Audiobooks by Honore de Balzac

The Foundations of Fiction - French Realism

In this series we turn the pages of classic short stories to put together the literary building blocks of how a particular genre or theme began, how it built its foundations to become the well-loved and well-worn genre that it is today.Do authors have the same ideas at more or less the same time? Or can they sniff out an opportunity as to which way the tastes of an audience are moving. Success undoubtedly builds success and in literary terms we can more politely say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and the surest way to reach a hungry readership is to build on the fortune and flair of your literary colleagues. The canon of French authors is both vast and incredibly talented. They have a way of creating characters and describing events to assemble stories with worlds that enthral us.One of the genres they do particularly well is French Realism and here, in this volume, we have many masters of the craft including Victor Hugo, Guy de Maupassant, Emile Zola and Honore de Balzac and a long roll-call of others.01 - Foundations of Fiction - French Realism - An Introduction2 - Two Little Soldiers by Guy de Maupassant3 - Claude Gueux by Victor Hugo4 - The Return of Martin Guerre by Alexandre Dumas5 - Suicides by Guy de Maupassant6 - Three Wars by Emile Zola7 - The Grave by Guy de Maupassant8 - The Atheist's Mass by Honore de Balzac9 - The Maison Tellier by Guy de Maupassant10 - The Siege of Berlin by Alphonse Daudet11 - The Kiss by Guy de Maupassant12 - Mateo Falcone by Prosper Merimee13 - The Piece of String by Guy de Maupassant14 - La Grande Breteche by Honore de Balzac15 - The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant

Alexandre Dumas, Alphonse Daudet, Emile Zola, Guy De Maupassant, Honore de Balzac, Prosper Merimee, Victor Hugo (Author), David Shaw-Parker, Elliot Fitzpatrick, Richard Mitchley (Narrator)

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Doctors As The Protagonists – Short Stories

The Hippocratic oath is sacred. Until it’s not. Human foibles and frailties can quickly grow and make the Doctor into a romantic hero, or a despised villain, or hopeless professional in the face of what is around him.In this volume our protagonists are the people we look to for help and certainty when we are in distress and pain. Our authors place these characters in stories that are as relevant to our thoughts today as when they were first published. 1 - Stories with The Doctor as Protaganist - An Introduction2 - The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde - Part 1 by Robert Louis Stevenson3 - The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde - Part 2 by Robert Louis Stevenson4 - La Grande Breteche by Honore de Balzac5 - A Country Doctor by Franz Kafka6 - Doctor Heidegger's Experiment by Nathaniel Hawthorne7 - The District Doctor by Ivan Turgenev8 - The Arm of Mrs Egan by W F Harvey9 - Morphine by Mikhail Bulgakov10 - Green Tea - Part 1 by Sheridan Le Fanu11 - Green Tea - Part 2 by Sheridan Le Fanu12 - The Atheist's Mass by Honore de Balzac

Franz Kafka, Honore de Balzac, Ivan Turgenev, Mikhail Bulgakov, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Robert Louis Stevenson, Sheridan Le Fanu, W F Harvey (Author), David Shaw-Parker, Mark Rice-Oxley, Richard Mitchley (Narrator)

