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Morpeth School Audiobook Challenge

Welcome to the Morpeth School Audiobook challenge. Here you will find a selection of classic literature, digitally available for you to download and listen to. Your mission if you choose to accept, is to select the audiobook that interests you the most and listen to it form beginning to end. The books can be downloaded to your computer then uploaded to your phone, or tablet and the links to download them can be found below each description. Once you have finished the book you can do one of the three following options:

  • Write a book review - This should include a good description of the books topic as well as its overall perspective, themes, historical context, argument, or purpose. Include your own critical assessment of the book. Did you like it? What strikes you as noteworthy, whether or not it was effective or persuasive, and how it enhanced your understanding of the issues at hand. Remember to also give it a rating.
  • Design a new front cover - this could be done with pens and pencils, digitally or any medium that is your preference.
  • Make a movie poster - again this could be done with pens and pencils, digitally or by any chosen medium.

Links for the digital ebooks are also provided if you would prefer to read rather than listen or if you would like to read along. Also feel free to get your own copy of the book from a different provider if you prefer. If you are planning to listen on an iPhone or iPad you will need to download the audiobook to a computer first before uploading it to your device. Below are some guides you might find useful. For more free books visit librivox

Download Guides iOS / MacOS Catalina or Higher / Android / How to add Audiobooks to phones and tablets using iTunes on older Macs and Windows

A Christmas Carol

What's It’s About?

A Christmas Carol, is a novel by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. Ebenezer Scrooge, a miserly, cold-hearted creditor, continues his stingy, greedy ways on Christmas Eve. He rejects a Christmas dinner invitation, and all the good tidings of the holiday, from his jolly nephew, Fred; he yells at charity workers; and he overworks his employee, Bob Cratchit. At night, Scrooge's former partner Jacob Marley, dead for seven years, visits him in the form of a ghost. Marley's spirit has been wandering since he died as punishment for being consumed with business and not with people while alive. He has come to warn Scrooge and perhaps save him from the same fate. He tells him Three Spirits will come to him over the next three nights.

Apple ebook / Public domain Audiobook Length - 3 hours 11 minutes

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

What's It’s About?

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a novel by Mark Twain, first published in the United Kingdom in December 1884 and in the United States in February 1885. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is the sequel to The Adventures of Tom Saywer. This is much more than a children’s story full of adventure and excitement. It is dark in places, dealing with difficult topics such as slavery, lies, betrayal, moral actions and true friendship. It is a biting satire of American South romanticism and a poignant portray of the pre–Civil War American society as the often naive but always perceptive perspective of Huckleberry Finn questions preconceived ideas and accepted prejudices. Yet at the end of his journey down the Mississippi River, he and the runaway slave Jim arrive at the epitome of the American dream: freedom!

Apple ebook / Public Domain Audiobook Length - 11 hours 58 minutes

Alice's Adventures In Wonderland

What's it about?

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (commonly shortened to Alice in Wonderland) is an 1865 novel by English author Lewis Carroll. It tells of a young girl named Alice, who falls through a rabbit hole into a subterranean fantasy world populated by peculiar, anthropomorphic creatures. It is considered to be one of the best examples of the literary nonsense genre. The tale plays with logic, giving the story lasting popularity with adults as well as with children. One of the best-known and most popular works of English-language fiction, its narrative, structure, characters and imagery have been enormously influential in popular culture and literature, especially in the fantasy genre. The work has never been out of print, and it has been translated into at least 97 languages.

Apple ebook / Public Domain Audiobook Length - 3 hours 9 minutes

Dracula

What's it about?

Dracula is an 1897 Gothic horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker. It introduced the character of Count Dracula and established many conventions of subsequent vampire fantasy. The novel tells the story of Dracula's attempt to move from Transylvania to England so that he may find new blood and spread the undead curse, and of the battle between Dracula and a small group of people led by Professor Abraham Van Helsing. The story is told in an epistolary format, as a series of letters, diary entries, newspaper articles, and ships' log entries, whose narrators are the novel's protagonists, and occasionally supplemented with newspaper clippings relating events not directly witnessed. The events portrayed in the novel take place chronologically and largely in England and Transylvania within the same year between 3 May and 6 November. A short note at the end of the final chapter is written 7 years after the events outlined in the novel.

Apple ebook / Public Domain Audiobook Length - 16 hours 4 minutes

Frankenstein

What's it about?

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley that tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment. Frankenstein is written in the form of a frame story that starts with Captain Robert Walton writing letters to his sister. It takes place at an unspecified time in the 18th century, as the letters' dates are given as "17—". In the story following the letters by Walton, the readers find that Victor Frankenstein creates a monster that brings tragedy to his life. Shelley started writing the story when she was 18, and the first edition was published anonymously in London on 1 January 1818, when she was 20. Her name first appeared in the second edition published in Paris in 1821. Though Frankenstein is infused with elements of the Gothic novel and the Romantic movement, Brian Aldiss has argued that it should be considered the first true science fiction story.

