Showing results by narrator "Franklin Benjamin" in All Categories

A collection of the funny, curious verse written during the 19th and 20th centuries, read by some of Britain's most renowned actors. Humorous and whimsical verse are collated together in these timeless readings of poetry from our funniest writers. Performed by Sir John Gielgud; Imogen Stubbs; Tim Pigott-Smith; Peter Orr; Wendy Hillier. 

The Subjection of Women is an 1869 essay by the English philosopher and political economist John Stuart Mill, based on ideas he developed jointly with his wife Harriet Taylor Mill. At the time of its publication, the essay's argument for equality between the sexes was an affront to conventional norms regarding the status of men and women. Mill contended that the emancipation and education of women would have positive benefits for all people; the companionship of equally educated persons would result in the greater intellectual development of all.

Mark Twain’s Following the Equator: A Journey Around the World is the account of a lecture tour in which he circumnavigated the globe on a steamship. He undertook a tour of the British Empire in 1895 at age 60 with stops at the Hawaiian Islands, Australia, Fiji Islands, New Zealand, India and South Africa. The result is a wide range of observations, along with perceptive discussions and descriptions of cultures, customs, people, climate, flora and fauna, religion, politics, food, and many other matters.

George Washington Sears (1821 - 1890) was a writer for Forest and Stream magazine, a poet and early conservationist. He was also a pioneer and advocate of ultralight camping. At the age of 62, Sears completed a camping journey of nearly the almost 300 miles through the central Adirondacks in an ultralight canoe which he carried on his head between rivers. This wonderfully written text is ideal for those who love the outdoors. It is full of valuable tips on camping, fishing, hunting and more.

Frederick Jackson Turner (1861-1932) presented an essay at the World's Fair in Chicago in 1893, "The Significance of The Frontier in American History", that would ultimately be published with 12 supporting articles in the book The Frontier in American History. The premise of the book, that the availability of free land on the frontier, and the character traits inculcated by settling such land, were essential in forming the type of democracy enjoyed by America, is generally accepted and has become part of the mythos of Americans.

Mark Twain’s essay, "To the Person Sitting in Darkness", was published in the North American Review in 1901. This dark satire exposes the imperialism behind the Chinese Boxer Uprising, the Boer War, and the Philippine-American War. In this, Twain's most famous anti-imperialist work, he indicts the brutalities of the British, French, German, Belgian, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, and American governments for their actions around the world. He also attacks the imperialist greed of missionaries like William Scott Ament, then-head of the American Board for Foreign Missions.

Nothing makes sense. In the space of one night, I’ve been forced from my life as a barmaid in England and dragged into a world of shifters and shadows. Now, a raven-haired stranger with piercing pink eyes and a presence that is both savage and seductive, is telling me, I must compete on some supernatural reality show; Fit for The Throne. Apparently, I am to pay for the sins of a father and mother I never knew and prove myself worthy. It’s an impossible feat no one expects me to win but I refuse to go down without a fight.