Classic bedtime stories for adults

The Classics, retold for sleep.

The most famous stories ever told, retold slowly as long bedtime stories for grown-ups.

Stories you already know, told the way you fall asleep. These are the classics: Alice down the rabbit hole, the river bank of The Wind in the Willows, the Admiral Benbow at dusk, all retold in our own words at the pace of the very end of the day. You know how each one ends, and that is the point: nothing to brace for, nothing to keep you up. Whole books are being retold a night or two of chapters at a time. Every night below has its own cover and its own page, and each switches on the night it is ready. More classics wait underneath.

Serialised classic

Alice in Wonderland

Lewis Carroll's 1865 book, retold whole and read slowly for sleep. Down the rabbit hole, through the tea party, all the way to the trial of the tarts. Each night switches on when it is ready.

6 nights Open Alice in Wonderland

Alice in Wonderland, Night 1: Down the Rabbit Hole

63 min Alice in Wonderland, Down the Rabbit Hole The White Rabbit and his pocket watch, the long slow fall, a golden key and a garden too small to enter, the opening chapters, retold slow.

Alice in Wonderland, Night 2: The Caucus Race

65 min Alice in Wonderland, The Caucus Race A dripping-wet race that everybody wins, and a rabbit's house grown suddenly far too small.

Alice in Wonderland, Night 3: Advice from a Caterpillar

65 min Alice in Wonderland, Advice from a Caterpillar A hookah, a mushroom with two useful sides, a peppery kitchen and a grin without a cat.

Alice in Wonderland, Night 4: The Mad Tea Party

68 min Alice in Wonderland, The Mad Tea Party An endless tea-time, a sleepy dormouse, and croquet played with flamingoes on the queen's lawn.

Alice in Wonderland, Night 5: The Mock Turtle

74 min Alice in Wonderland, The Mock Turtle A sorrowful turtle's schooldays, a gryphon's sea-dance, and the tide going quietly out.

Alice in Wonderland, Night 6: Who Stole the Tarts

67 min Alice in Wonderland, Who Stole the Tarts A court of playing cards, evidence of no importance, and a sister's lap under the late sun.

Serialised classic

The Wind in the Willows

Kenneth Grahame's 1908 book, retold whole and read slowly for sleep. A full river year, from Mole abandoning the spring cleaning to the return of Toad. Each night switches on when it is ready.

12 nights Open The Wind in the Willows

The Wind in the Willows, Night 1: The River Bank

59 min The Wind in the Willows, The River Bank Mole abandons the spring cleaning, meets the Water Rat, and learns the river's unhurried way, the first chapter, told slow.

The Wind in the Willows, Night 2: The Open Road

Coming soon Night 2, The Open Road A canary-coloured caravan, an obliging old horse, and Toad's first ruinous love affair with the motor-car.

The Wind in the Willows, Night 3: The Wild Wood

57 min The Wind in the Willows, The Wild Wood Snow, whistling shadows, and a small mole learning why river-bankers stay by the river.

The Wind in the Willows, Night 4: Mr Badger

59 min The Wind in the Willows, Mr Badger A door scratched open in the snow, and the warmest underground kitchen in all the Wild Wood.

The Wind in the Willows, Night 5: Mole's Home

61 min The Wind in the Willows, Mole's Home A scent on the winter air, a small forgotten house, and carol-singing field-mice at the gate.

The Wind in the Willows, Night 6: Mr Toad

61 min The Wind in the Willows, Mr Toad An intervention at Toad Hall, a locked bedroom, and an escape out of the window in a knotted sheet.

The Wind in the Willows, Night 7: The Song at Dawn

58 min The Wind in the Willows, The Song at Dawn A lost otter cub, a night of rowing, and something holy in the reeds at first light.

The Wind in the Willows, Night 8: Toad's Escape

58 min The Wind in the Willows, Toad's Escape A dungeon, a gaoler's kind daughter, and a washerwoman's bonnet on a very smug toad.

The Wind in the Willows, Night 9: The Sea Rat

67 min The Wind in the Willows, The Sea Rat Harvest fields, a grey wayfarer full of southern ports, and the water rat almost walking away.

The Wind in the Willows, Night 10: The Barge Woman

62 min The Wind in the Willows, The Barge Woman A canal, a bargain over washing, a cold swim, and a horse sold at a very good price.

The Wind in the Willows, Night 11: News of Toad Hall

79 min The Wind in the Willows, News of Toad Hall Bad news at the river bank, stoats on the lawn, and a secret passage only Badger remembers.

The Wind in the Willows, Night 12: The Return of Toad

60 min The Wind in the Willows, The Return of Toad Four friends up a secret tunnel, a banquet interrupted, and a quieter, wiser Toad at last.

