Showing results by narrator "Amanda Friday" in All Categories

Walter Hartright, a struggling art teacher, is stopped for directions while traveling on a dark road by a mysterious woman in white. Thus begins Walter's deep dive into the twists and turns of stolen identities, fraud, spies, conspiracy and death. Along the way, he meets the lovely Laura Fairlie and her emboldened half-sister, Marian Halcombe. Marian is brazen and assertive in her search for the truth, a strong female during a time when women were simply viewed as the weaker sex. She joins Walter on his journey to untangle the web of lies and deceit that has been spun so expertly.

Beau Slater sure brings the fireworks. Too bad they’re not the good kind. My brother’s best friend was so smoking hot, he blew up our small-town graduation night with one humiliating almost-kiss. It took me five years, one potential dream job, and three thousand miles to diffuse that horrifying memory. So when my worst enemy and I are forced together by our meddling mothers for a first-ever Christmas in July, I can’t risk Beau reigniting my heart. Which means I’m probably supremely stupid to enlist him in my plot to teach our manipulative families a lesson.

Wuthering Heights is Emily Brontë's only novel, first published in 1847 under the pseudonym Ellis Bell. A work of considerable power and intensity set in the Yorkshire moors in the late 18th century - the bleak and wild moorland often reflected in the natures of the characters. Unsettling at times, the novel is a heady mix of gritty realism, romance, Gothic horror, and tragedy.

A Doll's House, published in 1879, was the earliest of Ibsen's "social dramas", and the first of his works to attract attention outside of Scandinavia. The central theme of the play is a woman's right to individual self-development, and represents, as humourist Stephen Leacock observed of many Ibsen plays, "a profound problem stated but not solved".

A Little Princess tells the story of Sara Crewe, daughter of a rich English officer stationed in India, who is sent to Miss Minchin's boarding school in London. Despite her wealth and privilege, Sara is kind and generous, befriending everyone from school outcast Ermengarde and motherless toddler Lottie to the teenage scullery maid Becky. When Sara's status is abruptly changed, her resolve to behave like a princess no matter her circumstances is put to the test. Frances Hodgson Burnet's children's classic is performed by a full cast and will be loved by listeners of all ages.

What does it mean to be "just good people?" That is how the two couples—one British and one American—in this story are described. But what happens when you look deeper, peeling back the layers of politeness and civility? It is a tale of love, of disappointment, of miscommunication, and missed opportunities.

The Cherry Orchard is Chekhov's final play, first performed in 1904 at the Moscow Art Theatre and directed by Konstantin Stanislavski. It takes place on the Ranevsky family's country estate, which boasts a large cherry orchard that is in bloom as the play opens. The family is gathering at the estate for a reunion but also to decide how to handle their debts, which have reached a crisis point.

Dani Petrillo's friends are settling down faster than she can escape her latest one-night stand. After her best friend's wedding, she decides it's time to leave the single life behind and find true love. She joins a dating site that makes a bold promise—Eight Dates to Your Soulmate—if you can follow their dating bootcamp rules. The first one? No sleeping with any of your matches until the eight dates are over. Sure, she wants to find a good guy, but she also knows that no sex for months isn't going to work for her. Luckily, she's always been good at bending the rules.

After the death of their father, Oedipus, Antigone and Ismene return to Thebes. The ruler is their unyielding uncle by marriage, Creon, who assumed command after the death of the sons of Oedipus, Eteocles, and Polynices in a fratricidal struggle to take control of the city. Creon has the body of one brother buried with full civic honors but forbids the burial of the body of the other, whom he regards as a traitor. Antigone's challenge to Creon's decree, which she considers unjust, results in the extinction of the family line of Oedipus.

Idina Moorfield is a new kind of magical with a dark and twisty lineage. Any other combat engineer in the 82nd Airborne Division would be proud of how far Idina's come, but the visions and voices in her mind are only getting worse. When it affects her work, Idina gets transferred to a new unit—a unit of misfits with their own problems. But sometimes, what seems like the worst move ever, can turn out to be the beginning of something great. Who says outcasts can't be heroes?

