Length1h 14m
About this audiobook
Songs of Action is a rousing collection of narrative poems by Arthur Conan Doyle that celebrate deeds of heroism, patriotism, and adventure. Written mostly in the 1890s when the British Empire was at its height, these poems reflect Doyle's passion for history and soldierly valor. The collection includes pieces like "The Song of the Bow," which harkens back to medieval archers and the Battle of Agincourt, and "The Ballad of East and West" (inspired by Kipling) extolling mutual respect between noble enemies. Many poems are devoted to military exploits – from the cannon fire of Waterloo to colonial skirmishes – depicted in rhythmic, martial language that stirs the blood. Yet Doyle also includes introspective verses, such as gentle memorials to fallen comrades and inspirational exhortations to duty and honor. The titular "action" isn't only war: a few poems praise explorers and everyday heroes confronting danger with grit. Throughout, Doyle's style is straightforward, rhythmic, and vivid; he often writes in ballad form with rhyming couplets or quatrains that make the poems almost song-like (fittingly, some were later set to music). Songs of Action was well-received for capturing the Victorian spirit of courage and fortitude. Modern readers find in it a time capsule of imperial ethos – unabashedly celebrating bravery and self-sacrifice, sometimes with jingoistic overtones, but also with genuine emotional resonance for those who dare greatly. Doyle's verse may not be as famous as his prose, but in these stanzas his heart for adventure beats strong.
Audiobook details
GenrePoetry
Length1 hr 14 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateAug 1, 2025
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1Songs of Action
16THE GROOM’S STORY
2THE SONG OF THE BOW
17WITH THE CHIDDINGFOLDS
3CREMONA
18A HUNTING MORNING
4THE STORMING PARTY
19THE OLD GRAY FOX
5THE FRONTIER LINE
20‘WARE HOLES
Show all chaptersShow less
6CORPORAL DICK’S PROMOTION—A BALLAD OF ‘82
21THE HOME-COMING OF THE ‘EURYDICE’
7A FORGOTTEN TALE
22THE INNER ROOM
8PENNARBY MINE
23THE IRISH COLONEL
9A ROVER CHANTY
24THE BLIND ARCHER
10A BALLAD OF THE RANKS
25A PARABLE
11A LAY OF THE LINKS
26A TRAGEDY
12THE DYING WHIP
27THE PASSING
13MASTER
28THE FRANKLIN’S MAID
14H.M.S. ‘FOUDROYANT’
29(From The White Company)
15THE FARNSHIRE CUP
30THE OLD HUNTSMAN
Christmas After Dark - 36 Holiday Ghost Stories & Supernatural ThrillersArthur Conan Doyle, M. R. James, Saki, Sabine Baring-Gould, Thomas Hardy, Robert Louis Stevenson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Charles Dickens, Fergus Hume, John Kendrick Bangs, Jerome K. Jerome, Leonard Kip, Catherine Crowe, Lucie E. Jackson, William Douglas O'Connor, Frank R. Stockton, James Bowker, Grant Allen, Louisa M. Alcott, Florence Marryat, Katherine Rickford, J. M. Barrie, Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, George MacDonald, Bithia Mary Croker, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Catherine L. Pirkis, E. F. Benson, Algernon Blackwood44h 38m$0.99 · $0.00
100 Meisterkrimis - Klassiker die man kennen mussArthur Conan Doyle, Friedrich Glauser, Alexandre Dumas, Edgar Allan Poe, Charles Dickens, E. T. A. Hoffmann, G. K. Chesterton, Theodor Fontane, Emile Gaboriau, Edgar Wallace, Charlotte Brontë, Emily Brontë, Anne Brontë, Mark Twain, Karl May, Jules Verne, Daniel Defoe, Joseph Conrad, Wilkie Collins, Washington Irving, Arthur Morrison, Ernest William Hornung, Fjodor Dostojewski, Robert Louis Stevenson, Hugo Bettauer, Ricarda Huch, Sven Elvestad, Matthias McDonnell Bodkin, Louis Weinert-Wilton, Paul Rosenhayn, Eufemia von Adlersfeld-Ballestrem, Matthias Blank, Frank Heller, J. S. Fletcher, Otto Schwerin, Philipp Galen, Walter Scott1012h 6m$3 · $0.00
SHERLOCK HOLMES vs. PROFESSOR MORIARTY - Complete Series (Illustrated)Arthur Conan Doyle8h 14m$1.49 · $0.00