Serialised classic

The Secret Garden

Frances Hodgson Burnett's 1911 book, retold whole and read slowly for sleep. From an emptied house in India to a walled garden full of laughter. Each night switches on when it is ready.

9 nights Open The Secret Garden

The Secret Garden, Night 1: Across the Moor

69 min The Secret Garden, Across the Moor Mary leaves an emptied house in India for Misselthwaite Manor on the Yorkshire moor, Burnett's opening chapters, retold slow.

Coming soon Night 2, The Robin A hundred locked rooms, a gruff gardener, and a robin who chooses to make friends.

The Secret Garden, Night 3: The Key and the Door

67 min The Secret Garden, The Key and the Door A buried key, a wind-lifted curtain of ivy, and ten years of roses waiting in the quiet.

94 min The Secret Garden, Dickon A moor boy who talks to foxes, seeds and trowels bought with saved pennies, and a bit of earth granted.

85 min The Secret Garden, Colin Crying in the night traced to a hidden room, a boy who believes he cannot live, and a cousin who disagrees.

The Secret Garden, Night 6: The Storm in the Night

82 min The Secret Garden, The Storm in the Night A quarrel, a midnight tantrum, and the first crack in a boy's certainty of doom.

The Secret Garden, Night 7: Colin in the Garden

Coming soon Night 7, Colin in the Garden Spring arrives properly, a chair is wheeled through a hidden gap in the ivy, and Colin stands.

Coming soon Night 8, The Magic Experiments in Magic, exercises in secret, and an old gardener who keeps the best secret of all.

The Secret Garden, Night 9: Father Comes Home

81 min The Secret Garden, Father Comes Home A dream of a garden calls a wandering father home, and laughter is waiting behind the wall.

Serialised classic

Treasure Island

Robert Louis Stevenson's 1883 book, retold whole and read slowly for sleep. From the Admiral Benbow inn to the island dropped astern for good. Each night switches on when it is ready.

12 nights Open Treasure Island

Treasure Island, Night 1: The Old Sea Dog

70 min Treasure Island, The Old Sea Dog An old captain and his sea-chest at the Admiral Benbow inn, sea-weather, fireside tales, and a quiet watch for a one-legged man.

Treasure Island, Night 2: The Black Spot

68 min Treasure Island, The Black Spot A blind man's tapping stick on a frozen road, a round of black paper, and a sea-chest opened at midnight.

Treasure Island, Night 3: The Captain's Papers

77 min Treasure Island, The Captain's Papers Riders on the road, an oilskin packet, and an island drawn in faded ink with three red crosses.

81 min Treasure Island, The Sea Cook Bristol quays, a ship called the Hispaniola, and a one-legged cook with a parrot and the smoothest tongue in port.

Treasure Island, Night 5: The Apple Barrel

77 min Treasure Island, The Apple Barrel Fair winds, an island raised, and a boy in an apple barrel hearing exactly the wrong conversation.

Treasure Island, Night 6: The Man of the Island

78 min Treasure Island, The Man of the Island First footing on the island, drums of fear in the woods, and a marooned man three years alone.

71 min Treasure Island, The Stockade The doctor's story: a jolly-boat overloaded, stores ferried under fire, and a flag raised over a log fort.

82 min Treasure Island, The Garrison Jim rejoins the garrison, Silver comes up under a white flag, and the blockhouse holds its breath.

68 min Treasure Island, The Coracle A goatskin boat no bigger than a tub, a cut anchor line, and a night alone on the open sea.

Treasure Island, Night 10: Pieces of Eight

82 min Treasure Island, Pieces of Eight The schooner taken single-handed, a flag struck, and a parrot calling the old counting cry.

Treasure Island, Night 11: The Enemy's Camp

Coming soon Night 11, The Enemy's Camp Jim walks into the wrong firelight, a black spot cut from a Bible, and Long John playing both sides at once.

Treasure Island, Night 12: The Treasure and Home

80 min Treasure Island, The Treasure and Home An arrow of stones, an emptied hiding place, Ben Gunn's cave of gold, and an island dropped astern for good.

Serialised classic

The Wizard of Oz

L. Frank Baum's 1900 book, retold whole and read slowly for sleep. From grey Kansas to the silver shoes that carry Dorothy home. Each night switches on when it is ready.

8 nights Open The Wizard of Oz

65 min The Wizard of Oz, The Cyclone A farmhouse lifted gently out of Kansas, a soft landing among the Munchkins, silver shoes, and the first steps on the road of yellow brick.

The Wizard of Oz, Night 2: The Road Through the Forest

83 min The Wizard of Oz, The Road Through the Forest A scarecrow who wants brains, a tin woodman who wants a heart, and a lion who roars louder than he feels.

