Humorous Readings and Recitations


Read by LibriVox Volunteers

(3.2 stars; 4 reviews)

Before radio, television, and electronic mass media, lectures, recitations, public readings, and other public performances were important ways of sharing new works with the public or attracting public attention to issues and authors of the time. Public performance was, in a sense, the internet of its day, as people sought to learn of the world around them, as well as entertain themselves.
This anthology of short humorous pieces was intended as a ready reference of material of all sorts to those who participated in public performance, whether professionally, or as part of a school or community program. The pieces themselves were intended to be read aloud, shared with, and appreciated by, an audience. This intent is not dissimilar to the mission of Librivox in the twenty-first century.
They were written by popular authors of the period, some of whose names are still well known in the twenty first-century, such as J. M. Barrie (Peter Pan), Lewis Carroll (Alice in Wonderland), W.S. Gilbert (HMS Pinafore) and W.M. Thackeray (Vanity Fair), as well as others whose popularity has waned. (DrPGould) (7 hr 42 min)

Chapters

Preface 1:43 Read by DrPGould
Accompanied on the Flute 18:15 Read by DrPGould
The Troubles of a Triplet 5:00 Read by BettyB
Slightly Deaf 20:07 Read by Julia Mikheeva
The Lady Freemason 19:11 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
What Happened Last Night! 10:35 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
The Fatal Legs 8:00 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
The Caliph's Jester 6:23 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
A Journey in Search of Nothing 22:55 Read by jimsvox4
Gemini and Virgo 6:55 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
King Bibbs 23:51 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
Molly Muldoon 10:19 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
The Harmonious Lobsters 16:55 Read by annabellesmith
The Provincial Landlady 5:07 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
My Matrimonial Predicament 11:33 Read by dvlnblkdrs
Etiquette 6:29 Read by BettyB
Lost Shepherd 15:14 Read by Tom Penn
Mathematic Madness 5:45 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
Waiting at Tottlepot 14:47 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
Married to a Giantess 14:36 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
The Vision of the Alderman 3:41 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
The Demon Snuffers 20:19 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
The Walrus and the Carpenter 5:06 Read by Linda Olsen Fitak
My Brother Henry 9:12 Read by Tom Penn
A Night with a Stork 8:45 Read by Tom Penn
The Faithful Lovers 3:29 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
The Wail of a Banner-Bearer 13:12 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
The Dream of the Bilious Beadle 6:37 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
My Friend Treacle 22:04 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
The Voice of the Sluggard 4:04 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
Artemus Ward's Visit to the Tower of London 11:39 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
Mr. Caudle has lent an Acquaintance the Family Umbrella 9:26 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
Domestic Asides 2:15 Read by Linda Olsen Fitak
The Charity Dinner 21:32 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
Acting with a Vengeance 13:58 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
My Fortnight at Wretchedville 22:43 Read by jimsvox4
The Sorrows of Werther 1:26 Read by Linda Olsen Fitak
Moral Music 9:52 Read by Kathleen Moore
Billy Dumps, the Tailor 8:58 Read by Kathleen Moore
On Punning 4:28 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
Seaside Lodgings 16:06 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson