Audio Books

Famous Affinities of History: The Romance of Devotion

Orr, Lyndon
"Famous Affinities of History" is a book of passion-filled accounts of the most famous love affairs of history. The stories of Cleopatra, Victor Hugo, Honore de Balzac, Jonathan Swift, Charles Dickens, Karl Marx, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Byron, George Sand and other famous people of all times (even those of royal blood are not spared), are dealt with in Lyndon Orr's own interesting and suspenseful style. Written in four volumes, this book makes for an informative, interesting and thoroughly enjoyable read, giving us an insight into the lives and lifestyles of various popular figures of history.

Good Housekeeping Marriage Book, The

Bigelow, William F.
A collection of articles from Good Housekeeping magazine, The Good Housekeeping Marriage Book focuses on the subject of marriage. With instructions and advice from courtship to raising children, this collection aims to assist those with questions and concerns surrounding marriage and the ensuing relationship. Published in 1938.

Art of Conversation: Twelve Golden Rules

Josephine Turck Baker
Many of us find it challenging to speak to other people, for various reasons. Some of us are afraid of being called a bore. Others are worried that we will be accused of hogging attention. Many of us simply don't know what to talk about. This book is an entertaining and enlightening manual that may be able to help. Through a series of twelve dialogues between a man and a woman, we are introduced to twelve "golden rules" that will help us navigate the waters of interpersonal communication.

Englishwoman's Love-Letters, An

Anonymous
It need hardly be said that the woman by whom these letter were written had no thought that they would be read by anyone but the person to whom they were addressed. But a request, conveyed under circumstances which the writer herself would have regarded as all-commanding, urges that they should now be given to the world; and, so far as is possible with a due regard to the claims of privacy, what is here printed presents the letters as they were first written in their complete form and sequence.

Son of the Middle Border

Hamlin Garland
In all the region of autobiography, so far as I know it, I do not know quite the like of Mr. Garland's story of his life, and I should rank it with the very greatest of that kind in literature. . . . It is the poet who sees the vast scale of human struggle with nature or the things she will withhold unless they are forced from her by man's tireless toil and mighty mechanism, and in the vision he knows a battle-joy as distinctive of this Son of the Middle Border as his fidelity to the sordid and squalid details of the campaign, or his exultation of the beauty of the West which he has so passionately hated and finally so passionately loves. As you read the story of his life you realize it the memorial of a generation, of a whole order of American experience; as you review it you perceive it an epic of such mood and make as has not been imagined before.

Neighbors - Life Stories of the Other Half

Jacob A. Riis
These stories have come to me from many sources—some from my own experience, others from settlement workers, still others from the records of organized charity, that are never dry, as some think, but alive with vital human interest and with the faithful striving to help the brother so that it counts. They have this in common, that they are true. For good reasons, names and places are changed, but they all happened as told here. I could not have invented them had I tried; I should not have tried if I could. For it is as pictures from the life in which they and we, you and I, are partners, that I wish them to make their appeal to the neighbor who lives but around the corner and does not know it.

In Times Like These

Nellie McClung
"Believing that the woman's claim to a common humanity is not an unreasonable one, and that the successful issue of such claim rests primarily upon the sense of fair play which people have or have not according to how they were born, and
Therefore to men and women everywhere who love a fair deal, and are willing to give it to everyone, even women, this book is respectfully dedicated by the author."

Sex: Avoided Subjects Discussed in Plain English (version 2)

Henry Stanton
Henry Stanton was appalled at the shocking lack of information given to young people about sex and reproduction in his time. He felt this was a crime that needed to be fixed and so he wrote this book explaining sex for young and old. Ignorance of basic reproductive processes he felt led to experimentation that then led to sin, crime and prostitution. While this book is definitely not written in what I would call Plain English, contains some very questionable 'facts' about masturbation and menstruation and might seem very moralistic and dogmatic to our current society, he does hold out high ideas for all in affairs of self respect, love and marriage. If nothing else, this is a delightful peek into the thoughts of almost all people our very recent country's past.

Private Sex Advice to Women

R. B. Armitage
In this book the writer thereof seeks to convey to women—particularly to young wives and women expecting to be married—certain important facts of knowledge, certain necessary information, which all such women should possess, but which few are given the opportunity to acquire.
The writer of the present work is one of the rapidly growing number of thinking persons who believe that the time has come to educate the race concerning the importance of sane instruction concerning the functions of sex. He, and those who think as he does, believe that the time has come to "Turn on the Light!" They believe that the importance of the subject will be realized by all intelligent persons, once that their attention is directed to the subject, and once they have considered it apart from the old prejudices and distorted customs. When public opinion on this subject is reformed, then will the taboo fall away from the body of truth; then will the subject take its place among the "respectable" topics which may be considered, discussed, and taught, without loss of caste or prestige. (From the Preface by R. B. Armitage MD)

Manners for Men

Mrs. Humphry
Many men who go out into the world while still very young to earn their living have few opportunities of acquiring a knowledge of social observances. Should this little manual of manners be of use to any such in enabling them to master the theory, as it were, of social customs in the educated classes, it will have attained its aim. (Mrs. Humphry)

Japanese Girls and Women

Bacon, Alice
A clear and delightful peek into the world of Japanese girls and women of the late 1800s: their childhood, education, marriage and intimate family life. And it is done by someone who admires the immense resources, abilities and strength shown by all of these girls and women. The intricate customs that bind the society together and must be learned by every girl, such as the annual Doll ceremony are explained as well as the difficult life of a Japanese wife of this period. Life among the nobles and upper class in the courts and castles, something long hidden away, is explored. Did you know there were Samauri Women? The entire spectrum of Japanese life in the late 1800s is explored from the feminine point of view. The writer is a Christian but respects the cultural and religious differences of Japan society and presents what she has observed from many years in the country and what was shared with her by her Japanese women friends.

