Showing results by narrator "Anna Grace" in All Categories

Prince Inga, aided by three magic pearls, is set to rule the island of Pingaree. King Rinkitink arrives with his talking goat, Bilbil, determined to take a vacation on Pingaree. Inga's father, King Kitticut, is captured by Regos' invaders along with all the rest of the people of Pingaree except for Rinkitink, Bilbil, and Inga himself.

A young woman and her husband, John, a respected physician, spend a summer at a colonial mansion. John imposes a 'rest cure' on his wife when she suffers a 'nervous depression' following the birth of their child. The woman is largely confined to the nursery upstairs where she gradually gets lost in the sickly yellow wallpaper.

Wealthy heiress Catherine Sloper has always been plain and rather simple, though very sweet. She is drawn by the attentions of handsome gentleman Morris Townsend, the only man who ever even noticed her. But is he more interested in her fortune than Catherine herself? When they get engaged, despite protestations from her brilliant physician father, Catherine has to choose between her inheritance or love.

The young and beautiful Isabel Archer finds herself suddenly wealthy beyond her imagination thanks to her devoted uncle. Sought after by many suitors and yet determined not to marry any of them, Isabel embarks on a journey of self-discovery throughout Europe, only to find herself drawn to the charming and clever Gilbert Osmond. Through betrayal and heartache, Isabel not only learns what she truly wants out of life but also just how strong she really is.

The charismatic Count Dracula, a Transylvanian nobleman, wishes to purchase a house in London. Assisted in this enterprise by a young solicitor, Jonathan Harker, it becomes evident that there is a sinister side to the Count's plans. A small group of friends unites to prevent the success of the Count's schemes, hazarding danger to themselves for the greater good of humanity.

Hamlet and Macbeth are two of Shakespeare's best-known plays and contain some of the most famous speeches in world literature. These one-act versions of the plays, which were edited by J. P. Crabb (the details of whose life and other works have disappeared into obscurity) retain the significant monologues and dialogues while presenting a streamlined view of the action.

Wuthering Heights is Emily Brontë's only novel, first published in 1847 under the pseudonym Ellis Bell. A work of considerable power and intensity set in the Yorkshire moors in the late 18th century - the bleak and wild moorland often reflected in the natures of the characters. Unsettling at times, the novel is a heady mix of gritty realism, romance, Gothic horror, and tragedy.

Francis Raven awakens on the eve of his birthday, frightened by the appearance of a woman attempting to murder him. He is continually haunted by this woman and years later marries Alicia Warlock, who looks strikingly identical to the figure from his dream. Is this Dream Woman simply an apparition or will her attempts to kill Francis become reality? Also known as The Ostler in earlier versions, The Dream Woman is another of Collins' finest detective stories.

George Bernard Shaw embraced the concept of what he called creative evolution. In 1982, after having witnessed the horrors of the First World War, Shaw started work on Back to Methuselah, a large-scale presentation of the story of human development, starting from the Garden of Eden and extended far into the future. The first performance was held in New York in 1922. The five plays included are "In the Beginning", "The Gospel of the Brothers Barnabus", "The Thing Happens", "Tragedy of an Elderly Gentleman", and "As Far As Thought Can Reach".

This play is a fictionalized account of the life of William Shakespeare, beginning from his humble origins in Stratford-upon-Avon with his wife, Anne Hathaway, to his life as a successful playwright in London. This play uses several biographical speculations about Shakespeare's life to tell a fascinating tale, such as his relationship with his wife (to whom he famously left his "second-best bed" in his will), his friendship with fellow playwright and competitor Christopher Marlowe, his interactions with Queen Elizabeth I, and an extramarital dalliance with the queen's maid of honor.

In 1916, Chris returns home from a French hospital to his country estate just outside London. The nature of his injuries at the front has caused him to suffer from amnesia. Awaiting him at home are his devoted wife, whom he does not remember, and his cousin, Jenny, whom he remembers only as a childhood friend. For Chris, the last 15 years have not happened and he believes himself still in love with a woman named Margaret, the poor innkeeper's daughter he courted many years before.

Jay Gatsby is a millionaire who throws extravagant parties that attract famous celebrities, but no one really knows him - no one except for his neighbor, Nick Carraway. Often touted as a Great American Novel, The Great Gatsby is Nick's account of one summer spent with his wealthy friend and Nick's front-row seat to Gatsby's wealth, his dreams, and his impossible quest for love with the enigmatic Daisy Buchanan.

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.

Originally published in 1906, Pride and Prejudice: A Play, based on Jane Austen's novel written in 1813, brings a new way to experience a much-loved story and characters. Follow the Bennet family through their daily lives as new people move into the neighborhood, romance blossoms, hearts are broken, scandals are had, and, of course, love prevails. This classic story is brought to life while keeping true to the spirit and wit of Ms. Austen herself!

Old Friends and New Fancies is the first ever Jane Austen fan fiction and was originally published in 1913. Sybil Brinton imagines an entirely new story of romantic entanglements using a mashup of characters from all of Austen's major novels. Have you ever wondered what happened to Georgiana Darcy and Kitty Bennet from Pride and Prejudice or Mary Crawford and Tom Bertram from Mansfield Park? Find out in this delightfully comic homage to Austen's beloved characters.

Hero and Leander is a Greek myth concerning the tragic story of two lovers. One was a priestess of Aphrodite who lived in a tower in Sestos, and the other a young man from Abydos on the opposite side of the strait. Leander fell in love with Hero and would swim every night across the Hellespont to spend time with her, with Hero's lamp at the top of her tower as his guiding light, and they shared a warm summer of love.

According to George Bernard Shaw, Joan of Arc was in fact one of the first Protestant martyrs. She was one of the first apostles of nationalism, and the first French practitioner of Napoleonic realism in warfare. She also refused to accept the specific woman's lot, and dressed and fought and lived as men did. Shaw's exploration of the story of this ingenuous and eponymous heroine is set in six scenes and an epilogue, which takes place in 1456, when the church cleared Joan of the charge of heresy and condemned her accusers of corruption.

Fresh off his victory at The Battle of Lodi, Napoleon is planning to enjoy his lunch when a lieutenant arrives with the bad news that the dispatches he had been carrying were stolen. Infuriated, Napoleon threatens him with being court-martialed unless he can recover them. A woman appears who claims to know about the theft. Unconvinced of her story, Napoleon and the woman enter into a battle of wits in true Shaw style. Will the conqueror of worlds end up conquered by a woman?

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?

Anatol, one of Arthur Schnitzler's earliest works, concerns the life of a shallow and immature playboy, who has multiple dalliances with various women but suffers from a crippling fear of commitment underneath his womanising facade. The play offers sharp social commentary on the themes of toxic masculinity and fidelity, and has been adapted in English to two different musicals: The Game of Love and The Gay Life.