Librivox

A Doll's House

A Doll's House, written two years after The Pillars of Society, was the first of Ibsen's plays to create a sensation and is now perhaps his most famous play, and required reading in many secondary schools and universities. The play was highly controversial when first published, as it is sharply…

9 Nov 2014 3 episodes English Read by Various Reader Arts

Henry V

After the turmoil and uncertainty of Henry IV a new era appears to dawn for England with the accession of the eponymous Henry V. In this sunny pageant Chorus guides us along Henry's glittering carpet ride of success as the new king completes his transformation from rebellious wastrel to a…

7 Nov 2014 5 episodes English Read by Various Readers Arts

Cymbeline

Cymbeline is one of Shakespeare's late romances, which (like The Tempest and The Winter's Tale) combines comedy and tragedy. Imogen, the daughter of King Cymbeline of Britain, angers her father when she marries Posthumus, a worthy but penniless gentleman. The King banishes Posthumus, who goes to Rome, where he falls…

30 Oct 2014 6 episodes English Read by Various Readers Arts · Arts

Fidele

William Shakespeare is an English poet and playwright considered to be one of the greatest writers in the English language, as well as one of the greatest in Western literature.

30 Oct 2014 1 episodes English Read by Calm Dragon Arts

The Comedy of Errors

The Comedy of Errors is one of William Shakespeare's earliest plays, believed to have been written between 1592 and 1594. It is his shortest and one of his most farcical comedies, with a major part of the humour coming from slapstick and mistaken identity, in addition to puns and word…

28 Oct 2014 6 episodes English Read by Various Readers Comedy · Arts

Antony and Cleopatra

Antony and Cleopatra is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607. It was first printed in the First Folio of 1623. The plot is based on Thomas North's translation of Plutarch's Life of Marcus Antonius and follows the relationship between Cleopatra and…

28 Oct 2014 6 episodes English Read by Various Readers Arts · Arts

All's well that ends well

Despite its optimistic title, Shakespeare's All's Well That Ends Well has often been considered a "problem play." Ostensibly a comedy, the play also has fairy tale elements, as it focuses on Helena, a virtuous orphan, who loves Bertram, the haughty son of her protectress, the Countess of Rousillon. When Bertram,…

28 Oct 2014 6 episodes English Read by Various Readers Comedy · Arts

As You Like It

One of Shakespeare’s most popular plays, As You Like It is a pastoral comedy of mistaken identity, wit, and love. Daughter of a banished duke and forced to flee the court, Rosalind hides in the Forest of Arden disguised as a man. When her true love Orlando also shows up…

26 Oct 2014 6 episodes English Read by Various Readers Comedy · Arts · Arts

Carmilla

Carmilla is a Gothic novella by Joseph Sheridan le Fanu. First published in 1872, it tells the story of a young woman's susceptibility to the attentions of a female vampire named Carmilla. Carmilla predates Bram Stoker's Dracula by over twenty years, had a strong influence on Stoker's famous novel. (Summary…

21 Oct 2014 16 episodes English Read by Elizabeth Klett Arts · Arts

The Awakening

Kate Chopin's 1899 novella The Awakening is about the personal, sexual, and artistic awakening of a young wife and mother, Edna Pontellier. While on vacation at Grand Isle, an island in the Gulf of Mexico, Edna befriends the talented pianist Mlle. Reisz and the sympathetic Robert Lebrun, both of whom…

12 Sep 2014 8 episodes English Read by Elizabeth Klett Arts

Grimms' Fairy Tales

A classic collection of oral German folklore, brought together for posterity by the scholarly brothers Grimm in the 1800s, this epitome of fairy tales includes many of the world’s best known stories. In these dark foreboding woods, you will find: Rapunzel, Hansel and Gretel, Rumpelstiltskin, Lily and the Lion (better…

22 Aug 2014 63 episodes English Read by Various Readers Kids & Family · Arts

The Picture of Dorian Gray

Dorian Gray, a young man of wealth and stature in late 1800's London, meets Lord Henry Wotton while posing for a portrait by his friend Basil Hallward. Once the painting is complete, Dorian realizes that it will always be young and attractive, while he will be forced to age and…

21 Aug 2014 13 episodes English Read by John Gonzalez Arts

The Invisible Man

Terrifically popular science fiction novel by renowned writer HG Wells, about a scientist discovering how to achieve invisibility. But, in his case, being out of sight evidently does NOT mean out of mind. (Summary by Cathy Barratt)

13 Aug 2014 12 episodes English Read by Cate Barratt Sports · Sports · Arts

Anna Karenina

Two love stories are set against the backdrop of high society in Tsarist Russia. Anna awakes from a loveless marriage to find herself drawn irresistibly to the dashing cavalry officer, Count Vronsky. Levin struggles with self-esteem, and even flees to the country, before gaining courage to return and offer himself…

16 Jul 2014 239 episodes English Read by MaryAnn (Dole translation) Arts · History

Hamlet

The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. Set in the Kingdom of Denmark, the play dramatizes the revenge Prince Hamlet exacts on his uncle Claudius for murdering King Hamlet, Claudius's brother and Prince Hamlet's father, and then succeeding to the throne and taking as…

11 Jul 2014 5 episodes English Read by Various Readers Arts · Arts

King Lear

King Lear is widely held as the greatest of Shakespeare's tragedies; to some, it is the greatest play ever written. King Lear abdicates the British throne, to divide his kingdom among his three daughters in proportion to their professed love of him. His plan misfires when Cordelia, his youngest and…

11 Jul 2014 5 episodes English Read by Various Readers Arts · Arts

The Tragedy of Macbeth

Macbeth is a play written by William Shakespeare. It is considered one of his darkest and most powerful tragedies. Set in Scotland, the play dramatizes the corroding psychological and political effects produced when its protagonist, the Scottish lord Macbeth, chooses evil as the way to fulfill his ambition for power…

10 Jul 2014 5 episodes English Read by Various Readers Arts

Twelfth Night

Shakespeare's great festive comedy, probably written and first performed around 1601, follows the adventures of twins Viola and Sebastian, who are separated from each other by a shipwreck. Viola, believing her brother dead, disguises herself as a page in order to serve the lovesick Duke Orsino, who has been rejected…

8 Jul 2014 5 episodes English Read by Various Readers Comedy · Arts

Midsummer Night's dream

Shakespeare's festive comedy combines classical Athenian characters (Duke Theseus and his conquered Amazonian bride Hippolyta) with four contentious lovers, a forest full of quarreling and mischievous fairies and adds a dose of amateur theatre for good measure. (Summary by Elizabeth Klett)

8 Jul 2014 5 episodes English Read by Various Readers Comedy · Arts · Arts

Sonnet 30

Shakespeare's Sonnet 30, one of his most famous, is a reflection on sad memories reconciled by the realization of the gift he has in his friend.

4 Jul 2014 1 episodes English Read by Shengzhi Li Arts