The Classic Tales Podcast
Designed to make classic literature less intimidating, The Classic Tales Podcast has been showcasing the greatest literary authors for years. Narrating with gusto, BJ Harrison performs each word of the classic texts, elevating them with character voices, sharp accents and bridled emotion. Adventure, Mystery, Horror, Humor and more - The Classic Tales Podcast has something for everybody. It really is The Cure for the Common Commute. Winner - Outstanding Podcast Host: Arts and Entertainment , Society of Voice Arts and Sciences- 2022 Winner of w3 Silver Award by the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts-2022 Winner of w3 Gold Award by the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts-2021 Winner of Independent Audiobook Award for "Scaramouche", by Raphael Sabatini - 2021

Of the plethora of Mr. Smith’s ideas, is there one that will save his business? Stephen Leacock, today on The Classic Tales Podcast.

Welcome to The Classic Tales Podcast. Thank you for listening.

Thank you so all of our listeners and supporters who really stepped it up last week. Our crisis is averted, and it looks like we’re going to be okay. I am overwhelmed with the response. We’ve sold our 5 lifetime access passes, but I’ll keep the one-year pass up for another week. Things got pretty real there, for a while. Thank you so very much for helping us to dodge that bullet.

In case you haven’t already, feel free to take advantage of our free titles. I get so happy when I see someone has downloaded the free audiobook titles, especially new customers. I tried to have something for everyone, from several genres, and geared for all ages. Please click on over to our FREE section, and enjoy.

You can find the free audiobooks here:

https://tinyurl.com/wfrphaw

App users can hear a sonnet from William Shakespeare in their special features this week. I failed to mention it in the brouhaha, but last week was a poem from Christopher Marlowe.

Today’s story is from the Canadian humorist Stephen Leacock. It’s tricky with the pandemic still in our faces, it’s made it very tricky to choose what stories to do, and this one is a quirky little odd one. There are a few things that drew me to this story.

First, I love Leacock’s description of the town of Mariposa. With so many of our local festivities cancelled this summer, I felt like hearing about life in a small town would do us good right now.

Secondly, I like how Leacock’s protagonist, Mr. Smith, is not a perfect guy. He does some good things, and some kind of dumb things. And it seems like the environment of the town actually determines which of his scattered ideas make it all the way to fruition. It’s almost like Leacock has created this town as a kind of character with its own set of motivations, and we kind of watch and see how Mr. Smith fares inside.

And now, The Hostelry of Mr. Smith, by Stephen Leacock

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Direct download: CT_681_The_Hostelry_of_Mr_Smith.mp3
Category:Literature -- posted at: 12:30am MDT

Why does a brotherly resemblance bring a woman to tears? Willa Cather, today on The Classic Tales Podcast.

Welcome to The Classic Tales Podcast. Thank you for listening.

Well our loss is your gain. We’ve come into some rather grim news lately, and it looks like we need to raise some immediate funds. This is something I’ve tried to put off, and now the wolf, as Bertie Wooster would say, is at the door.

So, in order to cope with this sudden need to raise some funding, and to keep The Classic Tales Podcast going to see a brighter day, I’m going to do something I’ve never done before – offer unlimited access to download everything at the store.

As most of you know, if you’ve sampled the free offerings we’ve been giving away for the pandemic, these titles are worth a fair bit of green. In fact, if you load your cart up with all of the free items now available, it’s over a hundred dollars.

Imagine if you could have it all. Literally.

So, for the next two weeks, I’m going to offer two new items for sale – the first is a 1 year pass for unlimited access to the complete inventory available at classictalesaudiobooks.com. The second is a lifetime pass.

For your life, or mine, whichever one of us dies first. Because I’m not stopping until then.

And here’s another thing, I have around 100 titles that are in limbo. They aren’t on the podcast, and they aren’t in the store. They will be trickling in over the next year.

Tap here to purchase a one-year access pass to The Classic Tales Library of titles.

 

Tap here to purchase lifetime access to The Classic Tales Library of titles. 

I’m actually putting a cap on the lifetime pass. There will only be five lifetime passes available.

