Revolutions

Posted on May 1, 2018 by | Posted in about LibriVox, Blog, For Volunteers, Monthly Picks, News | Comments: 1 Comment on Revolutions

Look at the grassroots movements going on these days, from Black Lives Matter, to #metoo, to Catalonian independence, and you might think the cry for change is a current invention. Not so – let us prove the opposite with 10 gems from our catalog.

The sleepy little town Branton Hill is in steep decline, but Gadsby will not look on any longer. He secures the help of he town youth, and together, they turn the place into a bustling city of 60.000 inhabitants. How? Read the book by Ernest Vincent Wright, which is revolutionary in itself, since it does not contain the letter E.

The fight for a brighter future can begin very early. Only 12 years old is Gloriana, when she swears that she will bring equality to womankind. A few year later, one mysterious Hector D’Strange appears to fulfil her dream, in the book by Florence Dixie.

Sometimes, things change without our help. Annie L. Burton was born a slave in the South and lived through Civil War and Emancipation. Read about her struggles before and after she was a free woman in her Memories of Childhood’s Slavery Days.

Oceana refuses to be a slave to modern conventions. Raised as a Naturewoman on a tropical island, she immediately clashes with the Bostonian relatives who take her in, in the drama by Upton Sinclair. Things look good, but when she catches the eye of a married man, all hell breaks loose…

We don’t know his name, but we do know that he lived through the hell of World War I. For 14 months, then he had enough and got out. Published in 1917, A German Deserter’s War Experience recounts the life on a common soldier on the battlefield.

The members of the Scottish Gordon family are no soldiers, and yet they fight their own war. Called The Outlaws of Ravenhurst, they try to hold on to their Catholic faith in the middle of 17th century Protestant revolution. Read the novel for kids by Sister Imelda Wallace to find out if they were successful.

Francis A. Bruton writes about an unsuccessful demonstration in The Story of Peterloo. On August 16, 1819, 60.000 people gathered in Manchester for a peaceful rally demanding parliamentary reform. Attacked by Hussars, 18 died and more than 700 were wounded in what became a significant event in the British Labour Movement.

Surely some of all these people must have chanted paroles and Rebel Verses, just like those penned by Bernard Gilbert. In this short collection, there are 35 poems, entitled for example “Song of Revolt” or “The Rebel”.

Jenny Clegg’s battle cry is No Surrender! The young mill girl, wearied by her hard life as underpaid laborer, joins the British Women’s Movement. Constance Elizabeth Maud paints a lively picture of the struggle for women’s suffrage in the UK.

In 1840 Italy, Arthur Burton fights against Padre Montanelli and the Austrian Rule. Will he be able to his love Gemma safe in the midst of the struggle? Find out in the thriller The Gadfly by Ethel L. Voynich.

Enjoy – and keep fighting for a better world!

 

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1 comment

  1. ar says:

    Black Lives Matter is racist. MeToo is sexist.

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