The Wizard of Oz, Night 3: The Poppy Field

69 min The Wizard of Oz, The Poppy Field A river crossing, a field of sleeping scarlet, and the smallest creatures pulling the biggest rescue.

The Wizard of Oz, Night 4: The Emerald City

89 min The Wizard of Oz, The Emerald City Green spectacles, a city of glass and jade, and four different answers from one mysterious wizard.

The Wizard of Oz, Night 5: The Great Humbug

71 min The Wizard of Oz, The Great Humbug The rescue of friends, the freedom of the winged monkeys, and a booming wizard who turns out to be a small kind man.

The Wizard of Oz, Night 6: The Silk Balloon

72 min The Wizard of Oz, The Silk Balloon Brains of bran and pins, a silk heart, a drink of courage, and a balloon that leaves too soon.

The Wizard of Oz, Night 7: The China Country

72 min The Wizard of Oz, The China Country Fighting trees, a wall of white china, and a fragile little country where everything chips.

The Wizard of Oz, Night 8: Glinda the Good

68 min The Wizard of Oz, Glinda the Good The lion finds his kingdom, a good witch unravels the secret of the silver shoes, and three heel-clicks carry Dorothy home.

Serialised classic

Winnie-the-Pooh

A. A. Milne's 1926 book, retold whole and read slowly for sleep. The whole of the Hundred Acre Wood, from the honey tree to the flood. Each night switches on when it is ready.

5 nights Open Winnie-the-Pooh

Winnie-the-Pooh, Night 1: The Honey Tree

77 min Winnie-the-Pooh and the Honey Tree In a soft green fold of the countryside, some way beyond the last farm and its dozing gate. There was a wood that had never learned to hurry. Oaks and beeches stood about in it like old friends who had said everything worth saying years ago.

Winnie-the-Pooh, Night 2: Tracks in the Snow

77 min Woozle Tracks in the Snow Snow had come to the forest in the night, quietly, the way the best snow always comes. Without any fuss or announcement, simply arriving while everybody slept. It settled on the pines and the bare oaks, on the gorse and the bracken, on every gatepost and every fallen log.

Winnie-the-Pooh, Night 3: The Trap and the Birthday

77 min Heffalump Trap and Eeyore's Birthday Pooh and Piglet dig a very deep pit, bait it with what remains of a honey jar, and wait for a Heffalump to arrive beneath the midnight trees. Their muddled adventure drifts towards Eeyore’s birthday and two small presents, carried through the Hundred Acre Wood in a warm, unhurried bedtime telling.

Winnie-the-Pooh, Night 4: The North Pole

75 min Kanga, Roo and the North Pole In a sun-warmed forest, Rabbit’s elaborate plan to borrow baby Roo draws timid Piglet into Kanga’s cosy pocket. As Kanga quietly sees through every step, a gentle mishap unfolds into baths, friendship and a curious expedition northward.

67 min Rising Water and a Party for Pooh As gentle rain floods the Hundred Acre Wood, Piglet sends a hopeful note in a bottle and Pooh sets out to find him. This warm-hearted, unhurried tale follows a small friend in need, a very large honey pot, and the soft promise of lanterns waiting beyond the water.

Serialised classic

Twenty Thousand Leagues

Jules Verne's 1870 book, retold whole and read slowly for sleep. Slow wonders beneath the waves, from the first sighting to the last look at the flag. Each night switches on when it is ready.

10 nights Open Twenty Thousand Leagues

Twenty Thousand Leagues, Night 1: A Shifting Reef

Coming soon Night 1, A Shifting Reef Rumours of a sea-monster cross the oceans, and a quiet professor joins the hunt aboard a steam frigate.

Twenty Thousand Leagues, Night 2: The Man of the Seas

Coming soon Night 2, The Man of the Seas A night in the water, a hull of steel underfoot, and the first meeting with the man who sails beneath the sea.

Twenty Thousand Leagues, Night 3: The Nautilus

Coming soon Night 3, The Nautilus Captain Nemo shows his guest the impossible ship. The library, the salon, and the sea framed like a painting.

Twenty Thousand Leagues, Night 4: The Forests of Crespo

125 min Twenty Thousand Leagues, The Forests of Crespo A walk on the ocean floor, undersea forests, slow light, and footsteps where no footsteps should be.

Twenty Thousand Leagues, Night 5: The Coral Kingdom

157 min Twenty Thousand Leagues, The Coral Kingdom Torres Strait, islands off the chart, and a garden of coral in the quietest waters of the world.

Twenty Thousand Leagues, Night 6: The Pearl of Ceylon

78 min Twenty Thousand Leagues, The Pearl of Ceylon The Indian Ocean, a pearl the size of a lamp... a pearl beyond price, and a diver watched over from the shadows.

