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"Project Gutenberg is well known for offering free electronic versions of famous public-domain texts. Now Telltale Weekly wants to be its audiobook equivalent." - The New York Times
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by Mark Twain
21 minutes, 12 seconds
Unabridged Humorous Story
1870
A comedic fable about gender issues, succession, identity crisis, and, yes, a bit of love and romance in a patriarchal kingdom in the year 1222. By the incomparable Mark Twain.
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by Oscar Wilde
25 minutes, 49 seconds
Unabridged Fairy Tale
1899
Oscar Wilde’s fable about the true meaning of happiness (and, um, just a wee bit of antisemitism).
Originally for sale on June 14, 2005, and released free with a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial License five years later. See the Mission page for why.
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by L. Frank Baum
3 hours, 36 minutes
Unabridged Fantasy/ Young Adult Novel
1900
The beloved novel about a quest to see a Wizard. Join Dorothy, Toto, the Scarecrow, The Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion in an adventure that some would call the “first American fairy tale” (and, later, the inspiration for one of the most successful films ever made). Read by James Spencer.
Note: The podcast includes only the first chapter. The entire unabridged book is included in the downloadable bundles.
Originally for sale on April 5, 2005, and released free with a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial License five years later. See the Mission page for why.
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by L. Frank Baum
18 minutes, 34 seconds
Unabridged Fairy Tale
1901
“You haven’t a penny in the world, but you have a kingdom. There are many rich women who would be glad to give their wealth in exchange for a queen’s coronet–even if the king is but a child. So we have decided to advertise that the one who bids the highest shall become the queen of Quok.”
This humourous story by the author of the Wizard of Oz series involves a young, broke king and the quest by his advisors to replenish the treasury. It was published in 1901 with eleven other fantastical stories in a volume entitled American Fairy Tales. In his introduction to the second publication of these stories in 1908, Baum wrote:
My friends, the children, will find these stories quite as astonishing as if they had been written hundreds of years ago, for ours is the age of astonishing things. They are not too serious in purpose, but aim to amuse and entertain, yet I trust the more thoughtful of my readers will find a wholesome lesson hidden beneath each extravagant notion and humorous incident.
This is the unabridged short story, read by J. Winter Collins.
Originally for sale on September 3, 2004, and released free with a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial License five years later (though please note restrictions based on internationally diverse copyright standards). See the Mission page for why.
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by L. Frank Baum
15 minutes
Unabridged Fairy Tale
1901
“An accomplished wizard once lived on the top floor of a tenement house and passed his time in thoughtful study and studious thought. What he didn’t know about wizardry was hardly worth knowing, for he possessed all the books and recipes of all the wizards who had lived before him; and, moreover, he had invented several wizardments himself. “
This humourous story by the author of the Wizard of Oz series, involves a wizard, a glass-blower and a lady of high-society. It was published in 1901 with eleven other fantastical stories in a volume entitled American Fairy Tales. In his introduction to the second publication of these stories in 1908, Baum wrote:
My friends, the children, will find these stories quite as astonishing as if they had been written hundreds of years ago, for ours is the age of astonishing things. They are not too serious in purpose, but aim to amuse and entertain, yet I trust the more thoughtful of my readers will find a wholesome lesson hidden beneath each extravagant notion and humorous incident.
This is the unabridged short story, read by J. Winter Collins.
Originally for sale on July 16, 2004, and released free with a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial License five years later. See the Mission page for why.
Lyman Frank Baum (1856-1919) was a New York-born author best known for the beloved classics of children's literature, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and 13 other books in the Oz universe.
J. Winter Collins is a teacher, artist, writer and performer who lives in north central Florida. She is involved in a wide range of creative projects, most of which relate to teaching and entertaining children of all ages.
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by Mark Twain
27 minutes
Unabridged Short Story
1904
“This new creature with the long hair is a good deal in the way. It is always hanging around and following me about. I don’t like this; I am not used to company. I wish it would stay with the other animals…”
The battle of the sexes begins in the Garden of Eden, as humourously told by Mark Twain, who “translated a portion” of “Adam’s hieroglyphics.” Note that the word “Extracts” is actually part of the title; this is the full, unabridged short story. Read by Alex Wilson.
