Random Loyal Books Podcasts

A Child’s History of England first appeared in serial form, running from January 25, 1851 to December 10, 1853 and was first published in three volume book form in 1852, 1853, and 1854. Dickens dedicated the book to “My own dear children, whom I hope it may help, bye and bye, to read with interest larger and better books on the same subject”. The history covered the period between 50 BC and 1689, ending with a chapter summarising events from then until the ascension of Queen Victoria.

Categories: Arts, Kids & Family, Society & Culture

Tags: A Child's History of England, audio books, audiobook, Charles Dickens, ebooks, fiction, free audio books, History, Kids, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Non-fiction

Christmas Eve. Guests round a fireside begin telling each other ghost stories. One of them relates a true incident involving the governess of his little nephew and niece. Strange events begin to take place, involving the housekeeper, a stranger who prowls round the grounds, a mysterious woman dressed in black and an unknown misdemeanor committed by the little nephew. The Turn of the Screw by Henry James was published in 1893 and it remains one of the best-known and admired works of this great American writer. One of the factors that makes it so appealing is that the structure and ending are open to the reader’s interpretation. Over the years, many critics, readers and scholars have provided their own theories about the ending and all of them may be valid from a certain viewpoint. However, the real “horror” in this book is the nameless, ambiguous sense of evil that pervades the story and brings out all that is deeply frightening to us. Henry James came from a distinguished family. His father was a philosopher, while his brother William James was a famous developmental psychologist. His sister, Alice was also a writer, but is known mostly for the personal diaries she kept in the last years of her life. Though James was born in America, he considered England to be his spiritual home and constantly traveled between the two countries. His novels focus on the interaction between Europeans and Americans. He was also a brilliant literary critic and prolific letter writer. The Turn of the Screw was his second novel and in it he gives expression to his life long interest in ghost stories and Gothic themes. However, he avoided the conventional screaming/slashing type of horror and preferred to keep the fear factor extremely subtle and understated, which paradoxically increases the sense of horror! He seeks to invest the ordinary, everyday happenings of daily life with a sinister significance and this is what makes The Turn of the Screw so extraordinarily effective. Henry James’ elaborate and often roundabout way of describing events makes the unraveling of the mystery even more difficult. Hence, the reader has plenty of work to do in James’ novels and nothing is provided on a platter! James himself constantly revised the story and made several changes. Though these are minor in nature, they add to the complexity of the plot and give readers many more facets from which to try to find the right solution. The Turn of the Screw is certainly a great read if you enjoy mysteries and ghost stories.

Categories: Arts, Kids & Family

Tags: audio books, audiobook, ebooks, fiction, free audio books, Henry James, Horror/Ghost stories, Kids, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, MYSTERY, The Turn of the Screw

Magnificent in its scale and scope, this monumental poem by the blind poet John Milton was the first epic conceived in the English language. It describes an omniscient, all powerful God, the Fall of Man, the Temptation in the Garden of Eden, the disgraced angel who later becomes known as Satan, the Angelic Wars fought by Archangels Michael and Raphael and the Son of God who is the real hero of this saga. The poet John Milton was more than sixty years old when he embarked on this immense work of literary creation. His father was a wealthy merchant who had embraced Protestantism despite opposition from his Catholic family. Milton grew up in a privileged environment, having been schooled at home by private tutors and traveling extensively throughout Italy. It was here that he first read Virgil and Homer and decided to create his own epic in English. Tumultuous historical events intervened, like the English Civil War and the establishment of Puritan Rule. Milton was deeply embroiled in politics and the new parliament. When the monarchy was restored, Milton found himself on the wrong side and he retreated into hiding where he began working on his dream of creating an epic to match the best in Latin and Greek. He completed it after five years of tremendous effort, since he was already totally blind when he began working. The entire work, consisting of nearly ten thousand individual lines of blank verse was dictated by Milton from memory, to a series of scribes. Paradise Lost consists of twelve smaller volumes divided into Books. Each one is devoted to a particular Biblical episode. It begins with a prologue that describes the subject of the epic, much like an introduction. The action shifts to the rebellion of Lucifer and from then on, to familiar episodes like the temptation of Adam and Eve and their disobedience to God’s laws. Satan and his unholy legions are described in great detail as are their rebellion and malevolence. Adam and Eve, God and the Son of God are portrayed in brilliant, unforgettable lines and the conflict between the forces of good and evil is represented on a cosmic scale. For lovers of poetry and literature, Paradise Lost represents a seminal work of supreme importance in English literature. Present-day readers will certainly find it fascinating to decode the multitude of classical references, Biblical lore, social and cultural themes that adorn this great work.

