Random Dramatic Works Podcasts

The delightfully eccentric Doctor Dolittle, rendered immortal on screen by the gifted Rex Harrison, has remained a firm favorite with generations of children ever since he made his debut in an earlier novel, The Story of Doctor Dolittle. In his second outing titledThe Voyages of Doctor Dolittle, the maverick physician takes on a new assistant, Tommy Stubbins. The story is structured as a first person account given by Tommy, who is now a very old man. The boy who was the son of the village cobbler first meets Doctor Dolittle when he takes a hurt squirrel to the doctor for treatment. Tommy and the doctor quickly become friends, and the boy soon learns how to communicate with animals in their own languages. The remarkable talking parrot, Polynesia and other amazing creatures from the previous book also appear in this sequel. The mysterious disappearance of a friend of the doctor’s called Luke the Hermit sets off a train of strange events. And Tommy finds himself accompanying the good doctor on an exciting, hazardous voyage to find Long Arrow, a native American and the son of Golden Arrow, who is reputed to be the greatest living naturalist in the world. The kind hearted, quirky, animal rights activist Doctor Dolittle dominates the plot. His enduring humanitarian approach to the world around him, his desire for peaceful coexistence among all and his concern for the environment make him a memorable and endearing character. This as much an adventure story as a strong appeal for compassion towards the innumerable species that share our planet with us. There are shipwrecks, South American and Mediterranean locations, underwater explorations where they discover a giant sea snail and wonderful descriptions of land and sea. Critics of Hugo Lofting’s work point out that there are several passages which are now politically incorrect. However, readers would do well to remember that these books were written more than a hundred years ago, when attitudes to colonization and race were quite different. In the dozen or so books featuring Doctor Dolittle, the author Hugo Lofting ensures that a wide variety of themes, locations and ideas are explored. The books were originally illustrated by the author himself, as he was a talented artist and naturalist himself.

Categories: Arts, Kids & Family, Society & Culture

Tags: Adventure, animals, audio books, audiobook, Dramatic Works, ebooks, fantasy, fiction, free audio books, Hugh Lofting, Kids, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle, travel

If you’ve read and loved Anne of Green Gables, you’d definitely like to add Rainbow Valley by Lucy Maud Montgomery to your collection. Published in 1919, it is the seventh book in the series and follows the further life and adventures of Anne Shirley. At Ingleside, Anne is now happily married to her childhood friend the devoted Gilbert Blythe and have now been together blissfully for fifteen years. They have six children. The book opens with the return of Anne and Gilbert (who is now a brilliant doctor) from a sojourn in London, where they had gone to attend a big medical congress. They find a new minister ensconced in the old mansion. He is a widower with four wild, mischievous and unruly children who are always embroiled in one scrape or the other. However, they are at heart good and kind and they soon become friends with Anne’s children. The entire group plays in a quiet maple grove which they have named Rainbow Valley because of its beauty and atmosphere. They form a Good Conduct Club headed by Jem Blythe, the eldest. A cheeky, runaway orphan girl called Mary Vance joins them in Rainbow Valley. However, the rules of the club prove too severe for some of the younger children. The Green Gables series consists of eight books published between 1908-21. They trace Anne Shirley/Blythe’s life from the time we encounter Anne Shirley, a young 11 year old orphan who is sent to live with an elderly couple on a farm on Prince Edward Island. By the eighth book, Anne is a middle aged woman of fifty-two and the stories concern her children and their lives. The family is also mentioned in some other books written by Montgomery. Rainbow Valley is exciting, interesting and a fun read. It has some very engaging side plots about the minister, John Meredith and how he finds romance with the lovely Rosemary West. It also provides a dark foreshadowing of the terrible war years that were to dawn in the near future. The note on the dedication page of Rainbow Valley is a tribute to three of Montgomery’s friends who died in WWI. The last book in the Anne series Rilla of Ingleside is set against the backdrop of the war. For enthusiasts of the series, Rainbow Valley is indeed a delightful glimpse into the continuing saga of this bestselling series of books that have provided so much entertainment to generations of children. All books in this series:1 Anne of Green Gables2 Anne of Avonlea3 Anne of the Island5 Anne’s House of Dreams7 Rainbow Valley8 Rilla of Ingleside

Categories: Arts, Kids & Family, Society & Culture

Tags: audio books, audiobook, Dramatic Works, ebooks, fiction, free audio books, Historical Fiction, History, Kids, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Lucy Maud Montgomery, Rainbow Valley, Teen/Young adult, War stories

