The Imaginary Cuckold and School for Husbands
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The Imaginary Cuckold and School for Husbands
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About this listen
Molière wrote some of the most durable and penetrating comedies of all time. The Imaginary Cuckold and The School for Husbands are two of his grand farces of marriage and misunderstanding, one set in Paris and the other in the provinces.
In The School for Husbands, a tyrannical husband-to-be seeks to isolate his ward, while unwittingly carrying her messages of devotion to her lover. In The Imaginary Cuckold, an enraged husband imagines his wife is unfaithful, but is reluctant to defend his honor.
Translated by Richard Wilbur
Directed by Rosalind Ayres
Producing Director Susan Albert Loewenberg
Two L.A. Theatre Works full-cast performances featuring:
The School for Husbands:
Brian Bedford as Sganarelle
Emily Bergl as Isabelle
Dakin Matthews as Ariste
Juliet Mills as Lisette
Christopher Neame as Magistrate
Lloyd Owen as Valére
Alan Shearman as Notary
Rhashan Stone as Ergaste
Olivia Williams as Léonor
The Imaginary Cuckold:
Brian Bedford as Sganarelle
Dakin Matthews as Gorgibus
Christopher Neame as Magistrate/Gros-Rene
Moira Quirk as Celie
Darren Richardson as Lelie
Carolyn Seymour as Celie’s maid
Alan Shearman as Villebriquin/Madame Ralative
Joanne Whalley as Sganarelle’s wife
Includes an interview with actor Brian Bedford.
Recorded at The Invisible Studios, West Hollywood, in February of 2010.
Lead funding for The School for Husbands and The Imaginary Cuckold was made possible with support from the Sidney E. Frank Foundation.
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- Narrated by: Clare Corbett, Full Cast
- Length: 21 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 123
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 113
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Story3.5 out of 5 stars 114
Samuel Richardson's epistolary novel Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded, published in 1740, tells the story of a young woman's resistance to the desires of her predatory master. Pamela is determined to protect her virginity and remain a paragon of virtue; however, the heroine's moral principles only strengthen the resolve of Mr. B and Pamela soon finds herself imprisoned against her will. The young woman's affection for her captor gradually grows and she becomes aware of a love that combines eros and agape.
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5 out of 5 stars
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The one, the only, Pamela!
- By Eve Howard on 09-07-17
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As You Like It
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Lynn Collins, Alexis Jacknow, Jeff Gardner, and others
- Length: 2 hrs and 13 mins
- Original Recording
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 44
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 37
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 36
Love triumphs in As You Like It, Shakespeare's joyous comic adventure! Rosalind, arguably Shakespeare's greatest female character, is banished from court and follows her exiled father into the untamed Forest of Arden. Disguised as a man for safety, Rosalind's great wit and good nature show through her male trappings as she engages with fools and philosophers adrift in the woods, and ultimately falls in love.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Very entertaining
- By Laurie on 05-25-20
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The Lady in the Tower
- By: Jean Plaidy
- Narrated by: Anne Flosnik
- Length: 16 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 121
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 66
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 67
One of history's most complex and alluring women, Anne Boleyn was irresistible to kings and commoners alike. Daughter of an ambitious country lord, Anne was sent to France to marry well and raise the family's fortunes. She soon surpassed even their greatest expectations when King Henry VIII swore he would put aside his loyal queen to make Anne his wife.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Lady in the tower. I loved it.
- By Carole on 03-02-09
By: Jean Plaidy
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Tales from Shakespeare
- By: Charles Lamb, Mary Lamb
- Narrated by: David McCallion
- Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 41
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 28
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 28
Tales from Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb is a retelling of 20 of Shakespeare’s most beloved stories. Within the pages of this book, the 19th-century authors bring to life the Shakespearean plots and characters of another age in an easy-to-understand prose of a newer generation.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A classic
- By Jacque Eddy on 10-07-19
By: Charles Lamb, and others
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Joseph Andrews
- The History of the Adventures of Joseph Andrews and His Friend Mr. Abraham Adams
- By: Henry Fielding
- Narrated by: Rufus Sewell
- Length: 11 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 37
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 35
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Story4 out of 5 stars 34
Riotous, sexy and groundbreaking, Henry Fielding's Joseph Andrews: The History of the Adventures of Joseph Andrews and His Friend Mr. Abraham Adams, published in 1742, was one of the first English novels. Fielding was melding and parodying the two major forces battling for control of the fiction market at the time - the mock heroic, neoclassical tradition as practiced by Pope and Swift and the popular and populist fiction of the new novelists such as Defoe and Richardson.
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4 out of 5 stars
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A perfect reader for Henry Fielding
- By TiffanyD on 07-27-17
By: Henry Fielding
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Joseph Andrews
- By: Henry Fielding
- Narrated by: John Telfer
- Length: 13 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 43
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 41
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Story4 out of 5 stars 41
In one of the first novels in the English language, we follow the picaresque adventures of Joseph Andrews, a virtuous young man who is keen to maintain his innocence despite being coerced by nearly every woman he encounters.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Action and Ideas
- By John on 01-27-20
By: Henry Fielding
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Clarissa, or The History of a Young Lady, Volume 1
- By: Samuel Richardson
- Narrated by: Samuel West, Lucy Scott, Roger May, and others
- Length: 33 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 62
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 52
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 51
A milestone in the history of the novel, Samuel Richardson’s epistolary and elaborate Clarissa follows the life of a chaste young woman desperate to protect her virtue. When beautiful Clarissa Harlowe is forced to marry the rich but repulsive Mr. Solmes, she refuses, much to her family’s chagrin. She escapes their persecution with the help of Mr. Lovelace, a dashing and seductive rake, but soon finds herself in a far worse dilemma. Terrifying and enlightening, Clarissa weaves a tapestry of narrative experimentation into a gripping morality tale of good versus evil.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Gripping Novel & Performance
- By Harold on 07-29-18
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Don Quixote
- By: John Ormsby - translator, Miguel de Cervantes
- Narrated by: Roy McMillan
- Length: 36 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,076
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 918
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 913
The most influential work of the entire Spanish literary canon and a founding work of modern Western literature, Don Quixote is also one of the greatest works ever written. Hugely entertaining but also moving at times, this episodic novel is built on the fantasy life of one Alonso Quixano, who lives with his niece and housekeeper in La Mancha. Quixano, obsessed by tales of knight errantry, renames himself ‘Don Quixote’ and with his faithful servant Sancho Panza, goes on a series of quests.
