A milestone in the history of the novel, Samuel Richardson's epistolary and elaborate Clarissa follows the life of a chaste young woman desperate to protect her virtue. When beautiful Clarissa Harlowe is forced to marry the rich but repulsive Mr. Solmes, she refuses, much to her family's chagrin. She escapes their persecution with the help of Mr. Lovelace, a dashing and seductive rake, but soon finds herself in a far worse dilemma. Lovelace is a devil in disguise: he promptly imprisons Clarissa, and is determined to break her will. Terrifying and enlightening, Clarissa weaves a tapestry of narrative experimentation into a gripping morality tale of good triumphing over evil. The recording is divided into three volumes, the present release being the first. Clarissa is one of the longest novels in the English canon; many critics agree that it is one of the greatest and most influential in English. For this first ever unabridged recording, a carefully selected cast of readers bring to life Richardson's intricate narrative.

The Story of My Life is the explosive and exhilarating autobiography by the infamous libertine Giacomo Casanova. Intense and scandalous, Casanova’s extraordinary adventures take the listener on an incredible voyage across 18th-century Europe – from France to Russia, Poland to Spain and Turkey to Germany, with Venice at their heart. He falls madly in love, has wild flings and delirious orgies, and encounters some of the most brilliant figures of his time, including Catherine the Great, Louis XV and Benjamin Franklin. He holds a verbal dual with Voltaire, a pistol duel with a Polish noble, and finds himself hauled before the court multiple times, including in London, where the judge in question turns out to be none other than Henry Fielding. His appetite for life is voracious; for him, a life lived close to the precipice is the only life worth living. The book is divided into six sections. Volume 1 contains the first two sections: ‘1: Venetian Years’ and ‘2: To Paris and Prison’.

Waverley by Sir Walter Scott is an enthralling tale of love, war and divided loyalties. Taking place during the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745, the novel tells the story of proud English officer Edward Waverley. After being posted to Dundee, Edward eventually befriends chieftain of the Highland Clan Mac-Ivor, and falls in love with his beautiful sister Flora. He then renounces his former loyalties in order actively to support Scotland in open rebellion against the Union with England. The book depicts stunning, romantic panoramas of the Highlands, and is famous for being one of the first historical novels. It's influence extended to many authors, including Dickens, Dumas, Gogol, Stevenson, Thackeray and Tolstoy. David Rintoul's finely tuned narration and characterization wonderfully evoke the atmosphere of the Scottish Highlands.

Also known as Demons, The Possessed is a powerful socio-political novel about revolutionary ideas and the radicals behind them. It follows the career of Pyotr Stepanovich Verkhovensky, a political terrorist who leads a group of Nihilists on a demonic quest for societal breakdown. They are consumed by their desires and ideals, and have surrendered themselves fully to the darkness of their ‘demons’. This possession leads them to engulf a quiet provincial town and subject it to a storm of violence. Inspired by a real political killing in 1869, the book is an impassioned response to the ideologies of European liberalism and nihilism, which threatened Russian Orthodoxy; it eerily predicted the Russian Revolution, which would take place fifty years later. Funny, shocking and tragic, it is a profound and affecting work with deep philosophical discourses about God, human freedom and political revolution. Reader Constantine Gregory is an accomplished Russian speaker- he imbues the novel with understanding and invites his listeners to share it.

When Worzel hears that John and Susan have gone on holiday to the seaside, he decides that he and Earthy Mangold should join them. In the town of Seashell he finds a kindred spirit in the ship’s figurehead, Saucy Nancy, and many dramas follow, including one in which Earthy Mangold is swept out to sea. This is the fourth in the series of Barbara Euphan Todd’s Worzel Gummidge novels and it dates from 1947. The Worzel Gummidge stories were broadcast on the popular Children’s Hour on British radio and two of them were featured in TV’s Jackanory. 1979 saw the birth of a successful television series based on Worzel Gummidge and other characters from the books, with Jon Pertwee playing the eponymous scarecrow, which still has a dedicated following to this day. The book is read by the multi-talented Jessica Martin, who infuses the stories with excitement.

