Librivox Audiobooks

1862. Le « Delphin » conçu comme le plus rapide navire à vapeur de son temps, quitte Glasgow en vue de relier Charleston afin d’y faire une opération commerciale. Des armes et vivres y sont nécessaires. En effet, c’est la guerre de sécession. La ville sudiste est sous l’emprise d’un blocus mis en place par les états du nord.
Le capitaine James Playfair représente les intérêts de la maison Playfair et Cie. Un bien étrange marin se fait enrôler sur le navire en compagnie de son neveu. Ce dernier est en fait une jeune fille travestie. Leur but est de rejoindre la ville assiégée afin d’y retrouver le père de la charmante Jenny Hallyburt. Celui-ci est un journaliste abolitionniste que les confédérés ont emprisonné.
James Playfair devra traverser de bien rudes épreuves, parsemées de conflits où se perdent boulets ainsi que des flèches de Cupidon… 

L'intrigue se déroule sous la coupole de l'Académie française. À la suite de la mort de Mgr d'Abbeville, chaque nouveau candidat à l'immortalité qui est désigné pour occuper son fauteuil, meurt lors du discours d'hommage à son prédécesseur. Hippolyte Patard, secrétaire perpétuel commence à désespérer, personne ne voulant être le successeur de Mgr d'Abbeville, craignant une malédiction lancée par un mage, dont on n'aurait pas voulu comme académicien. C'est alors qu'arrive Gaspard Lalouette, simple antiquaire et marchand.

Robert Louis Stevenson (1850 - 1894)
Translated by Emilio Augusto Soulère (1840 - )

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Novela de suspense, misterio...terror. Nos lleva a reflexionar sobre las dos caras de la vida y también del ser humano: El bien y el mal. El doctor Enrique Jekyll crea una fórmula, un bebedizo, que al ser ingerida le metamorfosea en el ser más cruel y perverso imaginable: Eduardo Hyde. - Summary by Montse González.

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Support Our Cause at https://libri-vox.org/donateBarchester Towers, published in 1857, is the 2nd novel in Anthony Trollope's series known as the "Chronicles of Barsetshire". It follows on from The Warden, set some years later, with some of the same characters. Among other things it satirises the then raging antipathy in the Church of England between High Church and Evangelical adherents. Trollope began writing this book in 1855. He wrote constantly, and made himself a writing-desk so he could continue writing while travelling by train. "Pray know that when a man begins writing a book he never gives over," he wrote in a letter during this period. "The evil with which he is beset is as inveterate as drinking – as exciting as gambling." And, years later in his autobiography, he observed "In the writing of Barchester Towers I took great delight. The bishop and Mrs. Proudie were very real to me, as were also the troubles of the archdeacon and the loves of Mr. Slope." But when he submitted his finished work, his publisher, William Longman, initially turned it down, finding much of it to be full of "vulgarity and exaggeration". More recent critics offer a more sanguine opinion. "Barchester Towers is many readers' favourite Trollope", wrote The Guardian, which included it in its list of "1000 novels everyone must read". Barchester Towers concerns the leading clergy of the cathedral city of Barchester. The much loved bishop having died, all expectations are that his son, Archdeacon Grantly, will succeed him. Instead, owing to the passage of the power of patronage to a new Prime Minister, a newcomer, the far more Evangelical Bishop Proudie, gains the see. His wife, Mrs Proudie, exercises an undue influence over the new bishop, making herself as well as the bishop unpopular with most of the clergy of the diocese. Her interference to veto the reappointment of the universally popular Mr Septimus Harding (protagonist of Trollope's earlier novel, The Warden) as warden of Hiram's Hospital is not well received, even though she gives the position to a needy clergyman, Mr Quiverful, with 14 children to support. Support Our Cause at https://libri-vox.org/donate

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Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859 - 1930)
Translated by Margarete Jacobi

"Das Zeichen der Vier" ist der zweite Sherlock-Holmes-Roman von Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Sherlock Holmes und Dr. Watson werden von Miss Mary Morstan beauftragt, bei der Suche nach ihrem verschollenen Vater zu helfen. Dieser war Offizier in Indien und verschwand vor zehn Jahren spurlos bei seiner Rückkehr nach England.
Ein anonymer Brief bringt die drei auf die Spur von Thaddäus Scholto, dessen Vater mit dem Gesuchten befreundet war und zusammen mit ihm in Indien in derselben Kompanie gedient hat. Scholto berichtet, dass die beiden Männer einen Schatz aus Indien mitgebracht hätten, und dass er und sein Bruder den Schatz einst entdeckt hätten.
Kurz darauf wird der Bruder unter mysteriösen Umständen ermordet und der Schatz gestohlen. Thaddäus Scholto wird der Tat verdächtigt und festgenommen. Da Sherlock Holmes an dessen Unschuld glaubt und von den rätselhaften Umständen der Sache fasziniert ist, nimmt er sich des Falles an. (Zusammenfassung von Wikipedia und Karlsson.)

