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  Fort Amity

  Arthur Quiller-Couch

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  The war for Canada, 1758: a young Quaker officer, an Iroquois raid, captivity, and a fort on the Hudson where a Cornish sergeant keeps discipline in a wilderness nobody understands. Quiller-Couch published as Q, edited The Oxford Book of English Verse and shaped English taste for fifty years with it; his own fiction is much better than that fact suggests, and this is the proof.

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  Since I Died - From their pens...

  Elizabeth Stuart Phelps

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  Mary Gray Phelps was born on 31st August 1844 in Boston, Massachusetts. 
  Her mother, who wrote the Kitty Brown children’s book series, died when she was only 8.  The young girl asked to be renamed in honor of her mother. 
  Two years later her father married her mother's sister, Mary Stuart, also a writer, but she died of tuberculosis only 18 months later. A mere six months later he married for a third time to Mary Ann Johnson, and they had two sons. 
  Phelps received an upper-class education through her attendance at the Abbot Academy and Mrs. Edwards' School for Young Ladies. She had a natural gift for story-telling and at 13 she had a story published in Youth's Companion and other stories in various Sunday School publications. 
  In most of her writings she used her mother's name ‘Elizabeth Stuart Phelps’ as a pseudonym, even after her marriage in 1888 to Herbert Dickinson Ward, a journalist (and later co-author with her) 17 years her junior. Such was her talent that she gained a wide audience from her first publications.  
  At age 19 she sent her Civil War story ‘A Sacrifice Consumed’ to Harper's Magazine. A generous payment was made together with a request for more works to be sent for publication.  
  During the 1860s she wrote her first books for children, the ‘Tiny’ series and followed up with the 4-volume ‘Gypsy Breynton’ series.   
  In 1868, three years after the Civil War, came ‘The Gates Ajar’, a controversial but best-selling Spiritualist work which told of an afterlife replete with home comforts and reunited families, and their pets, for eternity.  Its success led her to write two more books to complete the trilogy and she was wont to use the word ‘Gates’ in later book titles to allude to this success. She stated that she wrote ‘The Gates Ajar’ to comfort a generation of women devastated by the loss of their loved ones who found no comfort in traditional religion.  
  Phelps became a determined advocate through her lectures and other work for social reform, temperance, women's emancipation, and even clothing reform for women, and in 1874, urging them to burn their corsets. 
  Her deteriorating health was now restricting some of her activities and kept her contributions to mostly literary in nature rather than public appearances. 
  In 1876 Phelps was the first woman to present a lecture series at Boston University. Her presentations, ‘Representative Modern Fiction’, analyzed the works of George Eliot. 
  In 1877 she published ‘The Story of Avis’. The work focuses on many of the era’s early feminist issues, portraying a woman's struggle to balance her married life and domestic responsibilities with her longing to become a painter.  At no time did she attempt to hide, either in real life or her stories, her contempt of the inequities of the then class structure and gender disparities. Her work, ‘Mary Elizabeth’ depicts a homeless girl's choices between theft and begging as a means of survival. ‘One Way to Get An Education’ tells of a child laborer's desire for a better life than mill work offers and sees self-injuring as a way to a better education. Her work often depicted women succeeding in non-traditional careers such as physicians, ministers, and artists. 
  In 1884 came her well-regarded poetry collection ‘Songs of the Silent World’ 
  Along with her husband she wrote two Biblical romances in 1890 and 1891. Her autobiography, ‘Chapters from a Life’ was serialized and then published in book form in 1896.  
  Phelps continued to write short stories and novels up to her death and over her life authored 57 volumes of fiction, poetry and essays.  
  Elizabeth Stuart Phelps died 28th January 1911, in Newton Center, Massachusetts. She was 66.

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  B J Harrison Reads Jeeves and...

  P. G. Wodehouse

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  A friend of Bertie Wooster’s Aunt Agatha makes an unannounced visit and wishes to drop off her son at Bertie’s for a couple of weeks. Bertie is not too thrilled about this visit, especially as the boy turns out to be on the wilder side. The valet Jeeves, as always, does everything he can to help but has much to say about certain things taking place in the household. The short story “Jeeves and the Unwanted Guest,” originally called "Jeeves and the Unbidden Guest," was written by the master of humor, P. G. Wodehouse. The story unites the reader with some of the most legendary characters of comedy. The story is read by B. J. Harrison.B. J. Harrison started his Classic Tales Podcast back in 2007, wanting to breathe new life into classic stories. He masterfully plays with a wide array of voices and accents and has since then produced over 500 audiobooks. Now in collaboration with SAGA Egmont, his engaging narration of these famous classics is available to readers everywhere.P. G. Wodehouse (1881-1975), born Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, was a British author and one of the most prominent humorists of the 20th century. His memorable characters include the likes of Bertie Wooster and his valet Jeeves, who appeared in novels such as "Joy in the Morning" (1946) and "The Mating Season" (1949). His novels, short stories and musical comedies have been adapted numerous times for the screen and stage. These adaptations include "Heavy Weather" (1995), a BBC-produced television film based on Wodehouse’s eponymous novel.

