Hugh Laurie Books

I have read many of these stories and enjoyed them tremendously over the years. They have been brought to life in this audio series. Many of the stories kept me awake at night( Lost Hearts, The Monkey's Paw,The Tell Tale Heart)when I read them in print. The Audio version is even better. The actors chosen to narrate this collection are outstanding and give a new interpretation to these classic tales.

This collection has a good selection of stories and readers that entertains for the whole production. The stories are all different so there is no danger of boredom. The readers are trained experts so it is very enjoyable. I fully recommend this audiobook

I enjoy the varied readers of these English and American Gothic masterpieces.The readers have achieved a fine balance between dramatization and plain reading.
Although some of the British authors are new to me, especially the wickedly witty, Saki, I have not read several of the old Gothic American stories since high school English class, so they return as a surprise to me when heard in a more mature way now. For instance, I was driving along listening to "The Black Cat" and was so shocked at what was happening in the story that I turned it off. Then I drove for a while and realized I simply had to know what happened next, and turned it back on. To me that is a sign of great literature.
Of course, many of these short stories are not for children and the parent who complained about their content might want to pre-screen the stories her child listens to.
Hearing these stories again has been a real listening pleasure for me.

I got these hoping to interest my kids in some of the classics but alot of these stories were just plain gory! I'm no prude but some of these authors had real ideas about torture. Maybe for older kids as Halloween Ghost stories.

My daughter and I enjoy Andreae's books and this is no exception. She is two and a half and love dinosaurs, so this was a big hit. It's got good pictures and fun rhymes. A good read.

We checked this book out at the library, then ended up buying it because my 2 year and 4 year olds really loved it. Colorful illustrations! The story keeps their attention throughout the entire book. Great book for your little dinosour lovers.

Especially recommended for school and community library collections, Dinosaurs Galore! combines the colorful and charming illustrations of David Wojtowycz with the rhythmic and rhyming text of Giles Andreae to engage young readers ages 3 to 7 with a picturebook approach to the daily lives of the great dinosaurs. As the sun lights the horizon,/and the mist begins to clear,/what shapes do you begin to see;/what noises do you hear?//Perhaps you'll see a swishing tail,/huge footprints, or a beak./I think I heard a distant roar.../and did you hear that shriek?//Some of them have huge long necks,/and some have giant jaws./So let's go to the swampland,/and meet the dinosaurs!

My five year old as well as the other five girls in her Daisy Troop loved this book. I found it fun and easy to read aloud and used it to discuss love,cooperation,teamwork and helping.

You know, I really want to be able to endorse this book. The illustrations, quite colorful and appealing, though infantile and lacking detail, are pretty cute--especially the young cheetah in distress--and they carry the book, coupled with the fact that the story is told in rhyme. You just can't beat a rhyming book with good meter! I just draw the line where a seemingly possible story strays into the realm of impossibility. What does a young vegetarian lion eat? This point is not addressed. I categorize this book with ones like "The Rainbow Fish", in which authors seem to try to brainwash our children into accepting some sort of utopian ideal of living in harmony with the universe. The problem with this idea is that it simply does not work in practice. It's a nice goal toward which to strive, but the nasty reality is that in today's world, it's the fastest, strongest, and meanest lion who gets to be king of the pride.

Fantastic book for 2-5 year olds. Great rythm and vocabulary. The artwork is well suited for children. Still one of my favorite books for bedtime.

Hugh Laurie's voice is extremelly expressive, the story is very funny and this is one of the best audio books i've ever listened to

For those of you who only know Hugh Laurie as Greg House M.D. - you're in for a surprise. You'd never guess that gravely voiced doctor could be the same posh Brit you'll hear on this recording.

His first-person narration of JKJ's Three Men in a Boat is without doubt one of the funniest things I've ever heard! The book itself is hysterical, but when Hugh Laurie gets his teeth into it, it transcends! His reading of this is my favorite audio book of all time. I keep it in my car and listen to it whenever I feel stressed or need a pick-me-up - or just want to laugh. I practically have the thing memorized, but it never gets old or boring.

When he starts talking about Montmorency (fox terriers are born with four times the original sin of other dogs!), I can't help but laugh out loud.

Buy this CD - it's charming, witty, sweet, surprising informative (JKJ meant for it to be a travel guide when he started) and Hugh Laurie turns it into a rare gem!

Please, Mr. Laurie, do some more audio books! You're brilliant!

I was very annoyed to discover that this audiobook is an abridged version of the book. Many of the most delightful parts--the train ride with the smelly cheeses, Uncle Podger hanging a picture, Harris singing comic songs--have been removed in order to give the audiobook a more stream-lined feel. I don't mind that Jerome K. Jerome's ponderous philosophical interludes have been trimmed, but I would have liked to have known that I wasn't getting the whole book when I bought this CD!

