Audiobooks narrated by Arielle Lipshaw

Much Ado About Nothing (Unabridged) Audiobook

'Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare - is a comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599. The play was included in the First Folio, published in 1623. Synopsis In Messina, a messenger brings news that Don Pedro will return that night from a successful battle, along with Claudio and Benedick. Beatrice asks the messenger about Benedick and mocks Benedick's ineptitude as a soldier. Leonato explains, 'There is a kind of merry war betwixt Signor Benedick and her.' On the soldiers' arrival, Don Pedro tells Leonato that they will stay a month at least, and Benedick and Beatrice resume their 'merry war'. Pedro's illegitimate brother, Don John, is also introduced. Claudio's feelings for Hero are rekindled, and he informs Benedick of his intention to court her. Benedick, who openly despises marriage, tries to dissuade him. Don Pedro encourages the marriage. Benedick swears that he will never marry. Don Pedro laughs at him and tells him he will when he finds the right person. A masquerade ball is planned. Therein a disguised Don Pedro woos Hero on Claudio's behalf. Don John uses this situation to sow chaos by telling Claudio that Don Pedro is wooing Hero for himself. Claudio rails against the entrapments of beauty. But the misunderstanding is later resolved, and Claudio is promised Hero's hand in marriage. Meanwhile, Benedick and Beatrice have danced together, trading disparaging remarks under the cover of their masks. Benedick is stung at hearing himself described as 'the prince's jester, a very dull fool', and yearns to be spared the company of 'Lady Tongue'. Don Pedro and his men, bored at the prospect of waiting a week for the wedding, concoct a plan to match-make between Benedick and Beatrice. They arrange for Benedick to overhear a conversation in which they declare that Beatrice is madly in love with him but too afraid to tell him. Hero and Ursula likewise ensure that Beatrice overhears a conversation in which they discuss Benedick's undying love for her. Both Benedick and Beatrice are delighted to think that they are the object of unrequited love, and both resolve to mend their faults and declare their love. Meanwhile, Don John plots to stop the wedding, embarrass his brother, and wreak misery on Leonato and Claudio. He tells Don Pedro and Claudio that Hero is 'disloyal', and arranges for them to see his associate, Borachio, enter her bedchamber and engage amorously with her (it is actually Hero's chambermaid). Claudio and Don Pedro are duped, and Claudio vows to humiliate Hero publicly.'

William Shakespeare (Author), Arielle Lipshaw, Christie Nowak, David O'connell, Elizabeth Klett, James Pritchard, Karen Savage, Kristin Hughes, Lamarr Gulley, Lizzie Driver, Rosalind Wills, Stephen C, Troy Bond (Narrator)

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The Merchant of Venice (Unabridged)

The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare - is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan provided by a Jewish moneylender, Shylock. Although classified as a comedy in the First Folio and sharing certain aspects with Shakespeare's other romantic comedies, the play is most remembered for its dramatic scenes, and it is best known for the character Shylock and his famous demand for a 'pound of flesh' in retribution. The play contains two famous speeches, that of Shylock, 'Hath not a Jew eyes?' on the subject of humanity, and that of Portia on 'the quality of mercy'. Debate exists on whether the play is anti-Semitic, with Shylock's insistence on his legal right to the pound of flesh being in opposition to Shylock's seemingly universal plea for the rights of all people suffering discrimination. Plot summary Bassanio, a young Venetian of noble rank, wishes to woo the beautiful and wealthy heiress Portia of Belmont. Having squandered his estate, he needs 3,000 ducats to subsidise his expenditures as a suitor. Bassanio approaches his friend Antonio, a wealthy merchant of Venice, who has previously and repeatedly bailed him out. Antonio agrees, but since he is cash-poor - his ships and merchandise are busy at sea to Tripolis, the Indies, Mexico and England - he promises to cover a bond if Bassanio can find a lender, so Bassanio turns to the Jewish moneylender Shylock and names Antonio as the loan's guarantor. Antonio has already antagonized Shylock through his outspoken antisemitism and because Antonio's habit of lending money without interest forces Shylock to charge lower rates. Shylock is at first reluctant to grant the loan, citing abuse he has suffered at Antonio's hand. He finally agrees to lend the sum to Bassanio without interest upon one condition: if Antonio were unable to repay it at the specified date, Shylock may take a pound of Antonio's flesh. Bassanio does not want Antonio to accept such a risky condition; Antonio is surprised by what he sees as the moneylender's generosity (no 'usance' - interest - is asked for), and he signs the contract. With money in hand, Bassanio leaves for Belmont with his friend Gratiano, who has asked to accompany him. Gratiano is a likeable young man, but he is often flippant, overly talkative, and tactless. Bassanio warns his companion to exercise self-control, and the two leave for Belmont. Meanwhile, in Belmont, Portia is awash with suitors. Her father left a will stipulating that each of her suitors must choose correctly from one of three caskets, made of gold, silver and lead respectively. Whoever picks the right casket wins Portia's hand. The first suitor, the Prince of Morocco, chooses the gold casket, interpreting its slogan, 'Who chooseth me shall gain what many men desire', as referring to Portia.