Categories: Arts, Religion & Spirituality

Tags: audio books, audiobook, ebooks, free audio books, John Milton, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Paradise Lost, poetry, religion

The Lane Fleming collection of early pistols and revolvers was one of the best in the country. When Fleming was found dead on the floor of his locked gunroom, a Confederate-made Colt-type percussion .36 revolver in his hand, the coroner’s verdict was “death by accident.” But Gladys Fleming had her doubts. Enough at any rate to engage Colonel Jefferson Davis Rand—better known just as Jeff—private detective and a pistol-collector himself, to catalogue, appraise, and negotiate the sale of her late husband’s collection.

Categories: Arts

Tags: audio books, audiobook, ebooks, fiction, free audio books, H. Beam Piper, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Murder in the Gunroom, MYSTERY

A beautiful story about survival, the Robinson family shows that one does not have to have the usual comforts of life in order to be comfortable and happy. It is also a story about family relations. The book showcases a family of six that has to start all over without the basic amenities that make life easier in the eyes of society. The idea of being in an island with no human neighbors is daunting to say the least. The family was shipwrecked and everyone else on the ship perished when they deserted the ship. When the storm finally abated, they figured out a way to shore and immediately tackled the most urgent needs like food and shelter for the night. The senior Robinson and Franz, the eldest son, explored the island and found that it was well endowed with food and animals that could be killed for meat. On further exploration, they discovered better shelter and even a salt supply. They had supplies and even wax from which they made candles. They made many more amazing discoveries and got quite comfortable on the island which was hither to uninhabited. Later, they found an English girl, Jenny, who had been stranded on a different island for three years. But how did she get there and survive so long? This book tells an endearing survival story and highlights the joys of close family bonds. More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts, Kids & Family

Tags: Adventure, audio books, audiobook, ebooks, fiction, free audio books, Johann David Wyss, Kids, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, nature, Teen/Young adult, The Swiss Family Robinson

Though it’s titled The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, the man himself appears only in five scenes in the entire play! However, such is his impact on the events that surrounded him that he still remains the central figure in this psychological drama that combines politics, honor, assassination, betrayal, the lust for power, patriotism and friendship. Set in 44 BC in ancient Rome, it is one of William Shakespeare’s early Tragedies. First thought to have been performed in September 1599, William Shakespeare’s original text or script have long vanished. What we have today is taken from a prompt script that must have been used by stage managers in Elizabethan times. Shakespeare probably used the historical facts found in Thomas North’s translation of Plutarch’s Life of Brutus and Life of Caesar. Whatever the source, the play remains a deeply moving, engrossing slice of history. The play opens with a street scene in which two Roman tribunes are depicted arrogantly dealing with the common people of the city. This sets the tone for what is to come—the huge public antipathy to a once celebrated war hero who now nurses ambitions beyond his status. Later scenes depict the agony of Marcus Brutus, the beloved friend of Caesar, who is also a supreme patriot above all the calls of friendship and love. The sinister warning of the soothsayer, the conspiracy scene, the brutal assassination and the events that follow are well known. Mark Antony’s famous speech “Friends, Romans, Countrymen….” and Brutus’ inflexible idealism and his far too measured tribute to the man whom he honored so greatly are the highlights of the play. Scholars have concluded that the inspiration for writing this play must have been the overwhelming anxiety felt in Elizabethan England regarding the royal succession. There were fears that the elderly Queen would die without naming a successor, leading to the outbreak of civil war, which is depicted in the play after the death of Caesar. Caesar himself is a charismatic, powerful and intuitive leader, who holds the empire together by sheer dint of his leadership qualities. He has strong premonitions of his own death. Though the crime is committed in full public view, it is sought to be justified as a political necessity. The play is also famous for not having either a real hero or a villain. Julius Caesar has been adapted extensively for stage, screen and television. Many notable actors have played the roles of Brutus, Mark Antony and Caesar with exceptional brilliance. The play is full of wonderful lines that have entered the realms of English literature over the centuries. Indeed a riveting read for young and old!

