expectations (1861).

The story takes place in the extreme conditions of the Yukon during the 19th century Klondike Gold Rush, where strong sled dogs were in high demand. After Buck, a domesticated dog, is snatched from a pastoral ranch in California, he is sold into a brutal life as a sled dog. The novella details Buck's struggle to adjust and survive the cruel treatment he receives from humans, other dogs, and nature. He eventually sheds the veneer of civilization altogether and instead relies on primordial instincts and the lessons he has learned to become a respected and feared leader in the wild. The Call of the Wild is London's most popular work and is considered the masterpiece of his so called 'early period'. The novella is often classified as children's literature because of its animal protagonist, but the maturity of its subject matter makes it valuable for older audiences as well. Major themes include survival of the fittest, civilization versus nature, and fate versus free will.

New York born John Kendrick Bangs was associate editor and then editor of Life and Harper magazines, eventually finding his way into the Humour department. Here he began to write his own satire and humour. Ghosts I Have Met and Some Others is a delightfully humourous collection of short tales relating encounters with ghosts.

Old enemies are back to make life hard for Tarzan in `The Beasts of Tarzan‘ (1916), the third novel in the thrilling adventure series by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Dividing their time between Africa and England, Tarzan and Jane and their little son Jack are comfortably settled. But when they get kidnapped and separated, they must fight harder than ever to find a way back to each other. Tarzan returns to his roots in this particularly jungle-oriented novel in the series, and, using his primal intelligence, manages to secure the help of a panther, a native warrior, and a tribe of apes. Relentless in its pace and drenched in cliffhangers, this might just be the most exciting Tarzan novel yet. Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875-1950) was an American author, best known for his novel `Tarzan of the Apes‘ (1914) and its sequels as well as the Barsoom series. During World War II, he was one of the oldest U.S war correspondents.

Anyone, as Freud tells us in Reflections on War and Death, forced to react against his own impulses may be described as a hypocrite, whether he is conscious of it or not. One might even venture to assert - it is still Freud's argument - that our contemporary civilisation favours this sort of hypocrisy and that there are more civilised hypocrites than truly cultured persons, and it is even a question whether a certain amount of hypocrisy is not indispensable to maintain civilisation.

Ozma of Oz: A Record of Her Adventures with Dorothy Gale of Kansas, the Yellow Hen, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, Tiktok, the Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger; Besides Other Good People too Numerous to Mention Faithfully Recorded Herein published on July 30, 1907, was the third book of L. Frank Baum's Oz series. It was the first in which Baum was clearly intending a series of Oz books. It is the first Oz book where the majority of the action takes place outside of the Land of Oz. Only the final two chapters take place in Oz itself. This reflects a subtle change in theme: in the first book, Oz is the dangerous land through which Dorothy must win her way back to Kansas; in the third, Oz is the end and aim of the book. Dorothy's desire to return home is not as desperate as in the first book, and it is her uncle's need for her rather than hers for him that makes her return. OZ #4.

"There is no doubt they intend to kill us as dead as possible in a short time," said the Wizard."As dead as poss'ble would be pretty dead, wouldn't it?" asked Dorothy." During an earthquake in California Dorothy and her friends are swallowed up by cracks in the earth and find themselves in a whole new land – the Land of Mangaboos. The Mangaboos are a vegetable people, and they accuse Dorothy and her friends of causing the earthquake and sentence them to death. The 1939 movie, `The Wizard of Oz‘ starring Judy Garland, perfectly told the story of a little girl‘s first adventure, but the story of Oz and Dorothy far from ended then. With his trademark inventions on display, author L. Frank Baum delivers another imaginative and delightful book in the Oz series, though many will agree that this fourth one is darker and more troubling than its predecessors. L. Frank Baum (1956-1919) was an American author, actor, and filmmaker best known for his children‘s books, particularly `The Wonderful Wizard of Oz‘ (1900) and its thirteen sequels. He started writing young and created a journal with his brother, which they handed out for free.

