Showing results by narrator "Paul Metcalfe" in All Categories

"Jimmy and the Desperate Woman" tells the improbable story of an intellectual editor persuading a working woman to live with him. We would say now "on the rebound" from a failed marriage, but Lawrence crosses the class divide and poses questions about what makes us attracted to other people. The intellectual twists and turns of the magazine editor contrast nicely with the stark honesty of the spurned miner husband.

"Tickets Please" returns Lawrence to his native Nottingham during the First World War. The social revolution of women doing jobs previously done by men also begins to change the relationship between the sexes, and the women in the story are aggressive and wanting their rights. But are they happier for conquering the flighty male in the story, or is the domination of man by woman one step too far, only generating hate and unhappiness?

The theme of the woman for whom the man is not "good enough" is worked out fully in Lawrence's novel Sons and Lovers. The story is beautifully observed, as are the relationships in working families of the time. The suspense of "will she, won't she marry him" is kept on the boil until the last line of the story. "Fanny and Annie" is a small masterpiece of a short story.

"You Touched Me" is a comic/tragic story of a forced marriage brought about by an accidental touch in the night, but the depth of the writing leaves the listener unsure if the couple are marrying for money or to release the passions realized by the touch.

A breakthrough in an investigation leads Alex McEwan to find the address of his old lover, carved into the flesh of a dead murderer. He soon realizes the woman he loves is in danger. While researching a book on Scottish Masonic buildings, Kate Harlow - McEwan's lost love - has become involved with the occult underground, and powers beyond her comprehension.

In the year 1799, British army captain William Mason and fiery Irish convict Sean find their fates entwined. The sole survivors of a shipwreck, they find themselves stranded on a deserted island. Despite their mutual distrust toward each other, both men realise they must cooperate to survive and over time, animosity gives way to a fragile camaraderie. To pass the time, William tutors the previously illiterate Sean in reading, arithmetic, and even French, and he discovers an astonishingly brilliant and poetic soul within the young rebel.

It has been 20 years since Alkarrien and his dark army were defeated. Matara and Padicum who were young boys during the war are now men grown each having followed the footsteps of the family they were raised in. Despite peace reigning throughout the Land of Marrapassa there is an unrest amongst certain factions who are not happy with the post mage wars environment. Poverty is on the rise and so to are pockets of renegades out to pillage, cause mischief and bring back forbidden practices such as slavery.

These are ancient practices that are known to give invaluable insights in how to boost our focus, improve our wellbeing and find inner peace. This book is a comprehensive guide which emphasizes that all you truly need is your breath and an open mind, making these transformative practices accessible to all. Experienced or novice, you will find all the information needed to initiate even the smallest changes, which, however modest, could prove to be invaluable further down the line.

The Diamaar Druid held up his clenched hand, his long slender fingers clasping something small and solid. As he began to chant a ball of fire struck his throat, burning his face and igniting his robes. His body was enveloped in a torrent of flames.

Lawrence uses the story of a storm and the deaths it causes to revive the feelings for (if not an actual belief in) the old gods, in this case Mercury whose shrine is ignored by the tourists but who takes his revenge.

This is the true story of how the author cured a nervous breakdown by taking a world cruise on the Queen Elizabeth ll. It is also a peep into the luxury lifestyle of the very rich from the somewhat sardonic viewpoint of someone who is not quite sane. We visit 40 countries, and each one is treated to the author’s observations, which are almost always humorous and from the viewpoint of someone whose fragile mental state causes him to throw all caution to the wind. The book, though, is more about his life aboard the QE2.

Lawrence is at his best in this story, taken from the scenes of his childhood and based on characters he knew intimately. The main themes of the story are the class system that dominated society at the time and the pressures put on the young lovers who have to overcome it, and the position of women in society who have nothing to offer but their bodies. For the sake of security and position, one daughter makes a loveless marriage whilst the other daughter gives all that up for love.

Lessford's Rabbits was written by D.H. Lawrence in 1908. It was the second of his 67 short stories, all of which will be published individually in audio format by the Blackthorn Press. The story is set in a local school and gives an insight into the poverty and spirit of working-class children, as well as a glimpse of Lawrence's time as a teacher.

What are the capacities of children of different ages? How can they be recognized? And critically, what kinds of environments nourish optimal development of each capacity? These are questions that every parent, teacher, and child-oriented professional yearns to answer. They wish to recognize the child’s capabilities and respond to them to ensure optimal well-being. Is this possible? Yes! When we ask the right questions, the door opens. Remarkably, the door opens to an intuitively satisfying appreciation of children that requires no extensive training to understand and act upon it.

This is a bedtime, fun time, "anytime" story about 26 friends, numbers, adjectives, colors, alphabets, and activities. Each of us is that one shiny, red apple, and all we need to do is to inspire the person next to us.

"The Lovely Lady" is a fine observation of a life - the lovely lady of the title - that thrives by sucking the life out of others. The two victims escape by a somewhat melodramatic and comical means, but in the process destroy the lovely lady and form what will probably be a dull and passionless union.

In "The Thimble", Lawrence moves to the world of the affluent middle classes, a world to which he perhaps aspired. The story is a touching one of a disfigured husband returning home from the war to a beautiful new wife. The thimble of the story can be seen to represent purposeless, surface beauty, which has no function. The husband casts the thimble away, but can this marriage survive the surface damage and find a deeper meaning?

"The Thorn in the Flesh" was written by D.H. Lawrence in 1914. The story can be listened to in tandem with "The Prussian Officer", which was written in the same year and has a similar setting and theme. In this story, the young soldier fights against his own shortcomings as a soldier and as a man. He flees the scene of his crime into the arms of his lover, where he finds solace and comfort, but he cannot escape the inevitable military machine that Lawrence hated.

"A Sick Collier". Lawrence returns in this story to the scenes of his childhood and the colliers he was brought up with. The wife in the story is probably based on his mother, although the husband is unlike the drinking, brutal father portrayed in Sons and Lovers, Lawrence's autobiographical novel. The story is a vivid portrayal of the life of a young couple when an accident strikes the husband down, but does not succeed as a short story, lacking any clear focus or message.

Lawrence is often accused of misogyny, and this story used as evidence against him. There is the simple but honest mine worker who has taken on a wife who is "above" him, but who is struggling to understand her and her feelings for him. Slowly, the story unravels the woman's past. The listener cannot be entirely unsympathetic to her plight - Lawrence is too good a writer to let that happen - but her dishonesty has probably ruined two lives, and our feelings are for the husband.