The London Library of Recorded English is a collection of recorded poetry and prose that features the works of renowned figures in English language literature including John Keats, Robert Frost, Dylan Thomas, Thomas Hardy, William Wordsworth, and others read by acclaimed artists, actors, writers, and broadcasters including Dylan Thomas, Jill Balcon, Robert Eddison, Cecil Day-Lewis, and Carleton Hobbs. The albums of the collection are arranged by form and by era and feature lyric poetry and Shakespearean drama. The series, originally released on Alpha Records in the late 1940s and on Britam Classic Recordings in the mid-1960s, was co-edited by V.C. Clinton Baddeley and Joseph Compton. All have long been out-of-print. The acquisition of The London Library of Recorded English expands on the already-significant poetry and prose recordings in the Smithsonian Folkways catalog.

Note: Books II and III are currently unavailable.

The London Library of Recorded English, Book I: Lyric Poetry

LL01001 (1964)

The first volume of the London Library of Recorded English is a collection of lyric poetry, which refers to a short poem...

The London Library of Recorded English, Book III: Narrative Poetry

LL01003 (1965)

The third volume of the London Library of Recorded English focuses on narrative poetry...

The London Library of Recorded English, Book IV: Shakespearean Dramatic Poetry

LL01004 (1965)

The fourth volume of the London Library of Recorded English focuses entirely on the works of William Shakespeare...

The London Library of Recorded English, Book V: 16th and 17th Century Poetry

LL01005 (1965)

The fifth volume of the London Library of Recorded English draws from writings of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries...

The London Library of Recorded English, Book VI: 18th and 19th Century Poetry

LL01006 (1965)

The sixth volume of the London Library of Recorded English draws from writings of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries...