The Classic Tales Podcast
Join award-winning narrator B.J. Harrison on a quest through the greatest stories ever put to paper. From the jungles of South America to the Mississippi Delta, from Victorian England to the sands of the Arabian Desert, come with us on a series of fantastic adventures – unabridged as the authors intended. Critically acclaimed and highly recommended for anyone who loves a good story with plenty of substance. (Shortlisted by The Wall Street Journal, iTunes, and TIME. Winner of multiple w3 and Voice Arts Awards, a HEAR NOW and an Independent Audiobook Award.)

Can Rikki-Tikki-Tavi protect his family from the deadly cobras of India? Rudyard Kipling, today on The Classic Tales Podcast. 

Welcome to this Vintage Episode of The Classic Tales Podcast. Thank you for listening. 

A Vintage Episode is released every Tuesday. Please help us to continue producing amazing audiobooks by going to http://classictalesaudiobooks.com, and becoming a supporter. New stories are coming your way on Friday. 

Keep an ear open for our Kickstarter for The Golden Triangle – the seventh novel in the Arsène Lupin series. We’re getting ready with boxed sets, special editions, and more! We’ll let you know when we’re ready to kick off. 

Today’s story is from The Jungle Book, a collection of stories by Rudyard Kipling. First published in 1894. I hope you like it. And now, Rikki Tikki Tavi, by Rudyard Kipling 

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Direct download: CT_926_RikkiTikkiTavi_VINTAGE.mp3
Category:Literature -- posted at: 12:30am MDT

Bobbie Cardew can’t remember anything – ever. Can Reggie rescue him from his household woes? P.G. Wodehouse, today on The Classic Tales Podcast. 

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

The Vintage Episode for the week is “Rikki-Tikki-Tavi”, by Rudyard Kipling. Be sure to check it out on Tuesday. 

If you enjoy the show, please become a monthly supporter, and help us continue to highlight these amazing stories. 

Please go to http://classictalesaudiobooks.com and become a monthly supporter for as little as $5 a month. As a thank you gesture, we’ll send you a coupon code every month for $8 off any audiobook order. Give more, and you get more! It’s a great way to help us keep producing sparkling audiobook content. 

Go to http://classictalesaudiobooks.com and become a supporter today. 

Abraham Lincoln famously said, “If you give me six hours to chop down a tree, I’ll spend the first four sharpening the axe”. That’s the philosophy I’m taking with our Kickstarter for The Golden Triangle. I’ve got the artwork done for the four boxed sets, and they’ll be creeping into the store soon. You can pick them up early, or get them all as a package deal when we launch the Kickstarter. Keep an ear open for the latest developments!

Today’s story is the first of a series of P.G. Wodehouse short stories found in the volume My Man Jeeves. It contains three Jeeves stories, and several others that are in the similar vein, but with different characters. A young Wodehouse was still feeling out his characters at this point, working out the kinks, and polishing his style. I hope you like them. 

And now, Absent Treatment, by P.G. Wodehouse.

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Direct download: CT_925_AbsentTreatment.mp3
Category:Literature -- posted at: 12:30am MDT

The earth's surface is no longer habitable, and all humanity is sequestered beneath the ground, couched in isolation and contentment. The Machine provides the needs of humanity. But what happens when the Machine stops? 

E.M. Forster, today on The Classic Tales Podcast. 

Welcome to this Vintage Episode of The Classic Tales Podcast. Thank you for listening. 

A Vintage Episode is released every Tuesday. Please help us to continue producing amazing audiobooks by going to http://classictalesaudiobooks.com, and becoming a supporter. New stories are coming your way on Friday. 

Keep an ear open for our Kickstarter for The Golden Triangle – the seventh novel in the Arsène Lupin series. We’re getting ready with boxed sets, special editions, and more! We’ll let you know when we’re ready to kick off. 

E.M. Forster, largely known for his novels such as A Room with a View, Howard’s End, and A Passage to India, also delved in the realm of science fiction, and he was no slouch. Today’s story is often heralded as one of the greatest science fiction stories of all time, and was included in the Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume 2

Versions of this story have often made their way into film, including George Lucas’ THX 1138 and the original Logan’s Run film from 1967 bear similarities to it. Even the Pixar film Wall-E depicts a future where the world in uninhabitable, and humanity is dependent upon machines for survival. 

