Showing results for "The Hand" in Classics

A groundbreaking work of science fiction, The Left Hand of Darkness tells the story of a lone human emissary to Winter, an alien world whose inhabitants can change their gender. His goal is to facilitate Winter's inclusion in a growing intergalactic civilization. But to do so he must bridge the gulf between his own views and those of the completely dissimilar culture that he encounters. Embracing the aspects of psychology, society, and human emotion on an alien world, The Left Hand of Darkness stands as a landmark achievement.

'I had begun, God knows why, tearing a corner off of everyday truth, begun seeing myself in another kind of mirror, and now the whole of the old, more or less comfortable truth was falling to pieces.' Confident and successful, New York advertising executive Ray Sanders takes what he wants from life. When he goes missing in a snowstorm in Connecticut one evening, his closest friend begins to reassess his loyalties, gambling with Ray's fate and his own future.

A withered, shriveled, severed human hand is kept chained in a corner. The "owner" of this morbid trophy always keeps three loaded revolvers in the same room. Nothing seems too suspicious until the hand is mysteriously reclaimed.

Set in Middlemarch, a fictional English Midlands town, from 1829 to 1832, it follows distinct, intersecting stories with many characters. Issues include the status of women, the nature of marriage, idealism, self-interest, religion, hypocrisy, political reform, and education. Leavened with comic elements, Middlemarch approaches significant historical events in a realist mode: the Reform Act 1832, early railways, and the accession of King William IV. It looks at medicine of the time and reactionary views in a settled community facing unwelcome change.

Opportunistic, shrewd and beautiful, Ethelberta resolves to disguise her humble beginnings and elevate her position in society. Crafting her career as a society poet and staging her family as her servants, she proves admirably adept at sustaining her own web of deceit as she reinvents herself and navigates the attentions of four different suitors. The wealthiest is not the one she loves... what will she do? This is a light-hearted urban tale, offering a different side of Thomas Hardy.

In "The Hand of Ethelberta", Thomas Hardy explores the complexities of love and class in Victorian England through the story of a young woman who rises from being a governess to marrying into the aristocracy. With his signature wit and insight, Hardy delves into themes of social mobility, gender roles, and the power of love to transcend societal expectations. The audiobook brings this delightful tale to life, immersing the listener in the richly detailed world of 19th-century England.

Never bet more than you can afford to lose. Caroline Pruett should have heeded that advice, because once she lost her stake, there was no going back. Or was there? Desperation has clouded Caroline's judgment, because when she loses King, her thoroughbred stallion, to Micah Sutton in a poker game, the first thing she does is steal him back. The adventure is not quite a success, however, and after accidentally shooting Micah, Caroline and King are on the run.

Sun Wolf knew he had the power of magic, but he needed a master wizard to teach him to fully use his skills. But there was no one who could do the job. When he was called upon to help old friends against the ancient wizard, he did - thus ensuring a curse that would be executed, unless Sun Wolf could harness his own powers and find a way out....

Jacob Ericson, a shy, enigmatic, and somewhat inept ranch hand learns that his hands possess the mysterious gift of healing: a gift he uses to cure animals and Sharon, the woman he adores. His gift is quickly exploited and the boundaries of his charm and naïveté begin to stretch. Following Sharon to Los Angeles, Jacob offers his healing powers for free at a church in Los Angeles, and then at a seedy stage show where his beloved Sharon also works.

Abbie Mackenzie dreamed of becoming a fine lady like her aristocratic grandmother, devoting herself to music and art. But at eighteen Abbie found a different dream, turning away from the promise of a comfortable life as a doctor’s wife to marry handsome, quiet Will Deal. Together, they eagerly accepted the challenge of homesteading in Nebraska territory, where the prairies stretched as far as the eye could see, and only the strongest survived for long.

Arthur Machen (1863-1947) was a Welsh author and mystic, best known for his influential supernatural, fantasy and horror fiction. The Red Hand is a mysterious horror story which tells the peculiar tale of the strange murder of Sir Thomas Vivian, the famous heart surgeon. Why was he murdered with an ancient flint weapon when there was an unused, brand-new knife at the scene? What was the meaning of the bizarre letter in the dead man's pocket, written in a very strange hand? And what could be the meaning of the peculiar symbol of a red hand chalked on the wall above the corpse?

Arthur Machen (1863-1947) was a Welsh author known for his works of horror and the fantastic. He is acknowledged as an influence on modern writers of supernatural fiction. His story "The Red Hand" (1895) tells of a grisly murder committed with the most unusual of weapons, an ancient stone axe.

Young Otto is born into a warring household in a lawless age. Having no mother, he is sent by his father, a valiant robber baron, to be safely raised by the monks until the age of 12. But when he returns, gentle Otto can no longer escape the bitter blood feud between his father and the rival house of Trutz-Drachen. He is kidnapped by the rival family and his hand is cut off, to be replaced forever by a silver one. Can his brave father and his captor's kind daughter, Pauline, help him escape?

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is of course famous for his creation of the great Sherlock Holmes. The stories of the master detective are justifiably well known but he also wrote many short stories which are not so well known but deserve to be. The four stories in this recording were first published singly in magazines, principally The Strand. They later appeared in the collection “The Great Keinplatz Experiment and Other Tales of Twilight and the Unseen” in 1919. They are: “The Brown Hand”, “Playing with Fire”, “How It Happened”, and “De Profundis”.

William "Wilkie" Collins was born in London in 1824. The name "Wilkie", by which he is known, was the surname of his godfather. In 1851, he met Charles Dickens and became the editor of Dickens' periodical Household Words. His novels were serialized in another of Dickens' publications, All the Year Round, and he is probably best known for two of them: "The Moonstone" and "The Woman in White". He wrote 30 novels and many short stories, plays, and much nonfiction.

"Traitor's Hands" is a short story by Agatha Christie that was published in Flynn's, a weekly pulp magazine, in the edition of 31 January 1925. This short story was later published as "Witness for the Prosecution".

The narrator, Zaleukos, a native of Constantinople, studied medicine in Paris and, following his father's death, develops a successful business as a travelling merchant and healer. Arriving in Florence, he sets up shop as usual. But after he has been in town a few days, he finds a small handwritten note from an unknown stranger, asking to meet him at midnight on the Ponte Vecchio. Curious, he goes to the bridge in question, but ends up tussling with the stranger and comes away with the man's red cloak.

When Arthur Holliday arrives at Doncaster during race week, he is unable to find a hotel room free. His search for a bed for the night leads him to a dubious hostelry, The Two Robins, where he is offered a bed in a shared room at a handsome price of five shillings. The landlord assures Arthur that his room-mate is sleeping soundly and will in no way disturb him. A quick examination of the sleeping man confirms that he is indeed very quiet. Too quiet!

"Fingers of a Hand" is an eerie tale in which strange and urgent written warnings appear to a family telling them to leave the house where they are staying immediately. These writings materialise mysteriously even when family members are present in the room. One of the family, Grace, decides to set a trap and find out who the writer is. But she is not prepared for what happens when she does see the next message written...and when the true meaning of the warnings becomes clear the mystery deepens further.

A Washington, D.C., socialite, traveling in the western United States, meets an old friend, and finds herself startled to learn that his current occupation is a long way from what it was when he was in D.C.