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Short Stories About Suicide

Life has the capacity of great moments and attainment, of lives well lived, fulfilling for ourselves and for those we touch.But for others life is arduous. There is no spark to ignite the curiosity, to explore and achieve a stability and a growth to their lives. Indeed their lives, in their own eyes, become almost meaningless, their sense of themselves subsumed under a myriad of problems, whether real or imagined. Seismic events in a life might crush them; the loss of a loved one for instance. Coping is difficult, support hard to find and isolation abounds. We never really know the reason or motivation but sometimes one final, dreadful way out is the solution. In this volume our authors including, Amy Levy, Willa Cather, Honore de Balzac, O Henry, Franz Kafka and a wealth or others explore stories that help us to understand and recognise a tragic circumstance.1 - Short Stories About Suicide - An Introduction2 - Suicides by Guy de Maupassant3 - The Dream of a Ridiculous Man by Fyodor Dostovesky4 - A Hunger Artist by Franz Kafka5 - The Legacy by Virginia Woolf6 - The Informer by Joseph Conrad7 - Claude Gueux by Victor Hugo8 - The Furnished Room by O Henry9 - The Mourner by Mary Shelley10 - The Victory by Rabindranath Tagore11 - A Passion in the Desert by Honore De Balzac12 - An Imaginative Woman by Thomas Hardy13 - An Egyptian Cigarette by Kate Chopin14 - Volodya by Anton Chekhov15 - Paul's Case by Willa Cather16 - A Slav Soul by Alexander Kuprin17 - Cohen of Trinity by Amy Levy18 - The Story of A Conscience by Ambrose Bierce19 - The Cold Embrace by Mary Elizabeth Braddon20 - Blessed Are the Meek by Mary Webb21 - The Crystal Man by Edward Page Mitchell22 - The End of a Show by Barry Pain23 - An Outcast of the People by Bithia Mary Croker24 - A Responsibility by Henry Harland25 - When Spirits Steal by Philippa Forest26 - The Spider by Hanns Heinz Ewers27 - The Quadroons by Lydia Maria Child28 - Sokratics in the Strand by Amy Levy29 - In the Penal Colony by Franz Kafka

Ambrose Bierce, Amy Levy, Franz Kafka, Fyodor Dostovesky, Guy De Maupassant, Honore de Balzac, Joseph Conrad, Kate Chopin, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, O Henry, Rabindranath Tagore, Thomas Hardy, Victor Hugo, Virginia Woolf (Author), Laurel Lefkow, Mark Rice-Oxley, Richard Mitchley (Narrator)

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Theatre Royal - The Purse & La Grande Breteche : Episode 4

Theatre Royal. The very name summons up something of grandeur and eloquence. And it was. Hosted by Laurence Olivier, these big-name productions also included the creme de la creme of acting talents from John Gielgud, Ralph Richardson, and Orson Welles to Trevor Howard, Michael Redgrave and Olivier himself. They were based on works by the worlds' leading authors, among them Charles Dickens, Henry James, Oscar Wilde and Anton Chekhov. These are but a few of whose company we shall be keeping as we raise the curtain on our first instalment of theatrical history.

Honore de Balzac (Author), Laurence Olivier (Narrator)

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The unknown masterpiece, a short story by Balzac

The unknown masterpiece, or "Le chef-d'oeuvre inconnu", is a story by French author Honoré de Balzac. This short text was of tremendous importance in the world of art, for it holds a groundbreaking reflection about artistic creation: what does completion or failure mean, and how is it that technique does not guarantee either. Paul Cézanne famously said "I am Frenhofer", identifying with the old master around which the story revolves. Pablo Picasso himself was absolutely fascinated by the text, so much that he had his studio moved in the Parisian street named in the story; there, he painted his own masterpiece, Guernica. Our audiobooks are recorded by the best storytellers, for a lively and profound experience.

Honore de Balzac (Author), Katie Haigh (Narrator)

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Sarrasine, une nouvelle de Balzac

Deux récits enchâssés, au croisement du réalisme et du fantastique ; une nouvelle presque oubliée, que sa redécouverte classa parmi les plus grands textes de la littérature ; un jeu complexe d'imbrications entre sculpture, musique et littérature : Sarrasine est un des textes les plus séduisants de Balzac. Une jeune femme ne peut s'empêcher de remarquer le vieillard décharné, pareil à un spectre, qui hante un coin d'une brillante soirée parisienne. Elle s'en ouvre au narrateur, et le supplie de lever pour elle le mystère de cet inconnu ; s'ouvre alors un conte passionnel, où l'érotisme le dispute à la souffrance, les sentiments à la création artistique, et dont le mystère finit par se résoudre en macabre dans un chef d'oeuvre voluptueux, intégré sur le tard à sa Comédie humaine.

Honore de Balzac (Author), Anne-Sophie Robin (Narrator)

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The Unknown masterpiece, a short story by Balzac

The unknown masterpiece, or "Le chef-d'oeuvre inconnu", is a story by French author Honore de Balzac. This short text was of tremendous importance in the world of art, for it holds a groundbreaking reflection about artistic creation: what does completion or failure mean, and how is it that technique does not guarantee either. Paul Cezanne famously said "I am Frenhofer", identifying with the old master around which the story revolves. Pablo Picasso himself was absolutely fascinated by the text, so much that he had his studio moved in the Parisian street named in the story; there, he painted his own masterpiece, Guernica. Our audiobooks are recorded by the best storytellers, for a lively and profound experience.

