Running Time:00:49:26 in 1 MP3 Audio CD

A Collection of Letters is an epistolary short story collection written by Jane Austen when she was fourteen years old. Although the novels Austen became known for were not published until she was in her thirties, she was an active writer from the age of twelve, frequently composing epistolary works such as A Collection of Letters. Austen eventually compiled 29 of her early writings in three notebooks that became known as the Juvenilia and that she called “Volume the First”, “Volume the Second”, and “Volume the Third”, including A Collection of Letters in “Volume the Second”.

A Collection of Letters is set contemporaneously to Austen’s writing and consists of a series of five letters, each written by a woman of high society living in Great Britain. Unlike Austen’s later epistolary works, A Collection of Letters is not a novelette; each of these five letters tells a self-contained story, with no characters appearing in multiple letters. Nonetheless, the collection is unified in its lighthearted, humorous tone. Austen dedicated A Collection of Letters to her cousin Jane Cooper, who married famed Royal Navy officer Thomas Williams two years later and who died in a horse accident before the end of that decade; Williams went on to marry again twice, reputedly because his first marriage was so happy. Ironically, there are multiple parallels between Cooper’s later life and the second letter of this collection. 

Cast List:

Jane Austen: Michele Eaton

A. F.: WendyKatzHiller

Augusta: Krista Zaleski

Sophia: Jenn Broda

Miss Jane: Lynette Caulkins

Maria Williams: Hannah Dormor

Mrs Williams: Therese Lindholm

Lady Greville: Dawn Sutton

Ellen Greville: Kaye Burke

Impertinent young lady: TJ Burns

Miss Grenville: Bethany Baldwin

Henrietta Halton: Michelle Purdy

Tom Musgrove: David Purdy

Lady Scudamore: Anna Maria

Narrator: James R. Hedrick

Running Time:16:25:26 in 1 MP3 Audio CD

Emma is a novel about youthful hubris and the perils of misconstrued romance....As in her other novels, Austen explores the concerns and difficulties of genteel women living in Georgian-Regency England; she also creates a lively comedy of manners among her characters. Before she began the novel, Austen wrote, "I am going to take a heroine whom no one but myself will much like." In the very first sentence she introduces the title character as "Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich." Emma, however, is also rather spoiled, headstrong, and self-satisfied; she greatly overestimates her own matchmaking abilities; she is blind to the dangers of meddling in other people's lives, and her imagination and perceptions often lead her astray.

Cast List:

Narrator, Volume 1: Bev J. Stevens

Narrator, Volumes 2 and 3: CaprishaPage

Mr. Henry Woodhouse: Robert Hoffman

Emma Woodhouse: Amanda Friday

Mr. George Knightley: Jason Mills

Harriet Smith: Eden Rea-Hedrick

Mrs. Anne Weston: Tiffany Halla Colonna

Mr. Philip Elton: Chris Marcellus

Mr. John Knightley: Noel Badrian

Mrs. Isabella Knightley: CaprishaPage

Mr. Weston: Algy Pug

Miss Bates: Arielle Lipshaw

Mrs. Bates: KerrieRae Clarke

Jane Fairfax: April Gonzales

Frank Churchill: Max Körlinge

Mrs. Augusta Elton: Grace

Mrs. Cole: Carmen H

Mrs. Isabella Knightley: CaprishaPage

Mrs. Ford: Elizabeth Klett

Running Time:2:27:19 in 1 MP3 Audio CD

Jane Austen demonstrated her mastery of the epistolary novel genre in Lady Susan, which she wrote in 1795 but never published.

Although the primary focus of this short novel is the selfish behavior of Lady Susan as she engages in affairs and searches for suitable husbands for herself and her young daughter, the actual action shares its importance with Austen’s manipulation of her characters' behavior by means of their reactions to the letters that they receive.

The heroine adds additional interest by altering the tone of her own letters based on the recipient of the letter. Thus, the character of Lady Susan is developed through many branches as Austen suggests complications of identity and the way in which that identity is based on interaction rather than on solitary constructions of personality. Lady Susan’s character is also built by the descriptions of the other letter-writers; but even though their opinions of this heroine coincide with the image that develops from her own letters, Austen demonstrates the subjectivity of the opinions by presenting them – primarily – in the letters of one woman to another, thereby suggesting the established literary motifs of feminine gossip and jealousy. Readers recognize these subjective motifs and examine all of the idiosyncrasies of the characters in order to create their own opinion of Lady Susan – as they would of any real acquaintance.

Cast List:

Lady Susan Vernon – Kristin Hughes

Mrs. Vernon – rachelellen

Mr. De Courcy – Patrick Beverley

Mrs. Johnson – Kirsten Ferreri

Sir Reginald De Courcy – Simon Taylor

Lady De Courcy – Gesine

Miss Vernon – Kara Shallenberg

Narrator of the Conclusion – Justin Barrett

Intros/outros – Robert Scott

Running Time:01:13:58 in 1 MP3 Audio CD

Lesley Castle is a melodramatic epistolary novelette written by Jane Austen when she was sixteen years old. Although the novels Austen became known for were not published until she was in her thirties, she was an active writer from the age of twelve, frequently composing epistolary works such as Lesley Castle. Austen eventually compiled 29 of her early writings in three notebooks that became known as the Juvenilia and that she called “Volume the First”, “Volume the Second”, and “Volume the Third”, including Lesley Castle in “Volume the Second”.

Lesley Castle is set contemporaneously to Austen’s writing and consists of a series of ten letters by five characters, all of whom are women of high society living in Great Britain. In this short work, Austen employs a mock serious tone to humorously critique her peers on subjects such as self-absorption and jealousy. Austen acknowledged in a prefatory note that she left Lesley Castle unfinished; it includes several interconnected storylines, but no overarching plot or clear conclusion. 

Cast List:

Jane Austen: Michelle Purdy

Henry Thomas Austen: Jake Malizia

Margaret Lesley: Michele Eaton

Charlotte Lutterell: Kelly S. Taylor

Susan Lesley: Magda Wilde

Eloisa Lutterell: Amatullah Talks

Mrs. Marlowe: Joanna Michal Hoyt

William Fitzgerald: David Purdy

Mr. Lesley: Tomas Peter

Narrator: WillForbis

Running Time:01:24:09 in 1 MP3 Audio CD

Love and Freindship [sic] is a melodramatic epistolary novelette written by Jane Austen when she was fourteen years old. Although the novels Austen became known for were not published until she was in her thirties, she was an active writer from the age of twelve, frequently composing epistolary works such as Love and Freindship. Austen eventually compiled 29 of her early writings in three notebooks that became known as the Juvenilia and that she called “Volume the First”, “Volume the Second”, and “Volume the Third”, including Love and Freindship in “Volume the Second”. Love and Freindship is set contemporaneously to Austen’s writing and consists of a series of fifteen letters, most of which are written from the perspective of the protagonist, Laura, who recounts her extraordinary personal history to her friend Isabel’s daughter. The novel satirizes sentimental novels, which were a popular genre at the time. Austen’s early works are frequently published with the original spelling errors unaltered, a practice that is particularly conspicuous in the case of Love and Freindship because of the spelling error in the title. Austen dedicated this novelette to her cousin Eliza de Feuillide, who is believed by literary critics to have inspired multiple characters in Austen’s writings, including the titular character in the novel Lady Susan. In 2016, Lady Susan was adapted into a film that borrowed the title Love & Friendship, albeit with the spelling corrected. 

Cast List:

Laura: Irene Rubio

Sophia: Devorah Allen

Edward Lindsay: Larry Wilson

Isabel: rosefiasco

Augusta: Jenn Broda

Gustavus: Tomas Peter

Polydore: David Purdy

Claudia: Michelle Purdy

Sir Edward: Adrian Stephens

Augustus: redrun

Philippa: Norah Nelson

Lord St. Clair: Algy Pug

Janetta: deaspoke

MacDonald: ToddHW

Servant: Greg Giordano

Postilion: Rich Brown

Innkeeper: John Payton

Narrator: James R. Hedrick

Running Time:15:14:00 in 1 MP3 Audio CD

Mansfield Park is Jane Austen's 1814 novel focusing on Fanny Price, the daughter of a poor Portsmouth family, who is taken to live with her aunt and uncle Bertram's family on their estate at the age of ten. Surrounded by her wealthy and privileged cousins, and continually reminded of her lower status by her bullying Aunt Norris, Fanny grows up timid and shy, but with a strong sense of ethics, partly instilled by her kindly cousin Edmund. Fanny's gratitude and friendship for Edmund gradually grow into love, but the introduction of Mary and Henry Crawford, a captivating sister and brother, into the neighborhood of Mansfield Park, confuses and complicates the affections of the Bertram household. In this recording, LibriVox volunteers lend their voices to the colorful cast of characters in Austen's classic novel. 

