Showing results by narrator "Cathy Dobson" in All Categories

One of Joseph Conrad's most haunting sea-stories, describing a haunting life or death decision at sea which is made in a moment... and takes a lifetime to doubt it's wisdom.

Mark Twain's classic satire on the German language. A must read for anybody learning German or living in a German-speaking country. "The Germans have another kind of parenthesis, which they make by splitting a verb in two and putting half of it at the beginning of an exciting chapter and the other half at the end of it. Can anyone conceive of anything more confusing than that?"

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) was the preeminent figure in late 19th-century detective fiction. A physician by profession, he soon found such popularity as a writer of detective stories that his writing was far more profitable than his medical practice. 'The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire' is a Sherlock Holmes mystery. Holmes and Watson are contacted by a country gentleman whose Peruvian wife has been caught red-handed sucking the blood from her baby's neck. Can there be any explanation other than that the woman is a vampire?

Katherine Mansfield (1888-1923) was a prominent modernist writer of short fiction and a close associate of D. H. Lawrence and Virginia Woolf. 'The Black Cap' is a sketch about a woman leaving her husband and eloping with her lover. But then her lover turns up at the station wearing a piece of totally inexplicable and unacceptable headgear....

'The Parrot' is the tale of a newlywed couple. Soon after the marriage, the husband must go away on business, so he gives his wife a parrot to keep her company while he is away. But another man sees the young wife at the window and falls in love with her. He engages the help of the woman who lives downstairs to try to seduce the young wife. But each time the woman is on the point of going with her neighbour, the parrot offers to tell her a story. So enchanting and absorbing are the parrot's tales that the young wife never leaves the house until her husband's return.

Peter Christen Asbjørnsen (1812-1885) was a Norwegian writer, scholar and collector of traditional folktales. Peter Gynt is the story of a hunter who gets the better of a group of trolls who like to take over peoples' farms.

'The Curse of the Seven Children' is a fairy tale about a king and queen who already have six sons. When the seventh child is due, the king must travel away. He tells his wife that when the baby is born, she should hang a lance out of the window if it is a boy and a distaff if it is girl. Shortly after this the queen bears a daughter. But a mistake is made, and a lance is hung out of the window. Desperate for a daughter, the king returns and curses his seven sons. When he realises his mistake it is already too late. Only the baby princess can save her brothers....

'The Wise Princess' is a take on the traditional Russian fairy tale of the frog princess. Three princes are instructed by their father, the king, to fire their arrows at random and marry whichever maidens they land near to. The youngest son's arrow lands in a marsh next to a frog. But the frog turns out to be a wise princess in disguise - and when the prince sees the princess in her true form he falls in love with her. One night when the princess is not wearing her frog skin, the princes takes it and burns it.

'The Enchanted Knife' is the story of a young man who seeks to marry the princess. Her father sets him an impossible task to perform before he will grant the suit - but with the aid of the cunning princess and a magic knife, the youth is able to win his bride.

Andrew Lang (1844-1912) was a Scottish poet and novelist, best known as a collector of folk and fairy tales. 'The Three Dogs' tells the story of a shepherd who trades his three sheep with a stranger for three dogs with magical powers. The dogs are able to help him slay a dragon and win a princess.

The Brahman, the Tiger and the Six Judges is the tale of an ungrateful tiger who gets his just desserts. The tiger has been captured but persuades the passing Brahman to release him. When the Brahman does so, the tiger announces that he intends to eat him. But the Brahman persuades him to wait until they have consulted six others before deciding his fate.

The Alligator and the Jackal is the story of a jackal who narrowly escapes being eaten by an alligator on the banks of a river. Following this incident, the alligator is determined to catch the cunning jackal. The Jackal is equally determined not to be eaten. A series of close escapes escalates the feud until the dramatic finale.

The Princess Who Was Hidden Underground is the tale of a king who goes to extreme lengths to safeguard his daughter from potential suitors unworthy of her hand. But one cunning young lad manages to outwit the king by disguising himself as a sheep.

The Stonecutter is a fairy tale Lang collected in Japan. A stonecutter sees how rich people live when he is delivering a gravestone one day. From that day on he is dissatisfied with his own lot and wishes to be rich. His wish is granted by the spirit that lives in the mountain...but the stonecutter is still not satisfied with his life and makes further wishes, each taking him a little further on his quest for happiness.

Peter Christen Asbjørnsen (1812-1885) was a Norwegian writer, scholar and collector of traditional folktales. The Cormorants of Udröst is one of the stories he collected. It tells of a fisherman who found the mythical island of Udröst and befriended its strange and wonderfully generous inhabitants.

The Cunning Apprentice is a fairy tale set in Russia. It tells the story of a young lad who is apprenticed to a wicked sorcerer who intends to use his magic to trick the boy's parents into giving up their son to him forever. Only the cunning of the lad enables him to turn the magician's magic against him.

Maurice Baring (1874-1945) was an English short story writer, children's writer, travel writer and war correspondent during the First World War. The Minstrel is a classic fairy tale about a childless couple who are granted a wish by a fairy. They wish for a daughter. The fairy gives them a heart-shaped copper coin to hang over their hearth, telling them that they must never give it away, for if they do, they will be giving away their daughter. One day, years later, when the beautiful child is home alone, a minstrel comes by and sings a lovely, captivating song. The girl gives the minstrel the heart-shaped copper coin from above the hearth...and her fate is sealed....

Maurice Baring (1874-1945) was an English travel writer, novelist and war correspondent during World War I. 'Dr. Faust's Last Day' tells the story of a 70-year-old scholar who lives a regular studious life. On his birthday he invites his friends over for lunch, but he is puzzled by a strange note written in red ink which arrives from an unknown gentleman. The writer says he cannot make the lunch party but will call just after midnight.

Maurice Baring (1874-1945) was an English short story writer, novelist, and travel writer and war correspondent during the First World War. The Shadow of a Midnight is a ghost story with a twist. Two students on a walking tour in Germany stay in an interesting old inn which had formerly been a convent. One of them has a strange dream, which turns out perhaps not to have been a dream after all....

'The Red-Haired Girl' is a ghost story about an eerie and ominous servant-girl who stalks the house watching its inhabitants malevolently.