Great Audiobooks

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Charles Dickens, by G. K. Chesterton. Part I. Jul 04, 2024

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G. K. Chesterton was a great admirer of Charles Dickens, and wrote a noted critique of Dickens' works expressing his opinion in his own inimitable style.

This is a collaborative reading.

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Four Max Carrados Detective Stories, by Ernest Bramah. Part II. Jul 01, 2024

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Ernest Bramah is mainly known for his 'Kai Lung' books - Dorothy L. Sayers often used quotes from them for her chapter headings. In his lifetime however he was equally well known for his detective stories.

Since Sherlock Holmes we have had French detectives, Belgian detectives, aristocratic detectives, royal detectives, ecclesiastical detectives, drunken detectives and even a (very) few quite normal happily married detectives. Max Carrados was however probably the first blind detective.

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Four Max Carrados Detective Stories, by Ernest Bramah. Part I. Jul 01, 2024

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Michael Strogoff, by Jules Verne. Part VI. Jul 01, 2024

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This is the account of the perilous mission of Michael Strogoff, courier for Czar Alexander II, who is sent from Moscow to the besieged city of Irkutsk, where the governor, brother of the Czar, has taken his last stand against a Tartar rebellion led by the fearsome Feofar-Khan.

When telegraph lines are cut between the Russian Far East and the mainland, Strogoff must make his way through hostile territory to warn the governor of the return of the traitor Ivan Ogareff, a disgraced former officer who seeks vengeance against the Tsar’s family by the destruction of Irkutsk. (Adapted from Wikipedia.)

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Michael Strogoff, by Jules Verne. Part V. Jul 01, 2024

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Michael Strogoff, by Jules Verne. Part IV. Jul 01, 2024

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Michael Strogoff, by Jules Verne. Part III. Jul 01, 2024

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Michael Strogoff, by Jules Verne. Part II. Jul 01, 2024

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Michael Strogoff, by Jules Verne. Part I. Jul 01, 2024

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Toxophilus, by R. Ascham and J. A. Giles. Part III. Jun 27, 2024

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Toxophilus is a book about target archery using the English Longbow. The book is divided into two parts: The first part is an extended argument that target archery should be encouraged as a healthy activity benefiting both the individual and the defense of the country; the second part is an instruction manual about the use of the English longbow for target archery.

In 1545, when the book was written, the English Longbow had been in continuous use in European warfare since the medieval period. Ascham points out that target archery is the perfect preparation for the use of the longbow in warfare, so it is likely that the techniques and equipment he describes are very similar to those used by soldiers right back to the hundred years war.

Modern archers may be surprised at Ascham’s knowledge about the effect of equipment on shooting performance. Amongst other subjects, Ascham describes finger spacers, arrow spine, barrelled shafts, control of bow hand placement, nocking point, and a draw length indicator.

Ascham dedicated Toxophilus to King Henry VIII (who was a keen archer). The King was so pleased with the book that he granted Ascham a pension of ten pounds per year.

Edited by J. A. Giles.

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