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In the late 1600s a man was doubly-imprisoned: his body in an iron cell and his face in an iron mask. Who the “man in the iron mask” was, why he was imprisoned, and how he was treated during imprisonment, remains a mystery that has captivated historians for centuries. Before Dumas penned the final volume of his D’Artagnan Romances, “The Man in the Iron Mask,” he wrote that “everything connected with the masked prisoner arouses the most vivid curiosity.” This essay is a comprehensive summary of theories regarding the masked prisoner’s identity and history from the 1770s to Dumas...

The contents of these volumes of 'Celebrated Crimes', as well as the motives which led to their inception, are unique. They are a series of stories based upon historical records, from the pen of Alexandre Dumas, pere, when he was not "the elder," nor yet the author of D'Artagnan or Monte Cristo, but was a rising young dramatist and a lion in the literary set and world of fashion. The third volume is devoted to the story of Mary Queen of Scots, another woman who suffered a violent death, and around whose name an endless controversy has waged. Dumas goes carefully into the dubious episodes of ...

2000年代から編集者として活動してきた4人が、過去の編集の仕事や出来事を振り返りつつ、最近気になっていることなどを語っていく番組です。

Gabriel Gregorio Fernando José María García y Moreno y Morán de Buitrón (1821–1875) was an Ecuadorian politician who twice served as President of Ecuador (1859-1865 and 1869-1875) and was assassinated during his second term, after being elected to a third term. He is noted for his conservatism, Catholic religious perspective and rivalry with liberal strongman Eloy Alfaro. Under his administration, Ecuador became a leader in science and higher education within Latin America. In addition to the advances in education and science, he was noted for economically and agriculturally advancing ...

A brief history of the rise and reign of Duke William of Normandy, King of England. Also known as William the Bastard, and William the Great, but perhaps best known in English history as William the Conqueror. Written by Edward Freeman, originally in 1888, as part of the Twelve English Statesmen series of books. (Summary by Cavaet)

In Benjamin Franklin's lifetime, he kept good record of his life and travels, and although Franklin was never a president, he still plays a crucial part in our American history. (Summary by Elijah Fisher)

Noted African-American author and educator, Benjamin Brawley, presents short biographies of other African-Americans in the fields of literature and other arts including poets, artists, musicians, and orators. These range from well known figures such as poets Paul Laurence Dunbar and William Stanley Braithwaite to lesser known artists such as composer Will Marion Cook and sculptor Meta Warrick Fuller. Works from many of the authors discussed are available in the LibriVox catalog. (Summary by Larry Wilson)

This is volume 6 in this series about the lives of more than 200 of the most prominent people in history. - Summary by Michele Eaton

“A Complete Collection of the Funny and Witty Anecdotes that made Abraham Lincoln Famous as America’s Greatest Story Teller With Introduction and Anecdotes.” (Book subtitle) This 1901 collection was compiled by Alexander McClure (1828-1909), a politician, newspaper editor, and writer from Pennsylvania. He was a prominent supporter and biographer of Abraham Lincoln. - Summary by Book Subtitle and David Wales

Charles A. Siringo was an American lawman, detective, and agent for the Pinkerton National Detective Agency during the late 19th century and early 20th century…. After taking part in several cattle drives, Siringo stopped herding to settle down, get married (1884), and open a merchant business in Caldwell, Kansas. He began writing a book, entitled A Texas Cowboy; Or Fifteen Years on the Hurricane Deck of a Spanish Pony. A year later, it was published, to wide acclaim, and became one of the first true looks into life as a cowboy written by someone who had actually lived the life. - Summary by...

The brilliant author of "The Cruise of the Cachalot" and "Idylls of the Sea" presents in this new work (1899) the continuous story of the actual experiences of his first four years at sea. In graphic and picturesque phrases he has sketched the events of voyages to the West Indies, to Bombay and the Coromandel coast, to Melbourne and Rangoon. Nothing could be of more absorbing interest than this wonderfully vivid account of foks'l humanity and the adventures and strange sights and experiences attendant upon deep-sea voyages. It is easy to see in this book an English companion to our own "Two ...

"We" is comprised of two parts. The first ten chapters (sections) where he traces his steady and remarkable genius for flying are written by Charles Lindbergh. The last six chapters are written by Fitzhugh Green and entitled "A Little of What the World Thought of Lindbergh." Green describes the extraordinary public response abroad and then in America to Lindbergh's greatest achievement--his flight from New York to Paris. (Summary by Jim Locke)

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Harriet Beecher Stowe (June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896), of Cincinnati, was the most famous female American author of her age, and is said to have touched off the American Civil War with her novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852), awakening the whole world to the harsh conditions of slavery. She wrote 30 other successful books depicting life in early America, plus collections of well written articles and travellogues, poems, hymns, and speeches on social issues. Harriet's father and all 7 of her brothers were ministers, her 5 sisters teachers and/or social activists, a whole family concerned with ...

Margaret of Angoulême, Queen of Navarre (Marguerite de Navarre), (1492-1549), was the sister of Francis I, King of France. She was highly-educated and was courted by the future Henry VIII of England. However, at the age of seventeen, she was married by royal decree to the untutored dolt, Charles IV of Alençon. After his death she wed Henry II of Navarre by whom she had a daughter (the mother of the future Henry IV of France) and a son, who died in infancy. The author takes us with Margaret on her perilous journey over the Pyrenees to Spain to attempt to free her brother, Francis, held ...

As one kingdom passes and another emerges, the First Book of the Kings chronicles the ancestral lineage of King David through his son, Solomon, onward. In this book, we see prophets being called to warn of the consequences of unrighteousness, kings either proudly---if imperfectly---obeying God, or arrogantly tossing His laws and commands behind their backs in shows of defiance, and the ramifications that follow Man's insistence on choosing men---rather than God Himself---to rule His people. - Summary by Mark Penfold

Richard Francis Weymouth was born on October 26, 1822 near Plymouth Dock, now known as Devonport, near Plymouth, Devonshire, in England. Dr. Weymouth was a Bible scholar and a philologist (a student of the origins of language), as well as a layman, in the English Baptist denomination. He edited "The Resultant Greek Text", after which he based his "New Testament in Modern Speech", which was published posthumously in 1903. He passed away on December 27, 1902 in Essex. His work is known for its simpler language and use in private reading. (Summary by Mark Penfold)

The Lives of the Queens of England is a multi-volumed work attributed to Agnes Strickland, though it was mostly researched and written by her sister Elisabeth. These volumes give biographies of the queens of England from the Norman Conquest in 1066. Although by today's standards, it is not seen as a very scholarly work, the Stricklands used many sources that had not been used before. Volume nine includes the biography of Mary Beatrice of Modena, through 1701. (Summary by Ann Boulais)

This New Testament was translated from the Greek by a Christian Universalist evangelist who later fell out of the faith. He was the last person jailed for the charge of blasphemy in the United States, and had many radical views that forced him to question his further involvement in the American Universalist movement. (Introduction by Mark Penfold)

The Book of Daniel is a book in the Hebrew Bible. The book tells of how Daniel, a Judean exile at the court of Nebuchadnezzar II (605 to 562 BC), the ruler of Babylon, becomes a high government official and delivers various visions. The earliest manuscripts discovered, like the traditional Jewish version, are written partly in Hebrew and partly in Aramaic, and consist of a series of six third-person narratives (chapters one to six) followed by four apocalyptic visions in the first person (chapters seven to twelve). The narratives take the form of court tales which focus on tests of religious ...