The Gilded Age, A Tale of Today
Mark Twain
Read by LibriVox Volunteers
The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today is an 1873 novel by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner that satirizes greed and political corruption in post-Civil War America. The term gilded age, commonly given to the era, comes from the title of this book. Twain and Warner got the name from Shakespeare's King John (1595): "To gild refined gold, to paint the lily... is wasteful and ridiculous excess." Gilding a lily, which is already beautiful and not in need of further adornment, is excessive and wasteful, characteristics of the age Twain and Warner wrote about in their novel. Another interpretation of the title, of course, is the contrast between an ideal "Golden Age," and a less worthy "Gilded Age," as gilding is only a thin layer of gold over baser metal, so the title now takes on a pejorative meaning as to the novel's time, events and people.
Although not one of Twain's more well-known works, it has appeared in more than 100 editions since its original publication in 1873. Twain and Warner originally had planned to issue the novel with illustrations by Thomas Nast. The book is remarkable for two reasons–-it is the only novel Twain wrote with a collaborator, and its title very quickly became synonymous with graft, materialism, and corruption in public life. (Description by Wikipedia) (17 hr 8 min)
Chapters
00 - Preface | 3:04 | Read by TriciaG |
01 - Chapter 1 | 22:38 | Read by TriciaG |
02 - Chapter 2 | 7:54 | Read by David Dwight |
03 - Chapter 3 | 9:51 | Read by David Dwight |
04 - Chapter 4 | 22:30 | Read by Charles RUHE |
05 - Chapter 5 | 20:06 | Read by Richard Kilmer (1942 - 2022) |
06 - Chapter 6 | 24:31 | Read by Richard Kilmer (1942 - 2022) |
07 - Chapter 7 | 16:43 | Read by Richard Kilmer (1942 - 2022) |
08 - Chapter 8 | 18:52 | Read by Charles RUHE |
09 - Chapter 9 | 13:00 | Read by Charles RUHE |
10 - Chapter 10 | 18:51 | Read by Charles RUHE |
11 - Chapter 11 | 13:27 | Read by Charles RUHE |
12 - Chapter 12 | 16:50 | Read by airandwaters |
13 - Chapter 13 | 19:05 | Read by airandwaters |
14 - Chapter 14 | 14:11 | Read by airandwaters |
15 - Chapter 15 | 18:43 | Read by airandwaters |
16 - Chapter 16 | 16:15 | Read by samohtar |
17 - Chapter 17 | 17:59 | Read by Dee Wykoff |
18 - Chapter 18 | 18:17 | Read by John Kooz |
19 - Chapter 19 | 17:11 | Read by Michael Reuss |
20 - Chapter 20 | 14:55 | Read by Nicole Kay |
21 - Chapter 21 | 15:23 | Read by TriciaG |
22 - Chapter 22 | 19:37 | Read by TriciaG |
23 - Chapter 23 | 6:15 | Read by Richard Kilmer (1942 - 2022) |
24 - Chapter 24 | 16:25 | Read by Richard Wallis |
25 - Chapter 25 | 9:43 | Read by Richard Wallis |
26 - Chapter 26 | 15:13 | Read by Richard Wallis |
27 - Chapter 27 | 13:30 | Read by Dee Wykoff |
28 - Chapter 28 | 22:09 | Read by Piper Hayes |
29 - Chapter 29 | 16:20 | Read by Floyd Wilde |
30 - Chapter 30 | 6:56 | Read by Richard Kilmer (1942 - 2022) |
31 - Chapter 31 | 19:53 | Read by TriciaG |
32 - Chapter 32 | 12:45 | Read by Jillian T. Weiss |
33 - Chapter 33 | 38:42 | Read by Richard Kilmer (1942 - 2022) |
34 - Chapter 34 | 11:52 | Read by Richard Kilmer (1942 - 2022) |
35 - Chapter 35 | 11:33 | Read by Richard Wallis |
36 - Chapter 36 | 9:07 | Read by Richard Wallis |
37 - Chapter 37 | 6:55 | Read by Richard Wallis |
38 - Chapter 38 | 17:39 | Read by wvthcomp |
39 - Chapter 39 | 12:48 | Read by wvthcomp |
40 - Chapter 40 | 14:21 | Read by Piper Hayes |
41 - Chapter 41 | 17:47 | Read by Piper Hayes |
42 - Chapter 42 | 33:46 | Read by Piper Hayes |
43 - Chapter 43 | 11:47 | Read by Kenneth Sergeant Gaghan |
44 - Chapter 44 | 16:06 | Read by Kenneth Sergeant Gaghan |
45 - Chapter 45 | 25:12 | Read by Tom Lennon |
46 - Chapter 46 | 21:04 | Read by Tom Lennon |
47 - Chapter 47 | 15:22 | Read by Richard Kilmer (1942 - 2022) |
48 - Chapter 48 | 15:16 | Read by Richard Kilmer (1942 - 2022) |
49 - Chapter 49 | 16:14 | Read by Michael Reuss |
50 - Chapter 50 | 16:58 | Read by Kalynda |
51 - Chapter 51 | 12:57 | Read by Kalynda |
52 - Chapter 52 | 3:53 | Read by Lisa Meyers |
53 - Chapter 53 | 11:51 | Read by Lisa Meyers |
54 - Chapter 54 | 20:00 | Read by Dee Wykoff |
55 - Chapter 55 | 18:09 | Read by Michael Reuss |
56 - Chapter 56 | 17:17 | Read by Michael Reuss |
57 - Chapter 57 | 13:43 | Read by jennm |
58 - Chapter 58 | 17:15 | Read by TriciaG |
59 - Chapter 59 | 26:09 | Read by Piper Hayes |
60 - Chapter 60 | 16:22 | Read by Michael Reuss |
61 - Chapter 61 | 13:13 | Read by Michael Reuss |
62 - Chapter 62 | 11:16 | Read by Michael Reuss |
63 - Chapter 63 | 14:43 | Read by Michael Reuss |
Reviews
Sad and Satirical
TriciaG
I found it sad how the main characters run after quick wealth and get-rich-quick type schemes instead of earning a living through honest work. The possibility of wealth through a lucky investment drives the characters into poverty. Add to that the ridiculous corruption and cronyism of Washington, and you've got the classic Twain style of satire and pathos in this novel. Highly recommended. Readers were generally good; there were no sections I wanted to turn off and read on my own. :) Technical quality of the recordings is decent; some light but not obtrusive background noise, no major plosives or sibilants, no severe fluctuations of volume.
great book
ally
this is a must read book.. reading was great there where some readers whom where having hard time reading but over all great reading