Publisher: Project Gutenberg
Robinson Crusoe is a novel by Daniel Defoe that was first published in 1719. The book is a fictional autobiography of the title character—a castaway who spends 28 years on a remote tropical island near Venezuela, encountering Native Americans, captives and mutineers before being rescued.
Dive into "Utopia" by Sir Thomas More, a cornerstone of literature that masterfully intertwines satire, social critique, and philosophical musings within a fictional island society. Published in 1516, this seminal work challenges the conventions of its time, proposing a society where communal living and equity form the backbone of governance and daily life. Through the eyes of the explorer Raphael Hythloday, More paints a compelling narrative of an idealized world, inviting readers to reflect on justice, governance, and human contentment. "Utopia" provocatively questions the societal norms of 16th-century Europe, offering a mirror to its imperfections and urging us to envision a better world. Whether you're fascinated by speculative fiction, intrigued by social and political philosophy, or curious about historical contexts, "Utopia" is an essential read that remains profoundly relevant, challenging us to ponder the potential and flaws of human society. This audiobook was narrated and produced by RAM Studios, where humans and artificial intelligence collaborate to create an excellent listening experience. (The reading is done primarily by AI)Show book
Women in Love is a novel by British author D. H. Lawrence published in 1920. It is a sequel to his earlier novel The Rainbow (1915), and follows the continuing loves and lives of the Brangwen sisters, Gudrun and Ursula. Gudrun Brangwen, an artist, pursues a destructive relationship with Gerald Crich, an industrialist. Lawrence contrasts this pair with the love that develops between Ursula and Rupert Birkin, an alienated intellectual who articulates many opinions associated with the author. The emotional relationships thus established are given further depth and tension by an unadmitted homoerotic attraction between Gerald and Rupert. The novel ranges over the whole of British society at the time of the First World War and eventually ends high up in the snows of the Swiss Alps.Show book
From the book: "On the road to Cairo one may see twenty groups exactly like that of the Holy Family in the pictures of the Flight into Egypt; with only one difference. The man is riding on the ass." "The real mistake of the Muslims is something much more modern in its application than any particular passing persecution of Christians as such. It lay in the very fact that they did think they had a simpler and saner sort of Christianity, as do many modern Christians. They thought it could be made universal merely by being made uninteresting. Now a man preaching what he thinks is a platitude is far more intolerant than a man preaching what he admits is a paradox. It was exactly because it seemed self-evident, to Muslims as to Bolshevists, that their simple creed was suited to everybody, that they wished in that particular sweeping fashion to impose it on everybody."Show book
When the wife of Golden Walter betrays him for another man, he leaves home on a trading voyage to avoid the necessity of a feud with her family. However, his efforts are fruitless, as word comes to him en route that his wife's clan has killed his father. As a storm then carries him to a faraway country, the effect of this news is merely to sunder his last ties to his homeland. Walter comes to the castle of an enchantress, from which he rescues a captive maiden in a harrowing adventure (or rather, she rescues him). They flee through a region inhabited by mini-giants, and eventually reach the city of Stark-wall, whose custom, when the throne is vacant, is to take the next foreigner to arrive as ruler. The late king having died, Walter and his new love are hailed as the new monarchs. The two are married and presumably live happily ever after.Show book
James Fenimore Cooper (September 15, 1789 - September 14, 1851) was an American writer of the first half of the 19th century. His historical romances depicting colonist and Indigenous characters from the 17th to the 19th centuries created a unique form of American literature. He lived much of his boyhood and the last fifteen years of life in Cooperstown, New York, which was founded by his father William Cooper on property that he owned. Cooper became a member of the Episcopal Church shortly before his death and contributed generously to it. He attended Yale University for three years, where he was a member of the Linonian Society.THE ESCAPE OF THE AMERICAN FRIGATE ALLIANCE: We cannot detain the narrative, to detail the scenes which busy wonder, aided by the relation of divers marvellous feats, produced among the curious seamen who remained in the ship, and their more fortunate fellows who had returned glory from an expedition to the land.Show book
Originally published in the 1852 Christmas edition of Dickens' journal Household Words, The Poor Relation's Story takes place during a Christmas feast, where a poor relation of the host tells the story of his life. This version of The Poor Relation's Story is part of Dreamscape's The Christmas Stories of Charles Dickens.Show book
