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Swizzle your ears for some of the finest, most fantastic first words every written, spoken and dreamt. Stay tuned for more extracts from Roald Dahl’s best loved children’s stories and if you like what you hear then visit the Apple App. Store to download the Audiobooks App for free!

Have a listen to Matilda, read by Kate Winslet, which was recognized by the American Library Association as an Odyssey Honour Book. 

With fantastic features including free access to the first chapter of every title, in–app purchase to continue the story and the ability to stream the audiobooks, the Roald Dahl Audiobooks App is available from the App Store on iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch or at www.itunes.com/appstore.


Roald Dahl: Matilda read by Kate Winslet

Winner of the Specsavers National Book Award for The Audible Audiobook of the Year

THE OCEAN AT THE END OF THE LANE is a fable that reshapes modern fantasy: moving, terrifying, and elegiac - as pure as a dream, as delicate as a butterfly's wing, as dangerous as a knife in the dark - from storytelling genius Neil Gaiman.

It's about memory and magic and survival, about the power of stories and the darkness inside each of us. It began for our narrator 40 years ago, when the family lodger stole their car and committed suicide in it, stirring up ancient powers best left undisturbed.

Dark creatures from beyond this world are on the loose, and it will take everything our narrator has just to stay alive: there is primal horror here, and a menace unleashed - within his family and from the forces that have gathered to destroy it.

THE OCEAN AT THE END OF THE LANE - Neil Gaiman - Audio Extract

Wildly original, funny and moving, the extraordinary story of a life lived again and again and a desperate race to prevent armageddon. 

--------

SOME STORIES CANNOT BE TOLD IN JUST ONE LIFETIME.

Harry August is on his deathbed. Again.

No matter what he does or the decisions he makes, when death comes, Harry always returns to where he began, a child with all the knowledge of a life he has already lived a dozen times before. Nothing ever changes.

Until now.

As Harry nears the end of his eleventh life, a little girl appears at his bedside. "I nearly missed you, Doctor August," she says. "I need to send a message."

This is the story of what Harry does next, and what he did before, and how he tries to save a past he cannot change and a future he cannot allow.

--------

Available NOW from Hachette Audio as a digital download, and in hardcover and ebook from Redhook.

Download:
http://www.downpour.com/the-first-fifteen-lives-of-harry-august-1
http://www.audible.com/pd/Fiction/The-First-Fifteen-Lives-of-Harry-August-Audiobook/B00J27VX9Y/ref=a_search_c4_1_1_srImg?qid=1398113804&sr=1-1
http://www.audiobooks.com/audiobook/the-first-fifteen-lives-of-harry-august/209907
http://www.emusic.com/book/claire-north/the-first-fifteen-lives-of-harry-august/10134301/
https://itunes.apple.com/us/audiobook/first-fifteen-lives-harry/id843419935

Check out our other great titles and more at:
www.hachettebookgroup.com/features/aud…s/index.html

Follow us at:
twitter.com/HachetteAudio
www.tumblr.com/blog/hachetteaudio
www.facebook.com/HachetteAudio

The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North, Read by Peter Kenny - Audiobook Excerpt

Helena Bonham Carter reads an extract from DIARY OF A YOUNG GIRL by Anne Frank.  This extract is taken from the newly updated and digitally remastered unabridged audiobook recording due for release on 12th June.

In Amsterdam, in the summer of 1942, the Nazis forced teenager Anne Frank and her family into hiding. For over two years, they, another family and a German dentist lived in a 'secret annexe', fearing discovery. All that time, Anne kept a diary.

An intimate record of tension and struggle, adolescence and confinement, anger and heartbreak, Anne Frank's diary is one of those unique documents, famed throughout the world.  It portrays innocence and humanity, suffering and survival in the starkest and most moving terms.

The unabridged audiobook edition will be available to download from www.audible.co.uk, iTunes UK, eMusic.com, and www.penguin.co.uk from the 12th June 2011.

Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl (Audiobook Extract) read by Helena Bonham Carter

Lauren Oliver, author of New York Times bestselling novels BEFORE I FALL, PANIC, and the DELIRIUM trilogy, talks to us about her new novel, VANISHING GIRLS, a gripping story about two sisters inexorably altered by a terrible accident.  Lauren shares how she approaches writing for different audiences, why she chooses a central question for each of her books, how good books can explore scary topics in a safe way, the  differences between writing a novel and screenplay and how screenwriting stretched her as a novelist.

Lauren Oliver

An extract from the audiobook edition of Charles Dickens's Great Expectations, read by Hugh Laurie.

About the book:
A terrifying encounter with an escaped convict in a graveyard on the wild Kent marshes; a summons to meet the bitter, decaying Miss Havisham and her beautiful, cold-hearted ward Estella; the sudden generosity of a mysterious benefactor - these form a series of events that change the orphaned Pip's life forever, and he eagerly abandons his humble origins to begin a new life as a gentleman. Dickens's haunting late novel depicts Pip's education and development through adversity as he discovers thetrue nature of his 'great expectations'.

This audio book is available to download from Audible.co.uk and iTunes UK now. 

Charles Dickens: Great Expectations (Audiobook Extract) read by Hugh Laurie

An extract from the audiobook edition of Charle's Dicken's classic story of turbulent times, A Tale of Two Cities, read by Ian Richardson.

About the book:
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times . . ." With these famous words, Charles Dickens plunges the reader into one of history's most explosive eras - the French Revolution

After eighteen years as a political prisoner in the Bastille, the aging Dr Manette is finally released and reunited with his daughter in England. There two very different men, Charles Darnay, an exiled French aristocrat, and Sydney Carton, a disreputable but brilliant English lawyer, become enmeshed through their love for Lucie Manette. From the tranquil lanes of London, they are all drawn against their will to the vengeful, bloodstained streets of Paris at the height of the Reign of Terror, and soon fall under the lethal shadow of La Guillotine.

The CD is available to buy here:
http://www.penguin.co.uk/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9780141804491,00.html?strSrchSql=a+tale+of+two+cities/A_Tale_of_Two_Cities_Charles_Dickens

This audio book is available to download from Audible.co.uk and iTunes UK now. 

Dickens: A Tale of Two Cities (Audiobook Extract) read by Ian Richardson #AudioLondon

Have a listen to this audiobook extract of Charlotte Brontë's well loved classic, Jane Eyre, to celebrate the release of the new film!

You can buy the paperback here: http://www.penguin.co.uk/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9780141339504,00.html?strSrchSql=jane+eyre/Jane_Eyre_(Film_tie-in)_Charlotte_Bront%EB

Or the audiobook CD here:
http://www.penguin.co.uk/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9780141805153,00.html?strSrchSql=jane+eyre/Jane_Eyre_Charlotte_Bront%EB





Charlotte Brontë: Jane Eyre (Audiobook Extract) read by Joanna David

Get in the mood for the Brontë's with an extract from the audiobook edition of Emily's dark and tragic classic, Wuthering Heights.

Emily Brontë: Wuthering Heights (Audiobook Extract), read by Juliet Stevenson

An extract from the audiobook edition of Louisa May Alcott's timeless classic, Little Women. brought to life by Kate Harper.

About the book:
Meg is the eldest and on the brink of love. Then there's tomboy Jo who longs to be a writer. Sweet-natured Beth always puts others first, and finally there's Amy, the youngest and most precocious. Together they are the March sisters. Even though money is short, times are tough and their father is away at war, their infectious sense of fun sweeps everyone up in their adventures - including Laurie, the boy next door. And through sisterly squabbles, their happy times and sad ones too, the sisters discover that growing up is sometimes very hard to do.

Louisa May Alcott: Little Women (Audiobook Extract) read by Kate Harper

An extract from the audiobook edition of Jane Austen's Persuasion read by Geraldine McEwan.

