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1Tom Brown's School Days

By Thomas Hughes

Tom Brown's Schooldays is a novel by Thomas Hughes first published in 1857. The story is set at Rugby School, a public school for boys, in the 1830s. Hughes attended Rugby School from 1834 to 1842. <br><br> The novel was originally published as being "by an Old Boy of Rugby", and much of it is based on the author's experiences. Tom Brown is largely based on the author's brother, George Hughes; and George Arthur, another of the book's main characters, is based on Arthur Penrhyn Stanley. The fictional Tom's life also resembles the author's in that the culminating event of his school career was a cricket match. <br><br> Tom Brown was tremendously influential on the genre of British school novels, which began in the 19th century, and is one of the few still in print. A sequel, Tom Brown at Oxford, was published in 1861 but is not as well known. (Summary from Wikipedia)

Louis Hughes was born a slave near Charlottesville, Virginia to a white father and a black slave woman. Throughout his life he worked mostly as a house servant, but was privy to the intimate details and workings of the entire McGee cotton plantation and empire.<br /><br /> In Thirty Years A Slave Hughes provides vivid descriptions and explicit accounts of how the McGee plantation in Mississippi, and the McGee mansion in Tennessee functioned--accounts of the lives of the many slaves that lived, suffered and sometimes died under the cruel and unusual punishments meted out by Boss and his monstrously unstable and vindictive wife. He described the profane manner in which this peculiar institution dehumanized, on a daily basis, not only the black man but even more so the white man.<br /><br /> Ultimately, Thirty Years A Slave is an expression of Hughes’s desire to accurately describe the nature of the influence that the institution of slavery had on this country during the two hundred years in which it existed here, and the influence it continues to have on the heart and soul of a post-Civil War, post-14th Amendment United States. (Introduction by James K. White)

3Dress Design: An Account of Costume for Artists and Dressmakers

By Talbot Hughes

Explanations of Western European trends in men and women's fashion from prehistoric times to the Victorian Era. (Summary by Libby Gohn)

4Excuse Me! (Dramatic Reading)

By Rupert Hughes

What happens when a mix of lovers get stuck together on a coast-to-coast train? Mainly hilarity. There is every kind of couple imaginable. One serviceman and his bride-to-be are trying desperately to get married but can't find a clergyman to perform the rites. They don't know that right in their midst is a preacher disguised as a man of the world so he and his wife can enjoy a carefree vacation. Then there is a drunk mourning his separation from the wife who just happens to be on the same train. There is even a confirmed bachelor who discovers that a confirmed spinster is his long-lost love from years ago. How these lives intertwine makes up the plot of this rollicking comedy. The piece contains racial slurs, which, although acceptable in the time and place of the story's setting, may offend modern listeners. (Summary by Bill Boerst)<br><br><em>Cast List:</em><br> Narrator, Portland Porter, Hudson, Shaw, Man, Voice One, Supposed Preacher, Fireman, Baumann, Waiter, Robber 2:<a href="https://librivox.org/reader/4788"> Bill Boerst </a><br> Marjorie: <a href="https://librivox.org/reader/6544"> Amanda Friday </a><br> Mallory:<a href="https://librivox.org/reader/8425"> Larry Wilson </a><br> Cab Driver, Stranger:<a href="https://librivox.org/reader/9653"> tiwo007 </a><br> Clergyman, Charlie: <a href="https://librivox.org/reader/6065"> David Olson </a><br> Porter, Gambler:<a href="https://librivox.org/reader/10073"> cobbdb </a><br> Wedgewood:<a href="https://librivox.org/reader/9787"> Greenman66 </a><br> Ira:<a href="https://librivox.org/reader/8307"> Nick Bulka </a><br> Conductor:<a href="https://librivox.org/reader/7188"> Marty </a><br> Transfer Agent, Mrs Temple, Voice Two, Train Boy:<a href="https://librivox.org/reader/3157"> TriciaG </a><br> Anne: <a href="https://librivox.org/reader/4174"> Availle </a><br> Mrs Wellington:<a href="https://librivox.org/reader/8410"> Shauna Kennett </a><br> Jimmie:<a href="https://librivox.org/reader/7026"> Michele Eaton </a><br> Dr Temple:<a href="https://librivox.org/reader/4535"> Brett W Downey </a><br> Mrs Fosdick:<a href="https://librivox.org/reader/9082"> Micky </a><br> Fosdick. Robber 1:<a href="https://librivox.org/reader/9929"> Zames Curran </a><br> Mrs Whitcomb:<a href="https://librivox.org/reader/6281"> Beth Thomas </a><br> Man in Overalls:<a href="https://librivox.org/reader/6449"> Arnaldo Machado </a><br> Ashton: <a href="https://librivox.org/reader/6754"> ToddHW </a><br> Mrs Deacon:<a href="https://librivox.org/reader/8197"> Victoria P </a><br> Kitty:<a href="https://librivox.org/reader/8012"> Woolly Bee </a><br> <br>Editor:<a href="https://librivox.org/reader/7026"> Michele Eaton </a><br> Proof-Listeners: Bill Boerst & Michele Eaton

