Showing results by narrator "Michael Lyons" in All Categories

A quiet encounter… with something that refuses to be forgotten. In A Ghost, Guy de Maupassant delivers a chilling and atmospheric tale that blurs the line between reality and the supernatural. What begins as a simple request soon leads to an eerie and unforgettable experience—one that...

There is something about the number 3. The Ancient Greeks believed 3 was the perfect number, and in China 3 has always been a lucky number, and they know a thing or two. Most religions also have 3 this and 3 that and, of course, in these more modern times, three’s a crowd may be too many, except when it’s a ménage à trois. It seems good things usually come in threes.

In a quiet German town, Councillor Krespel lives as both a master craftsman and a man of unsettling contradictions—brilliant, erratic, and consumed by an obsession with violins. He builds without plans. He destroys as often as he creates. And among his many instruments, one stands apart—a mysterious Cremona violin that seems to carry a voice of its own.

The Red Badge of Courage is one of the most psychologically penetrating war novels ever written. Published in 1895, Stephen Crane’s groundbreaking work strips away romantic notions of heroism to reveal war as it is experienced from the inside—through fear, confusion, shame, and hard-earned self-awareness.

In The Mass of Shadows, Anatole France weaves a solemn and haunting tale of love, memory, and the fragile boundary between life and death. Through the voice of a sacristan recalling his father’s stories, we enter a world where the dead return not in terror, but in reverence—souls bound by affection, regret, and unfinished devotion. Once a year, they are granted a single hour to reunite with those they loved, gathering silently in their parish church to attend a Mass said not for the living, but for memory itself.

There is something about the number 3. The Ancient Greeks believed 3 was the perfect number, and in China 3 has always been a lucky number, and they know a thing or two.

The bookshelves of American literature are incredible collections that have gathered together centuries of very talented authors. From this continent their fame spread and whilst among their number many are now forgotten or neglected their talents endure. Among them is the talented but obscure author Benjamin Rosenblatt.

The Messenger is a chilling gothic tale by Robert W. Chambers, where reason and folklore collide in the shadow of history. As a rational American observer investigates a mysterious burial site, he uncovers the story of a long-executed traitor known as the Black Priest—a man branded in death, cursed in blood, and sworn to return if his remains are ever disturbed. What follows is a slow descent into unease: a skull that will not stay buried, a death’s-head moth appearing at windows and hearths, masked figures glimpsed in stormlight, and blood trails that defy explanation.

Edgar Poe was born in Boston Massachusetts on 19th January 1809. His father abandoned his family the following year and within a year his mother had died leaving him an orphan. In January 1845 ‘The Raven’ was published and became an instant classic...

The bookshelves of American literature are incredible collections that have gathered together centuries of very talented authors. From this continent their fame spread and whilst among their number many are now forgotten or neglected their talents endure. Among them is the talented Arthur Sherburne Hardy.

Sherwood Anderson was born on 13th September 1876 in Camden, Ohio. When his father’s business failed the family was forced to move on a regular basis before finally settling in Clyde, Ohio. Anderson, one of 7 children, left school at 14...

Harold Hart Crane was born on the 21st July 1899 in Garrettsville, Ohio. Much of his youth was spent shuttling between Cleveland and New York. Shortly after Crane attempted to enlist in the U S Military but was rejected for being a minor. His first published poem also came in 1917 with ‘C33’ and its reference to the cell number that Oscar Wilde was incarcerated in. His early work was already being noticed for its lush and rich use of words and by the time ‘White Buildings’ was published in 1926 he was being critically acclaimed.

Writing can be a lonely art. Distractions and writers block are just two of the many impediments to a burnished stream of prose. But sometimes two heads really can be better than one. Collaborating and sounding off of one another, in the right circumstances and with complimenting skills, can work wonders as these very talented duos now demonstrate.

Harold Hart Crane was born on the 21st July 1899 in Garrettsville, Ohio. Crane was drawn to literature at an early age, becoming a voracious reader and pursuing self-education. His early work was already being noticed for its lush and rich use of words. Despite this success his personal life was troubled. Hart Crane died on the 27th April 1932 by jumping from the deck of a steamship into the Gulf of Mexico upon his return to the United States from Mexico. He was 32.

Robert Lee Frost was born on the 26th March 1874 in San Francisco, California. He sold his first poem in 1894 for $15. In 1924 he received the first of four Pulitzer Prizes. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature 31 times. He died on the 29th January 1963 in Boston.

In My Own True Ghost Story, Rudyard Kipling delivers a hauntingly humorous tale set in the shadowy outposts of British India—where the rational mind meets the inexplicable. When a weary English traveler spends the night in a decrepit dâk-bungalow, the howling wind, flickering candles, and creaking walls seem to come alive. Then comes the unmistakable sound of a billiard game—played in a room far too small to hold a table, and by players who no longer exist.

On Asteroid Y-3, a strange phenomenon is spreading among Earth’s stationed personnel: soldiers and workers suddenly believe they are turning into plants. They abandon their duties, lying in the sun with no desire for anything else. Doctor Henry Harris is sent to investigate these bizarre cases, only to uncover something deeper than delusion—an unspoken yearning for escape from the grind of mechanized society. In his search for answers, Harris encounters the mysterious “Pipers,” symbolic figures that awaken buried desires for simplicity and peace.

A cosmic harbinger streaks into our solar system, disrupting the very fabric of life on Earth in H.G. Wells’ haunting tale The Star. First dismissed by scientists and the public alike, a mysterious celestial body appears in the night sky and begins a relentless approach. As it grows brighter and nearer, awe gives way to terror. Natural disasters erupt. Seas rise. Cities fall. And humanity faces its own insignificance beneath the cold blaze of this alien sun.

Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is more than a boy’s tale of mischief and freedom—it is a timeless American classic that questions morality, challenges society’s norms, and celebrates the power of friendship.

Have you ever spent all day looking after your baby or young child—and ended up feeling that you have 'done nothing all day'? Do you sometimes find it hard to feel pleased with what you are doing, and tell yourself you should achieve more with your time? Maybe it's because you can't see how much you are doing already. In this unique and perceptive look at mothering, Naomi Stadlen draws on many years' work with hundreds of other mothers of a wide variety of ages and backgrounds.