Twenty Thousand Leagues, Night 7: The Arabian Tunnel

141 min Twenty Thousand Leagues, The Arabian Tunnel A secret passage beneath the desert joins two seas, and the Nautilus threads it in the dark.

Twenty Thousand Leagues, Night 8: The Lost City

Coming soon Night 8, The Lost City By lantern-glow of the sea itself, the ruins of a drowned city rise from the floor of the Atlantic.

Twenty Thousand Leagues, Night 9: The Great Ice

Coming soon Night 9, The Great Ice South, and further south. Ice above, ice below, and open water at the bottom of the world.

Twenty Thousand Leagues, Night 10: The Open Sea

Coming soon Night 10, The Open Sea The long way home. Great storms weathered from below, a last look at the flag, and the sea keeping its secret.

Serialised classic

Moby-Dick

Herman Melville's 1851 book, retold whole and read slowly for sleep. Sea-watch nights and whale lore under wide skies, kept calm the whole way. Each night switches on when it is ready.

12 nights Open Moby-Dick

Coming soon Night 1, The Spouter-Inn A winter night in New Bedford, a strange bedfellow with a heart of gold, and chowder by the fire.

Coming soon Night 2, The Pequod Nantucket, a ship dressed in whalebone, and papers signed for a three-years' voyage on Christmas Day.

144 min Moby-Dick, Captain Ahab Days at sea before the captain appears, and when he does, the deck goes quiet under his ivory step.

77 min Moby-Dick, The Doubloon A gold coin nailed to the mast, an oath drunk from harpoon-sockets, and the white whale named at last.

57 min Moby-Dick, The First Lowering Boats over the side for the first time, spray, silence, and the long pull across open water.

50 min Moby-Dick, Ships That Pass Mid-ocean meetings with other ships, each with news and stories, traded rail to rail on the swell.

51 min Moby-Dick, The Great South Sea Into the Pacific, flying fish, warm nights, and the slow craft of the whale-hunter's world.

51 min Moby-Dick, The Grand Armada A whole nation of whales at once, mothers and calves in a still lagoon at the heart of the herd.

51 min Moby-Dick, The Try-Works Firelight on deck at midnight, the ship turned lamp-bright and strange, and the long watch talked away.

51 min Moby-Dick, The Pacific Watch Quiet seas and quarter-deck talk, the carpenter, the blacksmith, and a coffin made into a lifebuoy.

51 min Moby-Dick, The Typhoon A storm takes the ship and leaves her, corposants on the yards, and a compass turned gently wrong.

51 min Moby-Dick, The Chase Three days with the white whale himself, and the sea closing smooth and quiet over the story's end.

Serialised classic

Jane Eyre

Charlotte Brontë's 1847 book, retold whole and read slowly for sleep. Firelit rooms, a charity school in the frost, and long walks over the moor. Each night switches on when it is ready.

10 nights Open Jane Eyre

165 min Jane Eyre, The Red Room A window-seat behind a curtain, a cold unjust house, and a small girl who will not be unmade by it.

Coming soon Night 2, Lowood A charity school in the frost. Thin porridge, a true friend, and kindness found in hard places.

Coming soon Night 3, A New Horizon Years pass, an advertisement is answered, and a coach carries Jane across the hills to a new life.

Coming soon Night 4, Thornfield Hall The master of the house arrives by twilight. A fall on the ice, a dog like a wolf, and a fire in the night.

Coming soon Night 5, The House Party Fine carriages, silk and music fill Thornfield, and a fortune-teller in the library tells more than fortunes.

Coming soon Night 6, Gateshead Again A summons back to the house of childhood, old accounts settled gently, and a midsummer evening in an orchard.

Jane Eyre, Night 7: A Wedding Interrupted

Coming soon Night 7, A Wedding Interrupted A church, a ring, and a voice that stops everything. The truth of Thornfield told at last, honestly and quietly.

Coming soon Night 8, Across the Moor Alone with nothing, Jane walks the wide heath, with heather for a bed and a far light that means shelter.

Coming soon Night 9, Moor House New kin by a warm hearth, a village school of her own, and an inheritance shared four ways without a blink.

Coming soon Night 10, Ferndean A voice on the wind, a house deep in the woods, and the long story coming quietly home.

Serialised classic

The Time Machine

H. G. Wells's 1895 book, retold whole and read slowly for sleep. The far future at dusk, wondering and slow, then home again to two flowers on a table. Each night switches on when it is ready.

6 nights Open The Time Machine

The Time Machine, Night 1: The Inventor's Parlour

67 min The Time Machine, The Inventor's Parlour After dinner, a small ivory-and-brass model vanishes from a table, and a larger one waits in the workshop.

The Time Machine, Night 2: Into Tomorrow

62 min The Time Machine, Into Tomorrow The lever tips, the laboratory melts into rushing days and nights, and the world remakes itself around the saddle.

