Nick Carter is a fictional detective who first appeared in 1886 in dime store novels. Over the years, different authors, all taking the nom de plume Nicholas Carter, have penned stories featuring "America's greatest detective". In this story, Nick receives a letter foretelling of a murder. His wife, Edith, believes it was from a woman... but who is the Brown Robin, and why taunt the great detective? Genre(s): Detective Fiction Language: English Nicholas Carter...
Dec 15, 2021•4 hr 23 min
Through the eyes of an artist, With the Empress Dowager of China provides a glimpse of life in the Chinese Imperial Court, unseen by any other Westerner. In 1903, Katharine Carl, an American artist, was invited to paint a portrait of Cixi, the Empress Dowager of China, for display at the 1904 Exhibition at St Louis, USA. For nine months from the 5th of August 1903 when the painting was begun, Miss Carl lived within the Chinese Imperial Court, residing at the Summer Palace, Winter Palace and Sea ...
Dec 15, 2021•7 hr 57 min
A quest to track down his missing uncle (Mr. Linthwaite) leads investigative journalist Richard Brixey to the mysterious medieval town of Silchester, England. What actually happened in the ruins of the Priory, and why are all the potential witnesses so uncooperative? Who is the mysterious Mrs. Byfield and what is her long-buried connection to Mr. Linthwaite? What is the secret plot that Mr. Linthwaite stumbled into, and so had to be removed? Is he dead or alive? And, will the energetic Brixey fa...
Dec 15, 2021•7 hr 20 min
Houdini, an escape artist and illusionist, became interested later in his life in debunking spiritualists, disbelieving anyone who claimed to have supernatural powers. This was during an era where paranormal phenomena, especially seances, were extremely popular. Although skeptical of their claims, he longed to find a credible source to communicate with family members he had lost. This book chronicles his travels and the many people he spoke with and his observations of their 'powers' and along t...
Dec 15, 2021•11 hr 3 min
Joseph Conrad was born in former Poland, spent part of his childhood exiled in Russia because of his father's Polish nationalist political activities, learned and read French early, and did not speak a word of English until his late teens. It is perhaps not surprising, then, that when Conrad came to write this, his first novel, it centred on the pain of having a contested sense of identity, the experience of having to choose, in the midst of argument and derision, whether one was really 'this or...
Dec 14, 2021•6 hr 44 min
From the preface: "For thirty years I have devoted myself to the practical problems of the glove industry, and my connection with one of the substantial firms of master-merchant-glovers in the world has taught me how little gloves are known or appreciated by the millions of persons who buy them and wear them. The pursuit of glove lore-the historic romance of the glove-has long since been with me a selfish recreation. Now I desire to share it, as well as the practical knowledge, with all men and ...
Dec 10, 2021•3 hr 41 min
Against Celsus, preserved entirely in Greek, is a major apologetics work by the Church Father Origen of Alexandria, written in around 248 AD, countering the writings of Celsus, a pagan philosopher and controversialist who had written a scathing attack on Christianity in his treatise "The True Word". Among a variety of other charges, Celsus had denounced many Christian doctrines as irrational and criticized Christians themselves as uneducated, deluded, unpatriotic, close-minded towards reason, an...
Dec 10, 2021•4 hr 19 min
"Tales of Fun & Fancy" is the subtitle of this story book and it well describes the contents which are written with a great deal of fun and fancy indeed. I have chosen 15 of these imaginative and delightful stories for us to record in this project. Some are short, some are longer but all will capture your fancy as you listen to them. Genre(s): Myths, Legends & Fairy Tales Mabel Henrietta Spielmann (1862 - 1938)
Dec 10, 2021•5 hr 12 min
"To the memory of TROLLEY, This little story is dedicated." When young Caro goes to stay with her Aunt and Grandfather, the seminary president, she learns to not be afraid of the dark and to "be a candle" by "sharing her light" with the help of Trolley the cat. In doing so, she is able to help others, including a reclusive invalid, renew their old friendships. Genre(s): Animals & Nature, Family Mary Finley Leonard (1862 - 1948)...
Dec 10, 2021•1 hr 43 min
Rabbi Loeb creates a clay man to house a perfect soul that he hopes will not be blighted by human prejudices. The plan does not go as he hoped... This is one of many stories about the golem, all of which involve Rabbi Loeb (Judah Loew ben Bezalel), a 16th-century talmudic scholar known as The Maharal. Rodolf Lother (Rudolf Lothar Spitzer) was an Austrian writer. This story was published in the B'nai Brith journal The Menorah in 1896 and subsequently included in the author's German language book ...
