Showing results by narrator "David Parker" in All Categories

Sir Anthony Hope Hawkins was born on 9th February 1863 in Clapton, London. He was educated at St John's School, Leatherhead, Marlborough College and Balliol College, Oxford. Hope trained as a lawyer and barrister and was called to the Bar by the Middle Temple in 1887. Despite what was thought to be a promising legal career, he had literary ambitions and wrote in his spare time. His early works appeared in various periodicals of the day but for his first book, ‘A Man of Mark’ (1890), with no publisher interested, he published with his own resources.

The human race has been on the receiving end of many viral and bacterial diseases. And as medicine brings them to heel, eradicates their power, so Nature and Evolution brings others to the fore in a ceaseless march to weaken some, to strengthen others. And, as our race understands their mysteries, so we begin to weaponize them for our own malevolent use as biological weapons. Authors have always been drawn to this global scale and individual human response. In this collection virus and plague are given their head and the responses must see cure or capitulation within.

Algernon Blackwood was born on 14th March 1869 in Shooter’s Hill, South East London, to a religious middle-class family. His mother was a widowed Duchess and his father was a Post Office administrator. Blackwood was interested in the paranormal and the supernatural at an early age, and had a thirst for anything on Buddhism, other Oriental philosophies, mysticism and occultism. In his writings the weaving of the supernatural into his various works, from ghost stories and children’s stories to plays and long novels is clearly seen.

Christmas may come but once a year but evil, intrigue and malevolence are everyday events. Within this volume Christmas is a time when these dark forces form and coalesce to take life and liberty from people who may and who may not deserve the spin of its wheel. Some are merely evil, others have the beginnings of a conscience that displays itself in a dialogue with the devil, or perhaps only themselves. But, in this volume Christmas takes a ringside seat to the horrors of the human heart.

Mary Diana Dods was born at some point in 1790. Much of the details of her life are unknown. Accounts propose that she was one of the illegitimate daughters of George Douglas, the sixteenth Earl of Morton, and that she and her older sister were raised in both Scotland and London. As a writer she seems only to have published under the pseudonym of David Lyndsay. Her works appeared in periodicals such as Blackwood's Magazine and in 1822 she was asked by its founder to provide it with ‘Dramas of the Ancient World’.

Richard Harris Barham was born in Canterbury, England, on 6th December 1788. His father died when he was seven, leaving him a small estate, including the manor of Tappington of Denton in Kent. In 1826 Barham first contributed to Blackwood's Magazine; and in 1837 he began to write, for the recently founded magazine, Bentley's Miscellany, a series of tales and poems known as ‘The Ingoldsby Legends’. These became very popular and were later published in book form.

Vernon Lee was born Violet Paget on 4th October 1856 in Boulogne, France, to intellectual expatriate British parents. In common with several other very talented literary women of the day she felt it necessary to publish under a masculine pseudonym in order for her writing to be taken seriously. Her literary talents were extensive and she wrote a number of novels and plays. Perhaps her best remembered works are her haunting and powerful short stories exploring the supernatural. Lee has often received accolades for these and glowingly compared to other authors such as M R James.

During the Victorian era the publishing of magazines and periodicals accelerated at a phenomenal rate. This really was mass market publishing to a hungry audience eager for literary sustenance. Many of our greatest authors contributed and expanded their reach whilst many fledging authors also found a ready source for their nascent works and careers. Amongst the very many was ‘The Yellow Book’.

During the Victorian era the publishing of magazines and periodicals accelerated at a phenomenal rate. This really was mass market publishing to a hungry audience eager for literary sustenance. Many of our greatest authors contributed and expanded their reach whilst many fledging authors also found a ready source for their nascent works and careers. Amongst the very many was ‘The Yellow Book’.

Every spotlight casts a thousand shadows: five short stories from the darker recesses of a life in professional theatre.

Jonas Madigan is dying. He spent his life taming towns and upholding justice across the west with no regrets. Along the way, Madigan took the measure of good men like Smoke Jensen, who has traveled to Salt Lick, Texas to pay his respects to the lawman. But when bandits gun down the small town’s current marshal—and Smoke sends the killers to Boot Hill—Madigan asks his friend to wear the badge and keep the peace until a permanent replacement is sworn in. Turns out the bandits were members of Bishop’s Mauraders, a twenty-man gang of trigger-happy thieves led by the vicious Snake Bishop.

Netta Syrett was born Janet Syrett on 17th March 1865 in Ramsgate, Kent, one of 13 children. Her debut novel, Nobody's Fault (1896) was the beginning of a long and prolific output. For the next several years her writing and teaching careers ran alongside each other.

In The Path of Spiritual Breakthrough, meditation and awakening teacher Jeff Carreira takes you on a journey through some of the farthest reaches of mystical revelation. For many years, Jeff was a devoted spiritual seeker pursuing rigorous extremes of practice. What he experienced was a succession of extraordinary events that gradually left him free of existential doubt and perpetually open to new and higher dimensions of reality.

When an interest in surrealism becomes a fascination, and then a passion, and then an obsession which dominates your dreams, it's time to take a reality check.

Five short stories about bullying, school camaraderie, and about learning how to relate to others as an only child.

Given the option of being assassinated by Russian FSB agents because his cartoons have offended the Russian President, or using his creative talents to start a revolution, artist, Lee Owens, decides to attack St. Petersburg, Moscow, and Sochi with a barrage of subversive art: graffiti, murals, pirated billboards, laser light shows, parade blimps, and sculptures.

Reckless. That’s what they call me. I rush into burning building to save lives, and I wish it was for a just cause. It’s not. It’s to prove that I’m worthy of love. A messed-up knee, and my dreams of being in the NFL are gone. I’m fearless when it comes to fighting back death. That’s not what messes me up. It’s living that gets me. The last thing I need in my life is a woman, no matter how bad I want one. And yet, this one has me pacing the floor. The single mom who owns my crew’s favorite restaurant is sweet, loving, and hot. It’s not that easy, though.

This adventure begins with a two family vacation. One family will be saying good-bye to their son as he has been accepted to West Point. The other family's son will be attending the University in Albany. One is White, the other is a Negro, and this is the middle of the 19th century. Best friends from birth and both trying to make a difference in an improbable time in our nation's history. The two friends try to maintain their relationship and do the best they can even through the Civil War.

These are short stories that proved very popular with English (ESL) learners. They have a personal touch and are timeless. They should be easy to listen to and should not take long.

Discover the surprising literary and poetic history of the RMS Titanic! Imagine getting the inside, behind the scenes story of the Titanic tragedy written by those who did not survive - but whose poetry and short accounts of the moments leading up to the Titanic sinking did. The World Codex Planet Poetry publication encapsulates a snapshot of the era shortly after the turn of the 20th century and is a gem of historical maritime poetry.