Fourble

To subscribe to a personalised Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia podcast, starting today with 01 - Chapters I-IV02 - Chapters V-VII03 - Chapters VIII, IX04 - Chapters X-XII05 - Chapters XIII-XVI06 - Chapters XVII-XX07 - Chapters XXI, XXII08 - Chapters XXIII-XXVI09 - Chapters XXVII, XXVIII10 - Chapters XXIX, XXX11 - Chapters XXXI-XXXIII12 - Chapters XXXIV-XXXVII13 - Chapters XXXVIII, XXXIX14 - Chapters XL-XLIII15 - Chapters XLIV, XLV16 - Chapters XLVI, XLVII17 - Chapters XLVIII, XLIX and with a new episode every four weeks every three weeks every two weeks every ten days every seven days every six days every five days every four days every three days every two days every day all episodes at once , use the following URL:

https://fourble.co.uk/rasselasprinceofabyssinia-240420-7.rss

LibriVox recording of Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia, by Samuel Johnson. Read by Martin Geeson.

In this enchanting fable (subtitled The Choice of Life), Rasselas and his retinue burrow their way out of the totalitarian paradise of the Happy Valley in search of that triad of eighteenth-century aspiration - life, liberty and happiness. According to that quirky authority, James Boswell, Johnson penned his only work of prose fiction in a handful of days to cover the cost of his mother's funeral. The stylistic elegance of the book and its wide-ranging philosophical concerns give no hint of haste or superficiality.

Among other still burning issues Johnson's characters pursue questions of education, colonialism, the nature of the soul and even climate alteration. Johnson's profoundest concern, however, is with the alternating attractions of solitude and social participation, seen not only as the ultimate life-choice but as the arena in which are played out the deepest fears of the individual: "Of the uncertainties of our present state, the most dreadful and alarming is the uncertain continuance of Reason.”

(Summary by Martin Geeson)

For further information, including links to online text, reader information, RSS feeds, CD cover or other formats (if available), please go to the LibriVox catalog page for this recording.

1. 01 - Chapters I-IV (27.4Mb)
2. 02 - Chapters V-VII (16.3Mb)
3. 03 - Chapters VIII, IX (15.4Mb)
4. 04 - Chapters X-XII (27.1Mb)
5. 05 - Chapters XIII-XVI (21Mb)
6. 06 - Chapters XVII-XX (17Mb)
7. 07 - Chapters XXI, XXII (13.4Mb)
8. 08 - Chapters XXIII-XXVI (17.6Mb)
9. 09 - Chapters XXVII, XXVIII (12.4Mb)
10. 10 - Chapters XXIX, XXX (15.9Mb)
11. 11 - Chapters XXXI-XXXIII (11.2Mb)
12. 12 - Chapters XXXIV-XXXVII (21.8Mb)
13. 13 - Chapters XXXVIII, XXXIX (22.5Mb)
14. 14 - Chapters XL-XLIII (15.4Mb)
15. 15 - Chapters XLIV, XLV (14Mb)
16. 16 - Chapters XLVI, XLVII (21.9Mb)
17. 17 - Chapters XLVIII, XLIX (12.5Mb)

MP3 files hosted by archive.org.