Originally for sale on May 14, 2004, and released free with a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial License five years later. See the Mission page for why.
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by Frank R. Stockton
14 minutes, 24 seconds
Unabridged Short Story
1884
“When a subject was accused of a crime of sufficient importance to interest the king, public notice was given that on an appointed day the fate of the accused person would be decided in the king’s arena…”
A short fable about a young hero who angers a ruthless king who forces him to make an ultimate choice. But does the king’s semi-barbaric daughter make the choice for him? Read by Max Miller.
Originally for sale on May 14, 2004, and released free with a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial License five years later. See the Mission page for why.
Frank R. Stockton (1834-1902) was an American storyteller, humorist, and author of children's books including Ting-a-Ling and The Floating Prince and Other Fairy Tales.
Max Miller, born in Dallas, Texas and raised everywhere else has a background in acting and stand-up comedy. Max has spent most of his life just reading great literature for his own edification but on the advice of almost everyone who has heard his voice he launched a career as a voice professional (see DejaVoice.com [new window] for more details). Max draws upon his acting and comedic skills to bring novels to life in the theater of the mind. Enjoy what his children and wife do every night at storytime as Max puts and skin and bones on the great characters that have flowed from the pens of our greatest writers.
Max has been married only once in 1993 to Sara whom he met on a blind date. His three children, Avery, Zoe (twin girls) and Seven (their younger brother) have enjoyed hours of great, classic literature because it is delivered to them with all the dialect, regional accents, emotion and wit the writers intended. His audiobooks are produced under contract for UnabridgedBooks.com [new window].
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by Rudyard Kipling
1 hour, 14 minutes
Unabridged Story Collection
1894, 1895
Two classic Rudyard Kipling stories of the Indian jungle:
The King’s Ankus (1895)
The python Kaa takes the manchild Mowgli to the ruined city of Cold Lairs, seeking treasure but finding something far worse.“These are the Four that are never content,
that have never been filled since the Dews began:
Jacala’s mouth, and the glut of the Kite,
and the hands of the Ape, and the Eyes of Man.”
The Miracle of Purun Bhagat (1894)
A rich man casts away all possessions in the quest for (or from?) his true identity.“The night we felt the earth would move
We stole and plucked him by the hand,
Because we loved him with the love
That knows but cannot understand.”
Performed by Robert Bethune.
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by Clement Clarke Moore (or Henry Livingston Jr.)
3 minutes, 18 seconds
Unabridged Christmas Verse
1823
“A Visit from St Nicholas” (or “The Night Before Christmas”), since first published anonymously in the Troy Sentinel, widely introduced the modern concept of Santa Claus to the Western world.
The classic verse was later attributed to both Clement Clarke Moore and Henry Livingston, Jr., depending on who you ask.
Alex Wilson is a writer and actor from northern Ohio and now based in Carrboro, North Carolina. His stories and comics have appeared/will appear in Asimov's Science Fiction, The Rambler, Outlaw Territory II (Image Comics), Weird Tales, Futurismic, LCRW and elsewhere. Locus has called him a "promising new writer," and Publishers Weekly also has nice things to say. Website)
Alex has performed lead roles in the North American premiere of (Richard Taylor's musical) Whistle Down the Wind and (Emmy-nominated director Jack Lucido's film) The Third Cord. He has recently appeared in the Deep Dish Theater productions of Hedda Gabler and Moon for the Misbegotten, and recorded narrations for Escape Pod and Night Shade Books. (Acting Resume/Reel) On early Telltale recordings, Alex is sometimes credited as "Alexander Wilson." He founded Telltale in 2004.
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by F Scott Fitzgerald
55 minutes, 44 seconds
Unabridged Short Story
1921
Benjamin Button is born as a grown man of seventy years. He spends the rest of his life growing ever younger.
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