James Gardner has 12 audiobooks on Listento.it, narrated by 3 narrators, with an average listener rating of 4★ across 2 ratings. The most-rated is The Louvre.
10 Mythological Heroes & Stories
Summary
Ten mythological heroes and stories from Greek mythology, for a delightful overview of the fundamentals of our culture. This is a selection of the most touching and inspiring stories from Ancient Greece; they have all inspired countless works of art through the centuries, often come from even more ancient myths, and are here retold in a detailed and lively manner. This selection contains: "The Myth of Apollo and Daphne" about the revenge of the cruel god Eros on Apollo; "Atalanta", the story of the swiftest runner who ever was; "Echo and Narcissus", about a nymph who angered a god; "Endymion", a shepherd whose beauty made the goddess Diana fall in love; "Icarus", this ageless story of failure at the hands of pride; "King Midas", the famous cautionary tale; "Orpheus and Eurydice", the ultimate tragic love story and one of the most famous Greek myths; "Phaeton", a similar story to that of Icarus about the pride of wanting to be like a god; "Pygmalion", a sculptor so skilled he fell in love with one of his creations; "The Death of Adonis", one of Greece's most touching stories, in which a goddess hopelessly falls in love with a man whose sole passion is hunting.
©2018 Compagnie du Savoir (P)2018 Compagnie du Savoir
The Louvre
Summary
The fascinating and little-known story of the Louvre, from its inception as a humble fortress to its transformation into the palatial residence of the kings of France and then into the world's greatest art museum More than 7,000 years ago, men and women camped on a spot called le Louvre for reasons unknown; a clay quarry and a vineyard supported a society there in the first centuries AD. A thousand years later, King Philippe Auguste of France constructed a fortress there in 1191, just outside the walls of a city far smaller than the Paris we know today. Intended to protect the capital against English soldiers stationed in Normandy, the fortress became a royal residence under Charles V two centuries later, and then the monarchy's principal residence under the great Renaissance king François I in 1546. It remained so until 1682, when Louis XIV moved his entire court to Versailles. Thereafter the fortunes of the Louvre languished until the tumultuous days of the French Revolution when, during the Reign of Terror in 1793, it first opened its doors to display the nation's treasures. Ever since - through the Napoleonic era, the Commune, two World Wars, to the present - the Louvre has been a witness to French history, and expanded to become home to a legendary collection, including such masterpieces as the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo.
©2020 James Gardner (P)2020 Tantor
Orpheus
Summary
The story of Orpheus and Eurydice is the ultimate tragic love story. It is perhaps one of the most famous Greek myths, and the greatest artists have composed masterpieces to honour these two great lovers who lost their chance at reunion. The earliest account comes from Ibycus (circa 530 BC), a Greek lyric poet. This short story is a mixture of the various existing versions, presenting the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice in all its details, all the way to Orpheus' death at the hands of the Bacchantes.
©2018 Compagnie du Savoir (P)2018 Compagnie du Savoir
12 Labours of Hercules
Summary
"The Twelve Labours of Hercules" are a series of feats ordered by the gods carried out by Heracles, the greatest of the Greek heroes, whose name was later romanised as Hercules. The legend was first written whole, as a fixed cycle of twelve labours, in an epic Greek poem now lost, in about 600BC; as they survive in the original source, the labours are not all recounted in a single place, but must be reassembled from many sources. This short story is a retelling of Hercules' legend with an elegant style that will edify children and adults alike: why Hercules came to be ordered these twelve tasks by the gods and the treachery surrounding them, what seemingly impossible trials he had to go through and the clever solutions he found each time.
©2018 Compagnie du Savoir (P)2018 Compagnie du Savoir
Icarus
Summary
The myth of Icarus is an ageless story of failure at the hands of pride, similar to that of Phaeton. It is a fundamental part of Greek mythology and of modern culture. This short story is a retelling of the myth from 1914, a year in which it was easy to fear for a son who would soar in the sky with metal wings; the story of Icarus and Daedalus is told in great detail and with an elegant style that will edify children and adults alike.
©2018 Compagnie du Savoir (P)2018 Compagnie du Savoir
The Death Of Adonis
Summary
"The Death of Adonis" is a fundamental part of Greek mythology and one of its most touching stories. Accidentally wounded by one of Eros' arrows, the goddess Aphrodite falls desperately in love with the handsome Adonis, son of a king and a beauty among mortals. Yet his only passion is hunting and he refuses to take her warnings seriously when he hears about a great boar he would love to slay. There is something of the idea of coming of age in this tale, when the moment of realisation brings forth the understanding of what could have been and where the real beauty lays. This short story is a retelling of the ancient myth, in great detail and with an elegant style that will edify children and adults alike.
