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The Dynasts: An Epic-Drama of the War with Napoleon

Thomas Hardy · Public domain text

141,932 words · about 9 h 56 min to read

Period artwork: Interior of the Bodleian Library, 1845
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About this edition

The text of The Dynasts: An Epic-Drama of the War with Napoleon comes from Project Gutenberg e-text #4043. It is in English and public domain in the United States. Project Gutenberg’s header and license text are removed, and RedLectern sets the text out for reading on screen; no words of the book are rewritten or summarized. More formats (EPUB, Kindle) · How RedLectern is built

This book is long enough to be split into 6 parts, so each one loads quickly on its own.

Contents (134)
  1. Opening under 1 min
  2. Preface about 6 min
  3. Preface about 13 min
  4. Scene I about 4 min
  5. Scene II about 3 min
  6. Scene III about 13 min
  7. Scene IV about 1 min
  8. Scene V about 4 min
  9. Scene VI about 6 min
  10. Scene I about 3 min
  11. Scene II about 3 min
  12. Scene III about 4 min
  13. Scene IV about 4 min
  14. Scene V about 9 min
  15. Scene I about 6 min
  16. Scene II about 1 min
  17. Scene III about 1 min
  18. Scene I about 5 min
  19. Scene II about 1 min
  20. Scene III about 5 min
  21. Scene IV about 1 min
  22. Scene V about 3 min
  23. Scene VI about 3 min
  24. Scene I about 4 min
  25. Scene II about 5 min
  26. Scene III about 3 min
  27. Scene IV about 8 min
  28. Scene V about 4 min
  29. VI. [10] about 2 min
  30. Scene VII about 3 min
  31. Scene I about 5 min
  32. Scene II about 3 min
  33. Scene III about 5 min
  34. Scene IV about 2 min
  35. Scene V about 4 min
  36. Scene VI about 3 min
  37. Scene VII about 4 min
  38. Scene VIII about 7 min
  39. Scene I about 6 min
  40. Scene II about 3 min
  41. Scene III about 4 min
  42. Scene IV about 4 min
  43. Scene V about 3 min
  44. Scene VI about 4 min
  45. Scene VII about 5 min
  46. Scene VIII about 10 min
  47. Scene I about 1 min
  48. Scene II about 10 min
  49. Scene III about 6 min
  50. Scene IV about 1 min
  51. Scene V about 2 min
  52. Scene VI about 6 min
  53. Scene VII about 2 min
  54. Scene I about 7 min
  55. Scene II about 5 min
  56. Scene III about 8 min
  57. Scene IV about 3 min
  58. Scene V about 6 min
  59. Scene I about 4 min
  60. Scene II about 3 min
  61. Scene III about 8 min
  62. Scene IV about 2 min
  63. Scene V about 3 min
  64. Scene VI about 3 min
  65. Scene VII about 2 min
  66. Scene VIII about 3 min
  67. Scene I about 6 min
  68. Scene II about 8 min
  69. Scene III about 6 min
  70. Scene IV about 5 min
  71. Scene V about 2 min
  72. Scene VI about 3 min
  73. Scene VII about 4 min
  74. Scene VIII about 5 min
  75. Scene I about 2 min
  76. Scene II about 2 min
  77. Scene III about 6 min
  78. Scene IV about 5 min
  79. Scene V about 8 min
  80. Scene VI about 3 min
  81. Scene VII about 15 min
  82. Scene I about 5 min
  83. Scene II about 4 min
  84. Scene III about 6 min
  85. Scene IV about 4 min
  86. Scene V about 3 min
  87. Scene VI about 2 min
  88. Scene VII about 3 min
  89. Scene VIII about 3 min
  90. Scene IX about 4 min
  91. Scene X about 3 min
  92. Scene XI about 4 min
  93. Scene XII about 4 min
  94. Scene I about 3 min
  95. Scene II about 4 min
  96. Scene III about 3 min
  97. Scene IV about 5 min
  98. Scene I about 5 min
  99. Scene II about 3 min
  100. Scene III about 3 min
  101. Scene IV about 2 min
  102. Scene V about 4 min
  103. Scene VI about 4 min
  104. Scene I about 2 min
  105. Scene II about 4 min
  106. Scene III about 7 min
  107. Scene IV about 7 min
  108. Scene V about 1 min
  109. Scene VI about 5 min
  110. Scene VII about 4 min
  111. Scene VIII about 5 min
  112. Scene I about 3 min
  113. Scene II about 5 min
  114. Scene III about 3 min
  115. Scene IV about 5 min
  116. Scene V about 7 min
  117. Scene VI about 4 min
  118. Scene I about 3 min
  119. Scene II about 10 min
  120. Scene III about 4 min
  121. Scene IV about 4 min
  122. Scene V about 5 min
  123. Scene VI about 5 min
  124. Scene VII about 3 min
  125. Scene VIII about 5 min
  126. Scene I about 4 min
  127. Scene II about 5 min
  128. Scene III about 2 min
  129. Scene IV about 6 min
  130. Scene V about 4 min
  131. Scene VI about 3 min
  132. Scene VII about 5 min
  133. Scene VIII about 11 min
  134. Scene IX about 10 min

The opening of Preface

The Spectacle here presented in the likeness of a Drama is concerned with the Great Historical Calamity, or Clash of Peoples, artificially brought about some hundred years ago.

The choice of such a subject was mainly due to three accidents of locality. It chanced that the writer was familiar with a part of England that lay within hail of the watering-place in which King George the Third had his favourite summer residence during the war with the first Napoleon, and where he was visited by ministers and others who bore the weight of English affairs on their more or less competent shoulders at that stressful time. Secondly, this district, being also near the coast which had echoed with rumours of invasion in their intensest form while the descent threatened, was formerly animated by memories and traditions of the desperate military preparations for that contingency. Thirdly, the same countryside happened to include the village which was the birthplace of Nelson's flag-captain at Trafalgar.

Read on in Part 1 →