BRITISH MYSTERIES - Arthur Conan Doyle EditionArthur Conan Doyle136h 47m$0.99 · $0.00
The Complete Sherlock Holmes BooksArthur Conan Doyle93h 50m$0.99 · $0.00
Mysteries for Christmas: 48 Puzzling Murder Mysteries & Supernatural ThrillersArthur Conan Doyle, Edgar Wallace, G. K. Chesterton, Saki, R. Austin Freeman, Fred M. White, Arthur Cheney Train, Wilkie Collins, Emmuska Orczy, Louisa M. Alcott, M.R. James, Thomas Hardy, Robert Louis Stevenson, Sabine Baring-Gould, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Charles Dickens, Fergus Hume, John Kendrick Bangs, Jerome K. Jerome, Leonard Kip, Catherine Crowe, Lucie E. Jackson, William Douglas O'Connor, Frank R. Stockton, James Bowker, Grant Allen, Florence Marryat, Katherine Rickford, J. M. Barrie, Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, George MacDonald, Bithia Mary Croker, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Catherine L. Pirkis, E. F. Benson55h 2m$1.99 · $0.00
Estudio en EscarlataArthur Conan Doyle5h 17m$0.99 · $0.00
20 Top-Britische KrimisArthur Conan Doyle, G.K. Chesterton, Josephine Tey, Edgar Wallace, Wilkie Collins, Joseph Smith Fletcher, R. Austin Freeman, Ernest William Hornung, Edmund Edel, David Christie Murray, Matthias McDonnell Bodkin, Joseph Conrad144h 7m$1 · $0.00
SUMMERTIME MADNESS – Murder Mysteries to Keep You RelaxedArthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, Edgar Allan Poe, Charles Dickens, Wilkie Collins, Robert Barr, E. W. Hornung, John Kendrick Bangs, Melville Davisson Post, Edgar Wallace, Victor L. Whitechurch, Anna Katharine Green, G. K. Chesterton, Ellis Parker Butler, Maurice Leblanc, R. Austin Freeman, A. E. W. Mason, Mary Roberts Rinehart348h 18m$0.99 · $0.00
BLOODY, BLOODY CHRISTMAS – The Greatest Christmas Thrillers & MysteriesArthur Conan Doyle, G. K. Chesterton, R. Austin Freeman, Fred M. White, Arthur Cheney Train, Edgar Wallace, Wilkie Collins, Robert Barr, O. Henry, Emmuska Orczy, Thomas Hardy, Robert Louis Stevenson, Saki, Sabine Baring-Gould, M. R. James, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Charles Dickens, Fergus Hume, Leonard Kip, Lucie E. Jackson, Catherine Crowe, William Douglas O'Connor, John Kendrick Bangs, Louisa M. Alcott, Frank R. Stockton, Grant Allen, James Bowker, Jerome K. Jerome, Florence Marryat, Katherine Rickford, J. M. Barrie, Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, George MacDonald, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, E. F. Benson, Algernon Blackwood55h 43m$0.99 · $0.00
Murder for Christmas EveArthur Conan Doyle, G. K. Chesterton, R. Austin Freeman, Fred M. White, Arthur Cheney Train, Edgar Wallace, Wilkie Collins, Robert Barr, O. Henry, Emmuska Orczy, Thomas Hardy, Robert Louis Stevenson, Saki, Sabine Baring-Gould, M. R. James, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Charles Dickens, Fergus Hume, Leonard Kip, Lucie E. Jackson, Catherine Crowe, William Douglas O'Connor, John Kendrick Bangs, Louisa M. Alcott, Frank R. Stockton, Grant Allen, James Bowker, Jerome K. Jerome, Florence Marryat, Katherine Rickford, J. M. Barrie, Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, George MacDonald, Mary Elizabeth Braddon54h 59m$0.99 · $0.00
La Collection Intégrale de Sherlock HolmesArthur Conan Doyle82h 24m$0.99 · $0.00
50 WeihnachtskrimisArthur Conan Doyle, G. K. Chesterton, Edgar Wallace, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Robert Louis Stevenson, Fred M. White, Arthur Cheney Train, Wilkie Collins, Thomas Hardy, Sabine Baring-Gould, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Fergus Hume, John Kendrick Bangs, Jerome K. Jerome, Leonard Kip, Catherine Crowe, Lucie E. Jackson, William Douglas O'Connor, Frank R. Stockton, James Bowker, Grant Allen, Florence Marryat, Katherine Rickford, J. M. Barrie, Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, George MacDonald, Bithia Mary Croker, Catherine L. Pirkis, Saki, Louisa M. Alcott, M.R. James, E. F. Benson74h 43m$2 · $0.00
