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  In the Fourth Dimension - From...

  Clothilde Graves

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  Clotilde Augusta Inez Mary Graves was born on the 3rd June 1863 at Buttevant Castle, Co. Cork, to parents with military backgrounds. 
  At age nine, the family moved to Southsea in England for yet another military posting.  Her father’s postings gave her valuable experiences that would be put to good use in later years in some of her literary works. 
  She was educated at a Catholic convent in Lourdes before returning to London in 1884 to study art in Bloomsbury.  She worked part-time at the British Museum and the Royal Female School of Art and generated further income by drawing little pen-and-ink grotesques for the comic papers.  
  A few years later a chance meeting found her writing extra lyrics for a pantomime version of Puss in Boots.  She followed up with several financially successful plays, both in London and New York, and gained a measure of notoriety in one with the comparison of marriage and prostitution.   
  Despite her dramatic success she published her first novel in 1911 under the pseudonym of Richard Dehan which she continued to use for later works.  As well as novels and plays she published collections of short stories which glow with talent and invention. 
  She was an unusual figure in London society, wearing her hair short, taking on a masculine manner and cut of clothing, and smoking cigarettes in public when such traits were considered eccentric at best.  Add to this her admired collection of Chinese and Japanese trophies, her enthusiasm for fly-fishing and her riding of a tricycle and you have a perfect image of this fascinating writer. 
  Clotilde Graves died at the convent of Our Lady of Lourdes at Hatch End in Middlesex, on the 3rd December 1932.  She was 69.

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  The Tell Tale Heart - From their...

  Edgar Allan Poe

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  Edgar Poe was born in Boston Massachusetts on 19th January 1809. His father abandoned his family the following year and within a year his mother had died leaving him an orphan.   
  He was taken in by the Allan family but never formally adopted although he now referred to himself as Edgar Allan Poe.  His father alternatively spoiled or chastised him and tension was frequent over gambling debts and monies for his education.  His university years to study ancient and modern languages was cut short by lack of money and he enlisted as a private in the army claiming he was 22, it is more probable he was 18. After 2 years he obtained a discharge in order to take up an appointment at the military academy, West Point, where he failed to become an officer. 
  Poe had released his 1st poetry volume in 1827 and after his 3rd turned to prose and placing short stories in several magazines and journals.  At age 26 he obtained a licence to marry his cousin.  She was a mere 13 but they stayed together until her death from tuberculosis 11 years after. 
  In January 1845 ‘The Raven’ was published and became an instant classic.  Thereafter followed the prose works for which he is now so rightly famed as a master of the mysterious and the macabre. 
  Edgar Allan Poe died at the tragically early age of 40 on 7th October 1849 in Baltimore, Maryland. Newspapers at the time reported Poe's death as ‘congestion of the brain’ or ‘cerebral inflammation’, common euphemisms for death from disreputable causes such as alcoholism but the actual cause of death remains a mystery. 
  Poe is also one of a number of authors credited with inventing the detective genre with his Parisian sleuth C. Auguste Dupin.  He featured in three stories including the legendary ‘Murders in the Rue Morgue’ and by sheer deduction, logic and a touch of Gallic arrogance revealed what was hidden to the rest of us.

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  Behind a Mask

  Louisa May Alcott

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  Jean Muir is young, charming, and talented. As she diligently works as the Governess of young Bella Coventry, the men of the house seem to fall about her, won over by her charm and mysterious air. But is she really all that she seems...?  
  Written by Louisa May Alcott, author of Little Women in 1866, and considered a masterpiece in the genre.  
  Narrated by Michael Ward.

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  Oroonoko: or the Royal Slave

  Aphra Behn

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  A noble prince. A forbidden love. A powerful story of courage, injustice, and human dignity.
  
  Oroonoko is a groundbreaking novella by Aphra Behn, one of the earliest English novels and a significant work in the history of world literature.
  
  The story follows Oroonoko, an African prince known for his intelligence, bravery, and noble character, whose life is transformed by betrayal, captivity, and the harsh realities of colonial slavery. His love for Imoinda and his struggle for honor and freedom create a deeply moving exploration of loyalty, power, and injustice.
  
  With its dramatic storytelling and complex portrayal of colonial society, Oroonoko raises enduring questions about humanity, identity, and the meaning of freedom.
  
  A historically important work, this classic continues to be studied for its literary innovation and its powerful themes of love, resistance, and social justice.

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  The Haunted Man and the Ghost's...

  Charles Dickens

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  The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain is a haunting and thought-provoking novella by Charles Dickens that explores memory, suffering, and the moral consequences of escaping pain. As the final entry in Dickens's Christmas books, the story blends supernatural elements with deep psychological and social insight.
  
  The narrative follows Professor Redlaw, a learned but emotionally tormented man who is visited by a mysterious phantom—his own spectral double. The ghost offers Redlaw a dangerous gift: the ability to forget all painful memories and regrets. Believing this release will free him from sorrow, Redlaw accepts the bargain, unaware of its far-reaching effects.
  
  As the power spreads to others around him, the loss of memory leads not to peace, but to emotional emptiness, cruelty, and moral confusion. Through these chilling consequences, Dickens reveals that suffering and remembrance are essential to empathy, compassion, and human connection. Pain, the novel suggests, is inseparable from growth and moral responsibility.
  
  The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain is a powerful meditation on the nature of memory and forgiveness. Darker in tone than Dickens's other Christmas tales, it delivers a profound message about the necessity of shared human suffering. Rich in symbolism and moral depth, the story remains a compelling and unsettling classic that asks whether forgetting our past would truly make us better—or less human.

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  The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

  Francis Scott Fitzgerald

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  A man born with an unusual condition discovers that life does not always follow the path we expect.
  
  The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a fascinating short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald that explores the mysteries of time, identity, and human experience.
  
  The story follows Benjamin Button, a man who is born with the appearance and condition of an elderly person and grows younger as the years pass. As he moves through life in reverse, Benjamin experiences love, family, ambition, and the challenges of living differently from everyone around him.
  
  Through this imaginative premise, Fitzgerald examines themes of aging, social expectations, acceptance, and the fleeting nature of human life.
  
  With its blend of fantasy, humor, and philosophical reflection, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button remains one of Fitzgerald's most memorable short stories.

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