Other books that might interest you

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  Irish Problem An - From their...

  Somerville & Ross - the writing...

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  The bookshelves of British literature are incredible collections that have gathered together centuries of very talented authors.  From these Isles their fame spread and whilst among their number many are now forgotten or neglected their talents endure.  Among them are Somerville & Ross - the writing pseudonym for Edith Somerville & Violet Florence Martin Sidney Benson Thorp.

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  Darkness

  Irvin S. Cobb

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  Irvin S. Cobb’s Darkness is a gripping and eerie tale that explores fear, isolation, and the unsettling power of the unknown. Set in an environment where shadows seem to move and silence holds an eerie weight, the story follows a protagonist confronted with inexplicable horrors lurking just beyond the light. As tension builds and paranoia takes hold, Darkness weaves a masterful narrative that plays on psychological terror and atmospheric suspense. 
  Narrated by Roger Arnold, this audiobook brings Cobb’s chilling prose to life, immersing listeners in a world where every creak, whisper, and flicker of light could mean impending doom. Blending classic horror elements with psychological dread, Darkness stands as a timeless short story in early American horror literature, delivering a haunting experience that lingers long after the final words. 
  Originally published in the early 20th century, Irvin S. Cobb’s foray into dark fiction showcases his remarkable ability to create tension, proving why his works remain a fascinating part of literary history.

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  A Haunted House - From their...

  Virginia Woolf

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  Adeline Virginia Woolf was born on the 25th January 1882 in South Kensington in London. 
  Although lauded as a founder of modernist writing with such classics as ‘Orlando’, ‘Mrs Dalloway’ and ‘To the Lighthouse’ and, of course, many classic short stories, her background is filled with elements of tragedy that she somehow overcame to become such a revered writer.   Her mother died when she was 13, her half-sister Stella two years later and with it her first of several nervous breakdowns.  Appallingly it was later found that three of her half-brothers had sexually abused her so darkness must have seemed ever present.   
  She began writing professionally at age 20 but her father’s death two years later brought a complete mental collapse and she was briefly institutionalised.  Somehow she found within herself a literary career and with it great innovations in writing; she was a pioneer of “stream of consciousness”.    
  Her tight circle of friends were the founders of the Bloomsbury Group, a movement whose legacy still influences across the arts and society in many way to this day.   
  Whilst the dark periods continued to interrupt her emotional state her rate of work never ceased.  Until, on 28th March 1941, Woolf put on her overcoat, filled up its pockets with stones, and walked into the River Ouse, in Lewes, East Sussex and drowned herself.  Her body was not recovered until the 18th April.  She was 59. 
  She left behind a note which read in part “Dearest, I feel certain that I am going mad again.  I feel we can't go through another of those terrible times.  And I shan't recover this time.  I begin to hear voices, and I can't concentrate.  So I am doing what seems the best thing to do”.

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  The Case of Vincent Pyrwhtt -...

  Barry Pain

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  Barry Eric Odell Pain was born at 3 Sydney Street in Cambridge on 28th September 1864. He was one of 4 children. 
  He was educated at Sedbergh School and then Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. 
  In 1889, Cornhill Magazine published his short story ‘The Hundred Gates’.  This opened the way for Pain to advance his literary career on several fronts. He became a contributor to Punch and The Speaker, as well as joining the staff of both the Daily Chronicle and Black and White.  
  Pain was also a noted and prominent contributor to The Granta and from 1896 to 1928 a regular contributor to the Windsor Magazine. 
  It is often said that Pain was discovered by Robert Louis Stevenson, who compared his work to that of Guy de Maupassant.  It’s an apt comparison. Pain was a master of disturbing prose but was also able to inject parody and light comedy into many of his works.  A simple premise could in his hands suddenly expand into a world very real but somehow emotionally fraught and on the very edge of darkness. 
  Barry Pain died on 5th May 1928 in Bushey, Hertfordshire.

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  Fyodor Dostovesky - A Short...

  Fyodor Dostoevsky

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  Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky was born in Moscow on 11th November, 1821 to distinguished multi-ethnic parents from a Lithuanian background.   
   
  His childhood years were at the family home in hospital grounds which also contained an orphanage, an insane asylum and a cemetery for criminals.  The young Fyodor often disobeyed his father by talking to the ill in the hospital gardens.   
   
  His health was compromised at age 9 when he experienced his first epileptic fit. By the time he was a teenager both parents had died and he was now enrolled in a military academy where he graduated and eventually became a Lieutenant in 1842.  He left military service the next year. 
   
  In 1846 he published his first novel ‘Poor Cow’ to great literary acclaim.  His next was unable to emulate that success but his short stories helped provide an income.  Life as an author was definitely difficult. As he began his next work he was arrested and incarcerated for treason and participation in the political and literary Petrashevsky Circle. Although the case was weak and unjustified he was sentenced to 4 years of hard labour followed by 5 years of military service in a Siberian regiment.  
   
  Despite the undoubted hardships and setbacks in his life, and whether they helped or hindered his writing, his talents produced many exceptional works of literature including ‘Crime and Punishment’, ‘The Idiot’ and ‘The Brothers Karamazov’.   
   
  Dostoevsky’s ability to get under the skin of his characters and show the inner workings of their mind was hugely influential and ahead of its time.  Interwoven with this was the influence of the broader social, spiritual and political forces at work in a person's psyche.   
   
  Fyodor Dostoevsky struggled financially and remained in poor health for much of his adult life.  He died from a lung haemorrhage on 9th February, 1881. 
   
  1 - Fyodor Dostoyevsky - A Short Story Collection - An Introduction 
  2 - The Dream of a Ridiculous Man by Fyodor Dostovesky 
  3 - An Honest Thief by Fyodor Dostoyveskey 
  4 - Bobok by Fyodor Dostoyevsky 
  5 - The Beggar Boy at Christ's Christmas Tree by Fyodor Dostoyevsky 
  6 - The Crocodile. An Extraordinary Incident - Part 1 by Fyodor Dostoyevsky 
  7 - The Crocodile. An Extraordinary Incident - Part 2 by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

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  The Flayed Hand

  Guy de Maupassant

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  Title: The Flayed Hand 
  Author: Guy de Maupassant 
  Narrator: Jonathan Dunne 
  Original Publication: 1875 
  Public Domain: Yes 
  Series Placement: Number 25 in the Timeless Terrors series 
  Description: 
  The Flayed Hand by Guy de Maupassant is a macabre tale of obsession, vengeance, and the supernatural — a chilling exploration of how the dead may reach back to punish the living. When a collector acquires a mummified human hand, said to have belonged to a murderer, he regards it as a mere curiosity. But when the relic’s gruesome history begins to manifest in reality, terror takes hold, and reason gives way to horror. 
  Maupassant’s sharp realism and psychological insight lend the story a disturbing plausibility, transforming a simple ghost tale into a meditation on guilt, possession, and the price of curiosity. 
  Narrated by Amazon bestselling horror author Jonathan Dunne, this performance captures the story’s eerie tension and mounting dread — the quiet unease of an ordinary setting pierced by the inexplicable. While the text itself resides in the public domain, this narration is an original work and copyright © 2025 Jonathan Dunne. 
  This audiobook is part of Timeless Terrors, a series devoted to reviving the dark classics of horror and the uncanny — timeless stories that still chill the blood, rendered in haunting new performances for a modern audience. 
  Listeners should prepare for a tale where curiosity becomes curse, where relics of the past refuse to rest, and where the hand of the dead may yet reach for the living.

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