Showing results by narrator "B.J. Harrison" in All Categories

"Tobin’s Palm" is a story about a young man named Tobin whose love Katie has disappeared. He did everything he could to find her, but she was nowhere to be seen. Heartbroken, Tobin falls into despair. His friend Jawn shows up and force Tobin to head out into to get some fresh air. But what they stumble upon there is not what Jawn or Tobin had expected. "The Ransom of Red Chief" is a short story with a twist ending about two criminals, named Bill and Sam.

"In newspaper-land a dull lie is seldom detected, but an interesting exaggeration drives an unimaginative rival to hysterical denunciations." When a British politician pushes through a law that will allow political refugees to be sent back to their countries of origin, he becomes the target of the Four Just Men - a group of vigilantes who set out to the punish the people who consider themselves above the law.

The narrator in the story has just came back from a wedding, but he wants to take us to a Christmas party that he was at several years ago and where he witnessed how big of a difference there is between the social classes. He saw how the rich people’s children received expensive gifts while one poor boy, the son of the governess, received only a book without covers. The narrator observed something else too: children do not build relationships based on wealth. They are pure and free from prejudices - until the society changes them.

Antoine Breguet is an old watchmaker who wants to retire. One of his two apprentices is going to take his place, but which one? Who is better qualified and who will impress the watchmaker’s granddaughter more? The two men are ready to compete. Whoever comes up with the best, most exquisite and intricate creation will inherit Breguet's shop. However friendship and love stand in the way. What will happen with the two friends and their future as watchmakers? Find out in Lydia Child’s "The Rival Mechanicians". B. J.

In "Ayesha, The Return of She" (1905) the white queen is feared not to be dead after all. After eighteen years, Horace and Leo once again set out on a journey, this time to Asia, where they encounter Ayesha's reincarnation. What follows is a love story and a tragedy of gigantic proportions. H. Rider Haggard's story is a sequel to his widely popular novel "She" and part of the Ayesha series. The series has inspired countless film adaptations, including the 1935 film version She starring Helen Gahagan, based loosely on the books. B. J.

Joel Hetman Jr. is summoned home because his mother was found dead. The only thing his father saw was an unknown man fleeing their home. The murderer was never found and the crime case turned to a mystery. One night Joel and his father were walking down a moonlit road when suddenly the father saw a pale figure. Was it a ghost or was he going crazy? Joel will finally find out what happened to his mother. "The Moonlit Road" by Ambrose Bierce holds all the answers.

This second volume of "Plutarch’s Lives" introduces the reader to even more important figures of the ancient world. Sertorius, Eumenes, Pompey, Alexander, Caesar and Cicero are only a small part of all the historical figures Plutarch describes. The philosopher produces character sketches of each persons, based on episodes of their lives. Thanks to Plutarch work and B. J. Harrison excellent narration, you will gain a better understanding of the ancient world and the lives of noble Greeks and Romans. B. J.

Goodman Brown is a young man who leads a normal and peaceful life with his wife Faith. However one evening, he leaves his wife and heads out to the forest. He has to run an unknown and urgent errand. There, he meets an old man who strangely resembles Brown a lot. Together, they walk deeper in the woods and suddenly Brown hears Faith’s voice coming from an unknown direction. He runs angrily through the forest when he stumbles upon a strange ceremony. Goodman Brown’s adventure through the woods is a symbol for his journey into self-scrutiny.

An Adjutant-crane, a jackal and a giant crocodile are talking by the river, under a newly built railway bridge. The crocodile remembers the good old days, when he used to catch and devour the villagers as they tried to pass through a ford. He also remembers a boat sailing down the river, on which was a white child whom the crocodile tried to catch, but got shot with a revolver instead. Soon the reptile falls asleep, when two men with riffles cross the bridge.

What would you do if you were given a chance to correct the incorrigible? Everything is going well for the White family, but they are human beings after all, and like everybody else, they want money. When a friend of theirs comes to visit, he tells the most extraordinary tale, and leaves them in possession of a mummified monkey’s paw. What follows is a nightmarish ride through hell, starting with a simple, albeit greedy, wish.