Honore de Balzac (Author), Katie Haigh (Narrator)

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l'auberge rouge

Le banquier allemand Hermann, de passage à Paris, dîne en compagnie de la haute société. Il raconte à la fin du repas une étrange histoire qu'il a entendue lors de son emprisonnement à Andernach, au moment des guerres napoléoniennes. Il s'agit d'un crime commis en 1799. Deux chirurgiens militaires passent la nuit dans une auberge, partageant leur chambre avec un industriel qui a fui les hostilités et qui avoue, au cours du repas, avoir sur lui une somme considérable en or ainsi que des diamants. L'un des deux chirurgiens, Prosper Magnan, très impressionné par cette révélation, ne peut s'endormir et imagine ce que la mort de l'industriel aurait de facile et de fructueux pour lui. Quand, enfin, il finit par s'endormir, il est réveillé par un remue-ménage : l'industriel a bien été assassiné, qui plus est avec un instrument chirurgical... Prosper Magnan est innocent, mais arrêté, condamné et fusillé. Pendant que le banquier allemand Hermann développe son récit, le narrateur de l'Auberge rouge est en train de l'écouter. Or, il est assis en face d'un autre convive qu'il voit se décomposer progressivement au cours du récit d'Hermann : c'est le véritable assassin, qui se trouve à la même table que lui, à son insu... L'Auberge rouge est une nouvelle d'Honoré de Balzac parue en 1831.

Honore de Balzac (Author), Fabienne Prost (Narrator)

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Le chef d'oeuvre inconnu

Le Chef-d'uvre inconnu est une nouvelle d'Honoré de Balzac de 1831. Ce texte, à la fois fantastique et philosophique, est une véritable réflexion sur l'art, l'artiste et la création. La poursuite d'un idéal de perfection dans la création artistique peut il conduire à la folie ? Cette histoire où l'on devine quelques figures mythiques, Orphée, Pygmalion, et Prométhée, peut le laisser penser.

Honore de Balzac (Author), Nicolas Planchais (Narrator)

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An Episode of the Reign of Terror

Honoré de Balzac (1799-1850) is arguably the greatest European novelist in terms of the range and power of his writing. Most of his short stories predate his long novels and are written in a different style. One of the earliest is An Episode of the Reign of Terror in which two nuns and a priest in hiding from the mob are visited by a stranger with a very peculiar request, and even odder motives behind it. The nuns and the priest are curious as to the identity of the mysterious man... but nothing can prepare the old priest for the shock he experiences when he discovers who his visitor really is....

Honore de Balzac (Author), Cathy Dobson (Narrator)

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Eugenie Grandet

This anthology is a thorough introduction to classic literature for those who have not yet experienced these literary masterworks. For those who have known and loved these works in the past, this is an invitation to reunite with old friends in a fresh new format. From Shakespeare s finesse to Oscar Wilde s wit, this unique collection brings together works as diverse and influential as The Pilgrim s Progress and Othello. As an anthology that invites readers to immerse themselves in the masterpieces of the literary giants, it is must-have addition to any library.

Honore de Balzac (Author), Jonathan Fried (Narrator)

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The Black Sheep

Chris Dolan's dramatisation of Honore de Balzac's entertaining tale of family rivalry and fortunes lost and won, set in 19th-century France. Episode 1:After Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo, Philippe Bridau becomes a reckless gambler who steals from his mother to finance his obsession. She foolishly continues to idolise him, and it is left to his more dependable brother Joseph to rescue the family from destitution. Episode 2: Philippe's gambling has left his family destitute and his political activities have landed him in jail. His mother and brother seek financial help from a rich elderly relative, but a pretty young housekeeper and her lover have already laid plans to rob the old man of his money. Narrated by Geoffrey Whitehead with full cast. Directed by Bruce Young.

Chris Dolan, Honore De Balzac, Honore de Balzac (Author), Full Cast, Geoffrey Whitehead (Narrator)

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