Allan Quatermain is the protagonist of H. Rider Haggard's 1885 novel King Solomon's Mines and its various prequels and sequels. Allan Quatermain was also the title of a book in this sequence. H. Rider Haggard's Quatermain, adventure hero of King Solomon's Mines and sequel Allan Quatermain, was a template for the American film character Indiana Jones,

Wharton's 1917 novella Summer, like her more famous work Ethan Frome, is set in a very small rural New England town. Charity Royall longs to escape the claustrophobic confines of North Dormer and the inappropriate advances of her guardian Mr. Royall, who adopted her as a child from the nearby Mountain community. Hope arrives in the form of city boy Lucius Harney, who has come to research the architecture of the region; but will his presence in Charity's life mean her salvation or her undoing?

A young man named Anodos experiences dream like adventures in Fairy Land, where he meets tree spirits, endures the presence of the overwhelming shadow, journeys to the palace of the fairy queen, and searches for the spirit of the earth. The story conveys a profound sadness and a poignant longing for death.

Recently orphaned 17-year-old David leaves his home on the Scottish countryside to seek out a rich uncle he has never met. The uncle, as it turns out, is paranoid and unpleasant, and before David can claim his inheritance he is knocked out and taken to sea to be sold as a slave in America. So begins Robert Louis Stevenson‘s adventure novel, Kidnapped (1886), a breathlessly exciting story for fans of action and suspense, and a story about two very different types of Scotsmen.Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) was a Scottish writer of novels, poems, essays, and travel books. Due to poor health, he spent much of his time abroad, where he became part of important literary circles. Though his writing has often been considered entertainment, author Henry James aligned Stevenson‘s works to his own. His most famous novels are Treasure Island (1883) and the Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886).

Margaret of Anjou, wife of England's Henry VI, played a key role in launching the storied War of the Roses - the 30 year civil conflict fuelled by the Lancasters and the Yorks, each vying for the British throne in the 15th century. Margaret of Anjou is one of many biographies aimed at young people written by Jacob Abbott and his brother. The biographies are written in such a way that makes them appealing and easily accessible to everyone.

"I returned to the City about three o‘clock on that Monday afternoon pretty well disgusted with life. I had been three months in the Old Country, and was fed up with it." So opens John Buchans The Thirty-Nine Steps and with it he creates a whole new genre: the adventure novel. Richard Hannay, the protagonist, finds himself reluctantly drawn into a chain of events that drags him away from the civilisation of London and into the Scottish wilderness, where he is chased both by villains and by policemen.This book has been adapted countless times, the most famous one certainly being Alfred Hitchcock‘s 1935 version. Full of excitement and good humour, The Thirty-Nine Steps is a modern classic you‘ll never want to put down.John Buchan (1875-1940) was a Scottish writer, historian and unionist. Born in Perth, he grew up in Fife where he developed the keen love for the Scottish nature that can be found in his work. After graduating from Oxford with a degree in Classics, he became the personal secretary of Alfred Milner, the Secretary of State of War and for the Colonies. Later he wrote for the British War Propaganda Bureau and was a correspondent in France for The Times. In 1935, he became viceregal representative in Canada, where he passed away five years later. He wrote throughout his life, leaving behind him hundreds of works, including novels, short shorties, and biographies of famous men such as Walter Scott and Oliver Cromwell, and he was awarded the James Tait Black Memorial Prize in 1928. Yet Buchan remains most famous for his spy thriller adventures, which have delighted readers for generations.

Smart and intuitive, Bettina is not fooled by Sir Nigel, the English aristocrat, who has come to New York to marry her sweet and naïve older sister Rosalie. And rightly so: Sir Nigel is cruel and selfish and only marries Rosalie for her money. But still a child, there is nothing much Bettina can do about it. When years have passed and the family has lost all contact with Rosalie, however, Bettina decides to sail across the Atlantic and save her sister. With `The Shuttle‘ (1907), Author Frances Hodgson Burnett created one of those heroines whose presence it is immensely satisfying to be in. Betty is initiative and strong, and she refuses to be bullied by manipulative men. It is hard not to fall in love with her. Despite its dark plot, `The Shuttle‘ is ultimately a romantic and uplifting story with lots of delicious drama.Frances Eliza Hodgson Burnett (1849-1924) was born in Manchester, England, but emigrated to the United States after her father‘s death. She wrote stories for magazines to help her family financially, and would later write plays and novels. Her most famous works are `A Little Princess‘ (1905) and `The Secret Garden‘ (1911).

