Showing results by narrator "Cate Barratt" in All Categories

Nonsense Novels was first published in 1920 yet a century later remains a huge favorite among Stephen Leacock fans. The British-born Canadian writer was renowned for his humor, and Nonsense Novels epitomizes both this skill and his mastery of the ridiculous. From an ill-fated Middle Ages romance to the dubious skills of a pitiful private eye and the happy outcome of a generations-old Scottish feud, Nonsense Novels is a tremendous listen.

American psychologist William James (1842-1910) was also a philosopher of considerable repute and borrowed the theory of pragmatism first put forward by Charles Peirce to help form his own interpretation of the philosophy. Pragmatism: A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking is based on the notion that the meaning of any idea is valid only if it works both experientially and practically. The book consists of a series of eight lectures, delivered at the Lowell Institute in Boston in November and December of 1906, and at Columbia University in January 1907.

While exploring the beach, four adventurous children make the acquaintance of a very odd creature: a sand fairy. When they have adapted to the brusque and forthright demeanor of the fairy, they discover that he has unusual powers, which he can be persuaded to demonstrate. As a result, the children enjoy many bizarre adventures, some of which are dangerous, but all of which are entertaining. Five Children and It is the first volume of a trilogy.

One of Canada's most cherished writers, British-born Stephen Leacock was probably best known and loved for his works of light humor. First published in 1912, Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town is one of his most popular and enduring pieces of fiction. This collection of short stories describes the people that comprise a typical but fictional small town in Ontario - Mariposa. The book's appeal lies in the universality of the characters Leacock describes so eloquently, they live out their 'large' lives in the little town.

Ivan Alekseyevich Bunin (1870-1953) was the first Russian author to receive the Nobel Prize for literature. The theme of the title story, which describes the death of a wealthy American in the island of Capri, has distinct links with the more famous treatment of this subject - "Death in Venice", by Thomas Mann. Bunin wrote: "The idea of a story [called initially] 'Death on Capri' came to me and in four days I finished the piece.

In compiling this collection of humorous short stories by both well known and more obscure authors, Alexander Jessup applied a broad interpretation of humour; the stories span the period between 1839 and the beginning of the first World War.

Spend your next 30 minutes traveling to a future where first adopters have the most advanced robot butlers or where everyone has a superpower - except the young man you just met. Or perhaps you prefer a good hard-boiled detective story or one about a hardscrabble life in the Australian outback.

Another action-packed mystery by Maurice LeBlanc! This story has to do with the final Will of a man named Mornington, who, in the year 1900, left behind the sum of $400 million francs. Of that, three-fourths went to his adopted country - which left $100 million francs to be distributed to his heirs. The executor of the estate was Mornington's friend, Don Luis Perenna (AKA Arsene Lupin). The problem, however, was that no one knew where (or even who) some of the heirs were. If no heirs were to be found within 3 months, the entire $100 million francs would go to Perenna.

In his book Pragmatism, William James attacked the transcendental, rationalist tradition in philosophy and tried to clear the ground for the doctrine he called radical empiricism. The book caused an uproar; it was greeted with praise, hostility, and ridicule. Determined to clarify the pragmatic conception of truth, James collected nine essays he had written on this subject before he wrote Pragmatism and six written later in response to criticisms of that volume by Bertrand Russell and others. He published the collection under the title "The Meaning of Truth" in 1909, the year before his death.

Mathematician and philosopher Bertrand Russell was prompted to write and publish Why Men Fight (in 1917) as he and the world were experiencing the Great War. Russell shares his thoughts on how to end war - not just between states, but also between classes and individuals.

Volume V covers France’s history from the rise of Henry IV (Henry of Navarre) in 1589 to the death of Louis XIV in 1715.

First serialized in the French magazine Je sais tout, The Hollow Needle was released in 1909. It featured the writer’s famed gentleman burglar, Arsene Lupin, who encountered the surprisingly apt amateur-detective qualities of young Isidore Beautrelet. As fans of Lupin would come to expect over subsequent novels, the burglar nonetheless always remained at least one step ahead of his adversaries, until...

The collection contains eight of Shakespeare’s best loved comedies. Each exhibits the vigour, humour, and optimism of the young master before he turned to the gloom and bitterness of the great tragedies.

At the center of each of the four great Shakespearean tragedies - Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear, and Othello - is a powerful figure who is led to destruction by a fatal character flaw. In the case of Macbeth it is ambition. Initially a valiant warrior, and staunch servant of his regal overlord Duncan, Macbeth succumbs to the lure of absolute political domination, which leads to murder, revolt, and comprehensive defeat.

André Gide met Wilde many times and was one of the small number of celebrities who maintained contact with him until his death in Paris in 1900.

Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse (aka PG Wodehouse) wrote in excess of 90 books, 40 plays, and 200 short stories between 1902 and 1974 and is widely regarded as one of the greatest humorists of the 20th century. Right Ho, Jeeves! is his second in a series of books written about a luckless young British millionaire named Bertram Wooster and his sharp valet, Jeeves.

E.M. Forster's classic 1910 novel follows the lives and loves of the Schlegel sisters, Margaret and Helen, as they attempt to make connections with members of two very different families: the conservative, wealthy Wilcoxes, and the working-class Basts.

Early 20th-century philosopher, mathematician, historian, and social critic Bertrand Russell once again offers a refreshing and insightful look at the way in which we raise and educate our children and the effect it has on the kind of adults they become. Once again Russell demonstrates how timeless and unresolved some issues remain—be they war, religion, politics, or ... in this instance ... education.

Friedrich Engels spent two years (from 1842 to 1844) in Manchester, England, working at his father's factory. During that period he observed and recorded the effect of the industrial revolution on the labor market and the subsequent condition of what became the working class of England.

The premier Russian dramatist before Chekov, Alexander Ostrovsky was one of the first masters of realistic theatre. A typical example of his approach to drama, A Protégée of the Mistress is almost cinematic in its presentation. The action is represented by a series of vivid snapshots, in which Ostrovsky quickly and subtly illustrates the foibles and weaknesses of each character, and shows how they are forced into a hostile dependence on each other.