Consider adding this heartwarming story to your study of Saint George and the dragon. What would have happened if the dragon did not care to fight?
Listen to The Reluctant Dragon (running time 57 minutes):
The Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius
To hear this book, click play in the box below or click on the chapter links.
Running time: 5 hours, 13 minutes
Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc Volumes 1 and 2 by Mark Twain
You can stream individual chapters of this book by using the player widget located at its Librivox Internet archive page
OR
Read this book yourself online
Click here to view downloadable curriculum from CurrClick which could be used for a study of the Middle Ages. This link will take you away from My Audio School.
Running time: 15 hours, 19 minutes
Summary: Mark Twain’s work on Joan of Arc is titled in full “Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc, by the Sieur Louis de Conte.” De Conte is identified as Joan’s page and secretary. For those who’ve always wanted to “get behind” the Joan of Arc story and to better understand just what happened, Twain’s narrative makes the story personal and very accessible.
The work is fictionally presented as a translation from the manuscript by Jean Francois Alden, or, in the words of the published book, “Freely Translated out of the Ancient French into Modern English from the Original Unpublished Manuscript in the National Archives of France.”
It was originally published as a serialization in Harper’s Magazine beginning in 1895 and later published in book form in 1896. However the Harper’s editors decided to cut 12 chapters that describe much of Joan’s Great Trial, saying the chapters were not suitable for serialization since, “They will not bear mutilation or interruption, but must be read as a whole, as one reads a drama.” This recording contains the complete text!
De Conte is a fictionalized version of Joan of Arc’s page Louis de Contes, and provides narrative unity to the story. He is presented as an individual who was with Joan during the three major phases of her life – as a youth in Domremy, as the commander of Charles’ army on military campaign, and as a defendant at the trial in Rouen. The book is presented as a translation by Alden of de Conte’s memoirs, written in his later years for the benefit of his descendants.
Twain based his descriptions of Joan of Arc on his daughter, Susy Clemens, as he remembered her at the age of seventeen.
Twain said, “I like Joan of Arc best of all my books; and it is the best; I know it perfectly well. And besides, it furnished me seven times the pleasure afforded me by any of the others; twelve years of preparation, and two years of writing. The others needed no preparation and got none.” (Summary by Wikipedia and John Greenman for Librivox)
The Little Duke by Charlotte Yonge
To hear this book, click play in the box below or click on the chapter links.
Running time: 3 hours, 57 minutes
The Little Duke by Charlotte M. Yonge is historical fiction based on the the life of Richard, Duke of Normandy. He assumes the title of Duke at only 8 years of age, after his father is murdered. The story first appeared in her magazine, The Monthly Packet, as a serial. (summary by Laura Caldwell on Librivox)
Running time: 3 hours 57 minutes
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik van Loon
Read this book yourself online or on a Kindle, or read it here with accompanying illustrations.
Summary: Relates the story of western civilization from earliest times through the beginning of the twentieth century, with special emphasis on the people and events that changed the course of history. Portrays in vivid prose the achievements of mankind in the areas of art and discovery, as well as the political forces leading to the modern nation-states. Richly illustrated with drawings by the author. Winner of the first Newbery Award in 1922, The Story of Mankind has introduced generations of children to the pageant of world history. (Summary from mainlesson.com)
Running time: 13 hours
Note to parent: I am including this book on My Audio School, as it is used by Ambleside Online curriculum. They recommend it for older children (middle school through high school).
My Audio School is being used by so many children whose families hold varying perspectives on creation and evolution. I have not provided links for the first 3 chapters of this book, (30 minutes of material), which are full of evolutionary content. Should you need to refer to these chapters, you can use the links provided above for reading or downloading this book at its Internet Archive page in its entirety. I have not pre-read the majority of this book, but found evolutionary references in the two additional chapters that I listened to (The Age of Science and The New World). Please be aware there may be evolutionary content in other chapters, as well. Should you have further questions about the suitability of this book please read this review from Cathy Duffy.
The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri, translated by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Download to Mp3
Subscribe in iTunes
To hear this book, click play in the box below or click on the chapter titles.
Running time: 12 hours, 25 minutes
Note to parent: This book appears on many high school reading lists, but it contains mature themes. Please rely on your trusted curriculum provider for guidance as to which Canto’s to assign to your student.