Spending their summer holidays with Farmer Braithwaite and his wife in Scatterbrook, John and Susan come across a particularly lifelike scarecrow in a nearby field. That evening, much to the children’s surprise, the scarecrow makes an appearance in the Braithwaites’ kitchen to warm himself by the fire. He is Worzel Gummidge and he is no ordinary scarecrow. His tendency to cause mayhem wherever he goes sparks a series of mishaps and adventures, often with hilarious results. This is the first of the Worzel Gummidge novels written by Barbara Euphan Todd, originally published in 1936.

Grigori Aleksandrovich Pechorin is an enigma: arrogant, cocky, melancholic, brave, cynic, romantic, loner, socialite, soldier, free soul, and yet, victim of the world, he eludes definition and remains a mystery to those who know him. Just who is he? And what does he hope to achieve? Evolving from first person to third person, and then into a diary, A Hero of our Time takes on a variety of forms to interrogate Pechorin’s cryptic character and his unusual philosophy providing breathtaking descriptions of the Caucasus along the way. The novel has been hailed as an influence on such writers as Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, and Chekhov, and is a striking take on Lord Byron’s ‘superfluous man’; it hearkens back to the teaching of Machiavelli, while anticipating the future work of Nietzsche. Nicholas Boulton’s remarkable fluency and beauty of tone defy the listener to take a break from this unique story. Hailed by Vladimir Nabokov as one of the greatest Russian novels, the book has been referenced in novels by Albert Camus and Ian Fleming, and films by Ingmat Berman.

Before Sir Florian Eustace dies, he gives his beloved wife Lizzie a beautiful and expensive diamond necklace valued over �10,000. Dispute soon rages between the Eustace family and the manipulative and conniving Lizzie: it's claimed that the diamonds are a precious family heirloom, but Lizzie argues they were a gift. Is she lying? As the family's lawyer determines to reunite them with the jewels, Lizzie resorts to increasingly desperate measures, until one day the jewels are stolen. Who is responsible? The third novel in Trollope's Palliser series, The Eustace Diamonds is a wonderfully absorbing blend of dark cynicism and humor. David Shaw-Parker's reading has been described as "confiding and personal, perfectly capturing the spirit of Trollope's narrative voice." (AudioFile Magazine)

Civilizations are born, live, and die, and ours is no exception. If the pagan gods that inspired the construction of Stonehenge, Cheops, and the Parthenon are today relegated to pure mythology, is it reasonable to think that Christianity will be immortal? Studying these ruins makes it possible to think about civilizations and to face with discernment the dynamic of decadence that is imposed after 2,000 years of Judeo-Christianity. Michel Onfray presents here the historical origins of these belief systems. The philosopher details the birth of this common base of values forged by the fathers of the Church, more so than by Jesus, during the first centuries of our era, and who continue to define, in spite of themselves, the identity of our civilization.

On this release Hungaroton recorded the Hungarian poet, prose-writer and literary translator, Dezso Kosztolanyi’s most popular novels in Hungarian. Kosztolanyi was born in Szabadka (Subotica) in 1885, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, but which now lies in northern Serbia. The city serves as a model for the fictional town of Sarszeg, in which he set his novella Skylark as well as The Golden Kite. Kosztolanyi studied at the University of Budapest, where he met the poets Mihaly Babits and Gyula Juhasz, and then for a short time in Vienna before quitting and becoming a journalist – a profession he stayed with for the rest of his life. In 1908, he replaces the poet Endre Ady, who had left for Paris, as a reporter for a Budapest daily. In 1910, his first volume of poems The Complaints of a Poor Little Child brought nationwide success and marked the beginning of a prolific period in which he published a book nearly every year. In 1936, he died from cancer of the palate. The literary journal Nyugat (Hungarian for "West"), which played an invaluable role in the revitalization of Hungarian literature, was founded in 1908 and Kosztolanyi was an early contributor, part of what is often called the "first Nyugat generation", publishing mainly in poetry. Starting in the 1920s he wrote novels, short stories, and short prose works, including Nero, the Bloody Poet (to the German edition of which Thomas Mann wrote the introduction), Skylark, The Golden Kite and Anna edes. In 1924 he published a volume of verse harkening back to his early work, entitled The Complaints of the Sad Man. Kosztolanyi also produced literary translations in Hungarian, such as (from English, at least) Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet", "The Winter's Tale", Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland", Thornton Wilder's "The Bridge of San Luis Rey", Lord Alfred Douglas' memoirs on Oscar Wilde and Rudyard Kipling's "If—". He was the first authentic translator of Rilke's poetry, and he worked a Hungarian masterpiece after Paul Valery's "Cimetiere Marin".

