ON THE EDGE OF THE CLIFF – The Complete Ballantyne Action Series (Annotated)
Enriched Edition. Sea adventures, western classics, treasure hunts, war tales, and exploration storiesBy R. M. Ballantyne
Length590h 53m
About this audiobook
On the Edge of the Cliff – The Complete Ballantyne Action Series gathers the kind of peril-driven narratives for which R. M. Ballantyne became a defining Victorian writer of adventure. Its episodes place youthful courage, physical danger, moral testing, and providential escape at the centre of the action, moving with brisk, pictorial prose from suspenseful crises to lessons in discipline and character. In literary context, the collection belongs to the nineteenth-century tradition of imperial and juvenile adventure fiction, where entertainment, instruction, and Christian-inflected ethics are closely intertwined. Ballantyne's authority as a storyteller was shaped by an unusually active early life. Born in Edinburgh in 1825, he worked for the Hudson's Bay Company in Canada before turning to literature, and his firsthand encounters with travel, wilderness, and practical hardship informed his fiction's realism. Though best remembered for The Coral Island, he wrote prolifically for young readers, combining documentary detail with dramatic incident. This volume is recommended for readers interested in classic adventure literature, Victorian moral imagination, and the origins of modern youth action fiction. It offers excitement, historical texture, and insight into how nineteenth-century narratives taught courage through danger.
This enriched edition has been carefully crafted to add value to your reading experience.
- A comprehensive Introduction outlines these selected works' unifying features, themes, or stylistic evolutions.
- A Historical Context section situates the works in their broader era—social currents, cultural trends, and key events that underpin their creation.
- A concise Synopsis (Selection) offers an accessible overview of the included texts, helping readers navigate plotlines and main ideas without revealing critical twists.
- A unified Analysis examines recurring motifs and stylistic hallmarks across the collection, tying the stories together while spotlighting the different work's strengths.
- Reflection questions inspire deeper contemplation of the author's overarching message, inviting readers to draw connections among different texts and relate them to modern contexts.
- Lastly, our hand‐picked Memorable Quotes distill pivotal lines and turning points, serving as touchstones for the collection's central themes.
Audiobook details
GenreChildren's Literature
Length590 hrs 53 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateNov 22, 2019
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1ON THE EDGE OF THE CLIFF – The Complete Ballantyne Action Series (Annotated)
2Introduction
3Historical Context
4Synopsis (Selection)
5Novels
Show all chaptersShow less
6The Coral Island (pt. 1)
7The Coral Island (pt. 2)
8The Coral Island (pt. 3)
9The Coral Island (pt. 4)
10The Coral Island (pt. 5)
11Snowflakes and Sunbeams (The Young Fur Traders) (pt. 1)
