Quick Classics Collection: Children’s 1: Alice in Wonderland, The Secret Garden, Grimm's Fairy Tales

Written by Lewis Carroll, Frances Hodgson Burnett and Brothers Grimm

Narrated by Jane Asher, Glenda Jackson and Sir Michael Hordern

William Collins Books and Decca Records are proud to present ARGO Classics, a historic catalogue of classic fiction read by some of the world’s most renowned voices. Originally released as vinyl records, these expertly abridged and remastered stories are now available to download for the first time.

This curated collection of children’s classics will take you on a journey through the bizarre world of Wonderland, into a long undiscovered secret garden, and finally into the enchanted fairytale world of The Brother’s Grimm.

These classic children’s stories are read by actress and author, Jane Asher; Shakespearean actor Sir Michael Horden; and Academy Award Winners Glenda Jackson and Sir Ben Kingsley.

This collection includes:
• Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, read by Jane Asher
• The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, read by Glenda Jackson
• Grimm’s Fairy Tales, by The Brother’s Grimm, read by Sir Ben Kingsley and Sir Michael Horden

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Release date: Oct 22, 2020
• ISBN: 9780008447595

Lewis Carroll

Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (1832-1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, published Alice's Adventures in Wonderland in 1865 and its sequel, Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There, in 1871. Considered a master of the genre of literary nonsense, he is renowned for his ingenious wordplay and sense of logic, and his highly original vision.

Reviews for Quick Classics Collection

[zoes_human · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is a multi-narrator, volunteer audiobook version with each fairy tale read by a different narrator (though some did read multiple tales). As such, there is no surprise that the quality of each reading varies greatly. Only two or three of the tales had actual audio issues, with only one of those being annoying (a buzzing, humming noise throughout). Most of the readers were fine, the worst were adequate, and quite a few were surprisingly good. None were horrible. The parent and child reading of "The Frog Prince" was charming if not the absolute best.

[stephenbarkley · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

In 1812, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm published a collection of German fairy tales. A second volume was published in 1815. After various revisions, a total of 211 stories were collected.My English hardcover contains 55 of these stories, taken from both volumes. Many of the stories are very familiar: The Frog Prince, Rumpelstiltskin Rapunzel, Cinderella, and Snow-White and the Seven Dwarfs to name a few.The violence in these stories is shocking. The brothers received criticism for it even in their day. In 1825 they printed a Children's Edition which included some of the safer stories. Walt Disney has rendered even the safer stories innocuous.Take the original Cinderella, for example. When the prince came to find the sister who fit the golden slipper, the eldest tried first:Her great toe prevented her from getting it on. Her foot was too long.Then her mother handed her a knife and said, "Cut off the toe. When you are Queen you won't have to walk any more."The girl cut off her toe, forced her foot into the slipper, stifled her pain, and went out to the Prince. ...Then he looked at her foot and saw how the blood was streaming from it. So he turned his horse round and carried the false bride back to her home, and said that she was not the right one. (162-3)She was the lucky one! The second sister had to pare down her heel. In the end, Cinderella was married to the prince. As they walked into the church, a dove plucked one eye from each of the false brides. On their way out of the church the dove picked the other eyes. "And so for their wickedness and falseness they were punished with blindness for the rest of their days" (165).I suppose that's one way to get children to behave!These stories are part of our culture. They have staying power that is rarely seen. Enjoy them—just watch out for vindictive doves.

[teampeeta254 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

My copy used to belong to my mother, who gave it to me one day when I complained about having read all my books. And now that I see what Barbie and Disney have based their princess stories off of, It makes me like them even less.

[kaitlyn5johnston · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I myself always appreciated Grimm's Fairy Tales when I was younger, that being said it is definitely a collection one should really be wary of when suggesting to students. The language is not always as clear as some students may need, and despite the allure of fairy tales, some students may not appreciate the darker and more graphic representations. This book is something I would suggest more for older readers, perhaps 6th and on, as the material within the stories may again put some younger readers off. However, for students who are interested in folklore and the like, this is a collection they would likely be interested in ,and enjoy seeing some of the the original versions of widely known tales.

[the1butterfly · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a very edition- the first 35 pages are missing and some at the end as well, and the rest are loose in places. Nonetheless, it is good reading, the stories are good, as always, and it is neat to have such an old copy. I'm not positive how many stories it has (what with the table of contents missing), but it has quite a few and they are very readable.

[amyrn75 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I love books of fairy tales, and this is one of my favorites.