Severin is a passionate man who falls head over heels in love (or maybe lust?) with the beautiful young widow Wanda, begging her to treat him as her slave. Torn between pleasure and the fight against his own self-esteem, Severin submits to his mistress while Wanda discovers her own pleasure in her domination, an action that previously made her scoff. Deemed scandalous at the time of publication, this novel is a classic that opens a dialogue about human attraction and gender power struggles.

The Seagull is Anton Chekhov's first major play, originally produced in 1896. It dramatizes the romantic and artistic conflicts between four characters: the famous middlebrow story writer Boris Trigorin, the ingenue Nina, the fading actress Irina Arcadina, and her son, the symbolist playwright Constantine Treplef.

After breaking off his engagement with Agnes Lockwood, Lord Montbarry marries the eccentric Countess Narona before embarking on a whirlwind honeymoon tour of Europe culminating in Venice. There they reside in the decaying Palace Hotel with the Countess' brother, Baron Rivar, and their courier, Ferrari. Lord Montbarry later dies of bronchitis and upon hearing of this from Henry Westwick, Montbarry's brother, Agnes agrees to meet with Henry at the newly renovated Palace Hotel to investigate the insurance claim that was purchased prior to his death.

Falling in love is easy. Finding the right guy to spend happily ever after with... that's the hard part. But I have a foolproof plan. I'm taking the tropes that work in romance books and applying them to my love life. Only one bed? Never fails. Caring for someone when they're sick? A classic. Who did this to you? Seals the deal every single time. So long, loneliness. Don't let the door hit you on the way out. But the more I try to force romance, the more feelings naturally progress with the one man who's off limits: Walker Collins, the guy I've had a secret crush on since 7th grade.

According to George Bernard Shaw, Joan of Arc was in fact one of the first Protestant martyrs. She was one of the first apostles of nationalism, and the first French practitioner of Napoleonic realism in warfare. She also refused to accept the specific woman's lot, and dressed and fought and lived as men did. Shaw's exploration of the story of this ingenuous and eponymous heroine is set in six scenes and an epilogue, which takes place in 1456, when the church cleared Joan of the charge of heresy and condemned her accusers of corruption.

The Battle of Life: A Love Story, published in 1846, is the fourth in Charles Dickens' series of "Christmas Books," five novellas with strong social and moral messages that he published during the 1840s.

The Three Sisters is Anton Chekhov's 1901 play about the Prosorov family, who are stuck in a provincial Russian town. The sisters - Olga, Masha, and Irina - fantasize about one day returning to Moscow. Meanwhile, their brother Andrey courts village girl Natasha, and the family socializes with the soldiers stationed nearby. Dreams, longing, and illicit love drive the action of Chekhov's comic drama.

Is Idina Moorfield going crazy or has an ancient magic found its source? Her family says she's not a true Moorfield and will never be good enough for the family business. Sometimes what looks like the worst day ever, is the beginning of our best adventure. Idina takes that first step into a new life and gets the hell away from them to forge her own future.

Anne and Gilbert begin their life together in Anne's House of Dreams, a continuation of the story that began with Anne of Green Gables. First published in 1917, the L. M. Montgomery series continues with Anne as a new bride making new friends wherever she finds them. They settle on the seashore at Four Winds Point, an area near the village of Glen St. Mary on Prince Edward Island, Canada. She is befriended by the capable Miss Cornelia Bryant, kindly old sea Captain Jim, and the beautiful, mysterious figure of Mrs. Dick Moore.

Scorned by her 17th century New England Puritan village, Hester Prynne struggles to raise her precocious daughter, Pearl, who is the result of an affair and whose father is unknown. Despite being forced to wear a scarlet letter A as a brand for her adultery, Hester tries to live a life of repentance and dignity. Pearl's father comes forward as he is struggling under the weight of his own shame and sin.