I have always loved reading about royalty, so naturally I enjoyed this book. It introduces you to the famous (and not so famous) princesses of the world. I only wish the authors went a bit deeper in the biographies. I noticed a striking resemblance in the facts mentioned in many princess biographies to facts mentioned in the Royal Diaries series. Coincidence? Perhaps. This is a nice book for younger children, with nice illustrations and pictures, but I find The Royal Diaries more engrossing and in-depth.

This book is a great introduction to the royalty of the world

I had intended to read just one story a day in this fascinating book, but found it impossible to stop with just that one story. Brewster and Coulter write well and know their princesses. The writing just seems to fill the reader in on so many aspects of the princesses' lives. I can see this book enticing youngsters to want to read more about the young ladies in the stories. As an avid adult reader, I have read enough about the princesses to give me background and fill in some of the information left out. But for a young someone just discovering these people, their appetites would be whetted and I would think they would want to find other books to read. Definitely a fascinating book. The pictures are placed throughout the text in a reader-friendly fashion. My only qualm was the sentence in the last paragraph on Elizabeth and Margaret: "Queen Elizabeth still rules England." I don't know much about England's government, but I'm pretty sure the queen does not "rule" England. However, I'd still recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn about the world's royalty. It was a fun and interesting read.

"Great Expectations" is one of the few works by Charles Dickens that I had neither read nor had any contact with. Other than knowing title and author, I had no knowledge of the work before reading this book. After reading it, I can say that the effect was what one would hope the Classics Illustrated works would have on people. The contact generated a desire in me to read the original work.
The artwork is generally dour, reflecting the reality of London in Dickens' time. While there were pockets of great wealth, there were enormous sections of grinding poverty and struggle. The lot of orphans was especially hard, with no social safety net of any kind, they were at the mercy of whatever benefactors they happened to encounter.
In many ways, the best way to learn about the social conditions of England in the mid nineteenth century is to read the novels of Charles Dickens. He tells it like it is, a place of great social consciousness, where the upper classes could do no wrong and the lower classes were expected to know their place. There is no better indicator of that than when working class Joe Gargery nurses the now gentleman Pip back to health and then after his recovery, Joe leaves Pip and goes back to his social station.

Philip Pirrip, otherwise known as Pip, has great expectations. Given the opportunity to become 'a gentleman', his life becomes a quest fueled by his misguided and false hopes and dreams. And most of all: of unrequited love. All of which unravels.

There is something there for everyone: mystery, thriller, drama, comedy, social commentary, romance (in a twisted sort of way). GE is about human nature and love, forgiveness and hope; a perfect blending of all these gritty elements that make up Life.

I'm not going to go into the plot, others have done it, and much better than I ever could. What I will say is that Great Expectations is a book that everyone should try to read. Don't rush, but peruse, read slowly, savor it, appreciate it. The characters are vivid and heart-breaking, the personal growth of Pip from young boy to man, emotional and dramatic. You will feel for all the characters that will stay with you long after you've finished it.

The introduction by Irving should be read. But AFTERWARDS. He gives an interesting biosketch on Dickens, the story arch and influences of GE. I was definitely enriched for having read it. The back also has the Original Ending of GE that Dicken's wrote, a list of works and a short but concise bibliography about Dicken's the man and his works.

This was my first read of Dicken's and I was expecting a book bogged down and heavy with prose or overtly poetic speeches, and a book that would make me want to go to sleep: I was pleasantly surprised. While the style can be difficult & you will have to re-read parts of it, it's manageable, though, it's a good idea to have a dictionary on hand. There are parts that do go on and chapters that seem static, but the language and rendering of 19th century England and the characters make it all the worth while. Only then, will you understand why this book a true Classic.

Great Expectations didn't meet my expectations. I was a little bored throughout the begining and middle of the story. I think what kept me reading on was the desire to read a "classic" (I usually read biography or history).

I continued reading because I wanted to find out if Magwitch would meet his daughter. In addition, I was interested in Pip's strong desire to be a gentleman. Other than help his friend in business and dawdle about thinking about an emotionally deadweight chic, Pip didn't seem interested in obtaining a job or taking real advantage of his opportunities. I'll give Pip credit for helping his friend attain stature in business, and eventually going on to operate with his friend after losing his unearned wealth. But the lazy part is 19th century gentleman, huh?

