Showing results by narrator "Cathy Dobson" in All Categories

The Stonecutter is a fairy tale Lang collected in Japan. A stonecutter sees how rich people live when he is delivering a gravestone one day. From that day on he is dissatisfied with his own lot and wishes to be rich. His wish is granted by the spirit that lives in the mountain...but the stonecutter is still not satisfied with his life and makes further wishes, each taking him a little further on his quest for happiness.

Maurice Baring (1874-1945) was an English short story writer, children's writer, novelist, travel writer and war correspondent during the First World War. The Blue Rose is a fairy tale about a Chinese princess who is as clever as she is beautiful. When her father sets out to find her a husband, she determines to make her own choice. The Emperor declares that whoever can find and bring his daughter a blue rose shall wed her. But the wise princess is able to debunk all the blue roses proffered and at the same time works out a way to favour her own lover.

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. In this story, Miss Martha's good deed in helping a man whom she takes for an impoverished artist goes very wrong.

William Fryer Harvey (1885-1937) was an English writer of short stories, most notably in the mystery and horror genres, in which many of his works are recognized as masterpieces of the genre. This collection includes his two most famous works, 'August Heat' and 'The Beast with Five Fingers', as well as others which are true undiscovered gems.

Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874-1936) was an English writer best known for his fictional priest-detective, Father Brown. In The Purple Wig, an investigative journalist, Frances Finn, sets out to discover the strange secret of the dukes of Exmoor and the legend of their mysterious hereditary deformed ear. When Finn meets the current duke, he is wearing a hideous purple wig, which apparently he never takes off in the presence of anybody.

Ernest William Hornung (1866-1921) was an English writer best known for tales of the gentleman thief A. J. Raffles and his sidekick, Bunny Manders in late 19th-century London. These two characters are thought to have been in part based on his friends Oscar Wilde and his lover, Lord Alfred Douglas, and also on Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. In A Costume Piece Raffles is determined to steal the purple diamonds which are worn ostentatiously be the wealthy society bully Reuben Rosenthal.

A creepy anthology of 25 of the most hauntingly scary ghost stories ever written. 1.Afterward by Edith Wharton 2. Bagnell Terrace by E. F. Benson 3.His Brother’s Keeper by W. W. Jacobs 4.A Coincidence by A. J. Alan 5.The Confession of Charles Linkworth by E. F. Benson 6.The Death Mask by H. D. Everett 7.The Room in the Tower by E. F. Benson 8.The Furnished Room by O. Henry 9.The Thing in the Hall by E. F. Benson 10.The Eyes by Edith Wharton 11. The Wind in the Portico by John Buchan.

Colonel John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir (1875 - 1940) was a Scottish novelist, historian and politician. He is best known for his mystery and ghost stories.The Wind in the Portico is a strange tale of a visit by a classical scholar, Nightingale, to an odd castle set in a park in Shropshire where a rare manuscript is housed.

A wonderful collection of spine-tingling, imaginative, terrifying but beautifully written tales to keep you hiding under the bedclothes this Halloween.

E. T. A. Hoffmann (1776 – 1822), was a German Romantic author of fantasy and horror as well as a jurist, composer, music critic, draftsman and caricaturist. His stories were highly influential during the 19th century, and he is one of the major authors of the Romantic movement."The Mines of Falun" tells the story of Elis Fröbom, a sailor, who returns from the East Indies to Gotherburg in Sweden, only to discover that his mother has died and he is alone in the world.

When William Froyle, ostler at the Queen's Arms at Moorthorne, learns that his betrothed has betrayed him, he determines to hang himself in the inn's coach house. His first, unsuccessful attempt, is witnessed by Daft Jimmy, the village idiot. Daft Jimmy offers to help with the process of fixing the noose and takes a great deal of interest and delight in the proceedings. As events unfold, it becomes less clear who is the fool and who is the wise man.

A mysterious and shocking incident takes place one night in Venice. The beautiful Marchesa di Mentoni drops her only infant from the Ducal Palace window into the Grand Canal. Yet her attention seems distracted, while the rescuers search the water for the drowning child, and her gaze is fixed on the building of the Old Prison opposite. Suddenly a stranger steps out of the shadows, plunges into the dark waters, and appears with the baby, who miraculously is still alive.

Maurice Baring (1874-1945) was an English short story writer, children's writer, novelist, travel writer and war correspondent during the First World War. This is a collection of six of the magical fairy stories he wrote for children.

Sarah Grand (1854-1943) was a well-known Victorian writer and suffragette. 'The Man in the Scented Coat' is a story about an adventurous lady, Josepha, who gets lost in a pea-soup fog in London one evening. As she cannot see anything, she follows a scent of flowers, which turns out to emanate from a distinguished gentleman in disguise who is on a secret mission.

Lady Bessie Kyffin-Taylor was an English writer famous for her outstanding supernatural stories which were published in a single volume in 1920, just two years before her death. Room Number Ten tells the story of Peter Maxton, a literary gentleman invited to join a house party at a remote house in Scotland. The driver taking him to the house from the station comments that the house is full, and they may have to use room number 10, and he pities whoever has to sleep there.

Cleveland Moffett (1863-1926) was an American journalist and author who contributed articles and stories to magazines and weeklies. He first became famous with his short mystery story "The Mysterious Card", which was published in the Boston-based The Black Cat in 1895. This tale caused a sensation, partly because it did not reveal the answer to the puzzle posed, thereby gaining widespread attention and engaging his readers in speculation for months.

A collection of classic short stories for the restless sleeper.... "A Dream of Wild Bees" by Olive Schreiner, "The Face" by E. F. Benson, "The Dream" by A. J. Alan, "In a Far-Off World" by Olive Schreiner, "A Soothing Dream" by Fedor Sologub, "Life's Gifts" by Olive Schreiner, "A Curious Dream" by Mark Twain, "The Artist's Secret" by Olive Schreiner and "A Joy Ride" by A. J. Alan.

A wonderful selection of some of the most bizarre and unsettling stories ever written.

When Dan Kinsolving inherits a fortune from his late father, he wants to make amends for the immoral way in which the money was amassed. Kinsolving senior had been responsible for a rise in the price of bread which had caused great hardship among the poor of New York. Kinsolving's friend Kenwitz shows Dan the impact of the bread price on real people's lives... and also explains the impossibility of undoing the damage which has been done.

Mary Wilkins Freeman (1852-1930) was an American writer best known for her stories reflecting the world of women fighting for dignity and independence from men. Her tales typically describe domestic settings and intimate relationships and are told with sensitivity and a poignancy which illuminates a bygone era in vivid detail. 'The Lost Ghost' is a supernatural story told by one woman to another about a child ghost who wanders around an old house in search of her mother.... The story has an extraordinary ending.