The Last President & The Picture of Dorian Gray

The Last President
by Ingersoll Lockwood

First published January 1, 1896

Read in English by CJ Plogue

The year is 1896. The United States is rocked by the election of an unlikely president. On election night, riots broke out in the streets of New York. The city was paralyzed with dread. Mobs organized under the lead of Anarchists and Socialists. Farther South, people celebrated. This was a President elected by the working class and he was a President who followed through with his commitment to fight for the rights of the people. This president would fight to end the enslavement of the people by money lenders, big bankers, corporations and government overtax. But can he be successful in a society that is rapidly absorbing socialist ideologies?

Summary by CJ Plogue

https://librivox.org/

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First published July 1, 1890

Read by Bob Neufeld.

The Picture of Dorian Gray is the only published novel by Oscar Wilde, appearing as the lead story in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine on 20 June 1890, printed as the July 1890 issue of this magazine. Wilde later revised this edition, making several alterations, and adding new chapters; the amended version was published by Ward, Lock, and Company in April 1891. The novel tells of a young man named Dorian Gray, the subject of a painting by artist Basil Hallward. Basil is impressed by Dorian's beauty and becomes infatuated with him, believing his beauty is responsible for a new mode in his art. Dorian meets Lord Henry Wotton, a friend of Basil's, and becomes enthralled by Lord Henry's world view. Espousing a new hedonism, Lord Henry suggests the only things worth pursuing in life are beauty and fulfillment of the senses. Realizing that one day his beauty will fade, Dorian (whimsically) expresses a desire to sell his soul to ensure the portrait Basil has painted would age rather than himself. Dorian's wish is fulfilled, plunging him into debauched acts. The portrait serves as a reminder of the effect each act has upon his soul, with each sin displayed as a disfigurement of his form, or through a sign of aging. The Picture of Dorian Gray is considered a work of classic gothic fiction with a strong Faustian theme.

(Summary by Wikipedia)

https://librivox.org/