Apple ebook / Apple Audiobook / Public Domain Audiobook Length - 8 hours

Heart of Darkness

What's it about?

Heart of Darkness (1899) is a novel by Polish-English novelist Joseph Conrad about a narrated voyage up the Congo River into the Congo Free State in the Heart of Africa. Charles Marlow, the narrator, tells his story to friends aboard a boat anchored on the River Thames. This setting provides the frame for Marlow's story of his obsession with the successful ivory trader Kurtz. Conrad offers parallels between London ("the greatest town on earth") and Africa as places of darkness. Central to Conrad's work is the idea that there is little difference between "civilised people" and those described as "savages." Heart of Darkness implicitly comments on imperialism and racism.

Apple ebook / Public Domain Audiobook Length - 4 hours 38 minutes

Japanese Fairy Tales

What's it about?

A 1908 collection of traditional fables and folktales, this audiobook contains twenty-two charming Japanese Fairy Tales, selected and translated by Yei Theodora Ozaki. Including "My Lord Bag of Rice," "The Tongue-Cut Sparrow," "The Story of Urashima Taro, the Fisher Lad," "The Farmer and the Badger," "The Shinansha, or the South Pointing Carriage," "The Adventures of Kintaro, the Golden Boy," "The Story of Princess Hase," "The Story of the Man Who Did Not Wish to Die," "The Bamboo-Cutter and the Moonchild," "The Mirror of Matsuyama," "The Goblin of Adachigahara," "The Sagacious Monkey and the Boar," "The Happy Hunter and the Skillful Fisher," "The Story of the Old Man Who Made Withered Trees to Flower" and "The Jellyfish and the Monkey."

Apple ebook / Public Domain Audiobook Length - 7 hours 35 minutes

Metamorphosis

What's it about?

The Metamorphosis is a book written by Franz Kafka which was first published in 1915. One of Kafka's best-known works, The Metamorphosis tells the story of salesman Gregor Samsa who wakes one morning to find himself inexplicably transformed into a huge insect, subsequently struggling to adjust to this new condition. The book has been widely discussed among literary critics, with differing interpretations being offered.

Apple ebook / Public Domain Audiobook Length - 2 hours 13 minutes

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

What's it about?

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, children’s book written by L. Frank Baum and first published in 1900. A modern fairy tale with a distinctly American setting, a delightfully levelheaded and assertive heroine, and engaging fantasy characters, the story was enormously popular and became a classic of children’s literature. However, by the late 20th century the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz had become more familiar than the book on which it was based.

Apple ebook / Apple Audiobook / Public Domain Audiobook Length - 3 hours 44 minutes

Pride and Prejudice

What's it about?

Pride and Prejudice is an epic novel of manners written by Jane Austen in 1813. The novel follows the character development of Elizabeth Bennet, the dynamic protagonist of the book who learns about the repercussions of hasty judgments and comes to appreciate the difference between superficial goodness and actual goodness. Its humour lies in its honest depiction of manners, education, marriage, and money during the Regency era in Great Britain. Pride and Prejudice has consistently appeared near the top of lists of "most-loved books" among literary scholars and the reading public. It has become one of the most popular novels in English literature, with over 20 million copies sold, and has inspired many derivatives in modern literature. For more than a century, dramatic adaptations, reprints, unofficial sequels, films, and TV versions of Pride and Prejudice have portrayed the memorable characters and themes of the novel, reaching mass audiences. The 2005 film Pride & Prejudice is the most recent film adaptation that closely represents the book

Apple ebook / Apple Audiobook / Public Domain Audiobook Length - 11 hours 9 minutes

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

What's it about?

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is a collection of twelve short stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, first published on 14 October 1892. It contains the earliest short stories featuring the consulting detective Sherlock Holmes. The only characters common to all twelve are Holmes and Dr. Watson and all are related in first-person narrative from Watson's point of view. Sherlock Holmes is probably the most well-known and loved fictional detective in literature. It's interesting to note that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle actually modeled his famous detective after an associate, Dr. Joseph Bell. Dr. Bell had a long, thin nose - much as we picture Sherlock Holmes - and was very observant. He also used strong deductive skills.

Apple ebook / Public Domain Audiobook Length - 10 hours 56 minutes

The Enchanted Castle

What's it about?

The Enchanted Castle is a children's fantasy novel by Edith Nesbit first published in 1907. The story is a modern fairy tale rooted in childhood imagination. A game of make-believe becomes earnest when four children discover a ring with magical powers. Their attempts to use the ring create complications in their everyday lives, some humorous, some horrific.

Apple ebook / Public Domain Audiobook Length - 8 hours 33 minutes

The Hound of the Baskervilles

What's it about?