And now, The Machine Stops, by E.M. Forster. 

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Direct download: CT_924_TheMachineStops_VINTAGE.mp3
Category:Literature -- posted at: 12:30am MDT

With capital punishment in the offing, how can Gulliver escape the land of Lilliput?  Jonathan Swift, today on The Classic Tales Podcast. 

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

The Vintage Episode for the week is “The Machine Stops”, by E.M. Forster. Be sure to check out this science fiction classic on Tuesday.

If you enjoy the show, please become a monthly supporter, and help us continue to highlight these amazing stories. 

Please go to http://classictalesaudiobooks.com and become a monthly supporter for as little as $5 a month. As a thank you gesture, we’ll send you a coupon code every month for $8 off any audiobook order. Give more, and you get more! It’s a great way to help us keep producing sparkling audiobook content.

Go to http://classictalesaudiobooks.com and become a supporter today.  

And now, A Voyage to Lilliput, part 3 of 3, from Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift.

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Direct download: CT_923_VoyagetoLilliput_Part3of3.mp3
Category:Literature -- posted at: 12:30am MDT

Can the artistic Corky court his bird-loving uncle to continue supporting him? Maybe Jeeves can help. P.G. Wodehouse, today on The Classic Tales Podcast. 

Welcome to this Vintage Episode of The Classic Tales Podcast. Thank you for listening. 

A Vintage Episode is released every Tuesday. Please help us to continue producing amazing audiobooks by going to http://classictalesaudiobooks.com, and becoming a supporter. Part 3 of Gulliver’s Travels coming your way on Friday. 

Keep an ear open for our Kickstarter for The Golden Triangle – the sixth novel in the Arsène Lupin series. We’re getting ready with boxed sets, special editions, and more! We’ll let you know when we’re ready to pull the trigger. 

And now, Leave It to Jeeves, by P.G. Wodehouse. 

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Direct download: CT_922_LeaveIttoJeeves_VINTAGE.mp3
Category:Literature -- posted at: 12:30am MDT

How can Gulliver stop a war without any bloodshed? Jonathan Swift, today on The Classic Tales Podcast. 

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

The Vintage Episode for the week is “Leave It To Jeeves”, by P.G. Wodehouse. Be sure to check it out on Tuesday. 

If you enjoy the show, please become a monthly supporter, and help us continue to highlight these amazing stories.

Please go to http://classictalesaudiobooks.com and become a monthly supporter for as little as $5 a month. As a thank you gesture, we’ll send you a coupon code every month for $8 off any audiobook order. Give more, and you get more! It’s a great way to help us keep producing sparkling audiobook content. 

Go to http://classictalesaudiobooks.com and become a supporter today. 

And now, A Voyage to Lilliput, part 2 of 3, from Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift.

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Direct download: CT_921_VoyagetoLilliput_Part2of3.mp3
Category:Literature -- posted at: 12:30am MDT

What does our nervous heroine see in the yellow wallpaper, that no one else can?  Charlotte Perkins Gilman, today on The Classic Tales Podcast. 

Welcome to this Vintage Episode of The Classic Tales Podcast. Thank you for listening. 

A Vintage Episode is released every Tuesday. Please help us to continue producing amazing audiobooks by going to http://classictalesaudiobooks.com, and becoming a supporter. New content is still coming your way on Fridays. 

Keep an ear open for our Kickstarter for The Golden Triangle – the sixth novel in the Arsène Lupin series. We’re getting ready with boxed sets, special editions, and more! We’ll let you know when we’re ready to pull the trigger. 

And it’s time for the Classic Tales Book Club to meet again! Keep an eye on your inboxes today for our monthly newsletter which will contain the zoom link. Our zoom meeting will be on Wednesday, April 10th at 4:00 Pacific time, 7:00 Eastern. We’ll talk about the satirical nature of Gulliver’s Travels, and the power of satire. See you then! Follow the link in the show notes to subscribe to our newsletter, and get the zoom link later today. 

Charlotte Perkins Gilman was raised by her three aunts – one of which was Harriet Beecher Stowe. Apart from The Yellow Wallpaper, she is also known for writing Herland, the story of a lost civilization populated entirely by women. 

