Audiobooks by Thomas Carlyle

"This audiobook is narrated by a digital voice. Prepare to have your perceptions of clothing and society shaken to their core! Sartor Resartus, a philosophical masterpiece by Thomas Carlyle, is not your typical fashion guide. This thought-provoking audiobook delves deeper, exploring the profound connection between our clothes and our inner selves. Carlyle weaves a whimsical narrative, with witty social commentary, to uncover the symbolism hidden within every thread. Sartor Resartus is a must-listen for anyone who desires to see the world, and themselves, in a new light. So, buckle up and get ready for a wild sartorial adventure!"

Thomas Carlyle (Author), Digital Voice Marcus G (Narrator)

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The French Revolution - Thomas Carlyle

"'The French Revolution' by Thomas Carlyle is a classic historical work that chronicles the events leading up to and during the French Revolution. Written in 1837, Carlyle's account is known for its vivid and passionate style, and for its ability to bring to life the key figures and events of the revolution. The book begins with an analysis of the state of France in the late 18th century, and the social and economic conditions that contributed to the revolution. It then goes on to provide a detailed account of the revolution itself, including the storming of the Bastille, the Reign of Terror, and the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte. Throughout the book, Carlyle emphasizes the role of individual actors and their personal struggles and motivations, rather than simply analyzing the structural forces at play. He also reflects on the broader philosophical and moral questions raised by the revolution, such as the nature of power, the relationship between the individual and the state, and the struggle for liberty. Overall, 'The French Revolution' is a powerful and engaging work of history that offers a unique perspective on one of the most significant events of modern times."

Thomas Carlyle (Author), Liam Johnson (Narrator)

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Sartor Resartus (Unabridged)

"This audiobook is narrated by a digital voice. Presented as an introduction to a philosophical treatise on clothing ('Clothes: Their Origin and Influence') by the eccentric German thinker Diogenes Teufelsdröckh, 'Sartor Resartus' is more than a fashion analysis. It is a satirical and philosophical exploration of life, society, and the human condition. Through Teufelsdröckh's ramblings and the English editor's commentary, the book delves into themes like materialism, social injustice, personal fulfillment, and the search for meaning. Despite its unusual form and satirical humor, 'Sartor Resartus' tackles profound questions about our relationship with the world and what it means to live authentically."

Thomas Carlyle (Author), Digital Voice Marcus G (Narrator)

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The Nibelungenlied (Unabridged)

"This audiobook is narrated by a digital voice. While Thomas Carlyle didn't write 'The Nibelungenlied' itself, he wrote a significant essay about it. In this essay, Carlyle explores the themes and historical context of the epic poem, highlighting its portrayal of Germanic heroism, loyalty, and tragedy. He praises the poem's raw power and emotional depth, drawing parallels with ancient epics like the Iliad and Odyssey. He also acknowledges the poem's complex morality and questions surrounding its characters' motivations. Carlyle's essay played a crucial role in introducing 'The Nibelungenlied' to a wider English audience during the 19th century. It's important to note that this summary refers to Carlyle's essay, not the original poem itself."

Thomas Carlyle (Author), Digital Voice Marcus G (Narrator)

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Sartor Resartus

"Sartor Resartus is one of the most unusual, even quirky, British novels to emerge from the first half of the 19th century. Published in 1836, its varied heritage reflects the earlier eccentricities of Sterne and Swift, curiously mixed with influences from Goethe. Its subject matter is strange: it concerns a book called Clothes: Their Origin and Influence by one Diogenes Teufelsdröckh, a German philosopher. And though Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) became a household name in his lifetime, especially for his essays, and his work as an historian and philosopher, his comic novel Sartor Resartus would prove to have a lasting effect on contemporary writers. American figures in particular - Emerson, Dickinson, Melville and Twain among them - acknowledged its influence. In addition, Jorge Luis Borges was among the 20th-century writers to salute the work, which he encountered aged 17. Borges reflects: 'I read Sartor Resartus, and I can recall many of its pages; I know them by heart.' Sartor Resartus (which means 'The Tailor Re-tailored') chronicles the struggles of an unnamed editor attempting to produce an English-language edition of a publication, which, according to the man who has sent it to him, is 'a work of philosophy which has taken all Europe by storm'. This is the book on clothes by Teufelsdröckh, with whom the editor was briefly acquainted on his travels. However, the more vigorously the editor sets himself to his task, the more thankless and perhaps impossible it proves. In frustration, he shares fragments of the translated work with his readers, in the search for some collective insight. When a biography of the author arrives, promising to bring some context to the work, the editor finds himself even further at a loss. His trust in Teufelsdröckh begins to unravel, and he becomes suspicious that nothing about this book, not even its author, is as it appears to be. Is it a work of genius? A palimpsest with a secret hidden in its depths? Or is the editor in receipt of something completely different and wholly unexpected? Sartor Resartus may now largely exist in the shadows of On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History, and his account of the French Revolution, but this early novel represents an interesting phase in Carlyle’s literary output."

