CLASSIC FICTION

 

Title 1000 YEARS OF LAUGHTER

An Anthology of Classic Comic Prose  - more than 60 extracts

 

Selected by       DAVID TIMSON

 

Presented by     GRIFF RHYS JONES Approximate running time: 5 hours

 

Laughter is unique to man. This delightful anthology presents some of the funniest extracts in English Literature. David Timson starts with Anglo-Saxon riddles – ‘they couldn’t keep themselves warm on a diet of Beowulf’ – and continues with medieval memories, Tudor comic turn and Restoration buffonery.

 

The rise of the novel in the 18th century bought classic humour from Swift, Sterne and Smollet, passing the mantle to Charles Dickens in the 19th century.

 

Included here are rarities as well, from the antiquarian’s cupboard. Children’s literature produced unforgettable images from Wind in the Willows and Alice in Wonderland, while the first half of the 20th century produced comic writers as diverse as Dorothy Parker and P. G Wodehouse.

 

An entertainment from start to finish.

 

ENHANCED WITH CLASSICAL MUSIC FROM THE NAXOS CATALOGUE

 

•           Produced by Nicolas Soames

•           Recorded at Motivation Sound Studios, London

 

Naxos Audio Books 4cds NA426912