01 Inferno: Canto I – Canto V 00:43:10
02 Inferno: Canto VI- Canto X 00:36:40
03 Inferno: Canto XI – Canto XV 00:47:04
04 Inferno: Canto XVI- Canto XX 00:30:36
05 Inferno: Canto XXI – Canto XXV 00:35:24
06 Inferno: Canto XXVI – Canto XXX 00:36:44
07 Inferno: Canto XXXI – Canto XXXIV 00:36:18
08 Purgatory: Canto I – Canto V 00:42:33
09 Purgatory: Canto VI – Canto XI 00:37:19
10 Purgatory: Canto XII – Canto XVI 00:33:15
11 Purgatory: Canto XVII – Canto XXI 00:35:31
12 Purgatory: Canto XXII -Canto XXVII 00:47:07
13 Purgatory: Canto XXVIII -Canto XXXIII 00:43:32
14 Paradise: Canto I- Canto V 00:41:08
15 Paradise: Canto VI – Canto XI 00:38:33
16 Paradise: Canto XII – Canto XVI 00:32:15
17 Paradise: Canto XVII – Canto XXI 00:39:50
18 Paradise: Canto XXII – Canto XXVII00:42:17
19 Paradise: Canto XXVIII- Canto XXXIII 00:44:09
God’s Troubadour, The Story of St. Francis of Assisi by Sophie Jewett
To hear this book, click play in the box below or click on the chapters titles.
Running time: 2 hours, 31 minutes
01 A Child of Long Ago 00:09:53
02 The Young Troubadour 00:06:33
06 The Other Life is as My Life 00:09:48
13 With the Crusaders 00:12:52
The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain
Summary: The Prince and the Pauper (1882) represents Mark Twain’s first attempt at historical fiction. The book, set in 1547, tells the story of two young boys who are identical in appearance: Tom Canty, a pauper who lives with his abusive father in Offal Court, London, and Prince Edward son of Henry VIII of England. Due to a series of circumstances, the boys accidentally replace each other, and much of the humor in the book originates in the two boys’ inability to function in the world that is so familiar to the other (although Tom soon displays considerable wisdom in his decisions). In many ways, the book is a social satire, particularly compelling in its condemnation of the inequality that existed between the classes in Tudor England. In that sense, Twain abandoned the wry Midwestern style for which he was best known and adopts a style reminiscent of Charles Dickens. (Summary from Wikipedia.org)
Total running time: 6 hours, 56 minutes
To hear this book, click play in the box below or click on the chapter titles.
04 – The Prince / 05 – Tom as a Patrician
06 – Tom receives instructions
07 – Tom’s first royal dinner / 08 – The question of the Seal
09 – The river pageant / 10 – The Prince in the toils
12 – The Prince and his deliverer
13 – The disappearance of the Prince
14 – ‘Le Roi est mort—vive le Roi’
16 – The state dinner / 17 – Foo-foo the First
18 – The Prince with the tramps / 19 – The Prince with the peasants
20 – The Prince and the hermit / 21 – Hendon to the rescue
22 – A victim of treachery / 23 – The Prince a prisoner
24 – The escape / 25 – Hendon Hall
26 – Disowned / 27 – In prison
28 – The sacrifice / 29 – To London / 30 – Tom’s progress
31 – The Recognition procession
Magna Carta
Click here to view downloadable curriculum from CurrClick which could be used for a study of the Middle Ages. This link will take you away from My Audio School.
The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis
Summary: The Imitation of Christ is widely considered one of the greatest manuals of devotion in Christianity. The life of Christ is presented as the highest study possible to a mortal. The book gives counsel to read the scriptures, statements about the uses of adversity, advice for submission to authority, warnings against temptation and how to resist it, reflections about death and the judgment, and admonitions to flee the vanities of the world.?(Summary drawn from Wikipedia).
Follow along on your?Kindle
Total running time: 8 hours, 43 minutes
When Knights Were Bold by Eva March Tappan
Click here to view downloadable curriculum from CurrClick which could be used for a study of the Middle Ages. This link will take you away from My Audio School.
To stream this book, click play in the box below, or click on the chapter titles.
Total running time: This book is 6 hours and 38 minutes long.
Military Orders, Monks, and Monasteries
Hermits, Friars, and Missionaries
Bulfinch’s Mythology: The Age of Chivalry by Thomas Bulfinch
The Age of Chivalry, or Legends of King Arthur; The Mabinogeon, and The Hero Myths of the English Race
Click here to view downloadable curriculum from CurrClick which could be used for a study of the Middle Ages. This link will take you away from My Audio School.
To stream this book, click play in the box below or click on the chapter links.
This book is 10 hours and 33 minutes long.
This text is frequently used for high school students. For grammar students, I suggest one of the other King Arthur resources on My Audio School, which are better suited to that age group.
