Publisher: Oscar Wilde
ACT I. Algernon Moncrieff’s Flat in Half-Moon Street, W. ACT II. The Garden at the Manor House, Woolton. ACT III. Drawing-Room at the Manor House, Woolton. TIME: The Present.
This book is a wonderful work of fiction by H.G. Wells, the author of The Time Machine. It is the tale of a fallen angel who simply cannot adapt to society in a small English village.The angel's reactions to the villagers, his pureness and wholesomeness make him an enemy of the people. As time passes on earth, he becomes more and more human, falling in love and suffering all the human trials and tribulations.Show book
The Rudyard Kipling story "The Broken-Link Handicap" was first published in the first Indian edition of Plain Tales from the Hills in 1888, and in subsequent editions of that collection. Kipling states that horse-racing among the British community in India is a thoroughly immoral pastime in which almost everyone involved loses money. By chance, an otherwise undistinguished horse named "Shackles" proves to be unbeatable over two miles, "so long as his jockey sat still". His owner takes Shackles to the Autumn Races at the station of Chedputter "in the North", and insults almost everyone. They go to the Honorary Secretary and arrange a race to be called "The Broken-Link Handicap" because its purpose is to "break Shackles".Show book
Guy de Maupassant (1850 – 1893) is recognized as one of the fathers of the modern short story and one of it's finest exponents. From the humorous to the tragic to the gruesome, with an economy and precision of language , his stories can delight or disturb. Here are ten of them:“The Hand”“The Apparition”“The Diary of a Madman”“The Blind Man”“On the River”“Mother Sauvage”“Tombstones” “A Tress of Hair”“The Diamond Necklace”“An Uncomfortable Bed”Public Domain (P)2016 Spiders' House Audio/Roy MacreadyShow book
A. J. Alan was the pseudonym of Leslie Harrison Lambert (1883-1941), an English magician, intelligence officer, short story writer, and radio broadcaster. He was hugely popular in the '20s and '30s for his radio broadcasts, when he performed his own humorous and often macabre short stories, which he always delivered wearing full evening dress.The Voice tells the story of a family whose wireless reception is being mysteriously interrupted by unusual sounds of a woman singing. Attempts to discover the source of the interference leads to something quite extraordinary.Show book
The title story of this collection of short stories features the tale of the “most honest and upright” town of Hadleyburg, whose residents boast of their unsmirched moral character. A stranger, offended by the pious reputation of the town, devises a plan to bring its honored residents to shame. Is there even one righteous man in Hadleyburg?Show book
Short stories have always been a sort of instant access into an author’s brain, their soul and heart. A few pages can lift our lives into locations, people and experiences with a sweep of landscape, narration, feelings and emotions that is difficult to achieve elsewhere. In this series we try to offer up tried and trusted ‘Top Tens’ across many different themes and authors. But any anthology will immediately throw up the questions – Why that story? Why that author? The theme itself will form the boundaries for our stories which range from well-known classics, newly told, to stories that modern times have overlooked but perfectly exemplify the theme. Throughout the volume our authors whether of instant recognition or new to you are all leviathans of literature. Some you may disagree with but they will get you thinking; about our choices and about those you would have made. If this volume takes you on a path to discover more of these miniature masterpieces then we have all gained something. In this volume we explore and enjoy the stories of authors who attended one of the great seats of learning. Amongst their storied number are Anthony Trollope, Radclyffe Hall, Lewis Carroll and a host of others. 01 - The Top 10 - Oxford - An Introduction 02 - Lord Arthur Savile's Crime - Part 1 by Oscar Wilde 03 - Lord Arthur Savile's Crime - Part 2 by Oscar Wilde 04 - Malachi's Cove by Anthony Trollope 05 - The Blank Cheque by Lewis Carroll 06 - Miss Ogilivy Finds Herself by Radclyffe Hall 07 - Lucifera by Anthony Hope 08 - Couching at the Door by D K Broster 09 - The Spectre of Tappington - Part 1 by Richard Harris Barham 10 - The Spectre of Tappington - Part 2 by Richard Harris Barham 10 - Thurnley Abbey by Perceval Landon 11 - The Omnibus by Arthur Quiller-Couch 12 - The Beast With Five Fingers by W F HarveyShow book
