Showing results by author "Librivox Audiobooks" in All Categories

The Benson Murder Case – A Philo Vance Story is the first of a series of twelve popular mysteries set in New York during the Jazz Age. S. S. Van Dine is the nom de plume of prominent art critic, and member of New York’s avant-garde, W. H. Wright. He rapidly became one of the country’s best-selling authors and the series remained immensely popular for decades, as Philo Vance was featured in dozens of movies, plays and radio shows. Van Dine’s novels marked a sharp departure from earlier detective fiction. To begin with, the hero represents the antithesis of the familiar hard-boiled ...

This is Shakespeare's dutiful trubute to one of the most imposing and terrifying rulers in European history. The kingdom trembles as the giant monarch storms through his midlife crisis, disposing of the faithful Katharine of Aragon and starting a new life and, the king hopes, a line of succession with the captivating young Anne Bullen. Unlike his predecessors, Henry has no doubt about the security of his tenure on the throne, and dominates the royal court with absolute authority. The play has a surprising modern flavour: there is even a set of "Royal watchers" - the three gossipy gentlemen! (...

When Jack and Jill tumble off their sled on the first good snow of the season, their injuries cause them to be bedridden for many months, putting an end to their fun and frolics. Their parents and friends fill their days with the joys of Christmas preparations, a theatrical production and many other imaginative events. Both learn how to become better friends to each other and their other school mates through their many trials. This is sure to become a family favorite! - Summary by Mary AndersonDedicated to Beth Thomas.Cast List:Narrator: Lynette CaulkinsJack Minot: Elijah FisherJill Pecq: ...

Roman historique situé au 3ème siècle avant JC. La trame du récit raconte la guerre qui oppose Carthage aux mercenaires qu'elle avait employé lors de la première Guerre Punique, et qui se rebellent car Carthage tarde à leur payer leur solde.Le roman met en scène Salammbo, fille fictive du général Hamilcar ainsi que l'amour que lui portent deux chefs mercenaires. Ce roman se caractérise par la richesse de ses descriptions et il s'en dégage une atmosphère poétique toute particulière. Flaubert, ici, rejoint la veine des Trois Contes où il donne libre cours à son imagination ...

Niebla es una de las obras más conocidas de Unamuno. Esta “nivola”, como el propio autor la denominó quizás para diferenciarla del resto de sus obras, nos cuenta una historia a veces cómica y otras dramática, cargada de planteamientos filosóficos. A la vez narra el enamoramiento de Augusto, joven de vida acomodada que pone en cuestión todo lo que le ocurre, el ser o no ser, la capacidad de decidir del ser humano, incluso llega a enfrentarse y a cuestionar a su creador, Miguel de Unamuno. (Resumen de Montse González)

Crime and Punishment is the second of Fyodor Dostoyevsky's full-length novels following his return from 5 years of exile in Siberia, and is considered the first great novel of his "mature" period of writing. The novel focuses on the mental anguish and moral dilemmas of Rodion Raskolnikov, an impoverished ex-student in St. Petersburg who formulates and executes a plan to kill an unscrupulous pawnbroker for her cash. Raskolnikov, in an attempt to defend his actions, argues that with the pawnbroker's money he can perform good deeds to counterbalance the crime while ridding the world of a vermin, ...

Молодой Лев Толстой только ещё формирует свой стиль, порой делая забавные ошибки, в автобиографической повести "Детство". Повествование ведётся от имени мальчика дворянского сословия, находящегося на домашнем обучении, и насыщено искренним описанием его мыслей и чувств. (Summary by Hanna Ponomarenko)

Noted macabre poet Charles Baudelaire later in life wrote this collection of brief sketches, what he deemed "little poems in prose". He thus employs his rich, romanticist skills in service of creating dream-like passages of ethereal beauty and dark turns of fate. His words may be both kind and cruel in turns but is always entrancing. Also included is an extensive biography of Baudelaire by James Huneker. (Summary by Ben Tucker)

El Príncipe de Maquiavelo influyó profundamente en el mundo moderno al separar la política de la moral tradicional. Su defensa de decisiones moralmente cuestionables en beneficio del Estado sentó las bases de la ciencia política moderna y del análisis estratégico. Su énfasis en comprender la naturaleza humana sigue influyendo en la teoría del liderazgo, la geopolítica y la gestión del poder en sociedades contemporáneas. (Introducción por FiccionNarrada)

