Showing results for "Katie" in European

The 100 greatest poems of three major French authors, Baudelaire, Victor Hugo, Paul Verlaine, translated into English with perfect accuracy and elegance, narrated by Katie Haigh and Paul Edwards. Excerpts from Hugo's "Contemplations and Autumn Leaves", Baudelaire's "Flowers of Evil", which started as a banned book in France because of its indecency, and Verlaine's "Poèmes Saturniens": here is enough to delight in the greatest poetry lines ever written and to nourish one's literary culture.

Anya and Chris have been divorced for 18 years. When their daughter goes into labour, they are reunited outside the maternity ward, and in the exchange that follows, they are forced to confront each other, and the awkwardness of their past, as they wait for their new grandchild to arrive.

The greatest poems from the greatest masters of French literature have been put together in a brilliant English adaptation in the form of an audiobook. Dive deep into Victor Hugo's superb style, with excerpts from his "Contemplations" or "Autumn Leaves"; enjoy the ephemeral poetry of Verlaine and the darkness of Charles Baudelaire's "Flowers of Evil", narrated with precision and subtlety by Katie Haigh and Paul Edwards.

"The unknown masterpiece", or "Le chef-d'œuvre inconnu", is a story by the French author Honoré de Balzac. This short text was of tremendous importance in the world of art, for it holds a groundbreaking reflection about artistic creation: what does completion or failure mean, and how is it that technique does not guarantee either. Paul Cézanne famously said "I am Frenhofer", identifying with the old master around which the story revolves. Pablo Picasso himself was absolutely fascinated by the text, so much that he had his studio moved in the Parisian street named in the story; there, he painted his own masterpiece, Guernica.

"Herodias" is a short story by Gustave Flaubert, one of the great masters of French literature. It is a reworking of the tale of Salomé and John the Baptist, in which faith and cruelty are blended in a deadly dance culminating in tragedy. A stylistic masterpiece, with orientalist sensuality and an inspired dive into religious fervor, this short story brings the ancient era to the most colorful possible life.

"The Legend of Saint Julian the Hospitalier" is a short story by French writer Gustave Flaubert, one of the great masters of literary style and aesthetics. Saint Julian is predicted at birth to do great things, but a growing hatred takes root in him, leading him to seek a way to escape a destiny which seems more and more likely to be terrible. "The Legend of Saint Julian the Hospitalier" is an inspiring tale of perseverance and humility, one of Flaubert's most touching short stories with a religious theme.

Charles Baudelaire is one of the greatest French poets. His most famous work, Les Fleurs du Mal (The Flowers of Evil), was deemed scandalous at the time because of its themes of sex and death, lesbianism, corruption, wine, and the oppressiveness of living. Its powerful imagery and ravaging use of the senses had many name him an unequaled master; the effect on fellow artists was "immense, prodigious, unexpected, mingled with admiration and with some indefinable anxious fear", while the regime of the Second Empire had Baudelaire prosecuted and fined for his "insult to public decency".

Charles Baudelaire is one of the greatest French poets. His most famous work, "Les Fleurs du Mal"("The Flowers of Evil"), was deemed scandalous at the time because of its themes of sex and death, lesbianism, corruption, wine, and the oppressiveness of living. The effect on fellow artists was "immense, prodigious, unexpected, mingled with admiration and with some indefinable anxious fear", while the regime of the Second Empire had Baudelaire prosecuted and fined for his "insult to public decency". Baudelaire's style had a tremendous influence on French poetry, and also on English writers; he was a pioneering translator, and created strong ties with the Anglo-Saxon literature.

"The Baron Munchausen's Narrative of his Marvellous Travels and Campaigns in Russia", or the "Startling adventures of Baron Munchausen", is one of the funniest texts ever written. It relates the exploits of a grandiloquent figure, in a series of absurd, impossible and extravagant feats. It is a charming tale of dreamlike adventures, a powerful satire and a personal attack, as it was meant to mock a real Baron known for telling outrageous tall tales based on his military career during the Russo-Turkish war. The adventures of the Baron will have you roar with laughter and unleash your imagination as you witness his cannonball ride or travels to the moon.

"The Mutineers of the Bounty" is a short story by Jules Verne, part of the series The Extraordinary Voyages. It is based on a true story a mutiny that occured on the Royal Navy vessel HMS Bounty in 1789. The ship had been sent to Tahiti, and the relations between Captain William Bligh and his crew quickly deteriorated, leading to increasingly harsh punishments and abuse. A cabal formed between the men, and one night, they overpowered the captain, seized the ship, and sent him and 18 of his loyalists out at sea to die.

Victor Hugo is one of the best-known French writers, and one of the greatest literary figures of all time. His poetry made him famous very early, cementing his reputation as one of the greatest lyric poets when he was only 20 years old. We have selected for you 28 of his most well-known and powerful poems, mostly from the immortal Autumn Leaves and Contemplations. They are, in order: Childhood; Death in Life; Epitaph; Have you nothing to say for yourself; How Butterflies are born; I am content; Inscription for a crucifix; Satire on the Earth; St John; etc.

"The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark" is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. Hamlet is Shakespeare's longest play and among the most powerful and influential tragedies in English literature, with a story capable of "seemingly endless retelling and adaptation by others." The play seems to have been one of Shakespeare's most popular works during his lifetime and still ranks among his most-performed. It has inspired writers from Goethe and Dickens to Joyce and Murdoch, and has been described as "the world's most-filmed story after Cinderella".

"King Lear" is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, depicting the gradual descent into madness of the title character after he disposes of his kingdom giving bequests to two of his three daughters based on their flattery of him, bringing tragic consequences for all. The play is derived from the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological pre-Roman Celtic king; after the English Restoration, it was often revised with a happy ending for audiences who disliked its dark and depressing tone, but since the nineteenth century, Shakespeare's original version has been regarded as one of his supreme achievements.

"Dance of Death" is a prose poem in which Death laments over the cruel task God has given him. Engaging in a dialogue with Satan, and later Nero as one of Satan's first minions, Death suggests that of the two of them, Satan has the more enviable lot, as his work will one day be done and he will have rest. "Dance of Death" is impregnated with the spirit of romanticism, which had a powerful hold on the mind of Flaubert at the time of its writing. Its florid prose makes it a very interesting curiosity for the reader wishing to know a younger Flaubert, who would only later become the famous author of Madame Bovary.