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  A Danse-Macabre - From their...

  Bernard Capes

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  Bernard Edward Joseph Capes was born on the 30th August 1854 in London.  He was one of 11 children. 
  His early work was as a journalist and this developed into writing many short stories for the periodicals of the time including Blackwood's, Cassell's, Cornhill Magazine, Illustrated London News, Macmillan's Magazine, Mall Magazine, Pearson's Magazine, The Idler, and The Queen. 
  It took him many years to decide that writing full-time could be a sustainable career path.  His initial success came with ‘The Mill of Silence’.  As well as being published it garnered second prize at a competition sponsored by the Chicago Record.  He exceeded that by winning it the following year with ‘The Lake of Wine’.   
  Capes quickly became both prolific and popular.  As well as his stories and articles for the periodicals he wrote around 40 volumes across novels, poetry, history as well as romance and mystery novels. 
  Bernard Capes died on 2nd November 1918 in the flu epidemic.

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  Plated Article A (Unabridged)

  Charles Dickens

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  Charles Dickens was a writer and social critic who created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. His works enjoyed unprecedented popularity during his lifetime, and by the twentieth century critics and scholars had recognised him as a literary genius. His novels and short stories enjoy lasting popularity.
  A PLATED ARTICLE: Putting up for the night in one of the chiefest towns of Staffordshire, I find it to be by no means a lively town. In fact, it is as dull and dead a town as any one could desire not to see. It seems as if its whole population might be imprisoned in its Railway Station. The Refreshment Room at that Station is a vortex of dissipation compared with the extinct town-inn, the Dodo, in the dull High Street.

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  After Twenty years - From their...

  O Henry

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  William Sydney Porter was born on 11th September 1862 in Greensboro, North Carolina. At age 3 his mother died from tuberculosis. From an early age it was clear Porter had a large appetite for reading as he absorbed the world around him. 
  He first attended at a school run by his aunt before enrolling at the Lindsey Street High School and then worked at his uncle’s drugstore and gained a pharmacists’ license in 1881.  
  A persistent cough took him to Texas in the hope that a change of climate would help his symptoms. He took on various types of work, initially from ranch hand and cook and then as varied as pharmacist, draftsman, bank teller and journalist. He also began to write, though for now, purely as a hobby. 
  He was a member of several singing and dramatic groups when he met 17 year old Athol Estes, daughter of a wealthy Austin family. Despite her mother’s objection owing to Athol’s tuberculosis, they began courting and in July 1887, they eloped and soon married. 
  Athol, impressed by his writing, encouraged him to get them published. A job as a draftsman at the Texas General Land Office paid a healthy $100 dollars per month and life was good. 
  But then life turned cruel. His son died a few hours after birth although a daughter, Margaret, came the following year.  His job had to be vacated but another was found at the First National Bank of Austin. The bank operated informally and Porter was careless in keeping the books. He lost that job but began writing for the humourous weekly The Rolling Stone and the Houston Post. Some time later the federal Bank auditors went through his former accounts and he was arrested on charges of embezzlement. 
  Porter fled the day before his trial to Honduras. Holed up for several months he began to write.  Athol had become too ill to travel to meet him and learning that her health was deteriorating he surrendered to the court in February 1897.  Bail was obtained so that he could stay with Athol during her final days.  
  Porter was sentenced to five years at the Ohio Penitentiary in Columbus. His pharmacy qualifications got him the job of night druggist.  His sentence also gave him time to write and publish fourteen short stories. In December 1899 in McClure’s Magazine he published a short story as O Henry.  
  He was released two years early in July 1901, and reunited with Margaret, now 11, in Pittsburgh.  He now began his most prolific period of writing; a short story per week for the New York World, while also publishing works in other magazines.  Eventually over 600 of his short stories were published. 
  Porter was a heavy drinker and in 1908 his health, which had deteriorated for several years, took a dramatic turn for the worse, as did his writing. 
  O Henry died of cirrhosis of the liver complicated by diabetes and an enlarged heart on 5th June 1910.<

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  Refreshments for Travellers...

  Charles Dickens

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  Charles Dickens was a writer and social critic who created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. His works enjoyed unprecedented popularity during his lifetime, and by the twentieth century critics and scholars had recognised him as a literary genius. His novels and short stories enjoy lasting popularity.
  REFRESHMENTS FOR TRAVELLERS: IN the late high winds I was blown to a great many places and indeed, wind or no wind, I generally have extensive transactions on hand in the article of Air but I have not been blown to any English place lately, and I very seldom have blown to any English place in my life, where I could get anything good to eat and drink in five minutes, or where, if I sought it, I was received with a welcome.

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  Peter Pan - Peter and Wendy

  J. M. Barrie

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  J.M. Barrie created the story Peter and Wendy known the world over as Peter Pan and in doing so gifted the world one of the most beloved characters in literature. It was first published in 1911 as Peter and Wendy. It became almost an instant hit and has since become one of the world's most beloved classics. 
  Kevin Hayes The Story-Man brings J.M. Barrie's magical story of 'the boy who never grew up' to life in this audiobook version. 
  You may recognize Kevin Hayes the Story-Man from the Nightly Bedtime Story Podcast. Thousands of children and adults from all over the world listen as he tells them a Bedtime Story every night. You can now enjoy his storytelling as he narrates this audiobook version of J.M. Barrie's classic novel Peter Pan, Peter and Wendy. 
  If you are not familiar with the story of Peter Pan, Peter and Wendy, it is about a boy named Peter Pan who never grew up because he always wanted to 'stay a boy and always have fun'. He lives on a magical island called Neverland with the Lost Boys. Neverland is a magical place we go to when we dream and as children we can actually fly there with the help of fairy dust from Peter Pan's fairy friend, Tinkerbell. The island is not full of only fun and games, but also many other characters including the wicked, Captain Hook and his band of nasty pirates. One memorable night, Peter and Tinkerbell fly into a window of the bedroom belonging to three children, Wendy, John, and Michael and with the help of Tink's magical fairy dust, helps them fly to Neverland where they take part in many exciting adventures. 
  This is a story that can truly be enjoyed by everyone even if you're an adult and have forgotten how to fly.

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  Massacres of The South

  Alexandre Dumas

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  "Massacres of the South" by Alexandre Dumas is a gripping historical account of religious persecution and violence in 16th-century France. The narrative delves into the brutal conflicts between Catholics and Protestants, particularly focusing on the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre and other harrowing events. Dumas vividly portrays the political machinations, fanaticism, and human suffering that defined this turbulent era. Through meticulous detail, he examines themes of faith, intolerance, and the devastating consequences of power struggles. A blend of history and storytelling, the work sheds light on the resilience of those who faced unimaginable horrors. Dumas crafts a poignant reflection on humanity’s capacity for both cruelty and endurance in the face of sectarian hatred.

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