The Winter's Tale
Arkangel Shakespeare
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Narrated by:
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Sinead Cusack
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Ciaran Hinda
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Eileen Atkins
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Paul Jesson
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Sir John Gielgud
About this listen
King Leontes of Sicilia is seized by sudden and terrible jealousy of his wife Hermione, whom he accuses of adultery. He believes the child Hermione is bearing was fathered by his friend Polixenes, and when the baby girl is born he orders her to be taken to some wild place and left to die. Though Hermione's child escapes death, Leontes' cruelty has terrible consequences. Loss paves the way for reunion, and life and hope are born out of desolation and despair.
One of the late romances in Shakespeare's canon, this complex work is at times tragic, at times humorous, but always entertaining and enlightening.
Sinead Cusack plays Hermione, and Ciaran Hinda plays Leontes. Eileen Atkins is Paulina and Paul Jesson is Polixenes. Time the Chorus is played by Sir John Gielgud.
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- By: James Shapiro
- Narrated by: Robert Fass
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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In the years leading up to 1606, since the death of Queen Elizabeth and the arrival in England of her successor, King James of Scotland, Shakespeare's great productivity had ebbed, and it may have seemed to some that his prolific genius was a thing of the past. But that year, at age 42, he found his footing again, finishing a play he had begun the previous autumn - King Lear - then writing two other great tragedies, Macbeth and Antony and Cleopatra.
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Detailed and satisfying
- By Tad Davis on 02-24-16
By: James Shapiro
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Shakespeare and the Resistance
- By: Clare Asquith
- Narrated by: Allan Corduner
- Length: 7 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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The 1590s were bleak years for England. The queen was old, the succession unclear, and the treasury empty after decades of war. Amid the rising tension, William Shakespeare published a pair of poems dedicated to the young Earl of Southampton: Venus and Adonis in 1593 and The Rape of Lucrece a year later. Although wildly popular during Shakespeare's lifetime, to modern readers both works are almost impenetrable. But in her enthralling new book, the Shakespearean scholar Clare Asquith reveals their hidden contents.
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Excellent scholarship unveiling hidden history
- By Lumen Fidei on 07-03-23
By: Clare Asquith
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The Club
- Johnson, Boswell, and the Friends Who Shaped an Age
- By: Leo Damrosch
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 15 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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In 1763, the painter Joshua Reynolds proposed to his friend Samuel Johnson that they invite a few friends to join them every Friday at the Turk's Head Tavern in London to dine, drink, and talk until midnight. Eventually, the group came to include among its members Edmund Burke, Adam Smith, Edward Gibbon, and James Boswell. It was known simply as "the Club". In this captivating audiobook, Leo Damrosch brings alive a brilliant, competitive, and eccentric cast of characters.
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Wonderful survey
- By Tad Davis on 05-10-19
By: Leo Damrosch
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Our Oriental Heritage
- The Story of Civilization, Volume 1
- By: Will Durant
- Narrated by: Robin Field
- Length: 50 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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The first volume of Will Durant's Pulitzer Prize-winning series, Our Oriental Heritage: The Story of Civilization, Volume I chronicles the early history of Egypt, the Middle East, and Asia.
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Wonderful
- By Michael on 11-30-13
By: Will Durant
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The School for Scandal
- By: Richard Brinsley Sheridan
- Narrated by: Stuart Bunce, Jane Carr, John Francis Harries, and others
- Length: 2 hrs and 49 mins
- Original Recording
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Beware the gossips! Lady Sneerwell and her hireling, Snake, are certainly up to no good in this timeless send-up of hypocritical manners. Thanks to their scandal-mongering, the comely Lady Teazle must fend off the slanderous barbs that have caught the ear of her elderly husband - as well as every other gossip in London! What follows is a torrent of mistaken identities and sex-crazed scheming in which the upper classes have never looked so low class.
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This is a play for English Lit students!
- By Kemdi on 03-25-15
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Love Letters of Great Men
- By: John C. Kirkland
- Narrated by: Chris Patton
- Length: 2 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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When words of love do not come to you on their own, then listen to these letters. Complete, actual love letters of great men like Lord Byron, John Keats, and Voltaire. Leaders like Henry VIII, George Washington, and Napoléon, who wrote to his beloved Joséphine, "I awake consumed with thoughts of you...." Artists like van Gogh, Mozart, and Beethoven, who famously penned, "Though still in bed, my thoughts go out to you, my Immortal Beloved...."
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For all us hopeless romantics!
