Author: Andrew Norman
Narrator: John Applemore
Unabridged: 2 hr 18 min
Format: Digital Audiobook
Publisher: Findaway Voices
Published: 11/04/2022
A tradition at Christmas was for the choir of local musicians and singers to assemble at the Hardys’ cottage, prior to setting out into the snow to do the rounds of local farms, homesteads, and manor house, in order to entertain their occupants. Hardy recreated this magical scene in Under the Greenwood Tree, published in 1872.
In the days when labouring classes worked long hours, and for the majority, material comforts were small, Christmas was a time (aside from the formalities of necessary religious observance,) for the exchanging of news, folklore, legend and jokes. For those fortunate enough to be invited to the Hardys’ cottage on Christmas Eve, there was the added bonus of food and drink to feed the body, and music – home-made of course – to lift the spirits and nourish the soul.
Hardy’s descriptions of such Christmases, as were celebrated by himself and his family, together with his colourful portrayals of characters – in particular the members of the ‘Mellstock Quire’ (Choir,) whom he described as his favourites - have delighted generations of his readers, and continue to do so.
This then, is the story of Thomas Hardy and of Christmas; of what that greatest of all Christian festivals meant to him, and of how his beliefs changed as the years progressed.
'Shakey's Madness' is a well-researched, lively, and well rounded argument around the "real" author of 'The First Folio'. Using academic resources including The Folger Shakespeare Library, the author sets out his hypothesis that the real author of t...
In June of 1961, A.E. Hotchner visited an old friend in the psychiatric ward of St. Mary's Hospital. It would be the last time they spoke: a few weeks later, Ernest Hemingway was released home, where he took his own life. Their final conversation wa...
For a world of devoted fans, a much-awaited new volume of absorbing stories and inspirational wisdom from one of our best-loved writers.Dedicated to the daughter she never had but sees all around her, Letter to My Daughter reveals Maya Angelou’...
When Fanny Osbourne summoned from California her famous-he had already published Treasure Island-but penniless fiancE, he could not fail to heed the call. The cheapest route from his Scottish home-his father wasn't funding this adventure-was by catt...
Dante’s vision The Divine Comedy has profoundly affected every generation since it first appeared in the early fourteenth century. Here is a brief account of his life, compiled from various sources (including his first biographer, Boccaccio) b...
A work of great personal courage and a literary tour de force, this bestseller is Styron's true account of his descent into a crippling and almost suicidal depression. Styron is perhaps the first writer to convey the full terror of depression's psyc...
Of all the authors and poets American schoolchildren may be exposed to over the course of their education, Robert Frost is often one of the first, and on rare occasions that he is not, it is still a near certainty that some of his most famous poems...
From the award-winning author of Annie John comes a brilliant look at colonialism and its effects in Antigua. If you go to Antigua as a tourist, this is what you will see. If you come by aeroplane, you will land at the V. C. Bird International Airp...
Naxos AudioBooks launches a new 1 CD introductory series In a Nutshell with Darwin, marking the 200th anniversary of the birth of the English naturalist. Peter Whitfield explains how Darwin came to his revolutionary views following his voyage on the...