The Stones of Venice, Volume 1
Gelesen von LibriVox Volunteers
John Ruskin
(3,222 Sterne; 9 Bewertungen)
The Stones of Venice is a three-volume treatise on Venetian art and architecture by English art historian John Ruskin, first published from 1851 to 1853. Intending to prove how the architecture in Venice exemplified the principles he discussed in his earlier work, The Seven Lamps of Architecture, Ruskin examined the city in detail, describing for example over eighty churches. He discusses architecture of Venice's Byzantine, Gothic and Renaissance periods, and provides a general history of the city as well. The book aroused considerable interest in Victorian Britain and beyond. The chapter "The Nature of Gothic" (from volume 2) was admired by William Morris, who published it separately in an edition which is in itself an example of Gothic revival. It inspired Marcel Proust; the narrator of the Recherche visits Venice with his mother in a state of enthusiasm for Ruskin. The Stones of Venice is considered one of the most influential books of the 19th century. (Summary adapted from the Wikipedia by Leni) (14 hr 12 min)
Chapters
Bewertungen
regional accents
Neil Kelly
(4 Sterne)
annals and anals have different pronunciation and meaning. these dialect or accent issues didn't distract from the reading as Ruskin's argument demands attention and the voice of the reader is marginal to the material. Many thanks to the volunteers who bring the text to voice.
A worthwhile effort, but...
JMDinOKC
(2,5 Sterne)
While one is grateful that people do volunteer to read these books without pay, reading this book really does require a level of proficiency and even a bit of erudition that are exasperatingly lacking in some readers. For example, the first reader not only does not make much of an effort to pronounce Italian names and phrases correctly, she makes some astonishing goofs in plain old English, such as pronouncing the word "preface" as "pree-fayce." That's a real attention-ruiner.