- By Stitch on 04-12-13
By: John C. Kirkland
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Vicar of Wakefield
- By: Oliver Goldsmith
- Narrated by: Patrick Tull
- Length: 7 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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The simple village vicar, Mr. Primrose, is living with his wife and six children in complete tranquility until unexpected calamities force them to weather one hilarious adventure after another. Goldsmith plays out this classic comedy of manners with a light, ironic touch that is irresistibly charming.
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Snidely Whiplash Ravishes Hapless Maidens
- By Joseph R on 12-26-09
By: Oliver Goldsmith
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God’s Secretaries
- The Making of the King James Bible
- By: Adam Nicolson
- Narrated by: Clive Chafer
- Length: 8 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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It is the greatest work of English prose ever written, and it is no coincidence that the translation was made at the moment “Englishness” and the English language had come into its first passionate maturity. Boisterous, elegant, subtle, majestic, finely nuanced, sonorous, and musical, the English of Jacobean England has a more encompassing idea of its own reach and scope than any before or since. It is a form of the language that drips with potency and sensitivity. The age, with all its conflicts, explains the book.
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Not what I was expecting
- By Greg on 12-29-13
By: Adam Nicolson
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Falstaff
- Give Me Life
- By: Harold Bloom
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 3 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Falstaff is both a comic and tragic central protagonist in Shakespeare's three Henry plays. He is companion to Prince Hal (the future Henry V), who loves him, goads him, teases him, indulges his vast appetites, and commits all sorts of mischief with him. Award-winning author and esteemed professor Harold Bloom examines Falstaff with the deepest compassion and sympathy and also with unerring wisdom. He uses the relationship between Falstaff and Hal to explore the devastation of severed bonds and the heartbreak of betrayal.
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Falstaff brooks no rebuttal.
- By Darwin8u on 02-06-20
By: Harold Bloom
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The Man Who Invented Fiction
- How Cervantes Ushered in the Modern World
- By: William Egginton
- Narrated by: Michael Butler Murray
- Length: 8 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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In the early 17th century, a crippled, graying, almost toothless veteran of Spain's wars against the Ottoman Empire published a novel. It was the story of a poor nobleman, his brain addled from studying too many novels of chivalry, who deludes himself that he is a knight errant and sets off on hilarious adventures. That story, Don Quixote, went on to sell more copies than any other book beside the Bible, making its author, Miguel de Cervantes, the single most-read author in human history.
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Very Interesting and Informative, but Poorly Read
- By LCorSMT on 06-21-23
By: William Egginton
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Pericles, Prince of Tyre, undergoes a tyrant's fury, storm, and shipwreck. He wins love and suffers loss, but what is lost may also be found. With the ancient poet Gower acting as narrator, we follow the adventures of Pericles from young manhood to maturity. This strange and powerful tale of loss and recovery is the first in the group of romance comedies created by Shakespeare at the end of his dramatic career.
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Scan the outward habit by the inward man
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In Shakespeare's most controversial play, the opposing values of justice and mercy must be resolved. Antonio promises money to help his friend Bassanio woo Portia. He borrows the sum needed from the cruel Shylock, but there will be a dreadful penalty if the loan is not repaid. The golden world of Portia's Belmont calls forth some of Shakespeare's most lyrical love poetry. But the dark shadow of Shylock is never far from the heart of this brilliant comedy as it moves toward its courtroom climax.
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Antony and Cleopatra
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Mark Antony, one of the three rulers of the Roman world, has become the thrall of the fascinating Cleopatra. Affairs of state call him to Rome, but the attractions of the queen of Egypt prove impossible to resist. From one of history's greatest love stories Shakespeare builds this magnificent tragedy of the clash between love and duty.
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Immortal Longings
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The Winter’s Tale
- Argo Classics
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- Unabridged
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Based on Robert Greene’s story Pandosto, The Winter’s Tale play tells the story of Leontes, king of Sicilia, and his childhood friend Polixenes, king of Bohemia. In a jealous rage, Leontes mistakenly accuses Polixenes and his own his wife, Hermione, of adultery, and her newborn daughter as illegitimate, casting her into the wilderness, causing their son to die of grief and Hermione to seemingly follow suit. With his family dead or believed dead, Leontes must face the tragic consequences of his actions.
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The Tempest
- By: William Shakespeare
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- Unabridged
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Sir Ian McKellen, fresh from his performance as Gandalf in Lord of the Rings, is Prospero, and heads a strong cast in Shakespeare’s last great play. The wronged duke raises a tempest to shipwreck his old opponents on his island so that he can ensure justice is done. With Emilia Fox as Miranda, Scott Handy in the pivotal role of the sprite Ariel, and Ben Owukwe as Caliban.