The Time Machine, Night 3: The Golden Age

66 min The Time Machine, The Golden Age The year eight hundred and two thousand, soft meadows, fruit for dinner, and the small gentle people of the upper world.

65 min The Time Machine, Weena A rescue from the river earns the traveller a friend, and two white flowers go into a coat pocket for good.

The Time Machine, Night 5: The Palace of Green Porcelain

67 min The Time Machine, The Palace of Green Porcelain A museum of everything, deep in dust, whale bones, dead machines, and a box of matches that still strikes.

The Time Machine, Night 6: The Further Vision

61 min The Time Machine, The Further Vision Beyond the forest and the dark, to the very edge of the world's evening, then home, and two flowers on a table.

Serialised classic

Dracula

Bram Stoker's 1897 book, retold whole and read slowly for sleep. Coach roads, pine passes and castle nights, told at a walking pace. Each night switches on when it is ready.

9 nights Open Dracula

71 min Dracula, The Road East A young solicitor rides into the Carpathians, paprika suppers, uneasy blessings, and a coach met at midnight.

127 min Dracula, The Castle A courteous host, doors that are never locked and never open, and a guest who begins to count the days.

118 min Dracula, The Demeter A Russian schooner runs before a great storm with a log full of silence, and comes ashore at Whitby.

59 min Dracula, Whitby Churchyard benches above the harbour, red windows at sunset, and a sleepwalker brought safely home.

139 min Dracula, The Doctors An old professor crosses the sea with garlic flowers and patience, reading what the others cannot.

Coming soon Night 6, The Hunters Gather Diaries are read aloud, hands are joined around a table, and a quiet company agrees to see it through together.

Coming soon Night 7, The House in London Old chapels and dusty crates across the city. The long patient work of narrowing a shadow's ground.

Coming soon Night 8, The Long Pursuit The shadow quits London by ship, and the company turns east again, with trains, tickets and a shared resolve.

Coming soon Night 9, The Mountain Pass Snow on the high road, a race against the sun, and the story ended quietly where it began.

Single titles

More Classics

Sixteen more beloved books, each retold whole, read slowly for sleep, and credited to the author who wrote it. Every one switches on the night it is done.

16 stories

86 min A Christmas Carol Charles Dickens' 1843 ghost story, retold gently. Snow on the London streets, three visitors in one night, and a cold heart thawing by morning.

60 min The Jungle Book Rudyard Kipling's 1894 stories, retold for sleep. Mowgli among the wolves, and the warm night sounds of the jungle all around him.

82 min Around the World in Eighty Days Jules Verne's 1873 novel, told as a night-long drift. Steamers, sleeper trains and slow horizons, all the way round the world and back.

69 min Sherlock Holmes Arthur Conan Doyle's Baker Street stories, first collected in 1892. Gaslight, fog and firelight, with a quiet case unwound at an unhurried pace.

61 min Little Women Louisa May Alcott's 1868 novel, told slowly. The four March sisters by the parlour fire, and the small kindnesses of a long New England winter.

102 min Sleepy Hollow Washington Irving's 1820 tale, told slow. Ichabod Crane, a harvest feast, and a long ride home through the drowsy Hudson valley.

58 min The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Mark Twain's 1876 novel, told slow. Whitewashed fences, a cave by the river, and long Mississippi afternoons with nothing much to do.

68 min Robinson Crusoe Daniel Defoe's 1719 novel, read at low tide. An island, a shelter built by hand, and years of quiet making-do.

71 min Gulliver's Travels Jonathan Swift's 1726 novel, retold for sleep. Threads, spires and tiny harbours, and a giant waking gently in a very small country.

61 min Black Beauty Anna Sewell's 1877 novel, told in the horse's own voice. Meadows, orchards, hard roads and kind hands, all at a walking pace.

Coming soon Heidi Johanna Spyri's 1881 novel, told slow. Alpine meadows, goat bells, and a grandfather's hut with the mountains breathing outside.

Coming soon Anne of Green Gables L. M. Montgomery's 1908 novel, told in the evening light. Blossom lanes, a gabled farmhouse, and a talkative red-haired dreamer in Avonlea.

72 min A Little Princess Frances Hodgson Burnett's 1905 novel, told slowly. A warm schoolroom, then a cold garret, and an imagination rich enough to furnish it.

72 min The Railway Children E. Nesbit's 1906 novel, told at a gentle pace. Steam, embankments and red flannel flags, and three children watching the trains below.

66 min Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen's 1813 novel, unhurried. Drawing rooms, long country walks, and letters that take their time arriving.

59 min The Call of the Wild Jack London's 1903 novel, told softly. Snow, sled lines and northern lights over Buck's long road back to the wild.

