Short Stories audiobooks

Flappers and Philosophers

By: F. Scott Fitzgerald

Narrated by: William Dufris

Length: 6 hours 50 minutes

Abridged: No

Flappers and Philosophers marked F. Scott Fitzgerald’s entry into the realm of the short story, in which he adroitly proved himself “a master of the mechanism of short-story technique” (Boston Transcript). Several of his most well-known tales are represented in this classic collection of eight, including “Bernice Bobs Her Hair” and “Head and... Read more

Saints and Sinners

By: Edna O'Brien

Narrated by: Suzanne Bertish

Length: 5 hours 34 minutes

Abridged: No

With her inimitable gift for describing the workings of the heart and mind, Edna O'Brien introduces us to a vivid new cast of restless, searching people who - whether in the Irish countryside or London or New York - remind us of our own humanity. A librarian waits in the lobby of a posh Dublin hotel - expecting to meet a celebrated poet while... Read more

The Flying Stars

By: G.K. Chesterton

Narrated by: B.J. Harrison

Length: 36 minutes

Abridged: No

The Flying Stars are missing. Three brilliant diamonds, whose fame has spread throughout England, have been purloined during an innocent Christmas pantomime. Can Father Brown discover the culprit before the curtain falls? Read more

The Storyteller

By: Saki

Narrated by: Cathy Dobson

Length: 14 minutes

Abridged: No

Finding himself trapped in a compartment with a set of unruly children, the Storyteller decides to take revenge by narrating a tale with a most immoral twist. This is a wonderful example of witty and multi-layered storytelling by Hector Hugh Munro (aka Saki), satirizing British Edwardian society. The listener is drawn into the story along with... Read more

A Week in Summer

By: Maeve Binchy

Narrated by: Maeve Binchy

Length: 33 minutes

Abridged: No

After many happy years of marriage and raising a family, Brian and Kathleen suddenly find themselves a bit lost in life. Midwesterners who’ve never traveled, Kathleen decides that what she and Brian need is a vacation, and with the help of an enthusiastic travel agent she plans a trip to Ireland in search of her roots. In beautiful, quaint... Read more

Tales of Naughty Pranks

By: Saki

Narrated by: Cathy Dobson

Length: 44 minutes

Abridged: No

A quartet of short stories by the mastermind of practical jokes, Hector Hugh Munro, better known under his pseudonym “Saki”. This collection brings together four of his most ingenious tales, all of which involve one character playing a prank on the others. The results range from the comic to the macabre… but all are brilliantly narrated with... Read more

The Background

By: Saki

Narrated by: Cathy Dobson

Length: 9 minutes

Abridged: No

When Henri Deplis comes into a small inheritance and celebrates his new found wealth by getting an elaborate tattoo, he little realizes what a series of catastrophic events will ensue. The tattoo is recognized as a masterpiece of modern art and given to the city of Bergamo. This is the start of a series of restrictions on Henri Deplis’ lifestyle... Read more

Curious Animal Tales

By: Saki

Narrated by: Cathy Dobson

Length: 56 minutes

Abridged: No

A quartet of short stories by Britain’s raconteur supreme, Hector Hugh Munro, better known under his pseudonym “Saki”. This collection brings together four of his most curious and amusing tales, all of which involve animals. Saki’s satirical take on the morals and eccentricities of Edwardian society, combined with a compelling narrative and an... Read more

Tales of the Macabre

By: Saki

Narrated by: Cathy Dobson

Length: 44 minutes

Abridged: No

A quartet of short stories by the British master of the macabre, Hector Hugh Munro, better known under his pseudonym “Saki”. This collection brings together four of his most macabre tales, all of which will surprise the listener with an uncanny twist at the end. "The Background": When Henri Deplis comes into a small inheritance and celebrates... Read more

Sredni Vashtar

By: Saki

Narrated by: Cathy Dobson

Length: 14 minutes

Abridged: No

Conradin is a sickly and introverted child who hates his guardian, Mrs. De Ropp. When she takes away his pet hen and threatens to do the same with his pole-cat, whom he worships like a god, Conradin makes a special prayer and his sinister wish is answered. Hector Hugh Munro (aka Saki) at his most sinister and macabre. Superb! Read more

The Quest

By: Saki

Narrated by: Cathy Dobson

Length: 11 minutes

Abridged: No

When the Momeby family’s baby goes missing, their neighbour Miss Gilpet undertakes to find the child. Her immediate success turns out to be less of a miracle and more of an embarrassment for all. Read more

Tobermory

By: Saki

Narrated by: Cathy Dobson

Length: 21 minutes

Abridged: No

When Mr. Cornelius Appin announces that he has succeeded in teaching the cat, Tobermory, to speak, nobody in the house party believes him. But when Tobermory makes his entrance and begins to reveal the kind of personal secrets only a cat can know about the assembled company, chaos breaks out. Tobermory must be destroyed at all costs. Hector Hugh... Read more