Jeno Rejto (1905-1943) was a journalist, prolific author of cabaret skits, and the steadfast practitioner of comic thrillers with unforgettable characters and one-liners that together have become part and parcel of Hungarian literary folklore. Delightfully grotesque parodies of the detective novels that had their heyday at the time, Rejto wrote most of his books in the 1930s under the pen-name of P Howard. The Blonde Hurricane is one of the best of the lot. A combination of thriller and love story, it centres around the race to find a priceless family jewel concealed in a statuette of Buddha that an international band of crooks are after - and so is Miss Evelyn Weston, the Blonde Hurricane, and without her knowledge, Eddy Rancing, who is in love with her, plus a host of others. Everyone is being pursued as well as pursuing everyone else, from England to the African desert and back. Meanwhile, the humour comes pouring out of Rejto's pen as fast and furious as it did from his famous contemporary R G. Wodehouse.

This founding text of the Epicurean philosopher of Ancient Greece, which brings together poetry and philosophy, presents itself as an attempt to "break the strong locks of the gates of nature," that is to say, to reveal to the reader the nature of the world and it's natural phenomena. According to Lucretius, this knowledge of the world must allow man to free himself from the burden of superstitions, especially religious, constituting so many obstacles that prevent everyone from attaining ataraxia; the tranquility of the soul. While Michel Onfray reveals Lucretius to us in the second volume of the Counter-History of Philosophy, Bernard Combeaud began to translate the great philosophical poem with the difficulty of writing both intellectually and poetically, a work edited by Denis Mollat for which Bernard Combeaud received the Jules Janin Prize from the French Academy for Adaptation. In turn, Denis Podalydes, member of the Comedie-Francaise, takes up the challenge of this reading, putting his talent at the service of the poetic and philosophical prosody of the text of Lucretius in a selection made by Bernard Combeaud. In order to give the listener all the answers to the questions asked about the work of adaptation and interpretation in the broad sense, the present release also includes an interview between Bernard Combeaud and Michel Onfray.

What does change mean? And how does one define the delicate limit between remaining oneself and becoming another? Through this preliminary question, Etienne Klein examines the concept of identity and invariability that applies from the smallest elementary particle to the infinite universe, but also to each human person. With clarity and simplicity, he leads a reflection at the crossroads of philosophy, physics, and politics. In the form of a lecture followed by an exchange with the public, Etienne Klein also returns, in a fascinating and educational way, to the questions and the scientific theories of the origin of the universe, and the biggest questions of physics.

At 30, Marie has a strong character and is extraordinarily resourceful. When Olivier, lieutenant of gendarmerie, arrives at her home without warning for a routine investigation, she does not hesitate to make it clear to him that he is not welcome. But this shell of a strong woman conceals her cracks. It is thanks to Antoine, her best friend, and Suzie, her daughter, that Marie finds meaning in her life. And against all odds, Olivier will join the trio. Between him and Antoine, the war is declared. The challenge? The heart of Mary. This book by midwife turned author Agnes Ledig has conquered the public with it's charm, and garnered the "Coup de Coeur des lectrices" of the Femme actuelle prize. The story is read here by Marie Bouvier.

