Showing results by narrator "Chris Coxon" in All Categories

First published in 1886, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde is perhaps the most famous example of the gothic horror novella. Gabriel John Utterson, a sombre London lawyer, becomes concerned for the safety and sanity of his friend and client Dr. Henry Jekyll, after the doctor begins associating with an unseemly young man named Edward Hyde. Following a spate of crimes, including blackmail and murder, and with all fingers pointing at Hyde, the lawyer sets out to free his friend from the dreadful influence of his new acquaintance. Not everything, however, is as it seems.

This short story by Fyodor Dostoevsky was first published in 1848. A man walking past a wedding is reminded of a children’s New Year’s Eve party he attended 5 years previously – a party that was clearly an excuse for the parents to make advantageous connections in a casual setting. As an outsider at the party, he was able to observe the guests in greater detail than most, and took particular note of the children playing by the Christmas tree, and the social hierarchy they unwittingly participated in. This recording is based on the 1918 translation by Constance Garnett.

One of the best-known and well-loved Christmas stories of all time, Charles Dickens’ novella "A Christmas Carol” was first published in 1843 as "A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas.” Notorious skinflint Ebenezer Scrooge receives a visit from a tormented spirit in the form of his deceased business partner Jacob Marley. Following Marley’s warning that a similar fate awaits him if he does not change his ways, Scrooge is visited by the Spirits of Christmas Past, Christmas Present and Christmas Yet to Come.

One of Dickens’ best loved short stories, "The Signalman" is the mysterious tale of a railway worker haunted by premonitions of disaster. The titular signalman works on a remote and forbidding part of the line, and finds himself with an unexpected visitor in the form of a tourist (the story’s narrator), but the travelling man is not the only stranger the signalman encounters at his post.

Join the critically-acclaimed Pantaloons for a Victorian adventure that's so full of fog it's better heard and not seen... Hilarious, tragic and romantic by turns, Dickens' tale is retold by "The Pantaloons" in their own inimitable style directly into your ears.

A charming short story by Oscar Wilde. Hugh Erskine is a fine young man with a big heart, but without means. In order to marry his sweetheart, he must first placate his lover's father, the Colonel, and amass a great fortune. First published in 1887 and later included in the "Lord Arthur Savile's Crime and Other Stories" collection of 1891.

Charles John Huffam Dickens is regarded as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. His works enjoyed unprecedented popularity during his lifetime, and by the 20th century critics and scholars had recognized him as a literary genius. The short story "Boots at the Holly-Tree Inn" was first published by in 1855. The tale is told with much affection by a servant, about the eight-year-old Harry and the seven-year-old Norah who tried to elope to Gretna Green, but were stopped and waited at the Holly-Tree Inn for their parents to arrive.

Did you hear the one about the thief and the sorcerer who went to rob a senator? No, of course you didn’t, it’s a dull tale hardly worth recounting. Ah. But what happened after, now that is a story. After being most unfairly swived and abandoned in the wilds, Breed Blake stumbles upon a barbarian who is also having a very bad day. It turns out when the great oaf isn’t being attacked by bandits, he’s on a mission to save a damsel in distress who is being held somewhere in the doom haunted Scathblight Mountains.

This collection of short stories by Anton Chekhov are all set at Christmastime. Rather than depicting a sentimental image of Christmas, Chekhov paints a picture of the harsh reality faced by many of the poorer members of society during a bitter Russian winter, while still injecting elements of pathos and humour. This collection includes At Christmas Time (Parts 1 & 2), Vanka and The Shoemaker and the Devil.

At a royal wedding celebration, a group of fireworks discuss life, philosophy and politics. One supercilious rocket considers himself to be particularly “remarkable”. A witty fable on the subject of vanity, The Remarkable Rocket was first published in The Happy Prince and Other Tales in 1888.

Phantasmagoria, Lewis Carroll's longest poem, was first published by Macmillan and Co., London, in 1869. Written in seven cantos, it tells the tale, in quintains, of a gentleman called Tibbets and his experience conversing with a phantom. This amusing “epic” takes us through their initial fear of each other, a fierce debate over the goings-on of the supernatural world, and finally, to a touching mutual admiration.

"The Mass for the Dead" was first published in 1893 in E. Nesbit’s "Grim Tales", a collection of romantic horror stories. Jasper’s true love is to marry another man for the sake of familial wealth. On the eve of the wedding, the two lovers are each haunted by supernatural music, reminiscent of a funeral mass.