And now, The Yellow Wallpaper, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. 

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Direct download: CT_920_TheYellowWallpaperVINTAGE.mp3
Category:Literature -- posted at: 12:30am MDT

How can Lemuel Gulliver escape from the Lilliputians? They’re only six inches tall – should be a cinch, right? Jonathan Swift, today on The Classic Tales Podcast. 

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

The Vintage Episode for the week is “The Yellow Wallpaper”, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Be sure to check it out on Tuesday. 

If you enjoy the show, please become a monthly supporter, and help us continue to highlight these amazing stories. 

Please go to http://classictalesaudiobooks.com and become a monthly supporter for as little as $5 a month. As a thank you gesture, we’ll send you a coupon code every month for $8 off any audiobook order. Give more, and you get more! It’s a great way to help us keep producing sparkling audiobook content. 

Go to http://classictalesaudiobooks.com and become a supporter today. 

I’ve been having fun designing the specials for our Kickstarter for the next Arsène Lupin book – The Golden Triangle. Things are moving along nicely. Keep an ear open for when we pull the trigger, hopefully in a couple of weeks!  

And it’s time for the Classic Tales Book Club to meet again! Keep an eye on your inboxes on Tuesday for our monthly newsletter which will contain the zoom link. Our zoom meeting will be on Wednesday, April 10th at 4:00 PM Pacific time, 7:00 PM Eastern. We’ll talk about the satirical nature of Gulliver’s Travels, and the power of satire. See you then! Follow the link in the show notes to subscribe to our newsletter, and get the zoom link on Tuesday.

Mark Twain is quoted as saying that, “a classic is a book which people praise and don’t read”. Gulliver’s Travels likely fits into this category for a lot of us. We’ve seen the Max Fleisher cartoon, or the Ray Harryhausen film in the 70s, or the film with Jack Black in 2010. But we’ve probably never read it. Or we tried, and gave it up. So, what is the lasting appeal of this difficult book?

Gulliver’s Travels was originally published in 1727. Swift’s novel is a satire of British monarchy and Imperialism. He succeeds in taking the mundane, or something we largely take for granted, and pushing it to the extreme to show its absurdity. This goes for everything from governments to our own physical bodies. And yeah, nothing is safe, so get ready for some bodily functions we’d rather not talk about to come front and center.  

Gulliver records his travels to several different lands of adventure. Instead of going through the entire book now, we’ll tackle them one voyage at a time. Then we’ll take a breather. This first stint will be the first part of the book – A Voyage to Lilliput in three parts. Gulliver travels to the land of Lilliput, as well as a land of giants, and also visits the dystopian world of the Houyhnhnms (hoo-IH-nims), among others. I hope you like it.

And now, A Voyage to Lilliput, part 1 of 3, from Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift.

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Direct download: CT_919_VoyagetoLilliput_Part1of3.mp3
Category:Literature -- posted at: 12:30am MDT

What knavery occurred during the Civil War at Owl Creek Bridge? Ambrose Bierce, today on The Classic Tales Podcast. 

Welcome to this Vintage Episode of The Classic Tales Podcast. Thank you for listening. 

A Vintage Episode is released every Tuesday. Please help us to continue producing amazing audiobooks by going to http://classictalesaudiobooks.com, and becoming a supporter. New content is still coming your way on Fridays. 

Keep an ear open for our Kickstarter for The Golden Triangle – the sixth novel in the Arsène Lupin series. We’re getting ready with boxed sets, special editions, and more! We’ll let you know when we’re ready to pull the trigger. 

Ambrose Bierce actually fought in the Civil War. Known as the “Devil’s Lexicographer”, he was known for his sharp wit and biting satire. He wrote several stories set during the Civil War, and also delved into the ghost story genre with great success. H.P. Lovecraft and Stephen Crane, among others, were influenced by his work. He was last known to join Pancho Villa’s revolutionary army as an observer in October 1913. He was never heard from again.  

And now, An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, and A Horseman in the Sky, by Ambrose Bierce. 

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Direct download: CT_918_OwlCreekandHorsemanVINTAGE.mp3
Category:Literature -- posted at: 12:30am MDT