The Classic Tales Podcast
Every week, join award-winning narrator B.J. Harrison as he narrates the greatest stories the world has ever known. From the jungles of South America to the Mississippi Delta, from Victorian England to the sands of the Arabian desert, join us on a fantastic journey through the words of the world's greatest authors. Critically-acclaimed and highly recommended for anyone who loves a good story with plenty of substance.
Our Editor's Take
The Classic Tales Podcast is a narrated collection of stories people want to read but can't find time to. B.J. Harrison is the acclaimed narrator who reads horror, humor, mystery, and fantasy with equal mastery. He makes literature easy to consume while commuting or tasking. Harrison narrates diverse genres. He includes A.A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh and Agatha Christie's The Million Dollar Bond Robbery. Edgar Allen Poe's works and F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby are here, too.
The host grew up a slow reader. At school, Harrison had difficulty concentrating and had to re-read paragraphs. That changed when Harrison found audiobooks. He would listen to them as a set painter and fabricator. After two decades, he decided to try narration. Harrison imitated accents from a young age, and he is multilingual. His podcast combines those skills with his desire to help reluctant readers. Harrison hopes listeners find his readings easy to comprehend.
Harrison's favorite author is Charles Dickens. In one episode of The Classic Tales Podcast, he reads The Signal Man. It's about a train worker who sees an apparition three times. Each time, the ghost warns of impending danger. Listeners hear the unexpected outcome after the third warning. Dickens survived a train crash before writing this. His train car stayed on the tracks while those behind it fell off a bridge. It haunted him forever.
D. H. Lawrence's Tickets, Please is another title featured on the podcast. The author experienced censorship for content considered too sexual for his time. Tickets, Please is about a womanizing man. He wants to be a "nocturnal presence" in women's lives, not an "all-around individual." The women get tired of him "sunning himself in the presence of so many damsels." They retaliate. It's a thought-provoking story about life before #MeToo.
The Classic Tales Podcast may satisfy listeners who like drama. There's also plenty to smile about. Harrison reads works by humorist P.G. Wodehouse and children's author Beatrix Potter. He shares interesting facts about authors and plots. Harrison's most significant contribution is his enthusiasm for literature. New episodes premiere Fridays.
Episodes