Cast List:

Narrator/Mary Crawford: Elizabeth Klett

Mrs. Norris: Beth Thomas

Lady Bertram: hazelra

Sir Thomas Bertram: Bruce Pirie

Edmund Bertram: mb

Fanny Price: Arielle Lipshaw

Julia Bertram: Elizabeth Barr

Maria Bertram: Tina Danh

Mrs. Grant: Malane

Henry Crawford: Peter Bishop

Tom Bertram: Marty Kris

Mr. Rushworth: Algy Pug

Dr. Grant: Ernst Pattynama

Coachman/Baddeley/Mr. Price/Sam: Marty Kris

Mrs. Rushworth: Philippa

John Yates: Max Korlinge

William Price: Brett W. Downey

Rebecca: Diana Majlinger

Mrs. Price: Janet248

Susan Price: Susanna

Running Time:07:28:54 in 1 MP3 Audio CD

Northanger Abbey follows seventeen-year-old Gothic novel aficionado Catherine Morland and family friends Mr. and Mrs. Allen as they visit Bath. It is Catherine's first visit there. She meets new friends, such as Isabella Thorpe, and goes to balls. Catherine finds herself pursued by Isabella's brother, the rough-mannered, slovenly John Thorpe, and by her real love interest, Henry Tilney. She also becomes friends with Eleanor Tilney, Henry's younger sister. Henry captivates her with his view on novels and his knowledge of history and the world. General Tilney (Henry and Eleanor's father) invites Catherine to visit their estate, Northanger Abbey, which, from her reading of Ann Radcliffe's Gothic novel The Mysteries of Udolpho, she expects to be dark, ancient and full of Gothic horrors and fantastical mystery. 

Cast List:

Narrators: Arie and Elizabeth Klett

Catherine Morland: Woolly Bee

Henry Tilney: Jason Mills

Isabella Thorpe: Beth Thomas

Mrs. Allen: Michele Eaton

Eleanor Tilney: Amanda Friday

General Tilney: Algy Pug

John Thorpe: Phil Benson

James Morland: BeniaminoMassimo

Mrs. Morland: Fiddlesticks

Mr. Allen: Norman Elfer

Mrs. Thorpe: Natalie Paula

Mr. Morland: inflected

Footman: Glenn O'Brien

Captain Tilney: Ivory Ballard

Sarah Morland: Frances Brown

Mrs. Hughes: Etel Buss

Anne Thorpe: thestorygirl

Maria Thorpe: Lydia

Running Time:08:23:48 in 1 MP3 Audio CD

More than eight years before the novel opens, Anne Elliot, then a lovely, thoughtful, warm-hearted 19 year old, accepted a proposal of marriage from the handsome young naval officer Frederick Wentworth. He was clever, confident, and ambitious, but poor and with no particular family connections to recommend him. Sir Walter, Anne's fatuous, snobbish father and her equally self-involved older sister Elizabeth were dissatisfied with her choice, maintaining that he was no match for an Elliot of Kellynch Hall, the family estate. Her older friend and mentor, Lady Russell, acting in place of Anne's late mother, persuaded her to break the engagement. Now 27 and still unmarried, Anne re-encounters her former love when his sister and brother-in-law, the Crofts, take out a lease on Kellynch. Wentworth is now a captain and wealthy from maritime victories in the Napoleonic wars. However, he has not forgiven Anne for rejecting him. While publicly declaring that he is ready to marry any suitable young woman who catches his fancy, he privately resolves that he is ready to become attached to any appealing young woman except for Anne Elliot. 