William Shakespeare (Author), Aaron Elliott, Arielle Lipshaw, David Lawrence, David Leeson, David Nicol, David O'connell, Elizabeth Klett, Filippo Gioachin, Laurie Anne Walden, Mark F. Smith, Megan Kunkel, Rosalind Wills (Narrator)

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The Comedy of Errors (Unabridged)

The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare - is one of William Shakespeare's early plays. It is his shortest and one of his most farcical comedies, with a major part of the humour coming from slapstick and mistaken identity, in addition to puns and word play. It has been adapted for opera, stage, screen and musical theatre numerous times worldwide. In the centuries following its premiere, the play's title has entered the popular English lexicon as an idiom for 'an event or series of events made ridiculous by the number of errors that were made throughout'. Synopsis Because a law forbids merchants from Syracuse from entering Ephesus, elderly Syracusian trader Egeon faces execution when he is discovered in the city. He can only escape by paying a fine of a thousand marks. He tells his sad story to Solinus, Duke of Ephesus. In his youth, Egeon married and had twin sons. On the same day, a poor woman without a job also gave birth to twin boys, and he purchased these as servants to his sons. Soon afterward, the family made a sea voyage and was hit by a tempest. Egeon lashed himself to the main-mast with one son and one servant, and his wife took the other two infants. His wife was rescued by one boat, Egeon by another. Egeon never again saw his wife or the children with her. Recently his son Antipholus, now grown, and his son's servant, Dromio, left Syracuse to find their brothers. When Antipholus did not return, Egeon set out in search of him. The Duke is moved by this story and grants Egeon one day to pay his fine. That same day, Antipholus arrives in Ephesus, searching for his brother. He sends Dromio to deposit some money at The Centaur, an inn. He is confounded when the identical Dromio of Ephesus appears almost immediately, denying any knowledge of the money and asking him home to dinner, where his wife is waiting. Antipholus, thinking his servant is making insubordinate jokes, beats Dromio of Ephesus. Dromio of Ephesus returns to his mistress, Adriana, saying that her 'husband' refused to come back to his house, and even pretended not to know her. Adriana, concerned that her husband's eye is straying, takes this news as confirmation of her suspicions. Antipholus of Syracuse, who complains 'I could not speak with Dromio since at first, I sent him from the mart,' meets up with Dromio of Syracuse who now denies making a 'joke' about Antipholus having a wife. Antipholus begins beating him. Suddenly, Adriana rushes up to Antipholus of Syracuse and begs him not to leave her. The Syracusans cannot but attribute these strange events to witchcraft, remarking that Ephesus is known as a warren for witches. Antipholus and Dromio go off with this strange woman, the one to eat dinner and the other to keep the gate.

