Audiobooks by Alfred Austin

The office of Poet Laureate goes back many centuries – informally to the time of Geoffrey Chaucer in 1389 and followed thereafter by a number of ‘volunteer laureates’. It was formally assigned to Ben Jonson in 1617 and, as a Royal office by letters patent in 1670, to John Dryden. It is a rich, rewarding history that bursts with the words, themes and visions of many great poets that has bound poetry and poets to a Nations soul.Victoria’s reign is mainly remembered as that which harnessed and amplified The Industrial Revolution with its myriad of inventions and the reinvention of society from agricultural to manufacturing. From there its thirst for markets and raw materials created a massive ‘Age of Empire’ that bestrode the globe yet, in its wake, left many in its homeland, destitute, impoverished and bereft of the advantages it trumpeted on a world stage. In the Arts its artists flourished, exhibiting and publishing abroad working in new techniques and new media. In literature such noted talents as Dickens, Trollope, Thackeray, the Bronte sisters and many, many others were ambitious and acclaimed. In Poetry we were spoilt for choice; the Brownings, Matthew Arnold, Coventry Patmore, Thomas Hardy, Rudyard Kipling, an endless succession of wordsmiths. Those Laureates appointed in Queen Victoria’s reign to represent the Nation are three in number and quite simply are staggering in both verse and talent: William Wordsworth, Alfred Lord Tennyson and Alfred Austin.

Alfred Austin, Alfred Lord Tennyson, William Wordsworth (Author), David Shaw-Parker, Richard Mitchley, Sean Barrett (Narrator)

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The Poetry of March

March - the third month of the year in the Gregorian calendar brings with it the Spring Equinox and the promise of warmer days and shorter nights. Our selected poets including Swift, Yeats, Morris, Swinburne and Austin of course provide the words to match the mood. Among our readers are Richard Mitchley and Ghizela Rowe. The tracks are; March - An Introduction; A March Minstrel By Alfred Austin; A March Snow By Ella Wheeler Wilcox; In March By Archibald Lampman; My Little March Girl By Paul Laurence Dunbar; Very Early Spring By Katherine Mansfield; Four Songs For Four Seasons By Algernon Charles Swinburne; To A Daisy Found Blooming March 7th By John Hartley; Monadnock In Early Spring By Amy Lowell; March By John Payne; Lines Written In Early Spring By William Wordsworth; March By Alfred Edward Houseman; Sonnet XLIII. The Malvern Hills, March 12th 1835 By Henry Alford; Stella's Birthday, March 13th 1727 By Jonathan Swift; The Message Of The March Wind By William Morris; Letter From Town: On A Grey Morning In March By D.H.Lawrence; The Welsh March By A E Houseman; March Evening By Amy Lowell; From A Full Moon In March - Parnell's Funeral By William Butler Yeats; Written In London On The 19th March 1796 By Matilda Betham; March - An Ode By Algernon Charles Swinburne.

Alfred Austin, Charles Swinburne, Jonathan Swift, William Butler Yeats (Author), Ghizela Rowe, Richard Mitchley (Narrator)

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Alfred Austin - The Poetry Of

Alfred Austin, The Poetry. Poetry is a fascinating use of language. With almost a million words at its command it is not surprising that these Isles have produced some of the most beautiful, moving and descriptive verse through the centuries. In this series we look at individual poets who have shaped and influenced their craft and cement their place in our heritage. In this volume we look at the works of the Victorian Poet Laureate, Alfred Austin. Born in Headingly, Yorkshire in 1835 Austin went on to graduate from the University of London in 1853. Training to be a barrister was a success but his love was literature and he turned to this full time as a novelist, playwright and poet. After several false starts he published as a poet in 1861, it arrived with a measure of success. In 1870 he wrote a book 'Poetry Of The Period; which managed to criticise the great Victorian poets of Tennyson, Arnold, Swinburne and Browning without an undue measure of negativity. With the death of Tennyson in 1892 a number of candidates were looked at for the post of Poet Laureate. Finally in 1896 after it was rejected by William Morris the post was Austin's. His work was entwined with his love of Nature and he is a fine example of this Imperial age. His poems have a softness, texture and comfort that is deeply rewarding. Alfred Austin died in 1913. Many of the poems are also available as an audiobook from our sister company Portable Poetry. Many samples are at our youtube channel http://www.youtube.com/user/PortablePoetry?feature=mhee The full volume can be purchased from iTunes, Amazon and other digital stores. Among our readers are Richard Mitchley and Ghizela Rowe. Index Of Poems; To England; Songs From Lucifer; Agatha; Song, A March Minstrel; An April Fool; An April Love; A Night In June; Give A November Note; Give Me October's Meditative Haze; December Matins; A Border Burn; A Captive Throstle; A Farewell To Youth; A Rare Guest; A Reply To A Pessimist; A Sleepless Night; A Voice From The West; A Wild Rose; At Her Grave; By The Fates; Celestial Heights; Free Forgiveness; Gleaners Of Fame; How Florence Rings Her Bells; In Praise Of England; In Sutton Woods; Inflexible As Fate; Love's Harvest; Love's Unity; My Winter Rose; Primacy Of Mind; Resignation; Since We Must Die; Sorrow's Importunity; Spartan Mothers; Spiritual Love; The Evening Light; The Mountains; The Passing Of The Century; The Silent Muse; Though All The World; Time's Weariness; Too Late; Unseasonable Snows; Wardens Of The Wave; When Acorns Fall; When I Am Gone; Winter Violets.

Alfred Austin (Author), Richard Mitchley (Narrator)

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The Poet Laureates - Volume 2

The office of Poet Laureate is a high honour amongst poets. The Ancient Greeks had the first idea and their heroes and Poets wore wreaths of Laurel in honour of the god Apollo. Many countries now have a Laureate as do many societies and organisations. But perhaps ranked first among them all is that of our own Poet Laureate. Unfortunately no single authentic definitive record exists of the office of Poet Laureate of England. In some form it can be traced back to 1189 and Richard Canonicus who was employed by Richard I with the title "versificator Regis". It is said that Geoffrey Chaucer was called Poet Laureate, being granted in 1389 an annual allowance of wine. After that there were a succession of 'volunteer Laureates'. It is not until 1617 that King James I created the post as it is known today for Ben Jonson, although it appears not to have been a formal appointment. That formality:- The title of Poet Laureate, as a royal office, was first conferred by letters patent on John Dryden in 1670 And from there we have procession of outstanding poets among them William Wordsworth, Alfred Lord Tennyson and Alfred Austin. Among our readers are Richard Mitchley and Ghizela Rowe.

Alfred Austin, Tennyson, William Wordsworth (Author), David Shaw-Parker, Ghizela Rowe, Richard Mitchley (Narrator)

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