Showing results by narrator "Amanda Friday" in All Categories

A poignant tale of love and loneliness takes place during the 'White Nights' of St. Petersburg: a time in the summer months when the nights do not darken beyond twilight due to the city's northern location. The story is told by an unnamed narrator, a young man of 26, a self-professed dreamer and introvert, who lives alone in St. Petersburg. Wandering the streets at night he meets a young lady, lonely like himself, and they strike up a friendship. Meeting on successive nights the friendship develops and begins to show signs of love.

Hedda and George Tesman have just returned from their six-month honeymoon tour of the Tyrol. George, a studious and somewhat dull academic has spent most of the time continuing his research. Hedda, the daughter of the celebrated, aristocratic General Gabler, recently deceased, has been accustomed to the finer things in life. She is already bored in her marriage and diverts herself with her father's pistols and the attentions of family friend, Judge Brack.    

Frances Hodgson Burnet's 1911 novel is about Mary Lennox, an unloved orphan who journeys from India to Yorkshire to live at Misselthwaite Manor, the home of her uncle Archibald Craven. Under the influence of the beautiful countryside and its kind inhabitants, Mary begins to blossom. She soon discovers there are secrets of many kinds both inside and outside her uncle's estate. In particular, she longs to discover the key to a hidden garden that has been shut away for 10 years. 

Jane Eyre is a plain orphan girl, unloved and abused by her Aunt Reed, who is sent away to boarding school. Strong of heart and craving independence, Jane embarks upon a life of governess to a young French girl named Adele, the benefactor of the mysterious Mr. Rochester. Life at Thornfield Hall proves just as mysterious as its owner with haunting laughter and a dark secret living in the attic.     

Pride and Prejudice is Jane Austen's classic comic romance, in which the five Bennet sisters try to find that most elusive creature: a single man in possession of a large fortune. Sparks fly when sweet, pretty Jane meets their new neighbor, Mr. Bingley, but her sister Elizabeth is offended by his haughty friend, Mr. Darcy. This is Jane Austen at the height of her powers, complete with ironic narration, hilariously drawn supporting characters, and romantic suspense.

A Doll's House, published in 1879, was the earliest of Ibsen's "social dramas", and the first of his works to attract attention outside of Scandinavia. The central theme of the play is a woman's right to individual self-development, and represents, as humourist Stephen Leacock observed of many Ibsen plays, "a profound problem stated but not solved".

Madame Pratolungo is a close companion to Lucilla Finch, a young woman who has been blind since birth. Madame Pratolungo records the narrative of Lucilla's trials from falling in love with Oscar Duborg, her wealthy and shy neighbor, to ending up in a romantic entanglement between Oscar and his brother Nugent. When Lucilla temporarily regains her sight thanks to Herr Grosse, mistaken identities and manipulative schemes are there to greet her.

This collection includes the remastered Online Stage productions of Little Women, Little Men, Jo's Boys as well as Comic Tragedies by Jo & Meg. Little Women is the story of four sisters growing up against the background of the American Civil War. Alcott wrote the book at the urging of the publisher, Thomas Niles, who was seeking a story about girls that would have popular appeal.

In a comprehensive and beautifully crafted first person narrative, David Copperfield recalls key stages, memories, and incidents of his life from infancy to maturity. Scenes, adventures, and characters are summoned to the narrator's remembrance so vividly that they are rendered with the vitality of the present moment.

World-famous detective Hercule Poirot has retired to the English village of King's Abbot, determined to dedicate his little grey cells to the growing of vegetable marrows. But when Roger Ackroyd, a local businessman and former acquaintance, is stabbed to death, the man's niece begs Poirot to investigate. Poirot enlists the local doctor to be his assistant and scribe, and the two of them sift through clues to try to discern the ones that will lead them to the killer.

Anne of the Island was published in 1915 covering her from the ages of 18 to 22. This is the third story of Anne Shirley where she earns her BA at Redmond College. In this book, she enjoys new and old friends at Redmond, living together at Patty's Place chaperoned by Aunt Jamesina. Gilbert proposes to Anne and she rejects him - but you must listen to the story to know the rest!

Following Anne of Green Gables (1908), this book was written by Lucy Maud Montgomery in 1909. From the age of 16 to 18, Anne is about to start her first term teaching at the Avonlea school. The book soon introduces Anne's new and problematic neighbor, Mr. Harrison, and his foul-mouthed parrot, as well as the twins, Davy and Dora. Other characters introduced are some of Anne's new pupils and Miss Lavendar Lewis, a sweet but lonely lady. 

Lorelei is a rising star in Hollywood when she meets Mr. Eisman, a man who compliments her intelligence and convinces her it is much more important to be educated than to be in the cinema. Plying her with books, he encourages Lorelei to write down her adventures in a diary despite her penchant for misspellings and incorrect pronunciation. Growing restless with Mr. Eisman and his simplistic routine of dinner, dancing, and returning Lorelei to her apartment, she longs to stretch her wings and experience more of the world.

Sonya Pope is pragmatic and has no time for setbacks, so when she arrives at her elopement to find her fiancé wants to break up, she uses the flight home to reprioritize. But when a woman on the plane has a medical emergency, she jumps to action. Unfortunately, so does the cocky, almost-paramedic two rows back. Ben "Trav" Travis totally got to that patient first, but the cranky nurse with the pretty brown eyes made a big show of taking charge. Sure, he might be one rotation away from actually being certified, but he has real-life experience. The kind he wouldn't wish on anyone. 

A collection of four of Chekhov's most popular dramas together with his unusual one-act comedy, The Boor, presented by members of The Online Stage.

The action of this play, which occurs during a conflict on the Balkans, is initiated by the discovery by Raina, the daughter of an military officer, of a man who has taken refuge in her bedroom. Unfortunately, the man belongs to the opposing army. How will she deal with a notional enemy who behaves with such quixotic courtesy?

Nancy Morris, a shopkeeper's daughter from Sandwich, becomes a governess with the help of a benefactor, Sir Gervase Damian. One day she helps a stranger whose advances she gently rebuffs, only to meet him again when she takes a new position in the North.

A young widow arrives at Wildfell Hall with her son, Arthur. Clouded in mystery, Helen Graham soon becomes the object of much scandalous gossip. Refusing to believe any of it, Gilbert Markham eventually discovers her dark past.  

Mark Ablett is hosting all his friends at his English country house when he receives a letter from his estranged brother, Robert, announcing Robert's intention to arrive from Australia. Not long after his arrival, Robert turns up dead, his body found with a bullet wound to the head, and Mark is nowhere to be seen. Antony Gillingham and his friend Bill Beverly play Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson to solve this whodunnit mystery. This is Milne's only mystery novel.

Walter Hartright, a struggling art teacher, is stopped for directions while traveling on a dark road by a mysterious woman in white. Thus begins Walter's deep dive into the twists and turns of stolen identities, fraud, spies, conspiracy and death. Along the way, he meets the lovely Laura Fairlie and her emboldened half-sister, Marian Halcombe. Marian is brazen and assertive in her search for the truth, a strong female during a time when women were simply viewed as the weaker sex. She joins Walter on his journey to untangle the web of lies and deceit that has been spun so expertly.