12Snowflakes and Sunbeams (The Young Fur Traders) (pt. 2)
13Snowflakes and Sunbeams (The Young Fur Traders) (pt. 3)
14Snowflakes and Sunbeams (The Young Fur Traders) (pt. 4)
15Snowflakes and Sunbeams (The Young Fur Traders) (pt. 5)
16Snowflakes and Sunbeams (The Young Fur Traders) (pt. 6)
17Ungava (pt. 1)
18Ungava (pt. 2)
19Ungava (pt. 3)
20Ungava (pt. 4)
21Ungava (pt. 5)
22Martin Rattler (pt. 1)
23Martin Rattler (pt. 2)
24Martin Rattler (pt. 3)
25The Dog Crusoe and his Master (pt. 1)
26The Dog Crusoe and his Master (pt. 2)
27The Dog Crusoe and his Master (pt. 3)
28The Dog Crusoe and his Master (pt. 4)
29The World of Ice (pt. 1)
30The World of Ice (pt. 2)
31The World of Ice (pt. 3)
32The World of Ice (pt. 4)
33The Gorilla Hunters (pt. 1)
34The Gorilla Hunters (pt. 2)
35The Gorilla Hunters (pt. 3)
36The Gorilla Hunters (pt. 4)
37The Gorilla Hunters (pt. 5)
38The Golden Dream (pt. 1)
39The Golden Dream (pt. 2)
40The Golden Dream (pt. 3)
41The Golden Dream (pt. 4)
42The Golden Dream (pt. 5)
43The Red Eric (pt. 1)
44The Red Eric (pt. 2)
45The Red Eric (pt. 3)
46The Red Eric (pt. 4)
47The Red Eric (pt. 5)
48Away in the Wilderness (pt. 1)
49Away in the Wilderness (pt. 2)
50Fighting the Whales (pt. 1)
The Best Ballantyne WesternsR. M. Ballantyne99h 56m$1.99 · $0.00
The Coral Island & The Gorilla Hunters (Musaicum Adventure Classics)R. M. Ballantyne21h 16m4.1 (11)$1.99 · $0.00
The Greatest Action Books - Ballantyne EditionR. M. Ballantyne591h 10m4.3 (12)$1.99 · $0.00
The Greatest Sea Adventure Novels: 30+ Maritime Novels, Pirate Tales & Seafaring StoriesR. M. Ballantyne233h 36m4.3 (31)$1.99 · $0.00
The African Cycle: Action & Adventure NovelsR. M. Ballantyne66h 6m$1.99 · $0.00
The Gorilla Hunters (Musaicum Adventure Classics)R. M. Ballantyne10h 58m3.8 (668)$1.99 · $0.00
The Madman and the Pirate & Other Sea Adventures - 5 Books in One EditionR. M. Ballantyne47h 53m4.3 (11)$1.99 · $0.00
The Works of R. M. Ballantyne: Western Novels, Sea Tales, Historical Thrillers & Children's BooksR. M. Ballantyne623h 2m$1.99 · $0.00
The Complete Novels: Western Classics, Sea Adventures, Action Thrillers & Historical NovelsR. M. Ballantyne591h 6m$1.99 · $0.00
The Coral Island & The Gorilla Hunters (Annotated)R. M. Ballantyne21h 19m$2 · $0.00
The Complete Works of R. M. Ballantyne (Annotated)R. M. Ballantyne621h 31m$2 · $0.00
The Battle of Sea and Wind (Annotated)R. M. Ballantyne233h 3m$2 · $0.00
Martin Rattler (Annotated)R. M. Ballantyne7h 26m3.9 (161)$2 · $0.00
The Prairie ChiefR. M. Ballantyne5h 58m3.8 (79)$1 · $0.00
The Pioneers; a Tale of the Western WildernessR. M. Ballantyne2h 47m3.5 (42)$1 · $0.00
The LighthouseR. M. Ballantyne9h 4m3.8 (155)$2 · $0.00
The Middy and the MoorsR. M. Ballantyne6h 8m$2 · $0.00
The Complete Works of R. M. BallantyneR. M. Ballantyne622h 33m$1 · $0.00
THE WAYS OF THE WILD WEST – The Best Ballantyne Westerns (Annotated)R. M. Ballantyne99h 53m$3 · $0.00
Bible 09: 1 SamuelKing James2h 28m4.6 (1.6K)$12 · $0.00
The Complete Works of Beatrix Potter: 22 Children's Books with Original IllustrationsBeatrix Potter5h 3m4.6 (3.9K)$1.99 · $0.00
The Violet Fairy Book (Annotated)Andrew Lang11h 39m4.7 (304)$2 · $0.00
