Showing results by author "Charles" in All Categories

Science fiction can often seem to be pure imaginative fantasy, but many authors are more fluent in real science than many readers and viewers may realize. Professor Charles L. Adler of St. Mary’s College of Maryland was the perfect choice for this subject, as he is both a longtime science-fiction fan and a real-world scientist. Professor Adler’s talent for using literature to shine a light on science - both the accurate and not-so-accurate versions employed by creators, spanning two centuries - makes this course a great survey for fans of both science fact and science fiction. 

The tale opens with the third and youngest son of a miller receiving his inheritance - a cat. At first, the youngest son laments, as the eldest brother gains the mill, and the middle brother gets the mules. The feline is no ordinary cat, however, but one who requests and receives a pair of boots.

From acclaimed literary biographer of Kurt Vonnegut and Harper Lee comes the life story of a song, one of the most iconic ever written: John Lennon's "Imagine". "Twenty-two lines of graceful, plain-spoken faith in the power of a world to repair and change itself," said Rolling Stone. Only 183 seconds long, the simple melody and poetry captured the wounded hopefulness of its moment - and transcended its time to inspire generations that followed.

"Les fleurs du mal", in english "The Flowers of Evil", is a volume of French poetry by Charles Baudelaire. The poems deal with themes relating to decadence and eroticism. The author and the publisher were prosecuted in France under the regime of the Second Empire as an "outrage aux bonnes mœurs" ("an insult to public decency"). Because of this prosecution, Baudelaire was fined 300 francs. Victor Hugo announced that Baudelaire had created "un nouveau frisson" (a new shudder, a new thrill) in literature.

One of Charles Dickens's most personally resonant novels, Little Dorrit speaks across the centuries to the modern audience. Its depiction of shady financiers and banking collapses seems uncannily topical, as does Dickens's compassionate admiration for Amy Dorrit, the "child of the Marshalsea," as she struggles to hold her family together in the face of neglect, irresponsibility, and ruin. Intricate in its plotting, the novel also satirizes the cumbersome machinery of government.

Depuis la mort de sa maman et le remariage de son père, Cendrillon vit avec sa belle-mère et ses deux demi-sœurs. Celles-ci la maltraitent et l'obligent à jouer les servantes. Mais un jour, toutes les jeunes filles du royaume sont invitées à un bal donné par le roi. Cendrillon a peur de ne pas pouvoir y aller. C'est sans compter sur l'aide de sa marraine la bonne fée.

’Please, Mr Murdstone! Don’t beat me! I’ve tried to learn my lessons, really I have, sir!’ sobs David. Although he is only eight years old, Mr Murdstone does beat him, and David is so frightened that he bites his cruel stepfather’s hand. For that, he is kept locked in his room for five days and nights, and nobody is allowed to speak to him. As David grows up, he learns that life is full of trouble and misery and cruelty. But he also finds laughter and kindness, trust and friendship . . . and love.

Gerald Dickens, great, great grandson of Charles Dickens, reads this traditional tale.Oliver Twist is the second novel by English author Charles Dickens. The time honoured story is about the orphan Oliver Twist, who escapes from a workhouse and travels to London where he meets the renowned Artful Dodger, leader of a gang of juvenile pickpockets. Oliver is led to the lair of their elderly criminal trainer Fagin, naively unaware of their unlawful activities.

Charles Dickens' Nicholas Nickleby performed by his great-great-grandson Gerald Dickens. A tale that brings to life the adventures of Nicholas Nickleby as he meets the wicked Wackfors Squeers, the theatrical Crumbles, and the cheerful Cheerybyle Brothers (to name a few). Complete and unabridged.

Audible presents an original dramatisation of Charles Dickens' Dombey and Son, first published as Dealings with the Firm of Dombey and Son: Wholesale, Retail and for Exportation. A literary masterpiece in which Dickens' gift for vivid characterisation is at its best, this is the story of a powerful man whose inability to appreciate those around him leads to his lonely demise and, later, his possible redemption.

In Coketown, England, wealthy retiree Thomas Gradgrind has founded a school based on his belief that life should be factual - not fanciful. Among his pupils are his children, Thomas and Louisa, who are raised on his teachings of rational self-interest and grow into loveless, despairing adults. As he bears witness to his children’s suffering, Gradgrind is forced to confront the dangers of his dispassionate, utilitarian philosophy.

Arthur Charles gives a personal account of his time as a POW on Java, including the use of secret radios and how he survived a firing squad. He depicts amazing resilience, resourcefulness, and even moments of humour amid the horror of captivity, where he suffered terrible mistreatment and deliberate efforts to humiliate. He managed to learn skills from other POWs such as contract bridge, chess, shorthand, and even English law.

Read by Juliet Stevenson and Simon Callow, A Literary Christmas is a seasonal anthology that collects together poems, short stories, and prose extracts by some of the greatest poets and writers in the English language. Like Charles Dickens’ ghosts of Christmas Past and Present, they are representative of times old and new - from John Donne’s Elizabethan hymn over the baby Jesus to Rudyard Kipling’s "Christmas in India", from Thomas Tusser counting the cost of a Tudor feast to Laurie Lee’s "Cider with Rosie".

When orphan Pip meets the escaped convict Magwitch in an overgrown churchyard on the Kent marshes, little does he know that the incident will change his life forever. Some years later, now apprenticed to his blacksmith brother-in-law, Pip falls in love with the beautiful Estella. Her half-crazed and bitter guardian Miss Havisham, however, exerts a malign influence over the girl and forces a wedge between the two.

This inspiring anthology collects enduring and entertaining stories that have enthralled young and old, by the cherished authors whose tales have captivated children for generations. Perfect for the family car trip or at-home listening, these recordings sparkle with the wit and wonder of time-tested storytelling.

In this beautiful exposition of the unmerited kindness of King David toward the poor lame orphan Mephibosheth, we see a picture of the kindness of God, through Jesus Christ. The condition of fallen man, the wondrous grace of God in His kindness to poor lost sinners and the privileges of conferred sonship - "and thou shalt eat bread at my table continually" - are clearly brought out by this gifted expositor.

Sour and stingy Ebenezer Scrooge has an emotional transformation after the supernatural visits of Jacob Marley and the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and yet to come. The novella met with instant success and critical acclaim. A Christmas Carol has never been out of print and has been adapted to film, opera, and other media.

Augustine of Hippo's masterpiece The City of God is one of the greatest books ever written, yet its size - nearly 1,000 pages - too often intimidates even serious readers. Composed in the years after the sack of Rome in the fifth century, it ushers you on an astounding historical and theological journey through the final years of the ancient world. What made this book so powerful? What mysteries lie within it? What relevance does the 1,600-year-old text have for our world today?

It is Christmas Eve, and the air outside is as cold as Scrooge’s heart. Come nightfall, Scrooge receives three visitors: the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future. Each spirit takes him on a hair-raising journey through time, yielding glimpses of Tiny Tim and Bob Cratchit—and even Scrooge’s painfully hopeful younger self. Will Scrooge’s heart be opened? Can he escape his cursed fate?

Raised in squalor in the marsh country of Kent, the orphan Pip is taken under the wing of the eccentric and reclusive Miss Havisham - only to blindly give his heart to the dowager’s beautiful but ice-cold adopted daughter, Estella. Even as a mysterious benefactor helps to shape Pip’s life into one of fortune, success, and self-discovery, the unspeakable secrets of his unrequited love continue to haunt him - and promise to change his life once again.