Showing results by narrator "Cathy Dobson" in All Categories

A brilliant collection of short stories by some of Russia's best writers.

The definitive collection of traditional Celtic fairy tales. Joseph Jacobs' 1892 anthology of the most enduring folklore from Ireland, Wales, Scotland, and Cornwall is a delight for both young and old. Leprechauns, giants, witches, princesses, castles, and sea monsters all abound in this compendium of the best mythology Britain and Ireland have to offer.

Edith Nesbit was to children in the early 20th century what J.K. Rowling is to today's young generation. Magic, mythical creatures, time travel, charms, words of power... Nesbit's stories have it all. This recording is the complete collection of Edith Nesbit's Psammead series, comprising three captivating stories:Five Children and It.The story begins when a group of five children - Robert, Anthea, Cyril, Jane, and their baby brother, the Lamb - move from London to the countryside of Kent.

First published in 1900, The Book Of Dragons is one of Edith Nesbit's best loved and most inventive children’s books. Her heroes and heroines are children faced unexpectedly with real live dragons, which are fiery, fierce, ravenous, irritating, grumpy, furry and even gifted cooks! They appear from caves, from the pages of a magical book, at the North Pole or from mysterious dungeons where nobody dares enter.

Kate Chopin's brilliant short story about an hour in the life of a young wife. When news arrives that Louise's husband has been killed in a railroad accident, her family and friends are careful to break it to her gently, knowing that she has a heart condition. Louise locks herself in her room for an hour, during which she realizes that this bereavement is the start of a new life of freedom and independence. But a much greater shock awaits her when she leaves her room and goes downstairs....

First published in 1899, The Story of the Treasure Seekers tells the tale of the Bastable children, Dora, Oswald, Dickie, Noel, Alice and H.O. (short for Horace Octavius) and their attempts to restore the fallen fortunes of their family. They devise a series of plans to find or make money, varying from digging for treasure to being bandits, from going into business to rescuing rich elderly gentlemen from deadly peril.

A vintage collection of some of the greatest short stories ever written: "The Purloined Letter", by Edgar Allan Poe; "The Nose", by Nikolai Gogol; "The Story of an Hour", by Kate Chopin; "The Gift of the Magi", by O. Henry; "The Apparition of Mrs. Veal", by Daniel Defoe; "The Lifted Veil", by George Eliot; "Life of Ma Parker", by Katherine Mansfield; "The Baron", by Katherine Mansfield; "The Cask of Amontillado", by Edgar Allan Poe; "The Seventh Pullet", by Saki; and more.

A thoroughly engaging collection of great classic tales by the very best American authors. 1. 'From Beyond' by H. P. Lovecraft 2. 'The Mysterious Card and the Card Unveiled' by Cleveland Moffett 3. 'Pigs Is Pigs' by Ellis Parker Butler 4. 'The Club of One-Eyed Men' by Arthur Somers Roche 5. 'Afterward' by Edith Wharton 6. 'The Furnished Room' by O. Henry 7. 'A Descent into the Maelström' by Edgar Allan Poe 8. 'Regret' by Kate Chopin 9. 'The Terrible Old Man' by H. P. Lovecraft 10. 'The Dumb Man' by Sherwood Anderson

A glittering collection of some of the world's finest short stories.

Alexander Pushkin's greatest short story. Hermann, a young German officer serving in the Engineers regiment, is obsessed by gambling, although he never indulges in it himself. One night he hears a tale about how a wealthy 87-year-old Countess in St. Petersburg once learned the secret of how to win on three cards from the Duc d'Orleans. He becomes obsessed with learning the secret himself. In pursuit of this aim, he becomes enamoured of the Countess' companion, the beautiful Lizaveta.

David Herbert Richards Lawrence (1885-1930) is recognized as one of the greatest English novelists, poets, playwrights and short story writers. His works address such themes as emotional health, vitality, spontaneity and instinct, wrapped up in gripping plots which range from the poignant to the downright creepy.

Nikolai Gogol (1809-1852) was a pre-eminent Ukrainian-born story writer. He is particularly famous for those stories which veer in the direction of surrealism and the grotesque. "The Nose" is a classic example of this genre. The story opens with the barber, Ivan Yakovlevitch at breakfast. Things take an odd turn when Yakovlevitch finds a disembodied nose hidden in his bread roll. Yakovlevitch is at pains to rid himself as quickly as he can of the nose, which he recognizes as belonging to one of his clients, Major Kovalev.

Poe's eerie story of a strange doppelganger, with a classic twist at the end. William Wilson, from his early schooldays, is dogged and taunted by another boy of similar height and appearance, who bears the same name as himself. Although as young boys they manage to tolerate each other, over time, as Wilson moves through Eton and Oxford and out into the world, his alter ego frequently turns up to thwart him at critical moments in his life.

When the new captain takes over command of his first ship for the homeward voyage from the Gulf of Siam, he surprises his crew by taking the first nightwatch himself. While alone on deck he is surprised to find a lone swimmer in the sea who comes on board. The stranger is a murderer escaping justice, but is also eerily an almost exact doppelganger of the captain himself. Not only does he look identical, but the two almost seem to share the same thoughts and secrets. Rather than turn his fugitive-double over to the authorities, the captain hides him in his own cabin.

Growing up in a strange dysfunctional family, Paul discovers that he has a unique gift. He is able, with the aid of his rocking horse, to predict the winners of horse races. In order to gain his mother's affection, Paul sets about winning enough money to sate her consuming passion for luxury with one last enormous wager....

"The Storm" is Kate Chopin's most sexually charged story, and as such is quite exceptional for a work which was written in 1898. It describes a chance sexual encounter between Calixta and her former flame Alcée during a heavy storm in Louisiana when her husband Bobinôt and her son Bibi are absent. Chopin's description of the events of that day is refreshingly modern and free of the stifling morals of the day.

The Elephant Man is Treves' own firsthand account of how he met and befriended Joseph Merrick (whom he mistakenly calls John Merrick), a young man with very severe physical deformities, who was being exhibited as a sideshow freak, as half man, half elephant. Treves initially invited Merrick to his rooms in the London Hospital so as to examine him, and to ensure Merrick's admittance he gave him his card.

Sophie, Countess of Segur was a Russian-born French writer who lived from 1799 to 1874. This collection of stories draws on the rich heritage of French medieval literature, courtly love, magic charms and gallant deeds. In each story, the hero or heroine must undertake a quest or overcome a series of impossible challenges in order to reach their goal - often with the aid of magic. The stories are remarkably vibrant and well written, containing many elements of surprise and humour as well as chivalry and courtly romance.

O. Henry was the pen name of William Sydney Porter (1862-1910), an American writer of outstanding short stories, known for their wit, wordplay, warm characterization, and surprise endings. The Last Leaf is the story of two female artists living together in Greenwich village. When one of them, Johnsy, becomes gravely ill with pneumonia, she becomes obsessed with counting the leaves on the ivy outside the window. As the weather gets colder and windier, the leaves fall one by one.

Forty breathtaking short stories of gripping adventures, secrets and strange conspiracies. 'The Dust That Was Barren' by P. C. Wren. 'The Deserter' by Stacy Aumonier. 'The Lighthouse on Shivering Sand' by J. S. Fletcher. 'The Secret of the Smoked Spectacles' by William Le Queux. 'The 39 Steps' by John Buchan. 'Three Pennyworth of Luck' by Basil Murray. 'The Secret of Dr. Vaux’s Intrigue' by William Le Queux. 'A Thread of Scarlet' by J. J. Bell. 'How I Became a Secret Agent' by Dr. A. K. Graves.