The Ballad of the White Horse: Free Audiobook and Listening Guide

The Ballad of the White Horse, credited to G.K. Chesterton, 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 The Ballad of the White Horse by G.K. Chesterton. Read by Joshua B. Christensen An English epic poem that follows the exploits of Alfred the Great in his defense of Christian civilization in England from the heathen nihilism of the North. Following a string of defeats at the hands of the invading Danes, a vision from heaven in the river island of Athelney fills Alfred with joy and hope. Though it gives no promise of victory in the coming struggle, it inspires him to rally his chieftains for a last stand against the invading hordes. His adventures lead throughout the country as he gathers his men, and take him through the Danish camps disguised as a minstrel before culminating in the Battle of Ethandune and the prophesying of the enemy's subtle return in the ages to come. (Summary by Joshua B. Christensen)

Recording facts

• Recording title: The Ballad of the White Horse
• Author credits: G.K. Chesterton
• Language: English
• Original MP3 tracks: 9
• Listed recording duration: 1:54:57

Catalogue topics

• chesterton
• poem
• epic
• ballad
• whitehorse

Track guide

1. 00 - Prefatory Note & Dedication — 8:39
2. 01 - The Vision of the King — 12:08
3. 02 - The Gathering of the Chiefs — 11:48
4. 03 - The Harp of Alfred — 15:30
5. 04 - The Woman in the Forest — 12:48
6. 05 - Ethandune: The First Stroke — 12:09
7. 06 - Ethandune: The Slaying of the Chiefs — 12:00
8. 07 - Ethandune: The Last Charge — 14:50
9. 08 - The Scouring of the Horse — 15:46

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.