About the book: 'Her attachment and regrets had, for a long time, clouded every enjoyment of youth; and an early loss of bloom and spirits had been their lasting effect'

Persuasion, Jane Austen's last novel, is a moving, masterly and elegiac love story tinged with the heartache of missed opportunities.

It tells the story of Anne Elliot, who, persuaded to break off her engagement to the man she loved because he was not successful enough, has never forgotten him. When he returns, he brings with him a tantalizing second chance of happiness ...

Jane Austen: Persuasion (Audiobook Extract) read by Geraldine McEwan

GOING PUBLIC #JIAM AUDIOPALOOZA - JUNE 29TH 
"Humiliation / A Young Wife," by D. H. Lawrence - a poetry mash-up 
Collaboration with Robin Sachs

Several weeks back, I decided to offer a fresh Going Public piece every day of Audiobook Week, in celebration of JIAM. But what to do? How could I present something a little "beyond" as part of the effort?

I threw this question to reviewer extraordinaire and good friend Kelli of The Oddiophile, who immediately came back with the most wonderful idea: more dual narration - which she followed up with the idea of poetry pairings, with alternating narration. 

And like THAT! the flame was lit, the call went out to the ever gracious and phenomenal Robin Sachs, and a plan was hatched. We've already released the "New Year's Night / Mystery" mash-up, and now offer our second collaboration for the week, Lawrence's "Humiliation" paired with "A Young Wife."

There seems to be two sides to Lawrence: the sex/death side, and the bitter/trapped/grief side. While "New Year's Night / Mystery" represents the former, this offering is definitely in the latter camp.  

When Lawrence writes, "The pain of loving you is almost more than I can bear," what we cannot know is whether or not he wants to bear it, even if he could.

"Humiliation / A Young Wife," by DH Lawrence - a poetry mashup (read by Robin Sachs & Xe Sands)

An extract from the Penguin Classic, Jane Austen's Emma, adapted for audio and now available as a digital download as part of the Penguin English Library series. Read by the actress Fiona Shaw.

About the book:

'I never have been in love; it is not my way, or my nature; and I do not think I ever shall'

Beautiful, clever, rich - and single - Emma Woodhouse is perfectly content with her life and sees no need for either love or marriage. Nothing, however, delights her more than interfering in the romantic lives of others. But when she ignores the warnings of her good friend Mr Knightley and attempts to arrange a suitable match for her protégée Harriet Smith, her carefully laid plans soon unravel and have consequences that she never expected. With its imperfect but charming heroine and its witty and subtle exploration of relationships, Emma is often seen as Jane Austen's most flawless work.

Part of a series of vintage recordings taken from the Penguin Archives. Affordable, collectable, quality productions - perfect for on-the-go listening.

Jane Austen: Emma (Audiobook Extract) read by Fiona Shaw

An extract from the Penguin Classic, Thomas Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge, adapted for audio and available as a digital download as part of the Penguin English Library series. read by the actor Nigel Anthony.

About the book:

'Here - I am waiting to know about this offer of mine. The woman is no good to me. Who'll have her?'

In a fit of drunken anger, Michael Henchard sells his wife and baby daughter for five guineas at a country fair. Over the course of the following years, he manages to establish himself as a respected and prosperous pillar of the community of Casterbridge, but behind his success there always lurk the shameful secret of his past and a personality prone to self-destructive pride and temper.

Part of a series of vintage recordings taken from the Penguin Archives. Affordable, collectable, quality productions - perfect for on-the-go listening.

Thomas Hardy: The Mayor of Casterbridge (Audiobook Extract) read by Nigel Anthony

An extract from Penguin Classic Charlotte Brontë's Shirley, adapted for audio and now available as a digital download as part of the Penguin English Library series. Read by the actor Juliet Stevenson. 

About the book:

'Alas, Experience! No other mentor has so wasted and frozen a face as yours: none wears a robe so black, none bears a rod so heavy ...'