These two products will be available for only two weeks. We need a certain amount to cover this crisis. Hopefully we’ll reach the goal by then, and we’ll all be able to move forward.

I hate to do this, especially now. I started the podcast because I wanted to provide something that would have been useful to me as a kid. If I had access to an audiobook of The Scarlet Letter when I had to read it as a junior, my confidence and self-esteem wouldn’t have taken the hit that it did. School, reading, life, pandemics, they are all hard enough. If I had had access to a solid recording that might have sparked my imagination, this dark period that still haunts me 30 years later, might not have happened.

I wanted to be someone who could help that kid. That’s why I do what I do. 13 years later, and I’ve recorded 570 books. If you can, please click on over to www.classictalesaudiobooks.com, and support us however you can.

I’m still keeping up the free stuff up. Please don’t worry about that.

You can find the free audiobooks here:

https://tinyurl.com/wfrphaw

I love stories of the American West. When I ran across this one by Willa Cather, it just felt like it was the right time to share it. We needed something more literary, I thought. I hope you like it.

And now, A Death in the Desert, by Willa Cather.

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Direct download: CT_680_ADeathintheDesert.mp3
Category:Literature -- posted at: 2:21am MDT

Why is Hercule Poirot suddenly giving credence to the superstitions of Ancient Egypt? Agatha Christie, today on The Classic Tales Podcast.

Welcome to The Classic Tales Podcast. Thank you for listening.

Many, many thanks to all of our listeners and supporting members who help to keep us going. At this time of quarantine and adjustment, their help is particularly helpful.

I hope you’re taking advantage of the titles available for free during the pandemic. Please visit www.classictalesaudiobooks.com and go to the home from school – free category to download a selection of titles for all ages, including adventure, mysteries, classic romance, and fantasy.

Feel free to pick up the free audiobooks even if you are not in school, have no kids, or just need something to help you get through the day. If listening to a solid story can help you out, please be our guest.

Thanks again to our financial contributors. It is the monthly and bulk subscriptions that are largely keeping us afloat right now, as we are giving a lot of stuff away. Thank you for helping us to stay strong, and hopefully help to lighten the load of those who are hit particularly hard right now. Every donation helps.

You can find the free audiobooks here:

https://tinyurl.com/wfrphaw

I’m so excited that The Hunchback of Notre Dame has been named as a finalist for the Independent Audiobook Awards. These awards are about the highest achievement for an Indie audiobook publisher like myself. I’m very thrilled to be a finalist.

We’d like to thank Spotify for being a partnering sponsor.

For those of you with the Classic Tales app, you can hear a poem by Sir Thomas Wyatt in the special features section for this week’s episode. He was credited with introducing Italian sonnet forms to English Literature in the 1530s.

And now, The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb, by Agatha Christie.

Tap here to go to www.classictalesaudiobooks.com and become a financial supporter!

 

Tap here to become an Erudite Troglodyte - The Classic Tales Merchandise store!

 

Tap here to purchase Huckleberry Finn – the first Hybrid Audiobook

 

 

Direct download: CT_679_Egyptian_Tomb_AChristie.mp3
Category:Literature -- posted at: 12:30am MDT

Where do the robbers, lovers, frauds, and secretaries all wind up? P.G. Wodehouse, today on The Classic Tales Podcast.

Welcome to The Classic Tales Podcast. Thank you for listening.

Many, many thanks to all of our listeners and supporting members who help to keep us going. At this time of quarantine and adjustment, their help is particularly helpful.

I hope everyone is keeping safe and well in this crazy time. I also hope you’re taking advantage of the titles available for free during the pandemic. Please visit classictalesaudiobooks.com and go to the home from school – free category to download a selection of titles for all ages, including adventure, mysteries, classic romance, and fantasy. I’ll likely be adjusting the name of the category soon to Pandemic Titles, since the pandemic is still going strong, but we are winding down the school year.

With that being said, feel free to pick up the free audiobooks even if you are not in school, have no kids, or just need something to help you get through the day. If listening to a solid story can help you out, please be our guest.