Un escándalo en Bohemia (texto completo, con índice activo)Arthur Conan Doyle1h 14m$0.99 · $0.00
Mystery Cases For Christmas – Test your Power of Deduction During the HolidaysArthur Conan Doyle, Edgar Wallace, O. Henry, R. Austin Freeman, G. K. Chesterton, Emmuska Orczy, Arthur Cheney Train, Wilkie Collins, Fred M White, Thomas Hardy, Sabine Baring-Gould, Robert Barr, Katherine Rickford, Catherine L. Pirkis13h 52m$0.99 · $0.00
El signo de los cuatroArthur Conan Doyle5h 5m$0.99 · $0.00
El Sabueso de los BaskervilleArthur Conan Doyle7h 7m$0.99 · $0.00
Weihnachtskrimis: Eiskalte Mördergeschichten & DetektivromaneArthur Conan Doyle, Edgar Wallace, G. K. Chesterton, Sven Elvestad, Walther Kabel, Robert Louis Stevenson23h 52m$1 · $0.00
Die geheimen Archive des Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - Folge 9: Das Gespenst von Hunter HallArthur Conan Doyle, Silke Walter1h 4m$7 · $0.00
Das Geheimnis von Cloomber-Hall (Kommentiert)Arthur Conan Doyle7h 48m$2 · $0.00
The Complete Poetry of Dylan Thomas (Annotated)Dylan Thomas4h 53m$1.99 · $0.00
Dickinson: The Complete Works (Annotated)Emily Dickinson16h 56m$0.99 · $0.00
And the World Spins AnywayGeorgie Jones1h 45m$20 · $0.00
TerraformPropaganda5h 39m$24 · $0.00
The Essential NerudaPablo Neruda1h 55m$25
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (Illustrated Edition) (Annotated)Samuel Taylor Coleridge1h 57m$2 · $0.00
UnashamedHarry Baker1h 33m4.0 (1)$20 · $0.00
Maybe You Never Cry AgainBernie Mac4h 25m$20 · $0.00
Inquire WithinIn-Q2h 18m$16 · $0.00
The Poetic EddaJackson Crawford6h 24m$17
Poems of ParentingLoryn Brantz42m4.0 (1)$9 · $0.00
The Weary Blues (Annotated)Langston Hughes2h 13m$2 · $0.00
The Complete Poetical Works of Edgar Allan Poe (Illustrated)Edgar Allan Poe18h 27m$2 · $0.00
Stranger MusicLeonard Cohen5h 45m$20
The Essential Rumi, New Expanded EditionJalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi9h 24m$20
The Complete Poetry (Annotated)Oscar Wilde6h 44m$2 · $0.00
The Complete Works (Annotated)Robert Burns38h 34m$2 · $0.00
Saundarya LahariUnknown Author3h 16m5.0 (1)$18 · $0.00
The Mesnevi (Annotated)Maulana Jalal al-Din Rumi18h 41m$2 · $0.00
Songs of a SourdoughRobert W. Service2h 13m$1 · $0.00
You may also like
Standard Catholic Readers by Grades: Fifth YearVarious4h 49m$2 · $0.00
Poems: New and OldHenry John Sir Newbolt3h 11m$2 · $0.00
The Golden Treasury of American Songs and LyricsVarious4h 3m$2 · $0.00
The Mirror of the SeaJoseph Conrad6h 34m$17
The Life of Horatio Lord Nelson (Summarized Edition)Robert Southey4h 5m$2
Cactus and Pine Songs of the SouthwestSharlot Mabridth Hall2h 58m$2.30
The Coming of Cassidy (Annotated)Clarence E. Mulford9h 17m$0.99 · $0.00
Allan's WifeH. Rider Haggard5h 13m$2.30 · $0.00
Stories of Authors, British and AmericanEdwin Watts Chubb8h 57m$2 · $0.00
Broad-Sword and Single-Stick (Annotated)Baron Rowland George Allanson-Winn Headley, Clive Phillipps-Wolley1h 47m$2 · $0.00
Tales of the Angler’s Eldorado, New ZealandZane Grey7h 6m$20
Leatherstocking Tales: Complete Western Series (Illustrated)James Fenimore Cooper113h 9m$2 · $0.00
The Winter ArmyMaurice Isserman9h 29m$29 · $0.00
The Last of the Mohicans, The Pathfinder & The DeerslayerJames Fenimore Cooper59h 44m$2 · $0.00
Thirty Years on the FrontierRobert McReynolds5h 8m$2 · $0.00
Historical Record of the Fifty-Third, or the Shropshire Regiment of FootRichard Cannon2h 11m$1 · $0.00
Parkhurst Boys, and Other Stories of School LifeTalbot Baines Reed11h 19m$2.30 · $0.00
Whip and SpurGeorge E. Waring4h 41m$2 · $0.00
Canada First, or, Our New NationalityWilliam Alexander Foster54m$2 · $0.00
Lundy's Lane, and Other PoemsDuncan Campbell Scott2h 38m$1 · $0.00