William Shakespeare (Author), Abby Pugh, Arielle Lipshaw, David Lawrence, Diana Majlinger, Elizabeth Klett, Jason Bortles, John Fricker, Lucy Perry, Maria Therese, Martin Geeson, Mary Dalton, Tim Ferreira (Narrator)

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The Alchemist (Unabridged)

The Alchemist by Ben Jonson - is a comedy by English playwright Ben Jonson. First performed in 1610 by the King's Men, it is generally considered Jonson's best and most characteristic comedy; Samuel Taylor Coleridge believed that it had one of the three most perfect plots in literature. The play's clever fulfilment of the classical unities and vivid depiction of human folly have made it one of the few Renaissance plays (except the works of Shakespeare) with a continuing life on stage, apart from a period of neglect during the Victorian era Synopsis An outbreak of plague in London forces a gentleman, Lovewit, to flee temporarily to the country. He leaves his house under the sole charge of his butler, Jeremy. Jeremy uses the opportunity given to him to use the house as the headquarters for fraudulent acts. He transforms himself into 'Captain Face,' and enlists the aid of Subtle, a fellow conman, and Dol Common, a prostitute. The play opens with a violent argument between Subtle and Face concerning the division of the riches which they have, and will continue to gather. Face threatens to have an engraving made of Subtle with a face worse than that of the notorious highwayman Gamaliel Ratsey. Dol breaks the pair apart and reasons with them that they must work as a team if they are to succeed. Their first customer is Dapper, a lawyer's clerk who wishes Subtle to use his supposed necromantic skills to summon a 'familiar' or spirit to help in his gambling ambitions. The tripartite suggest that Dapper may win favour with the 'Queen of Fairy,' but he must subject himself to humiliating rituals in order for her to help him. Their second gull is Drugger, a tobacconist, who is keen to establish a profitable business. After this, a wealthy nobleman, Sir Epicure Mammon, arrives, expressing the desire to gain himself the philosopher's stone, which he believes will bring him huge material and spiritual wealth. He is accompanied by Surly, a sceptic and debunker of the whole idea of alchemy. He is promised the philosopher's stone and promised that it will turn all base metal into gold. Surly however, suspects Subtle of being a thief. Mammon accidentally sees Dol and is told that she is a Lord's sister who is suffering from madness. Subtle contrives to become angry with Ananias, an Anabaptist, and demands that he should return with a more senior member of his sect (Tribulation). Drugger returns and is given false and ludicrous advice about setting up his shop; he also brings news that a rich young widow (Dame Pliant) and her brother (Kastril) have arrived in London. Both Subtle and Face in their greed and ambition seek out to win the widow. The Anabaptists return and agree to pay for goods to be transmuted into gold. These are in fact Mammon's goods. Dapper returns and is promised that he shall meet with the Queen of Fairy soon. Drugger brings Kastril who, on being told that Subtle is a skilled match-maker, rushes to fetch his sister. Drugger is given to understand that the appropriate payment might secure his marriage to the widow. Dapper is blindfolded and subjected to 'fairy' humiliations; but on the reappearance of Mammon, he is gagged and hastily thrust into the privy.

Ben Jonson (Author), Abby Pugh, Alan Mapstone, Arielle Lipshaw, Elizabeth Klett, Kevin Johnson, Nathanial Higgins, Teddy Hodge, Thomas Leigh Moore, Tricia G (Narrator)

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A Midsummer Night's Dream (Unabridged)