Considered to be one of Shakespeare’s greatest plays, the tragedy King Lear portrays some of the darkest aspects of human nature that can be found in literature. The helplessness of the human condition, as we fall prey to our destinies, the injustice and random cruelties practiced by people, suffering and humiliation, the lust for power and the greed for wealth are all depicted in this magnificent play. And through it all, runs the golden thread of love and sacrifice, daughterly affection and the true nature of our relationship with our parents. Little is known about the writing of the play. It is thought to have been drafted some time in 1603 but the authorship of Shakespeare was finally attributed to it only in the 1623 First Folio. Early 17th century audiences disliked the gloomy aspects of the play and it was given a happy ending. However, in the 19th century, the original was brought back and with it, Shakespeare’s unerring grasp of human nature, love and family values. The almost fairytale quality of the opening scene can beguile the reader into a sense of familiarity. However, this is literally the lull before the storm! King Lear of Britain is aging and he wishes to divide his inheritance and the kingdom among his three daughters. However, he devises a strange test for each, based on which he will give the largest share to the winner. The daughters have to describe how much they love him. The elder two, Goneril and Regan heap praise on their father, layering their speech with fulsome compliments designed to please and flatter the old man. However the youngest, his favorite daughter, Cordelia remains silent, saying she has no words to express her love. Enraged and disappointed, the old king disinherits Cordelia and gives her share to her two sisters. Her lover, the Duke of Kent, objects, but he is banished. Lear then declares that he will spend the rest of his life with his two faithful elder daughters and here begins the kernel of the play. Said to be based on a legendary ruler of ancient Britain, Shakespeare’s brilliance turns the bland myth into a towering narrative, filled with wonderful quotations and dramatic elements, creating an immortal portrait of the human condition. Lear’s descent into madness and the final tragic aspects of the play make it an unforgettable read. More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts

Tags: audio books, audiobook, Dramatic Works, ebooks, free audio books, King Lear, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Myths/Legends, play, tragedy, William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice was probably written between 1596 and 1598, and was printed with the comedies in the First Folio of 1623. Bassanio, an impoverished gentleman, uses the credit of his friend, the merchant Antonio, to borrow money from a wealthy Jew, Shylock. Antonio pledges to pay Shylock a pound of flesh if he defaults on the loan, which Bassanio will use to woo a rich heiress, Portia. A subplot concerns the elopement of Shylock’s daughter Jessica with a Christian, Bassanio’s friend Lorenzo. In its focus on love and marriage, the play shares certain concerns with Shakespeare’s other comedies. Yet its depiction of the tensions between Jews and Christians in early modern Venice – and its highly dramatic trial scene in Act 4 – create darker currents in the play.

Categories: Arts, Comedy

Tags: audio books, audiobook, Comedy, Dramatic Works, ebooks, free audio books, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, play, The Merchant of Venice, William Shakespeare

Begun when she was just eleven years old, Love and Friendship is one of Jane Austen’s stories that very few readers may have encountered before. Austen experts feel that this story was written, like many others, only for the pleasure of her family and friends. It is scribbled across three notebooks, in childish handwriting, and the complete work is thought to have been written over a period of six or seven years. It is dedicated to one of her cousins, whom she was very close to, Eliza de Feuillide. Eliza herself was an extremely colorful figure and is thought to have been the illegitimate daughter of the first Governor General of India, Warren Hastings. She was also a witness to the French Revolution where her husband, the self styled Comte de Feuillide was guillotined. For the young Jane, these events must have been sheer inspiration to a writer’s imagination. Love and Friendship takes the shape of an expostulatory novel. Written as a series of letters from Laura to a much younger Marianne who is her friend Isabel’s daughter, it is meant to apprise the young and flighty Marianne about the dangers of infatuation and falling headlong into romantic love. The book offers an early and crucial insight into Jane Austen’s style, her wonderful sense of humor and her take on contemporary society. At times, she portrays events almost in parody form, at others, she is sharp and critical, but as always, the typical Jane Austen brand of gentle, sparkling wit is highly evident. She describes the concept of “sensibility” or what we would today call “sensitivity” or “sentimentality” and how it can be taken to ridiculous extremes. The deliberately twisted and complicated plot is replete with fainting fits, deaths due to a variety of causes, including “galloping consumption,” plenty of drama, elopements galore, unbelievable coincidences and wicked philanderers—all the elements that a typical potboiler of the era would contain. Love and Friendship was written primarily for the amusement of her large and gregarious family, and young Jane was probably called upon to read her writings aloud. The reader can only imagine the sheer hilarity that the novel must have evoked. As part of a collection of Jane Austen Juvenilia, this is indeed a treasure trove for Jane Austen enthusiasts as it offers early glimpses of that brilliant talent which was to shine forth a few years later and delight readers of all ages.

Categories: Arts, Comedy, Kids & Family

Tags: audio books, audiobook, Dramatic Works, ebooks, Epistolary fiction, Essay/Short nonfiction, fiction, free audio books, humor, jane austen, Literature, Love and Friendship, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, romance, satire, Teen/Young adult