More systematic, but no less sincere than A Confession (which originally served as the introduction to this work), The Critique of Dogmatic Theology is an early attempt on the part of Tolstoy to impart the results of his meticulous study and fearless inquiry into the beliefs and traditions of Orthodox Christianity following his renewed interest in spirituality. - Summary by Paul Rizik

In this book, Tolstoy seeks to condense the four Gospels of the New Testament, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, into one, by looking along the lines of the teachings of Jesus Christ found in each book. In doing so, he discovers that the Lord's Prayer is the best summation of all that Christ taught in the Gospels. - Summary by KHand

La compilation de poèmes intitulée "Les fleurs du mal" de Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867) fit fureur et scandale dès sa publication initiale. Du coup, six poèmes furent censurés pour immoralité et n'apparaîtront que dans les publications d'après 1949. Voici l'édition de 1896 qui est une compilation presque complète de 152 poèmes, témoins du réalisme et de l'esprit innovateur et provocateur de Baudelaire. - Summary by Sonia

Childhood (Детство [Detstvo]; 1852) is the first novel in Leo Tolstoy’s autobiographical trilogy. They are the works that launched his writing career. These books earned him instant acclaim. This book describes the major physiological decisions of boyhood that all boys experience.(Summary by Wikipedia)

Edith Wharton's 1913 novel is a devastating critique of American upward mobility, told through the journey of Undine Spragg from fictional Midwestern Apex City to New York to Paris. Undine is determined to acquire money and position through marriage, even if it means multiple divorces. - Summary by Elizabeth Klett

This is a collection of poems, in the form of an entire community speaking from beyond the grave about their lives, and, in some cases, gossiping about their neighbors' lives. It's interesting to hear how other people perceive a particular character, and how that character responds.

Obra cumbre de la literatura rusa y universal. Probablemente la más conocida de Dostoyesky. Está dividida en 6 partes y un epílogo.El estudiante Raskólnikoff, agobiado por pobreza y una serie de extraños razonamientos que van creciendo en su cabeza, planifica y ejecuta un terrible asesinato, llegando a convencerse de que ha obrado con justicia y hasta con brillantez. En las siguientes semanas, la investigación del crimen, la sospecha de poder ser descubierto, sus miserias morales y otros acontecimientos, irán generando un cambio profundo en la forma de ser y la psicología de nuestro ...

Flutist Aaron Sisson is caught up in the aftermath of WWI. A lost soul, he attempts to find himself in the comfort of bar-room talk and alcohol and a woman. Moving on, he spends time with a mining executive's relatives. But he finds the family a stuffy middle-class lot, bored with each other and themselves. He leaves his wife and children and strikes out for the open road. During a playing engagement at an opera performance, he reunites with the mining executive's family. Talk is of love and war, none of it very satisfying to anyone. At dinner with one of the women, Aaron reveals that he is ...

A travel book describing a journey taken by Lawrence and his wife Frieda (whom he refers to as the Queen Bee) by sea from Sicily to Sardinia and then in the interior of that island ( Anthony Ogus)

Childhood, published in 1852, is the first novel in Leo Tolstoy’s autobiographical trilogy, which also includes Boyhood, and Youth. Published when Tolstoy was twenty-three, the book gained immediate notice among Russian writers including Ivan Turgenev, and heralded the young Tolstoy as a major figure in Russian letters. Childhood is an expressionist exploration of the internal life of a young boy, Nikolenka, and was a new form in Russian writing, mixing fact, fiction and emotions to render the moods and reactions of the narrator. Childhood is Tolstoy’s first published work. Translated into...

The Death of Ivan Ilyitch is the story of a socially ambitious middle-aged judge who contracts an unexplained and untreatable illness. As Ivan Ilyitch is forced to face the death he fears, he asks himself whether the life he thought was so correct was, in fact, a moral life after all. Written after Tolstoy's religious conversion, the novella is widely considered to be one of his masterpieces. (Summary by Laurie Anne Walden)