Showing results by narrator "Denis Daly" in All Categories

This aggressive diatribe against the Bible was published in 1894 and is based on an assertion that formed the basis of many of Ingersoll's attacks on organized religion - the concept of divine inspiration and the evils that spring from this contention.

In his short life, Australian poet Barcoft Boake completed 30 poems, the most famous of which is the pastoral lament, "Where the Dead Men Lie", which was first published in the The Bulletin in December, 1891. This collection was prepared and edited by critic and anthologist, A. G. Stephens, who also appended a detailed memoir of the poet.

This collection was published in 1901 and contains some of Lawson's best known stories. Most of the stories are set in the Australian bush, and feature many of Lawson's iconic characters, like squatters, swagmen, and struggling selector farmers. A persistent theme is the harshness of rural life and the inevitability of personal tragedy.

Accusation is the unperceived catalyst for this dramatic narrative; Job is framed by the accusation that his self-invested allegiance to God will evaporate if he is exposed to adversity. Job is unaware that this wager against his integrity has taken place. The drama that ensues on an epic scale resonates with universal experiences of human suffering - from Job's searching questions, to the grating interventions of Job's friends, and the sense that human misfortune can seem contingent on the whim of unseen powers.

Have you been lately to Lake Pipple Popple? Perhaps you have spotted the Pobble who has no toes? Or maybe you have roosted in the Quangle Wangle’s hat? Certainly Mr. Edward Lear has (he’s written all about it). And now, you can listen to his tales read aloud, full of rhyme, rhythm, and words that you won’t find in the dictionary!

Unlike most of Peacock's novels, The Misfortunes of Elphin has a distinct plot, built around the adventures of prominent figures of Arthurian legend, like Taliesin, the bard, the princes Elphin, and Seithenyn and King Arthur himself. The drama comes to a satisfactory resolution when Arthur's wife, Gwenyvar, who has been kidnapped by the ambitious King Melvas, is restored to her husband, after some skilful negotiation by Seithenyn and a cunning abbot.

Christian D. Larson was a prominent representative of the New Thought movement and the author of more than 20 books covering many aspects of self-development. In this compact tract, Larson provides a trenchant examination of the basic principles of concentration and a straightforward plan for its development in the individual.

Unlike Peacock's other novels, Maid Marian has a substantial plot, based on the romantic legend of Robin Hood. As is usual with Peacock, the violence is presented in a rather humorous fashion and the characters indulge lavishly in eating and drinking. Beneath the veneer of this well-known and innocuous narrative, Peacock finds ample opportunity to satirize the foibles of church and secular government.

Hamlet and Macbeth are two of Shakespeare's best-known plays and contain some of the most famous speeches in world literature. These one-act versions of the plays, which were edited by J. P. Crabb (the details of whose life and other works have disappeared into obscurity) retain the significant monologues and dialogues while presenting a streamlined view of the action.

In this novella, set in the French Revolution, Leonid Andreyev explores the behavior of a people as it prepares to exchange one form of public servitude for another. As with most of the works of Andreyev, the mood is somber and reflects the author's extreme disillusion with the fallout from the Russian revolution, which he had initially greeted with enthusiasm.

Headlong Hall was the first of his seven novels, all of which display the same structure. There is a faint semblance of a plot, which is merely a device to bring together a bunch of voluble eccentrics, who converse on a wide range of topical issues. Headlong Hall is the rural seat of the ebullient Squire Headlong, who invites a number of philosophers, a clergyman, a musician, a novelist, and a phrenologist, to dine with him and share their views.

Although Rupert Brooke is known today as a "war poet", he was never actually engaged in combat: His death was the result of an infection from an insect bite that occurred while he was in transit to commence duty in Turkey. Unlike Wilfred Owen, who had a bitter experience of life in the trenches, Brooke's vision was of the glory rather than the horror of war. Only the first section focuses on issues stemming from the war. Poems in the other sections are generally wistful evocations of places that the poet had visited in his travels and reflections on youthful love.

Much of the life of Spanish mystic John of the Cross (1542-1591) was dedicated to the establishment and management of monastic institutions. Among his responsibilities was the provision of spiritual direction to clerics and also to prominent lay Catholics. The 18 letters in this collection cover a range of administrative and spiritual topics.

The Jumblies and Other Nonsense Verses by Edward Lear. Narrated by Denis Daly, Sarah Bacaller, and Lucy Bacaller. These 14 poems have been drawn from the Nonsense Books of Edward Lear.

This poem was composed in 1875 and 1876, but was not published until 1918. It is considered by many to be Hopkins' masterpiece. One hundred and sixty-eight passengers and crew died when the steamship Deutschland ran aground on the Kentish Knock. Hopkins weaves many Christian themes into his poetic retelling of the tragedy, including the inevitability of suffering, divine providence, salvation, and the hiddenness of God.

This collection of 23 poems contains most of the verse for which Wildred Owen is known today. Few poets have captured more effectively the tragic dichotomy of war, where, for many, survival can be a fate worse than death. The opening poem "Strange Meeting" describes a posthumous encoaunter between a soldier and an enemy combatant who he has killed on the previous day. The penultimate poem, "Disabled", is the private lament of a crippled veteran as he helplessly surveys the daily lives of people unscarred by war.

This collection of 35 poems is a sequel to a volume of lyrical ballads first published in 1798. While the first volume was a collaboration between Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, this anthology contains verses by Wordsworth only. Generally, the poems are less well-known than those of the earlier volume but do include major narrative pieces, like "The Pastoral Epics", "The Brothers", and "Michael".

In The Amethyst Box, a vial of incredibly potent poison goes missing on the eve of a wedding. The groom and the best man set out to find it and prevent its misuse. A man's unexpected but natural death in a hotel become more and more mysterious when we learn his obituary was printed before he died. In "The Ruby and the Cauldron", a precious gem is lost then found then lost again...finding it will save one woman from shame but will condemn another.

Giovanni Carmelo Verga (1840-1922) was one of the most prominent Sicilian writers of the 19th century. Today, his stories are best known through their use as the basis of the libretti of iconic verismo operas, like Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana.

Christopher Smart (1722-1771) was an English poet and scholar. This extraordinary poem, which is a florid display of Smart's opinions on a variety of theological, historical, and scientific subjects, was written between 1759 and 1763, while the author was confined in a lunatic asylum. His condition was diagnosed as religious mania, as evidenced by his compulsion to break into spontaneous prayer in public.