Sesame and Lilies: Free Audiobook and Listening Guide

Sesame and Lilies, credited to John Ruskin, 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 Sesame and Lilies by John Ruskin. Read in English by Oxenhandler. Sesame and Lilies proposes and answers the questions, how, what and why to read in the context of how and why to live. About earlier and later editions of the book containing the first two lectures alone, Ruskin wrote: "...chiefly written for young people belonging to the upper or undistressed, middle classes; who may be supposed to have choice of the objects and command of the industries of their life... if read in connection with “Unto This Last” it contains the chief truths I have endeavored through all of my past life to display… and am chiefly thankful to have learned and taught.” - Avallon, August 24, 1882* This revised and enlarged edition is comprised of two prefaces and three lectures. The Preface-Last Edition is the preface to the earlier edition and references the Alps. The two lectures, “Of Kings’ Treasuries” and “Of Queens' Gardens,” appeared alone in the first editions and last editions. They were withdrawn from later editions, "not as irrelevant but as following the subject too far, and disturbing the simplicity in which the original lectures dwell on their several themes, -the majesty of the influence of good books, and of good women; if we know how to read them and how to honour."* The lectures, Sesame: Of Kings' Treasuries and Lilies: Of Queens' Gardens were delivered in December 1864 at the town halls at Rusholme and Manchester. The third lecture, "Of the Mystery of Life and Its Arts" was delivered in the theater of the Royal College of Science, Dublin, 1868 and added to the book in editions first appearing in 1871. (Summary by Oxenhandler)

Recording facts

• Recording title: Sesame and Lilies
• Author credits: John Ruskin
• Language: English
• Original MP3 tracks: 20
• Listed recording duration: 5:13:13

Catalogue topics

• nature
• art
• society
• education
• lecture
• ideal conduct

Track guide

1. 01 - Preface, Part 1 — 12:06
2. 02 - Preface, Part 2 — 14:18
3. 03 - Preface, Part 3 — 10:05
4. 04 - Preface - Last Edition — 15:59
5. 05 - Of Kings' Treasuries, Part 1 — 13:03
6. 06 - Of Kings' Treasuries, Part 2 — 26:43
7. 07 - Of Kings' Treasuries, Part 3 — 14:54
8. 08 - Of Kings' Treasuries, Part 4 — 17:56
9. 09 - Of Kings' Treasuries, Part 5 — 19:25
10. 10 - Of Kings' Treasuries, Part 6 — 16:04
11. 11 - Of Queens' Gardens, Part 1 — 16:28
12. 12 - Of Queens' Gardens, Part 2 — 14:24
13. 13 - Of Queens' Gardens, Part 3 — 14:37
14. 14 - Of Queens' Gardens, Part 4 — 15:31
15. 15 - Of Queens' Gardens, Part 5 — 12:50
16. 16 - Of the Mystery of Life, Part 1 — 15:29
17. 17 - Of the Mystery of Life, Part 2 — 15:18
18. 18 - Of the Mystery of Life, Part 3 — 16:15
19. 19 - Of the Mystery of Life, Part 4 — 14:29
20. 20 - Of the Mystery of Life, Part 5 — 17:19

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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.