Categories: Arts, Society & Culture

Tags: audio books, audiobook, Dramatic Works, ebooks, fiction, free audio books, Historical Fiction, Julius Caesar, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, play, William Shakespeare

Spanning a period of nearly 1500 years, this monumental work of history tracks the orbit of one of the greatest Empires of all time. The sheer scale and sweep of the narrative is breathtaking in its ambitious scope and brings to vivid life the collapse of a magnificent military, political and administrative structure. Proceeding at a brisk pace, the original fourteen volumes describe debauched emperors, corrupt practices, usurpers and murderers, bloody battles, plunder and loot, barbarian hordes, tumultuous events like the Crusades and invaders like Genghis Khan and many more. Later, it was condensed by various editors to make it available to more readers. Much of it seems like a modern battle epic or a gory scary movie with endless passages depicting power struggles, blood-drenched paths to the throne, ruthless killing of innocent women and children and the final disappearance of a mighty empire. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire was written by an English historian who was inspired to write it when he undertook the Grand Tour and visited Rome as a young man in 1762. The book eventually took more than 20 years to complete and was received with both bouquets and brickbats. The Church banned it quite a few times as it was considered to have blasphemous passages about the Church. Gibbon was attacked by many devout Christians as a “paganist.” Setting the starting point with the Emperor Augustus in 27 BC, Gibbon pursues the Romans relentlessly on to their final defeat in Constantinople in the 15th Century AD with the rise of the Turkish Ottomans. Stretching across North Africa, Europe and the Middle East as well as some parts of modern-day Asia, the Roman Empire was a tremendous human enterprise. Successively added to by emperor after emperor, it finally disintegrated and ceased being the “empire without end.” Gibbon initially planned to write a history of the city of Rome but found himself so immersed in the subject that it gradually grew into a work about the empire itself. He provides interesting theories for the collapse of the Empire. The rise of Christianity, Islam and the attacks of various wild and brutal hordes contributed to the fall of this mighty Colossus. Far from being dry and scholarly, Gibbon’s style is detached yet lyrical. Full of ironic statements and opinions, the book appeals to historians and modern-day readers. There are interesting parallels to be drawn from present day world affairs and many lessons to be learned from this magnum opus. More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts, Society & Culture

Tags: audio books, audiobook, ebooks, Edward Gibbon, free audio books, History, History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Non-fiction

“Call me Ishmael” is one of the most famous opening lines in American literature. With these words, opens one of the strangest and most gripping stories ever written about the sea and sea-faring. Moby Dick by Herman Melville is today considered one of the greatest novels written in America but paradoxically, it was a miserable failure when it first made its debut in 1851. Entitled Moby Dick or The Whale the book finally got its due after the author’s death and is now regarded as a classic portrayal of mania and fatal obsession. The narrator, Ishmael, travels to New Bedford, Massachusetts, to find a place on a whaling ship. He lodges at a seedy inn where he is forced to share a room with a strange old character, Queequeg, who was a harpooner. Despite his initial revulsion of Queequeg, Ishmael decides to join him in looking for work together. They reach Nantucket, the traditional center of whaling, where they find a berth on the Pequod, a bizarre vessel adorned with the skeletons and teeth of whales. The captain, Ahab, a mysterious figure, does not appear immediately. Later, they come to know that he is on board, recovering from losing a leg on his last voyage having escaped death narrowly following an encounter with a massive sperm whale. As the ship sails past Africa, Ahab’s sinister motives begin to emerge. His agenda is to hunt and destroy a legendary whale named Moby Dick, whom he has unsuccessfully pursued several times. He has smuggled his own private harpooners on board and he accosts every whaling ship he meets and demands information about sightings of Moby Dick. One of the ships has a maniacal passenger called Gabriel, who claims to be a prophet and he predicts doom for anyone who seeks Moby Dick. The peg leg captain finally encounters Moby Dick and a trail of destruction follows. The obsessed Ahab refuses to give up. The novel then races towards a brilliant and dramatic climax. As an example of the Great American Novel, Moby Dick is unrivaled in its structure, language and style. Melville amalgamates a fabulous mix of Biblical, Shakespearean and mythical elements along with wonderful seafaring atmosphere sourced from his own nautical experiences on board whaling schooners. Whaling stories from contemporary sources in Nantucket’s local grapevine was another rich fountainhead of material. Moby Dick has been adapted for stage, radio, screen, television, comics and graphic novels. It remains a strange and unforgettable classic which no reader should miss. More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts

