Audiobooks narrated by Frank Bryce

The Torah (Hebrew: תּוֹרָה‎, 'Instruction', 'Teaching' or 'Law') is the first part of the Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible. It contains the first five books (Pentateuch or Five Books of Moses), namely (in their commonly used names) Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. This is known in the Jewish tradition as the Written Torah. In rabbinic literature the word Torah denotes both the five books (Hebrew: תורה שבכתב‎, romanized: torah shebichtav, 'Torah that is written') and the Oral Torah (Hebrew: תורה שבעל פה‎, romanized: torah shebe'al peh, 'Torah that is spoken'). The Oral Torah consists of interpretations and amplifications which according to rabbinic tradition have been handed down from generation to generation and are now embodied in the Talmud and Midrash. Rabbinic tradition's understanding is that all of the teachings found in the Torah (both written and oral) were given by God through the prophet Moses, some at Mount Sinai and others at the Tabernacle, and all the teachings were written down by Moses, which resulted in the Torah that exists today. According to the Midrash, the Torah was created prior to the creation of the world, and was used as the blueprint for Creation. The majority of Biblical scholars believe that the written books were a product of the Babylonian captivity (c. 6th century BCE), based on earlier written sources and oral traditions, and that it was completed with final revisions during the post-Exilic period (c. 5th century BCE). Traditionally, the words of the Torah are written on a scroll by a scribe (sofer) in Hebrew. A Torah portion is read publicly at least once every three days in the presence of a congregation. Reading the Torah publicly is one of the bases of Jewish communal life.

Isaac Leeser (Author), Frank Bryce, Hannah Smith, Scarlett Martin (Narrator)

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The Jungle Books

The Jungle Book (1894) is a collection of stories by the English author Rudyard Kipling. Most of the characters are animals such as Shere Khan the tiger and Baloo the bear, though a principal character is the boy or 'man-cub' Mowgli, who is raised in the jungle by wolves. The stories are set in a forest in India; one place mentioned repeatedly is 'Seonee' (Seoni), in the central state of Madhya Pradesh. A major theme in the book is abandonment followed by fostering, as in the life of Mowgli, echoing Kipling's own childhood. The theme is echoed in the triumph of protagonists including Rikki-Tikki-Tavi and The White Seal over their enemies, as well as Mowgli's. Another important theme is of law and freedom; the stories are not about animal behaviour, still less about the Darwinian struggle for survival, but about human archetypes in animal form. They teach respect for authority, obedience, and knowing one's place in society with 'the law of the jungle', but the stories also illustrate the freedom to move between different worlds, such as when Mowgli moves between the jungle and the village. Critics have also noted the essential wildness and lawless energies in the stories, reflecting the irresponsible side of human nature. The Second Jungle Book is a sequel to The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling. First published in 1895, it features five stories about Mowgli and three unrelated stories, all but one set in India, most of which Kipling wrote while living in Vermont. All of the stories were previously published in magazines in 1894-5, often under different titles. The 1994 film The Jungle Book used it as a source.

Rudyard Kipling (Author), Anna Cohen, Frank Bryce, Phil Chenevert (Narrator)

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Faust: Parts I & II

Faust: A Tragedy (German: Faust. Eine Tragödie, or retrospectively Faust. Der Tragödie / erster Teil) is the first part of the tragic play Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, and is considered by many as the greatest work of German literature. It was first published in 1808. Faust: The Second Part of the Tragedy (German: Faust. Der Tragödie zweiter Teil in fünf Akten.) is the second part of the tragic play Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. It was published in 1832, the year of Goethe's death. Because of the complexity of its form and content, it is usually not read in German schools, although the first part commonly is. Only part of Faust I is directly related to the legend of Johann Faust, which dates to at latest the beginning of the 16th century (thus preceding Marlowe's play). The Gretchen subplot, although now the most widely known episode of the Faust legend, was of Goethe's own invention. In Faust II, the legend (at least in a version of the 18th century, which came to Goethe's attention) already contained Faust's marriage with Helen and an encounter with an Emperor. But certainly Goethe deals with the legendary material very freely in both parts.

Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe (Author), Frank Bryce, Helen Pyle (Narrator)

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The Pickwick Papers

The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club (also known as The Pickwick Papers) was Charles Dickens's first novel. Because of his success with of Sketches by Boz published in 1836 Dickens was asked by the publisher Chapman & Hall to supply descriptions to explain a series of comic cockney sporting plates by illustrator Robert Seymour, and to connect them into a novel. The book became Britain's first real publishing phenomenon, with bootleg copies, theatrical performances, Sam Weller joke books, and other merchandise. Seymour's widow claimed that the idea for the novel was originally her husband's, but Dickens strenuously denied any specific input in his preface to the 1867 edition: 'Mr Seymour never originated or suggested an incident, a phrase, or a word, to be found in the book.'

Charles Dickens (Author), Frank Bryce (Narrator)

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The Hunchback of Notre-Dame

The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (French: Notre-Dame de Paris, lit. Our Lady of Paris) is a French Gothic novel by Victor Hugo, published in 1831. Set in medieval Paris, Victor Hugo's powerful historical romance has resonated with succeeding generations ever since its publication. It tells the story of the beautiful gypsy Esmeralda, condemned as a witch by the tormented archdeacon Claude Frollo, who lusts after her. Quasimodo, the deformed bell ringer of Notre-Dame Cathedral, having fallen in love with the kindhearted Esmeralda, tries to save her by hiding her in the cathedral's tower. When a crowd of Parisian peasants, misunderstanding Quasimodo's motives, attacks the church in an attempt to liberate her, the story ends in tragedy.

Victor Hugo (Author), Frank Bryce (Narrator)

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Meditations

Meditations (Medieval Greek: Τὰ εἰς ἑαυτόν, romanized: Ta eis heauton, literally 'things to one's self') is a series of personal writings by Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor from 161 to 180 AD, recording his private notes to himself and ideas on Stoic philosophy. Marcus Aurelius wrote the 12 books of the Meditations in Koine Greek as a source for his own guidance and self-improvement. It is possible that large portions of the work were written at Sirmium, where he spent much time planning military campaigns from 170 to 180. Some of it was written while he was positioned at Aquincum on campaign in Pannonia, because internal notes tell us that the first book was written when he was campaigning against the Quadi on the river Granova (modern-day Hron) and the second book was written at Carnuntum. It is unlikely that Marcus Aurelius ever intended the writings to be published and the work has no official title, so Meditations is one of several titles commonly assigned to the collection. These writings take the form of quotations varying in length from one sentence to long paragraphs.

Marcus Aurelius (Author), Frank Bryce, Hannah Smith (Narrator)

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The Prophet

The Prophet is a book of 26 prose poetry fables written in English by the Lebanese-American poet and writer Khalil Gibran. It was originally published in 1923 by Alfred A. Knopf. It is Gibran's best known work. The Prophet has been translated into over 100 different languages, making it one of the most translated books in history, and it has never been out of print. The prophet, Al Mustafa, has lived in the city of Orphalese for 12 years and is about to board a ship which will carry him home. He is stopped by a group of people, with whom he discusses topics such as life and the human condition. The book is divided into chapters dealing with love, marriage, children, giving, eating and drinking, work, joy and sorrow, houses, clothes, buying and selling, crime and punishment, laws, freedom, reason and passion, pain, self-knowledge, teaching, friendship, talking, time, good and evil, prayer, pleasure, beauty, religion, and death.

Khalil Gibran (Author), Frank Bryce (Narrator)

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Collected Works

The Collected Works include the most important novellas and short stories of Franz Kafka. Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 - 3 June 1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian Jewish novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work, which fuses elements of realism and the fantastic, typically features isolated protagonists facing bizarre or surrealistic predicaments and incomprehensible socio-bureaucratic powers, and has been interpreted as exploring themes of alienation, existential anxiety, guilt, and absurdity. His best known works include Die Verwandlung (The Metamorphosis), Der Process (The Trial), and Das Schloss (The Castle). The term Kafkaesque has entered the English language to describe situations like those found in his writing. Included in this collection: 1. The Metamorphosis (1915) 2. A Report for an Academy (1917) 3. Up in the Gallery (1919) 4. Before the Law (1919) 5. In the Penal Colony (1919) 6. A Hunger Artist (1922)

Franz Kafka (Author), Frank Bryce, Hannah Smith (Narrator)

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Audiobooks Narrated by Frank Bryce