Arts Podcasts

Librivox: Golden Age, The by Grahame, Kenneth show

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The Golden Age is a collection of reminiscences of childhood, written by Kenneth Grahame and originally published in book form in 1895, in London by The Bodley Head, and in Chicago by Stone & Kimball. (The Prologue and six of the stories had previously appeared in the National Observer, the journal then edited by William Ernest Henley.)[1] Widely praised upon its first appearance—Algernon Charles Swinburne, writing in the Daily Chronicle, called it "one of the few books which are well-nigh too praiseworthy for praise"—the book has come to be regarded as a classic in its genre. Typical of his culture and his era, Grahame casts his reminiscences in imagery and metaphor rooted in the culture of Ancient Greece; to the children whose impressions are recorded in the book, the adults in their lives are "Olympians," while the chapter titled "The Argonauts" refers to Perseus, Apollo, Psyche, and similar figures of Greek mythology. Grahame's reminiscences, in The Golden Age and in the later Dream Days (1898), were notable for their conception "of a world where children are locked in perpetual warfare with the adult 'Olympians' who have wholly forgotten how it feels to be young"—a theme later explored by J. M. Barrie and other authors. (Summary by Wikipedia)

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Librivox: King Arthur and His Knights by Radford, Maude L. show

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A collection of King Arthur's adventures, from his ascent to King of Britain to his death. This book includes some of the crucial Arthurian legends about Sir Lancelot, the Knights of the Round Table, Queen Guinevere, and the search for the Holy Grail. (Summary by Robin Cotter)

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Librivox: Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson, The by Twain, Mark show

Librivox: Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson, The by Twain, MarkJoin Now to Follow

In one of his later novels, the master storyteller spins a tale of two children switched at infancy. A slave takes on the identity of master and heir while the rightful heir is condemned to live the life of a slave. Twain uses this vehicle to explore themes of nature vs. nurture, racial bigotry and moral relativism. The case of mistaken identity is a theme that Twain explored also in THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER; in THE TRAGEDY OF PUDD'NHEAD WILSON he turns the theme into a well-crafted detective story. It is unfortunate that this is one of Twain's lesser known works as it is one of his most enjoyable reads.

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Librivox: Principles of Economics, Book 2: Some Fundamental Notions by Marshall, Alfred show

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Principles of Economics was a leading economics textbook of Alfred Marshall (1842-1924), first published in 1890. Marshall began writing the Principles of Economics in 1881 and he spent much of the next decade at work on the treatise. His plan for the work gradually extended to a two-volume compilation on the whole of economic thought; the first volume was published in 1890 to worldwide acclaim that established him as one of the leading economists of his time. It brought the ideas of supply and demand, of marginal utility and of the costs of production into a coherent whole, and became the dominant economic textbook in England for a long period. The second volume, which was to address foreign trade, money, trade fluctuations, taxation, and collectivism, was never published at all. (Wikipedia)

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Librivox: Bible (KJV) 00: Introduction by King James Version show

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The introduction to the KJV Bible revealed the thanks of the translators to King James I of England. It is fitting to read, as it reminds contemporary readers of the transitory nature of all Bible translations. (Summary by Sam Stinson)

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Librivox: Short History of the United States, A by Channing, Edward show

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Channing's best known work, A History of the United States, is regarded as one of the most complete and accurate accounts of American history and received the 1926 Pulitzer Prize for History. (Summary from Wikipedia)

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Librivox: Canyons of the Colorado by Powell, John Wesley show

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John Wesley Powell was a pioneer American explorer, ethnologist, and geologist in the 19th Century. In 1869 he set out to explore the Colorado and the Grand Canyon. He gathered nine men, four boats and food for ten months and set out from Green River, Wyoming, on May 24. Passing through dangerous rapids, the group passed down the Green River to its confluence with the Colorado River (then also known as the Grand River upriver from the junction), near present-day Moab, Utah. The expedition's route traveled through the Utah canyons of the Colorado River, which Powell described in his published diary as having …wonderful features—carved walls, royal arches, glens, alcove gulches, mounds and monuments. From which of these features shall we select a name? We decide to call it Glen Canyon. (Ironically, now almost completely submerged by Lake Powell, behind the Glen Canyon Dam.) One man (Goodman) quit after the first month and another three (Dunn and the Howland brothers) left at Separation Rapid in the third, only two days before the group reached the mouth of the Virgin River on August 30 after traversing almost 1,500 km. The three who left the group late in the trip were later killed—probably by Indians. Powell retraced the route in 1871-1872 with another expedition, producing photographs, an accurate map, and various papers, including ethnographic reports of the area's Native Americans and a monograph on their languages. --adapted from Wikipedia

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Librivox: Selbstmordverein, Der by Reventlow, Franziska Gräfin zu show

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Ein gar nicht düsteres Trauerspiel, in dem nicht nur ein verkrachter Baron, eine schöne Witwe, ein junger Gymnasiast und seine Freundin, die partout nicht mehr als Mädchen gesehen werden will, sowie allerlei bodenständige Ärzte und Kommerzienräte ihren Auftritt haben, sondern auch ein leibhaftiges Phantom. Das Ergebnis ist ein Romanfragment, das nur mit einem lachenden und einem weinenden Auge gelesen werden kann... (Zusammenfassung von Stephanie König)

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Librivox: De Profundis by Wilde, Oscar show

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This short work of Wilde's was written during his two year incarceration for "gross indecency". This work is a letter which sorts out his life, and his love toward Lord Alfred Douglas. Wilde wrote this as a farewell letter to Douglas. (summary by Aaron Elliott)

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Librivox: Ball-of-Fat by Maupassant, Guy de show

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The first significant published short story of French author Guy de Maupassant, and generally acknowledged as his greatest work, "Ball-of-Fat" (French title: Boule de Suif) is the touching story of an interrupted coach ride from Rouen to Le Havre during which occurs the corruption of a principled prostitute by immoral and hypocritical members of the upper class. The story is set during the occupation of Rouen at the time of the Franco-Prussian War.(Summary by Michael Thomas Robinson)

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