Struggling manufacturer Robert Moore has introduced labour saving machinery to his Yorkshire mill, arousing a ferment of unemployment and discontent among his workers. Robert considers marriage to the wealthy and independent Shirley Keeldar to solve his financial woes, yet his heart lies with his cousin Caroline, who, bored and desperate, lives as a dependent in her uncle's home with no prospect of a career. Shirley, meanwhile, is in love with Robert's brother, an impoverished tutor - a match opposed by her family. As industrial unrest builds to a potentially fatal pitch, can the four be reconciled?

Afforable, collectable, quality production-perfect for on-the-go listening.

Charlotte Brontë: Shirley (Audiobook Extract) read by Juliet Stevenson

Ruth Stimson, Editorial Manager for the Penguin English Library, talks about her job, the usefulness of being a pedant, and introduces an extract from Dracula by Bram Stoker, read by Richard E. Grant.

Ruth Stimson on Dracula by Bram Stoker

An extract from the Penguin Classics downloadable audio edition of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, part of the Penguin English Library series. Read by David Threlfall, the star of the hit Channel 4 series, Shameless.

'The mind of man is capable of anything - because everything is in it, all the past as well as all the future. What was there after all? Joy, fear, sorrow, devotion, rage - who can tell? - but truth - truth stripped of its cloak of time. Let the fool gape and shudder - the man knows, and can look on without a wink'

Marlow, a seaman, tells of a journey up the Congo. His goal is the troubled European and ivory trader Kurtz. Worshipped and feared by invaders as well as natives, Kurtz has become a godlike figure, his presence pervading the jungle like a thick, obscuring mist. As his boat labours further upstream, closer and closer to Kurtz's extraordinary and terrible domain, so Marlow finds his faith in himself and civilization crumbling. Conrad's Heart of Darkness has been considered the most important indictment of the evils of imperialism written to date.

Part of a series of vintage recordings taken from the Penguin Archives. Affordable, collectable, quality productions - perfect for on-the-go listening.

Joseph Conrad: Heart of Darkness (Audiobook Extract) read by David Threlfall (Shameless)

The Lightning' is a powerful poem by DH Lawrence, so powerful that me and 'Wailin Nick Morland' felt that we couldn't let it pass us by!

We recorded this in one take ... like lightning!

It is not a song ... it is a poem and there's some music playing ....!

The Lightning (a poem by DH Lawrence)

I felt the lurch and halt of her heart
Next my breast, where my own heart was beating;
And I laughed to feel it plunge and bound,
And strange in my blood-swept ears was the sound
Of the words I kept repeating,
Repeating with tightened arms,
and the hot blood's blindfold art.

Her breath flew warm against my neck,
Warm as a flame in the cold night air;
And the sense of her clinging flesh was sweet
Where her arms and my neck's blood-surge could meet.
Holding her thus, did I care
That the black night hid her from me,
blotted out every speck?

I leaned me forward to find her lips,
And claim her utterly in a kiss,
When the lightning flew across her face,
And I saw her for the flaring space
of a second, afraid of the clips
Of my arms, inert with dread,
wilted in fear, fear of my kiss.

I heard the thunder, and felt the rain,
And my arms fell loose, and I was dumb.
Almost I hated her, she was so good.
Hated myself, and the place, and the blood,
Which burned with rage, as I bade her come home,
away home, & the lightning floated forth again.

the lightning floated forth again
the lightning floated forth again
the lightning floated forth again
the lightning floated forth again

The Lightning (poem by DH Lawrence)

Penguin Books publishes blockbusting, prize-winning, celebrated, controversial, heart-warming, thought-provoking and inspiring books by a range of authors from Ali Smith to Zadie Smith, Jeremy Clarkson to Jeremy Paxman and Jamie Oliver to Oliver Goldsmith.

Charlotte Brontë: Jane Eyre (Audiobook Extract) read by Joanna David

Penguin Books UK