The Beautiful and Damned, first published by Scribner's in 1922, is F. Scott Fitzgerald's second novel. The novel provides a portrait of the Eastern elite during the Jazz Age, exploring New York Café Society. As with his other novels, Fitzgerald's characters are complex, especially in their marriage and intimacy, much like how he treats intimacy in Tender Is the Night. The book is believed to be largely based on Fitzgerald's relationship and marriage with Zelda Fitzgerald. It tells the story of Anthony Patch (a 1920s socialite and presumptive heir to a tycoon's fortune), his relationship with his wife Gloria, his service in the army, and alcoholism.

"The last of the crew needs especial remark,Though he looked an incredible dunce:He had just one idea-but, that one being `Snark‘,The good Bellman engaged him at once."`The Hunting of the Snark‘ (1876) is a nonsense poem by `Alice Adventures in Wonderland‘ author Lewis Carroll. It describes the disastrous hunting mission by a bizarre group of characters, among these a butcher who can only kill beavers and a guy who forgot his own name. Gloriously nonsensical, this poem is bound to appeal to all fans of Alice.Lewis Caroll, pseudonym of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, (1832-1898), was a British mathematician, photographer, and children‘s book author. The idea for his most famous work, 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland', came to Carroll when he was on a boat with friends, having to entertain three young girls, one of whose name was Alice. Despite his success as a children‘s book author, Carroll considered himself, first and foremost, a man of science and mathematics.

When his wife cheats on him, Golden Walter leaves his mundane life to start a new one at sea. Horrific news forces him to turn around, however, but before he can reach home, a storm carries his ship to a faraway country. A country inhabited by people he has seen before. In a vison. With novels like `The Wood Beyond the World‘ (1894) William Morris has gone down in history as the forerunner for much of the modern-day fantasy genre. C.S. Lewis, who wrote `The Chronicles of Narnia‘, cited Morris as one of his favourite authors, and J.R.R. Tolkien was influenced by Morris‘ fantasies in writing `The Lord of the Rings‘ trilogy.William Morris (1834-1896) was a British writer, textile designer and Socialist. His earliest works were historical fiction, but today he is known for being the forerunner of modern-day fantasy. He took a keen interest in Iceland and translated a series of Icelandic sagas to English together with the Icelandic scholar Eiríkur Magnússon.

24 short stories in fairly typical Bierce fashion ghostly, spooky, to be read (or listened to) in the dark, perhaps with a light crackling fire burning dimly in the background. Stories of ghosts, apparitions, and strange, inexplicable occurrences are prevalent in these tales, some of which occur on or near Civil War fields of battle, some in country cottages, and some within urban areas. Can Such Things Be? implies and relates that anything is possible, at any time.

Arguably the best compilation of mystery stories ever, `The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes‘ (1892) is for any lover of intrigue and sophisticated humour. Sherlock‘s talent for solving cases based on things only he notices never disappoints, and everyone‘s curiosity is sure to be sustained till the end of each story. There is a reason Sherlock Holmes has been adapted more than a hundred times for various media. 2009-2011 saw Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law as Sherlock and Watson, and even Will Ferrell has taken a stab at the popular character. Fans of the popular BBC series `Sherlock‘ (2010-2017) by Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat, which starred Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, should definitely check out this original source material. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) was a British writer, best known for his thrilling stories about the adventures of the detective Sherlock Holmes. He published four novels and more than 50 short stories starring Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. The stories are seen as important milestones in the history of crime fiction.

Poems of William Blake includes; Songs of Innocence, Songs of Experience and The Book of Thel. All three are books of poetry by the English poet and painter, William Blake. The Book of Thel is a poem by William Blake, dated 1789 and probably worked on in the period 1788 to 1790. It is illustrated by his own plates, and is relatively short and easy to understand, compared to his later prophetic books. The metre is a fourteen syllable line.

Lavender and Old Lace is a Victorian romance novel written by Myrtle Reed and published Sep., 1902. It tells the story of some remarkable women, each of whom have a unique experience with love. The book follows in Reed's long history of inciting laughter and tears in her readers through provocative prose. She was often witty in dialogue and dispensing in advice, while gingerly skirting the moral issues.