Book Collections
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The American Novel
The core of any American Literature survey course, 1850–1926. Fifteen novels from Hawthorne’s Puritan guilt to Hemingway’s Lost Generation — the full arc of a distinctly American literary voice. Listen free on HearCandy.
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Before the Novel
Homer, Sophocles, Virgil, Dante. These nine works are the foundation of Western literature — every subsequent writer read them, argued with them, and built on them. The core of any classical literature course. Listen to them all free with HearCandy.
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The Birth of the Detective
Poe invented it in 1841. Collins built it into a novel in 1868. Conan Doyle made it immortal. Read in order, you can watch the detective genre being invented in real time. Listen free on HearCandy.
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The Gothic Tradition
The Gothic Tradition Where horror began — and why it still haunts us. From Walpole’s haunted castle (1764) to Leroux’s Phantom (1910), these nine novels trace the complete arc of Gothic literature. Listen free on HearCandy. The Castle of Otranto Horace Walpole The first Gothic novel (1764). A haunted castle, mysterious deaths, a tyrannical prince.…
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The Russian Novel
In the second half of the 19th century, Russian literature produced a concentration of genius unmatched in any national tradition. These eight novels form the core of Russian literature courses worldwide. Listen free on HearCandy.
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Satire & Dissent
Four hundred years of writers saying what everyone else was too polite to say — and getting away with it by making you laugh first. The full tradition of literary satire, from Cervantes to Bierce. Listen free on HearCandy.
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Short & Powerful
Novels and novellas under five hours — nothing wasted. These nine works are among the most concentrated literary achievements in any language. A Christmas Carol in one sitting. The Metamorphosis before dinner. Listen free on HearCandy.
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Women Writing Women
Women Writing Women A century of women writers rendering female experience with precision and ferocity, 1811–1920. Each of these novels was, in its time, either scandalous or groundbreaking — several were both. Listen free on HearCandy. Sense and Sensibility Jane Austen Austen’s first published novel. Two sisters navigate love, money, and society with wildly different…
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Great Books
Imagine hearing hundreds of the foundational texts of civilization for free. It would reshape how you think, argue, perceive time, and understand human life. Here is a complete four year program [1] of classic works in philosophy, literature, political science, psychology, history, religion, economics, math, chemistry, physics, biology, astronomy, music, language, and more. Start here…