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This is Virginia Woolf’s first collection of essays, published in 1925. In them, she attempts to see literature from the point of view of the ‘common reader’ - someone whom she, with Dr Johnson, distinguished from the critic and the scholar. She read, and wrote, as an outsider: a woman set...

Set in English society before the 1832 Reform Bill, Wives and Daughters centres on the story of youthful Molly Gibson, brought up from childhood by her father. When he remarries, a new stepsister, Cynthia, enters Molly's quiet life. Loveable but worldly and troubling, Cynthia's arrival alters Molly's daily life. The narrative traces the development of the two girls into womanhood within the gossiping and watchful society of Hollingford.

Have you ever been to a King Lear performance with the impression of not having understood everything? It's normal. Shakespeare's plays are the most beautiful of the theatrical repertoire, but you cannot go to a Shakespeare play if you do not have a minimum prepared this show: understand the issues, characters, context, cultural or historical references is indispensable. The same is true if you intend to read a play by William Shakespeare: our summaries will help you better understand what you have read.

Man and Superman was the first drama to be broadcast on the BBC's Third Programme on October 1st, 1946. To celebrate Radio 3's 50th anniversary, the play was directed by Sir Peter Hall, and preserved for all time in this lush audio dramatisation. 'A comedy and a philosophy', Man and Superman is...

The four Grace sisters love their quiet life in the country village of Chevis Green. To some, their insular world might seem dull, but the sisters never seem to run out of conversation, jokes, and pleasant ways to pass the time together. They truly are the happiest of families. That is, until Aunt Rona comes to town. Rona intends to stay with the Graces indefinitely, and her meddlesome attitude immediately sets the sisters' teeth on edge. Throw in another unexpected houseguest, some potential suitors and a case of mistaken intentions, and the members of the Grace family suddenly find themselves quite out of their element.

Gwendolen Harleth gambles her happiness when she marries a sadistic aristocrat for his money. Beautiful, neurotic, and self-centered, Gwendolen is trapped in an increasingly destructive relationship, and only her chance encounter with the idealistic Deronda seems to offer the hope of a brighter future. Deronda is searching for a vocation, and in embracing the Jewish cause he finds one that is both visionary and life-changing.

John Keats' letters paint an unforgettably vivid and moving picture of the richly productive but also tragic final years of the poet's life. As he ponders on the nature of the writer's craft, he must first confront his brother's death from tuberculosis and then the imminent prospect of his own, tormented by the fear that he will not live to consummate his relationship with Fanny Brawne.

One of the most controversial Russian novels ever written, Fathers and Sons dramatizes the volcanic social conflicts that divided Russia just before the revolution, pitting peasants against masters, traditionalists against intellectuals, and fathers against sons. It is also a timeless depiction of the ongoing clash between generations.

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation of Chaucer's 'Troilus and Criseyde' by poet and writer Lavinia Greenlaw. One of the great works of English literature, this powerful, compelling story explores love from its first tentative beginnings through to passionate sensuality and eventual tragic...

From 1938 to 1969 the fictional crime novelist and detective Paul Temple, together with his Fleet Street journalist wife Steve, solved case after case in one of BBC radio’s most popular series. When young drama student Mary Dreisler is found murdered in her flat, her father instantly sends...

Beowulf is considered the finest heroic poem in Old English. It celebrates the character and exploits of Beowulf, a young nobleman and warrior, as he proves his superhuman strength and endurance. He also represents the ideal lord and vassal, rewarding his men generously and accomplishing glorious deeds to honor his king.

The tulip craze of 17th century Holland has a dark side! Cornelius van Baerle, a wealthy but naive tulip grower, finds himself entangled in the deadly politics of his time, and he must decide where his true love lies.

Fifteen-year-old Esperance Darbois, the only daughter of philosophy professor François Darbois, is determined to become a woman of the stage. But becoming an actress will sully the respectability of the Darbois family, damage her marriage prospects, and harm her father’s distinguished reputation.

In this wickedly funny play, a seemingly ideal couple and their charming, privileged friends surmount such details as selling government secrets, theft, and bribery with love triumphant over all.

Dans Cahiers de Douai, Arthur Rimbaud rassemble les poemes de sa jeunesse fulgurante : errance, satire, desir de liberte, visions politiques et eclats de beaute. Cette version audio integrale en francais donne a entendre les vingt-deux poemes du recueil dans une lecture claire, litteraire et...

Le Menteur, comedie en cinq actes de Pierre Corneille, suit Dorante, jeune homme brillant dont les inventions et les faux recits declenchent quiproquos, seductions et rebondissements. Cette lecture en francais presente la piece classique dans une version audio claire et theatrale, avec...

This audiobook is narrated by an AI Voice. What if the most dangerous words in a kingdom are spoken not by rebels, but by a conscience that refuses to bend? *Sir Thomas More* is one of the most fascinating and politically charged works connected to William Shakespeare: a dramatic portrait of law...

Le Malade imaginaire, comedie-ballet de Moliere, mele satire medicale, intrigue familiale et theatre burlesque. Argan, obsede par ses maladies et ses medecins, veut marier sa fille Angelique a un futur docteur, tandis que Toinette, Beralde et les autres personnages dejouent ses illusions avec...

Mes nuits ne sont pas une sinécure. Souvent, vers trois heures environ, c'est le temps de l'Annonciation. Une force ou une voix (que d'aucuns appelaient Muse) me hèle, me tire du sommeil, plutôt sans ménagement. Chaque fois, engourdi, contrarié avant d'être ravi, je résiste, j'essaie… Mais c'est plus fort que moi, plutôt plus fort qu'elle puisque la chère importune m'infiltre de force, dans une sorte de nécessité ou de fatalité impérieuses.

This audiobook is narrated by an AI Voice. What if the world’s most famous love story was never only about love, but about the fatal speed of hatred? In *Romeo and Juliet*, William Shakespeare creates a tragedy of youth, passion, family violence, and destiny in a Verona divided by ancient feud...