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The Dark Lady of the Sonnets
- Narrated by: Noel Badrian, Peter Tucker, Danielle Cohen, Erin Louttit, Denis Daly
- Length: 1 hr and 47 mins
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The Dark Lady of the Sonnets
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Publisher's summary
Making his way to a tryst with his "dark lady" near the royal palace the young playwright William Shakespeare encounters a mysterious woman in a cloak. Mistaking her for his lady friend, he accosts her in a familiar fashion, only to discover, to his dismay, that she is in fact the queen. He overcomes his initial discomfort, and takes advantage of the situation to make a petition for royal support to establish a national theatre.
Shaw's play had two purposes:
To deflate the reputation of Shakespeare for whom Shaw felt a lifelong rivalry
To provide support for a campaign to establish a national theatre in 1916, the tercentenary of Shakespeare's death. As with many of his plays, Shaw wrote a lengthy preface, which has been included in this recording.
Preface narrated by Noel Badrian
Cast
The Man (William Shakespeare) - Peter Tucker
The lady/Queen Elizabeth - Danielle Cohen
The Dark Lady - Erin Louttit
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The Roman Way
- By: Edith Hamilton
- Narrated by: Nadia May
- Length: 6 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 193
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 146
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 146
Edith Hamilton shows us Rome through the eyes of the Romans. Plautus and Terence, Cicero and Caesar, Catullus, Horace, Virgil, and Augustus come to life in their ambitions, their work, their loves and hates. In them we see reflected a picture of Roman life very different from that fixed in our minds through schoolroom days, and far livelier.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Not so bad
- By steve on 04-25-11
By: Edith Hamilton
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King Lear
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Paul Scofield, Alec McCowen, Kenneth Branagh
- Length: 3 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 136
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 111
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 109
The tragedy of King Lear receives an outstanding performance in an all-star cast led by Britain’s senior classical actor, Paul Scofield. He is joined by Alec McCowen as Gloucester, Kenneth Branagh as The Fool, Harriet Walter as Gonerill, Sara Kestelman as Regan and Emilia Fox as Cordelia. This is the ninth recording of Shakespeare plays undertaken by Naxos AudioBooks in conjunction with Cambridge University Press, and is directed by John Tydeman. It was released to mark the 80th birthday of Paul Scofield in January 2002.
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5 out of 5 stars
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This cold night will turn us all to fools & madmen
- By Darwin8u on 11-01-17
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The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling
- By: Henry Fielding
- Narrated by: Kenneth Danzinger
- Length: 35 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 260
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 204
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 203
A foundling of mysterious parentage, Tom Jones is brought up by the benevolent and wealthy Squire Allworthy as his own son. Tom falls in love with the beautiful and unattainable Sophia Western, a neighbor’s daughter, whose marriage has already been arranged. When Tom’s sexual misadventures around the countryside get him banished, he sets out to make his fortune and find his true identity.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Well read, many accents, older recording
- By Elizabeth on 12-16-10
By: Henry Fielding
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The Club
- Johnson, Boswell, and the Friends Who Shaped an Age
- By: Leo Damrosch
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 15 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 358
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 299
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 294
In 1763, the painter Joshua Reynolds proposed to his friend Samuel Johnson that they invite a few friends to join them every Friday at the Turk's Head Tavern in London to dine, drink, and talk until midnight. Eventually, the group came to include among its members Edmund Burke, Adam Smith, Edward Gibbon, and James Boswell. It was known simply as "the Club". In this captivating audiobook, Leo Damrosch brings alive a brilliant, competitive, and eccentric cast of characters.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Wonderful survey
- By Tad Davis on 05-10-19
By: Leo Damrosch
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The Winter's Tale
- Arkangel Shakespeare
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Sinead Cusack, Ciaran Hinda, Eileen Atkins, and others
- Length: 2 hrs and 52 mins
- Original Recording
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 323
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 288
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Story4 out of 5 stars 290
King Leontes of Sicilia is seized by sudden and terrible jealousy of his wife Hermione, whom he accuses of adultery. He believes the child Hermione is bearing was fathered by his friend Polixenes, and when the baby girl is born he orders her to be taken to some wild place and left to die. Though Hermione's child escapes death, Leontes' cruelty has terrible consequences. Loss paves the way for reunion, and life and hope are born out of desolation and despair.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A Snapper-Up of Unconsidered Trifles
- By John on 06-10-17
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Joseph Andrews
- By: Henry Fielding
- Narrated by: John Telfer
- Length: 13 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 40
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 38
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Story4 out of 5 stars 38
In one of the first novels in the English language, we follow the picaresque adventures of Joseph Andrews, a virtuous young man who is keen to maintain his innocence despite being coerced by nearly every woman he encounters.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Action and Ideas
- By John on 01-27-20
By: Henry Fielding
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Letters from the Earth
- By: Mark Twain
- Narrated by: Carl Reiner
- Length: 6 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 193
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 148
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Story4 out of 5 stars 147
Here we see Twain on a somewhat personal level. Penniless and having just lost his wife and one of his children, Twain turns to writing about God, Christianity, and the many curious natures of man. This collection was so controversial that his daughter prohibited its publication until 52 years after his death.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A must read for thinking people
- By Charles on 11-28-11
By: Mark Twain
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Mrs. Warren's Profession
- By: George Bernard Shaw
- Narrated by: full cast
- Length: 1 hr and 41 mins
- Original Recording
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 43
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 36
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 37
Modern parallels abound in the plight of Cambridge-educated mathematics wiz Vivie Warren, who discovers that her comfortable upbringing was financed in unspeakable ways. George Bernard Shaw pits a clever heroine against a memorable gallery of rogues in this superbly intelligent (and still shocking) comedy, banned for eight years from the English stage.
