Showing titles in Literary History & Criticism

This recording comprises chapters from two different works: How To Visit The English Cathedrals (1912) by Esther Singleton, and The Cathedral Churches Of England (1911) by Helen Marshall Pratt. Each book devotes a chapter to each cathedral, but this recording includes only the introductory chapters of general information. - Summary by David Wales

In 1914, Princess Mary, then 17 years of age, gave her name to this collection of short stories and essays from the most prominent authors of the time for the purpose of raising funds for the "Work For Women Fund". A few of the outstanding authors represented in this sparkling collection are J.M. Barrie with is essay on A Holiday in Bed; A. Conan Doyle; J.H. Fabre the naturalist with his well know description of The Ant-Lion; H. Ryder Haggard; Rudyard Kipling; Alfred Noyes ("A Spell for a Fairy"); Baroness Orczy (yes, that one); and Kate Douglas Wiggin. - Summary by Phil Chenevert

The Manchester Athenaeum was founded in 1837 as a society for the "advancement and diffusion of knowledge". This short collection of poems was published to raise money for the society's annual bazaar. The collection included contributions from 'marquee' poets of the time, including Charles Swain and Agnes Strickland, and Thomas Hood provided an entertaining preface on poetry as food for the mind. It also found space for several of the local school of poets, who were determined to show the world that Manchester was not just a centre of industry and trade. In addition to poems by Ner Gardiner, ...

The Library of the World's Best Literature, Ancient and Modern, is a work of enormous proportions. Setting out with the simple goal of offering "American households a mass of good reading", the editors drew from literature of all times and all kinds what they considered the best pieces of human writing, and compiled an ambitious collection of 45 volumes (with a 46th being an index-guide). Besides the selection and translation of a huge number of poems, letters, short stories and sections of books, the collection offers, before each chapter, a short essay about the author or subject in question...

The Library of the World's Best Literature, Ancient and Modern, is a work of enormous proportions. Setting out with the simple goal of offering "American households a mass of good reading", the editors drew from literature of all times and all kinds what they considered the best pieces of human writing, and compiled an ambitious collection of 45 volumes (with a 46th being an index-guide). Besides the selection and translation of a huge number of poems, letters, short stories and sections of books, the collection offers, before each chapter, a short essay about the author or subject in question...

This is a collection of poems read by LibriVox volunteers for July 2013.

This is the first volume in the ten volume collection of the world's most famous orations, as compiled by William Jennings Bryant and Francis Whiting Halsey. The first volume concerns ancient Greece, and contains such famous persons as Achilles, Pericles, and Socrates, with their most famous (legendary or traditional) orations and speeches. - Summary by Carolin

Science Fiction is speculative literature that generally explores the consequences of ideas which are roughly consistent with nature and scientific method, but are not facts of the author’s contemporary world. The stories often represent philosophical thought experiments presented in entertaining ways. Protagonists typically “think” rather than “shoot” their way out of problems, but the definition is flexible because there are no limits on an author’s imagination. The reader-selected stories presented here were written prior to 1962 and became US public domain texts when their ...

Soporific dullness is in the ear of the listener, and what's tedium incarnate to one person will be another person's passion and delight. However, it is hoped that at least one from the range of topics here presented will lull the busy mind to a state of sweet sleep.Introduction by Cori Samuel.

These poems were published from 1916 to 1928 and were translated by Muna Lee, Alice Stone Blackwell, Thomas Walsh, Alfred Coester and Roderick Gill. - Summary by Newgatenovelist

The seventh of ten volumes of poetry edited by Canadian poet laureate Bliss Carman (1861-1929). This collection, the first of two parts, contains a variety of odes, elegies, addresses, epitaphs and dedications that praise, mourn and remember some of history's greatest and most memorable statesmen (such as Napoleon Bonaparte, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln) and writers (such as William Shakespeare, John Milton, Charles Dickens and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow). The collection also includes an introductory essay by author and poet Richard Le Gallienne (1866-1947). - Summary by Tomas Peter

Science fiction is a genre encompassing imaginative works that take place in this world or that of the author’s creation where anything is possible. The only rules are those set forth by the author. The speculative nature of the genre inspires thought, and plants seeds that have led to advances in science. Many people chose to become scientists because science fiction sparked their interest. It is a playing field to explore social perspectives, predictions of the future, and engage in adventures unbound into the richness of the human mind.-(Summary by Amy Gramour)

The Library of the World's Best Literature, Ancient and Modern, is a work of enormous proportions. Setting out with the simple goal of offering "American households a mass of good reading", the editors drew from literature of all times and all kinds what they considered the best pieces of human writing, and compiled an ambitious collection of 45 volumes (with a 46th being an index-guide). Besides the selection and translation of a huge number of poems, letters, short stories and sections of books, the collection offers, before each chapter, a short essay about the author or subject in question...

Science fiction is a genre encompassing imaginative works that take place in this world or that of the author’s creation where anything is possible. The only rules are those set forth by the author. The speculative nature of the genre inspires thought and plants seeds that have led to advances in science. The genre can spark an interest in the sciences and is cited as the impetus for the career choice of many scientists. It is a playing field to explore social perspectives, predictions of the future, and engage in adventures unbound into the richness of the human mind. ( A. Gramour)

The Library of the World's Best Literature, Ancient and Modern, is a work of enormous proportions. Setting out with the simple goal of offering "American households a mass of good reading", the editors drew from literature of all times and all kinds what they considered the best pieces of human writing, and compiled an ambitious collection of 45 volumes (with a 46th being an index-guide). Besides the selection and translation of a huge number of poems, letters, short stories and sections of books, the collection offers, before each chapter, a short essay about the author or subject in question...

These poems were published from 1917 to 1928 and were translated by Muna Lee, Alice Stone Blackwell, Edna Worthley Underwood, Thomas Walsh, Roderick Gill, Joseph I. C. Clarke, Garret Strange and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. - Summary by Newgatenovelist

The seventh of ten volumes of poetry edited by Canadian poet laureate Bliss Carman (1861-1929). This collection, the second of two parts, contains a series of odes and addresses to the natural and artistic realms, as well as various geographic places in the world, from Egypt and India, all the way to England and America. It concludes with popular narrative poetry originating from the Greek, Roman, Norse, German, East Asian, Spanish, French, English, Scottish and American literary traditions. - Summary by Tomas Peter

Science fiction is a genre encompassing imaginative works that take place in this world or that of the author’s creation where anything is possible. The only rules are those set forth by the author. The speculative nature of the genre inspires thought and plants seeds that have led to advances in science. The genre can spark an interest in the sciences and is cited as the impetus for the career choice of many scientists. It is a playing field to explore social perspectives, predictions of the future, and engage in adventures unbound into the richness of the human mind. - Summary by A. ...

The 14th Librivox Mystery and Suspense Collection brings together Arthur Conan Doyle and Baroness Emma Orczy, Anna Katharine Green and Ambrose Bierce. Clues, mysterious deaths, tragedies, and unexplained incidents, we have them all!

These are selections of Kipling's writings; some poems, some fiction, some history but all by the master storyteller himself. Rikki-Tikki-Tavi' -- William the Conqueror, Part I -- William the Conqueror, Part II -- Wee Willie Winkie -- A matter of fact -- Mowgli's brothers -- The lost legion -- Namgay Doola -- A germ-destroyer -- 'Tiger! Tiger!' -- Tods' amendment -- The story of Muhammad Din -- The finances of the gods -- Moti Guj, Mutineer. - Summary by Phil chenevert