Frémeaux & Associés presents the voices of 20 great French philosophers who embrace all currents of thought of the 20th century.Composer: existentialism, psychoanalysis, Marxism, religion, epistemology and morality. Each intervention of the philosopher is preceded by a commentary on his life, his work and his thought. Frédéric Worms wrote for "Les Études Philosophiques" (PUF) that this sum of recordings constituted "the major contribution of sound archives to French intellectual heritage" and the philosopher adds that the discs of this anthology should be in everyone's library. reader of 20th century philosophy in France. (...) and to hope “that the media, far from denying it, thus reconcile the thinking word, through individuals and works! Of this too we have, in these discs, a remarkable anthology. This book is the official commented version of the sound anthology of French thought.

It's Christmas Eve and everyone is busy with the preparations. But, preferring solitude to these happy holidays, Ebenezer Scrooge refuses the invitations. For this grumpy old man who everyone is careful to avoid, Christmas comes down to one simple word: "Foolishness!" But that night, Christmas spirits decide otherwise. Plunged in spite of himself between past, present and future, the old scrambler receives a lesson in life. This mythical, wonderfully sensitive tale gives Christmas all it's magic. "By a just, noble and legitimate distribution of the things of this world, if sickness and sadness are contagious, there is nothing that is communicated so irresistibly as laughter and good humor." Christmas Tales - Charles DICKENS

There is the father, Feodor Pavlovich, rich, dishonest and debauched, and his three legitimate sons: Mitia, impulsive, proud, savage; Yvan, intellectual, refined, intransigent; Alyosha, sincere, pious, naive. And then there is the illegitimate son, Smerdiakov, a cynical libertine living as a servant at his father's house. One of them will be parricide. A full and flamboyant novel, The Brothers Karamazov brings together a police intrigue, several love stories, dazzling theological and metaphysical presentations and unforgettable characters torn apart by their inner conflicts. Through a family, it is also the unvarnished picture of a Russia prey to doubt, torn in its moral and spiritual values by the advent of a materialistic modernity. No doubt the masterpiece of Dostoevsky.

Why did Socrates, on the eve of his death, decide to start playing music? Why is beautiful music often sad? Why is this sadness also a consolation? Why do we always hope that music is able to make us better if we listen to it? And above all, why does music have so much power over us, why is it able to upset us from top to bottom while, literally, it means nothing and has nothing to say? Based on the analysis of Jankelevitch, Hegel and Alain, we will try to answer these questions, and put words to the elementary and mysterious power of music. Ollivier Pourriol, an associate of philosophy and a cinema specialist, likes to mix the two. From scenes of illustrious films, he explains the concepts of philosophy, which take shape in reality.

Vingt ans apr�s, or Twenty Years After, is a novel by Alexandre Dumas. A book of The d'Artagnan Romances, it is a sequel to The Three Musketeers and precedes The Vicomte de Bragelonne. The story follows a series of events in France during the childhood reign of Louis XIV, and in England near the end of the English Civil War, leading up to the victory of Oliver Cromwell and the execution of King Charles I. Through the words of the main characters, Dumas eventually sides with the monarchy, or at least the text praises the idea of benevolent royalty. His musketeers are valiant in their efforts to protect the aforementioned monarchs. The story is read here by Bernard Bollet.

In this set, Luc Ferry tells how the greatest thinkers of antiquity, Plato, Aristotle or the Stoics, took over the legacy of Greek mythology to achieve a magnificent doctrine of wisdom, a secular spirituality that will cross centuries and who still speaks to us today. Essentially, it is a question of showing that the good life lies in the setting in harmony of oneself with the harmony of the world, this harmonious, just, beautiful and good cosmic order which forms in the eyes of the Ancients as a model to follow for the organization of the city. With the thought of Epicurus, sophists and atomists, we also see how a counter-culture, a "counter-philosophy" is being put in place, which already contests the idea of a harmonious cosmos and which, at once, proposes another conception of the good life.

