Arts Podcasts
Librivox: Prince and the Pauper, The by Twain, MarkJoin Now to Follow
The Prince and the Pauper (1882) represents Mark Twain's first attempt at historical fiction. The book, set in 1547, tells the story of two young boys who are identical in appearance: Tom Canty, a pauper who lives with his abusive father in Offal Court, London, and Prince Edward son of Henry VIII of England. Due to a series of circumstances, the boys accidentally replace each other, and much of the humor in the book originates in the two boys' inability to function in the world that is so familiar to the other (although Tom soon displays considerable wisdom in his decisions). In many ways, the book is a social satire, particularly compelling in its condemnation of the inequality that existed between the classes in Tudor England. In that sense, Twain abandoned the wry Midwestern style for which he was best known and adopts a style reminiscent of Charles Dickens. (Summary from Wikipedia.org)
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Librivox: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by UnknownJoin Now to Follow
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a late 14th-century Middle English alliterative romance outlining an adventure of Sir Gawain, a knight of King Arthur's Round Table. In the tale, Sir Gawain accepts a challenge from a mysterious warrior who is completely green, from his clothes and hair to his beard and skin. The "Green Knight" offers to allow anyone to strike him with his axe if the challenger will take a return blow in a year and a day. Gawain accepts, and beheads him in one blow, only to have the Green Knight stand up, pick up his head, and remind Gawain to meet him at the appointed time. The story of Gawain's struggle to meet the appointment and his adventures along the way demonstrate the spirit of chivalry and loyalty. (Wikipedia) This 20th Century rendering is by WA Neilson.
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Librivox: Kim by Kipling, RudyardJoin Now to Follow
Kim is a fabulous adventure story set in India during the former British Empire. It tells the story of a street-wise but (in typical Kipling fashion) highly moral Anglo-Indian boy who becomes enmeshed the “the Great Game” -– the competition between Britain and Russia for control over Asia. Taking time off from his role as the traveling companion of an aged Tibetan lama, the boy is trained as a spy, matches wits with various evildoers, and wins out in the end. So much more than just a spy story, Kim is one of the most enjoyable books that you will ever read -- or have read to you. Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) was born in Bombay, India. He was the author of many short stories and novels including The Jungle Book. (summary by
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Elements of Geology, The by NORTON, William HarmonJoin Now to Follow
<p>Geology is a science of such rapid growth that no apology is expected when from time to time a new text-book is added to those already in the field. The present work, however, is the outcome of the need of a text-book of very simple outline, in which causes and their consequences should be knit together as closely as possible,—a need long felt by the author in his teaching, and perhaps by other teachers also. The author has ventured, therefore, to depart from the common usage which subdivides geology into a number of departments,—dynamical, structural, physiographic, and historical,—and to treat in immediate connection with each geological process the land forms and the rock structures which it has produced. (from book preface)</p><p></p>
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Librivox: Land that Time Forgot, The by Burroughs, Edgar RiceJoin Now to Follow
The Land That Time Forgot is a science fiction novel, the first of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Caspak trilogy. His working title for the story was "The Lost U-Boat." Starting out as a harrowing wartime sea adventure, the story ultimately develops into that of a fantastical lost world. (Adapted from Wikipedia.)
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LibriVox Language Learning Collection Vol. 002 by VARIOUSJoin Now to Follow
This collection is part of an initiative to create a language learning resource at LibriVox. The LibriVox Language Learning Collections contain readings from various language learning books, grammars, primers, phrasebooks, dictionaries, readers and even other works which contain information on various languages, recount experiences of language learning and encountering new languages or provide guides for correct pronunciation, writing or discourse in a language. These works could describe English or any other language whatsoever, from Latin to Sumerian, Chinese to Wampanoag, Esperanto to Swahili (etc.). <br><br> This volume includes "The Aural System" by Charles Hardy, the first and second lessons from "New First Spanish Book" by James H. Worman, three sections from "First Steps in Anglo-Saxon", Lessons II to IV from "A Practical Grammar of the Latin Language" by George J. Adler, Lessons 1 to 3 from "New Method of Learning the French Language" by Jean Gustave Keetels, the Grammar and Conversation sections from "Egyptian Self-Taught" by Carl Albert Thimm, "Double English" by Dr. Gerald Nolst Trenité, the Introduction and Chapters 1 and 2 from "Slips of Speech" by John H. Bechtel, "Greek Lessons: 11 - 20" by W. H. Morris, "Beginning Latin: Lesson 2" by John Edmund Barrs, Sentence Construction from "A Primer of Persian" by G.S.A. Ranking and Lessons 20 - 25 from "A Practical Arabic Course" by E. Nématallah & E. Chevalley.<br> (Summary by Nicholas James Bridgewater)
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Librivox: War and Peace, Book 10: 1812 by Tolstoy, LeoJoin Now to Follow
War and Peace (Russian: Война и мир, Voyna i mir; in original orthography: Война и миръ, Voyna i mir”) is an epic novel by Leo Tolstoy, first published from 1865 to 1869 in Russki Vestnik, which tells the story of Russian society during the Napoleonic Era. It is usually described as one of Tolstoy’s two major masterpieces (the other being Anna Karenina) as well as one of the world’s greatest novels. War and Peace offered a new kind of fiction, with a great many characters caught up in a plot that covered nothing less than the grand subjects indicated by the title, combined with the equally large topics of youth, age and marriage. While today it is considered a novel, it broke so many novelistic conventions of its day that many critics of Tolstoy’s time did not consider it as such. Tolstoy himself considered Anna Karenina (1878) to be his first attempt at a novel in the European sense. (Summary by Wikipedia)
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Librivox: Three Ghost Stories by Dickens, CharlesJoin Now to Follow
As a gifted writer with a strong interest in supernatural phenomena, Charles Dickens produced a string of ghost stories with enduring charm. Three of them are presented here, of which The Signal Man is one of the best known. Though quite different from his most celebrated realistic and humorous critical novels, these ghost stories, Gothic and grotesque as they are, are of good portrayal, and worth a read/listen. Summary by Vivian Chan
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Librivox: War and Peace, Book 11: 1812 by Tolstoy, LeoJoin Now to Follow
War and Peace (Russian: Война и мир, Voyna i mir; in original orthography: Война и миръ, Voyna i mir”) is an epic novel by Leo Tolstoy, first published from 1865 to 1869 in Russki Vestnik, which tells the story of Russian society during the Napoleonic Era. It is usually described as one of Tolstoy’s two major masterpieces (the other being Anna Karenina) as well as one of the world’s greatest novels. War and Peace offered a new kind of fiction, with a great many characters caught up in a plot that covered nothing less than the grand subjects indicated by the title, combined with the equally large topics of youth, age and marriage. While today it is considered a novel, it broke so many novelistic conventions of its day that many critics of Tolstoy’s time did not consider it as such. Tolstoy himself considered Anna Karenina (1878) to be his first attempt at a novel in the European sense. (Summary by Wikipedia)
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Librivox: King Solomon's Mines by Haggard, H. RiderJoin Now to Follow
King Solomon’s Mines, first published in 1885, was a best-selling novel by the Victorian adventure writer H. Rider Haggard. It relates a journey into the heart of Africa by a group of adventurers led by Allan Quatermain in search of the legendary wealth said to be concealed in the mines of the novel’s title. It is significant as the first fictional adventure novel set in Africa, and is considered the genesis of the Lost World literary genre. - Haggard wrote over 50 books, among which were 14 novels starring Allan Quatermain. (Summary by Wikipedia/John Nicholson)
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