Canterbury Tales

Chaucer’s greatest work, written towards the end of the fourteenth century, paints a brilliant picture of medieval life, society and values. The stories range from the romantic, courtly idealism of The Knight’s Tale to the joyous bawdy of The Miller’s; all are told with a freshness and vigour in this modern verse translation that make them a delight to listen to.

The Canterbury Tales, written near the end of Chaucer’s life and hence towards the close of the fourteenth century, Is perhaps the greatest English literary work of the Middle Ages: yet it speaks to us today with almost undimmed clarity and relevance.

Chaucer imagines a group of twenty-nine pilgrims who meet in the Tabard Inn in Southwark, intent on making the traditional journey to the martyr’s shrine of St Thomas a Becket in Canterbury. Harry Bailly landlord of the Tabard, proposes that the company should entertain themselves on the road with a storytelling competition. The teller of the best tale will be rewarded with a supper at the others’ expense when the travellers return to London. Chaucer never completed this elaborate scheme – each pilgrim was supposed to tell four tales, but in fact we only have twenty-four altogether – yet, with the pieces of linking narrative and the prologues to each tale, the work as a whole constitutes a marvellously varied evocation of the medieval world which also goes beyond its period to penetrate (humorously, gravely tolerantly) human nature itself.

Chaucer, as a member of this company of pilgrims, presents himself with mock innocence as the admiring observer of his fellows, depicted in the General Prologue. Many of these are clearly rogues – the coarse, cheating Miller, the repulsive yet compelling Pardoner – yet in each of them Chaucer finds something human, often a sheer vitality or love of life which is irresistible: the Monk may prefer hunting to prayer, but he is after all a manly man, to be an abbot able. Perhaps only the unassuming, devoted Parson and his humbly labouring brother the Ploughman rise entirely above Chaucer’s teasing irony; certainly the Parson’s fellow clergy and religious officers belong to a Church riddled with gross corruption. Everyone, it seems, is on the make, in a world still recovering from the ravages of the Black Death.

Shakespeare: Antony and Cleopatra.
Dramatisation of Shakespeare’s tradegy. Frances Barber and David Harewood star in Shakespeare’s towering tale of great love, political intrigue and tragedy.

BBC radio has a unique heritage when it comes to Shakespeare. Since 1923, when the newly formed company broadcast its first full-length play, generations of actors and producers have honed and perfected the craft of making Shakespeare to be heard.

Antony & Cleopatra is an intense love story, exploring the constant conflict between duty and emotion with characters so charismatic they continue to fascinate after 2,000 years. Shakespeare achieved some of his most beautiful poetry in this play, and the richness of the language makes it perfect for audio.

The play is introduced by Richard Eyre, former Director of the Royal National Theatre, with specially composed music.

Revitalised, original and comprehensive, this is Shakespeare for the new millennium.

Many of the High School Summer Reading List English books are also available in audio books format. The Yellow Wallpaper is an example, and here is a short video you can watch:
Watch a short video about the yellow wallpaper.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman gained much of her fame with lectures on women’s issues, ethics, labor, human rights, and social reform.

She often referred to these themes in her fiction.

She is best remembered for her 1892 short story “The Yellow Wallpaper,” based on her own bout with severe depression and misguided medical treatment.

Hopefully the end of days are not upon us Apocalypse

We all like the idea of living off a large amount of money that we may have inherited, or made in a lucky deal, or won in the lottery, or got from a lawsuit. Well, not all of us have that luxury, so we have to work for hours on end just to make ends meet. There are plenty of bogus get rich quick schemes out there but is there any truth to them?
Well, Tim Ferris has other ideas. He believes that by employing outsourcers, and reducing our time at work, you can survive. His best seller the 4 hour work week is now on audio book.

A number of interesting articles about home schooling and education.