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  The Pit and the Pendulum

  Edgar Allan Poe

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  "I was sick—sick unto death with that long agony"
  
  Imprisoned in a nightmarish dungeon by the Spanish Inquisition, a man awakens in darkness, knowing he is about to face a series of terrifying tortures designed to break his body, mind and spirit. Chained beneath the slowly descending blade of a pendulum, with the walls closing in and the yawning mouth of a deadly pit in the centre of the floor, he is forced to confront fear, madness, and the unknown.
  
  Edgar Allan Poe's classic short story is a masterclass in psychological terror, creating an atmosphere of fear and suspense not through the use of supernatural monsters, but through isolation, anticipation and the diabolical ingenuity of man. One of the author's most enduring tales, it has been adapted multiple times for film, television and radio, with notable adaptations including the 1961 film starring Vincent Price and the animated 2013 film Extraordinary Tales.
  Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849) was an American writer, poet, editor and literary critic known for his dark, atmospheric tales and haunting poetry. Widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in American literature, Poe helped shape the horror and science-fiction genres and is widely credited with inventing detective fiction in his 1841 short story, Murders in the Rue Morgue. Despite a life marked by personal tragedy and financial hardship, Poe produced a number of enduring classics such as The Raven, The Tell-Tale Heart, and The Fall of the House of Usher, and since his somewhat mysterious death, he and his writings have had a wide-ranging influence in popular culture. In 1946, the Mystery Writers of America established the annual Edgar award, which honour the best in mystery fiction, non-fiction, and film.

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  Smile

  D H Lawrence

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  ‘Smile’ is one of Lawrence's shorter pieces, a thumbnail sketch of an idea. A man is relieved that his wife is dead and struggles to hide his relief when confronted with his wife's body. The relief breaks out in a smile which he struggles to excuse. How much better it would have been, Lawrence seems to be saying, if he had just laughed out loud!

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  Germinal

  Émile Zola

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  'There is a germ of revolt in every injustice.'
  
  Part of Zola's ambitious twenty-volume series Les Rougon-Macquart, Germinal is one of the most notable novels written in the French tradition and is often considered Zola's masterpiece.
  
  First serialised in the periodical Gil Blas in 1884, Germinal is a profoundly gripping novel that explores the harsh realities of industrial life in nineteenth century France. When Étienne Lantier arrives in the town of Montsou in search for work, he is confronted by the brutal conditions endured by the coal miners: gruelling shifts, meagre wages and backbreaking labour. As Étienne immerses himself in the community, he takes it upon himself to become a voice for the labourers and a leader in their fight for justice. As tensions rise and a minor's strike begins to brew, Zola candidly depicts a devastating spiral into violence and despair. Through vivid characters and uncompromising realism, Zola movingly captures the human cost of capitalism with a blossoming hope for revolution. This audiobook edition is beautifully narrated by David Rintoul.
  Émile Zola (1840 – 1902) was a French novelist, playwright and journalist. He was also a keen adopter of naturalism, famed for his realistic depictions of characters and their environments. Nominated for the first and second Nobel Prizes in Literature in 1901 and 1902, Zola's work is still widely read and respected today.

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  A Dialogue Among Clever People -...

  Leo Tolstoy

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  Leo Tolstoy was born in 1828 in the Russian province of Tula to a wealthy noble family. As a child, he had private tutors but he showed little interest in any formal education. When he went to the University of Kazan in 1843 to study oriental languages and law, he left without completing his courses.  Life now was relaxed and idle but with some writing also taking place.  Gambling debts forced an abrupt change of path and he joined the army to fight in the Crimean War.  He was commended for his bravery and promoted but was appalled at the brutality and loss of life.  He recorded these and other earlier experiences in his diaries which formed the basis of several of his works. 
  In 1852 ‘Childhood’ was published to immediate success and was followed by ‘Boyhood’ and ‘Youth’. 
  His experience in the army and the horrors he witnessed resulted in ‘The Cossacks’ in 1862 and the trilogy ‘Sevastopol Tales’. After the war he travelled around Europe, visiting London and Paris and meeting such luminaries as Victor Hugo and Charles Darwin.  
  It was now that Tolstoy began his masterpiece, ‘War and Peace’. Published in 1869 it was an epic work that changed literature. He quickly followed this with ‘Anna Karenina’.  
  These successes made Tolstoy rich and helped him accomplish many of his dreams but also brought problems as he grappled with his faith and the lot of the oppressed poor. These revolutionary views became so popular that the authorities now kept him under surveillance.  
  He led a life of asceticism and vegetarianism and put his socialist ideals into practice by establishing numerous schools for the poor and food programmes. He also believed in giving away his wealth, which caused much discord with his wife.  
  His writing continued to bring forth classics such as ‘The Death of Ivan Ilyich’ and many brilliant and incisive short stories such as ‘How Much Land Does A Man Need’.  
  In 1901 Tolstoy was excommunicated from the Church and controversially deselected for the Nobel Prize for Literature. 
  Whilst undertaking a pilgrimage by train in October 1910 with his daughter Aleksandra he caught pneumonia in the nearby town of Astapovo.  Leo Tolstoy died on November 9th, 1910, he was 82.

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  Stolen Bacillus and Other...

  H. G. Wells

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  The Stolen Bacillus and Other Incidents is a collection of fifteen fantasy and science fiction short stories written by the English author H. G. Wells between 1893 and 1895. It was first published by Methuen & Co. in 1895 and was Wells's first book of short stories. All of the stories had first been published in various weekly and monthly periodicals.

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  The Jeune Premier

  Anton Chekhov

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  "The First Lover" is a famous story by Russian writer Anton Pavlovich Chekhov. The main character, Evgeny Alekseevich Podzharov, tells the guests a story about his love adventure. However, the story causes slight bewilderment and makes one of the listeners blush...

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