Showing results by narrator "Cathy Dobson" in All Categories

The Story of a Disappearance and an Appearance is a strange tale told in the form of four mysterious letters. The writer's uncle, the rector in a small market town, has mysteriously disappeared in the days before Christmas. The writer of the letters has been summoned to help the search for the missing man. He writes every day to his brother to update him on events...and describes a series of most bizarre and inexplicable happenings.

W. W. Jacobs was an English writer, famous for his humorous short stories, particularly those relating the preposterous adventures and misadventures of sailors on leave. The collection Short Cruises contains some of W. W. Jacobs' most popular characters, including the night watchman at the docks in Wapping who relates the stories of his friends Ginger Dick, Sam Small and Peter Russet.

A captivating collection of 60-minute classic stories by great writers.

John Davys Beresford (1873-1947) was an English writer, now remembered for his early science fiction and short stories in the horror story and ghost story genres. 'Powers of the Air' is a strange and evocative tale of superstition, supernatural forces and suspense. When the 'black time' comes, it is not safe to go out on the cliffs...but a young outsider from the town is determined to prove that the Powers do not exist.

Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce (1842-circa 1914) was an American author, journalist, short story writer and satirist who disappeared in 1913 under mysterious circumstances and was never seen again. 'A Tough Tussle' is a weird and horrible ghost story about a soldier in the Civil War who finds himself stationed on sentry duty, alone in a wood at night, next to the corpse of an enemy soldier. While he waits and watches, the body appears to change position....

William Fryer Harvey (1885-1937) was an English writer of short stories, most notably in the mystery and horror genres, in which many of his works are recognized as masterpieces of the genre. The Tool is a creepy tale about a young curate on a walking holiday who discovers the body of a murdered sailor on the moors above a remote village. He walks on to the village with the intention of reporting his grisly discovery, but as the constable is away for the night he checks into the local inn until he can report the murder.

Morley Roberts (1857-1942) was an adventurer who worked on railways, cattle, and sheep ranches all over Africa and the Americas and still found time to write a large number of very varied novels and stories with a zest that only real-life experience can give. The Overcrowded Iceberg is the story of the argumentative crew of a fog-bound ship in the northern Atlantic, which eventually strikes an iceberg and sinks.

The House-Surgeon is a strange tale about a haunted house. Not that there is an actual ghost in evidence. Indeed, nobody has ever died in the house since it was originally built. But a strange all-pervading depression haunts the place intermittently which overwhelms its occupants. When the current owner of the house tells the strange tale of the house to a fellow passenger, Mr. Perseus, on a trans-Atlantic steamer, he invites him down to the house to experience the horrible phenomenon himself.

Neap-Tide Madness is the strange story of Sir Jaspar Slane's visits to the Dormy House in Norfolk. One foggy evening Slane glimpses the figure of a man emerge from the mist carrying a hunting rifle. The figure raises his gun and shoots at Slane from close quarters, narrowly misses him and vanishes again into the mist. When he makes it back to the Dormy House, Slane learns that the loose madman is the mysterious Mark Rennett - a fishman and hunter who lives in a ramshackle cottage on the marshes with his extraordinarily beautiful wife.

"The Paradise Coal-Boat" is the story of Ezra Pollard, skipper of a coal boat working between Tyneside and the South Coast. The cost-conscious shipowner, Gedge, makes it very clear to Ezra that he is to sail his route at top speed and in the event of any collision to bring home no survivors from other ships who could make claims for damages against the firm. But Ezra is haunted for years by an incident where he accidentally mows down a fishing smack and drowns its crew.

Reparation is a strange short story. Angus, a young engineer returning to England from Cape Town, is offered a first class passage by an ailing acquaintance on the pretext that he needs a secretary during the voyage. Once they set sail it becomes clear that there is in fact no secretarial work to be done and he is puzzled as to why he has been taken on. One evening he is called to his employer's cabin. The old man is dying.

A fast-paced and varied collection of captivating short stories ranging from action thrillers to poignant tear-jerkers to the downright weird, including: "Jerry Bundler" by W. W. Jacobs, "The Umbrella Mender" by Beatrice Harraden, "Green Ink" by J. S. Fletcher, "Why Herbert Killed His Mother" by Winifred Holtby, "The Red Mark" by Israel Zangwill, "The White Kid Glove" by J. S. Fletcher, "Sophy Mason Comes Back" by E. M. Delafield, plus many more.

The Child in the Garden is the story of an independent young woman with a passion for archeology who enjoys travelling to sites of antiquity in pusuit of her research. Meanwhile her fiancé, a highly traditional curate, is unhappy at her level of freedom and independence. When he finally travels out to Greece and catches up with her in a remote village, she breaks off their engagement. Soon after this she experiences a terrifying, but at the same time thrilling adventure.

The Desert Islander is the story of a deserter from the French Foreign Legion who seeks help from an Englishman living in a remote part of southern China during the Chinese war. Two facts quickly become apparent about our legionnaire. First, that he has a narcissistic personality disorder which leaves him devoid of empathy and in desperate need to attention and adulation. Second that he is suffering from a gangrenous leg.

Morley Roberts (1857-1942) was an adventurer who worked on railways, cattle, and sheep ranches all over Africa and the Americas and still found time to write a large number of very varied novels and stories with a zest that only real-life experience can give. The Mad Hatter is a fast paced and gripping adventure story about a magazine editor who is pursued across London by a murderous psycopath who is determined to kill him in revenge for rejecting a short story of his about his escape from the asylum.

A Patch on the Quilt is a short story about an actor who is pursued by a strange woman at the theatre with a very odd request. She has attended every performance of his play since it started, skipping meals to afford the tickets. She now wants him to come with her to a house in Kensington after his performance...which she says is part of her 'plan'. But who is this person and what could she possibly want from him?

Stacy Aumonier was a British writer best known for his outstanding short stories. Nobel Prize-winner John Galsworthy described Aumonier as 'one of the best short story writers of all time' and predicted that he would 'outlive all the writers of his day'. 'One Law for the Rich' is the tale of two brothers, one a rich and successful businessman, the other a poor man whose business only just makes ends meet. At a cousin's funeral, both men catch a stinking cold. One is able to afford the best doctors and medicines London can provide...the other must rely on home remedies. But how will each invalid fare?

More French Than the French is the risqué story of a British girl who is spending her last night in Paris. She meets a young Englishman who flirts with her. She pretends to be a confident young Frenchwoman and invites the young man back to her apartment. The story follows the mental processes of the two young people as they prepare to lose their virginity.

A Keen Sense of Rumour is a tongue-in-cheek love story with strong elements of a bedroom farce. Kenneth Harvey, a notorious philanderer and proficient golfer is on holiday with a group of friends. His roving eye is drawn to a pretty girl who is staying at the same hotel. After a day of golf, Kenneth leaves the billiard room to have an early night - though his friends think it more likely that this is a pretext for some amorous adventure and take it upon themselves to catch him out.

The Abandonment of Miss Plum is the tale of Alice Honoria Plum, a 19-year-old orphan who takes a dull position as companion to an elderly lady - although secretly she dreams of travel and the high life. When two years later the old lady dies and leaves a fortune to Alice Honoria, she determines to travel to Paris for a 'fling'.