Studies in the Psychology of Sex, Volume 1

Havelock Ellis
The first of six volumes, this volume covers in extensive detail the topics of "The Evolution of Modesty", "The Phenomena of Sexual Periodicity", and "Auto-Eroticism". Written as an anthropological and psychological study from the point of view of Havelock, the famous British sexologist of the late 19th century, who was also a physician and social reformer.

Studies in the Psychology of Sex, Volume 2

Havelock Ellis
The second of six volumes, this volume covers in extensive detail the topic of "Sexual Inversion", or homosexuality to give it a more current name. Written as an anthropological and psychological study from the point of view of Havelock, the famous British sexologist of the late 19th century, who was also a physician and social reformer.

Hints for Lovers

Arnold Haultain
"Hints for Lovers" is a thorough analysis of relationships between men and women, about everything that lovers should know, and delves deep into the psychology of men and women, and the philosophy of courtship, engagement, kissing, making love, marriage, etc, in a light-hearted tone, with refreshing humor.

Tea Drinking In 18th-Century America: Its Etiquette And Equipage

Rodris Roth
The title of this 1961 Smithsonian Institution bulletin says it all. “In 18th-century America, the pleasant practice of taking tea at home was an established social custom with a recognized code of manners and distinctive furnishings. Pride was taken in a correct and fashionable tea table whose equipage included much more than teapot, cups, and saucers. It was usually the duty of the mistress to make and pour the tea; and it was the duty of the guests to be adept at handling a teacup and saucer and to provide social ‘chitchat.’” The author was assistant curator of cultural history in the United States National Museum, Smithsonian Institution. The printed version has numerous interesting pictures and illustrations as well as informative end notes.

Don't Marry

James W. Donovan
This book doesn't advise against marriage but just offers advice on the errors some people can make who make the wrong choice when entering into so long a contract.

Art of Kissing

Will Rossiter
The Art of Kissing is both a history of and a manual for the probably most widely practised enjoyment on the planet.

Gentle Measures in the Management and Training of the Young

Jacob Abbott
Subtitled, "The principles on which a firm parental authority may be established and maintained, without violence or anger, and the right development of the moral and mental capacities be promoted by methods in harmony with the structure and the characteristics of the juvenile mind." This book gives practical advice on how to raise children using "gentle measures" that do not damage the children's emotions or self esteem. Most of the information is as relevant and practical today as it was when published in 1871.

Bits About Home Matters

Jackson, Helen Hunt
This book is a collection of short observations by Helen Hunt Jackson, several with children and parenting as the subject matter.

Love's Coming-of-Age: A Series of Papers on the Relations of the Sexes

Edward Carpenter
"The little god of Love is generally represented as a child; and rightly, perhaps, considering the erratic character of his ways among the human race. There are signs, however, of a new order in the relations of the Sexes; and the following papers are, among other things, an attempt to indicate the inner laws which, rather than the outer, may guide Love when—some day—he shall have come to his full estate."

Guide to Men, A

Rowland, Helen
A series of occasionally witty one-liners, poems and considerations on the subject of Men, Women and their Conjunction. By turns tender, bland, sexist (in both directions!) and funny

Little Journeys to the Homes of Great Lovers

Elbert Hubbard
Elbert Hubbard describes the homes of authors, poets, social reformers and other prestigious people, reflecting on how their surroundings may have influenced them. These short essays are part biography and part pontification of Hubbard's opinion of the subject and their oeuvre.

Lives of Two Cats

Pierre Loti
An English translation of Pierre Loti's charming 19th century memoir of his cats.

Marriage, as it was, as it is and as it should be

Annie Besant
In this short pamphlet, Annie Besant - a well-known British women's rights activist - lays down British marriage laws as they were at her time. She opposes the view of married women as mere property of their husbands, with virtually no rights of their own, and makes suggestions for the improvement of marriage law, footed on equality of the sexes. In the second part of the pamphlet, she advocates for a law governing full divorce, instead of only the separation of husband and wife the church was granting, unwillingly, if at all.

Although the pamphlet was written in 1882, Besants views of equality of men and women in both marriage and divorce law are surprisingly modern. Her ideas of shared parenting in case of a divorce have not been realised until very recently.

Concerning Genealogies

Frank Allaben
Written over a century ago, this comprehensive book offers insight into the methods used (still to this day, in spite of modern computers) to research and compile a family history. As stated in the preface of the book, "Strong emphasis is laid upon the importance of employing the historical method..." which is sorely lacking in today's computerized compilations.

Bringing up the Boy

Carl Werner
''Bringing up the Boy'' is, according to its subtitle, ''A Message to Fathers and Mothers from a Boy of Yesterday concerning the Men of To-morrow'' and proffers advice for parents on raising boys from infancy until adulthood, to become fine, upstanding men. The fact that boys are temperamentally, emotionally and physically different from girls is never lost sight of in the discussions in the various chapters. Discussions include: advice on allowing boys to settle their own differences, without interference, but with advice; the Santa Claus myth; the best ways to discipline the boy, to ensure he gets the message; advice on how to talk with your boy regarding smoking, drinking, sex, puberty, and keeping a clean mind as well as a clean body. The author's advice is from his experiences in raising his boy, and the fact that he was once a boy. So many parents often forget that they were once boys and girls themselves. (Donald Cummings)

What the Mother of a Deaf Child Ought to Know

John Dutton Wright
Wright, a pioneer in the education of the deaf, was a strong advocate for acoustic and auricular training. In this little book, he tries to advise the parents of deaf children and reassure them that there can be a successful and happy life for them.

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