"The Christmas Stories of Charles Dickens" is a precious collection of Christmas tales. Christmas spirit, joy, excitement, cheer and Christmas trees against low classes living in despair and poverty. There are two sides to the story but the holiday and its meaning come from the heart no matter what the social status is. "The Christmas Stories of Charles Dickens" is a collection which makes the reader immerse in a parallel universe, so complex in its nature that it almost seems unreal.

One day Krantz comes home to witness his wife being unfaithful to him. In a fit of anger he kills both his wife and her lover, who is also Krantz’s lord. Krantz fears the punishment he will surely receive, so he flees with his three children. His safe haven is the Hartz Mountains. There he meets a beautiful young lady who he marries shortly after. Their marriage however does not go as expected. The bride’s night-outs raise Krantz’s suspicions.

"I tell you there's nothing the public likes as much as convictions - they'll always follow a man who believes in his own ideas. And this book is just on the line of popular interest." Professor Linyard is a man of science. And when he writes a book to great acclaim in which he takes the side of religion, he fully expects the satire to be understood. But when it's taken at face value, he goes along with it to better provide for his family.

A governess is hired by a bachelor to take care of his nephew and niece. She has barely arrives at the house that she starts seeing ghosts and having other supernatural visions. She decides to share her frightening experience with the maid of the house, Mrs. Grose. The maid, however, is not surprised and tells the governess that the ghosts are those of Peter Quint and Miss Jessel.

Is there anyone more associated with a raven than the writer Edgar Allan Poe, the master of the macabre? His famous poem "The Raven", published in 1845, presents us with a speaking bird and numerous mythological references. Edgar Allan Poe's poetry is known for its dark romanticism, gothic tones and anti-heroes. A selection of these classics is now brought to life for the listener's enjoyment by the versatile sounds of B.J. Harrison. A fair warning: not for the faint hearted or seekers of happy endings. B. J.

Man against nature, Leiningen against ants. Leiningen, an owner of a plantation, gets one day warned that an army of ants is approaching his fields and that it would be smartest to leave. Leiningen is however not going to give up on his land without a fight. The ants arrive and a long and exhausting battle follows. The technology and the power of the human brain are on Leiningen’s side. However the ants have a numerical superiority.

Mr. Cave is an antique shop owner with some curious items in his collection. One of these if an extraordinary crystal egg, which he comes across one evening. Indeed, the egg seems to be a gateway to the planet Mars. This science fiction short story by H. G. Wells dating back to the late 19th century has inspired numerous other literary pieces, as well as radio and television adaptations. "The Crystal Egg" is considered to be a precursor to H. G. Wells' famous science fiction novel "The War of the Worlds" from 1898. B. J.

Jabez Wilson, a London pawnbroker with ginger hair, pays a visit to Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. He tells them about his young assistant, Vincent Spaulding, who has advised Wilson to respond to an urgent job advertisement in the local newspaper. The very next morning the pawnbroker is interviewed and hired. Everything goes well, until one morning he sees an announcement which says that "The red-headed league is dissolved". Wilson is extremely dissatisfied and goes to meet the landlord but does not receive any help.

A woman is suffering from severe postpartum psychosis and her husband takes her to a colonial mansion where they can spend the summer. The woman is however closed and isolated in a single room where her nervous depression gets worse with the time. The only thing she sees all day long is a yellow wallpaper which she studies in so many details that she finally finds a creeping woman behind the pattern. The summer is over and the family is about to go home. The husband opens the door to his wife’s room.

Dmitri Gurov is a nearly forty-year-old man, who is married and has three children. He is unhappy with his marriage and regrets this big mistake every single day. While on a vacation, Dmitri meets Anna Sergeyevna - a young lady, who just like him is unhappily married. Very soon a love affair enfolds between the two and they start secretly meeting at different places. Unfortunately, Anna must go back to Moscow because her husband is having some health issues.