The History of Troilus and Cressida (version 2): Free Audiobook and Listening Guide

The History of Troilus and Cressida (version 2), credited to William Shakespeare, 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 History of Troilus and Cressida (version 2) by William Shakespeare. Read in English by Hamlet; Sonia; Tomas Peter; Craig Franklin The History of Troilus and Cressida has long baffled critics and audiences alike for its inconsistent tone, which ranges from bawdy comedy to somber tragedy, as well as its decidedly unheroic and unsympathetic cast of characters. It is also a work with a multivalent focus, jumping between different subplots and locations so that even the titular characters become lost in the shuffle of warcraft, manipulation, betrayal, and thwarted machismo. Not only do we follow the young Trojan warrior Troilus on his quest to woo the noncommittal Cressida, but also the Greek leader Agamemnon and his plot to sway the proud Achilles into battle, as well as the scurrilous fool Thersites, who rails against the hypocrisy of everyone involved in a war born (and continued) out of vanity and a bunch of overactive libidos. It is a play that caustically skewers the romance and valour of the Trojan War, as told by the likes of Homer, Chaucer, and Lydgate, while experimenting with the dramatic form in such a way that modern resonances can be found even today. And to perform it all? Three men (Craig Franklin, Tomas Peter, and Brad "Hamlet" Filippone) and one woman (Sonia), determined to give you a performance of this peculiar "problem play" that you will never forget. You thought you knew your Shakespeare? Well, think again! - Summary by Tomas Peter Cast list: Tomas Peter: Narrator; Troilus; Achilles; Ulysses; Calchas; Deiphobus; Servant to Troilus; Fourth Soldier. Brad “Hamlet” Filippone: Prologue; Agamemnon; Hector; Diomedes; Thersites; Alexander; Antenor; Servant to Paris; Third Soldier. Craig Franklin: Pandarus; Ajax; Nestor; Paris; Menelaus; Andromache; Helenus; Second Soldier. Sonia: Cressida; Aeneas; Patroclus; Cassandra; Priam; Helen; Margarelon; Myrmidon; Servant to Diomedes; First Soldier.

Recording facts

• Recording title: The History of Troilus and Cressida (version 2)
• Author credits: William Shakespeare
• Language: English
• Original MP3 tracks: 6
• Listed recording duration: 3:43:20

Catalogue topics

• drama
• Shakespeare
• tragicomedy
• problem play
• trojan war
• troilus and cressida

Track guide

1. 00 - Dramatis Personae — 3:16
2. 01 - Act I — 51:51
3. 02 - Act II — 37:25
4. 03 - Act III — 40:46
5. 04 - Act IV — 43:03
6. 05 - Act V — 46:59

Listen to this recording

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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.