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Gandalf is great
- By Justin on 11-10-15
What listeners say about The Winter's Tale
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Jami
- 11-17-15
Felt Like Two Different Plays
I liked the play format and the narration was good. I also really enjoyed the first part of the play; the King's madness is quite evident in this portrayal. I found that part of the story very interesting and captivating.
Then we got to the last half of the play and I could not have been more bored. I don't know if it was the story line or the old language, but I didn't know what they were talking about some of the time nor did I care.
I rate the first half of the play a 4 and the second half a 2, for an overall rating of 3.
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- Diana S. Long
- 01-15-18
Entertaining and delightful
I listened to the Arkangel audio while reading the play in E Book format from Delphi Complete Works of William Shakespeare. According to the Delphi book the main plot of the play was taken from a pastoral romance – Pandosto by Robert Greene p. in 1588. This is known as a Comedy although the first half of the play resembles more of a tragedy as two Kings who are friends find themselves at odds, one King (Leontes) falsely accuses the other (Polixenes) as having sired a child with his wife. Polixenes flees for his own Kingdom and when Leontes is proven wrong the harm has already been done. Years past and we find ourselves now in Polixenes country and this is where the most enjoyable scenes of the play take place. The music and songs are delightful and we even have a rogue for this one, very entertaining indeed. I don't know where the title comes from as it actually has nothing in common with the work but all the same it was a flawless, entertaining play. A full cast performance and they were brilliant.
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- Peace
- 10-22-23
a delightful listen
The interludes of music between scenes, and to denote a change of time and place were spot on. It’s an easy and engaging listen, the clarity of text and story adds to this immensely. Something nice to study in a classroom or for one’s own personal use. Enjoy!
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- Elliott
- 01-19-15
What's not to enjoy?
If you could sum up The Winter's Tale in three words, what would they be?
A world class audio performance of a seldom performed work by The Bard.
What did you like best about this story?
The pacing throughout the work was excellent. Yes, this has undoubtedly been edited, but most performances of Shakespeare are trimmed for the stage as well.
Which character – as performed by the narrators – was your favorite?
The interplay between Gielgud and Cusack is very good. The entire ensemble is very well cast.
If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?
An excellent choice for a broad audio library!
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- John
- 06-10-17
A Snapper-Up of Unconsidered Trifles
Thus does Autolycus, the quick-witted and even quicker-tongued rouge of this play, describe himself. And sometimes the same words apply to me.
Before I joined Audible as a full-fledged member, the sales and Daily Deals loomed rather largely in my life. I’d snap up books that “looked good” or that I knew would be “good for me”. Thus I have in my library War and Peace (granted, no trifle; I have yet to embark upon), Brave New World (which I enjoyed as far as a nightmare can be enjoyed) and Gulliver’s Travels (which I loathed). And, since December of 2014, I’ve had The Winter’s Tale.
After all, it’s Shakespeare, right? Shakespeare is good and good for you, right? And it was only $1.95, if I remember. Yet it languished on my digital shelf for coming on two and a half years. Only when our local (free) Shakespeare Festival chose Winter’s Tale as this summer’s offering did I dig it out and listen.
All my objections that had kept me from listening quickly fell away. I thought it would be hard to distinguish the characters without seeing them on stage. Wrong. I feared the plot—in a play such as this, complex, quick, fanciful—would leave me far behind, panting to catch up. Not a problem. I even suspected the acting would be hammy. Quite the opposite.
This is a superb production, superbly done. I hadn’t read the play since high school so the story (really a fairy tale) was completely fresh. Somehow Shakespeare managed to take an utterly implausible story (even when reading the scene, I can’t tell from whence Leontes’ baseless suspicions of his wife spring) and make it into something that made me laugh and, yes, even drop a tear.
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- Darwin8u
- 11-26-17
Exit, pursued by a bear
“It is an heretic that makes the fire,
Not she which burns in't.”
