Leda: Free Audiobook and Listening Guide

Leda, credited to Aldous Huxley, is available as a LibriVox volunteer audiobook. This guide identifies the recording, its source summary and its audio tracks.

About the work

The LibriVox catalogue summary, preserved with the recording, reads:

LibriVox recording of Leda by Aldous Huxley. Read in English by volunteer readers. Though he gained recognition for his later essays and novels, Aldous Huxley started his writing career as a poet. Published in 1920, Leda is his fourth compilation of poetry. It begins with the passionate and slightly erotic poem "Leda", which recalls the love affair between Queen Leda, the mother of Helen of Troy, and her swan, Zeus in disguise. Some short poems follow. The book ends with two long sections. The first, "Beauty," is a short collection of vignettes where the author reflects on the concept of beauty through an ideal model of physical desire, Helen of Troy. The second, "Soles Occidere et Redire Possunt," or "Suns Can Set, and Suns Can Rise Again," is another long poem which reflects a day in the life of John Ridley, a deceased friend of Huxley's, who was mentally challenged throughout his entire life.. - Summary by Mary Kay

Recording facts

• Recording title: Leda
• Author credits: Aldous Huxley
• Language: English
• Original MP3 tracks: 30
• Listed recording duration: 1:55:36

Catalogue topics

• poetry
• religion
• romance
• epic poem
• greek mythology
• poems
• beauty
• gods

Opening tracks: first 24 of 30

1. 01 - Leda, Part I — 6:48
2. 02 - Leda, Part II — 10:42
3. 03 - Leda, Part III — 7:40
4. 04 - Leda, Part IV — 7:12
5. 05 - The Birth of God — 2:14
6. 06 - On Hampstead Heath — 1:08
7. 07 - Sympathy — 0:48
8. 08 - Male and Female Created He Them — 1:23
9. 09 - From the Pillar — 1:06
10. 10 - Jonah — 1:06
11. 11 - Variations on a Theme — 1:06
12. 12 - A Melody of Scarlatti — 0:33
13. 13 - A Sunset — 1:41
14. 14 - Life and Art — 0:57
15. 15 - First Philosopher's Song — 1:12
16. 16 - Second Philosopher's Song — 1:08
17. 17 - Fifth Philosopher's Song — 0:52
18. 18 - Ninth Philosopher's Song — 1:56
19. 19 - Morning Scene — 0:47
20. 20 - Verrey's — 1:02
21. 21 - Frascatti's — 1:17
22. 22 - Fatigue — 1:25
23. 23 - The Merry-Go-Round — 2:01
24. 24 - Back Streets — 1:35

Listen to this recording

Open the complete recording and player on Internet Archive. The player includes the full track list and available download formats.

Source and rights

This is a record from LibriVox's official Internet Archive collection, with a public-domain licence recorded in its metadata. LibriVox's policy includes its catalogue summaries as well as its recordings. Its public-domain assessment follows United States law; copyright status can differ elsewhere. The summary and track facts are reproduced and reformatted from that record. Dates attached to the archive upload are not treated as original book publication dates.