Perhaps the most commercially successful Hollywood novel of the 1920s, Rupert Hughes' Souls for Sale is a direct response to contemporaneous charges of the film industry's moral laxities and predilections toward vice. Remember "Mem" Steddon, the pious and steadfast daughter of a religious firebrand who preaches about the sins of Hollywood, is forced to migrate to the west coast after discovering that she's become pregnant out of wedlock. On her journey, Mem runs into the inhabitants of a movie colony and soon befriends many of these delightful (if somewhat peculiar) "film folk." She finds temporary employment as a film extra and soon develops aspirations to become a star herself. But Mem soon discovers that Hollywood is a far different place than she had originally imagined and that the road to film stardom is not straightforward or easy to navigate. This novel was the basis for the popular 1923 film adaptation, which starred an up-and-coming Eleanor Boardman and was directed by Rupert Hughes himself. (Summary by ChuckW)

One of the first volumes dedicated to systematized medical treatment of soldiers in modern warfare, including a chapter on specific care for airmen, by British doctors who served on the front lines of WWI. Graphic descriptions (and images in the source book) of war wounds are not for the weak of heart. - Summary by BellonaTimes

"It is many years since Dr. Samuel Johnson advised me to get a little book, and write in it all the Anecdotes which might come to my knowledge, all the Observations which I might make or hear, all the verses never likely to be published and in fine everything which struck me at the time. Mr. Thrale has now treated me with a Repository, and provided it with the pompous title "Thraliana." I must endeavour to fill it with nonsense, new and old." <br> Selections from the intimate record of her life from 1776 to 1809 by the hostess and friend of Dr Johnson (and the friend of his friends) selected and edited with commentary by Charles Hughes. - Summary by barbara2

A course of Lenten sermons on the seven last words of Our Lord Jesus Christ on the Cross. (Summary by Maria Therese)

9Tom Brown at Oxford

By Thomas Hughes

This sequel to Tom Brown's School Days follows Tom to Oxford, where he studies at St. Ambrose's College. While the college is fictional, the story provides a glimpse into the workings of Oxford in the nineteenth century, and the relationships between the students of different classes and backgrounds who studied there. (Summary by MaryAnn)

LibriVox volunteers bring you 8 recordings of The South by Langston Hughes.<br> This was the Fortnightly Poetry project for June 19, 2022. <br> ------<br> Langston Hughes was an American poet and social activist, and is best known as a leader of the Harlem Renaissance. This poem, with its strong imagery, presents a darker facet of the South than is generally displayed in "nice" poetry. - Summary by TriciaG

<i>Fine Clothes to the Jew</i> is a 1927 poetry collection by Langston Hughes. The collection was widely criticized, especially in the Black press, because it departed from sentimental depictions of African-American culture. - Summary modified from Wikipedia

British author Richard Hughes is perhaps most well-known for his sea-faring adventure novel A High Wind in Jamaica, but a dive into his short fiction reveals a much more multi-faceted author, fusing the gothic literature of the 19th century with modern touches, often with a twist in the tale. This collection showcases his ability to blend the dark and spooky with romance, tragedy and humor into an altogether enjoyable concoction of smart and literary stew. (Summary by Ben Tucker)

13Contemporary American Composers

By Rupert Hughes

Discusses American composers considered significant at the end of the 19th century. - Summary by Anthony St. Pierre