Tea-table Talk: Free Audiobook and Listening Guide

Tea-table Talk, credited to Jerome K. Jerome, 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 Tea-table Talk, by Jerome K. Jerome. Read by Ruth Golding. As the New York Times said in 1903, this lesser-known work by Jerome K. Jerome does not display "the wit of Congreve or even the glittering sort Mr. Jerome employs in some of his other books." It takes the form of imaginary conversations between the writer and a number of un-named characters at the afternoon tea table. The Woman of the World, the Old Maid, the Girton Girl, the Philosopher and the Minor Poet wax lyrical on subjects like marriage, art, society and politics. Frequently they appear to prefer the sound of their own voice to that of others. Although I couldn't agree with the NY Times that it is the Baedeker guide to conversation, it is certainly an eye-opening glimpse into this now almost extinct art. The participants are already bemoaning the lack of invigorating conversation in society: "Conversation has become a chorus; or, as a writer wittily expressed it, the pursuit of the obvious to no conclusion." (Summary by Ruth Golding)

Recording facts

• Recording title: Tea-table Talk
• Author credits: Jerome K. Jerome
• Language: English
• Original MP3 tracks: 6
• Listed recording duration: 2:33:41

Catalogue topics

• conversation
• humour
• humor

Track guide

1. 1 - Chapter I — 22:30
2. 2 - Chapter II — 25:32
3. 3 - Chapter III — 25:36
4. 4 - Chapter IV — 25:52
5. 5 - Chapter V — 27:48
6. 6 - Chapter VI — 26:25

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.