Bruce Pirie
The Lifted Veil
Read by Bruce Pirie
George Eliot
The Lifted Veil is a novella by George Eliot, first published in 1859. Quite unlike the realistic fiction for which Eliot is best known, The…
Glengarry School Days
Read by Bruce Pirie
Ralph Connor
With international book sales in the millions, Ralph Connor was the best-known Canadian novelist of the first two decades of the Twentieth C…
The Man from Glengarry
Read by Bruce Pirie
Ralph Connor
With international book sales in the millions, Ralph Connor was the best-known Canadian novelist of the first two decades of the Twentieth C…
Scenes of Clerical Life
Read by Bruce Pirie
George Eliot
Scenes of Clerical Life, which appeared in book form in 1858 (after serial publication in the previous year), was the first published fictio…
The Mayor of Casterbridge (version 2)
Read by Bruce Pirie
Thomas Hardy
Irritated and drunken, an itinerant farm-worker sells his wife and child to a stranger. Thus begins The Mayor of Casterbridge, set in rural …
Eugénie Grandet
Read by Bruce Pirie
Honoré de Balzac
Eugénie Grandet, first published in 1833, is one of Honoré de Balzac's finest novels, and one of the first works in what would…
Cousin Betty
Read by Bruce Pirie
Honoré de Balzac
Cousin Betty (La Cousine Bette), published in serial format in 1846, was one of the last and greatest of Balzac's works. It was part of his …
Cousin Pons
Read by Bruce Pirie
Honoré de Balzac
Cousin Pons is one of the final works in Balzac's long novel series titled The Human Comedy. It was published in 1847, along with Cousin Bet…
Father Goriot (version 2)
Read by Bruce Pirie
Honoré de Balzac
Father Goriot (Le Père Goriot), published in 1835, is widely considered to be Balzac's finest and most popular novel. It is set in Pa…
Lost Illusions: Two Poets
Read by Bruce Pirie
Honoré de Balzac
Two Poets (1837) is the first book in Balzac’s Lost Illusions trilogy, which is part of his sweeping set of novels collectively titled La Co…
Lost Illusions: A Distinguished Provincial at Paris
Read by Bruce Pirie
Honoré de Balzac
A Distinguished Provincial at Paris (Un grand homme de province à Paris, 1839) is the second book in Balzac’s Lost Illusions trilogy,…
Lost Illusions: Ève and David
Read by Bruce Pirie
Honoré de Balzac
Ève and David (1843) is the final book in Balzac’s Lost Illusions trilogy, which is part of his sweeping set of novels collectively t…
Scenes from a Courtesan's Life
Read by Bruce Pirie
Honoré de Balzac
Scenes from a Courtesan's Life is one of the last great works completed by Balzac for his huge novel series entitled The Human Comedy. Sect…
Maria Chapdelaine (version 2)
Read by Bruce Pirie
Louis Hémon
The novel Maria Chapdelaine portrays life in rural Quebec at the beginning of the 20th century. Published first in French in 1913, it is a f…
The Canadians of Old
Read by Bruce Pirie
Philippe Aubert De Gaspé
In his mid-70s, Philippe Aubert de Gaspé took on the project of recording the culture and heritage of French Canada, especially that …
Armand Durand
Read by Bruce Pirie
Rosanna Eleanor Leprohon
Armand Durand, published in 1868, was written by Rosanna Leprohon, an English-speaker with an insider’s knowledge of French Canada, thanks t…
The Absentee
Read by Bruce Pirie
Maria Edgeworth
Published in 1812, “The Absentee” by Maria Edgeworth examines social injustice in 19th-century Britain. At that time, the management of man…
The Brothers Karamazov (version 3)
Read by Bruce Pirie
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Originally published in serial form in 1879-80, “The Brothers Karamazov” is recognized as one of the very greatest masterpieces of world lit…
