Showing results by narrator "Charles Featherstone" in All Categories

A selection of the very best of Chinese poetry over the course of a thousand years, from 100 years before Christ was born up of the middle ages. Arthur Waley's translations of Chinese poetry are still the benchmark by which such translations are held, nearly two hundred years after he introduced the west to the wonder of classical Chinese poetry.

There have been many translators of Chinese literature and poetry over time, but Arthur Waley stands out as one of the best known and most loved. This is perhaps because he had an attribute that most others lacked, which is his poetic abilities. Waley was as much a poet himself as a translator, and while his scholarly erudition was matched by a few others at his time, none ever managed to bring out the true character of Chinese poetry quite so well.

These are called '' Poems from the Chinese" and we have Mr. Waley's assurance that there are in existence Oriental originals.

"The Elements of Style" is an American English writing style guide in numerous editions. The original was written by William Strunk Jr. in 1918, and it was published by Harcourt in 1920, comprising eight "elementary rules of usage," ten "elementary principles of composition," "a few matters of form," a list of 49 "words and expressions commonly misused," and a list of 57 "words often misspelled."

A dive into one of China's great poets by the first great populariser of Chinese literature, Arthur Waley.

There are many versions of this work in English, and it is included as a useful reflection once one has pondered Daoism’s key texts. The title is properly ‘'Sun Tzu's Military Method'. It was written at the time of the Dao and Zhuang Zi, several centuries before the Lieh Tzu. For fifteen hundred years, it was part of China’s canonical strategic anthology, which became known as the Seven Military Classics.

In 1638, in the first age of modern astronomy, as the starts opened up to us, the scientists of the time found themselves bound into fantastical visions based on their new knowledge. This was perhaps the first 'hard' sci fi, at least based on the cutting edge of knowledge from the time. Drawing on contemporary theories of Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, and Gilbert, the inhabitants of the Moon in this story are a tall Christian people encountered by a roguish hero who must learn of their lands, and gains items that allow the control of light, heat, and gravity.

The great fantasy writer Lord Dunsany wrote very little in the way of fantasy after the onset of the First World War. This was partly because he was busy, having volunteered in 1915 and becoming a Captain in the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers in Derry. However, the reality of the world bore in on our hero at this time, and it is not difficult to imagine that his heart moved to more serious concerns. Dunsany’s days of high fantasy, it seems, ended with the emergence of civil unrest in his nation.

A great primer on the history of Japanese art as it evolved under the Buddhist (and later Zen) movements embedding in Japan's culture. Written by the first great populariser of Chinese and Japanese cultural artefacts, including translating a great number of Chinese poems and literary works.

The Renaissance gave us a lot of things, including the earliest science fiction that relates to modern science. The book would now be called hard sci fi, as it leans heavily into the known orbital mechanics of the moon.

A True Story (Ancient Greek: Ἀληθῆ διηγήματα, Alēthē diēgēmata; Latin: Vera Historia or Latin: Verae Historiae), also translated as True History, is a long novella or short novel written in the second century AD by the Syrian author Lucian of Samosata. The novel is a satire of outlandish tales that had been reported in ancient sources, particularly those that presented fantastic or mythical events as if they were true. It is Lucian's best-known work.

No discussion of the 19th Century is complete without Napoleon. We begin with Charles Phillips’ eulogy, summarizing the strangeness and contradiction of the most influential man of his time. Followed by 7 brief speeches by Napoleon himself.

A thrilling tale of the Devil's final ride between the darkness and dawn, watching as mankind falls victim to the curse of progress and speed, rejecting all peace and silence, all reflection and godliness. As he goes, he gathers phantoms and monsters, hell-bound victims and dark shadows, all the while telling the natural world to rejoice, for it will soon be free of the curse of Man. Written in 1910, this Christian tome is as relevant today as it was a century ago, as people fall victim to the next and fastest thing, falling away from God in the process.

"I hate God!" Said Angel. And having made this un-angel-like statement, she folded her short arms across her breast and surveyed her horrified audience defiantly. So begins a tale of a poor child's expulsion from Sunday school for the cruelties of a God who would allow her parents to die, and her life to be one of unending misery.

This collection contains five speeches from a millennium shaped by faith and empire.

This collection contains six speeches about freedom and revolution from the American, French and Irish revolutions.

Marie Corelli is best known as a novelist, but was always a poet at heart, composing on her strongest passions, whether for love, nature, God, or country. This volume collects poems from across her bestselling books and across her career, curated by Brenda Vyver, her her 'companion' of 40 years, who she left everything to when she died, and who is buried alongside her in a twin grave. It is perhaps worth noting that Brenda drove much of Corelli's work, which ran heavy to erotic descriptions of women.

This audiobook contains the five speeches from the legendary orators Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Cicero, and Pericles.

Sound interesting? The author thinks so too! Listen to Alarms and Discursions and enjoy GK Chesterton's prolific writing.

The tale of King Alfred, the Christian king who in 878AD battled a Viking invasion that had conquered the rest of England and burnt some cakes. He then became the last holdout of resistance against the invaders and forced the conversion of the Danish king Guthrum to Christianity after the battle of Ethandun.