Literature Podcasts
Librivox: Short History of England, A by Chesterton, G. K.Join Now to Follow
Gilbert Keith Chesterton was a prolific writer on many topics. His views of history were always from the standpoint of men and their interactions, and it may fairly be said he saw all of history as a battle between civilization and barbarism. So it has always been, and that remains true even today. "But it is especially in the matter of the Middle Ages that the popular histories trample upon the popular traditions. In this respect there is an almost comic contrast between the general information provided about England in the last two or three centuries, in which its present industrial system was being built up, and the general information given about the preceding centuries, which we call broadly mediaeval. " As this quotation taken from the Introduction clearly shows, he is no mere pedant reciting dry dates and locations, but a profound thinker flooding new light onto those modern "myths" that have filled our historys. He is a master of paradox, and the techique of reducing his opponents arguments to the logical absurdity they have inherent in them. He often turns them upside down. All of which makes his work both a sound subject for reflection and highly entertaining all the while it remains permanently timely. (Summary by Ray Clare)
By LibriVox
Librivox: Elusive Pimpernel, The by Orczy, Emmuska, BaronessJoin Now to Follow
First Published in 1908, The Elusive Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy is the 4th book in the classic adventure series about the Scarlet Pimpernel. (Summary from Wikipedia)
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Librivox: Plan and Preface to a Dictionary of English by Johnson, SamuelJoin Now to Follow
The published dictionary was a huge book: with pages nearly 1½ feet tall and 20 inches wide, it contained 42,773 words; it also sold for the huge price of £4/10s. (0?). It would be years before "Johnson's Dictionary", as it came to be known, would ever turn a profit; authors' royalities being unknown at that time, Johnson, once his contract to deliver the book was fulfilled, received no further monies connected to the book. Johnson, once again a freelance writer, albeit now a famous one, faced a grim hand-to-mouth existence; however, in July 1762 the twenty-four year old King George III granted Johnson an annual pension of £300. While not making Johnson rich, it allowed him a modest yet comfortable independence for the remaining thirty years of his life. (Summary from Wikipedia).
By LibriVox
Librivox: Moths of the Limberlost by Stratton-Porter, GeneJoin Now to Follow
Gene Stratton-Porter (August 17, 1863 - December 6, 1924) was an American author, amateur naturalist, wildlife photographer, specializing in the birds and moths in one of the last of the vanishing wetlands of the lower Great Lakes Basin. The Limberlost and Wildflower Woods of northeastern Indiana were the laboratory and inspiration for her stories, novels, essays, photography, and movies. She was an accomplished author, artist and photographer and is generally considered to be one of the first female authors to promulgate public positions; conserving the Limberlost Swamp in her case. Although Stratton-Porter wanted to focus on nature books, it was her romantic novels that made her famous and generated the finances that allowed her to pursue her nature studies. In Moths of the Limberlost , she shares her lifelong love of the moths she describes through a series of charming anecdotes and wonderfully descriptive passages, providing vivid detail of each stage of their life cycles. (Summary adapted from wikipedia and expanded by J. M. Smallheer)
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Librivox: Märchen 5 by Grimm, Jacob & WilhelmJoin Now to Follow
Anfang des 19. Jahrhunderts begannen die Brüder Jacob und Wilhelm Grimm, traditionelle, bisher vor allem mündlich weitergegebene Erzählungen zusammenzutragen. Diese Sammlung ist als die Märchen der Gebrüder Grimm weltbekannt geworden und umfaßt so berühmte Geschichten wie Rapunzel, Hänsel und Gretel, Rumpelstilzchen, Rotkäppchen und viele andere. Diese Märchen wurden später stark editiert und 'beschönt'. Die hier vorliegenden Versionen entsprechen aber stärker den originalen, teils drastischen Fassungen. (Zusammenfassung von Rainer)
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Librivox: Fables de La Fontaine, livre 09 by La Fontaine, Jean deJoin Now to Follow
Jean de La Fontaine poursuit son oeuvre pédagogique par la mise en scène des turpitudes et travers des humains. Le fabuliste rafine son écriture, les textes de ce neuvième livre sont plus étendus et le style plus travaillé.Pour la première fois, Jean de La Fontaine s'adresse nommément à un représentant de la noblesse dans un discours adressé à Madame de la Sablière. Ce texte sera repris et complété dans la première fable du livre suivant (dixième): Les deux rats, le Renard et l'Oeuf. (Jean Lambert)
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Librivox: Poems of Marianne Moore by Moore, MarianneJoin Now to Follow
In 1921, American poet H.D. collected and published a selection of previously published poems by Marianne Moore. Although this angered Moore, as it was entirely unauthorized, she later accepted the edition as well made and used it as the basis for her own 1924 publication of Obersvations. Moore's unique poetry matches the experimentation underway during the American Modernist movement. Much of it incorporates seemingly out-of-place quotations into complex free verse that often uses Nature as a subject matter. Today, despite the self-motivated alteration of her poetry in later life, done much to the dismay of her devotees, scholars consider Moore a significant American poet worthy of intense study in an a unalterable place in the canon. (Summary by Oscar Goff)
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Librivox: Last Of The Mohicans (A Narrative of 1757), The by Cooper, James FenimoreJoin Now to Follow
The Last of the Mohicans is an epic novel by James Fenimore Cooper, first published in January 1826. It was one of the most popular English-language novels of its time, and helped establish Cooper as one of the first world-famous American writers.The story takes place in 1757 during the French and Indian War, when France and Great Britain battled for control of the American and Canadian colonies. During this war, the French often allied themselves with Native American tribes in order to gain an advantage over the British, with unpredictable and often tragic results. (Wikipedia Excerpt)
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Librivox: Stories of Animal Sagacity by Kingston, William Henry GilesJoin Now to Follow
300+ short stories of how smart and savvy various individual animals have been seen to be, and in most cases a little moral is drawn from the story. (Summary by Allyson Hester)
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