©2018 Compagnie du Savoir (P)2018 Compagnie du Savoir
King Midas
Summary
The myth of King Midas is a cautionary tale about the dangers of believing that gold should be coveted above all things, and the foolishness of wishing without thinking. It appeared in Ovid's "Metamorphosis", and has inspired many works of art and literature through the centuries. This is a retelling of the complete tale of "The King with the Golden Touch", from the Gordian knot to the ears of an ass, in great detail and with an elegant style that will edify children and adults alike.
©2018 Compagnie du Savoir (P)2018 Compagnie du Savoir
Charlemagne, Charles the Great, King of the Franks
Summary
Charlemagne's wars in Italy, Spain and Saxony formed part of the common epic material, and there are references to his wars against the Slavs; but especially he remained in the popular mind as the great champion of Christianity against the creed of Mahomet, and even his Norman and Saxon enemies became Saracens in current legend. He is the Christian emperor directly inspired by angels; his sword Joyeuse contained the point of the lance used in the Passion; his standard was Romaine, the banner of St Peter, which, as the oriflamme of Saint Denis, was later to be borne in battle before the kings of France; and in 1164 Charles was canonized at the request of the emperor Frederick I. Barbarossa by the anti-pope Pascal III. Discover the epic story of this legendary ruler in a clear and practical format.
©2018 Compagnie du Savoir (P)2018 Compagnie du Savoir
Phaeton
Summary
Phaeton is the son of Apollo and a mortal woman, and his heart's desire is to be seen but once driving his father's chariot, the one used by the god to make the sun travel in the sky. This myth is an ageless story of failure at the hands of pride, similar to that of Icarus. It is a fundamental part of Greek mythology and of modern culture. This short story is a retelling of the myth in great detail and with an elegant style that will edify children and adults alike.
©2018 Compagnie du Savoir (P)2018 Compagnie du Savoir
Echo and Narcissus
Summary
The myth of Echo and Narcissus appears in Ovid's "Metamorphosis", a Latin mythological epic from the Augustan Age. It is one of the most touching stories ever written and has inspired countless works of art through the centuries. The nymph Echo angers Hera, queen of the gods, who curses her: henceforth, Echo will only be able to repeat the last words that struck her ears. One day, the beautiful Narcissus, son of a nymph and a river god, passes through the forest...
©2018 Compagnie du Savoir (P)2018 Compagnie du Savoir
The ultimate ASMR meditation and relaxation techniques
Summary
Bring together the inner happiness brought by meditation and the external pleasure of ASMR (Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response). We specify that the interpretation of this title is intentionally whispered, to correspond to the principles of the ASMR. This album of meditation and relaxation techniques is read by Katie Haigh in a soft whisper that will ensure to trigger the frisson of ASMR and its healing properties, so that you feel perfectly relaxed, brain-thrillingly good, and finally let go of stress and anxieties. ASMR and meditation have both been linked to decrease in anxiety, sleeping disorders and panic attacks; the six meditation techniques presented in this bundle will teach you to de-stress the mind and body while experimenting the tingling, "braingasmic" sensation of ASMR. Let yourself be guided by her soft, feminine whisper through meditation techniques for beginners, a calming color relaxation visualization, a guided sleep relaxation, a special visualization where you achieve total relaxation by floating on a cloud, and a sleep countdown relaxation technique for long-lasting enhancing effects on your sleep.
©2019 Compagnie du Savoir (P)2019 Compagnie du Savoir
Hamlet
Summary
"The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark" is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. Hamlet is Shakespeare's longest play and among the most powerful and influential tragedies in English literature, with a story capable of "seemingly endless retelling and adaptation by others." The play seems to have been one of Shakespeare's most popular works during his lifetime and still ranks among his most-performed. It has inspired writers from Goethe and Dickens to Joyce and Murdoch, and has been described as "the world's most-filmed story after Cinderella". The protagonist of "Hamlet" is Prince Hamlet of Denmark, son of the recently deceased King Hamlet, and nephew of King Claudius, his father's brother and successor. The play opens on a cold night on the ramparts of Elsinore, the Danish royal castle. The sentries Bernardo and Marcellus and Hamlet's friend Horatio encounter a ghost that looks like the late King Hamlet. They vow to tell Prince Hamlet what they have witnessed... This is a detailed summary of the play, retold in today's language.
©2018 Compagnie du Savoir (P)2018 Compagnie du Savoir