Thanks again to our financial contributors. It is the monthly and bulk subscriptions that are largely keeping us afloat right now, as we are giving a lot of stuff away. Thank you for helping us to stay strong, and hopefully help to lighten the load of those who are hit particularly hard right now. Every donation helps.

You can find the free audiobooks here:

https://tinyurl.com/wfrphaw

I’m so excited that The Hunchback of Notre Dame has been named as a finalist for the Independent Audiobook Awards. These awards are about the highest achievement for an Indie audiobook publisher like myself. I’m very thrilled to be a finalist.

We’d like to thank Spotify for being a partnering sponsor.

As I mentioned last week, The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius is on hold right now. It was a great adventure, but we’re moving on, and we’ll now be featuring a classic poem in the special features in the Classic Tales App. We’re starting with ballads, which are basically anonymous storytelling songs. So again, I need to correct myself for saying that last week’s poem was written by Sir Patrick Spens. Nope. Wrong. Sir Patrick Spens is the name of this week’s poem, about a ship that wrecks at sea. Both last week’s and this week’s poems are anonymous.

And now, Leave it to Psmith, part 10 of 10, by P.G. Wodehouse.

Tap here to go to www.classictalesaudiobooks.com and become a financial supporter!

 

Tap here to become an Erudite Troglodyte - The Classic Tales Merchandise store!

 

Tap here to purchase Huckleberry Finn – the first Hybrid Audiobook

 

 

Direct download: CT_678_Leave_it_to_Psmith_Part10of10.mp3
Category:Literature -- posted at: 12:30am MDT

What does Eve Halliday find when she ransacks Psmith’s secret hideaway? P.G. Wodehouse, today on The Classic Tales Podcast.

Welcome to The Classic Tales Podcast. Thank you for listening.

Many, many thanks to all of our listeners and supporting members who help to keep us going.

I’m sorry about the snafu with last week’s episode. I checked the wrong box, and instead of the episode dropping Friday morning, it was available for a few hours on Thursday, then fell off the feed. Brilliant. Sorry about that. We’re only in season 14. You think I’d know better.

I hope everyone is keeping safe and well in this crazy time. I also hope you’re taking advantage of the titles available for free during the pandemic. Please visit www.classictalesaudiobooks.com and go to the home from school – free category to download a selection of titles geared for grades K-12. I’ll be adding more titles soon. You can find a link to the free material in the description for today’s episode.

I have also added three new titles now available for free – Captain Blood, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, and A Room With A View . Feel free to snap up these titles for free, and hopefully they can help keep your wits sharp at this trying time.

Thanks again to our financial contributors. It is the monthly subscriptions that are largely keeping us afloat right now, as we are giving a lot of stuff away. Thank you for helping us to stay strong, and hopefully help to lighten the load of those who are hit particularly hard right now. Every donation helps.

You can find the free audiobooks here:

https://tinyurl.com/wfrphaw

I’m so excited that The Hunchback of Notre Dame has been named as a finalist for the Independent Audiobook Awards. These awards are about the highest achievement for an Indie audiobook publisher like myself. I’m very thrilled to be a finalist.

We’d like to thank Spotify for being a partnering sponsor.

The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius is taking longer than I expected. I’ve already done over 50 episodes, and I’m only about halfway through. So, we’re shelving that project. The special features of the app will now include a famous poem. I’ll go through my classic poetry books, and read a short poem for the special features. This week is Lord Randal, by Sir Patrick Spens. Bob Dylan fans may find it interesting as the structure is similar to “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall”.

And now, Leave it to Psmith, part 9 of 10, by P.G. Wodehouse.

Tap here to go to www.classictalesaudiobooks.com and become a financial supporter!

 

Tap here to become an Erudite Troglodyte - The Classic Tales Merchandise store!

 

Tap here to purchase Huckleberry Finn – the first Hybrid Audiobook

 

 

Direct download: CT_677_Leave_it_to_Psmith_Part9of10.mp3
Category:Literature -- posted at: 12:30am MDT