Towards Democracy: Free Audiobook and Listening Guide

Towards Democracy, credited to Edward Carpenter, 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 Towards Democracy by Edward Carpenter. Read in English by Sue Anderson. “Civilization sinks and swims, but the old facts remain—the sun smiles, knowing well its strength.” Edward Carpenter (1844-1929) wrote his prose poem, Towards Democracy, styled after Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass, in a summer burst of creativity. “Early in 1881, no doubt as the culmination and result of struggles and experiences that had been going on, I became conscious that a mass of material was forming within me, imperatively demanding expression . . .” An English intellectual, Carpenter was in rebellion against Victorian prudery. Railing against Industrialization’s dehumanization, he preached a return to a simple life in harmony with Nature. Towards Democracy reads like Beat poetry—wild flowing word associations, moments of insight so clear they hurt, interspersed with pure rant! Included is an essay Carpenter wrote in 1894 explaining his intent and feelings in writing Towards Democracy. - Summary by Sue Anderson

Recording facts

• Recording title: Towards Democracy
• Author credits: Edward Carpenter
• Language: English
• Original MP3 tracks: 13
• Listed recording duration: 3:55:06

Catalogue topics

• social commentary
• naturism

Track guide

1. 00 - Preface: A Note on Towards Democracy — 21:50
2. 01 - I - IX — 27:17
3. 02 - X - XVI — 23:20
4. 03 - XVII - XXIV — 17:10
5. 04 - XXV - XXXI — 18:28
6. 05 - XXXII - XXXVI — 14:52
7. 06 - XXXVII - XL — 22:43
8. 07 - XLI - XLVI — 15:51
9. 08 - XLVII - LI — 17:56
10. 09 - LII - LV — 17:16
11. 10 - LVI - LX — 13:36
12. 11 - LXI - LXV — 14:10
13. 12 - LXVI - LXX — 10:37

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.