Showing results by narrator "Rob Goll" in All Categories

Ebenezer Scrooge, described as "a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner," is certainly no lover of the Christmas season.

Meet the indomitable lady detective Loveday Brooke. Able to assume a multitude of disguises and possessed of analytical powers rivaling those of the great Sherlock Holmes, she masters every baffling situation and solves each perplexing crime in these seven atmospheric and entertaining Victorian mysteries.

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.

Henry James' 1898 novella is one of the world's greatest ghost stories. Told by an unnamed governess who accepts a position looking after two children at a remote English country manor, the story is famously ambiguous. The governess gradually comes to believe that the house - and the two seemingly angelic children, Miles and Flora - are haunted by the ghosts of her predecessor and her brutish lover. But are the ghosts actually real? Or is the governess slowly going mad?

After breaking off his engagement with Agnes Lockwood, Lord Montbarry marries the eccentric Countess Narona before embarking on a whirlwind honeymoon tour of Europe culminating in Venice. There they reside in the decaying Palace Hotel with the Countess' brother, Baron Rivar, and their courier, Ferrari. Lord Montbarry later dies of bronchitis and upon hearing of this from Henry Westwick, Montbarry's brother, Agnes agrees to meet with Henry at the newly renovated Palace Hotel to investigate the insurance claim that was purchased prior to his death.

In a comprehensive and beautifully crafted first person narrative, David Copperfield recalls key stages, memories, and incidents of his life from infancy to maturity. Scenes, adventures, and characters are summoned to the narrator's remembrance so vividly that they are rendered with the vitality of the present moment.

The first novel written by Charlotte Bronte, The Professor follows a young man named William Crimsworth on his teaching career in Brussels as well as the relationships he forms while residing there. At the behest of the headmistress, Zoraide Reuter, William tutors fellow teacher Frances Henri in English and finds himself falling in love with her. Jealousy drives Zoraide to dismiss Frances from the school as well as refusing to assist William in discovering her whereabouts.

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.

Arthur Conan Doyle's 1887 novella introduced the world to Sherlock Holmes, the brilliant consulting detective, as portrayed through the eyes of his friend and colleague Dr. John Watson, a retired army physician. In A Study in Scarlet, Holmes and Watson take on their first case together, involving a body discovered in an abandoned London house with a bloody message scrawled on the wall above.

The Frozen Deep was originally written as a play by Wilkie Collins and Charles Dickens. With Dickens himself gracing the stage as Wardour, the play was met with success, drawing audiences to tears night after night, and even performing for Queen Victoria herself. Drawing on reports of the real-life Franklin expedition of 1845, in which a crew had set out from England to discover the North Passage and disappeared without a trace, Collins and Dickens recreated the events of the ill-fated journey.

Written by 18-year-old Mary Shelley, the novel follows scientist Victor Frankenstein as he recounts his story to Captain Walton, who found a gravely ill Victor adrift at sea. Victor tells of his creation of a being so horrible that he abandoned the Creature, much to his own shame. Not to be forgotten, the Creature's quest for revenge and understanding from its master leaves a trail of devastation in its wake.

The classic horror story of dual personalities gone too far, this full-cast narration explores the attempts of Utterson, a London lawyer, to investigate the strange occurrences surrounding his friend, Dr. Henry Jekyll, and the shocking discoveries he makes along the way. The impact of this story has been so strong that "Jekyll and Hyde" has become part of our vernacular, referring to those who are outwardly good but inwardly evil.

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!

Nicholas Nickleby's father dies unexpectedly after losing all of his money in a poor investment. Nicholas, his mother, and his younger sister, Kate, are forced to give up their comfortable lifestyle in Devonshire and travel to London to seek the aid of their only relative, Nicholas's uncle, Ralph Nickleby. Ralph, a cold-hearted businessman, is reluctant to help his relations and has an immediate dislike of Nicholas, perhaps because he reminds him of his dead brother.

Isabella, or the Pot of Basil is a Romantic narrative poem of 63 stanzas. Written in 1818 and first published in 1820, it is adapted from a story in Giovanni Boccaccio's Decameron. It tells the tragic tale of Isabella and her love for Lorenzo, an employee of her two brothers. John Keats (1795-1821) was one of the foremost English Romantic poets. Despite his early death from tuberculosis at the age of 25 he had a considerable poetic output.

In this moody Russian drama, Ivanov is a melancholic impoverished landowner whose wife is dying of tuberculosis. However, he finds himself irresistibly drawn to the beautiful Sasha, the daughter of his wealthy neighbors. Augmented by a diverse array of colorful supporting characters and intrigues, this play provides a glimpse of master dramatist Anton Chekhov's early work.

This extended moralistic fable, Oscar Wilde's longest work of fiction, was first published in 1890. It may be described as a tragedy of manners, in which a wealthy young man, endowed with great powers of physical and personal attractiveness, embarks on a hectic course of life which brings destruction to many around him, and ultimately to himself.

Hard Times is set in and around Coketown, a fictitious, Victorian mill town in the North of England. A town of red brick, machinery, and tall chimneys. A town blackened by soot, shrouded in mist, and choked by smoke. The working men and women of Coketown, referred to generally as "Hands" as if they were merely extensions of the machinery they operate, and not individuals with loves and likes, memories and inclinations, souls to weary and souls to hope.

The Wind in the Willows, first published in 1908, is one of the most beloved of all children's classics and has been adapted on multiple occasions for presentation on stage, in film, and as an opera. The action centers on the efforts of Mole, Rat, and Badger to discipline and reform their wealthy and self-destructive friend Toad, who lives in a splendid mansion known as Toad Hall.

As the invading army of a mad king ravages the land, Vyder seeks help from the one force that can stop them: The fierce Highland warriors of his home province. But Vyder finds he has enemies in the Highlands now - can he stay alive long enough to raise an army, and even if he succeeds will it be too late?