Dec 10, 2021•55 min
James Hogg (1770 - 1835) An early example of a psychological mystery and modern crime fiction, The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner details the experience of its criminal anti-hero. It is set in Scotland within a world where angels, devils, and demonic possession exist. The book was a response against the antinomian society, or a society that does not believe in laws or moral norms (in a Christian sense one believes that they do not have to follow the Ten Commandments becaus...
Dec 09, 2021•8 hr 35 min
Richard le Gallienne (1866 - 1947) This stirring collection of inspirational war-time poems by the renowned author Richard le Gallienne, offers an insightful examination of a world forced to endure one of the most trying and tragic times in history. In these magnificent poems we witness first hand the pathos of humanity torn apart by World War I, a war like no other, a war affecting all walks of life and inspiring acts of courage, self-sacrifice and gallantry on a scale previously unknown. This ...
Dec 09, 2021•19 min
"To-day we are at Willow Farm again, and I want to show you some of the flowers that grow there. I do not mean those which Mrs. Hammond, the farmer's wife, grows in her garden, pretty as they are. We will look rather at the wild flowers in the fields, the hedges, and by the road-side in the lane. No one sows their seed nor takes care of them in any way; yet they grow and blossom year after year, and nearly all of them are beautiful." - Arthur Owens Cooke Genre(s): Nature Arthur Owens Cooke (1867...
Dec 09, 2021•1 hr 40 min
Simon's new source of power promised a new era for Mankind. But what happens to world economy when anyone can manufacture it in the kitchen oven?... Here's one answer! and it isn't pretty Genre(s): Science Fiction Poul William Anderson (1926 - 2001)
Dec 09, 2021•1 hr 39 min
"The little god of Love is generally represented as a child; and rightly, perhaps, considering the erratic character of his ways among the human race. There are signs, however, of a new order in the relations of the Sexes; and the following papers are, among other things, an attempt to indicate the inner laws which, rather than the outer, may guide Love when—some day—he shall have come to his full estate." Genre(s): Family & Relationships Edward Carpenter (1844 - 1929)...
Dec 09, 2021•4 hr 3 min
The Guide for the Perplexed by Mūsá ibn Maymūn (known throughout the Christian West as Moses Maimonides) is regarded as one of the most important works of Medieval Jewish thought. The book attempted to harmonize the philosophy of Aristotle with the Rabbinical teachings, but was regarded by many at the time as antithetical to Jewish theology, despite its earnest arguments in vindication of the ways of God. Genre(s): Medieval, Other religions Language: English Moses Maimonides (1138 - 1204)...
Dec 07, 2021•10 hr 10 min
These are 10 recordings of The Vale to You, To Me the Heights by Victor Hugo. Hugo is considered to be one of the greatest and best-known French writers. Outside France, his most famous works are the novels Les Misérables, 1862, and The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (French: Notre-Dame de Paris), 1831. In France, Hugo is renowned for his poetry collections, such as Les Contemplations (The Contemplations) and La Légende des siècles (The Legend of the Ages). - Summary by Wikipedia Genre(s): Multi-versio...
Dec 07, 2021•17 min
Started in 1907, An Historical Sketch was a work in 3 volumes. The author was a British diplomat posted to Asia and his great work was interrupted by World War I, finally being published in 1921. It has been described as the definitive work on the subject and the style is easy to read and follow. In this, the third, volume, Eliot examines Buddhism outside India, and the interaction between eastern and western religions. Genre(s): Other religions Language: English Charles Eliot (1862 - 1931)...
Dec 07, 2021•18 hr 34 min
A book compiling stories, legends, and poems about summer and nature, piquing reader's interests by appealing to the reader's fancy, quickening his/her sense of humor, or attract his/her attention to some spiritual significance. Genre(s): Animals & Nature, Myths, Legends & Fairy Tales, Poetry Ada M. Skinner (1878 - ) and Eleanor L. Skinner (1872 - )
Dec 06, 2021•8 hr 11 min
During the last half of the second century B.C. Rome was undisputed mistress of the civilized western world. As the British historian, Augustus Henry Beesly writes, "a brilliant period of foreign conquest had succeeded the 300 years in which she had overcome her neighbors and made herself supreme in Italy. In 146 B.C. she had given the death-blow to her greatest rival, Carthage, and had annexed Greece." But Rome was on the brink of a one hundred year-long revolution. In this slim volume Beesley,...
