Doris May Lessing was a British writer, author of novels including The Grass is Singing and The Golden Notebook. Lessing was awarded the 2007 Nobel Prize in Literature. In awarding the prize, the Swedish Academy described her as "that epicist of the female experience, who with scepticism, fire and visionary power has subjected a divided civilisation to scrutiny". Lessing was the oldest person ever to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Doris Lessing turned almost exclusively to writing fantasy and science fiction in the 'Canopus in Argos' series, developing ideas which she had touched on towards the end of 'Children of Violence' and in Briefing for a Descent into Hell. The Sirian Experiments is the third novel in the series bearing the general title Canopus in Argos: Archives, in which Doris Lessing uses the forms of fantasy and science fiction to explain the nature of good and evil, the presence of good and evil on the planet earth and in the characters of men. The Sirian Empire, centred in the Sirius star system, has advanced technology that made their citizens effectively immortal and sophisticated machines that did almost everything for them. But this technology came at a price: many Sirians became afflicted with "the existentials", a debilitating malady that left them feeling worthless and with no reason to exist. Listen online to free English audiobook "The Sirian Experiments” on our website to experience Doris Lessing's novel.