Serialised classic

Pinocchio

Carlo Collodi's 1883 book, retold whole and read slowly for sleep. From a log that laughs on a carpenter's bench to a long swim home out of the dark. Each night switches on when it is ready.

8 nights Open Pinocchio

Pinocchio, Night 1: The Piece of Wood That Laughed

57 min Pinocchio, The Piece of Wood That Laughed A carpenter's log that cries out when the plane touches it, an old man carving a puppet by candlelight, and a talking cricket nobody wants to hear.

Pinocchio, Night 2: The Marionette Theatre

58 min Pinocchio, The Marionette Theatre Feet burned away in front of the brazier, a coat sold to buy a spelling book, and a puppet show that ends in front of a very large showman.

95 min Pinocchio, The Fox and the Cat Five gold pieces, a limping fox, a blind cat, a long supper at the Red Lobster, and a dark road with two shapes following along it.

Pinocchio, Night 4: The Fairy with Azure Hair

77 min Pinocchio, The Fairy with Azure Hair A little white house in the wood, a spoonful of medicine refused, a nose that lengthens with every lie, and a field where money is said to grow.

Pinocchio, Night 5: The Island of the Busy Bees

87 min Pinocchio, The Island of the Busy Bees A collar and a kennel by a henhouse, a pigeon crossing the open sea, and a harbour town where everybody works and one puppet decides to try.

Pinocchio, Night 6: The Coach at Midnight

111 min Pinocchio, The Coach at Midnight A dawn walk to see a monster out in the water, a quarrel on the sand, a party promised for the morning, and a wagon drawn by twelve small donkeys.

84 min Pinocchio, The Land of Toys Five months of holiday with no school in it, a mirror that shows two long ears, and a ring of sawdust under a circus lamp.

111 min Pinocchio, Inside the Shark A rope, deep water, a great mouth opening in the dark, one small candle burning far inside it, and a long swim home.

Serialised classic

Frankenstein

Mary Shelley's 1818 book, retold whole and read slowly for sleep. From the first letters home out of the northern ice to the last of the snow. Each night switches on when it is ready.

7 nights Open Frankenstein

Frankenstein, Night 1: Letters from the Ice

93 min Frankenstein, Letters from the Ice A ship bound for the far north, a stranger found on the ice, and the quiet Geneva childhood he begins to describe.

101 min Frankenstein, Ingolstadt A student leaves home for a foreign university, works alone through two long winters, and finishes the thing he has been making.

Coming soon Night 3, The Road Home A slow spring of recovery, a letter from home, a night ride beside a stormy lake, and a household changed for good.

142 min Frankenstein, The Sea of Ice A climb to a glacier above the clouds, a meeting on the ice, and a stranger's own account of his first days in the world.

130 min Frankenstein, The Cottagers A winter spent watching a poor family through a chink in the wall, learning their language and their history, and asking one thing in return.

Frankenstein, Night 6: The Northern Islands

Coming soon Night 6, The Northern Islands Down the Rhine and across to England, then north to a bare island of three huts, a promise weighed, and a long crossing by sea.

Coming soon Night 7, Into the Ice A wedding by the lake, a house emptied of everyone it held, and a pursuit north that ends where the story began.

Serialised classic

Wuthering Heights

Emily Brontë's 1847 book, retold whole and read slowly for sleep. Two houses on the moor, a snowbound night of storytelling, and heather in the spring. Each night switches on when it is ready.

9 nights Open Wuthering Heights

Wuthering Heights, Night 1: A Guest at the Heights

145 min Wuthering Heights, A Guest at the Heights A snowbound traveller knocks at a cold farmhouse, and the housekeeper begins the story of the boy who was brought home from Liverpool.

Wuthering Heights, Night 2: Thrushcross Grange

166 min Wuthering Heights, Thrushcross Grange Two children run wild on the heath until a lamplit house in the valley shows one of them another kind of life.

Wuthering Heights, Night 3: The Years Away

Coming soon Night 3, The Years Away Half a sentence overheard by a kitchen fire, a horse gone from the stable, and three long years before a stranger walks back in.

Wuthering Heights, Night 4: A Winter at the Grange

187 min Wuthering Heights, A Winter at the Grange Locked doors, a long illness, feathers pulled from a pillow, and a young woman who slips away over the moor before dawn.

Wuthering Heights, Night 5: The Kirkyard Corner

Coming soon Night 5, The Kirkyard Corner A last afternoon of March sunlight, a corner of the churchyard where the heath comes right up to the wall, and a house that changes hands.

Wuthering Heights, Night 6: Penistone Crags

142 min Wuthering Heights, Penistone Crags A girl raised inside a park wall rides out at last to the gold rocks on the skyline, and a frail cousin arrives from the south.

