Medieval Life

Second star to the right and straight on until morning...that's one way to get to Neverneverland. The other is through this unique full-cast performance, presented in exciting Radio Theatre style.

Was Joan of Arc accused because she was a woman? Then why did so many fierce and battle-hardened male warriors line up their troops behind her? Yet, not even one of her soldiers, be they longbowmen, cavalry riders, knights, artillerymen, and nobles, ran from the command of a woman. Instead, they marveled at her as she mounted the ladders to a heavily defended castle, right along with the men, shot arrows, thrust spears, and galloped on her great white steed along with the best of them. She was wounded twice and yet did not shirk from battle.

Mary Stuart was born into a powerful royal dynasty that was at war with the rest of Europe and with itself. Mary’s ascent to the throne was disarmingly easy and she reached adulthood completely unprepared for the plots and betrayals she would be subject to. As the head of a resolutely unstable country, Mary struggled to maintain her grip on the precarious crown on her head and was removed from the throne by an armed rebellion.

Charles Baudelaire is one of the greatest French poets. His most famous work, Les Fleurs du Mal (The Flowers of Evil), was deemed scandalous at the time because of its themes of sex and death, lesbianism, corruption, wine, and the oppressiveness of living. Its powerful imagery and ravaging use of the senses had many name him an unequaled master; the effect on fellow artists was "immense, prodigious, unexpected, mingled with admiration and with some indefinable anxious fear", while the regime of the Second Empire had Baudelaire prosecuted and fined for his "insult to public decency".

Many scholars argue that Vlad III Dracula, also known as Vlad the Impaler, is the real Dracula. His story, however, is much more complicated than the oft-reported details of his atrocities would imply. This audiobook tells the story of his life and times and discusses his connection to the fictional Count Dracula in a succinct, compelling manner, which makes for an entertaining listen packed with historical information.

If you want to discover the captivating life of Tiberius, then pay attention.... Compared with the preceding rulers, Julius Caesar and Augustus, the name does not ring out with the same fame and pomposity. Shakespeare wrote no plays about Tiberius; his name does not echo in the history books with the same awe-inspiring prominence. Even his successors, Caligula and Nero, are more famous than he was.