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Henry David Thoreau
Walden, and Civil Disobedience
Read by Rupert Degas
In 1845 Henry David Thoreau, one of the principal New England Transcendentalists, left the small town of Concord for the country. Beside the lake of Walden he built himself a log cabin and returned to nature, to observe and reflect – while surviving on eight dollars a year. From this experience emerged Walden, one of the great classics of American literature, and a deeply personal reaction against... More >
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David Timson
The History of Theatre
Read by Derek Jacobi, and cast
This bold undertaking covers Western theatre from ancient Greece to the present day. It traces the development of dramatic art through the miracle plays, the great Shakespearean period, Moličre and Racine in France, Goethe in Germany, through the nineteenth century and the main movements in the twentieth century. It is illustrated by numerous examples of differing styles, with some historical reco... More >
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Leo Tolstoy
War & Peace - Volume I
Read by Neville Jason
The Neville Jason performance of Tolstoy’s War & Peace has been selected as a Top 12 Fiction title for Best Audiobooks Of 2007 by AudioFile Magazine. War and Peace is one of the greatest monuments in world literature. Set against the dramatic backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars, it examines the relationship between the individual and the relentless march of history. Here are the universal themes of lo... More >
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Leo Tolstoy
War & Peace - Volume II
Read by Neville Jason
War and Peace is one of the greatest monuments in world literature. Set against the dramatic backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars, it examines the relationship between the individual and the relentless march of history. Here are the universal themes of love and hate, ambition and despair, youth and age, expressed with a swirling vitality which makes the book as accessible today as it was when it was fi... More >
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Leo Tolstoy
The Cossacks
Read by Jonathan Oliver
Dissolute, disenchanted Dmitri Olénin decides to join the Army as a cadet and is despatched to the Caucasus. There, he is transformed by seeing how the indigenous people live in harmony with nature, how their lives have more meaning than those of the superficial social elite in Moscow, and he finds a new sense of self and purpose. But nothing is ever quite that simple. Love and loyalty are tested ... More >
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Leo Tolstoy
The Death of Ivan Ilyich
Read by Oliver Ford Davies
Drawing on the experience of his own struggle to find enlightenment and a deeper spiritual understanding of life, Tolstoy in The Death of Ivan Ilyich takes us on the final journey towards death with Ivan Ilyich, who, falling victim to an incurable illness, ponders on his own life – its shallowness and lack of compassion, wondering what is the meaning of it all. At times sombre, at times satirical,... More >
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Leo Tolstoy
Anna Karenina
Read by Kate Lock
Anna Karenina is beautiful, married to a successful man, and has a son whom she adores. But a chance meeting at a train station in Moscow sets her passionate heart alight, and she is defenceless in the face of Count Vronsky’s adoration. Having defied the rules of nineteenth-century Russian society, Anna is forced to pay a heavy price. Human nature, with all its failings, is the fabric of which thi... More >
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Leo Tolstoy
The Kreutzer Sonata
Read by Jonathan Oliver
One of Tolstoy’s most important shorter works, The Kreutzer Sonata presents a problematic view of the relationship between the sexes and promotes abstinence as the solution. Pozdnyshev jealously observes the intimacy that emerges between his wife and a violin player. Haunted by ‘The Kreutzer Sonata’ over which they bonded; it plays round and round in Pozdnyshev’s head driving him to distraction an... More >
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Robert Tressell
The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists
Read by David Timson
The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists is the classic working-class novel. It was written in 1906 by an impoverished house painter, Robert Tressell, and within its framework contains a manifesto for socialism. It tells of the appalling working conditions of a group of painters and decorators and their struggle to survive at the most basic level. It is moving, grimly humorous and tragic. It has sold ... More >
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Mark Twain
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Read by Garrick Hagon
Tom Sawyer is a dare-devil, a schemer, a prankster, a main-chancer. His inventiveness and energy know no bounds; whenever his Aunt Polly thinks he is tucked up in bed, he is most likely creeping out into the night on deeds of daring – ‘not the Model Boy of the village,’ as the author puts it. In creating this humorous and dramatic story of childhood, Mark Twain has given us a vivid picture of life... More >
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Mark Twain
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Read by Garrick Hagon
Floating down the Mississippi on their raft, Huckleberry Finn and Jim, a runaway slave, find life filled with excitement and the spirit of adventure. Join Huck and Jim and their old friend Tom Sawyer as they come up against low-down thieves and murderers, whilst being chased by Huck’s evil, drunken father who is after Huck’s treasure. It is a trip that you will never tire of. In this new unabridge... More >
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Clive Unger-Hamilton
Discover Music of the Baroque Era
Read by Sebastian Comberti
Bach, Vivaldi and Handel are the three great composers of the Baroque era, though there are many other well-known figures, including Albinoni, Pachelbel and Scarlatti. This engaging introduction, interspersed liberally music, shows how the music of these composers graced the courts and churches of Europe from 1600–1750. It is a fascinating story.... More >
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Various Authors
They Saw It Happen
Read by Tim Pigott-Smith, Steve Hodson, Kerry Shale, Tom George, and Teresa Gallagher
Here are more than sixty eyewitness accounts from history. Many are notable events: the Battle of Thermopylae, the Black Death in 1341, the Great Fire of London, the execution of Louis XVI, the Death of Nelson and the American Civil War and the bombing of Hiroshima. But there are also snapshots of more ordinary life – no less memorable for that – including working conditions during the Industrial ... More >
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Various Authors
The Psalms
Read by Alex Jennings
The 150 Psalms contain some of the most inspiring lines in the Old Testament: Psalm 23 ‘The Lord is My Shepherd’ and Psalm 121 ‘I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills’. Yet few know them as a set, and this recording, in Alex Jennings’s clear performance, allows us to consider them as a whole. They are not all uplifting and comfortable. Many involve darker sentiments of revenge or punishment; many... More >
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Various Authors
Seven Ages
Read by Sir Michael Caine, Dame Judi Dench, Sir Ian McKellen, John Cleese, Catherine McCormack, and Pete Postlethwaite
‘One of the best anthologies of the year… An arresting, deeply moving collection of the best of British poetry read by a star-studded cast.’ The Independent This exceptional anthology, based on Lord Owen’s published anthology Seven Ages – Poetry for a Lifetime, features many of Britain’s leading actors who have all given their services for charity. Shakespeare’s ‘seven ages’ speech (read by Sir Ia... More >
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