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4 out of 5 stars
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More than funny
- By Colin on 08-21-11
By: John Ormsby - translator, and others
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Don Quixote (Adapted for Modern Listeners)
- By: Miguel de Cervantes
- Narrated by: Johnny Heller
- Length: 4 hrs and 39 mins
- Abridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 218
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 175
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 175
Quixotic is a word that the dictionary defines as "extravagantly chivalrous or romantic; visionary...." and that is a fitting definition, indeed, for this charming retelling of Don Quixote, the 17t- century Spanish classic by Miguel de Cervantes, now updated for the modern listener. The gallant and fragile Quixote will touch listeners, as will his faithful squire Sancho Panza and the tragically beautiful heroine of the gentle Don’s chivalries, the fair Dulcinea.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great way in
- By pxriver on 07-12-18
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Love Letters of Great Men
- By: John C. Kirkland
- Narrated by: Chris Patton
- Length: 2 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 78
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 65
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 65
When words of love do not come to you on their own, then listen to these letters. Complete, actual love letters of great men like Lord Byron, John Keats, and Voltaire. Leaders like Henry VIII, George Washington, and Napoléon, who wrote to his beloved Joséphine, "I awake consumed with thoughts of you...." Artists like van Gogh, Mozart, and Beethoven, who famously penned, "Though still in bed, my thoughts go out to you, my Immortal Beloved...."
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4 out of 5 stars
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For all us hopeless romantics!
- By Stitch on 04-12-13
By: John C. Kirkland
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Candide (AudioGO Edition)
- By: Voltaire
- Narrated by: Jack Davenport
- Length: 3 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,670
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,482
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,481
When first published in 1759, Candide became an instant best seller and is now regarded as one of the key texts of the Enlightenment. Voltaire’s preoccupations with evil and with various kinds of human folly and intolerance found a perfect vehicle in this philosophical tale. A master storyteller, he combined often wildly entertaining action with profoundly serious sense, parodying the traditional chivalric and oriental tales with which his public was more familiar.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Guaranteed to keep you smiling if not LOL
- By Robert on 08-09-12
By: Voltaire
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Sir Harry Hotspur of Humblethwaite
- By: Anthony Trollope
- Narrated by: Tony Britton
- Length: 7 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 131
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 113
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Story4 out of 5 stars 112
On the death of his son, Sir Harry Hotspur had determined to give his property to his daughter Emily. She is beautiful and as strong-willed and high-principled as her father. Then she falls in love with the black-sheep of the family.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Sometimes a Great Fall
- By Joseph R on 08-29-09
By: Anthony Trollope
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The Lady Elizabeth
- A Novel
- By: Alison Weir
- Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor
- Length: 20 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,283
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,025
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,018
Best-selling author Alison Weir turns her masterly storytelling skills to the early life of young Elizabeth Tudor, who would grow up to become England's most intriguing and powerful queen. Sweeping in scope, The Lady Elizabeth is a fascinating portrayal of a woman far ahead of her time - whose dangerous and dramatic path to the throne shapes her future greatness.
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5 out of 5 stars
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An unbelievably extraordinary tale about a girl!
- By Zhao on 12-31-11
By: Alison Weir
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The Story of My Life, Volume 1
- By: Giacomo Casanova
- Narrated by: Peter Wickham
- Length: 47 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 64
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 61
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Story5 out of 5 stars 61
The Story of My Life is the explosive and exhilarating autobiography by the infamous libertine Giacomo Casanova. Intense and scandalous, Casanova's extraordinary adventures take the listener on an incredible voyage across 18th-century Europe - from France to Russia, Poland to Spain and Turkey to Germany, with Venice at their heart. He falls madly in love, has wild flings and delirious orgies, and encounters some of the most brilliant figures of his time, including Catherine the Great, Louis XV and Benjamin Franklin. He holds a verbal dual with Voltaire and finds himself hauled before the court multiple times.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Extraordinarily interesting
- By Ed Pegg Jr on 10-19-19
By: Giacomo Casanova
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The Canterbury Tales: A Retelling
- By: Peter Ackroyd
- Narrated by: Keith Moore, Toby Leonard Moore, Colin McPhillamy, and others
- Length: 16 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 77
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 67
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 67
Author Peter Ackroyd has won the Somerset Maugham Award, the Whitbread Novel of the Year, and the Guardian Fiction Prize, and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Based on Geoffrey Chaucer’s immortal work, this retelling of The Canterbury Tales follows a party of travelers as they tell stories amongst themselves about love and chivalry, saints and legends, travel and adventure. Through allegory, satire, and humor, the tales help pass the time during their journey.
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5 out of 5 stars
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WOW
- By Mitchell Drimmer on 02-25-15
By: Peter Ackroyd