The Hound of the Baskervilles is the third of the four crime novels written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle featuring the detective Sherlock Holmes. it is set largely on Dartmoor in Devon in England's West Country and tells the story of an attempted murder inspired by the legend of a fearsome, diabolical hound of supernatural origin. Sherlock Holmes and his companion Dr. Watson investigate the case. This was the first appearance of Holmes since his apparent death in "The Final Problem", and the success of The Hound of the Baskervilles led to the character's eventual revival. One of the most famous stories ever written, in 2003, the book was listed as number 128 of 200 on the BBC's The Big Read poll of the UK's "best-loved novel".

Apple ebook / Public Domain Audiobook Length - 12 hours 21 minutes

The Railway Children

What's it about?

The Railway Children is a children's book by Edith Nesbit, originally serialised in The London Magazine during 1905 and first published in book form in 1906. It has been adapted for the screen several times, of which the 1970 film version is the best known. Roberta, Peter and Phyllis leave their London home and move with their mother to a small cottage in the country where life is very different. With their mother now busy writing to earn money, the railway becomes a source of fascination and solace to the children. They make friends with Perks the Porter and the station master, and discover new and exciting things about the trains. However, mystery remains - where is their father? Then the terrible truth is discovered. This charming story deals sensitively with the subject of an absent parent, and the challenges of living in changing circumstances. The setting is thought to be inspired by Edith's walks to Chelsfield railway station close to where she lived and her observing the construction of the railway cutting and tunnel between Chelsfield and Knockholt.

Apple ebook / Public Domain Audiobook Length - 5 hours 1 minute

The Secret Garden

What's it about?

The Secret Garden is a novel by American author Frances Hodgson Burnett and published in 1911. The novel centres on Mary Lennox, who is living in India with her wealthy British family. She is a selfish and disagreeable 10-year-old girl who has been spoiled by her servants and neglected by her unloving parents. When a cholera epidemic kills her parents and the servants, Mary is orphaned. After a brief stay with the family of an English clergyman, she is sent to England to live with a widowed uncle, Archibald Craven, at his huge Yorkshire estate, Misselthwaite Manor. Her uncle is rarely at Misselthwaite, however. Mary is brought to the estate by the head housekeeper, the fastidious Mrs. Medlock, who shuts her into a room and tells her not to explore the house. One day, while following a friendly robin, Mary discovers an old key that she thinks may open the locked garden.

Apple ebook / Apple Audiobook / Public Domain Audiobook Length - 6 hours 57 minutes

The Time Machine

What's it about?

The Time Machine is a science fiction novel by H. G. Wells, published in 1895 and written as a frame narrative. The work is generally credited with the popularization of the concept of time travel by using a vehicle or device to travel purposely and selectively forward or backward through time. The term "time machine", coined by Wells, is now almost universally used to refer to such a vehicle or device. The Time Machine has been adapted into three feature films of the same name, as well as two television versions and many comic book adaptations. It has also indirectly inspired many more works of fiction in many media productions. The story follows a Victorian scientist, who claims that he has invented a device that enables him to travel through time, and has visited the future, arriving in the year 802,701 in what had once been London.

Apple ebook / Apple Audiobook / Public Domain Audiobook Length - 3 hours 45 minutes

The War of the Worlds

What's it about?

The War of the Worlds, science fiction novel by H.G. Wells, first published serially by Pearson’s Magazine in the U.K. and by The Cosmopolitan magazine in the U.S. in 1897. The novel details a catastrophic conflict between humans and extraterrestrial “Martians.” It is considered a landmark work of science fiction, and it has inspired numerous adaptations and imitations. The War of the Worlds chronicles the events of a Martian invasion as experienced by an unidentified male narrator and his brother. The story begins a few years before the invasion. During the astronomical opposition of 1894, when Mars is closer to Earth than usual, several observatories spot flashes of light on the surface of Mars.

Apple ebook / Public Domain Audiobook Length - 5 hours 53 minutes

Treasure Island

What's it about?

Treasure Island is an adventure novel by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, Jim Hawkins is a young boy who lives at his parents’ inn, the Admiral Benbow, near Bristol, England, in the eighteenth century. An old sea captain named Billy Bones dies in the inn after being presented with a black spot. Jim is stirred to action by the spot and its mysterious, accurate portent of Billy’s death. Hastily, Jim and his mother unlock Billy’s sea chest, finding a logbook and map inside. Hearing steps outside, they leave with the documents before Billy’s pursuers ransack the inn. 

Apple ebook / Public Domain Audiobook Length - 7 hours 34 minutes

White Fang

What's it about?

White Fang is a novel written in 1906 by Jack London. It changes perspective from the point of view of humans to the point of view of wolves. The plot centers on a wolf cub named White Fang and his relationship with the humans in his life. Much of White Fang is written from the viewpoint of the titular canine character, enabling London to explore how animals view their world and how they view humans. White Fang examines the violent world of wild animals and the equally violent world of humans. The book also explores complex themes including morality and redemption. As early as 1925, the story was adapted to film, and it has since seen several more cinematic adaptations, including a 1991 film starring Ethan Hawke and a 2018 original film for Netflix.

Apple ebook / Public Domain Audiobook Length - 7 hours 43 minutes