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    The Alchemist
    The Alchemist
    The Alchemist
    Audiobook3 hours

    The Alchemist

    Written by Ben Jonson

    Narrated by LibriVox Community

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    About this audiobook

    An outbreak of plague in London forces a gentleman, Lovewit, to flee temporarily to the country, leaving his house under the sole charge of his butler, Jeremy. Jeremy uses the opportunity given to him to use the house as the headquarters for fraudulent acts. He transforms himself into 'Captain Face', and enlists the aid of Subtle, a fellow conman and Dol Common, a prostitute. In The Alchemist, Jonson unashamedly satirizes the follies, vanities and vices of mankind, most notably greed-induced credulity. People of all social classes are subject to Jonson's ruthless, satirical wit. He mocks human weakness and gullibility to advertising and to "miracle cures" with the character of Sir Epicure Mammon, who dreams of drinking the elixir of youth and enjoying fantastic sexual conquests. The Alchemist focuses on what happens when one human being seeks advantage over another. In a big city like London, this process of advantage-seeking is rife. The trio of con-artists - Subtle, Face and Dol - are self-deluding small-timers, ultimately undone by the same human weaknesses they exploit in their victims. (Summary by Wikipedia)

    Cast:
    Subtle, First Neighbor: Elizabeth Klett
    Face: ToddHW
    Dol Common: Arielle Lipshaw
    Dapper, Second Officer: Nathanial W.C. Higgins
    Drugger, Third Neighbor: Thomas Leigh Moore
    Lovewit: Kevin Johnson
    Sir Epicure Mammon: Algy Pug
    Pertinax Surly, Fifth Neighbor, First Officer: Alan Mapstone
    Tribulation Wholesome: TriciaG
    Ananias: Martin Geeson
    Kastril: David Nicol
    Dame Pliant: Amy Gramour
    Fourth Neighbor: Charlotte Duckett
    Narrator: Kristingj

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherLibriVox
    Release dateAug 25, 2014
    Author

    Ben Jonson

    Benjamin Jonson (c. 11 June 1572 – c. 16 August 1637 was an English playwright and poet. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence upon English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for the satirical plays Every Man in His Humour (1598), Volpone, or The Fox (c. 1606), The Alchemist (1610) and Bartholomew Fair (1614) and for his lyric and epigrammatic poetry. He is generally regarded as the second most important English dramatist, after William Shakespeare.

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