Other books that might interest you

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  Short Story Collection Vol 059

  Various Various

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  LibriVox readers bring you 20 short stories including lesser known works by Thomas Hardy, Robert Louis Stevenson and Edgar Allan Poe, an early story by Dorothy Parker, and stories in various genres by authors including L. M. Montgomery, Leo Tolstoy, Arthur Conan Doyle, Franz Kafka and Algernon Blackwood.

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  Gods in Exile - Heine pulls at...

  Heinrich Heine

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  Christian Johann Heinrich Heine was born in Düsseldorf, Germany on 13th December 1797 to assimilated Jewish parents. 
   
  Heine studied law at the universities of Bonn, Göttingen, and Berlin but his greater commitment was to studying poetry and literature.   
   
  He converted to Protestantism in order to obtain work as there were draconian anti-Jewish laws in force at the time.   
   
  He was part of the German Romantic movement but also responsible in part for ushering in the post-Romantic crisis and the presumed failure of art as unable to overcome or explain the growing traumas of modernity.  However, his literary reputation was cemented in the second half of the 1820’s with his poetry collection ‘The Book of Songs’ together with his collection of ‘Pictures of Travel’ stories that blended fact and fiction together into commercial and critical successes. 
   
  After the July 1830 Revolution in France, he went to live in Paris, where he remained until his death.  
   
  Here he wrote much in the way of essays discussing the political and cultural scene in France together with volumes of social criticism on Germany. 
   
  By 1835, his works had been banned by the German government.  His lifelong subsidised lifestyle ended in 1844 when his uncle died leaving him nothing.  He turned once more to lyric poetry and created perhaps his finest poetical works.  A trip to Germany resulted in the long satirical poem ‘Germany. A Winter's Tale’. His second volume of poetry, ‘New Poems’ in 1844, included poems that had originally appeared in Karl Marx’s newspaper ‘Forward’ and continued the satirical style he now preferred.   
   
  In May 1848, Heine, in poor health, fell and was paralyzed and confined to his bed.  He called it his ‘mattress-grave’ and only death would remove him from it.  He was also experiencing eye problems and suffering from chronic lead poisoning. 
   
  Heinrich Heine died on 17th February 1856.  He was 58.   
   
  ‘Gods in Exile’ is perhaps a prophetic piece on his own life.  The old gods are overthrown by the new novelty of Christianity.  What will be their role now?  Is there life after for them?

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  Tales of Para Handy

  Neil Munro

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  Neil Munro's captivating tales of Para Handy, captain of the "Vital Spark", the "smertest" steamboat ever to sail the River Clyde.Whatever happened to the shaggy dog story? Very few, if any seem to be published these days. Maybe our lives are all too pressurised and full-on to allow us to kick back and listen to an engaging, diverting, well-told tale.PG Wodehouse was a master of the shaggy dog story, through his masterful fictional storytellers such as Mr Mulliner, The Oldest Member and even Bertie Wooster himself. But a close competitor was Neil Munro, creator of the much-loved "Tales of Para Handy", three  volumes of which were published from 1906 to 1923. These have been televised no fewer than 3 times, most recently in the 1990s with Gregor Fisher (who also starred as Rab C Nesbitt in the BBC2 TV show Naked Video) as the garrulous master mariner.The twenty-five stories performed by David Rintoul hail from the first collection, and every one is a gem. David was a huge fan of the 1960's TV series with Roddy McMillan in the starring role, and his love and knowledge of the tales shines out in his bravura performance. In the course of this audio, you'll get to know the regular cast - not just Para Handy himself, but the ship's irascible and scary engineer, Macphail, never without a penny "novella" in his hand; then there's The Tar, the lazy deckhand - and who can forget Dougie, the superstitious ship's mate? Add to that the crew of supporting characters - West Coast locals to a man (and woman) - canny, outspoken, lugubrious, eccentric . . . . and all huge fun. It's like having a second family. Try listening to one of them on your busy commute, and you'll be sure to arrive with a great big smile on your face!

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  Aurelia's Unfortunate Young Man

  Mark Twain

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  Mark Twain (Samuel Lengkhorn Clemens) was an outstanding American writer, journalist, and public figure. "Aurelia's Unfortunate Young Man" by Mark Twain was published in "Sketches New and Old " in 1875. In this story the author speculates on the family happiness. The author receives a letter from a young lady named Aurelia. She is in a quandary as to whether she should marry a young gentleman, who has a problem of loosing his body parts. The first time the very day before the wedding he catches smallpox and his face gets pitted. After that, the young man loses one of his legs. Finally, he loses his eye before the wedding-day. After Mark Twain has thought the matter over carefully  he  gives the lady a piece of advice. Which one? Get acquainted  with "Aurelia's Unfortunate Young Man" to know it! This story combines wise thoughts  and humour. Enjoy the brilliant style of the outstanding American writer. "Aurelia's Unfortunate Young Man" will put you in good spirits.A SmartTouch Media production.

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  Grisha

  Anton chekhov

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  Anton Chekhov (1860 – 1904) is considered to be the last classic writer of the Golden Age of the Russian literature. Before Chekhov the literature had no way to analyze fleeting features of everyday and to give an overwhelming picture of life simultaneously. "Grisha" is a story of a boy taken for a walk outside of his house for the first time. He looks at the world around him and studies it with curiosity. He tries to communicate to the adults: his mother, his nanny and the people they meet during the walk. He learns the rules of the world, which is completely new for him, with childish ingeniousness and directness. The writer tries to find an answer to the question, what children may mean as they mutter so lovely, and at the same time shows our life the way we prefer not to think about.A SmartTouch Media production.

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  Suspension of Disbelief

  Tim Maleeny

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  Prepare for edge-of-your-seat suspense in this Thriller Short.Originally published in THRILLER 2 (2009),edited by #1 New York Times bestselling author Clive Cussler.In this Thriller Short, bestselling author Tim Maleeny provides a classic tale laced with moments of dark comedy. Relationships between an author and his editor can sometimes turn contentious, but none more so than that between blockbuster novelist Jim Masterson and his editor Carl Ransom. When Masterson winds up with writer’s block and can’t figure out how to end his new manuscript, he comes dangerously close to not meeting his deadline. So Ransom pays Masterson a visit to prod his author into finishing the book, and that’s when things get dicey…creating an ending no one saw coming. Don’t miss any of these exciting stories from Thriller 2: The Weapon by Jeffery DeaverRemaking by Blake CrouchIced by Harry HunsickerJustice Served by Mariah StewartThe Circle by David HewsonRoomful of Witnesses by R.L. StineThe House on Pine Terrace by Phillip MargolinThe Desert Here and the Desert Far Away by Marcus SakeyOn the Run by Carla NeggersCan You Help Me Out Here? by Robert FerrignoCrossed Double by Joe HartlaubThe Lamented by Lawrence LightVintage Death by Lisa JacksonSuspension of Disbelief by Tim MaleenyA Calculated Risk by Sean ChercoverThe Fifth World by Javier SierraGhost Writer by Gary BraverThrough a Veil Darkly by Kathleen AntrimBedtime for Mr. Li by David J. MontgomeryProtecting the Innocent by Simon WoodWatch Out for My Girl by Joan JohnstonKilling Time by Jon LandBoldt’s Broken Angel by Ridley Pearson

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