Preview
  • The Early Ayn Rand

  • A Selection from Her Unpublished Fiction (Revised Edition)
  • By: Ayn Rand
  • Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne
  • Length: 19 hrs and 32 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (42 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Early Ayn Rand

By: Ayn Rand
Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $19.46

Buy for $19.46

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

This remarkable, newly revised collection of Ayn Rand's early fiction - now including the previously unpublished short story, "The Night King" - ranges from beginner's exercises to excerpts from early versions of We the Living and The Fountainhead. Arranged chronologically, from 1926 through 1940, these works allow readers to follow the extraordinary trajectory of Rand's literary and intellectual growth, from a 21-year-old Russian immigrant struggling to master English to the brilliant prose stylist and sophisticated philosopher she was to become in her mature work.
©1984 Leonard Peikoff, Paul Gitlin, Eugene Winick, Executors of the Estate of Ayn Rand (P)2009 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about The Early Ayn Rand

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    32
  • 4 Stars
    5
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    2
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    20
  • 4 Stars
    7
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    25
  • 4 Stars
    4
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Want more Rand? Here it is.

I find "Early Ayn Rand" to be well edited and well organized with helpful introductions to each work by Leonard Peikoff. The introductions are so good that readers can skip "Art of Fiction" by Rand because "Early Ayn Rand" contains the same concepts in more concise form.

I disagree with Mr. Peikoff's recommendation to read Rand's novels first and these early works second. A serious thinker who wants to understand Rand and never read anything by her could best understand her philosophy by reading the works in chronological order, starting with "Early Ayn Rand" and ending with her masterpiece "Atlas Shrugged."

Most of the works in the "Early Ayn Rand" anthology were not intended for publication and therefore are best used to observe the process by which Rand developed her writing skills and her philosophy in steps over several decades. The works begin as short and entertaining theatrical bits but gradually get more philosophical.

Here are the works included:
1920's works
(1) The Husband I Bought - first person with a protagonist who is a woman in love
(2) The Night King - first person with a protagonist who is a male thief
(3) Good Copy - action and romance
(4) Escort - very short
(5) Her Second Career - about the difficulty of succeeding in Hollywood
1930's works
(6) Red Pawn - getting more philosophical now, about the stupidity of self-sacrifice
(7) We the Living (deleted sections) - not so great
(8) Ideal - written as a play, excellent philosophically
(9) Think Twice - written as a play, excellent philosophically
(10) Fountainhead (deleted sections) - excellent, Rourke's old girlfriend Vesta Dunning and their opposing philosophies
1940's work
(11) The Simplest Thing in the World - common human trait of striving to put other people down

Regarding the "Audible" version: The narration by Bernadette Dunne is excellent. However, stories (2) and (3) should have been narrated by a man.

John Christmas, author of "Democracy Society"

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great gems

There were some great gems in this book. My favorite was the parts that were cut away from The Fountainhead. Clearly not a book for people new to Ayn Rand, but for those very familiar with her work it's great.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful