Showing results by author "Valerio Di Stefano" in All Categories

The 1769 Oxford Edition. The King James Bible is one of the most important books in the English speaking world, so influential that its language permeates facets of society from religion, politics, literature, art, education and music. (Summary by Michael Armenta)

The American Minister and his family have bought the English stately home Canterville Chase, complete with the ghost of Sir Simon de Canterville - blood-stains, clanking chains and all. But these modern Americans will have no truck with ghostly goings-on, and set out to beat the spectre at his own game. (Summary by David Barnes)

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels wrote their Manifesto in December 1847, as a guide to the fundamental principles and practices of Communists. The Manifesto also predicted the ultimate downfall of the capitalist system.(Summary written by Gesine) A recording in the original German language is available here

In 1859, officers of the Hudson's Bay Company travel through the Northwest Territories of Canada on a mission to found a fort at 70 degrees, north of the Arctic Circle. At some point, an earthquake occurs, and from then on, laws of physics seem altered (a total eclipse happens to be only partial; tides are not perceived anymore). They eventually realise that they are not where they are supposed to be. (Wikipedia)

In 1894, Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900) published two collections of aphorisms: A Few Maxims For The Instruction Of The Over-Educated, in the Saturday Review newspaper, and Phrases and Philosophies for the Use of the Young, in the Oxford student magazine The Chameleon. By turns witty, intellectual, counter-intuitive and obtruse, the collections came to be seen by many as emblematic of Wilde's style, and countless collections of Wildean aphorisms have since been published. (Summary by Carl Manchester)

Publication of The Kreutzer Sonata in 1889 was a significant intellectual event worldwide. Censored in Russia, it set off an explosive debate in Europe, America, and Asia on matters relating to sexual abstinence and the hypocrisy of marriage. The novella emphasizes Tolstoy's controversial view on sexuality, which asserts that physical desire is an obstacle to relations between men and women and may result in tragedy. The Kreutzer Sonata has been recognized as among the best examples of Tolstoy's art of storytelling.(Introduction by Dorlene Kaplan)

Antonio Machado nació el 26 de julio de 1875 y murió el 22 de febrero de 1939. Dentro de estos simples datos temporales se desarrolla la experiencia humana e intelectual de uno de los poetas españoles más significativos de nuestra época. Porque Machado fue poeta y, quizás, solo y simplemente esto. Su carácter esquivo, su honda humanidad, junto con su modestia y bondad ("soy, en el buen sentido de la palabra, bueno"), no le impidieron la formulación de una poética extremadamente rigurosa.

Wilde’s meditation on capital punishment, the Ballad of Reading Gaol comes after he was convicted and imprisoned under charges of gross indecency. The charges stemmed from his affair with Lord Alfred Douglas, the son of the Marquis of Queensberry. It relates the story of an execution of a man who murdered his wife which Wilde witnessed during his internment. Published in 1898, it was Wilde’s last published poem as he would die in 1900 from cerebral meningitis, caused by syphilis.(Summary by John Gonzalez)

What is the "good life" for us mortal beings? Two months spent recovering from a severe injury allowed Tolstoy to develop and organise his thoughts on the subject. On Life is his philosophical answer where love, religion, and morality come together to ground us in reality. - Summary by Cao Yuqing

This short work of Wilde's was written during his two year incarceration for "gross indecency". This work is a letter which sorts out his life, and his love toward Lord Alfred Douglas. Wilde wrote this as a farewell letter to Douglas. (summary by Aaron Elliott) NOTE: "Transcribed from the 1913 Methuen & Co. edition. Note that later editions of De Profundis contained more material. The most complete editions are still in copyright in the U.S.A."

Originally written as a series of newspaper articles in 1847, Wage-Labour and Capital was intended to give an overview of Marx’s central theories regarding the economic relationships between workers and capitalists. These theories outlined include the Marxian form of the Labour Theory of Value, which distinguishes “labour” from “labour-power”, and the Theory of Concentration of Capital, which states that capitalism tends towards the creation of monopolies and the disenfranchisement of the middle and working classes. These theories were later elaborated in Volume 1 of Capital, ...

Lady Windermere's Fan: A Play About a Good Woman is a four act comedy by Oscar Wilde, published in 1893. As in some of his other comedies, Wilde satirizes the morals of Victorian society, and attitudes between the sexes.The action centres around a fan given to Lady Windermere as a present by her husband, and the ball held that evening to celebrate her 21st birthday. (Summary by Ruth Golding) Cast: Lady Windermere - Kristin Hughes Lord Windermere - Joe Earley Mrs. Erlynne - Elizabeth Klett Lord Darlington - Simon Taylor The Duchess of Berwick - Ruth Golding Mr. Cecil Graham - Chugosh Lord ...

Collection of children’s stories written in 1888, dealing primarily with love and selfishness. These stories are generally sad, with a moralistic message. The collection includes: The Happy Prince, The Nightingale and the Rose, The Selfish Giant, The Devoted Friend, and The Remarkable Rocket. (Summary written by Joy Chan)

The Douay Rheims New Testament, published in 1582, is a translation of St Jerome's Latin Vulgate which dates from the fourth century. It influenced production of the King James version of the Bible to come some years afterward, while being the only Roman Catholic authorized vernacular scriptures up until the middle twentieth century. Although updated linguistically in the 18th and 19th centuries to provide easier understanding by the laity and reduce its use of Latinized words, it strove to be faithful to the original translation. The work's importance is that it remains the scriptural texts ...

An Ideal Husband is an 1895 comedy by Oscar Wilde which revolves around blackmail and political corruption, and touches on the themes of public and private honor. The action is set in London, in "the present", and takes place within a single day. "Sooner or later," Wilde notes, "we shall all have to pay for what we do." But he adds that, "No one should be entirely judged by their past." (Summary from Wikipedia) Characters:Narrator – Read by Alex FosterThe Earl Of Caversham, K.G. – Read by LintonViscount Goring, his son – Read by John GonzalezSir Robert Chiltern, Bart., Under-Secretary ...

After a brief romance, the 17 year old Marya falls in love with the much older Sergyei Mikhailitch, an old family friend, and the two are married. They share an initially blissful life but after moving to St. Petersburg, Marya becomes enchanted with society and a rift opens between the two. (Summary by EvanJ)

"Zaragoza" es la sexta novela de la primera serie de los Episodios Nacionales de Benito Pérez Galdós. En "Napoleón en Chamartín" dejamos a Gabriel de Araceli preso en manos de los franceses, después de haber fracasado en su intento de liberar a su amada Inés de sus parientes. La columna de presos, maniatados, se dirige hacia Francia, pero... (Resumen de Tux) La Primera Serie 1 - Trafalgar 2 - La corte de Carlos IV 3 - El 19 de marzo y el 2 de mayo 4 - Bailén 5 - Napoleón en Chamartín 6 - Zaragoza 7 - Gerona 8 - Cádiz 9 - Juan Martín el Empecinado 10 - La batalla de los Arapiles

What can be said? It's the ASV Bible, copyrighted 1901 by Thomas Nelson & Sons. I have previously recorded the New Living Translation of the Bible and would now like to do this version in order to make the Holy Scriptures more available on LibriVox. (Summary by the reader)

The Death of Ivan Ilyitch is the story of a socially ambitious middle-aged judge who contracts an unexplained and untreatable illness. As Ivan Ilyitch is forced to face the death he fears, he asks himself whether the life he thought was so correct was, in fact, a moral life after all. Written after Tolstoy's religious conversion, the novella is widely considered to be one of his masterpieces. (Summary by Laurie Anne Walden)

Vols. 3 and 4 of Remembrance of Things Past. The hero, Marcel, meets the duchess of Guermantes in the role of his parent's landlady. The hero's grandmother is ill and dies. A night at the Princess de Parme's. The hero meets the extraordinary M. de Charlus and enters into a wary relationship with him. - Summary by Michael O'Kelly