Germaine Tillion (1907-2008) was a French ethnologist and historian with an extraordinary career. She was a student of Marcel Mauss, a member of the Resistance in the Mus�e de l'Homme network, deported to Ravensbr�ck from 1943 to 1945, and committed throughout her life to the rights of women, prisoners and decolonisation. "Le Harem et les cousins", is her masterwork. She draws a relevant and disconcerting analysis of the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern world. MP3 Audiobook in French.

Caterina Zanfi, president of the Society of Friends of Bergson and researcher in philosophy at the CNRS invites us to discover the philosophy of life. Plunging it's roots into the German philosophy of the 19th century and more particularly in Schopenhauer and Nietzsche, this movement emerged at the turn of the 20th century. The rapid transformations and upheavals that Europe experienced during this period questioned philosophers and led to a paradigm shift. For Simmel and Bergson, life should no longer be a notion among others but the central concept of philosophical research. Putting life and it's immediate experience back at the center of reflection, these authors shed light on time, society and morality. Just as inspiring as when it was born, the philosophy of life still provides a key to understanding our societies and their challenges.

The entrance, in 2015, of Germaine Tillion to the Pantheon dedicated a remarkable itinerary. After carrying out ethnological research in the Aurès, Germaine Tillion joined the Resistance in 1940; she was arrested, on denunciation, in 1942, was imprisoned and then deported to Ravensbrück where she lived and saw horror for 18 months. After the war, she tirelessly investigated the crimes of Nazism and Stalinism then, in 1954, she was sent to Algeria where she undertook to fight against "homelessness" and where "anxious to save heads before defending causes", it leads fights against capital executions, against torture and for a balanced peace. This audiobook is about this episode of his life. It reveals the profound humanism of the woman who "neither broke with justice for the love of France, nor broke with France for the love of justice" and who "deliberately chose to save all those she could, Algerians and French, of all opinions.”

The IPCC has been a scientific success in demonstrating unprecedented global warming, but a radical political failure to convince civil society and politicians. This interview course brings together Dominique Bourg, the environmental philosopher, Jean Jouzel, the paleoclimatologist and IPCC Vice-Chairman until 2015, and Hervé Le Treut, a climate scientist specializing in digital simulation, to answer the following questions: What is climate in general? What is a climate model? How is it built? How many researchers, how long? What adjustments are made once the model is built? How many models are now in operation worldwide? Since when? How are they used? How can their differences be used to produce solid projections? What assessment can be made of fifty years of climate modelling? What part does the researcher's psychology and ideology play in his or her presentation of the phenomena? What can we say about the denialist attacks and the climate sceptic industrial lobbies? What is already irreversible and what is not? These are all essential and fundamental questions that the philosopher and the two leading IPCC specialists attempt to answer by looking back in history and then forward to the future.

“I am passionate about myths, because in my eyes they are canon stories, whose symbols continue to act on us. And in our mythological traditions, one motif in particular fascinates me, it is the voluntary descent of a hero or heroine into an underground world invisible to mortals, for example the world of the Underworld in the Greek epics, or the Christian hell. It is always an initiation in order to acquire knowledge, power, healing, a quest in search of a soul, or even for personal transformation. And the adventure doesn't end there. Descending into Hell, then ascending to a land populated by fabulous beings, often gives heroes the right to glimpse Paradise. This is the case of Dante when he recounts his spiritual journey in the books of The Divine Comedy. I would like to invite you on such a mythological journey, from Hell to Paradise, by taking an interest in the artists who are inspired by these myths to better inspire our lives. In my novels, I also constantly rewrite them or refer to them. We will then take as guides the work of poets, writers, artists and musicians. These works will be gateways to the Greco-Roman myths that are dear to me, to the Nordic myths that I do not yet know, or to the biblical stories that formed me. From this divine comedy of the 21st century, my divine comedy, I am certain to bring back, with you, a new experience of life.” (Amelie Nothomb)