[3] The series began October 28, 1944, with Henry Fielding's Tom Jones, followed by Voltaire's Candide and Jane Austen's Emma.

Over the next four years, it aired adaptations of such novels as Kidnapped, The Last of the Mohicans, Thomas Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge, Moby-Dick, A Tale of Two Cities and War and Peace.

The group of Chicago actors heard on the series included Larry Alexander, Ernie Andrews, Everett Clarke, Johnny Coons, Maurice Copeland, Harry Elders, Sidney Ellstrom, Charles Flynn, Donald Gallagher, Hilda Graham, Ken Griffin, Jonathan Hole, Geraldine Kay, Eloise Kummer, Jack Lester, Ken Nordine, Hope Summers and Lee Young.

The novelist Ida Alexa Ross Wylie was the guest commenting on Charles Dickens' The Pickwick Papers.

The adaptation of Theodore Dreiser's Free (July 9, 1948) featured a brief talk by the Dean of the University of Chicago.

[6] In the new format, the program also included adaptations of short stories and plays in addition to novels and occasionally featured commentary on the original work by distinguished writers and critics.

The new series won a Peabody Award in 1948 and was considered one of the most distinguished radio programs of its day; all the episodes from this period still survive.