Ormond
Read by Bruce Pirie
Maria Edgeworth
Maria Edgeworth was one of the most popular writers of her time, a sharp and witty observer of society manners, and a favorite author for Ja…
The Imperialist
Read by Bruce Pirie
Mrs. Everard Cotes and Sara Jeannette Duncan
“The Imperialist,” a novel by Sara Jeannette Duncan, published in 1904, is a portrait of life in small-town Ontario at the beginning of the …
A Daughter of Today
Read by Bruce Pirie
Sara Jeannette Duncan
The Canadian author Sara Jeannette Duncan (aka Mrs. Everard Cotes) is today best known for her 1904 novel of Ontario life, “The Imperialist”…
The Untempered Wind
Read by Bruce Pirie
Joanna E. Wood
Upon publication of “The Untempered Wind” in 1894, Joanna Wood quickly rose to international prominence, becoming in the next few years the …
The Story of a Modern Woman (Version 2)
Read by Bruce Pirie
Ella Hepworth Dixon
“The Story of a Modern Woman” (1894) is a work of feminist social realism. In its time it was one of the most famous and influential novels …
A Superfluous Woman
Read by Bruce Pirie
Emma Francis Brooke
Published anonymously in 1894, “A Superfluous Woman” quickly became one of the most widely read of the “New Woman” novels that appeared at t…
Over Prairie Trails
Read by Bruce Pirie
Frederick Philip Grove
When Frederick Philip Grove settled in a remote area of Manitoba in the early years of the 20th century, he found work teaching in a school …
Buddenbrooks
Read by Bruce Pirie
Thomas Mann
When Thomas Mann was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature (1929), the citation made special mention of his first novel, “Buddenbrooks,” pub…
Settlers of the Marsh
Read by Bruce Pirie
Frederick Philip Grove
The novel “Settlers of the Marsh” (1925) is a foundational work of realism in Canadian fiction. Its author, Frederick Philip Grove, a German…
The Chouans (version 2)
Read by Bruce Pirie
Honoré de Balzac
“The Chouans” (1829) was the first novel published under Balzac’s own name (rather than a pen-name). It became the first book in the great w…
The Duchess of Langeais
Read by Bruce Pirie
Honoré de Balzac
“The Duchess of Langeais” (1834) is part of Balzac’s great life’s work, the sprawling novel series called “The Human Comedy.” This novel is …
Colonel Chabert (Version 2)
Read by Bruce Pirie
Honoré de Balzac
The short novel “Colonel Chabert” (1832) is part of Balzac’s great life work, the sprawling novel series titled “The Human Comedy.” Chabert,…
César Birotteau
Read by Bruce Pirie
Honoré de Balzac
“Rise and Fall of César Birotteau” (1837) is part of Balzac’s great novel series titled “The Human Comedy.”The story is set in Paris,…
The Ball at Sceaux
Read by Bruce Pirie
Honoré de Balzac
The novella “The Ball at Sceaux” is part of Balzac’s great life work — the expansive fiction series titled “The Human Comedy.” The central c…
The Two Brothers
Read by Bruce Pirie
Honoré de Balzac
“The Two Brothers” (1842) is part of Balzac’s great life work, the novel series known as “The Human Comedy.” Balzac’s French title was “La R…
Ursula
Read by Bruce Pirie
Honoré de Balzac
“Ursula,” first published in French in 1841 as “Ursule Mirouët,” is part of Balzac’s great suite of novels, collectively titled “The Hu…
The Unknown Masterpiece
Read by Bruce Pirie
Honoré de Balzac
“The Unknown Masterpiece” (“Le Chef-d’œuvre inconnu”) is a novella by Honoré de Balzac, published with revisions in 1845, after earli…
At the Sign of the Cat and Racket
Read by Bruce Pirie
Honoré de Balzac
The short novel “At the Sign of the Cat and Racket” was one of Balzac’s earliest fictions, first published in 1830 and substantially revised…