Showing results by narrator "Cathy Dobson" in All Categories

Four gripping tales by the master of Adventure Stories, Joseph Conrad. "The Tale", "The Inn of the Two Witches", "The Secret Sharer", "The Idiots".

Seven famous and sensational true crime stories retold by classic crime writers.

Nobel Prize winner (and Forsyte Saga author) John Galsworthy described Stacy Aumonier as ‘one of the best short-story writers of all time’ and predicted that, through the best of his stories, he would ‘outlive all the writers of his day’. A Source of Irritation is one such story. Sam Gates, an elderly and somewhat irritable agricultural labourer, is thinning a field of turnips in Norfolk one morning during the Great War. Suddenly he sees an ‘airyplane’ behaving oddly in the sky.

A delightful collection of light-hearted classic stories from some of the greatest Victorian and Edwardian-era writers.

Five classic examples of the sheer comic genius of Mark Twain. "The One Million Pound Bank Note", "The McWilliamses and the Burglar Alarm", "The Stolen White Elephant", "Cannibalism in the Cars", and "The Awful German Language".

A treasure trove of short classic stories by some of the greatest storytellers in the world: 1.Mademoiselle Fifi by Guy de Maupassant 2.The Test by W. W. Jacobs 3.Miss Brill by Katharine Mansfield 4.England, my England by D. H. Lawrence 5.The Dead Hand by Wilkie Collins 6.The Stalled Ox by Saki 7.Red Hanrahan by W. B. Yeats 8.My Uncle Jules by Guy de Maupassant 9.A Love Knot by W. W. Jacobs 10.The Odour of Chrysanthemums by D. H. Lawrence 11.Ligeia by Edgar Allan Poe

Barry Eric Odell Pain (1864-1928) was an English journalist, poet, and writer best known for his outstanding mystery and horror stories, often with a strange twist at the end. "A Considerable Murder" is the odd tale of a retired gentleman and his daughter who are suddenly imposed upon by an old, sick and highly cantankerous man...a former friend of their father and grandfather, who had helped them out in earlier years.

Barry Eric Odell Pain (1864-1928) was an English journalist, poet, and writer best known for his ghost and horror stories. This Is All tells the story of Alexander Wyatt, who has a morbid fear of dying. Unfortunately Wyatt is ill with a heart condition, which, in combination with his paranoid anxiety and depression, threatens to become life threatening. His doctor prescribes a strict regime of early nights and no caffeine.

Barry Eric Odell Pain (1864-1928) was an English journalist, poet, and writer best known for his ghost and horror stories. The Tree of Death is a haunting story with something of a fairy tale character to it....but a fairy tale that turns into a gruesome horror story as the narrative unfolds. A wealthy young man falls in love with a young girl in his village, but she does not return his love.

A colourful palette of short stories featuring artists and their love of paintings. "Rose Rose" by Barry Pain, "The Cat" by E. F. Benson, "The Model Millionaire" by Oscar Wilde, "A Queer Night in Paris" by Guy de Maupassant, "Portrait of a Lady" by Jerome K. Jerome, "Miss Harriet" by Guy de Maupassant, "The Oval Portrait" by Edgar Allan Poe, "My Adventure at Chislehurst" by A. J. Alan, "The Stalled Ox" by Saki, "The Room in the Tower" by E. F. Benson.

Kipling’s classic tale taken from the Just So Stories. The young elephant has an unfortunate encounter with a crocodile, which results in his nose being stretched, which is how he got his trunk.

Harry Graham was an English writer of light verse, popular fiction and history. He is best remembered for his grotesque and humorous verses which parody the children’s cautionary verses of his day. His most successful work was his series of hilariously cruel Ruthless Rhymes, first published in 1898 under the pseudonym Col. D. Streamer. Billy in one of his nice new sashes, Fell in the fire and was burnt to ashes; Now, although the room grows chilly, I haven’t the heart to poke poor Billy.

A delightful and comprehensive collection of all the best known traditional children's rhymes. Click on the link below to find out the story listing.

In The Adventure of the Speckled Band, Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson are faced with a most unusual case. Two years earlier a young woman died under mysterious and unexplained circumstances while alone in her locked bedroom. Her last words to her sister referred to a 'speckled band'. She had previously complained of hearing a strange whistling sound in the night. Now the sister is sleeping in the same room, and she too has heard the mysterious whistling. But what can it be? And what is the 'speckled band'?

Friedrich Schiller (1759-1805) was arguably Germany's most famous poet, philosopher, historian, and playwright. The Criminal from Lost Honour is written in the form of a crime report, and is notable as an early attempt at psychological analysis of the criminal Christian Wolf. In particular, Schiller delves into the impact of early experiences, rejections, and humiliations on the descent on the man from honest publican to criminal and murderer.

One of the most enduring themes in literature through the ages has been the internal conflict between two sides of a single character. It manifests itself in different ways, from the classic werewolf story to souls which are invaded by evil spirits to the pseudo sci-fi of Jekyll and Hyde to strange tales of total amnesia as in Barry Pain's masterpiece "The Missing Years". This collection brings together a selection of different tales, in each of which tension is created when a human soul is split into more than one part.

Jules Gabriel Verne (1828-1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright who is sometimes credited as the original 'Father of Science Fiction'. Written in 1851, 'A Drama in the Air' is one of Verne's earliest and most seminal stories, telling the dramatic adventure of a balloonist suddenly confronted with an unexpected and unpredictable passenger who climbs into his balloon at the point of take-off. Many of the themes from this tale were expanded by Verne in his later and better known works about aerial journeys around the world or to the moon.

A delightful collection of seven short stories narrated by cats, by the brilliant Edith Nesbit, each of which sheds a new light on our relationship with our furry friends.

Hunted Down is a detective story by Charles Dickens. The astute Sampson suspects that a certain Mr. Julius Slinkton who turns up in his office one morning is not all that he seems. As Slinkton crops up more and more frequently in Sampson's life, he realises that a monstrous crime is about to be committed. But a counter plot is hatched and the hunter quickly becomes the hunted. Dickens excels again in his masterful portrayal of character and insightful description the society of his day.

A gripping collection of classic stories in which the central figures are highly dangerous female characters - ranging from the creepy and unsettling to the utterly terrifying.