I've had mixed results with this type of audio collection of classic stories. Not necessarily due to the quality of the individual stories, it's more about the mix and production quality. This collection was a pleasant surprise though. It's a refreshing mix of genre, from Romance to Mystery to Horror. There were some familiar old favorites, like "The Monkey's Paw" and "The Tale-Tell Heart" but most were new to me. The stories are all read by recognizable actors, who all do a fine job - film and TV actors are not necessarily the best at reading audio, and the language in these 100 year old stories is often stilted to my ears, so these are a particular challenge. The sound quality was excellent, and the start of each short story mostly corresponded to the next chapter, but they were labeled Chapter One, Chapter Two, etc., rather than with the title of the story, requiring me to go back and consult the title description frequently.

This is the first volume of three, so I'll be downloading and reading the rest.

Free audio via Audible Plus library. ( )

The only tale I enjoyed and remember is the one about the cat. And of course, The TellTale Heart, but that one I already knew. All in all, this collection was a disappointment. ( )

Worth listening to for Tobermory! ( )

This excellent audio collection consists of 22 classic short stories, read (or actually, “performed”) by professional actors and actresses. Authors represented include such luminaries as Edgar Allen Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, de Maupassant, AC Doyle, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Saki, Oscar Wilde, Kipling, and John Buchan. The collection includes such frightening stories as “The Tell-Tale Heart,” “The Black Cat”, “Mad,” and “The Monkeys Paw”, as well as highly amusing tales like Saki’s “Reginald on House Parties” and W.W. Jacobs’ “For Better or Worse.” Less well-known (but highly worthwhile) stories include Buchan’s “Ship to Tarshish” and Conan Doyle’s “B 24.” Two of Kipling’s tales are among the better contributions (to my surprise, since his works that I’ve sampled before did not appeal to me).

This collection ranks as one of the best short story audio collections that I’ve heard. Below are my rankings of each of the 22, on a scale of 1 to 5.

4* Reginald on House Parties - Saki
1* The Sphinx without a Secret - Oscar Wilde
2.5* Tobermory - Saki
1.5* On Being Idle - Jerome K Jerome
4.5* For Better or Worse - WW Jacobs
3* The Model Millionaire - Oscar Wilde
2.5* The Garden of Truth - E. Nesbit
5* The Cat that Walked by Himself - Rudyard Kipling
2* The Girl from Arles - Alphonse Daudet
3* Mr. & Mrs. Dove - Katherine Mansfield
4* Georgie Porgie - Rudyard Kipling
2* Caterpillars - E.F. Benton
3* Lost Hearts - MR James
4* Ship to Tarshish - John Buchan
5* The Tell-Tale Heart - Edgar Allan Poe
3.5* The Man of the Night - Edgar Wallace
3* Dr. Heidegger's Experiment - Nathaniel Hawthorne
3.5* B 24 - Arthur Conan Doyle
1.5* Pat Hobby & Orson Welles - F. Scott Fitzgerald
3* Mad - Guy de Maupassant
3* The Black Cat - Edgar Allan Poe
4* The Monkey's Paw - WW Jacobs ( )

The only tale I enjoyed and remember is the one about the cat. And of course, The TellTale Heart, but that one I already knew. All in all, this collection was a disappointment. ( )