- Shakespeare, The Winter's Tale
It starts out as a problem play and ends up a problematic, pastoral mess. First, I should disclose, and probably have before, that I'm not a fan of Shakespeare's plays with songs. I'd even complain about the songs in A Midsummer Nights Dream if it wasn't such a damn fine play. But my main issue with this play isn't the music, the play is just uneven. It starts off crazynuts (in a good way): a mad/jealous king striking out at everything (friends, wives, counselors) and it moves through: lost and found children, mistaken identities, and reconciliations/reincarnations. However, it all ties off a bit TOO easy. I'm sure the uneven melodrama might play well in front of an half-drunk audience, I just didn't buy it. It left me feeling a bit cheap and used. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to laugh, grumble, or clap at the end. Meh. I'd probably give the play two stars except for the use of d!ldos (‘Jump her and thump her’?) and bears in the play. I guess, if you are going to throw EVERYTHING into a play, you might as well toss in rubber toys and Ursus Shakespearimus.
Favorite Quotes:
"Is this nothing?
Why then the world and all that’s in’t is nothing:
The covering sky is nothing, Bohemia nothing,
My wife is nothing, nor nothing have these nothings,
If this be nothing."
- Act 1, Scene 2
“I have drunk,
And seen the spider.”
- Act 2, Scene 1
"The silence often of pure innocence
Persuades when speaking fails."
- Act 2, Scene 2
"Though I am not naturally honest, I am so sometimes by chance"
- Act 4, Scene 4
“Age, thou hast lost thy labor.”
- Act 4, Scene 4
"I am ashamed. Does not the stone rebuke me
For being more stone than it?"
- Act 5, Scene 2
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- G. Parish
- 10-27-20
Revenge!
I recently listened to The Winter's Tale written by William Shakespeare and performed by a full cast.
This is the tale of King Leontes of Sicilia, his wife Hermione, and their dear friend, King Polixenes of Bohemia. Leontes and Hermione attempt to convince Polixenes to extend his stay longer in Sicilia. He does eventually yield, but only to the entreaties of Hermione.
Leontes comes to believe the pair are involved in a tryst behind his back. He reacts by ordering the assassination of Polixenes, however, his agent turns out to be too honorable to do the deed. Being denied revenge upon Polixenes, he turns his wrath upon his queen, Hermione, publicly accusing her of infidelity. What follows is the tale of tragedy and wonder these actions engender.
The cast did an excellent job with Shakespeare's play. Like most Shakespearean productions, certain actors take on multiple roles. The play does not suffer, for it was well done. They had a number of musicians that play instruments, producing music that might have been heard in Shakespeare's time as well. They added nicely to the overall quality of the production.
Conclusion: Fans of the bard's work will not be disappointed here. As usual, not only will you find an enthralling tale full of all sorts of interesting people with complex motives, you will also find that dry wit of the bard is wholly alive and well in this tale. The cast really gave the work it's necessary vivacious context, rather than some attempt at a dry reading of the play. Overall, I think this is a great short play to spend an eve enjoying in the company of friends.
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- KristinMarie
- 01-03-23
Beautifully told!!
This was a joy and a delight to listen to. The cast is incredible!! If you love Shakespeare or are struggling with it….this will only enhance your reading!
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- David
- 03-14-15
Exit, pursued by a bear!
"Is whispering nothing? Is leaning cheek to cheek? is meeting noses? Kissing with inside lip? Stopping the career Of laughter with a sigh?—a note infallible Of breaking honesty;—horsing foot on foot? Skulking in corners? wishing clocks more swift; Hours, minutes; noon, midnight? and all eyes Blind with the pin and web but theirs, theirs only, That would unseen be wicked?—is this nothing? Why, then the world and all that's in't is nothing; The covering sky is nothing; Bohemia nothing; My is nothing; nor nothing have these nothings, If this be nothing."
I can see why this play is called "complex" and "problematic." The tone shifts completely from the first act to the last. It begins as a tragedy in which King Leontes becomes irrationally convinced that his wife, Hermione, has been committing adultery with his best friend, the King of Bohemia, and that her child is that of Polixenes. This leads to a lot of death and misery, which makes the final act, in which everyone is reconciled, a miracle occurs, and the play ends with a Happy Ever After more typical of Shakespeare's more straightforward comedies, almost dissonant.
That and the fact that it has few of Shakespeare's famous quotable lines is probably the reason why it's one of his less frequently performed plays, but I think it's a great and twisty tale, and if the ending was a bit deux ex machina, it's still rich in humor and tragedy, and well worth listening to.
"Exit, pursued by a bear!"
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- Ark1836
- 05-27-15
A Lesser Known Shakespeare Gem
Would you listen to The Winter's Tale again? Why?
I will listen to The Winter's Tale again in a year or two. Shakespeare was the master of the English language--his witticism and story telling ability is masterful. While this story is not one of his better known ones, its still very good and worth the listen. The cast did a fantastic job emoting the story without having to see them.
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