114 episodes
Willow Audiobooks Stephen Alexander
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- Arts
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4.9 • 9 Ratings
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Willow Audiobooks is an independent publisher of free audiobooks, released in the form of a podcast. The source texts are all in the public domain, and they are narrated, produced and with original music by Stephen Alexander. Original cover illustrations are by Benjamin Callery.
Willow Audiobooks began in March 2020, prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the UK national lockdown. Stephen Alexander has been storytelling all his life, and recorded his first homemade audiobook on cassette at the age of six (Roald Dahl's Esio Trot)!
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Jack and the Beanstalk | Fairy Tale Friday
Happy Friday! It's not just any Friday. It's Fairy Tale Friday. This month, it's Jack and the Beanstalk. Enjoy!
Music used is by Kevin MacLeod and can be downloaded from:
https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/
Tracks:
"Fairytale Waltz"
"Magic Escape Room"
"Circus of Freaks" -
Beauty and the Beast | Fairy Tale Friday
It's that time again - it's Fairy Tale Friday. This month I read Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve's original version of Beauty and the Beast. It's quite a far cry from the Disney version we all know and love, but very interesting nonetheless! Just don't expect any singing candlesticks...
Music used is by Kevin MacLeod and can be downloaded from:
https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/
Tracks:
"Fairytale Waltz"
"Parisian"
"Dark Times"
"Darkest Child"
"The Snow Queen"
"Gathering Darkness"
"Arcadia"
"Duet Musette" -
The Little Mermaid | Fairy Tale Friday
It's another Fairy Tale Friday - this time, it's Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid", in honour of LGBT History Month (if you know, you know - if not, look it up!).
Music used is by Kevin MacLeod and can be downloaded from:
https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/
Tracks:
"Fairytale Waltz"
"Aquarium" by Camille Saint-Saëns (produced by Kevin McLeod)
"Arcadia"
"Frost Waltz"
"Some Amount of Evil"
"Tenebrous Brothers Carnival - Mermaid"
"Water Prelude"
"Gathering Darkness" -
Cinderella | Fairy Tale Friday
Happy New Year, and Happy #FairyTaleFriday! This month's fairy tale is Cinderella, or The Little Glass Slipper, as told by Charles Perrault and translated by Charles Welsh.
Music used is by Kevin MacLeod and can be downloaded from:
https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/
Tracks:
"Fairytale Waltz"
"Some Amount of Evil"
"Arcadia"
"Scheming Weasel"
"Sad Trio"
"Royal Coupling"
"Court of the Queen" -
Snow-White | Fairy Tale Friday
It's this month's #FairyTaleFriday! This time it's Snow-White, as told by the Brothers Grimm, and translated by Lucy Crane. Watch out for poisoned apples!
Music used is by Kevin MacLeod and can be downloaded from:
https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/
Tracks:
"Fairytale Waltz"
"Some Amount of Evil"
"Mysterioso March"
"Krampus Workshop"
"Arcadia" -
Customer Reviews
Great performances of classic literature
Stephen Alexander proves a capable narrator of various classic literature, selected from public domain titles. Sound effects and music also make the performances really soar.
Enchanted Recordings
Love these audio books of classic tales, especially Wizard of Oz! The sound design is so intentional, full of nature and magical music. The narrator also makes me feel like I’m on the carpeted floor of a children’s library- he’s extremely warm and inventive with the characters. You will definitely hear these stories anew!
Willow
I very much enjoyed listening to Stephen read. I appreciate his sensitivity in re oppression and racial hatred, his warnings about triggers. I’d give the podcast 5 stars but for one thing: Where every other kind of hatred is included in his warnings he blithely ignores the casual misogyny that dots some of the literature. It would be nice if he included women in his sympathies