A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare - is a comedy written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict among four Athenian lovers. Another follows a group of six amateur actors rehearsing the play which they are to perform before the wedding. Both groups find themselves in a forest inhabited by fairies who manipulate the humans and are engaged in their own domestic intrigue. The play is one of Shakespeare's most popular and is widely performed. Plot The play consists of five interconnecting plots, connected by a celebration of the wedding of Duke Theseus of Athens and the Amazon queen, Hippolyta, which are set simultaneously in the woodland and in the realm of Fairyland, under the light of the moon. The play opens with Theseus and Hippolyta who are four days away from their wedding. Theseus is not happy about how long he has to wait while Hippolyta thinks it will pass by like a dream. Theseus is confronted by Egeus and his daughter Hermia, who is in love with Lysander, resistant to her father's demand that she marry Demetrius, whom he has arranged for her to marry. Enraged, Egeus invokes an ancient Athenian law before Duke Theseus, whereby a daughter needs to marry a suitor chosen by her father, or else face death. Theseus offers her another choice: lifelong chastity as a nun worshipping the goddess Diana, but the two lovers both deny his choice and make a secret plan to escape into the forest for Lysander's aunt's house, in order to run away from Theseus. Hermia tells their plans to Helena, her best friend, who pines unrequitedly for Demetrius, who broke up with her to be with Hermia. Desperate to reclaim Demetrius's love, Helena tells Demetrius about the plan and he follows them in hopes of finding Hermia. The mechanicals, Peter Quince and fellow players Nick Bottom, Francis Flute, Robin Starveling, Tom Snout and Snug plan to put on a play for the wedding of the Duke and the Queen, 'the most lamentable comedy and most cruel death of Pyramus and Thisbe'. Quince reads the names of characters and bestows them on the players. Nick Bottom, who is playing the main role of Pyramus, is over-enthusiastic and wants to dominate others by suggesting himself for the characters of Thisbe, the Lion, and Pyramus at the same time. Quince insists that Bottom can only play the role of Pyramus. Bottom would also rather be a tyrant and recites some lines of Ercles. Bottom is told by Quince that he would do the Lion so terribly as to frighten the duchess and ladies enough for the Duke and Lords to have the players hanged. Snug remarks that he needs the Lion's part because he is 'slow of study'. Quince assures Snug that the role of the lion is 'nothing but roaring.' Quince then ends the meeting telling his actors 'at the Duke's oak we meet'.

William Shakespeare (Author), Abby Pugh, Amy Gramour, Arielle Lipshaw, Bear Schacht, Bruce Pirie, Dan Raynham, Elizabeth Barr, Elizabeth Klett, Jeff Schwab (Narrator)

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As You Like It (Unabridged)

As You Like It by William Shakespeare - is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has been suggested as a possibility. Synopsis The play is set in a duchy in France, but most of the action takes place in a location called the Forest of Arden. This may be intended as the Ardennes, a forested region covering an area located in southeast Belgium, western Luxembourg and northeastern France, or Arden, Warwickshire, near Shakespeare's home town, which was the ancestral origin of his mother's family-whose surname was Arden. Frederick has usurped the duchy and exiled his older brother, Duke Senior. Duke Senior's daughter, Rosalind, has been permitted to remain at court because she is the closest friend of Frederick's only child, Celia. Orlando, a young gentleman of the kingdom who at first sight has fallen in love with Rosalind, is forced to flee his home after being persecuted by his older brother, Oliver. Frederick becomes angry and banishes Rosalind from court. Celia and Rosalind decide to flee together accompanied by the court fool, Touchstone, with Rosalind disguised as a young man and Celia disguised as a poor lady. Rosalind, now disguised as Ganymede ('Jove's own page'), and Celia, now disguised as Aliena (Latin for 'stranger'), arrive in the Arcadian Forest of Arden, where the exiled Duke now lives with some supporters, including 'the melancholy Jaques', a malcontent figure, who is introduced weeping over the slaughter of a deer. 'Ganymede' and 'Aliena' do not immediately encounter the Duke and his companions. Instead, they meet Corin, an impoverished tenant, and offer to buy his master's crude cottage. Orlando and his servant Adam, meanwhile, find the Duke and his men and are soon living with them and posting simplistic love poems for Rosalind on the trees. It has been said that the role of Adam was played by Shakespeare, though this story is also said to be without foundation. Rosalind, also in love with Orlando, meets him as Ganymede and pretends to counsel him to cure him of being in love. Ganymede says that 'he' will take Rosalind's place and that 'he' and Orlando can act out their relationship.

