David Thorn

Oliver Goldsmith's 18th century novel "The Vicar of Wakefield" was so popular in Victorian times that it is mentioned in many classics of that era including George Eliot's "Middlemarch," Jane Austen's "Emma," Charles Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities" and Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein", amongst others. It is the story of Dr. Charles Primrose, the titular Vicar, his wife Deborah and their six children who live an idyllic life in a country parish. The Vicar...

While the United States battled the Communists of North Vietnam in the 1960s and '70s, the neighbouring country of Cambodia was attacked from within by dictator Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge. The Khmer Rouge imprisoned, enslaved, and murdered the educated and intellectual members of the population, resulting in the harrowing "killing fields"–rice paddies where the harvest yielded nothing but millions of skulls. Young Sichan Siv–a target since...

Winner of a Jewish National Book Award for his previous book, Walking Israel, NBC Special Correspondent Martin Fletcher uses meticulous research and his own family's history in this stunning novel. Dramatizing explosive events in London and Palestine in the years directly following World War II, The List follows the lives of Edith and Georg, Austrian refugees who are expecting their first baby in a world unfriendly to Jews. Anti-Semitism sweeps across...

A Classic Adventure Novel from the World's Greatest Satirist This classic satirical novel, written by Jonathan Swift and first published in 1726, is an awesome adventure that has made Gulliver's Travels a favorite book of readers for over 250 years. Lemuel Gulliver is a kind English surgeon longing for adventure. He gets a lot more than he bargained for when he signs on board a sailing ship and a shipwreck leaves him swept ashore. He embarks on...

First published in 1898, "Wild Animals I Have Known" is the work of naturalist Ernest Thompson Seton, which is recognized as one the first entries into the genre of realistic wild-animal fiction. To this day Ernest Thompson Seton is probably best remembered as being one of the founding members of the Scouting movement in America. Influenced by Lord Robert Baden-Powell, who founded a scouting movement in the United Kingdom, Seton would start a youth...

In the fishing community of Fjällbacka, life is remote, peaceful-and for some, tragically short. Foul play was always suspected in the disappearance twenty years ago of two young holidaymakers in the area. Now a young boy out playing has confirmed this grim truth. Their remains, discovered with those of a fresh victim, send the town into shock. Local detective Patrik Hedstrom, expecting a baby with his girlfriend Erica, can only imagine what it is...

Listen to a personal account of a prominent figure during one of the most pivotal times in England's history: the Tudor period. This extraordinary “eye-witness” account of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey's rise and fall from power was written between 1554 and 1558 by his gentleman-usher, George Cavendish, who was privy to so much of the Cardinal's ambitious endeavors. However, Cavendish prudently waited a long time before chronicling his observations for...

The second volume in a five-part series telling the story of Great Britain's history, from its earliest beginnings to World War I. Much loved by generations of children, this is a classic children's history of Britain from the Romans to the death of Queen Victoria. First published in 1905, Henrietta Marshall's beautifully written narrative is based on her answers to her children's questions about the history of Great Britain, which they referred to...

Celebrated author Thomas Bulfinch unfolds the stories behind history's most revered Gods and Heroes. Here, listeners will discover the myths and facts behind Greek and Roman Gods, the warriors of the Crusades, Egyptian deities, and Scandinavian folklore.

A contemporary account taken from the memoirs of Sir Thomas Herbers and Hohn Rushworth. Taken from two main sources, John Rushworth's Historical Collection (circa 1659) and Sir Thomas Herbert's memoirs (circa 1678), this book will primarily be of interest to those who have a deep curiosity about this historic event, unprecedented in the history of European nations at that time. It chronicles-sometimes dramatically, sometimes poignantly-the king's...