Showing results by narrator "BJ Harrison" in All Categories

This beautiful story by Margery Williams has delighted children for a century. This new soundtrack by Storytime Soundtracks envelops the story in a magical, dreamlike world and is the perfect, comforting listen for a good night's sleep.

Gismondi sits on his horse, breathing heavily and grinning, looking down at Messer Crespi, who is lying prostrate in the snow, and isn’t breathing at all. Gismondi’s next target—Duke Cesare Borgia. But what happens when the duke discovers Gismondi’s plans?

Cherokee has struck it rich, and he decides to make Christmas extra special for the children of a nearby town. Unfortunately, there ARE no children in the nearby town. When the appreciative townspeople try to round up some kids from the surrounding towns, they inadvertently set the stage for a Christmas miracle for Cherokee.

Why does Sherlock Holmes declare that the person he is to meet is the worst man in London? Included in the anthology of short stories, The Return of Sherlock Holmes, this story contains the first meeting of Holmes and Watson, and chronicles their first adventure together.

In his parable of Institutional Justice vs. Divine Judgement, we follow Aksionov through his journey of accusation and imprisonment for a murder he does not commit. After 26 years in a Siberian prison camp, he finally meets the man who put him there, and the choice of a lifetime is made.

What exactly lies beyond the treacherous and previously impassable Canadian glacier? From the collection In Search of the Unknown comes a chilling tale of the things nature can do when nobody’s watching.

When two friends reunite after a twenty-year absence, the limits of friendship become evident. Painting two distinct portraits of people who have grown apart, O. Henry explores themes of friendship, loyalty and trust. In Mammon and the Archer, the pursuit of love, and the love of money go head-to-head for dominance in a timely engagement. Famous for his unexpected plot twists, O. Henry was not only a master at the craft of writing the short story, but explored deep themes that still resonate today.

A stagecoach containing a microcosm of French society seek to escape to Le Havre during the Prussian war. Stopping at an inn along the way, they soon realize they have blundered into Prussian occupied territory. The travelers are not allowed to leave until one woman, a prostitute known as Boule de Suif, (literally suet dumpling, or ball of fat), sleeps with the commanding officer. This turn of events is met with universal indignation by the travelers. But as the days stretch out, everyone’s true colors are revealed.

Henry Pifield Rice is a detective, technically. He prides himself in his disguises, which are, in truth, pretty deplorable. So when he’s detailed to follow a touring theatrical romantic comedy, his life is absolutely transformed.

A couple looks for a new home in southern England—but it has to be haunted. They stay in the legendary house of Lyng, where it is said that the inhabitants don’t know that they’ve encountered the ghost until long afterward. Artfully crafted in five different parts, Wharton spins an ironic story of greed, guilt, and revenge.

Mother and Father are called away suddenly, because Grandma is “failin’ fast”. This leaves the oldest Bassett girls, Tillie and Prue, to oversee the cooking of the Thanksgiving feast. Soon all eight children pitch in, though the subtleties of plum pudding and stuffed turkey are completely unknown to them. The result is a whole bunch of old-fashioned fun in the comfortably familiar Louisa May Alcott tradition.

When he was seven, Davey Boyd asked Santa for just one Christmas present: “Please make me normal.” Because Davey had always believed—always known—Santa could do anything. Until Santa didn’t. Because even Santa couldn’t. Instead, Santa and Davey struck an agreement.

Immortal Red is the story of Turritopsis dohrnii, a dime-sized jellyfish with a bright red stomach and the gift of immortality. A marine biologist snorkeling off the coast of Cape Fear, North Carolina makes a chance discovery of this unusual creature. At the moment of death, due to old age or massive trauma, Turritopsis has the ability to fully rejuvenate and emerge as a young adult. After observing numerous repetitions of this phenomenon in her lab, the scientist nicknames the little invertebrate Immortal Red.

The Burning Land follows a turbulent romance through the upheavals of the Civil War and America's westward migration. Henry Overstreet, a carpenter, aims to scale the social ladder in Waldoboro, Maine, in his pursuit of Katie Nash. The lovers' path runs through America's bloodiest war—one fought to redeem the nation's soul by freeing a people. Often separated, they use quiet and devoted letters to capture each other's heart as Katie wins teaching jobs usually reserved for men and Henry fights furious battles with Maine's legendary Twentieth Regiment, rising to sergeant.

Huntsmen, according to the Church, were damned, their blood unclean, unholy. Yet for Rosemary and Aaron Harker the Church was less important than being ready to stand against the Uncanny as not being prepared could lead to being dead. The year is 1913. America—and the world—trembles on the edge of a modern age. Political and social unrest shift the foundations; technology is beginning to make its mark. But in the shadows, things from the past still move. Things inhuman, uncanny. And the Uncanny are no friend to humanity.

After battling the tempestuous sea, four men in a boat finally spy land. But will the process of getting to the land be their undoing? Based upon Crane’s experience of surviving a shipwreck when traveling to Cuba, The Open Boat is an excellent example of literary Naturalism. H.G. Wells considered it “the crown of all [Crane’s] work”.

Anthony Trollope was a British writer of the Victorian period. He was very prolific, writing 47 novels, 42 short stories and five travel books. He is primarily known for his “Chronicles of Barsetshire” series of novels, including the books “The Warden” and “Barchester Towers”. It is held that his satiric novel, “The Way We Live Now” is his masterpiece.

Sir Hugh takes his secret to the grave with a vicious grin on his lips–a devious grin that is somehow contagious.

G.K. Chesterton is most notable for his creation of Father Brown. This unlooked for, and often unwelcome, detective is actually not a detective. But rather, an individual self-trained to think as criminals think, for he has heard so many of their confessions. He knows how their minds work, and can piece together many things that others cannot.

Edith Nesbit wrote under the name E. Nesbit, and is most famous for her stories for children, and has influenced the likes of J.K. Rowling, C.S. Lewis and P.L. Travers. She wrote over 60 books, including The Railway Children, Five Children and It, and The Story of the Treasure Seekers. Her second, darker reputation was as a purveyor of horror stories, which are sublime in their elegance and simplicity.