Naxos AudioBooks Catalogue

INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION___________________________________________________ Naxos AudioBooks Catalogue 2014
Dear Listeners,
Nicolas Soames and friend
It is 20 years since Naxos AudioBooks, born out of the Naxos classical record label, released its first
recordings: Anton Lesser reading Milton’s Paradise Lost, Jim Norton reading Ulysses, Laura Paton
reading Grimm’s Fairy Tales. Two decades on, and I can look with delight and encouragement on
some 700 titles – encouragement because if all our listeners didn’t enjoy them and buy them, we
wouldn’t make them: ergo, classics are alive and well on audio!
And, 20 years on, there is still a thrill in the air. 250 years ago, Edward Gibbon sat on the
Palatine Hill overlooking Rome and determined to write his history which would prove to be one of
the greatest works of Western literature – The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire,
to give the magnum opus its full title.
How timely, then, for the inimitable David Timson to undertake this formidable, 6-volume
project. He was faced not just with size – some 110 CDs running to 140 hours – and the delivery of
Gibbon’s magnificent Augustan prose (likened by one commentator to a massive Roman aqueduct).
He had to consider which of the thousands of footnotes made by Gibbon to add to the main
narrative – some are just academic references which can be ignored on audiobook, while others are
fascinating adjuncts to the main narrative and should be included.
It is only one of a number of strong new titles coming this year. Juliet Stevenson’s new reading
of Flaubert’s Madame Bovary will, I am sure, join her peerless recordings of Middlemarch, To the
Lighthouse, and Jane Austen high up in the list of our best-sellers, an indication of what a discerning
lot you are!
Bill Homewood’s riproaring readings of French classics continue apace this year with more
Dumas while, on the other side of the coin, we have no fewer than six more unabridged Georgette
Heyer titles coming in the second half of the year.
The manner of our listening has changed out of all recognition in these 20 years. Once mainly
cassettes, it is now increasingly downloads with some CDs. We are becoming accustomed to
listening on devices that we carry with us for instant access, whether on foot, in a train, in car or at
home – perhaps while doing some activity, or even the traditional way, just listening!
A remarkable number listen and read the text at the same time, for the ultimate experience –
and it certainly enriches the understanding of testing texts such as Ulysses! Whichever way, I hope
you continue to enjoy our recordings, and come back to the website, or follow us on Facebook or
Twitter to keep up to date with our news.
Nicolas Soames
PUBLISHER
CDs and downloads available from www.naxosaudiobooks.com
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