Genre(s): Detective Fiction

Language: German

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Voltaire (1694 - 1778)

Cette oeuvre parait quelques mois après la découverte de la nébuleuse de l'Aigle qui en est manifestement l'inspiration. Zadig est un jeune et riche honnête homme qui découvrira qu'il est difficile, bien que possible de vivre heureux en ce monde. Il tombe amoureux d'Astarté, la reine de Babylone, ce qui l’entraînera dans des péripéties dont il en sortira roi.
One of the most famous novel from Voltaire, that surely is one of his variations around the Eagle Nebula, discovered some months before, it tells the story of a young honest man, Zadig, that wishes to live in happiness. He falls in love with Astarté, the queen of Babylonia and will suffer many misfortunes before being made king. Summary by defscan

Genre(s): Satire

Language: French

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Patanjali (c. 150 BCE - )
Translated by Charles Johnston (1867 - 1931)

Yoga sutras by Patanjali is a seminal work in yoga, this book is more about control of mind and the true goal of yoga. The sutras are extremely brief, and the translation in neat English makes it very easy for people to understand the ancient Sanskrit text. It starts with the birth and growth of spiritual man through the control of mind. In all, this is a "all in one" book for yoga philosophy written by the master himself. (Summary by sidhu177)

Genre(s): Philosophy, Asian Antiquity

Language: English

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Charles Dickens (1812 - 1870)

"Wigilja Bożego Narodzenia” jest wydanym w roku 1909 polskim przekładem opowiadania Karola Dickensa “A Christmas Carol” napisanym przez niego w roku 1843. Opowiada historiȩ nocy wigilijnej, w której wielkiego skąpca i samotnika, Ebenezera Scrooge, odwiedza pokutujący duch jego zmarłego wspólnika, ostrzegając go, że jeżeli nie zmieni sposobu życia, bȩdzie tak jak i on błąkał siȩ po śmierci okuty łańcuchami swoich win. Zapowiada wizyty trzech innych widm które ukazują Scrooge’owi wizje nocy wigilijnych z przeszłości, teraźniejszości i przyszłości. Jest to noc wielkich objawień, które na zawsze przemienią życie Scrooge’a." (Summary by Nina Brown)

Genre(s): General Fiction, Horror & Supernatural Fiction, Short Stories

Language: Polish

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Jack London (1876 - 1916)

When White Fang is birthed in a cave to a wolf sire and a wolf/dog halfbreed dam, he is heir to two traditions. At first he is content to explore and learn laws of the Wild. But then his mother is caught and held by old memories of a past relationship with Man, and White Fang follows her into service with the Indians. Life among sled dogs is hardly less cruel and dangerous than living in the Wild, but brutality notches upward when his drunken master sells him to a nasty, twisted hanger-on at a riverside town of white men. He is stripped of everything soft and gentle when forced to fight to the death for a crowd of bettors.
Taming this savage spirit and reclaiming the nobility within looks impossible. Fortunately, and heart-warmingly, a man arrives in White Fang's life to try.
"White Fang" is often called the mirror image of Jack London's acclaimed "The Call of the Wild" in which a dog follows the reverse arc from tame to free. (summary by Mark)

Genre(s): Action & Adventure Fiction, Nature & Animal Fiction

Language: English

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Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1821 - 1881)

Belye Nochi ”White Nights” by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. In this small story (though author states this is a sentimental novel) author describes in his traditional and particular way the internal world of one young lonely person.
The hero’s 26 years old man, who is oriented into his internal world, who’s rather shy, and thus is in real demand of a soulful conversations and love. The action takes place in the city of a real and deep sentiments and romance — Saint Petersburg, the most romantic and European city in Russia. Not only the location is important, but also a time of a day: all actions in the story take place in evening and night time — the famous time of white nights.
Once, hero is going out to have a little daily promenade alone and he occasionally meets an attractive and lovely woman on evening streets of Saint Petersburg. Can he fell in love with her? Can they estimate the value of this relationship? Can they lead a happy life in this city of lonely hearts? You will know the answers on all these questions if you read or listen to a story.
(Summary written by Yakovlev Valery)

Genre(s): Published 1800 -1900

Language: Russian

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