Five people are killed when a heavily-traveled rope bridge in Peru collapses. Brother Juniper, a Franciscan friar, witnesses this event and this sets him on a quest: Who were each of these individuals? Why do unfortunate events happen to innocent or undeserving people? What led to these people being on the bridge at the fateful moment?While many view this novel as a serious reflection on life, death, and love, this narration highlights Wilder’s tongue-in-cheek stance, suggesting th...

This play is a dramatization of Boccaccio’s story of Gillette of Narbonne. Only the comic parts were of Shakespeare’s invention; he added the characters of the pusillanimous Parolles, the lofty courtier Lafew, the Clown Lavatch, and the long suffering Countess. He gave new depth and vitality to the leading characters, who are mere outlines in Boccaccio’s tale.The comedy has for its heroine a young woman who loves the haughty Bertram with an unrequited and despised passion,...

Ruttledge Rosenbaugh, a professor of science devoted to his students at Hensley University, has spent years learning from his mentor, whose mantra was that time travelers are constantly around and unnoticed. But nothing Ruttledge has ever heard or read about time travel prepares him for what he witnesses in 1910, when a child travels back in time to his secret laboratory in the basement of his university's science building.

This collection contains eight of Shakespeare’s best loved comedies. Each exhibits the vigour, humour, and optimism of the young master before he turned to the gloom and bitterness of the great tragedies.ContentsA Midsummer Night’s DreamAll’s Well That Ends WellTwelfth NightMuch Ado About NothingThe Comedy of ErrorsAs You Like ItMeasure for MeasureThe M...

Together with The Tempest, A Midsummer Night’s Dream is one of Shakespeare’s most magical plays.One night, two parties creep from Athens into the surrounding forest. One party includes sweethearts Lysander and Hermia, fleeing from Athenian law and the disapproval of Hermia’s father to get married. In pursuit is Demetrius, the suitor of Hermia favored by her father, and the doleful Helena, formerly affianced to Demetrius.Six tradesman (the “rude mechanicals”) make u...

This is sequel to another volume by Andy Blunden, The Capital/Logic Debate. In this audiobook the author provides a systematic presentation of the Hegelian structure of the three volumes of Capital. It is shown that Capital contains three distinct layers of structure, originating from Marx’s reading of Hegel’s Logic and his Philosophy of Right. Capital reflects Marx’s critique of the Political Economists, his unique appropriation of eco...

This collection of 35 short poems was first published in 1927, and is a sequel to When We Were Very Young, which was the first anthology of verse dealing with the domestic adventures of Christopher Robin and Winnie the Pooh.As the author explains in the introduction: “We have been nearly three years writing this book. We began it when we were very young … and now we are six. So, of course, bits of it seem rather baby-ish to us, almost as if they had slipped out of some other book b...

Much Ado About Nothing appears to have been written around 1599, shortly before As You Like It and Twelfth Night. The action combines two narrative threads: the spirited comedy of the courtship of Benedick and Beatrice, and the sombre tale of confused love between Hero and Claudio. The first is a creation by Shakespeare and the second appears to have been drawn from an Italian source, either by Bandello or Ariosto.The action takes place in Messina. Eponym...

What does it mean to become real? That’s what the velveteen rabbit wants to know. Having been gifted to a small boy, the velveteen rabbit becomes a beloved toy. But he is troubled, for he cannot hop like the rabbits outside.When his young owner becomes sick with scarlet fever, the velveteen rabbit faces an even greater question: Will he escape the fate of the other toys and books in the germ-ridden nursery? Or will he somehow get away and discover a new kind of life?

Few of Emily Dickinson’s poems were published in her lifetime. Her posthumous fame is largely due to the efforts of her editors and supporters Thomas W. Higginson and Mabel Loomis Todd.In the foreword to this second collection, published in 1891, Mabel Loomis Todd wrote: “The eagerness with which the first volume of Emily Dickinson’s poems has been read shows very clearly that all our alleged modern artificiality does not prevent a prompt appreciation of the qualities of directness...

Shakespeare Simply Retold: Romeo and Juliet brings one of the world's most iconic love stories to listeners in a clear, engaging, and accessible way. Perfect for high school students and adult listeners who find Shakespeare's original language challenging, this audiobook bridges the gap between classic literature and modern understanding.Edited and narrated by Gary MacFadden, and directed and produced by Sarah Bacaller, this retelling draws on the rich storytelling traditi...

Mistaken identity (which the Elizabethans called “Error”) is nearly always amusing, whether on the stage or in actual life. The Comedy of Errors is a play in which this situation is developed to the extreme of improbability – but we lose sight of this improbability in the roaring fun which results. Nowadays we should call a play of this type a farce, since most of the fun comes from situations which are improbable and the play depends on these for success, rather than on character...