Wuthering Heights, Night 7: Letters Across the Moor

Coming soon Night 7, Letters Across the Moor A drawer full of secret letters, a milk-boy carrying them, and a girl slipping out at night to a sickroom four miles away.

Wuthering Heights, Night 8: The Locked Door

Coming soon Night 8, The Locked Door An afternoon call that becomes a captivity, a key turned in a farmhouse door, and a father waiting through the last night of his life.

Wuthering Heights, Night 9: Heather and Harebells

Coming soon Night 9, Heather and Harebells Books shared over a winter, a hearth swept clean, and an old anger that finally lets go on the moor in spring.

Serialised classic

Oliver Twist

Charles Dickens's 1838 book, retold whole and read slowly for sleep. From a bowl held out for more to a green churchyard with a white slab in it. Each night switches on when it is ready.

10 nights Open Oliver Twist

179 min Oliver Twist, Ask for More A boy born in a workhouse, a bowl held out for a second helping, and a bed made up under a shop counter.

Oliver Twist, Night 2: The Artful Dodger

Coming soon Night 2, The Artful Dodger Seven days on the London road, a cheerful stranger with turned-up cuffs, and a warm fire in a house full of handkerchiefs.

Oliver Twist, Night 3: The Errand with the Books

Coming soon Night 3, The Errand with the Books A quiet house in Pentonville, a portrait on the wall, five pounds and a parcel of books, and a hand on a shoulder in a busy street.

196 min Oliver Twist, The Expedition A plan made over a low fire, a long walk out of London in the rain, and a small window at the back of a house in the country.

193 min Oliver Twist, The Quiet House A ditch, a field, a door knocked on at dawn, and two women who decide to keep him.

Oliver Twist, Night 6: Summer in the Country

212 min Oliver Twist, Summer in the Country A cottage among roses, lessons in the mornings, a fever that passes, and a face at the window that nobody else can find.

Oliver Twist, Night 7: A Strange Interview

Coming soon Night 7, A Strange Interview A locket sold in a ruined mill, a conversation overheard through a door, and a girl who keeps an appointment on a dark staircase.

138 min Oliver Twist, London Bridge A trial watched from the gallery, a Sunday night missed, a shadow on the stairs, and steps going down to the water.

172 min Oliver Twist, The Long Night A door closed at daybreak, a man walking north with a dog, a hayrick fire in the dark, and a chase across the mud at Jacob's Island.

135 min Oliver Twist, Everything Told A room where every question is finally answered, a last night in a stone cell, and a green churchyard with a white slab in it.

Serialised classic

The Odyssey

Homer's ancient Greek epic, retold whole and read slowly for sleep. Ten years of sea and islands, from a hall full of strangers to an olive tree at home. Each night switches on when it is ready.

12 nights Open The Odyssey

The Odyssey, Night 1: The Suitors in the Hall

Coming soon Night 1, The Suitors in the Hall A great house eaten out from the inside, a son who has never met his father, and a ship slipping out of harbour after dark.

Coming soon Night 2, Pylos and Sparta Sacrifices on a wide beach, a long chariot road through the corn, and an old soldier's wife who remembers everything.

91 min The Odyssey, Calypso's Island Seven years on a wooded island, a raft built in four days, a long swim, and a girl doing the washing at a river mouth.

The Odyssey, Night 4: The Court of Alcinous

Coming soon Night 4, The Court of Alcinous A walled orchard where fruit never fails, a hall of bronze and gold, athletic games on the sand, and a singer who makes a guest weep.

61 min The Odyssey, The Lotus Eaters A raid that went wrong, an island where the food makes men forget home, and a cave belonging to somebody very large.

Coming soon Night 6, Circe's Island A bag of winds opened too soon, a house in a clearing where the wolves are tame, and a year that passes without anyone noticing.

Coming soon Night 7, Past the Sirens Wax in the ears, a rope round the mast, a narrow strait taken at speed, and a sleeping man carried home in the dark.

The Odyssey, Night 8: The Swineherd's Hut

Coming soon Night 8, The Swineherd's Hut A ragged stranger fed by a poor man who has nothing to spare, and a young man sailing home along a night coast.

Coming soon Night 9, Father and Son Two men alone in a hut who finally say who they are, a walk down into town, and an old dog lying on a heap by the gate.

119 min The Odyssey, The Scar A beggar mocked in his own hall, a long conversation by the fire, and an old nurse washing a stranger's feet.

Coming soon Night 11, The Great Bow A sleepless night, a contest nobody can win, a locked door, and the day the house is finally emptied of its guests.

The Odyssey, Night 12: The Olive Tree Bed

103 min The Odyssey, The Olive Tree Bed A woman who will not be convinced, one question only two people could answer, and an old man in his orchard at last.