Dec 04, 2021•7 hr 6 min
Two delightful tales surrounding the adventures of John Norton, the Trapper. He gives us a good glimpse into life in the deep woods, and how he deals with those who would disturb him or others with their, "diviltry." John Norton gives us all a great example of hospitality, bravery, forgiveness, and justice as only he can. Genre(s): Action & Adventure Fiction, Travel Fiction Language: English William Henry Harrison Murray (1840 - 1904)...
Dec 03, 2021•11 hr 28 min
This work describes conditions and forces the black population of the South faced after freedom was brought by the Civil War. As Sinclair puts it at the outset of his book, ". . . the chief efforts of Southern leadership have been to curtail the freedom of the colored people, to minimize their liberty and reduce them as nearly as possible to the condition of chattel slaves." Genre(s): History, Social Science (Culture & Anthropology) William A. Sinclair (1858 - 1912)...
Dec 03, 2021•12 hr 17 min
This is a collection of 44 poems Genre(s): Poetry Language: English
Dec 02, 2021•2 hr 20 min
Nothing is ordinary in the world of John Muir, naturalist and author known as the Father of the US National Parks. In this short work, written in the latter part of his life for Century Magazine, Muir beckons us to come with him, unrushed, to behold the wonder of the Grand Canyon. Some of the beauty every life needs awaits here. Its magnificence envelops, "carrying us back into the midst of the life of a past infinitely remote. And as we go on and on, studying this old, old life in the light of ...
Dec 02, 2021•1 hr 2 min
"Antipho, a wealthy and jovial old gentleman of Athens, has two daughters, Pilumena and Pamphila. They are married to two brothers, Epignomus and Pamphilus, who, having run through their property in the company of idlers and Parasites, have, with the view of retrieving their fortunes, taken to merchandize [overseas trade]." The brothers have, in fact, been gone so long trying to regain their riches that Antipho is getting ready to marry off the daughters again. Will the brothers arrive back in t...
Dec 02, 2021•1 hr 25 min
This poem celebrates Christmas by exploring the mystery of Christ's mission on earth: his death, resurrection, and second coming as judge of all human souls. Sir Gawain is cast in the role of Everyman. At the feast of the New Year, an unarmed green giant rides his green horse into the banqueting hall of King Arthur and challenges any member of the assembled company to behead him with a huge axe and then to submit to the same treatment from his victim the next year. Gawain volunteers to prevent A...
Dec 02, 2021•2 hr
Mark Twain illustrator Dan Beard recalled discussing McAllister’s book with Twain. “It was before Webster & Company failed that Ward McAllister’s book (Society as I have Found It) appeared, and when he (Twain) sauntered into my studio one day, I said: ‘Mr. Clemens, have you read Ward McAllister’s book?’ ‘Yes; have you?’ he replied. ‘Indeed, I have. I have read it through several times, and intend to read it again. It is one of the most humorous books I ever read.’ ‘That’s so,’ said Mark, ‘th...
Dec 02, 2021•6 hr 15 min
This publication, by English utopian socialist Edward Carpenter, describes civilisation as a sort of disease with which humanity is afflicted. Alongside this influential publication (originally published in 1889), are compiled other essays: Modern Science: A Criticism; The Science of the Future: A Forecast; Defence of Criminals: A Criticism of Morality; Exfoliation: Lamarck versus Darwin; Custom; A Rational and Humane Science; and The New Morality, plus Appendices (notes on various "Pre-Civilise...
Dec 01, 2021•8 hr 23 min
Mechanical engineer Steve Cornell lives in a world where ESP and telepathy are normal, and a spreading plague called Mekstrom’s Disease turns its victims into supermen. In the search for his missing fiancée, Steve must discover who controls the disease and what they want with him. Genre(s): Science Fiction George O. Smith (1911 - 1981)
Dec 01, 2021•9 hr 9 min
Tree with a Bird in it: a symposium of contemporary American poets on being shown a pear-tree on which sat a grackle is a collection of poems based on a bird in a tree. The author parodies various contemporary poets in 1922 with their versions of a poem based on the aforementioned topic. Genre(s): Single author Margaret Widdemer (1884 - 1978)
Dec 01, 2021•1 hr 21 min
