Audiobooks narrated by Leonard Wilson

"The Amoretti (meaning little love poems) is a sequence of 89 sonnets written in the tradition of the Petrarchan sonnets, a popular form for poets of the Renaissance period. Spenser’s sequence has been largely neglected in modern times, while those of his contemporaries William Shakespeare and Sir Philip Sidney have been acclaimed. However, because of the artistic skill, along with the emotion and the humor exhibited, these poems deserve a broader hearing, even though they may be somewhat difficult for the present-day reader, partly through Spenser’s love for words and expressions that were already archaic in his time. Amoretti, written throughout the year 1594 and published the following year, violates at least one of the conventional elements of the Renaissance sonnet sequences. Other poets, including Petrarch and Sidney, chose as the inspiration for their sonnets a woman who was inaccessible to the poet, sometimes even married to someone else. They idealized this woman, seeming to be extravagantly suffering because of their passionate admiration, while in real life they might hardly know the lady and had no real interest in an actual love affair. Spenser, however, dedicated his verses to a woman that he actually loved and sought, Elizabeth Boyle, whom he then married. Also the sonnet series by other poets were usually despairing of any fruition in regard to the lady, and Spenser certainly does show much frustration himself in his efforts to achieve a closer relationship with his love; but as the series progresses, he gradually sees improvement in the success of his wooing, as his actual wedding nears. The poems feature elaborate imagery, loaded with metaphorical situations, saying much the same thing repeatedly in a wide variety of ways, with much clever creativity, sometimes impressive and sometimes a bit awkward. There is a rich vein of humor running through the whole sequence, often through mock passion, and there is even a bit of sensuality in some of the later sonnets. The better poems are often sharp and crystalline, sparkling in their freshness and originality. (Introduction by Leonard Wilson)"

Edmund Spenser (Author), Leonard Wilson (Narrator)

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Aucassin and Nicolette.

"Aucassin and Nicolette is a medieval romance written in a combination of prose and verse called a “song-story.” Created probably in the early 13th century by an unknown French author, the work deals with the love between the son of a count and a Saracen slave girl who has been converted to Christianity and adopted by a viscount. Since Aucassin’s father is strongly opposed to their marriage, the two lovers must endure imprisonment, flight, separation in foreign lands, and many other ordeals before their ardent love and fierce determination finally bring them back together. Aucassin is the very model of an intrepid knight, totally devoted to his love; and Nicolette is daring and ingenious in her staunch perseverance against all odds. This translation, completed in 1887, is by Scottish poet, novelist, critic, and collector of folk tales Andrew Lang (1844-1912). (Introduction by Leonard Wilson)"

Andrew Lang (Author), Leonard Wilson (Narrator)

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The Courtship of Miles Standish

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (Author), Leonard Wilson (Narrator)

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Evangeline

"Evangeline, A Tale of Acadie, is an epic poem by the American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, published in 1847. The poem follows an Acadian girl named Evangeline and her search for her lost love Gabriel, set during the time of the Expulsion of the Acadians. The idea for the poem came from Longfellow's friend, Nathaniel Hawthorne. Longfellow used dactylic hexameter, imitated from Greek and Latin classics, though the choice was criticized. It was published in 1847 and became Longfellow's most famous work in his lifetime. It remains one of his most popular and enduring works. The poem had a powerful effect in defining both Acadian history and identity in the nineteenth and twentieth century. More recent scholarship has revealed the historical errors in the poem and the complexity of the Expulsion and those involved, which the poem ignores. - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882) was an American poet. A popular figure in his day, his major works include 'Paul Revere's Ride' (1860), 'The Song of Hiawatha' (1855), and 'Evangeline' (1847). 1867, he was the first American to translate Dante’s 'Divine Comedy'."

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (Author), Leonard Wilson (Narrator)

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Orley Farm

"Orley Farm is Trollope at his best (as good as the Barsetshire series), which means some of the best characterizations in the English language. Trollope's people are real; the beleaguered Lady Mason, charged with forging a will; the aged lover Sir Peregrine Orme; Madeleine Stavely, deeply but practically in love; the shallow, fickle Sophia Furnival and others are 3-dimensional figures that live and breathe. His satire of the so-called "justice" system is the best kind of satire: he just describes the court proceedings as they really are. The result is as up-to-date as today's newspaper. (Introduction by Leonard Wilson)"

Anthony Trollope (Author), Leonard Wilson (Narrator)

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The Spirit of the Border

"This is an early novel by the phenomenally successful author of frontier, western and sports stories. It deals with historical characters and incidents in the Ohio Valley in the late 18th century, especially with the foundation of Gnaddenhutten, a missionary village intended to bring Christianity to the Indians of Ohio, despite the violent opposition of both Indians and white renegades. This turbulent adventure romance features the heroics of a semi-legendary frontiersman, Lewis Wetzel, who attempts to protect the settlers from hostile Native Americans and the vicious white outlaws the Girty brothers. (Introduction by Leonard Wilson)"

Zane Grey (Author), Leonard Wilson (Narrator)

