July it is, and summer is at its peak in the Northern hemisphere. Just the right time to present 10 adventurous gems from our catalog.
Let’s begin with one of the oldest adventure stories, about the return of Ulysses from Troy. His Odyssey, described by Homer, took 10 years to complete, but more than 2600 years later, it is still read – even in ancient Greek!
Comparatively short was the journey of Joshua Slocum. However, 3 years of Sailing Alone Around the World on an 11.2 m fishing boat probably felt much longer…
A sea voyage only stands at the beginning of an adventure involving searching for El Dorado in the Andes, and avoiding revolutions and priestly dangers on the way. And on top of that, a woman needs rescuing from the The Web of the Golden Spider. Interested? Check out Frederick O’Barlett’s novel.
A lot of rescuing is needed by Pauline too. And all that just because she wanted to see the world before getting married. Follow The Perils of Pauline – and those of her fiance – in our dramatic reading of Charles Goddard’s novel.
Certainly no damsel in distress was May Kellogg Sullivan, A Woman Who Went to Alaska in 1899. She took two trips of 18 months each, and covered 12.000 miles in steamers and the fledgling railroad. And on the way she was staying with the rough guys in various mining camps…
The ancient King Solomon’s Mines lie supposedly somewhere in Africa. The old fable of enormous riches that can be found there spur Alan Quatermain on a journey through central Africa, in the famous novel by H. Rider Haggard.
The jungles of Bunyip Land need to be crossed by Joe Carstairs, a boy from Australia, in search of his father, a naturalist, whose tracks were lost in New Guinea. Whether he and his small search party will succeed or not, can be discovered in the book by George Manville Fenn.
One of the most famous, most expensive, and most dangerous search–and–rescue expeditions ended after an 8 month’s journey through the heart of Africa with “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?”. Let’s hope the rest of the account on How I found Livingstone by Sir Henry M. Stanley is less dry…
Certainly more exciting are the books by Jules Verne, probably the best known writer of adventure stories. Here we present a lesser known novel Michael Strogoff, about a courier of Czar Alexander II, trying to do his duty during a rebellion. This book has also been recorded in Dutch.
In the end, let’s go back in time again, to the 8th – 11th century, when Beowulf was written. Listen to the beautiful poem describing how the young warrior kills the monster Grendel and is made King as a reward.
Enjoy our summer adventures – and your own!