Vor dreißig Jahren gelang es Miss Maria Ward aus Huntingdon, Sir Thomas Bertram von Mansfield Park zu gewinnen. Mit nur siebentausend Pfund wurde sie zur Baronettslady und genoss die Vorzüge eines wohlhabenden Lebens. Ihr Onkel, ein Anwalt, erkannte, dass sie finanziell im Nachteil war, was die Heiratsgüter anging.
The Railway Children is a delightful reading of a classic story by Edith Nesbit, first published in 1906. When father is suddenly taken away, mother and the three children must leave their fancy London life to live in a simple country cottage near a train station. The children and their bottomless good nature, together with some new friends, work to rescue father and help others along the way. Narrator Virginia Leishman makes this old-fashioned world come alive for today's children without resorting to melodrama. The recording is flawless and without unnecessary fanfare, making it a wonderful way to introduce a classic to young listeners. The Railway Children are Roberta, Peter and Phyllis, three young children who move to a house near a railway when their father is wrongly accused and falsely imprisoned for selling government secrets to the Russians. The children pass the time by watching the railcars go by and waving to the passengers riding the train. Eventually they meet Perks, the station porter and an old gentleman that may be able to help get their father out of prison.
A wickedly clever satire uses comic inversions to offer insights into human nature and society. It follows the four voyages of Lemuel Gulliver, a ship's surgeon. In Lilliput, he discovers a miniature world, towering over its inhabitants and observing their society from a god-like perspective. Conversely, in Brobdingnag, Gulliver becomes the curiosity, displayed in markets as a tiny man among giants. His journey continues to Laputa, a flying island where he encounters a society of speculators detached from reality, allowing their homeland to fall into disrepair while they obsess over impractical ideas. Finally, he reaches the land of the Houyhnhnms, gentle horses he admires, contrasting sharply with the Yahoos, filthy creatures resembling humans. Jonathan Swift (1667-1745), born in Dublin, crafted this enduring classic, which remains a profound exploration of the follies and vices of humanity through the lens of fantastical adventures.