Summary from Wikipedia
Thomas Bulfinch (July 15, 1796 – May 27, 1867) explains the his work is an attempt tell the stories of mythology in such a manner as to make them a source of amusement. We have endeavored to tell them correctly, according to the ancient authorities, so that when the reader finds them referred to he may not be at a loss to recognize the reference. Thus we hope to teach mythology not as a study, but as a relaxation from study; to give our work the charm of a story-book, yet by means of it to impart a knowledge of an important branch of education.
The Bulfinch version of myth, presents the myths in their literary versions, without unnecessary violence, psychology or ethnographic information. The Bulfinch myths are an indispensable guide to the cultural values of the American 19th century.
The narrator of the Preface has a heavy accent, but the other chapters are read clearly.
Chapter 2: The Mythical History of England
The narrator mistakenly says that he is reading “chapter 18”, but later corrects himself and does, indeed, read “chapter 8”.
Chapter 9: The Adventure of the Cart
Chapter 10: The Lady of Shalott
Chapter 11: Queen Guenever’s Peril
Chapter 12: Tristram and Isoude
Chapter 13: Tristram and Isoude (continued)
Chapter 14: Sir Tristram’s Battle with Sir Launcelot
Chapter 19: The Sangreal, or Holy Graal
Chapter 20: The Sangreal (continued)
Chapter 21: The Sangreal (continued)
Chapter 22: Sir Agrivain’s Treason
The Mabinogeon
Introductory Notes, chapter 1: The Britons
Chapter 2, The Lady of the Fountain
Chapter 3, The Lady of the Fountain (continued)
Chapter 4, The Lady of the Fountain (continued)
Chapter 5, Geraint, Son of Erbin
Chapter 6, Geraint, Son of Erbin (continued)
Chapter 7, Geraint, Son of Erbin (continued)
Chapter 8, Pwyll, Prince of Dyved
Chapter 9, Branwen, the Daughter of Llyr
Chapter 12, Kilwich and Olwen (continued)
Chapter 14, Hero Myths of the British Race
Myths and Legends of All Nations by Logan Marshall
Running time: 8 hours, 59 minutes
Click on the chapter titles to listen to this book, or click play in the box below.
Antigone, a Faithful Daughter and Sister
Beowulf and GrendelThe Good King Arthur: Narrative and the Coming of Arthur
The Good King Arthur: The Passing of Arthur
Lohengrin and Elsa the Beautiful
Stories of King Arthur’s Knights Told to the Children by Mary MacGregor
Download as a zipped file
Internet archive page
Click here to view a downloadable lapbook/unit study of the Middle Ages from CurrClick, which could be used along with this book. This link will take you away from My Audio School.
To listen to this book, click play in the box below, or click on the chapter titles.
Stories of Beowulf Told to the Children by H. E. Marshall
This version of Beowulf, adapted for children, may be a good introduction for older students before reading the unabridged work.
To read the text yourself, click here.
Click here to see a selection of downloadable curriculum resources from CurrClick which could be used in a study of Beowulf. This link will take you away from My Audio School.
Total running time: 1 hour, 56 minutes
To hear this book, click play in the box below or click on the chapter titles.
Preface: About this book
Chapter 1, How Grendel the Ogre Warred with the Dane Folk
Chapter 2, How Beowulf the Goth came to Daneland
Chapter 3, Beowulf Telleth How He Warred with the Sea Folk
Chapter 4, How Beowulf Overcame Grendel the Ogre
Chapter 5, How the Water Witch Warred with the Dane Folk
Chapter 6, How Beowulf Overcame the Water Witch
Chapter 7, How Beowulf Returned to his Own Land
Chapter 8, How the Fire Dragon warred with the Goth Folk
Chapter 9, How Beowulf Overcame the Dragon
The Discovery of New Worlds by M. B. Synge
To read this book online, click here.
Click here to view downloadable curriculum from CurrClick which could be used for a study of the Middle Ages. This link will take you away from My Audio School.
To listen, click play in the box below or click on the chapter titles.
Total running time: 5 hours, 22 minutes
06 – The Destruction of Pompeii
08 – Decline of the Roman Empire
13 – King Arthur and His Knights
16 – How the Northmen Conquered England
29 – The Invention of Printing
31 – Vasco Da Gama’s Great Voyage
37 – Discovery of the New World
Ancient and Medieval Church History
Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri, has made several classes available for free online through their Worldwide Classroom.
Although Ancient and Medieval Church History is a college-level course, I believe it would be appropriate for a high school student studying this topic.
In order to listen to these free classes, you’ll need to register with Worldwide Classroom. After registering, you’ll be able to listen to all of these sessions on Mp3, as well as download written transcripts and study guides for each lecture.
Click here to learn more about this course or to download a syllabus.
Click here to learn more about Worldwide Classroom.
