Literature audiobooks page 92

As the New York Times said in 1903, this lesser-known work by Jerome K. Jerome does not display “the wit of Congreve or even the glittering sort Mr. Jerome employs in some of his other books.”

It takes the form of imaginary conversations between the writer and a number of un-named characters at the afternoon tea table. The Woman of the World, the Old Maid, the Girton Girl, the Philosopher and the Minor Poet wax lyrical on subjects like marriage, art, society and politics. Frequently they appear to prefer the sound of their own voice to that of others.

Although I couldn’t agree with the NY Times that it is the Baedeker guide to conversation, it is certainly an eye-opening ...

Het verhaal gaat over een dromerige en poëtische Amsterdamse jongen, Wouter Pieterse, die opgroeit in een kleinburgerlijk milieu in de Franse tijd. De kleinburgerlijkheid van zijn omgeving en nieuwsgierigheid van Wouter komen vaak met elkaar in botsing, en vormen het hoofdthema van het boek. (Samenvatting geschreven door Wikipedia)

An impoverished young nobleman, Leopold, has unexpectedly been left a large fortune at the death of a distant relative – under one condition: that he marry a young cousin of hers. This young woman, called Francis, has been raised by her grandfather, who is a general. She has had an unconventional upbringing which has left her independent, outspoken and rough in her manners, with a love for horse riding and fencing, and a resolution never to marry. This unwomanly behavior has earned her the nickname “Major Frans”. Leopold falls in love with her, and decides to try and win her as his bride. This book, written in 1874, is considered a character novel influenced by the emerging women emanc...

McTeague is a simple dentist who becomes infatuated with Trina, the cousin of his friend Marcus. Trina then buys a winning lottery ticket worth $5,000, and McTeague announces his plans to marry her. But their marriage quickly falls apart as greed consumes them both, and Marcus' jealousy toward McTeague boils over.

A one-act play. Eccentric Captain Hagberd has been waiting for years for his son to come home from the sea. He has scrimped and saved, outfitting a house for Harry to inherit upon his return, which will be in only "one day more." He has also planned that Harry will marry Bessie, the repressed maiden next door. Note: The recording was done outside, so there will be some ambient noise (airplanes, lawn mowers, birds, children... etc).

Helena é o terceiro romance de Machado de Assis e foi publicado entre agosto e novembro de 1876 como folhetim. O livro se inicia com a morte do Conselheiro Vale, funcionário do governo que criou certa fortuna no Brasil Império. O Conselheiro é retratado como homem de ótimas relações na alta sociedade carioca e de certa inclinação à vida boêmia. De seu sucesso como figura pública, a família herda tanto uma fortuna considerável quanto relações duradouras com detentores do poder do Brasil da época: padres, médicos e políticos. De sua vida desregrada, contudo, a herança é uma filha ilegítima até então desconhecida, a jovem Helena. O último pedido do Conselheiro se expressa em seu testamento n...

Boswell’s Life of Samuel Johnson is widely considered to be the greatest English-language biography ever written. It was revolutionary in its efforts to represent Johnson as he was, celebrating his flaws as well as his genius, and in Boswell’s decision to represent Johnson primarily by quoting his writings and relating personal anecdotes rather than relying on matters of public record. From the time of its publication till now, The Life of Johnson has been one of the most popular and influential books ever written.

The novel details the lives of Tom and Maggie Tulliver, a brother and sister growing up on the river Floss near the village of St. Oggs, evidently in the 1820’s, after the Napoleonic Wars but prior to the first Reform Bill (1832). The novel spans a period of 10-15 years, from Tom and Maggie’s childhood up until their deaths in a flood on the Floss. The book is fictional autobiography in part, reflecting the disgrace that George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans) herself had while in a lengthy relationship with a married man, George Henry Lewes.
Maggie Tulliver holds the central role in the book, as both her relationship with her older brother Tom, and her romantic relationships with Philip Wa...

With seven children and a home to take care of, Margaret wondered how her Mother could be so happy living a life that seemed all drudgery. As Margaret has new experiences, she comes to realize that “her mother was not only the truest, the finest, the most generous woman she had ever known, but the happiest as well”.

For many nineteenth-century Christians, the new biological and geological discoveries of that era brought on severe crises of faith. Winwood Reade’s small epistolary novel “The Outcast” tells the story of a young man who sacrifices love and family and property for the sake of his conscience, which tells him that his lifelong beliefs cannot stand up to the heady revelations of the new science. Interestingly, the most crushing discovery for the anonymous letter-writer of this story is not simply that the Bible is not what he thought it was. He is far more overwhelmed by the concept of the new God he would have to believe in; instead of the benevolent God who had created the mystical Nature ...