Little Lord Fauntleroy (Annotated)Frances Hodgson Burnett7h 56m4.6 (1.5K)$0.99 · $0.00
The Nutcracker and The Mouse King (Annotated)E.T.A. Hoffmann4h 4m4.6 (1.5K)$2 · $0.00
REBECCA OF SUNNYBROOK FARM & NEW CHRONICLES OF REBECCA (Children's Book Classics) (Annotated)Kate Douglas Wiggin15h 32m4.6 (1.4K)$0.99 · $0.00
Just William (Illustrated) (Annotated)Richmal Crompton6h 30m4.6 (1.2K)$2 · $0.00
The Labors of Hercules BealGary D. Schmidt8h 17m4.6 (10.4K)$8 · $0.00
Clancy of the Overflow (The Matilda Saga, #9)Jackie French14h 24m4.6 (471)$33 · $0.00
The Great Fairy Tales - Oscar Wilde Edition (Illustrated) (Annotated)Oscar Wilde6h 31m4.6 (1.1K)$2 · $0.00
Alice's Adventures in WonderlandLewis Carroll3h4.5 (5.9K)$7.99 · $0.00
The Boy Who Followed His Father into AuschwitzJeremy Dronfield6h 54m4.5 (28.5K)$24 · $0.00
Bat and the End of EverythingElana K. Arnold2h 40m4.6 (2.3K)$18 · $0.00
Chronicles of Ancient Darkness #6: Ghost HunterMichelle Paver6h 20m4.5 (11.7K)$24 · $0.00
Masterminds: PaybackGordon Korman6h 51m4.5 (5.8K)$24 · $0.00
The House at Pooh CornerA. A. Milne, E. H. Shepard3h 6m4.5 (107.8K)$2 · $0.00
Anne of Green Gables (Annotated)Lucy Maud Montgomery13h 1m4.5 (2.8K)$2 · $0.00
The Guardian Herd: StormboundJennifer Lynn Alvarez6h 19m4.5 (2.3K)$24 · $0.00
The One and Only FamilyKatherine Applegate3h 14m4.5 (7.5K)$18 · $0.00
Other Words for HomeJasmine Warga3h 50m4.5 (42.8K)$20 · $0.00
You may also like
The Lost WorldSir Arthur Conan Doyle8h 4m4.0 (80.3K)$17
The Last of the PlainsmenZane Grey7h 38m3.9 (1.7K)$2.30 · $0.00
Swamp CatJim Kjelgaard5h 1m4.0 (304)$2 · $0.00
Thirty-One Years on the Plains and in the Mountains, Or, the Last Voice from the PlainsWilliam F. Drannan14h 27m4.2 (305)$1 · $0.00
Adventures of Big-Foot Wallace: The Texas Ranger and Hunter (Illustrated) (Annotated)John Crittenden Duval8h 56m4.0 (1K)$0.99 · $0.00
The Life and Adventures of Nat Love (Annotated)Nat Love4h 59m4.1 (371)$0.99 · $0.00
The DeerslayerJames Fenimore Cooper22h 40m3.8 (18K)$2.30
A Texas CowboyCharles A. Sirigo6h 26m4.0 (1.6K)$3
The Last of the Plainsmen (Western Classic) (Annotated)Zane Grey8h 31m4.0 (1.1K)$2 · $0.00
Dutch Courage and Other StoriesJack London3h 40m3.4 (73)$2.30
Capt. W. F. Drannan, Chief of Scouts, As Pilot to Emigrant and Government TrainsWilliam F. Drannan8h 5m4.6 (25)$1 · $0.00
The Life and Adventures of Kit Carson, the Nestor of the Rocky MountainsDe Witt C. Peters12h 16m3.8 (40)$1 · $0.00
Motor Boat Boys on the Great Lakes; or, Exploring the Mystic Isle of MackinacLouis Arundel4h 6m4.3 (11)$2 · $0.00
Autobiography of Captain W.F. Drannan, Chief of ScoutsWilliam F. Drannan10h 19m4.2 (121)$1.99 · $0.00
The Gorilla Hunters (Annotated)R. M. Ballantyne10h 58m3.8 (255)$0.99 · $0.00
Young Hunters in Porto Rico; or, The Search for a Lost TreasureEdward Stratemeyer5h 30m$2.30 · $0.00
Hunting the LionsR. M. Ballantyne2h 45m$2.30
Thirty Years on the FrontierRobert McReynolds5h 8m$2 · $0.00
The Adventures of William F. DrannanWilliam F. Drannan25h 44m4.1 (27)$1.99 · $0.00
The Greatest Works of Joseph Alexander Altsheler (Annotated)Joseph Alexander Altsheler354h 55m$0.99 · $0.00