Maybe Dicken's purpose was to show the benefits of wealth and the slothfullness of one who didn't have to work himself to attain it. Maybe it hit me at the wrong time, as my fiancee just took a hike and left me after I just sold my house (and now have no place to go). Trust you me, I won't be wasting my life away like Ms. Havisham though. I haven't reached gentlemanly status and need to continue working . . . .

I've only read Charles Dicken's Nicholas Nickleby and Oliver Twist in addition to "Great Expectations". Of these, I thoroughly enjoyed Nicholas Nickleby. In the future, I'll look for Kates and Madellines and not Estellas. Great Expectations was a tougher read for me as these characters just simply didn't entice my interest too much. Of course, maybe I needed a brighter read . . .

Many people scoffed this book back in my freshman English class, because it was Dickens, and Dickens meant "boring" to them. However, shrug off the normal tendencies to stereotype an old-time classic to be a bore, one can find a true delight in this beautiful story of a young man struggling with an impossible love, the pressures of money and society, and, of course, himself. It is an excellent, absolutely enriching read.

Great works of English literature from the 1700s and 1800s shared one thing in common; twists and turns in the plot lines that are never fully exposed until the last lines of the book. Chief among these twists are reversals of fortune both good and bad. So goes this work of literature. Though read by many as children, I would consider it more worthy of young adults, as the text can be quite boring for anyone below their teens. Basically, the plot revolves around Pip, a boy who grows up poor in the care of his sister and apprenticed to a blacksmith; a blue collar job by any standard. But he comes into an inheritance which he gladly accepts, leaving behind his previous life. A second theme of this story is his awe and obsession over Estella, a pretty girl who he meets first when young and poor when she does not even see him, and later one when he is rich when she cannot look past him. This is the probably the part of the book best remembered; a boy infatuated with what he cannot get, only to re-encounter it on later on in life as something he might not want anymore.

As a book, it is shorter than most of Dickens' work, and much easier to read. But it has less historical meaning, and to me, less exploration of social ills than his other works such as Oliver Twist and Great Expectations. The book focuses more on personal travails, and how relationships between individuals all depend on the where the individuals came from. The book is interesting enough, but not that exciting, and I would not consider it as a mandatory work for all students to read.

Our hero Gulliver and his wife could use some counseling. It seems that every time he plops down on the sofa with his better-half and children, Gulliver gets restless and needs to go have another adventure. (Did they have sofas back then? If not, how did people crash out in front of their TV sets?) And he lives in idyllic old England, go figure!

Each time he does this (gets the traveling jones) he hops aboard some ship, tantamount to suicide in those days, eats salted meat and spoiled porridge for a few weeks, months or years, (unless there is a Chili's or Olive Garden nearby along the way--but he always seems to forget his coupons,) generally shipwrecks and sooner or later encounters some bizarre form of intelligent life in whatever fairyland he has found for himself this time, in whatever chapter of the book he happens to be sojourning in at this particular intersection of the time-space continuum.

Usually he is held captive, and then embosomed or exploited by whoever the freaks of nature are this time around, invariably escapes and by a series of miracles eventually finds his way home again, only to discover the same boring wife and children at the hearth waiting patiently despite the years that have passed without so much as a text message.

Along the way we are treated to Swift's amazing writing, great humor, wit and stellar imagination. Highly recommended, but it takes a bit of work to get through the whole thing.

I am quickly becoming a fan of the Dover Thrift editions of classic literature. They are well-made, sturdy, and a great bargain. All of them that I have bought and assigned to my students have been $2.50. What can you buy for $2.50 anymore? Now you can have an entire library of unabridged classics at a more than reasonable rate.

Jonathan Swift's "Gullivers Travels" is no exception to the rule. This brilliant 18th century satire endures to our times. Swift, in turns, attacks (in his subversive way) makind's vanities, follies, cruelties, and morals. The floating island crushing the lower island is still, to my mind, the best attack on England's merciless domination of Ireland.

Some readers think: "I've heard so much about this book, but I didn't think it was so great." Certainly, our expectations about something that is considered a classic may outweigh the book itself. Please put aside whatever you might have heard and approach this book with an open mind. You will see it for the monument of English literature that it is.

Rocco Dormarunno
College of New Rochelle

Europe in the 17th and 18th century was much like Latin America in the 20th century, a place where direct criticisms of those in power can be lethal, if not fatal. As a result, those with opinions to voice often do so by writing tales of fiction that parallel events and characters in the real world. Some of these tales have gone on to become great works in Western Literature. One example is this children's classic by Jonathan Swift; Gulliver's Travels. Set in fictional places and filled with fictional characters, this book tells the story of Gulliver, a ship's surgeon who experiences adventures beyond anyone's belief. By chance and accident, he is transported from one place to another, and at each point, he encounters a society that at first, is utterly different from his own. But upon closer inspection, the characteristics of each place are exaggerations of actual circumstances found in actual societies. In each place, he also describes his own world to the locals, who in turn are amazed, astounded, and sometimes disgusted by what they hear.

