The Quiet Classics: Classic Books Read for Sleep

Tonight's story is read by an AI voice. A long listen for a long night: all three Wind in the Willows chapters from the show, back to back, each with its own short welcome. The Mole leaves his spring-cleaning for the River Bank, the Rat and Mole set out down the open road, and on a cold winter evening the Mole finds his old home again. From The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame (1908). About 1 hour 33 minutes.

Tonight's story is read by an AI voice. On a cold winter evening the Mole catches the scent of his old home, the Rat helps him find it, and the field-mice come carol-singing at the door. The chapter "Dulce Domum" from The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame (1908). About 40 minutes.

Tonight's story is read by an AI voice. On a windy Yorkshire morning, a robin leads Mary to a buried key, and a hidden door opens on a garden no one has entered for ten years. Chapters eight and nine of The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett (1911). About 42 minutes.

Tonight's story is read by an AI voice. A first evening at Green Gables, a long talk at the supper table, and a bright morning with a cherry tree in bloom outside the window. Chapters three and four of Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery (1908), very lightly abridged. About 33 minutes.

Tonight's story is read by an AI voice. A wealthy young man takes the big house at Netherfield, Mrs. Bennet insists on calls being paid, and the whole neighbourhood goes to a country dance. The first four chapters of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (1813). About 33 minutes.

Tonight's story is read by an AI voice. A spring diary from an old, overgrown garden in northern Germany: bird-cherries, lilacs, salad suppers on the verandah and great hopes for the tea-roses. From Elizabeth and Her German Garden by Elizabeth von Arnim (1898). About 29 minutes.

Tonight's story is read by an AI voice. A long, slow buggy ride through the blossoming orchards of Prince Edward Island, as shy Matthew Cuthbert drives a talkative red-haired girl home at dusk. Chapter two of Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery (1908). About 36 minutes.

Tonight's story is read by an AI voice. A snowy December evening by the fire with four sisters: slippers warming by the hearth, a comic play rehearsal and a letter read aloud. The first chapter of Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (1868). About 30 minutes.

Tonight's story is read by an AI voice. An evening by a quiet pond in the New England woods: soft wind, bullfrogs along the shore, gentle rain on the roof and a mind at rest. The chapter “Solitude” from Walden by Henry David Thoreau (1854), lightly abridged for sleep. About 25 minutes.

Tonight's story is read by an AI voice. A small English country town of kind, careful ladies, short polite calls, elegant economy and a cow in a flannel waistcoat. The first chapter of Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell (1853), very lightly abridged. About 30 minutes.

Tonight's story is read by an AI voice. We hear a little of Mr. Weston's story, then settle into the small, comfortable evening parties at Hartfield, with card tables, thin gruel and a new acquaintance named Harriet Smith. Chapters two and three of Emma by Jane Austen (1815). About 29 minutes.

Tonight's story is read by an AI voice. The Mole and the Rat row home in the evening light, and one bright summer morning they set off with Mr. Toad in a little canary-coloured cart, rambling over grassy downs and camping under the stars. From The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame (1908), lightly abridged for sleep. About 28 minutes.

Tonight's story is read by an AI voice. A wedding is over, the house has gone quiet, and a long evening passes gently with Emma, her father and an old friend. The opening chapter of Jane Austen's Emma (1815), read slowly and unabridged. About 25 minutes.

Tonight's story is read by an AI voice. In a small town in the hills of southern France, Robert Louis Stevenson finds a little donkey and makes ready for a long, slow walk. Then, a still night he spends alone among the pines. Read from his dedication, the first chapter and “A Night Among the Pines” from Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes (1879), in the author's own words, lightly abridged. About 28 minutes.

Tonight's story is read by an AI voice. The Mole leaves his spring-cleaning behind, wanders into the sunshine, and finds the river and a new friend in the Water Rat. Read slowly from the opening of Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows (1908), in the author's own words. About 26 minutes.

Old books, read slowly, until you drift off. A short welcome to The Quiet Classics and what's coming: the river bank from The Wind in the Willows, a donkey's first day in Robert Louis Stevenson's Travels with a Donkey, and a quiet evening in Jane Austen's Emma. Tonight's story is read by an AI voice. Every episode is narrated by a synthetic voice; no real person's voice is cloned or imitated.