Tags: Adventure, audio books, audiobook, ebooks, fiction, free audio books, herman melville, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, moby dick, Sea stories

Real men don’t take guff from snotty kids. Neither does Disko Troop, skipper of the “We’re Here”, a fishing schooner out of Gloucester, Massachusetts, when his crew fishes Harvey Cheyne out of the Atlantic. There’s no place on the Grand Banks for bystanders, so Harvey is press-ganged into service as a replacement for a man lost overboard and drowned. Harvey is heir to a vast fortune, but his rescuers believe none of what he tells them of his background. Disko won’t take the boat to port until it is full of fish, so Harvey must settle in for a season at sea. Hard, dangerous work and performing it alongside a grab-bag of characters in close quarters is a life-changing experience. And when Harvey at last is reunited with his parents, who have thought him dead for months, he must face the hard decisions of how he will allow his experience to change his life. More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts, Kids & Family

Tags: audio books, audiobook, Captains Courageous, ebooks, fiction, free audio books, Kids, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Rudyard Kipling, Sea stories, Teen/Young adult

Philip and Lucy discover that the city Philip has built using toys, books and household objects, has come alive. This is the account of their incredible adventures in those magical lands, where they meet characters from books and history, mythical beasts, and many other nice (and not so nice) people and creatures. As with all Edith Nesbit’s tales, The Magic City has generous helpings of humour, imagination and interesting ideas, as well as the over-arching story of how a boy and girl who have unwillingly become step-brother and sister eventually learn to like each other. A story that works on many levels and will be equally enjoyed by adults and children. More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts, Kids & Family

Tags: audio books, audiobook, ebooks, Edith Nesbit, fantasy, fiction, free audio books, Kids, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, The Magic City

Since this series of books is intended for all young people from one to one hundred, it opens with about eighty of the old MOTHER GOOSE RHYMES. Nothing better was ever invented to tell to little folks who are young enough for lullabies. Their rhythm, their humor, and their pith will always cause us to prize them as the Babies’ Classics. Editors: Hamilton Wright Mabie, Edward Everett Hale, William Byron Forbush.(Gutenberg Text)

Categories: Arts, Kids & Family

Tags: audio books, audiobook, Childhood's Favorites and Fairy Stories, ebooks, Fairy tales, fiction, free audio books, Kids, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, various

The Princess and Curdie is the sequel to The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald. It’s been a year since the Princess Irene and Curdie first met, and a year since the goblin incident and all appears to be going well in the Kingdom. Or is it? After a visit from Irene’s great-great-grandmother, Curdie finds himself on a mission to save the kingdom, with a rather strange companion in tow. More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts, Kids & Family

Tags: audio books, audiobook, ebooks, Fairy tales, fantasy, fiction, free audio books, George MacDonald, Kids, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, The Princess and Curdie

Plato’s Republic is a Socratic dialogue which deals mainly with the definition of justice, the characteristics of a just city state and the just man. Although it was written more than two thousand years ago, many of the ideas and thoughts expounded here are still very much relevant to modern society. This is Plato’s best known work and is also considered his most influential especially when it comes to the fields of philosophy and political theory. The Republic is divided into ten books and in each book Socrates discusses different topics from the immortality of the soul to the meaning of justice with his disciples like Glaucon, Thrasymachus, Adeimantus and others. The first two books focus on justice and its meaning. After hearing the arguments of his disciples, Socrates made a very enlightening statement when he said that it’s the advantage of a person to be just and it’s his disadvantage to be unjust. A statement like this can be very much true today as it is thousands of years ago. After that, they continued their discussions about education and the guardian class. I’m sure many have already heard about the guardians, in this book Socrates referred to them as the ideal rulers of an ideal city. Book eight of the The Republic discusses the different types of government, some of which we’re familiar with today. Socrates referred to the different types of governments as timocracy, oligarchy, democracy and tyranny. It’s interesting to note that he considered these types of governments including democracy as unjust. He said that in a democracy there’s a strong tendency for the poor people to revolt against the rich class because the rich enjoy too much freedom in this kind of government. This work by Plato is a timeless classic and it laid the ground work for many important modern philosophical and political ideas. This book is definitely a good read especially to political science or law students and the philosopher in all of us. More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts, Education, Society & Culture

Tags: audio books, audiobook, Classics (antiquity), ebooks, free audio books, Languages, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Non-fiction, Philosophy, Plato, Plato's Republic

This is the story of Rose Campbell, a rich but lonely and sickly girl who has been recently orphaned and sent to live with her maiden aunts. When Rose’s guardian, Uncle Alec, returns from abroad he takes over her care. Through his unorthodox theories about child-rearing and her exposure to the exploits of her seven male cousins and numerous aunts, Rose becomes happier and healthier. At the end of a year, she is given a choice of which relative she is to stay with. Whom will she choose? This is an unabridged recording of Louisa May Alcott’s classic work, originally published in 1874.