William Shakespeare (Author), Abby Pugh, Alan Mapstone, Amy L. Gramour, Arielle Lipshaw, Charlotte Duckett, David Lawrence, Eden Rea-Hedrick, Elizabeth Klett, Grace Garrett, Katalina Watt, Ken Garrett, Kevin Green (Narrator)

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The Tempest (Unabridged)

The Tempest by William Shakespeare Audiobook is a play by English playwright William Shakespeare, probably written in 1610-1611, and thought to be one of the last plays that Shakespeare wrote alone. After the first scene, which takes place on a ship at sea during a tempest, the rest of the story is set on a remote island, where the sorcerer Prospero, a complex and contradictory character, lives with his daughter Miranda, and his two servants: Caliban, a savage monster figure, and Ariel, an airy spirit. The play contains music and songs that evoke the spirit of enchantment on the island. It explores many themes, including magic, betrayal, revenge, and family. In Act IV, a wedding masque serves as a play-within-a-play, and contributes spectacle, allegory, and elevated language. Although The Tempest is listed in the First Folio as the first of Shakespeare's comedies, it deals with both tragic and comic themes, and modern criticism has created a category of romance for this and others of Shakespeare's late plays. The Tempest has been put to varied interpretations, from those that see it as a fable of art and creation, with Prospero representing Shakespeare, and Prospero's renunciation of magic signaling Shakespeare's farewell to the stage, to interpretations that consider it an allegory of Europeans colonizing foreign lands.

William Shakespeare (Author), Abigail Bartels, Annoying Twit, Arielle Lipshaw, Bruce Pirie, Elizabeth Klett, Great Plains, Jason Mills, Lucy Perry, Miriam Esther Goldman, Nathan Markham, Ryan Dressler (Narrator)

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Antigone (Unabridged)

Antigone by Sophocles Audiobook is an Athenian tragedy written by Sophocles in (or before) 441 BC and first performed at the Festival of Dionysus of the same year. It is thought to be the second oldest surviving play of Sophocles, preceded by Ajax, which was written around the same period. The play is one of a triad of tragedies known as the three Theban plays, following Oedipus Rex and Oedipus at Colonus. Even though the events in Antigone occur last in the order of events depicted in the plays, Sophocles wrote Antigone first. The story expands on the Theban legend that predates it, and it picks up where Aeschylus' Seven Against Thebes ends. The play is named after the main protagonist Antigone. Synopsis: Prior to the beginning of the play, the brothers Eteocles and Polynices, leading opposite sides in Thebes' civil war, died fighting each other for the throne. Creon, the new ruler of Thebes and brother of the former Queen Jocasta, has decided that Eteocles will be honored and Polynices will be in public shame. The rebel brother's body will not be sanctified by holy rites and will lie unburied on the battlefield, prey for carrion animals,[a] the harshest punishment at the time. Antigone and Ismene are the sisters of the dead Polynices and Eteocles. In the opening of the play, Antigone brings Ismene outside the palace gates late at night for a secret meeting: Antigone wants to bury Polynices' body, in defiance of Creon's edict. Ismene refuses to help her, not believing that it will actually be possible to bury their brother, who is under guard, but she is unable to stop Antigone from going to bury her brother herself.

Sophocles (Author), Algy Pug, Arielle Lipshaw, Bruce Pirie, David Goldfarb, David Lawrence, Elizabeth Klett, Lars Rolander, Lucy Perry, Martin Geeson (Narrator)

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Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Unabridged)