One example is when Gulliver arrives on the land of the Houyhnhnms, and the Yahoos they tolerate in their midst. The Yahoos are dirty, greedy, sedentary, and spend their time squabbling amongst themselves and digging along riverbanks for shiny stones. The Houyhnhnms on the other hand, are clean, upright, and roam free through the countryside. Such a story reminds one of the dichotomy between white settlers and Native Americans in North America. The latter roamed free throughout the countryside, and were known to bath themselves quite often. The former, however, rarely bathed, often fought amongst themselves, and spent a lot of time and effort digging for shiny stones that many of the natives found useless.

Another example is the war between the Lilliputs and the Blefuscu. This war, as the King of Lilliput tells Gulliver, has been going on so long that nobody remembers how it started, who started it, or what they are fighting for. This sounds quite similar to the never-ending wars between France and England throughout the 2nd millenia AD. And so the parallels and allusions go.

All told, this is one of the great works of English literature. The book combines sharp wit, irony, adventure, high drama, and some action into a great story of learning new things, meeeting new people, and coming to understand yourself better in the process.

Gulliver's Travels is not a children's fantasy written by an avuncular Englishman. This book, instead, is a searing indictment of the human race written by a brilliant satirist and misanthrope. The Lilliput episode is most clearly inscribed in the public consciousness, perhaps because it is the least overtly damning of the human species. By the end of the book, however, when Gulliver is forced to leave the equine utopia of the Houyhnhnms, the utter perfidy of humanity is laid bare without compunction. (And it is still as true and applicable to today's societies as it was three-hundred years ago.) No one likes being criticized, especially when guilty of the offense, and Swift is unsparing in his condemnation of our collective culpability. (He makes provision for the goodness of the individual, though, such as the Portuguese ship's captain.) One of the ten best books I've ever read.

A proper critical account of Swift's text would exceed by far the space given here. As someone doing scholarly work on Gulliver's Travels, I would merely like to point out that Mr. Rivero's edition is a bit confusing. For some reason, he has decided that it was a good idea to move the letter prefacing the text to the end (which, as the "Advertisement" itself says should be "prefixed" to the volume). The critical apparatus is truly commonsensical, and at times, reduces the novel to a sad, straightforward allegory. One would only wish that the criticism section were as interesting as it is extensive. All this said, there is nothing violently "wrong" with this edition.

This book brings the Scarlet Pimpernel series to a very satisfying end. Chambetin, er, Chauvelin finally gets what is coming to him!Sir Percy is at his debonnaire best. Marguerite, the love of his life appears, too. A must-read for any Scarlet Pimpernel fan.

The Scarlet Pimpernel again has to deal with a femme fatale, but this time, she is Spanish. This doesn't mean that the Robespierre types are not around, just that she is involved with one of them.

The Pimpernel has to save a brash young man from her wily clutches, and really is quite enjoying himself in the process.

When she can't outthink or seduce our hero, they decide to do the kidnap the wife routine. Committe, you should know by now, that trick never works.

This is one of my favorite pimpernel books. It is so awsome!
The story begins with a fortune teller predicting to Robispeirre that the only thing to hinder his taking over France is the Scarlet Pimpernel. So, of course, he goes to Chauvelin, who once again sets masterful plans for the Pimpernel's capture.

One of the things that I liked about this book was the simplicity of plot. No more going for the Pimpernel's honor, or others through him. The plot is cut and dry simple, catch and kill the Scarlet Pimpernel. That is not to say that the Pimpernel does not have something up his sleeve. I simply mean that as far as Chauvelin is concerned his plots aren't as elaborate or far-fetched as they have been in the past.

Margarite is also involved(duh). But in the case of this book, she actually doesn't get involed through an act of her own stupidity. Also in this book it dwells less on Margarite's life in her captivity than others do.

Lastly, I love the dialogs in this book. Percy shines in this book almost unlike any other. Therisa Cabarras is an interesting character, and she has two great conversations with our elusive Hero. Chauvelin is Chauvelin. No matter how hard he tries he simply cannot keep track of Percy(and belive me he tries extra hard in this book). Chauvelin and Percy have the best exchange ever in this book, a whole chapter of uninterupted audacidy. Any Pimpernel lover will be in heaven.

