Friday, September 25, 2009

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Hard Times



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Hard Times


Author : Charles Dickens

Performed By : Frederick Davidson

Publisher : Blackstone Audio Inc

Runtime : 11 hours 30 minutes

Categories : Classic Literature

Our Price : $23.95

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"A bitter indictment of industrialization, with its dehumanizing effects on workers and communities in mid-19th-century England."

--Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of Literature


"The narrator's British accent goes well with Dickens's overly dramatic and lush prose."

--AudioFile


Originally written for Dickens's weekly magazine, Household Words, this short novel follows the fate of Sissy Jupe, a warm-hearted circus child, and the family that adopts her. Deserted by her ailing father, Sissy is taken into the cold household of the Gradgrind family, which operates a school. The "eminently practical" Thomas Gradgrind believes only in facts and figures and has raised his children accordingly, thoroughly suppressing the imaginative sides of their nature. They grow up in ignorance of love and affection, of beauty and culture, or of empathy for others, and the consequences are devastating. Only after numerous crises does Thomas realize that his principles have corrupted their lives.


Dickens's satirical expos of the Industrial Revolution condemns the utilitarianism that exploited the bodies, minds, and souls of the vulnerable labor class.



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Ballet Shoes
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Ballet Shoes

Author : Noel Streatfeild
Performed By : Various
Publisher : BBC Audiobooks Ltd
Runtime : 2 hours 20 minutes
Categories : Classics
Over 10s
Classic Literature
British
Our Price : $18.49
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Rosemary Leach stars in a BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation of Noel Streatfeild's children's classic.

 

These audio editions, especially dramatised for BBC Radio, are of timeless stories that have enchanted generations of readers both young and old. The wonder and excitement of these much-loved tales live on in these acclaimed full-cast dramatisations, complete with evocative music and sound effects.

When Sylvia and her old nurse Nana agree to keep house for Great-Uncle Matthew (or Gum, as Sylvia calls him), they know they will be looking after his fossil collection while he's away on his travels. But imagine their surprise when one day Gum brings them something completely different to look after ~ a baby! And then another.

And another

The three live happily with Sylvia and Nana until one day Sylvia realises that the money Gum left to take care of them has all gone. What are they to live on? Taking in boarders is the first step, but how can she afford to send the children to school? And that's when lodger Theo comes up with her great idea - Pauline, Petrova and Posy are to become pupils at the Children's Academy of Dancing and Stage Training, Now the adventures really begin!

Ballet Shoes is a classic of 20th-century children's literature. The lively humour and sense of fun that have made the novel such a perennial favourite are brought vividly to life in this enchanting BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation.

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