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll - is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. A young girl named Alice falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatures. It is seen as an example of the literary nonsense genre. One of the best-known works of Victorian literature, its narrative, structure, characters and imagery have had huge influence on popular culture and literature, especially in the fantasy genre. The book has never been out of print and has been translated into 174 languages. Its legacy covers adaptations for screen, radio, art, ballet, opera, musicals, theme parks, board games and video games. Carroll published a sequel in 1871 entitled Through the Looking-Glass and a shortened version for young children, The Nursery 'Alice', in 1890. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was inspired when, on 4 July 1862, Lewis Carroll and Reverend Robinson Duckworth rowed up The Isis in a boat with three young girls. The three girls were the daughters of scholar Henry Liddell: Lorina Charlotte Liddell (aged 13; 'Prima' in the book's prefatory verse); Alice Pleasance Liddell (aged 10; 'Secunda' in the verse); and Edith Mary Liddell (aged 8; 'Tertia' in the verse). The journey began at Folly Bridge, Oxford, and ended 5 miles (8.0 km) away in Godstow, Oxfordshire. During the trip Carroll told the girls a story that he described in his diary as 'Alice's Adventures Under Ground' and which his journal says he 'undertook to write out for Alice'.

Lewis Carroll (Author), Algy Pug, Arielle Lipshaw, David Goldfarb, Elizabeth Klett, Heather Phillips, Kara Shallenberg, Lucy Perry, Miss Avarice, Ruth Golding, Terence Taylor (Narrator)

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The Cherry Orchard

The Cherry Orchard is Russian playwright Anton Chekhov's last play. It premiered at the Moscow Art Theatre 17 January 1904 in a production directed by Constantin Stanislavski. Chekhov intended this play as a comedy and it does contain some elements of farce; however, Stanislavski insisted on directing the play as a tragedy. Since this initial production, directors have had to contend with the dual nature of this play. The play concerns an aristocratic Russian woman and her family as they return to the family's estate (which includes a large and well-known cherry orchard) just before it is auctioned to pay the mortgage. The story presents themes of cultural futility — both the futility of the aristocracy to maintain its status and the futility of the bourgeoisie to find meaning in its new-found materialism. In reflecting the socio-economic forces at work in Russia at the turn of the 20th century, including the rise of the middle class after the abolition of serfdom in the mid-19th century and the sinking of the aristocracy, the play reflects forces at work around the globe in that period.

Anton Chekhov (Author), Andy Minter, Anna Simon, Arielle Lipshaw, David Lawrence, Denny Sayers, Elizabeth Klett, Kim Stich, Lars Rolander, Ruth Golding (Narrator)

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Haunting Miss Trentwood

It's autumn 1887. Mary Trentwood, a grieving young woman, has a problem. Mary's father has died after years of her caring for him, and in the middle of his funeral she is horrified to watch his ghost crawl out of his grave. Mr. Trentwood isn't satisfied with simply haunting his daughter, he provides his fatherly opinions and suggestions whether solicited or not. Mary is left with the decision to pretend she can't see and hear her father, or face the consequences of probable insanity. Meanwhile, she must settle her father's estate, tend to her declining house, and handle her passive-aggressive aunt, Mrs. Durham, with care. Alexander Hartwell has a problem. His widowed sister has been receiving letters threatening blackmail and harm to her child. After months of searching, he has finally traced the source to the country manor house of grieving Mary Trentwood. Unsure who would want to hurt his sister and nephew, Hartwell allows Mary to believe he is her father's solicitor, arrived to handle the estate paperwork, to allow time for an investigation. Attraction grows between Mary and Hartwell as they reveal deceptions and uncover unexpected truths in this light-hearted gothic set in the charming countryside of Victorian England.

Belinda Kroll (Author), Arielle Lipshaw (Narrator)

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Cheat

Laurel discovers her passion for investigative journalism when she writes an article for her school paper about the homeless man who's been living at the school. Eager to write more articles with impact, she launches an investigation of a cheating scam at her high school. Laurel's efforts elicit hostility from her classmates. Nobody is interested in seeing her article go to print, not even her own brother. It is evident that the cheating is widespread, and Laurel, caught up in the thrill of the investigation, is willing to commit social suicide to get the story, but her ultimate discovery changes everything

Kristin Butcher (Author), Arielle Lipshaw (Narrator)

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Audiobooks Narrated by Arielle Lipshaw