Thomas Carlyle (Author), James Gillies (Narrator)

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On Heroes, Hero-Worship and the Heroic in History

"Though uncompromising, polemical and argumentative, Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) made a lasting impact on 19th-century culture as a multi-talented man of letters. And though his lengthy history of the French Revolution proved his major scholarly legacy, On Heroes, Hero-Worship and the Heroic in History remains perhaps his most popular and accessible work. It presented his deep-seated belief that ‘Universal History, the history of what man has accomplished in this world, is at bottom the History of the Great Men who have worked here’. It is with this bold declaration that Carlyle opened the collection of six lectures that comprise ‘On Heroes’. Initially delivered in 1840, he published them a year later in an expanded form, and the book’s popularity gave him the broader national presence to which he aspired. The six lectures covered a wide range of man’s activities, but of particular interest were the categories, as much as the individual figures. Lecture I. The Hero as Divinity: Odin. Paganism: Scandinavian Mythology. Lecture II. The Hero as Prophet. Mahomet: Islam. Lecture III. The Hero as Poet. Dante, Shakespeare. Lecture IV. The Hero as Priest. Luther. Reformation: Knox; Puritanism. Lecture V. The Hero as Man of Letters. Johnson, Rousseau, Burns. Lecture VI. The Hero as King. Cromwell, Napoleon: Modern Revolutionism. These categories challenged opinions from the outset: Carlyle’s fundamental approach, breaking away from an overbearing militaristic description of the hero figure in history, was revolutionary. He chose to take a more radical view, less hide-bound by the conventional constraints of his day, placing the poet, the philosopher and the revolutionary where, in popular imagination, the conqueror and the champion held sway. This was reflected further in the individuals he chose to represent the categories. If modern-day sensibilities may take a less emphatic ‘Great Men’ approach to history, Carlyle’s original work continues to provide an engaging template for contemporary revision."

Thomas Carlyle (Author), James Gillies (Narrator)

Audiobook

Sartor Resartus

"Part novel, part philosophical treatise, part satire, Sartor Resartus is a masterpiece of 19th-century literature, following in the footsteps of Swift's Tale of a Tub and Sterne's Tristram Shandy and a key influence on Melville's Moby-Dick. Bubbling over with ideas, humour and inventiveness, it is - on the surface - a long-suffering British editor's sceptical account of a German philosopher's book, Clothes: Their Origin and Influence, which itself is steeped in German idealism. The author, Diogenes Teufelsdröckh ('god-born devil-dung'), is Carlyle's creation for exploring and expressing wider truths, which emerge through metaphor, comedic commentary, and quite dazzling prose - a novel simply to experience as much as to reflect upon."

Thomas Carlyle (Author), Leighton Pugh (Narrator)

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Early Kings of Norway

""The Icelanders, in their long winter, had a great habit of writing; and were, and still are, excellent in penmanship. It is to this fact, that any little history there is of the Norse Kings and their old tragedies, crimes and heroisms, is almost all due. The Icelanders, it seems, not only made beautiful letters on their paper or parchment, but were laudably observant and desirous of accuracy; and have left us such a collection of narratives (Sagas, literally "Says") as, for quantity and quality, is unexampled among rude nations. Snorro Sturleson's History of the Norse Kings is built out of these old Sagas; and has in it a great deal of poetic fire, . . . and deserves to be reckoned among the great history-books of the world. It is from these sources that the following rough notes of the early Norway Kings are hastily thrown together." (Excerpted from Thomas Carlyle's preface by Karen Merline)"

Thomas Carlyle (Author), LibriVox Volunteers (Narrator)

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