Figaro: The Life of Beaumarchais
John Rivers
34 chapters · 11 h 58 min · English
Read by Lynette Caulkins, Pamela Nagami, Zunzil, Kerry Adams, William Bruce McFadden, Rita Boutros and others
Biography & Autobiography
Play ☆ Favorite
Beaumarchais, Watchmaker, music teacher, politician, opportunist, publisher, secret agent for Louis XVI, yet fomenter of revolution in both France and America, and yet again imprisoned for being an enemy of the Revolution. . . Friend of Voltaire, libertarian, arms dealer, and dramatist whose famous Figaro trio of satirical plays reflects the dissolution of Medieval society and torturous emergence of a new democratic era. This biography by John Rivers was originally published in 1922. (Summary by Lynette Caulkins)
Chapters
1 Preface 5 min 2 Ch. I - In Which the Handsome Watchmaker Comes to Court 13 min 3 Ch. II - Mme. Francquet and the First Marriage of Beaumarchais 13 min 4 Ch. III - The Duel 23 min 5 Ch. IV - Some Early Adventures of Beaumarchais 16 min 6 Ch. V - An Adventure in Spain 40 min 7 Ch. VI - In Old Madrid 32 min 8 Ch. VII - The Story of the Beautiful Creole 45 min 9 Ch. VIII - Beaumarchais in His Early Plays 19 min 10 Ch. IX - Mme. Lévêque and the Second Marriage of Beaumarchais 10 min 11 Ch. X - Beaumarchais at Law 7 min 12 Ch. XI - Beaumarchais, the Mad Duke, and the Demi-Mondaine 29 min 13 Ch. XII - Beaumarchais in Prison 10 min 14 Ch. XIII - How "Louis XV Overthrew the Old Parlement and Fifteen Louis the New" 38 min 15 Ch. XIV - How "Louis XV Overthrew the Old Parlement and Fifteen Louis the New" Continued 29 min 16 Ch. XV - Concerning Mlle. Willermaula and the Third Marriage of Beaumarchais 9 min 17 Ch. XVI - On Secret Service 16 min 18 Ch. XVII - Beaumarchais and the Brigands of the Leichtenholtz 17 min 19 XVIII - A Mysterious Affair 22 min 20 XIX - "The Barber of Seville" 54 min 21 XX - Beaumarchais and the Chevalier d'Éon 22 min 22 XXI - The Rehabilitation of Beaumarchais 7 min 23 XXII - Beaumarchais in Conflict with the Players 14 min 24 XXIII - Beaumarchais Closes His Account 12 min 25 XXIV - In Which Beaumarchais Discovers America 27 min 26 XXV - Beaumarchais and Voltaire 14 min 27 XXVI - About "The Marriage of Figaro" 21 min 28 XXVII - "The Marriage of Figaro" - Part 1 23 min 29 XXVII - "The Marriage of Figaro" - Part 2 44 min 30 XXVIII - Beaumarchais and Mirabeau 8 min 31 XXIX - The Tribulations of a Knight-Errant 22 min 32 XXX - Tarare, and the Last Incarnation of Figaro 15 min 33 XXXI - Beaumarchais and the Deluge 31 min 34 XXXII - The Exile's Return, Last Years and Death 11 min
