Follow the young boy Huckleberry Finn and the slave Jim on their epic journey down the Mississippi River in the years before the Civil War. This masterpiece by Mark Twain is a delightful mixture of exciting adventures, sad mishaps, floods, lazy days floating on the raft, conniving con men and human beings in their most bewildering variety. It is a great pleasure to read and listen to. (by Phil Chenevert ) [chương_files]
Fifteen short stories by Antoinette Ogden from French and Spanish writers of many times. – Summary by david wales [chương_files]
Uncle’s Dream by Fyodor Dostoyevsky was written following his five year exile to Siberia where he was sent to serve in a hard labor camp. Following what could only have been a harrowing and harsh existence in Russia’s infamous prison for political and social prisoners, one would expect Dostoyevsky’s work to have been dark and bitter. Rather, Uncle’s Dream is a humorous and yet scathing commentary on Russian provincial high-society. The story of elderly Prince K. who comes to visit the town of Mordasoff, lorded over by the imperious Maria Alexandrovna, is one of love, hate, deceit and greed. Standing reluctantly at Maria Alexandrovna’s side is her haughty daughter, Zina, who has few friends of her own. The prince’s companion and distant relative is Paul Mosgliakoff, suitor to Zina. Maria Alexandrovna and Zina are the central characters in the charade to lure the senile prince into a marriage of convenience (not for him but for Maria Alexandrovna and Zina). They, and a host of lesser characters, are brought to life in full color by Dostoyevsky’s masterful wordsmithing. Uncle’s Dream is a must listen for any fan of not only Dostoyevsky, but of Russian literature and the “goings-on” of the Russian “upper crust.” (Summary by Greg Giordano) [chương_files]
Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844–89) was an English poet, educated at Oxford. Entering the Roman Catholic Church in 1866 and the Jesuit novitiate in 1868, he was ordained in 1877. Upon becoming a Jesuit he burned much of his early verse and abandoned the writing of poetry. However, the sinking in 1875 of a German ship carrying five Franciscan nuns, exiles from Germany, inspired him to write one of his most impressive poems “The Wreck of the Deutschland.” Thereafter he produced his best poetry, including “God’s Grandeur,” “The Windhover,” “The Leaden Echo,” and “The Golden Echo.” (Summary by Bartleby) Editor: Robert S. Bridges (1844-1930) [chương_files]
This famous Shakespearean exploration illuminates its plays through the frame of character, while also weighing theme, mood, structure and poetics. In it, 19th-century critic William Hazlitt unveils Shakespeare’s genius in creating and infusing characters with a life-likeness that often challenges, if not overshadows, more material human nature — in both inner and outer worlds. As he writes: “The characters breathe, move, and live, … think and speak and act just as they might do, if left entirely to themselves.” The first printing sold out in weeks, and the second sold briskly, until a harsh and antagonistic appraisal in The Quarterly Review quelled sales altogether — and unraveled Hazlitt’s critical cachet in the eyes of the general public. Not until the mid-twentieth century were Hazlitt and his works re-evaluated, when he was finally recognized as one of Shakespeare’s foremost critics of all time. In literary criticism, the renowned Harold Bloom ranks Hazlitt second only to Dr. Johnson. – Summary by Nemo [chương_files]
Michel Eyquem de Montaigne is one of the most influential writers of the French Renaissance, known for popularising the essay as a literary genre. He is also known as the father of Modern Skepticism. His pieces became famous for his apparent effortless ability to merge serious intellectual speculation with casual anecdotes and autobiography. His main work, Essais (translated literally as “Attempts” but traditionally as “Essays”), contains some of the still most widely influential essays ever written. This is the second volume of that important work. (Summary adapted from the Wikipedia by Leni) [chương_files]
Hard Times was Dickens’s shortest novel and the only one to be set in the industrial north of England. A fast moving story with a typical cast of larger than life characters, the novel is a vehicle for a humanist critique of both utilitarian education (‘Teach these boys and girls nothing but facts’, says Mr. Gradgrind in the opening paragraph) and the mutual antagonism between capital and the trade union. A humanist education system, it turns out, is Dickens’s solution to the class struggle. Hard Times is set in the fictional Coketown and was partly inspired by a visit to Preston during the factory lockout that brought the town’s industry to a standstill in 1853. This version is read as it appeared in 20 issues of Dickens’s weekly Household Words from April to August 1854. It is followed by two earlier articles – Locked Out and On Strike – that describe Dickens’ visit to Preston and do much to clarify his thinking on education and class conflict. – Summary by Phil Benson [chương_files]
LibriVox’s Short Poetry Collection 014: a collection of 20 public-domain poems. [chương_files]
LibriVox’s Long Poems Collection 002: a collection of 7 public-domain poems longer than 5 minutes in length. [chương_files]
This is a collection of public domain works either published in 1912, or written in 1912 and published before 1923. The accent is on non-fiction but a few short stories are included. [chương_files]
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