Charles Dickens (1812-1870) was born in Landport, Portsmouth,
England, the second of eight children in a family continually
plagued by debt. A legacy brought release from the nightmare of
debtors' prison and child labor and afforded him a few years of
formal schooling. He worked as an attorney's clerk and newspaper
reporter until his early writings brought him the amazing success
that was to be his for the remainder of his life. He was the most
popular English novelist of the Victorian era, and he remains
popular, responsible for some of English literature's most iconic
characters.
Lewis Carroll was the pen name of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson
(1832-1898), English author, mathematician, and photographer. One
of eleven children of a scholarly country parson, he studied
mathematics at Oxford, obtained a university post, and then was
ordained as a deacon but found true success with his masterpiece,
Alice's Adventures Under Ground, now known as Alice's Adventures in
Wonderland, which originated as a story told to a young friend,
Alice Liddell, during a boating trip on the Thames. Among his other
works are Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There,
The Hunting of the Snark, and Jabberwocky.
Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875) was born in Odense, Denmark,
the son of a poor shoemaker and a washerwoman. As a young teenager,
he became quite well known in Odense as a reciter of drama and as a
singer. When he was fourteen, he set off for the capital,
Copenhagen, determined to become a national success on the stage.
He failed miserably, but made some influential friends in the
capital who got him into school to remedy his lack of proper
education. In 1829 his first book was published. After that, books
came out at regular intervals. His stories began to be translated
into English as early as 1846. Since then, numerous editions, and
more recently Hollywood songs and Disney cartoons, have helped to
ensure the continuing popularity of the stories in the
English-speaking world.
The Brothers Grimm were German academics, linguists, cultural
researchers, and authors. They are among the most well-known
storytellers of European folk tales, and their work popularized
such stories as Cinderella, The Frog Prince, Hansel and Gretel,
Rapunzel, Rumpelstiltskin, and Snow White. Their first collection
of folk tales, Children's and Household Tales, was published in
1812. The popularity of the Grimms' collected folk tales has
endured well beyond their lifetimes. The tales are available in
hundreds of translations and have been made into popular Disney
films, including Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Sleeping Beauty,
and Cinderella.
Voices in the Wind Audio Theatre is made up of an eclectic group of
professional, semiprofessional, and amateur talent that combines
their skills to produce original and creative audio dramas for
radio broadcast, podcasting, release on CD, and downloading. Their
audio dramas have been featured on numerous radio stations,
podcasts, and other media outlets.
Dylan Thomas was born in Swansea, Wales on 27 October 1914. In 1934
his first book of poetry, Eighteen Poems appeared, followed by
Twenty-five Poems in 1936, Deaths and Entrances in 1946 and in 1952
his final volume, Collected Poems. He also published many short
stories, wrote filmscripts, broadcast stories and talks, did a
series of lecture tours in the United States and wrote Under
Milkwood, the radio play.During his fourth lecture tour of the
United States in 1953, a few days after his 39th birthday, he
collapsed in his New York hotel and died on November 9th at St.
Vincent's Hospital. His body was sent back to Laugharne, Wales,
where his grave is marked by a simple wooden cross.In June 1994,
his wife, Caitlin Thomas, died in Italy, where she had spent most
of the years of her life after the death of Dylan Thomas. Her body
is buried next to his.
Perfect from the first sentence to the very last.-- "WKAR on A
Christmas Carol"
A Christmas Carol has been adopted into radio drama by many people
over the years, but few better than Voices in the Wind Audio
Theatre from Canada.-- "Fred Greenhalgh, Host of the Radio Drama
Revival Podcast, on A Christmas Carol"
[Narrator Georgia Lee] Schultz's Alice was the fulcrum of the
entire revival as she not only narrated the story but communicated
her thoughts to listeners in asides. It was a tribute to her acting
skill that she came across as a level-headed personality, someone
who remained distinctly unfazed by what was happening around her.
Hence her ability to treat the entire journey as a dream at the
end.-- "Radio Drama Reviews Online on Alice in Wonderland"
A resplendent narration and enchanting sound effects make this
edition of Grimm's 1812 fairy tale quite irresistible. Georgia Lee
Schultz's warm voice is ideal for the portrayal of Snow White,
particularly when she talks to her birds. Most impressive is Mary
Ellen Herder's Evil Queen; her harsh voice and disturbing cackle
are spot-on. First-rate sound effects add atmosphere; for example,
when the Evil Queen persuades Snow White to eat the poisoned apple,
the crunch is as realistic as the sounds of the birds.-- "AudioFile
on Snow White"
Adapted from the classic Grimm fairy tale, this audio drama of Snow
White and the Seven Dwarves follows the source material well, yet
adds some new elements and characters that fans of the Disney film
will find interesting and compelling. A sort of secret history of
what really happened...comparisons aside, this truly has feel of a
fairy tale...it's perfect for kids and adults and for those awesome
parents who want to introduce their children to audio drama at an
early age.-- "Michael Bergonzi, Audio Drama Reviews (5/5 stars), on
Snow White"
The zaniness of Carroll's kaleidoscopic story of Alice is realized
through music tied to action (particularly shrinking and growing),
the voice work of Barbara Rosenblat playing (among others) both the
Cheshire Cat and the Queen of Hearts and enhancing background
sounds, such as ocean waves and bird calls when Alice's tears
become a sea.-- "Library Journal (starred audio review) on Alice in
Wonderland"
The Queen, the Duchess, the Dormouse, and the Mad Hatter.
Award-winning voice actor Barbara Rosenblat leads an able cast in
giving proper nineteenth-century accents and voices to all our
favorite iconic characters from one of the most beloved children's
classics in the English language. Energetic newcomer Georgia Lee
Schultz provides Alice with an updated and nicely understandable
American accent and is especially good with the many whispered
asides that stitch this adapted version together. For many, Alice
in Wonderland is a special cultural touchstone, even with all the
commercials, videos, and pop songs that refer to it, so it is
always refreshing to hear the language and intended story of the
original.-- "AudioFile on Alice in Wonderland"
Zarr and Dupuis' production for the Canada-based Voices in the Wind
Audio Theatre was notable for its lack of sentimentality: despite
the happy ending, they emphasized the significance of Christmas as
the time of year when individuals should take a long hard look at
themselves and consider whether they need to reform. Would that
everyone could follow Scrooge's example.-- "Laurence Raw, Radio
Drama Reviews Online, on A Christmas Carol"
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