The Ring and the Book is a verse novel of sex, lies, and murder, authored by Robert Browning, and it is widely considered to be one of the greatest literary works of the 19th century. It’s a “true crime” story based on the proceedings of a Roman murder trial held in 1698.

Each of the 12 books consists of a dramatic monologue in the voice of a different character involved in the tale, a wide range of personalities including: Pompilia, a beautiful young bride, unhappy in her marriage; the cruel Count Franceschini, her older husband; Caponsacchi, a handsome young priest who helps her escape from her husband’s tyranny; two lawyers; and the pope, who renders ultimate judgment.

“It is the great epic of the age, because it is the expression of the belief, it might almost be said, of the discovery, that no man ever lived upon this earth without possessing a point of view.” (G. K. Chesterton)

Contents:

“The Ring and the Book” – Narrated by John Burlinson
“Half-Rome” – Narrated by Bob Neufeld
“The Other Half-Rome” – Narrated by Sara Morsey
“Tertium Quid” – Narrated by David Stifel
“Count Guido Franceschini” – Narrated by Peter Tucker
“Giuseppe Caponsacchi” – Narrated by Tomas Peter
“Pompilia” – Narrated by Erin Louttit
“Dominus Hyacinthus de Archangelis” – Narrated by Alan Weyman
“Juris Doctor Johannes-Baptista Bottinius” – Narrated by Denis Daly
“The Pope” – Narrated by Tovarisch
“Guido” – Narrated by Peter Tucker
“The Book and the Ring” – Narrated by John Burlinson

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Cast
The Man (William Shakespeare) – Peter Tucker
The lady/Queen Elizabeth – Danielle Cohen
The Dark Lady – Erin Louttit
The Beefeater/Warder – Denis Daly
Stage directions – Noel Badrian

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Due to the complexities of the plot, many audiences have found the poem as a whole rather inaccessible, and have preferred to focus on the occasional gems of poetic commentary for which it has become famous. In his landmark biography of Keats, Sidney Colvin reviews both the inherent problems and the importance of Endymion thus: “It is not with simple matters of personification, of the putting of initial capitals to abstract qualities, that we have to deal, nor yet with any obvious and deliberately thought-out allegory, still less is it with one purposely made riddling and obscure, it is with a vital, subtly involved and passionately tentative spiritual parable, the parable of the experiences of the poetic soul in man seeking communion with the spirit of essential Beauty in the world, invented and related, in the still uncertain dawn of his powers, by one of the finest natural-born and intuitively gifted poets who ever lived. This is a thing which stands almost alone in literature, and however imperfectly executed, is worth any closeness and continuity of attention we can give it.”

Cast

Narrator – Eva Davis
Endymion – Mark Crowle-Groves
Priest – Peter Tucker
Alpheus – Peter Tucker
Elephant – Peter Tucker
Peona – Amanda Friday
Nymph – Amanda Friday
Cynthia – Elizabeth Klett
Glaucus – John Burlinson
Adonis – Tomas Peter
Arethusa – Cate Barratt
Mystery Woman – Elizabeth Klett
Venus – P.J. Morgan
Circe – Erin Louttit
Chorus – Leanne Yau
Voices – Leanne Yau
Seasons and Hours – Leanne Yau

Text prepared by Erin Louttit. Audio edited by Denis Daly. The Online Stage will be donating the royalties it receives from sales of this title to the Fred Hollows Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to the worldwide eradication of preventable blindness.

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Featuring the voices of Noel Badrian, Miranda Hodges, Joseph Tabler, Leanne Yau, Susan Iannucci, Chyanne Donnell, Andrew Coleman, Ben Stevens, Lee Ann Howlett, Anastasia Durning, Richard Andrews, Caprisha Page, Jennifer Fournier, Linda Barrans, Denis Daly, Erin Louttit, Brett Downey, Elizabeth Klett, Charlotte Duckett, PJ Morgan, Garrison Moore, Amanda Friday, K.G.Cross, Brett Downey, John Burlinson, Maureen Boutilier, Jeff Moon, Michele Eaton, Marty Kryz, Carol Box, Alan Weyman, and Bob Gonzalez.

Audio edited by Elizabeth Klett.

Production copyright 2016 held by The Online Stage.

All proceeds from their sale of this audiobook will be donated to Charity Water, a non-profit organization which is dedicated to the building of sustainable, community-owned water projects around the world.

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Cast:

Narrator – Noel Badrian
Duchess of Berwick – Linda Barrans
Mrs. Cowper-Cowper and Rosalie – Tiffany Halla Colonna
Mr. Hopper – Denis Daly
Lady Windermere – Amanda Friday
Lady Agatha – Susan Iannucci
Mrs. Erlynne – Elizabeth Klett
Lord Darlington – Ben Lindsey-Clark
Lady Stutfield – Erin Loutitt
Cecil Graham – Chris Marcellus
Mr. Dumby – Jeff Moon
Lady Plymdale – PJ Morgan
Lord Windermere – David Prickett
Parker – Peter Tucker
Lord Augustus Lorton – Alan Weyman
Lady Jedburgh – Leanne Yau

The Online Stage is a collective of narrators and actors who have come together to create high quality productions of classic dramatic works in audio format.

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By Frank Wedekind

Presented by the Online Stage

On the day of his departure to sing Tristan in Brussels, the celebrated tenor Gerardo receives three unwelcome visitors. Despite their persistent attentions, he manages to honor his singing contract, but at an unexpected personal cost.

This play was originally published as The Court Singer (Der Kammersänger). The English version used for this recording was prepared by Alan Weyman and drew upon the following translations: 1) Albert Wilhelm Boesche – The Court Singer; 2) André Tridon – The Tenor

Cast: Gerardo – Alan Weyman; Helen Marova – Erin Louttit; Professor Duehring – Noel Badrian; Isabel Coehurne – Sarah Hulslander; Muller – Noel Badrian; Valet – David Prickett; Bell Boy – Leanne Yau.

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