Once on a Time (Dramatic Reading)

Written by A. A. Milne

Narrated by LibriVox Community

This version of the book is done as a Dramatic Reading with various people speaking each characters part.

When the King of Barodia receives a pair of seven-league boots as a birthday present, his habit of flying over the King of Euralia's castle during breakfast provokes a series of incidents which escalate into war. While the King of Euralia is away, his daughter Hyacinth tries to rule in his stead and counter the machiavellian ambitions of the king's favourite, the Countess Belvane. Ostensibly a typical fairytale, it tells the story of the war between the kingdoms of Euralia and Barodia and the political shenanigans which take place in Euralia in the king's absence. The book introduces us to a princess who is far from helpless; a prince who, whilst handsome, is also pompous and vain; an enchantment which is almost entirely humorous; a villain who is not entirely villainous and receives no real comeuppance; a good king who isn't always good; an evil king who isn't always evil, and so on. The result is a book which children may not enjoy as much as adults. The book was written by Milne partly for his wife, upon whom the character of the Countess Belvane was partially based. (Summary from Wikipedia)

Cast:

Narration: Bob Neufeld
King Merriwig: Mark F. Smith
Princess Hyacinth: Karen Savage
Countess Belvane: Catharine Eastman
Prince Udo: Peter Eastman
Duke Coronel: Glenn Simonsen
Wiggs: Arielle Lipshaw
Woggs: Karen Savage
King of Barodia: Roger Melin
Chancellor of Barodia: Robert Keiper
Chancellor of Euralia: Denny Sayers
Fairy: Neeru Iyer
Old Woman: Catharine Eastman
Attendant: Arielle Lipshaw
Carlo, Men of Euralia, Captain of Archers, Flunkey: David Lawrence
Lookout, Cautious voice, Messenger, Wizard, Sentry: Barry Eads

Audio edited by: Barry Eads

Proof Listening by: Joy Easton and Arielle Lipshaw

• Language: English
• Publisher: LibriVox
• Release date: Aug 25, 2014

A. A. Milne

A.A. Milne (1882-1956) was an English writer. Born in London, Milne was educated at an independent school run by his father. Milne went on to Trinity College, London, where he earned a B.A. in Mathematics while editing and writing for the student magazine Granta. Upon graduating in 1903, Milne worked as a contributor and assistant editor for Punch, Britain’s leading humor magazine, while playing amateur cricket. He served in the British Army in the Great War as an officer and was injured at the Battle of the Somme in July of 1916, which led to his work as a propaganda writer for Military Intelligence before his discharge in 1919. Having married in 1913, Milne and his wife Dorothy de Sélincourt welcomed their son Christopher Robin Milne into the world in 1920. Around this time, Milne worked as a screenwriter for the British film industry while continuing to publish in Punch, where his poem “Teddy Bear” appeared in 1924. Marking the first appearance of his character Pooh, this launched Milne’s career as a successful children’s author. Winnie-the Pooh (1926) and The House at Pooh Corner (1928) were immediate bestsellers for Milne and continue to be read, cherished, and adapted today. Following this success, disturbed by the fame surrounding his son Christopher Robin, who figured as a character in his Pooh stories, Milne turned to writing adult fiction and plays, including Toad of Toad Hall (1929), an adaptation of Kenneth Grahame’s beloved novel The Wind in the Willows (1908).