I highly recomend this book to all who liked the original, and any of the sequels. But if you haven't read the original Scarlet Pimpernel then I suggest reading that first, so as to know the characters a little better.
-E

If you know this story, or have even read the CAPS section above, you'll know where I get my net-name from. La Cabarrus (based on a historical figure whose real life reads better than most fiction) is the main reason why this book is one of the best in the series. The terror has reached its height and both of Orczy's main protagonists are beginning to crack under the strain. Chauvelin has become obsessed with catching Sir Percy using any means necessary and his current tool is beautiful Spaniard, Theresia Cabarrus. Unfortunately for both Chauvelin and Blakeney, you never quite know where her loyalties lie. When she succeeds in luring Margot into Chauvelin's clutches, Sir Percy is driven to ever more extreme measures to save her. Can Cabarrus be trusted? Is she friend or foe? Unlike Chauvelin, she can see through Sir Percy's disguises, which makes her doubly dangerous to know.

As ever Orczy delivers a cracking good adventure through a slightly rose-tinted quizzing-glass, making even the rather gruesome sections seem light-hearted... unless you really stop and think about what she's saying.

Triumph is the first SP book I've read after the original story. I enjoyed it, but it wasn't excellent. I found the beginning to be very drawn out; it took me a very long time to read the first 75 pages or so, before it got going. Once it did start, (with Theresia and SP meeting for the first time) I found it to be fast paced, and I looked forward to reading it. However, the long beginning brought it down to a 3 star book for me. Also, the ending wasn't really explained at all...one second, literally, Robespierre is the tyrant in charge, next paragraph, well, no spoiler, but suffice to say he's not. Even in real life, the change was not so dramatic, and surely Orczy could have written a page or two more explaination.

Furthermore, I was disappointed that while St. Just, Andrew, and Tony were mentioned, that was about it; they were barely in the picture at all.

A fun adventure.....but not much more than that.

British humor is wonderful. This book is not. What a total wast of time. It never went anywhere. I read the entire thing hoping I was just missing something that was taking its sweet time to appear. I was sorely disappointed.

Gave it a one star because there is no way to give negative stars.

If you like British humor, this is not a place to find a good example of it.

After being charmed by the Ladies #1 Detective Agency series, I eagerly purchased this book for an airplane flight to an academic conference. I found it tedious, irrelevant, unfunny, peopled by tiresome characters not worth the time worrying about--in short, when I finished it, I left it on the airplane. Maybe I just didn't understand the humor. Oh sure, I could get some of the wink-wink, nudge-nudge bits (since I work at a University and know of profs who present the same paper at conference after conference or who think that arcane subjects are so important)--but it just didn't work for me.

This is the first book by this author I've read. Anyone who is around academics should get a kick out of this parody of neurotic and self-absorbed academics plodding away at their own tiny slices of obscurity. This is a quick read, perfect for the plane or the beach.

I was exceedingly disappointed in this book. I so enjoyed all of the #1 Ladies Detective Agency novels. This book has none of the warmth or depth of character of that great series. These tales are a cross between Mr. Magoo and the three stooges. I only finished it hoping there would be some redemption. Nothing could persuade me to pick up the next volume.

This is the funniest book I've ever read. I don't think you have to be thick into acadamia to get most of the humor...maybe you have to be a little bit socially inept yourself, though. It would be easy for things to fly over the head of someone, who say, was always popular, or throws fabulous dinner parties, or doesn't think twice about daily social interaction. Yes, I can see how if you'd mastered the social world, the book might be dull. But if you are just a little bit off in social circles, over analyze simple conversations and regularly miss the mark during basic interactions, you'll laugh out loud!

If you love McCall-Smith's characters, you will love this newest adventure of the befuddled German professor he introduced in Portuguese Irregular Verbs. McCall obviously loves this ridiculous man, and so do I.

Not my type of story even though it was well-written. I like his humorous stories instead.

Professor Von Igelfeld is quickly becoming one of my favorite fictional characters. I love novels about eccentric characters, and it's hard to imagine a character that fits the description better than Von Igelfeld. The wit is dry and at the same time laugh-out-loud funny. I am hoping for many, many more novels in this series from Mr. McCall Smith.

This book concludes the adventures and mishaps of Dr. Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld, esteemed professor of philology, and author of "Portugese Irregular Verbs." This third title involves von Igelfeld in becoming the president of a unstable South American country, a job that no one else wants because of routine assasinations. It is charming both in wit and wisdom. Highly enjoyable, however, read books one and two first!

Fun, simple read but not enough to make me want to read more of this series. I was never really sure what the point was and yes there is some satire to be found, but maybe just too subtle for my taste.