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4 out of 5 stars
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A Very Lively Play by Shaw
- By Robert M. on 05-01-20
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The School for Scandal
- By: Richard Brinsley Sheridan
- Narrated by: Stuart Bunce, Jane Carr, John Francis Harries, and others
- Length: 2 hrs and 49 mins
- Original Recording
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 36
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 30
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 30
Beware the gossips! Lady Sneerwell and her hireling, Snake, are certainly up to no good in this timeless send-up of hypocritical manners. Thanks to their scandal-mongering, the comely Lady Teazle must fend off the slanderous barbs that have caught the ear of her elderly husband - as well as every other gossip in London! What follows is a torrent of mistaken identities and sex-crazed scheming in which the upper classes have never looked so low class.
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4 out of 5 stars
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This is a play for English Lit students!
- By Kemdi on 03-25-15
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Vicar of Wakefield
- By: Oliver Goldsmith
- Narrated by: Patrick Tull
- Length: 7 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 71
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 46
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Story4 out of 5 stars 49
The simple village vicar, Mr. Primrose, is living with his wife and six children in complete tranquility until unexpected calamities force them to weather one hilarious adventure after another. Goldsmith plays out this classic comedy of manners with a light, ironic touch that is irresistibly charming.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Snidely Whiplash Ravishes Hapless Maidens
- By Joseph R on 12-26-09
By: Oliver Goldsmith
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Don Quixote
- By: John Ormsby - translator, Miguel de Cervantes
- Narrated by: Roy McMillan
- Length: 36 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,065
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 912
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 907
The most influential work of the entire Spanish literary canon and a founding work of modern Western literature, Don Quixote is also one of the greatest works ever written. Hugely entertaining but also moving at times, this episodic novel is built on the fantasy life of one Alonso Quixano, who lives with his niece and housekeeper in La Mancha. Quixano, obsessed by tales of knight errantry, renames himself ‘Don Quixote’ and with his faithful servant Sancho Panza, goes on a series of quests.
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4 out of 5 stars
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More than funny
- By Colin on 08-21-11
By: John Ormsby - translator, and others
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Don Quixote
- By: Tobias Smollett - translator, Miguel de Cervantes
- Narrated by: Robert Whitfield
- Length: 36 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,089
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 657
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Story4 out of 5 stars 653
Don Quixote, the world's first novel and by far the best-known book in Spanish literature, was originally intended by Cervantes as a satire on traditional popular ballads, yet he also parodied the romances of chivalry. By happy coincidence he produced one of the most entertaining adventure stories of all time and, in Don Quixote and his faithful squire, Sancho Panza, two of the greatest characters in fiction.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A MUST READ CLASSIC
- By Randall on 04-25-09
By: Tobias Smollett - translator, and others
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The Red and the Black
- By: Stendhal
- Narrated by: Davina Porter
- Length: 20 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 348
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 263
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Story3.5 out of 5 stars 259
So what would Al Gore choose if he had a book club? Gore named Stendhal's The Red and the Black, a 19th century classic chock full of adultery, betrayal, and moral vacuity, as his favorite book on a recent broadcast of Oprah. It's a bit shocking of a choice, given his wife and running mate's position on clean, wholesome literature. Listen and decide for yourself the merit of this presidential pick.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Almost perfect
- By Erez on 05-29-08
By: Stendhal
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The Life of Samuel Johnson
- By: James Boswell
- Narrated by: David Timson
- Length: 51 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 135
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 122
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 117
Charming, vibrant, witty and edifying, The Life of Samuel Johnson is a work of great obsession and boundless reverence. The literary critic Samuel Johnson was 54 when he first encountered Boswell; the friendship that developed spawned one of the greatest biographies in the history of world literature. The book is full of humorous anecdote and rich characterization, and paints a vivid picture of 18th-century London, peopled by prominent personalities of the time.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Wonderful!
- By Tad Davis on 02-02-18
By: James Boswell
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Tristram Shandy
- By: Laurence Sterne
- Narrated by: Anton Lesser
- Length: 19 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 219
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 199
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Story4 out of 5 stars 194
Laurence Sterne’s most famous novel is a biting satire of literary conventions and contemporary 18th-century values. Renowned for its parody of established narrative techniques, Tristram Shandyis commonly regarded as the forerunner of avant-garde fiction. Tristram’s characteristic digressions on a whole range of unlikely subjects (including battle strategy and noses!) are endlessly surprising and make this one of Britain’s greatest comic achievements.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Like discovering Frank Zappa in 250 years
- By Darwin8u on 01-02-14
By: Laurence Sterne