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  A Child's Christmas in Wales -...

  Dylan Thomas

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  Dylan Marlais Thomas was born on 27th October 1914, in Swansea, Wales.   
  From an early age, Thomas displayed a remarkable aptitude for language and storytelling.  He found solace and inspiration in the rugged landscape of Wales, which would later become a central theme in his work.  Thomas's literary journey began at school where his poetic talent began to emerge with contributions to publications and participation in the school magazine.  At 16 he became a reporter for the South-West Daily News.  The stage was also an important part of Thomas's early life as an actor, writer, producer and even set painter.  
  In 1934, Thomas moved to London where he found himself amidst a vibrant literary scene and his early works, including ‘Eighteen Poems’ (1934) and ‘Twenty-Five Poems’ (1936), garnered critical acclaim and established him as a rising star in the poetry world.  His distinctive voice, characterized by an ingenious use of words and rhythm, musical language and lush imagery, captivated readers and critics alike.   
  He met and married Caitlin Macnamara in 1937 whom he had three children with.  
  Despite his literary success, Thomas wrestled with personal demons.  His struggles with alcoholism and tumultuous relationships fuelled his creativity but also threatened to consume him.  His deep insecurities and fears, which found expression in his poetry's exploration of mortality and the human condition, are best exemplified in his most famous poem, ‘Do not go gentle into that good night,’—written in response to his father's failing health.  The impassioned plea to rage against the dying of the light captures the essence of Thomas's defiance in the face of death.  
  In 1950 Thomas embarked on the first of four lucrative tours of America at the invitation of the American poet John Brinnin.  Together, for three months, they toured across the country and provided much needed revenue to the debt-ridden Thomas.  His financial difficulties were eased by rich patrons, principally the wife of historian, A J P Taylor, who first gave him a house to live in in Oxford and then bought him his own house in Laugharne, Wales as well as settling many of his debts.   
  Throughout his career, Thomas was a prolific writer, not only penning poetry but prose, stories, film scripts and radio dramas, the most enduring and well-known being ‘Under Milk Wood’ for the BBC with its rhythm, lyrical, evocative words and imagery and the comic exuberance to reveal the dreams and thoughts of a fictional Welsh fishing town. 
  Thomas’s final tour of America in 1953 was to claim his life.   Brinnin describes him as ‘a living delight and a living torment’ and says that sometimes he was amazed that he was able to stand up straight and more remarkably fulfil the poetry readings that were increasingly popular with the American literati and beyond, for all the drink he downed.  Thomas liked the role of the tortured uncompromising artist and was often rude, difficult and, of course, drunk.   
  Dylan Thomas was admitted to the emergency ward at St Vincent’s Hospital in a coma and died at noon on 9th November 1953.  He was 39.  
  His untimely death marked the premature end of a literary career that promised far more but his profound poetry has left an indelible mark on 20th-century literature reminding us of the fleeting nature of life and the enduring power of art.

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  The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

  Ambrose Bierce

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  Washington Irvine’s tale of an awkward and lanky schoolmaster who comes to Sleepy Hollow is brought to life with sound effects and original thematic music. 
  Written in 1819, the short story is set in about 1790 and describes the events that unfold when Ichabod Crane comes to Sleepy Hollow to teach school in the small Dutch settlement. Ichabod is a firm believer of the tales of ghosts and witchcraft he has heard and read, including the local legend of the Headless Horseman who haunts the area. 
  As Ichabod begins to court Katrina Van Tassel, the daughter of a wealthy farmer, he incurs the rath of Brom Bones, a jealous rival for Katrina’s affections who often plays cruel tricks on the awkward schoolmaster. 
  Late one night as Ichabod rides home after a party at Katrina’s home, he comes face to face with the headless horseman and is never seen again.

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  The Brothers Karamazov Part 3

  Fyodor Dostoevsky

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  In Part 3, the narrative hurtles toward crisis as Dmitri becomes the prime suspect in their father’s murder. Ivan confronts his inner turmoil, questioning his beliefs and culpability, while his hallucinatory encounter with the devil reveals his fractured psyche. Alyosha struggles to maintain hope and faith amidst the family’s unraveling, offering comfort to those affected by the tragedy. Themes of justice, morality, and free will dominate as Dostoevsky delves deeper into the philosophical and emotional conflicts driving the characters. This section masterfully blends suspense, introspection, and spiritual inquiry, setting the stage for resolution.

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