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John Keats: Selected Poems

"John Keats is perhaps the most talented poet of the English Romantic Period. Although his life was cut short by disease at the age of 25, he produced some of the most famous poems in world literature. Less erudite and philosophical than Shelley and not so technically versatile as Byron, he displayed a sure poetic instinct and an amazing ability to appeal powerfully to the senses and to the emotions by the brilliance of his diction. Thus his poetry is noted more for exquisite feeling than for thought, but in his particular sphere he was unmatched. His influence upon later poets has been immense. (Introduction by Leonard Wilson)"

John Keats (Author), Leonard Wilson (Narrator)

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The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg

"The town of Hadleyburg had the reputation of being the most honest town in a wide area, indeed an incorruptible community. The elders took this reputation so to heart that they brought up their children shielded from all temptation and trained thoroughly in total honesty. However, a stranger passing through the community was seriously offended by the actions of residents of this Utopia, and he vowed to gain revenge. After several years he came up with the perfect plan to embarrass the town and expose its hypocrisy. (Introduction by Leonard Wilson)"

Mark Twain (Author), Leonard Wilson (Narrator)

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John Keats Selected Poems

John Keats (Author), Leonard Wilson (Narrator)

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Selected Poems: Christian & Dante Gabriel Rossetti

"Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882) and his sister Christina Georgina Rossetti (1830-1894) played important roles in the artistic milieu of Victorian England. Members of a highly cultured Italian immigrant family, they achieved widespread fame and exerted a significant influence upon the poetry and art of their time. Dante Gabriel was a co-founder of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood of painters, contributing to a renewed interest in medieval themes and techniques. Both his painting and his poetry anticipated the Aesthetic movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His deep intellect and highly emotional nature are reflected in poems that exhibit a combination of complex symbolism and powerful feeling. He was a master of the sonnet form, as best exemplified in his book The House of Life. Christina served as a model for some of her brother’s early paintings, and she was closely identified with the Pre-Raphaelites. Her poetry is more accessible and displays perhaps a greater felicity of expression than her brother’s. Today she holds a higher reputation, often being ranked (sometimes rather condescendingly) among the leading women poets. Other critics, quite appropriately, consider her a major poet without the feminine label. A deeply devout person, she never married, although she eventually rejected two suitors, both for religious reasons. She produced a large body of Christian poetry, which is not represented in this collection. She also wrote many delightful poems for children."

Christina Gabriel Rossetti, Dante Gabriel Rossetti (Author), Leonard Wilson (Narrator)

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Kazan

"Kazan (sometimes published with the subtitle The Wolf Dog) is a once very popular novel by environmentalist and author James Oliver Curwood. After a trip to the Yukon area of Canada and Alaska, Curwood wrote a series of wilderness adventure novels that were best-sellers in the 1910’s and 1920’s and remained popular through mid century. Jack London had begun the vogue for northland dog stories with his Call of the Wild and White Fang, and there were many imitators, but none had a greater impact than Curwood. The income from the sales of his books permitted him to spend several months of each year in the remote northwestern area that he loved, while he poured out more than 30 novels. Probably the most widely read of his novels during his lifetime was this engrossing tale of a magnificent animal that is part husky and part wolf. There is a struggle between the two breeds in Kazan’s makeup; he is torn between love for a particular man and woman and the desire to run free with the wolves, especially the one that he has chosen for his mate. In both of these contrasting parts of his life, he meets tremendous challenges that require all his instinct, strength, and spirit to overcome.(Introduction by Leonard Wilson)"

James Oliver Curwood (Author), Leonard Wilson (Narrator)

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The Courtship of Miles Standish

"During the late nineteenth century and until the middle of the twentieth, many elementary classrooms in America featured (along with a Gilbert Stuart portrait of Washington) a black-and-white print of a group of New England pilgrims on their way to church, the men carrying their muskets. Every school child at that time was intimately acquainted with the story of the Mayflower and the Plymouth colony in Massachusetts. Among the historical figures, one of the best known was Captain Miles Standish, the military commander of the little “army,” which consisted of a bare handful of men, who repeatedly defeated many times their number of hostile Indians. The children also knew the friendly Indian Squanto and the young pilgrim gentleman John Alden and the lovely maiden Priscilla Mullins. In the middle grades practically all students used to read Longfellow’s long narrative poem The Courtship of Miles Standish, telling the story of these real people. The plot is initiated by Standish’s request that his friend, the better educated and more eloquent Alden, plead his case for him and persuade Priscilla to marry this rough middle-aged widower. What the captain did not know was that John Alden was also deeply in love with the same young girl. Presentday readers will be impressed that the delightful Miss Mullins seems to be a quite modern young lady, with a mind of her own. Many hundreds of Americans trace their ancestry to John and Priscilla, whose descendants also include Presidents John and John Quincy Adams and Longfellow himself. Those who are not familiar with their romance will find it a most pleasant tale. (Introduction by Leonard Wilson)"

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (Author), Leonard Wilson (Narrator)

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Audiobooks Narrated by Leonard Wilson