Showing results by narrator "Peter Joyce" in All Categories

Mr. Reuben Wray, a retired actor who has had little public success, flees Stratford-upon-Avon fearing pursuit by the police. He arrives in Tidbury in the Marsh and sets up shop teaching elocution. Two local villains notice he carries a rather large cash box and attempt to steal the contents. When their plans come to naught and they exact their revenge Mr. Wray is left devastated and it takes Annie, his granddaughter, and her intended, Martin, to rectify the situation.

In 1843 the material that Dickins had gathered on his trip to America was published with the title American Notes [also produced by Assembled Stories]. The book was viewed with disdain from both sides of the Atlantic and in some quarters, strong disapproval, his criticism having done little for Anglo-American relations.

The story chronicles the class movement of the time and gives us a remarkable description of social, political and industrial change. Set in Gloucestershire in the heart of England and told by Phineas, his soul mate and lifelong friend, who observes John through all his glorious moments, self-doubt and resolution, the story is simple, uplifting and heroic. It is a detailed study of a man and his family that also presents the listener with a broad view of Britain during one of its most troubled times.

A Child of the Jago is both thriller and condemnation of social conditions in the East End slums at the turn of the century. Boy hero Dicky Perrott is at heart full of humane instinct but his environment ensures his down fall. "It was my fate to encounter a place in Shoreditch where children were born and reared in circumstances which gave them no reasonable chance of living decent lives: where they were born fore-damned to a criminal or semi criminal career.

'Why should I work when I could steal?' Thus speaks A. J.Raffles, gentleman, the finest slow bowler of his generation and a shameless thief. When Bunny, an old school acquaintance, confesses that he will be dishonourably disgraced for writing cheques that his bank will not meet, Raffles persuades him to assist in a burglary. From that moment, Bunny is locked into a life of crime and, fortunately for his audience, recounts their adventures in a most thrilling way.

The hugely successful romantic adventure story which continues to thrill a century after it was written. It has all the classic ingredients - a twisting plot of betrayal and deception, love interest, great swashbuckling action and a most beguiling villain in Rupert of Hentzau, who captured the public’s imagination and had them begging the author for a sequel. Rudolph Rassendyll visits Ruritania, with whose Royal Family he has a connection because of a scandalous sexual indiscretion in the past.

The ‘sketches’ in this... volume are more the substance and length of short stories illustrating the development of the tools of the Masters trade: farce, parody, irony, black humour and wonderful one liners which unerringly hit the mark. The ensuing narrative, however, brings the listener bumpily back to earth with a reminder of the mean and often tragic lives that were being endured in the busy, uncaring metropolis.

Written in 1926... and published posthumously [without the authors customary revision] in 1930, The Virgin and the Gypsy is a minor masterpiece in short story writing. It provides an excellent introduction to Lawrence’s work, being a succinct distillation of his ideas about sexuality and its ability to transcend class barriers.

Queen Victoria... and Prince Albert were married in 1840. Dickens uses this event as an ingenious ploy to salute and promote domestic felicity, advising young ladies upon several examples of the different types of male available as partners. There follows a section describing various married couples from whom the young ladies could possibly learn a lesson. The author then entertains with a tale of Nicholas Tulrumble, newly appointed Mayor of Mudfog, with ideas above his station.

At the beginning of the story the heroine lives an unfulfilled life in rural France, her nature crushed by a domineering and miserly father. Gallant cousin Charles arrives and acts as a catalyst on Eugénie's personality and emotions. Will her love survive the strong self-opinion of the young man and the selfishness of her father or is Eugénie's reward destined to be in heaven?

‘This was the original GAME OF THRONES’ George R.R. Martin Available for the first time in English, THE KING WITHOUT A KINGDOM is the seventh and final volume of The Accursed Kings series. The reign of the Capetian kings has ended and John II, ‘The Good’, second of the Valois dynasty...

The next volume in the series of exciting stories about A. J. Raffles, first class slow bowler and gentleman thief. The author must have been delighted when his fictional character was such a success. Raffles would have said ‘timing is everything’ and the advice should have been delivered to his creator. Hornung made a grave error in finishing the master burglar’s life and career so soon, realised his mistake and brought him back to the printed page.

The tale of a rural habitation in the late 19th Century and the effect of industrialisation on the local community.Seventeen year old Phillis lives on Hope Farm with her parents Minister Ebenezer Holman and his simple wife. Her second cousin Paul Manning, at first reluctantly, comes to visit. He is the son of a rising inventor from Birmingham and is employed as a clerk to Edward Holdsworth, the managing engineer of a railway company laying a line close to the farm.

A chilling tale of suspense with a puzzling mystery at the heart of the story. Architect Edward Westray is sent by his firm to restore Cullerne Minster. The young man believes that more work is needed to secure the bell tower, but his warnings go unheeded. A fellow lodger, the church organist Sharnall, is investigating the belief of the late Martin Joliffe, the landlady's brother, that he, Joliffe, was the rightful heir to the Blandamer title and estates.

"This story is the record of a struggle between two temperaments, two consciences and almost two epochs. It ended, as was inevitable, in disruption. Of the two human beings here described, one was born to fly backward, the other could not help being carried forward. The affection of these two persons was assailed by forces in comparison with which the changes that health or fortune or place introduce are as nothing.

In this, the second volume of the Saga to be released in an unabridged recording by Assembled Stories, Soames’ house continues to be built as his marriage disintegrates. Is Irene having an affair? Certainly her relationship with the architect Bosinney is causing ructions in the family. While attempting reconciliation with his son, Old Jolyon, spurred by June’s suffering as she feels herself losing her lover, sends Young Jolyon to sound the man’s intentions.

Sex, betrayal, murder and corruption form the basis of this sensational novel by one of the leading French authors of the 19th century. Jacques Lantier is a man with a hereditary homicidal lust. When he sees Roubaud and his wife Severine slit the throat of a wealthy nobleman, it is the catalyst for a string of murders in a convoluted plot full of horror and suspense.

In this, the second collection of Hornungs’ stories to be recorded by Assembled Stories, the darker side of Raffles is laid bare. Inspector Mackenzie begins to suspect that the finest cricketer of his generation may not be wielding a straight bat, a suspicion further confirmed by the appearance of Reginald Crawshay, master criminal, late residence HM Prison, Dartmoor, at Raffles’ rooms at the Albany.

Summer, 1942. For the people of Malta, suffering daily bombing raids, the British are the last line of defence against the Nazis. And it is Max Chadwick's job as the information officer to ensure the news the islanders receive maintains morale. So when Max is given proof suggesting a British officer is murdering local women, he knows the consequences of discovery are dire.

Erewhon is not only an adventure story but also Butler's satirical inversion of English customs and philosophy in the 19th century. The explorer Higgs discovers a well organised and civilised country - apparently idyllic. However, the body politic has two ruling obsessions, disease is considered a crime and machinery is seen as a threat to the supremacy of man.