Cast List:

Narrator: Bob Neufeld

Sir Walter Elliot: Algy Pug

Lady Russell: Libby Gohn

Mr. Shepherd / Mr. Musgrove: ToddHW

Mrs. Clay: Michele Eaton

Sir Basil: Richard Friday

Anne Elliot: Elizabeth Barr

Mary Musgrove: Amanda Friday

Elizabeth Elliot: Eden Rea-Hedrick

Mrs. Musgrove: Maria Kasper

Charles Musgrove: Jason Mills

Henrietta Musgrove: TriciaG

Louisa Musgrove: Charlotte Duckett

Captain Frederick Wentworth: Max Körlinge

Mrs. Croft: Frances Brown

Admiral Croft: Larry Wilson

Charles Hayter: Bill Mosley

Innkeeper / Sir William Elliot: Beth Thomas

Waiter / First Lady: Elizabeth Klett

Captain Harville: mb

Mrs. Harville: WoollyBee

Lady Dalrymple: Katalina Watt

Mrs. Smith: Loveday

Second Lady: Kristin Gjerløw

Third Lady: Maryanka

Running Time:11:57:51 in 1 MP3 Audio CD

Pride and Prejudice is a novel by Jane Austen, first published in 1813. The story follows the main character Elizabeth Bennet as she deals with issues of manners, upbringing, morality, education and marriage in the society of the landed gentry of early 19th-century England. Elizabeth is the second of five daughters of a country gentleman, living near the fictional town of Meryton in Hertfordshire, near London.

Cast List:

Mrs. Bennet: Beth Thomas

Mr. Bennet: Andy Minter

Jane Bennet: Elizabeth Klett

Elizabeth Bennet: Arielle Lipshaw

Mary Bennet: Tina Danh

Catherine "Kitty" Bennet: GabrielleC

Lydia Bennet: BumbleVee

Mr. Bingley: John Fricker

Mr. Darcy: Peter Bishop

Charlotte Lucas: Laurie Anne Walden

Young Mr. Lucas: Beth Thomas

Sir William Lucas: Robert Scheid

Miss Caroline Bingley: Liz Bennington

Mrs. Hurst: Elizabeth Barr

Mr. Hurst: Barry Eads

Mr. Collins: mb

Mr. Wickham: Algy Pug

Denny: David Richardson

Mrs. Gardiner: TriciaG

Mr. Gardiner: David Lawrence

Maria Lucas: Maria Therese

Lady Catherine de Bourgh: Mil Nichols

Colonel Fitzwilliam: Ric F

Mrs. Reynolds: Esther

Mrs. Hill: Nadine Eckert-Boulet

Butler: Barry Eads

Mrs. Phillips: debolee

Running Time:13:07:08 in 1 MP3 Audio CD

The story is about Elinor and Marianne, two daughters of Mr Dashwood by his second wife. They have a younger sister, Margaret, and an older half-brother named John. When their father dies, the family estate passes to John, and the Dashwood women are left in reduced circumstances. The novel follows the Dashwood sisters to their new home, a cottage on a distant relative's property, where they experience both romance and heartbreak. The contrast between the sisters' characters is eventually resolved as they each find love and lasting happiness. Through the events in the novel, Elinor and Marianne encounter the sense and sensibility of life and love. In this dramatic reading, Librivox volunteers lend their voices to bring Jane Austen's classic story to life. 

Cast List:

Narrator: Bev J. Stevens

Fanny Dashwood: Availle

John Dashwood: Noel Badrian

Elinor Dashwood: Beth Thomas

Marianne Dashwood: Arielle Lipshaw

Mrs. Dashwood: TriciaG

Edward Ferrars: Ernst Pattynama

Sir John Middleton: Ric F

Mr. Willoughby: Max Körlinge

Colonel Brandon: Bob Neufeld

Margaret Dashwood: Tiffany Halla Colonna

Mrs. Jennings: Katalina Watt

Lady Middleton: Carol Box

Mrs. Palmer: Elizabeth Barr

Mr. Palmer: Algy Pug

Lucy Steele: Elizabeth Klett

Anne Steele: Lucy Perry

Servant/Thomas: ToddHW

Mrs. Ferrars: Michelle Remington

Robert Ferrars: David Lawrence