New collection

Fairy Tales

Twelve famous tales from Perrault, the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen.

12 stories

63 min Cinderella A fireside girl, a fairy godmother, a midnight ball, and a glass slipper that must find its way home.

103 min Sleeping Beauty In a kingdom that kept good roads and quiet winters, there lived a king and a queen who had no children, and who were sorrier about it than can properly be put into words. They tried everything that could be tried.

97 min Snow White The snow had begun in the night and it was still going in the morning, slowly, with no wind behind it at all. By the middle of that day the yard of the grey stone house had gone soft and shapeless under it.

119 min Beauty and the Beast The merchant had made his money slowly, one voyage at a time, and by the middle of his life he had a great deal of it. Everything he touched had come good. Ships he had part shares in came home heavy; warehouses he leased turned out to stand exactly where the trade moved to; men who owed him paid.

96 min The Little Mermaid The deepest water in the world lies a long way from any shore, and it is far quieter down there than the people on the ships above it ever imagine. The sea in that place is blue as a cornflower and clear as glass, and it goes down and down, further than any line ever let over the side of a boat has reached.

86 min The Snow Queen There was once a mirror, and the thing that made it was not kind. It was a clever piece of work and it did one trick. Anything good or beautiful that came in front of it shrank away almost to nothing, and anything worthless or ugly swelled up and showed twice as plainly as before.

77 min Little Red Riding Hood In a village at the near end of a great wood there lived a small girl whom everybody was fond of. There was no single reason for it, and it was true of her all the same. The neighbours were fond of her. The man who kept the cows was fond of her.

66 min Hansel and Gretel The winter that year came early and stayed, and it settled over the great wood and over the few poor houses that stood at the border of it, where the trees began. In one of those houses lived a man who cut wood for his living, with his wife and his two children.

65 min Rapunzel The house stood at the end of a lane, the last one before the fields. It was small and well kept, and it had been made comfortable slowly, over years, by two people who were fond of it and fond of each other. At the back of the house there was a window.

97 min The Ugly Duckling Down behind the old farmhouse, where the meadow ran out and gave way to water, the burdock grew thick and tall. A small child could have walked in under the leaves and stood upright there with room to spare. The leaves were enormous.

84 min Thumbelina The wanting had gone on a long time before she ever thought of asking anyone about it. She was a woman who lived by herself and kept her house well and had, in the ordinary way of things, everything a person needs.

86 min The Princess and the Pea There was a small country by the sea, and in it a house that had been a fortress long before anybody thought of making it comfortable. In that house lived a king and a queen, both of them getting on in years, and their son, who was not.

New collection

Children's Classics

Twelve familiar stories from Beatrix Potter, Kipling, Wilde, Irving and other classic writers.

12 stories

63 min The Tale of Peter Rabbit Under the root of a very big fir tree there was a sand bank, and in the sand bank there was a burrow, and in the burrow lived four young rabbits with their mother. Three of them were called Flopsy and Mopsy and Cottontail. The fourth was Peter.

78 min The Velveteen Rabbit On Christmas morning the boy found him sitting in the top of his stocking with a sprig of holly held between his paws. He was a very fine thing to find. His coat was velveteen, brown and white in patches, and it still had the deep new nap that no hand had yet stroked the wrong way.

63 min Just So Stories A long time ago, in a sea that was fuller than it is now, there lived a whale who ate fish. He ate the flat ones that lie on sand and the quick silver ones that turn all together, and the ones with claws, and the long ones that twist when they are caught.

Coming soon Aesop's Fables

116 min Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp In a city a very long way east of here, in the days when such cities were the largest things in the world, there was a lane of tailors' shops. The shutters came down at first light, and the men sat cross-legged in the doorways to catch the sun on their work.

Coming soon Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves

124 min Sinbad the Sailor In the times of the Caliph Haroun al Raschid there lived in Baghdad a poor porter named Hindbad, who on a very hot day was sent to carry a heavy load from one end of the city to the other. Before he had gone half the distance he was so tired that he had to stop.

Coming soon The Adventures of Robin Hood

134 min King Arthur and His Knights A long time ago there was a king in Britain called Uther-Pendragon, and he was overlord of the whole country. Two men had helped him to get there. One was an enchanter named Merlin, who was thought to be the wisest man alive and gave him good advice.

Coming soon The Happy Prince

107 min The Nutcracker The back parlour of Doctor Stahlbaum's house was not a room anybody sat in on purpose. It faced the wrong way for the light, it held the coats nobody was wearing, and it smelled faintly of apples from the shelf in the corner.

92 min Rip Van Winkle There is a family of mountains standing away to the west of a great river in the state of New York. They can be seen from a long way off, and in that country they have always been considered a little out of the ordinary. They are old, rounded mountains, dressed to the top in trees.

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