Showing results by narrator "Scott Graham" in All Categories

The Wonderful Visit tells the story of an angel who finds himself unexpectedly marooned on Earth. Wells used John Ruskin's remark that an angel appearing on earth in Victorian England would be shot on sight as the inspiration for this tale of a celestial being who is completely out of place in human society. Ironically, the angel's first confidant and protector is a clergyman, who never recovers from the eventual and inevitable disappearance of the angel. Wells dwells in detail on the contrast between the idealism of the celestial visitor and the discourtesy of his hosts.

Twelve years on from the events of The Three Hostages, Sir Richard Hannay begins to fear that his idyllic existence with his family in their Cotswolds home is a little too comfortable, merely the placid acceptance of encroaching old age. But then echoes of a past adventure during his days in Africa, and an old oath to protect the son of the man whom he saved then, draw him—along with son Peter John and old friend Sandy Clanroyden—into new danger, and a showdown on the remote Island of Sheep....

Calidore is a fragment of an unfinished romance and may be considered unique among Peacock's work. Composition probably commenced after the publication of Peacock's largest novel, Melincourt, in 1817. The action concerns the adventures of a young man, Calidore, who finds himself in Wales, en route to London in search of "a wife and a philosopher".

Thomas Love Peacock is today remembered as the author of seven satirical novels which many regard merely as literary curiosities. However, he was also a man of considerable learning, a skilled poet, and an astute literary critic. This collection includes Recollections of Thomas Love Peacock, an affectionate reminiscence by Sir Edward Strachey; Some Recollections of Childhood, a window into Peacock's early youth; "Four Ages of Poetry", in which he pokes fun at his contemporaries; and "The Last Day of Windsor Forest", an old man's recollection of a memorable episode.

A group of highly opinionated individuals gather at a remote country estate in Hampshire and indulge in lengthy conversations about issues of the day over extravagant dinners. The young and idealistic Algernon Falconer resides in the opulent country house with seven young "handmaidens', whom he calls "Vestals." A learned and garrulous local clergyman, Dr. Opimian, becomes a friend and confidant of Mr. Falconer and decides that the young man would make a suitable husband for Morgana Gryll, a niece of one of his friends.

Between 1895 and 1898, H. G. Wells wrote five science fiction novels, which have become among the most celebrated examples of the genre. The first of these was The Time Machine, in which Wells explores not only the fascinating subject of time travel but also the potential dangers to human autonomy by the advance of civilization. Well's world-weary Time Traveller, who is the main narrator, is one of his most quirky and appealing characters.

Anna Katharine Green (1846 - 1935) was one of the crime novelists and paved the way for later female writers of detective novels, like Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, and Ngaio Marsh.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is the first published collection of short stories featuring the famous consulting detective and his friend and colleague Dr. Watson.

Someone is making very determined attempts to murder inoffensive newly-qualified Doctor Humphrey Jardine. Could this be related to the body which he discovered in Hampstead - and which when he returned with the police had entirely disappeared? Or perhaps the odd circumstances surrounding the death of Septimus Maddock may be the key? Fortunately, celebrated medical jurist Dr. John Thorndyke comes to the aid of his erstwhile student to unravel the mystery....

After his wartime exploits, Sir Richard Hannay is now married to Mary and determined to remain peacefully in their idyllic Cotswolds home. But when he receives appeals to help recover the kidnapped children of three prominent men, Hannay cannot in good conscience refuse - especially as one of the hostages is a young boy not so many years older than his own son. All he has to go on are the obscure clues contained in a few lines of doggerel verse sent to the families and a tenuous connection to the distinguished Dominick Medina....

Three Men in a Boat is one of the most popular and enduring comic novels of any age, and remains as fresh and witty as ever: Narrator "J", and friends George and Harris, diagnose themselves to be suffering from "overwork", and resolve that they, along with J's anarchistic fox terrier, Montmorency, will take a boating holiday up the River Thames, from Kingston-upon-Thames to Oxford. The story describes the incidents of their river journey, along with a multitude of humorous digressions and anecdotes, and musings upon the historical associations of passing towns and landmarks.

As Jeeves and Bertie fall out over the latter's new white mess jacket, the young master takes exception to Jeeves' handling of the romantic affairs of newt enthusiast Gussie Fink-Nottle and assumes personal charge of the case. But Bertie's schemes soon expand to encompass the ruptured engagement of his cousin Angela and Tuppy Glossop, and the financial problems of his Aunt Dahlia - leading to unforeseen difficulties with Aunt Dahlia's peerless French chef, the temperamental Monsieur Anatole.

In his most famous historical novel, Dickens explores the horrors of the French Revolution, and the injustices that brought it about, through the history of the unjustly imprisoned Dr. Manette and his daughter Lucy - the "golden thread" binding together a cast of characters across London and Paris, including honourable aristocrat Charles Darnay, ruthless revolutionary Madame Defarge, and the directionless and dissolute lawyer Sydney Carton....

First published in 1913, more than a decade after the author's death, Charmides and Other Poems is a collection including the long narrative poem "Charmides" (1881), and a number of shorter poems, and sonnets, many written when Wilde was at the height of his powers as an author.

In the first of this collection of 10 short stories, Jeeves takes office in the Wooster household in the midst of an imbroglio concerning Bertie's imperious fiancé, Lady Florence Cray, and the manuscript of his uncle's scandalous memoirs. And soon, the incomparable manservant becomes a fixture, hauling the young master, and his equally mentally negligible friends, out of the soup on both sides of the Atlantic, despite the snooterings of assorted aunts, uncles, and parents, the fearsome Sir Roderick Glossop - or even a school full of 'spirited' young ladies....

Solitary and mechanical clubman Mr Phileas Fogg, accepting a challenge from fellow members of the Reform Club, wagers the fantastic sum of £20,000, half of his total fortune, on an attempt to travel around the world in only 80 days. Setting out that very day with his newly-employed French valet Passepartout - and a carpetbag containing the entire balance of his fortune in cash - Mr. Fogg and his companion cross four continents, by every means at hand, in the face of endless surprises....

Tales of Space and Time is a fantasy and science fiction collection by H.G. Wells, comprising the three short stories "The Crystal Egg", "The Star", and "The Man Who Could Work Miracles", along with the two five-part novellas "A Story of the Stone Age", and the dystopian "A Story of the Days to Come".

Unlike most of Peacock's novels, The Misfortunes of Elphin has a distinct plot, built around the adventures of prominent figures of Arthurian legend, like Taliesin, the bard, the princes Elphin, and Seithenyn and King Arthur himself. The drama comes to a satisfactory resolution when Arthur's wife, Gwenyvar, who has been kidnapped by the ambitious King Melvas, is restored to her husband, after some skilful negotiation by Seithenyn and a cunning abbot.

Unlike Peacock's other novels, Maid Marian has a substantial plot, based on the romantic legend of Robin Hood. As is usual with Peacock, the violence is presented in a rather humorous fashion and the characters indulge lavishly in eating and drinking. Beneath the veneer of this well-known and innocuous narrative, Peacock finds ample opportunity to satirize the foibles of church and secular government.

Margery Williams' classic story about a toy rabbit who longs to become real is a treat for listeners of all ages. This full-cast performance brings this timeless tale to vibrant life.