Mrs. Packletide's Tiger

By: Saki

Narrated by: Cathy Dobson

Length: 10 minutes

Abridged: No

Mrs. Packletide is determined to shoot a tiger in order to get one up on her arch rival Loona Bimberton. In a comical and at times ironic sequence of events, Mrs. Packletide finds herself at the mercy of another rival, just when she had least expected it. Hector Hugh Munro at his most witty and ironic. A masterpiece! Read more

The Chaplet

By: Saki

Narrated by: Cathy Dobson

Length: 10 minutes

Abridged: No

When master chef Monsieur Aristide Saucourt presents his signature dish to diners at the Grand Sybaris Hotel, he anticipates they will acknowledge this as the pinnacle of his career. But the moment does not go as planned and ends in a fatal tragedy involving hot soup. Read more

Esme

By: Saki

Narrated by: Cathy Dobson

Length: 13 minutes

Abridged: No

The Baroness recounts a hunting story with a twist. Instead of a fox, the quarry turns out to be an escaped hyena, which adopts her and Constance Broddle and leads them to cover up a heinous killing. Hector Hugh Munro at his most macabre. Read more

The Stampeding of Lady Bastable

By: Saki

Narrated by: Cathy Dobson

Length: 8 minutes

Abridged: No

Mrs. Sangrail is determined to offload her wayward son Clovis onto Lady Bastable for six days while she takes a trip to Scotland. Is desperation she resorts to cunning bribery, but Clovis has other ideas and devises an ingenious scheme to thwart his mother’s plans. Another piece of genius humour writing by Hector Hugh Munro, peppered with his... Read more

The Mouse

By: Saki

Narrated by: Cathy Dobson

Length: 11 minutes

Abridged: No

When Theodoric Voler boards a train he finds he is not alone in the compartment. Not only is there a female companion asleep in one corner, there is a mouse which has hidden itself inside his clothes. Can the sensitive and prudish young man manage to undress and extricate the mouse without his female companion waking up? Hector Hugh Munro (Saki)... Read more

No Time Left

By: David Baldacci

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 35 minutes

Abridged: No

An original short story by New York Times bestselling author David Baldacci.

Frank Becker is a highly sought after, expert assassin. When Becker takes a mysterious job, he has no idea that it will force him to delve deeply into his own past. Undeterred by obstacles he is determined to complete his assignment. But he may realize too late that his... Read more

The Unrest Cure

By: Saki

Narrated by: Cathy Dobson

Length: 17 minutes

Abridged: No

When the prematurely middle-aged J.P. Huddle is recommended to take an “unrest-cure” by a friend, he little realizes that the other passenger in the railway compartment, the prank-loving Clovis, will take this as a personal challenge. The havoc which Clovis’s macabre and at times shocking practical joke causes is beyond anything that the sleepy... Read more

Bullfighting

By: Roddy Doyle

Narrated by: Lorcan Cranitch

Length: 5 hours 28 minutes

Abridged: No

Roddy Doyle has earned a devoted following for his wry wit, his uncanny ear, and his ability to fully capture the hearts of his characters. Bullfighting, his second collection of stories, offers thirteen bittersweet takes on men and middle-age, revealing a panorama of Ireland today. Moving from classrooms to local pubs to bullrings, these tales... Read more

The Open Window

By: Saki

Narrated by: Cathy Dobson

Length: 8 minutes

Abridged: No

Framton Nuttel pays an unannounced call on Mrs. Sappleton and finds himself in the midst of a macabre spectacle which is not as it seems. Hector Hugh Munro’s genius storytelling at its best. Read more

Ten Stories by Katherine Mansfield

By: Katherine Mansfield

Narrated by: Jenny Sterlin

Length: 7 hours 49 minutes

Abridged: No

Although Katherine Mansfield was born in New Zealand in 1888, she spent much of her short life in England and on the Continent. As she wrote about the privileged worlds she encountered there, her stories quickly attracted literary attention. Prelude was hand-published by Leonard and Virginia Woolf at their Hogarth Press. Readers today still... Read more

New Stories From the South

By: Allan Gurganus

Narrated by: Sisi Aisha Johnson, Pete Bradbury, Cynthia Darl...

Length: 12 hours 30 minutes

Abridged: No

Pages magazine says this collection represents "the absolute best in short literary fiction." This installment exhibits a fresh batch of immensely talented writers, all of whom exemplify the level of accomplishment that has kept this acclaimed series running strong since 1985. Comprising 20 stories, this rich and varied collection features... Read more

Sunlight and Joy

By: Barbara Delinsky

Narrated by: Kimberly Farr

Length: 1 hour 32 minutes

Abridged: No

“Sunlight and Joy” is Barbara Delinsky’s heartwarming story about a couple relearning how to appreciate the simple things. Also included is an exclusive conversation with Barbara about what inspires her writing and an advance peek at her newest novel, Escape.
 
Blessed with three wonderful children and a life full of material comforts, Rick and... Read more