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Paradise Regained

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Paradise Regained

By: John Milton
Narrated by: Anton Lesser
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About this listen

In Paradise Regained, Satan again is on the prowl, having successfully tempted Adam and Eve, and forced their departure from the Garden of Eden. Here he sets out to tempt again, this time Jesus himself, as he comes to the end of his 40 days in the desert. The magisterial poetry of Milton enriches the encounter and, while not matching the greatness achieved in Paradise Lost, provides drama and depth.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.

©2005 Naxos Audiobooks (P)2005 Naxos Audiobooks Classics European Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Poetry World Literature Fiction

Editor reviews

This section of Milton’s epic poem concerns the devil's temptation of Christ in the wilderness. It's a substantial subject; nonetheless, the work is often seen by critics as a coda to Milton's masterwork, Paradise Lost. Anton Lesser, a longtime member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, takes us inside Milton's seventeenth-century blank verse with remarkable clarity and emotion. Lesser's voice is completely at one with Milton's subject matter, meter, and language. After three centuries, this work is much more accessible than one might think.
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Amazing book and extremely well presented! Interim music between sections making it a full experience!

Phenomenal!

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John Milton was a literary and linguistic genius. What captivates in this book captivates even more thanks to Anton Lesser’s breathtaking narration. He is the paragon.

Breathtaking performance of a literary gem

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This piece of seventeenth century Christian propaganda allows Milton to use his poetic genius to colour in the background to the New Testament story of Christ's temptation in the wilderness. It never questions the source material (to do so in Milton's day would be as dangerous as questioning Islam in modern-day Afghanistan) and Milton contents himself with following the well-trod paths of allusion while creating new material from details the gospel writers left unsaid. This is most effective in my opinion during the descriptions of the kingdoms Christ is shown by his tempter, Satan. They include Rome, the Orient and "the British West", and Milton occupies a generous amount of page space detailing what Christ might have seen during this revelation.

As he does in Paradise Lost, Anton Lesser commands our respect for the way he handles this material. It is a captivating reading by a gifted actor. I had no idea who was reading this title until the first lines came through my speaker and I recognised immediately the voice of one of the characters from a favourite episode of Foyle's War. It was a very pleasant surprise to be guided through this text by such a talented man.

Lesser makes this more than bearable

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