Categories: Arts, Kids & Family

Tags: audio books, audiobook, ebooks, Eight Cousins, fiction, free audio books, Kids, Louisa May Alcott, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Teen/Young adult

Paralyzed in an accident while a baby, young Prince Dolor is imprisoned in a lonely tower by his usurping uncle. He is visited by his mysterious godmother who provides him with magical gifts, including a traveling cloak that allows him to fly across the land. He uses his gifts to return to his rightful place on the throne. Also included are several short stories by the author also featuring princes. (Chapters 12-15)

Categories: Arts, Kids & Family

Tags: audio books, audiobook, ebooks, Fairy tales, fiction, free audio books, Kids, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Miss Mulock, Teen/Young adult, The Little Lame Prince

A delightful story supporting the notion of finding beauty in all aspects of life, Just David follows a young boy, who slowly transforms the lives of those around him, as he teaches them to embrace the smaller things in life. The classic presents an encouraging tale to look beyond the horizon and not allow the world to dictate one’s action. The story begins with the introduction of a charismatic ten-year old boy David, who together with his father lives in the serene and secluded mountains. Raised to find peace and joy in his natural surroundings, David is ignorant to life outside his idyllic home. Furthermore, he has his beloved violin to keep him company, which he plays in accordance to the tune of nature, while keeping to the modest teachings of his father, which includes appreciation for music. However, when David’s father is beset by illness and later dies as a result, the courageous young boy is thrust into a world quite different from his own, as he is taken into the care of Simeon Holly and his wife. The couple is surprised to learn that the young boy does not know his last name, his father’s name or whether he has any relatives. He introduces himself as “just David”. Initially, the couple is hesitant about taking the boy in, but they finally agree because he reminds them of their estranged son. Witnessing the reality of life far from the cultivated teachings of his father, including cynicism, cruelty, and suffering, David still remains true to his sensible ways. His only solace in life is his violin, which he plays as a means of expression. A truly admirable young boy, David is able to see the best in everyone and everything and leaves a trail of optimism wherever he goes. In addition, he inspires others to follow his footsteps and make the most out of life, as it is too short to squander on superfluous details which in turn bring misery. Nevertheless, an emotionally resonant piece that has withstood the hands of time, Just David will surely inspire both young and old readers to rethink their attitude towards life, while also discovering the true source of happiness. Needless to say, Porter successfully creates an epitome of goodness and innocence, as her classic novel leaves much to ponder over long after its conclusion.

Categories: Arts, Kids & Family

Tags: audio books, audiobook, ebooks, Eleanor H. Porter, fiction, free audio books, Just David, Kids, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com

This is Mill’s first work on economics. It foreshadows his Political Economy which was the standard Anglo-American Economics textbook of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Mill’s economic theory moved from free market capitalism, to government intervention within the precepts of Utilitarianism, and finally to Socialism.

Categories: Arts, Society & Culture

Tags: audio books, audiobook, ebooks, Economics/Political Economy, Essays on Some Unsettled Questions of Political Economy, free audio books, John Stuart Mill, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Non-fiction, Philosophy

The Discourse on Method is best known as the source of the famous quotation “cogito ergo sum”, “I think, therefore I am.” …. It is a method which gives a solid platform from which all modern natural sciences could evolve. With this work, the idea of skepticism was revived from the ancients such as Sextus Empiricus and modified to account for a truth that Descartes found to be incontrovertible. Descartes started his line of reasoning by doubting everything, so as to assess the world from a fresh perspective, clear of any preconceived notions.

Categories: Arts, Society & Culture

Tags: audio books, audiobook, Discourse on the Method of Rightly Conducting One's Reason and of Seeking Truth in the Sciences, ebooks, free audio books, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Non-fiction, Philosophy, René Descartes, science