Readings
A selection of readings. Those marked with an asterisk were recorded more or less in studio conditions; the rest were recorded live.
- * The Cemetery by the Sea MP3 (9m9s, 4.4Mb)
- Charles Davy’s "rendering" of Paul Valéry’s Le cimitière marin from his book Words in the Mind.
- The Quest of Iranon MP3 (35m42s, 15Mb)
- A short story by H. P. Lovecraft from 1921, as fantastical as ever, but unusually without horror.
- * Éowyn and the Nazgûl Lord MP3 (4m45s, 4.56Mb)
- A reading from Lord of the Rings, given as part of a recital. Some of the songs are also available.
- * The Infanta’s Birthday MP3 (1h25m, 25.6Mb)
- From Oscar Wilde’s bittersweet fairy tale collection, The Happy Prince and Other Tales.
- * Leaf by Niggle MP3 (48m45s, 46.8Mb)
- J. R. R. Tolkien’s strangest faery story.
- * Smith of Wootton Major MP3 (1h2m, 63.3Mb)
- A faery story by J. R. R. Tolkien about cake.
- The Night the Ghost Got In MP3 (11m56s, 12.1Mb)
- By James Thurber, from My Life and Hard Times.
- The Small Miracle MP3 (35m7s, 36.5Mb)
- Paul Gallico’s charming tale of post-war Assisi.
- The Inopportune Behaviour of the Covetous Li-Loe MP3 (18m55s, 19.3Mb)
- By Ernest Bramah, from Kai Lung's Golden Hours.
The Club of Queer Trades
Stories from G. K. Chesterton’s six mystery stories featuring his lesser-known detective, Basil Grant, The Club of Queer Trades.
- 1 The Tremendous Adventures of Major Brown MP3 (57m31s, 55.2Mb)
- 3 The Awful Reason of the Vicar’s Visit MP3 (39m53s, 58.4Mb)
Wind, Sand and Stars
Extracts from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s memoir of his time as a commercial pilot in the 1920s, Wind, Sand and Stars (Terre des Hommes).
- * Spanish geography for pilots MP3 (3m13s, 3.86Mb)
- The author’s introduction to Spain at the hands of an experienced colleague.
- * Sahara MP3 (12m4s, 11.6Mb)
- Spending a night in the Sahara.
- The Tool MP3 (13m56s, 14.3Mb)
- About the aeroplane.
- Mermoz MP3 (16m26s, 17.2Mb)
- Tales of the great pilot Mermoz.
A Universal History of Infamy
Jorge Luis Borges’s early collection of histories of the infamous, and some shorter but characteristic writings.
Hilaire Belloc
Some of Belloc’s less-well-known poetry and epigrams. The three sonnets are all based on Shakespeare’s famous observation that “all the world’s a stage”.
- Sonnet XXIX MP3 (51s, 935kb)
- Sonnet XXX MP3 (51s, 974kb)
- Sonnet XXXI MP3 (49s, 908kb)
- Epigrams on sundials MP3 (1m46s, 1.92Mb)
Ford Madox Ford
Some Memories and Impressions.