Click here for Covenant Theological Seminary’s statement of faith.
Here is a course description and a list of the topics covered in this course.
Course Description (taken from the Worldwide Classroom site):
A study of Christianity from the Early Church to the dawn of the Reformation, with source material readings. This course places an emphasis on the application of church history to life and ministry and helps the student to understand the development of Christian thought and the formulation of doctrine as part of God’s overall pattern of history. This course is taught by David Calhoun.
Lesson 1: The Study of Church History
Lesson 2: The Growth of the Christian Church
Lesson 3: The Persecutions
Lesson 4: The Apologists
Lesson 5: Orthodoxy and Heresy
Lesson 6: Canon, Creed, and Bishops
Lesson 7: The Early Church Fathers
Lesson 8: The People of the Early Church
Lesson 9: The Church in the Fourth Century
Lesson 10: The Beginnings of Monasticism
Lesson 11: Donatism
Lesson 12: The Council of Nicea
Lesson 13: Cappadocians and Constantinople
Lesson 14: Ambrose, Jerome, and Chrysostom
Lesson 15: Augustine’s Confessions
Lesson 16: Augustine and the Pelagian Controversy
Lesson 17: Augustine’s Theology of History
Lesson 18: The Council of Chalcedon
Lesson 19: The Early Middle Ages
Lesson 20: Medieval Missions
Lesson 21: The Christianization of Great Britain
Lesson 22: Learning and Theology
Lesson 23: Eastern Orthodoxy
Lesson 24: The Late Middle Ages
Lesson 25: Medieval Monasticism
Lesson 26: Crusades or Missions?
Lesson 27: The Waldensians
Lesson 28: Scholastic Theology
Lesson 29: Thomas Aquinas
Lesson 30: The Sacramental System
Lesson 31: Church and State
Lesson 32: Wycliffe and Hus
Lesson 33: Reform in Italy
Lesson 34: Mysticism and the Modern Devotion
Lesson 35: The Waning of the Middle Ages
Appendix A: Catholic World Missions
Appendix B: The Spread of the Western Church
Appendix C: The Spread of the Eastern Church
Appendix D: The 100 Most Important Dates in Church History
Royal Children of English History by Edith Nesbit
Summary: From the first chapter: “History is a story, a story of things that happened to real live people in our England years ago; and the things that are happening here and now, and that are put in the newspapers, will be history for little children one of these days. And the people you read about in history were real live people, who were good and bad, and glad and sorry, just as people are now-a-days.”
E. Nesbit writes about some of the people behind the names, dates and battles of English History in this lovely book for older children. The original book contains some beautiful illustrations and you can see those by clicking the ‘Gutenberg’ link below. (Summary by Cori Samuel for Librivox)
To hear this book, click play in the box below or click on the chapter links.
Total running time: 1 hour, 13 minutes
Famous Men of the Middle Ages by Haaren and Poland
Note: please see the bottom of this post for information about 5 missing chapters.
To read the text yourself, click here.
Total running time: 4 hours, 40 minutes
Click here to view downloadable curriculum from CurrClick which could be used for a study of the Middle Ages. This link will take you away from My Audio School.
Click on the chapter titles or click play in the box below to listen to this book.
Chapter 1, The Gods of the Teutons
28, William Tell and Arnold von Winkelreid
Note: The original version of this book was published by Haaren and Poland in 1904, and is now in the public domain. There is another version which was edited by Rob and Cindy Shearer, and published by Greenleaf Press in 1992 and again in 2007. This newer version contains 5 additional chapters, written by Rob Shearer. The book that Mr. Shearer updated is not in the public domain, but it can be purchased from Greenleaf Press.
The five additional chapters in the newer version of this book are:
Chapter II Augustine of Hippo
Chapter IV Patrick of Ireland
Chapter IX Benedict and Gregory
Chapter XXII Pope Gregory VII and Emperor Henry IV
Chapter XXVI Francis and Dominic
If you’d like to listen to audio content that is available, as a replacement for these missing chapters, we suggest the following:
We are still looking for audio material to replace content from these other chapters. If we are able to locate suitable content, we’ll post the links here.
Aladdin and the Magic Lamp
Aladdin and the Magic Lamp from the Frog Prince Tales.
To download this story to MP3, click here.
Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp from Andrew Lang’s The Blue Fairy Book. To read the text yourself, click here. To download the entire Blue Fairy Book to MP3,click here.
Aladdin by Anonymous, from Children’s Short Stories v. 4
General Mills Radio Adventure Theater: Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp
Click here to see CurrClick’s downloadable copywork notebook for Aladdin. This link will take you away from My Audio School.