Showing results by narrator "Christopher Romance" in All Categories

In 1898, the British were building a railway line between Mombasa in Kenya and Uganda. At the Tsavo River in Kenya where a bridge needed to be built, the project was suddenly interrupted by two man-eating lions that targeted the camps of the workers. Over a period of nine months, the lions killed scores of people. These lions were deliberately hunting people, preferring humans over any other prey, and they seemed to have supernatural abilities in evading all attempts to stop them. Colonel J.H. Patterson, the chief engineer in charge of the project, finally managed to eliminate them.

William Scott-Elliot (1849-1919) was a theosophist and follower of Helena Blavatsky. In The Story of Atlantis and the Lost Lemuria - first published in 1896 - the author explores the histories of the two legendary lost continents in light of Blavatsky's theories about ancient history and lost races. There are similarities with some of Edgar Cayce’s claims, and it is said that H P Lovecraft was inspired by Scot-Elliot’s writing in constructing the "Cthulhu Mythos". 

Three Men on the Bummel, also titled Three Men on Wheels, is a humorous novel by Jerome K. Jerome, published in 1900, 11 years after his best seller, Three Men in a Boat. This time, the three companions J, George, and Harris take a bicycle tour through the Black Forest in Germany. Besides the bicycling travelogue, humorous vignettes or "set pieces" are constructed by a gradual accumulation of detail, including commentary on German culture from the point of view of a British tourist, and sitcom-like scenarios of the interactions between the characters. 

Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) was one of the most influential philosophers of all time. His profound thoughts on aesthetics, ethics, and knowledge has had an enormous impact on all subsequent philosophy. Kant asked questions like “What is morally permissible, and what is morally obligatory?” and explored the answers in Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of Morals. Kant's idea of the categorical imperative is a logical proof of the golden rule and the centerpiece of this work.

Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog) by Jerome K. Jerome is a witty 1889 account by Jerome, of a two-week boating trip on the Thames. The author, two friends, and the dog, Montmorency, travelled from Kingston upon Thames to Oxford and back again. The narrative describes their journey as well as the villages and historical landmarks that they pass, including Hampton Court Palace, Hampton Church, Magna Carta Island, and Monkey Island. The author’s habit of digressing into humorous anecdotes is the element which has made the book a classic. 

Atlantis: The Antediluvian World was published in 1882 by the Minnesotan author Ignatius L. Donnelly. He argues that all known ancient civilizations were descended from this lost land which once existed in the Atlantic Ocean, opposite the Mediterranean Sea. The author claimed that the description of this island given by Plato is not fable, but veritable history.

Jean-Henri Casimir Fabre (1823-1915) was a French naturalist, entomologist, and author known for the engaging style of his popular books on the lives of insects. In The Life of the Spider, Fabre’s careful observations of the species tarantula, the banded epeira, the Narbonne lycosa, the crab spider and the labyrinth spider are presented in lively descriptions. He also compares the various species, all of which are industrious predators and highly talented weavers.

The Lower Depths, also titled At the Bottom, is a 1902 play by the Russian author and playwright Maxim Gorky (1868-1936). This work portrays a group of wretched, impoverished outcasts living in a shelter near the Volga River. They play cards and tell stories, and are briefly uplifted by a new resident called Luca who gives them hope. When he goes off, the illusion of hope collapses, and the result is murder and suicide.

Thomas Traherne (1636-1674) was an English theologian and author, who was initially known for his books Roman Forgeries (1673), Christian Ethics (1675), and A Serious and Patheticall Contemplation of the Mercies of God (1699). Centuries of Meditations was first published in 1908 after the manuscript was rediscovered in 1898. It is a collection of visionary poems divided into "centuries" with themes that encompass the Christian life and ministry, childhood, happiness, nature, and philosophy.  

These Nordic narratives from the Middle Ages include the tales of two famous Viking leaders. The first is Harald Finehair in Norway and his sons Eric Bloodaxe and Haakon the Good. The other is about Leif Erikson in Iceland, the first European to have visited Vinland (North America). 

Theodore Roosevelt Jr., (1858-1919), 26th president of the United States, from 1901 to 1909, was also a conservationist, naturalist, and writer. From 1884 to 1886, he established his ranch in Dakota Territory, which involved much hardship and toil. Ranch Life and the Hunting Trail - published in 1888 - is the account of his labors and adventures as a cowboy, hunter, herder, and even a stint as a deputy sheriff.

Christopher Marlowe wrote this spectacularly subversive play in 1589/1590. The setting is the island of Malta as a bone of contention between Spain and the Ottoman Empire in their struggle for supremacy in the Mediterranean. The ghost of Machiavelli appropriately introduces this tale of murder and mayhem which unfolds in flamboyant episodes of blackmail, betrayal, revenge, scheming, theft, and poisoning on a breathtaking scale.

John Henry Newman (1801 - 1890) was a theologian and poet; at first an Anglican, and later a Catholic priest and cardinal. He was an important and controversial figure in the religious history of England in the 19th century. The Idea of a University consists of Part One, “University Teaching”, and Part Two, “University Subjects”. Newman introduces this work by stating that in essence, a university is a place of teaching universal knowledge, but that the Church is necessary for the integrity of the institution.

Jason and the Golden Fleece, also titled The Argonautica, is the epic poem of Jason's quest for the golden fleece of the winged, golden-woolled ram, Chrysomallos, which was a symbol of authority and kingship. Written by Appolonius of Rhodes in the third century BCE, it is the only surviving Greek epic which bridges the gap between Homer and late antiquity. Jason travels with a group of kings and demigods to Colchis, after various detours where the crew faces monsters, storms, and other obstacles.  

This work covers Darwin's part in the second survey expedition of the ship HMS Beagle. It is both a travel memoir and a scientific field journal of anthropological, biological, and geological interest. Darwin conveys his fascination with the natural world in an engaging writing style.

The author assembles a vast array of anecdotes, facts, stories, legends, archaeological discoveries, language comparisons, and speculation from a large collection of different sources to support the claim that the American Indians are descendants of the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel. 

American Indian Stories is a collection of childhood stories, allegorical fictions, and essays written by the Sioux author Zitkala-Ša. The collection includes legends and stories from Sioux oral tradition, along with an essay titled "America's Indian Problem", which advocates rights for Native Americans and calls for a greater understanding of Native American cultures.

The Tao Te Ching is a Chinese classic text traditionally credited to the sixth-century BC sage Laozi. It is a foundational text of both philosophical and religious Taoism and has strongly influenced other schools of Chinese philosophy and religion, including Confucianism and Buddhism.

The Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould (1834-1924) was an Anglican priest, antiquarian, folklorist, and novelist. He is remembered best as the composer of the hymns "Onward, Christian Soldiers" and "Now the Day Is Over". This work was the first academic study of lycanthropy in English, and draws upon a vast body of lore and myth.

Theodore Roosevelt delivered this speech in Provincetown, Massachusetts, at the laying of the corner-stone of the Pilgrim Memorial Monument on August 20, 1907. He remarked on the Puritans’ individual initiative, common sense, and ability to cooperate. Above all else, their sense of duty is singled out as a commendable quality.