Showing results by narrator "Andrea Giordani" in All Categories

Gaius Marius was pivotal to many of the ways in which we know Rome today. His impact on Rome is noted in Plutarch’s The Life of Marius, from his time served as General to his time served as Statesman. His blessed life began as a child with a legend - that he found a clutch of eagles containing seven chicks, and therefore Jupiter was assuring his seven elections to senate. Though, all the war and political unrest that ensued his six elections followed him only 17 days into his seventh election - when he died of Pleurisy.

In this classic tale, the young Puritan Goodman Brown heads into the woods for a meeting with the devil. His world turns on its head, however, when he sees who else has gathered for the satanic ceremony.

An elderly explorer tells a story to his son on his deathbed about a hidden society of giant women living deep in the Amazon jungle that he had discovered in his youth. His last dying wish is for his son to go back and personally deliver a letter to their queen. When he finally arrives, he is thrust into civil unrest and a possible war brewing between the Amazons the human race. (written in lyrical poetry).

Aylmer has a great career as a scientist and a beautiful new wife, Georgiana. There’s only one problem - Georgiana has a small red birthmark on her cheek. Aylmer grows increasingly disgusted with the birthmark and becomes obsessed with removing the one thing barring his wife from perfection.

One of the many documented lives in Plutarch’s Parallel Lives series, The Life of Coriolanus looks into the controversial life of one of Rome’s most famous generals. When the town of Corioli was under siege, Coriolanus gathered a group of men together to fight for freedom. Always loyal to his town, he advocated during the Roman grain shortage that any grain stocks be divvied out based on loyalty. Because of his harsh views, he was eventually exiled - but he never stopped fighting for what he believed to be right.

After Marathon, the Athenian government needed a new type of leader. That leader was politician and general Themistocles, whose life is well-attributed in Plutarch’s Parallel Lives series. From how he handled the Persian invasion to his time in Athens after the navy, Themistocles was known as the “Glory of the Law”. Though his later life was fraught with whisperings of treason, he went on to be remembered as one of the greatest navy leaders and politicians that Greece had.

The Iliad - attributed to Homer - is the most famous ancient Greek epic poem. It recounts the struggle between King Agamemnon and the hero Achilles during the final months of the Trojan War, with frequent detours into earlier legends and myths. In its portrayal of battle scenes and the constant interventions of the gods, The Iliad explores themes of wrath, glory, and fate, and has provided the subject matter for many later Greek, Roman, and Renaissance writings.

Diogenes Laërtius was a biographer of the Greek philosophers. His work Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers is a principal source for the history of ancient Greek philosophy. Book I includes, among others, Thales, Solon, Chilon of Sparta, Pittacus of Mytilene, and Epimenides.

Bohemia prospered in the 14th century, and the Holy Roman Empire passed to the Habsburgs in 1438. The Empire itself remained fragmented, and the real power lay with the individual principalities. Financial institutions such as the Hanseatic League held great economic and political power.

Rabindranath Tagore was a Bengali writer born in Calcutta, India. Tagore was a Nobel laureate for literature (1913), one of India's greatest poets and the composer of independent India's national anthem. Stray Birds contains 320 poems on nature, man, and his environment. They were written in Bengali before being translated into English by the poet himself. These short poems are often just a fleeting line or two, and similar to the haiku form, but their potent imagery make them stay in the mind.

A Hero of Our Time by Mikhail Lermontov was published in 1840. Set in the Russian Caucasus in the 1830s, the novel relates a series of adventures by the military officer Pechorin during his travels in the Caucasus. He kidnaps the daughter of a Circassian tribesman, becomes entangled with a group of smugglers, and tries to win the affection of a Muscovite princess while having on an affair with his former lover Vera.

In Dialogue on Orators, Tacitus presents a conversation about the art and philosophy of rhetoric. Four characters discuss the merits and pitfalls of oration and poetry, debating one another’s point of view. With this text, Tacitus follows in the tradition and structure of Cicero, the great orator. It marks a distinct change in style from Tacitus’ longform historical works, Germania and Agricola.

Publius Valerius Publicola, the subject of Plutarch’s The Life of Publicola, is one of the most influential Roman figures to be written about in the author’s Parallel Lives series. Originally from Sabine, Publicola made his life in Rome with the intent to support the unification of Rome’s people. However, when the revolution happened, he and four others drove out Lucius Tarquinius Superbus and reformed the state. His political presence only grew, and by the time of his death, he was one of the most beloved Roman politicians in the land.

Charlotte Brontë's classic novel, Jane Eyre, brings to life the ups and downs encountered by the book's namesake, the young Jane Eyre. Orphaned at an early age, Jane is raised by her aunt, Mrs. Reed, who treats her poorly. Fortunately for Jane, she is sent away to the Lowood School, but she soon encounters more maltreatment at the hands of the headmaster. She later moves to the manor known as Thornfield, where she accepts a nanny position, and it is there that she encounters the famed Mr. Rochester, with whom she falls in love.

Learn proven steps and strategies on how you can lose weight and become healthier without having to go on a real diet. This audiobook contains everything you need to get started on the metabolism "diet". You will learn how you can eat delicious meals and about the advantages of packing them with veggies, fruits, nuts, legumes, and more. Learn helpful tips on how you can succeed in adopting this lifestyle with sample meal plans and a metabolism action plan to help you get started right away.

The sad dark tale of a jinn who loved his brother so much that he stood with him against God. A jinn who has walked through the ages of man, Andrid has suffered and loved like no creation ever has. Throughout his eons upon Earth, he learned one simple truth. “To be loved by God is to suffer.”

During the reign of Justinian, the Eastern Roman emperor from 527 to 565, a measure of restoration took place as the empire's greatness was restored for a time. Under Justinian, the Vandal Kingdom in North Africa was conquered, and Sicily, Italy, and Rome returned to the empire. The south of the Iberian peninsula was reclaimed as the province of Hispania.

The Life of Otho tells a story of ambition, betrayal, and power. After Nero’s suicide, Otho expected to assume the role of emperor, but his old ally Galba became Nero’s successor. Rather than give up, Otho murdered Galba and took his place as emperor, though not for long. Suetonius’ account of Otho’s brief rule during the Year of the Four Emperors is an excerpt from his work The Twelve Caesars.

Roman historian Suetonius first introduces Claudius in his biography of Augustus, describing the boy as having various issues with his mental and physical health. Though he grew healthier after becoming emperor, "Life of Claudius" portrays him in a mixed light. While Suetonius tells of how Claudius was the first to invade Britain in a 100 years, he also paints the man as a fool who was easily swayed by others. Though historians today perceive Claudius as a more competent ruler, this dramatic biography held primary sway over public opinion for centuries.

This 1859 novella by George Eliot takes a rather dramatic departure from her usual realistic fiction. Now canonized along with other great works of Victorian horror literature, The Lifted Veil plays with the theme of extrasensory perception. It discusses the power of fate in our everyday lives and even flirts with the possibilities of life after death.