The return of the native

The return of the native / Thomas Hardy; narrated by Alan Rickman. -- North Kingston: BBC Audiobooks America, 1985.
13 sound discs (15 hr., 45 min.) : digital ; 4 3/4 in.
ISBN: 9781572705708
(Cover to Cover)
This recording was first published in 1985 by Audio Partners, Auburn, California
Unabridged

823.8

1. Country life -- England -- Wessex -- Fiction. 2. Domestic fiction. 3. England -- Social life and customs -- 19th century -- Fiction. 4. Man-woman relationships. 5. Married people -- England -- Wessex -- Fiction. 6. Pastoral fiction. 7. Wessex (England) -- Fiction. 8. Young women -- England -- Wessex -- Fiction.


Egdon Heath is a sparsely settled wilderness in the southwest of England. It’s dominated by the wind, the sky and the feral vegetation of fern and furze. It is, as the author introduces it in the first chapter, “a face on which time has made but little impression.” To its native inhabitants it’s a quiet county refuge from the bustle and commotion of the mid-nineteenth century, but to young Eustacia Vye it’s a wilderness of exile from civilized life from which she has little hope of escape. Damon Wildeve, her former boyfriend and owner of the local inn is about to marry Tamsin Yeobright, a pleasing and innocent girl from a good family, and Eustacia is suffering bitter pangs of envy and jealousy. Damon wasn’t all that much of a catch, but emotional entanglement with him was her only source of relief from the tedium of county life. And then she hears that Tamsin’s cousin is coming for a visit. He’s a clever and promising young man, a diamond trader who lives in Paris – Paris the heart of civilization, culture and beauty. But how will she manage a visit to the home of her rival? Eustacia begins to scheme.

The characters carry their passions, pride and false assumptions about the motives of their fellows with them as they criss-cross the heath, but ultimately human plans are overwhelmed by the geographies of heath, history, and social convention. But in this reading is of the final, 1912, edition of the novel, only one is able to fulfill his desire. Architect turned novelist Hardy constructs a realistic masterpiece of beautiful and brooding tragedy. And for the listener, the combination of Hardy’s prose and Rickman’s voice is a rich and sensual delight.

A history of Ancient Israel from the Patriarchs through the Romans

A history of Ancient Israel from the Patriarchs through the Romans / Eric H. Cline.-- Prince Frederick : Recorded Books, 2006.
7 sound discs (7 hr., 37 min.) : digital ; 4 3/4 in. + Includes: 1 course guide (96 p. : col. ill. ; 22 cm.)
(The Modern scholar)
Compact discs
Course guide includes bibliographical references
ISBN: 1419388711 (set); 141938872X (course guide)
Contents: Lecture 1.; Abraham and the patriarchs --; Lecture 2.; The Exodus and Egypt --; Lecture 3.; The conquest of Canaan: Israelites, Philistines, and Phoenicians --; Lecture 4.; King David in history and tradition --; Lecture 5.; King Solomon in history and tradition --; Lecture 6.; Excursus: the Ark of the Covenant --; Lecture 7.; The kingdom of Israel and the Omride dynasty --; Lecture 8.; The kingdom of Judah until the time of Sennacherib --; Lecture 9.; Neo-Babylonians and the end of the kingdom of Judah --; Lecture 10.; Persians and Greeks in Judea --; Lecture 11.; The coming of the Romans and Christianity --; Lecture 12.; Excursus: Qumran and the Dead Sea scrolls --; Lecture 13.; From the first Jewish revolt and the destruction of Jerusalem to Bar Kochba and the second Jewish rebellion --; Lecture 14.; Excursus: Masada, what really happened?

1. Israel -- History.

933

This is part of the Recorded Books Modern Scholar Series, each set is a series of fourteen lectures by a college or university professor and a study guide that summarizes the material and presents a bibliography of material for further study. There are also online examinations and forums for the subjects. This course is presented by Eric Cline, a professor of Anthropology and Classical and Semitic Languages and Literatures at the George Washington University and the author of several books on ancient battles and civilizations.

It was a surprise for me to learn how little archeological evidence exists for Kings David and Solomon and how much there is for the Omride dynasty in Israel. There are remains of great building projects by Kings Omri and Ahab such as the city of Samaria and only a single stele left that mentions the House of David. It was also interesting to lean how many battles have already taken place before Megiddo (Armageddon) and how many times Jerusalem has been besieged. This was a very informative series of lectures, helpfully illustrated with the accompanying study guide.

Minders of make-believe

Minders of make-believe : idealists, entrepreneurs, and the shaping of American children’s literature / Leonard S. Marcus.-- Boston : Houghton Mifflin, 2008.
xi, 402 p. ; 24 cm.
ISBN: 9780395674079
Contents: Providence and purpose in Colonial America and the young republic -- Wonder in the wake of war : publishing for the children from the gilded age to the dawn of the new century -- Innocence lost and found : the 1920s -- Sisters in crisis and in conflict : the 1930s -- World War and mass market : the 1940s -- Fun and fear : the 1950s -- Shaken and stirred : the 1960s -- Change and more change : the 1970s -- Suits and wizards at the millennium’s gate. Includes bibliographical references (p. 322-369) and index.

1. Children --Books and reading --United States --History. 2. Children’s books --United States --History. 3. Children’s literature --Publishing --United States --History.

070.5083

Marcus has written a very interesting history of publishing English books for children in the United States from the 1690 New England Primer to the midnight release of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in July 2000. The twentieth century, when publishers first appointed knowledgeable women editors to begin and run specialized children’s imprints, gets the most coverage. As the subtitle advertises, the debates in the field supply the story’s plot: should books for children be educational or entertaining, truth or fiction, draw upon folktales or the daily sensations of children in their new modern environment, is our business literature or commerce, and is children’s literature really literature at all? The characters, and there are some characters, are supplied by the publishers, editors, librarians, and educators who wrestle with these issues and the economic necessity of keeping their enterprises afloat.