« Scarlet Sails"is a love story that, over almost a century of its existence, has become as classic and famous as the stories of Romeo and Juliet or Orpheus and Eurydice. But also, and perhaps more than anything, it is a story about how a dream, strengthened year after year by faith and hope, one day comes true, turning into an irrefutable fact.
We present to your attention the audiobook “Scarlet Sails” based on the work of the same name by Alexander Green. Each listener will be able to appreciate in their own way another interpretation of the romantic story about Gray and Assol, which over so many years has already been glorified in many films and songs. On this site you can download the book for free.
Extravaganza, and this is how Alexander Green defined the genre of his book, saw the world in a separate publication in 1923. The author worked on it for five long years, having survived all the sorrows of a turbulent era, having visited civil war and having suffered from typhus. Having decided to give people a dream, Green carried its light through difficult years and trials, finally presenting the world with a completed creation, pure and sublime, sometimes naive and childishly fairy-tale-like, but honed by skill.
In 1921, Green married Nina Mironova. She became his reliable and loyal friend to the end. The book “Scarlet Sails” is dedicated to her. More precisely, the Woman in her person, a reverent and almost holy attitude towards whom the writer carried through his entire life. Together they moved to live in Feodosia, and a year before Green’s death (in 1932) they settled in Old Crimea.
Why did Green call his story an extravaganza? The word "fairy" comes from the French "feerie", which in turn originates in the short "fee", which means "fairy or sorceress". The extravaganza itself is defined as a circus, variety or theatrical performance, which uses bright scenery and costumes, many stage effects, but, most importantly, a fantastic plot. IN figurative meaning extravaganza means a fabulous, magical spectacle.
Alexander Green was convinced that a dream can have only one color - scarlet. Proud, “completely pure, like a scarlet morning stream, full of noble joy and royalty” color.
In Kaperna, a small village near the sea, the girl Assol lived with her father Longren (“the name is so strange, so monotonous, musical, like the whistle of an arrow or the sound of a sea shell”). Longren, a former sailor, lost his wife after giving birth and remained on land, raising his daughter and earning a living by making toys.
One day, Assol met a mysterious wizard (Egle, who, in fact, was a famous collector of songs, legends, traditions and fairy tales), and he told her a beautiful story-prediction, promising that it would certainly come true. The girl’s father was not very happy when he learned about the meeting with the wizard and his strange prophecy, but decided not to disappoint his daughter (“He will grow up and forget,” he [Longren] thought, “but for now... it’s not worth taking such a toy away from you”).
The residents of Kaperna, narrow-minded and evil, treated the sailor and his daughter with hatred and fear, which forced Longren and Assol to lead a reclusive lifestyle. The people around them had one thing in common - they did not know how and did not want to learn to fly, and they did not believe in fairy tales. Their evil tongues constantly haunted the poor family, condemning them for their “peculiarity.”
But Green’s dream still overcomes wingless human inertia and becomes a reality. Gray, the captain of the "Secret", a gallant sailor and a noble man in soul and body, takes his beloved to a beautiful place far away, having learned about her thanks to chance and, at the same time, the evil tongues of the villagers who wrote about the strange Assol (which they nicknamed "ship's" ) a legend that made a girl famous beyond her will and desire.
The audiobook “Scarlet Sails” by Alexander Green, like the extravaganza, consists of seven parts corresponding to the chapters of the work. In the soft and calm voice acting of Daria Chegaeva, the images of the narrative gain clarity, the events appear before the listener clearly and vividly. In the first chapters of the book, the speaker seems to distance himself from what is happening, restraining his emotions, giving the listener the opportunity, listening and reflecting, to set his own accents. But towards the end, Daria finally gives vent to her feelings and together with her, as well as the characters of the book, we come to a happy ending to the romantic story.
Here you can not only listen to the excerpt online, but also download the audiobook for free. And join the ranks of those connoisseurs of this unchanging masterpiece of Alexander Greene who, having once become acquainted with “Scarlet Sails”, no longer wanted to part with them.
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Audiobook length: 2.5 hours
Book voiced by: Daria Chegaeva
Recording quality of this audiobook: high
Name: Scarlet Sails
Genre: Tale
Duration:
Part 1: 10min 55sec
Part 2: 10min 26sec
Annotation:
The story takes place in a small fishing village. Former sailor Longren, after the death of his beloved wife, is raising his daughter Assol alone. He earns his meager living by selling boats, which he carves from wood himself. While still a child, Assol met a man who called himself a wizard. He promised her that one day a prince would come for her on a ship with scarlet sails and take her with him. The villagers laughed at these nonsense, but Assol believed that one day her dream would come true. At the same time, the son of a nobleman, Arthur Gray, escapes from his cruel father and joins a schooner, where he eventually becomes captain. Landing at the port near the village of Assol, he notices a girl sleeping in the thickets of the forest and falls in love with her. After questioning local residents, he learns about Assol's dream and makes it come true.
A.S. Green - Scarlet Sails part 1. Listen summary online:
A.S. Green - Scarlet Sails part 2. Listen to the brief audio content.
Audiobook Scarlet Sails is a work by Alexander Green. You can listen to the story online or download it. The audiobook “Scarlet Sails” is presented in mp3 format.
Audiobook Scarlet Sails, contents:
The incredibly romantic audiobook “Scarlet Sails” tells the story of how dreams are destined to come true.
It all starts with a not very cheerful story about a poor girl who, left without a mother, lives with an unsociable father. A hardworking sailor makes toys to feed himself and his baby, and she sells them on the local market. Despite the harsh everyday life, Assol is incredibly romantic and kind.
One day, on the way to the market, the little girl, playing with her new yacht, runs into the forest, where she meets a traveler. He tells her that one fine day the prince will save Assol from this dark kingdom and take her across the seven seas on a beautiful ship with scarlet sails.
Taking the stranger’s word for it, the heroine returns home, but thoughts of the wonderful young man do not leave her. At the same time, Arthur Gray, a wealthy heir, sails in search of himself and the meaning of life across the sea. He is independent, so he is not afraid of any work. He himself earned money for a personal ship, continuing to sail on it.
The day came when the paths of two young people crossed. Assol sleeps peacefully in the forest, enjoying the rest after a hard day of work, and Arthur Gray, having landed on the shores of a neighboring village and seeing her on a walk, could not live another day without this beauty. Having learned what kind of prince his beloved was waiting for, Arthur Gray bought as much fabric as needed to win her heart, and having received the long-awaited consent, he took her into the sunset.
The Scarlet Sails audiobook is ideal for listening at any age. She will teach little girls to dream, and older girls to believe and wait.
