Showing results by narrator "Mark Rice-Oxley" in All Categories

Móric Jókay de Ásva was born on the 18th February 1825 in Komárom, then in the Kingdom of Hungary but now part of Slovakia. Due to his timid and delicate constitution he was educated at home until the age of 10 and then sent away to complete his studies at the Calvinist college at Pápa. At 12 his father died, and he was pushed to honour him by replicating his career as a lawyer. He studied hard and completed the curriculum at Kecskemét and Pest. He won his first case as a newly graduated lawyer.

Hector Hugh Munro, more familiarly known by his pen-name ‘Saki’, was born in what was then Akyab in British Burma on 18th December 1870. His father was an Inspector General for the Indian Imperial Police, and his mother the daughter of a Rear Admiral. After a stint working in Burma with the Indian Imperial Police, Saki decided to move to London to make a living as a writer. Initially he wrote as a journalist for a number of newspapers and magazines before attempting an historical study, ‘The Rise of the Russian Empire’, whose real value lay in directing him to writing short stories instead.

Simon Newcomb was born in 1835. He was a Canadian-American astronomer, applied mathematician and autodidactic polymath. He was fluent in several languages, and also published several popular science books, a science fiction novel and short stories.

Amyas Stafford Northcote was born in 1864 to an aristocratic family. His literary career was mainly centered on one book ‘In Ghostly Company’ which, at the time, were favourably compared to those of M R James. He died in 1923.

Frederick George Loring was born in 1869. He was an English naval officer and writer, and an early expert in wireless telegraphy. As a writer his talents extended to both poetry and the short story; ‘The Tomb of Sarah’ being a classic of the genre. He died in 1951.

Alice Askew (born in 1874) along with her husband, Claude (born in 1865) wrote over 90 novels and short stories in various magazines between 1904 and 1918. Alice and Claude both died on 6th October, 1917.

This story was printed with some fanfare in Pearson’s Magazine and lauded for its originality. Despite its success the author is as mysterious now as he was then. Did he write other stories? No one knows.

Richard Henry Malden was born in 1879. During his career he was a prominent Anglican churchman, editor, classical and Biblical scholar, as well as a writer of ghost stories. He died in 1951.

William James Wintle was born in 1861. His talents extended to journalism and writing. He wrote and worked for various magazines and was later the director of a publishing house. He was deeply interested in nature and was a member of many societies as well as a celebrated collector of shells.

Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin was born on the 30th August 1797 in Somers Town, London. Her mother, the famous feminist philosopher, educator, and writer Mary Wollstonecraft died when Mary was only 11 days old and she was raised by her father. Her short stories, some based in Europe, tackle difficult situations and genres as well the obstacles that women were burdened with in society. Her editorship of her late husband’s poetry was also widely praised.

There is something about the number 3. The Ancient Greeks believed 3 was the perfect number, and in China 3 has always been a lucky number, and they know a thing or two. Whatever history and culture says WE think 3, a hat-trick of stories, is a great number to explore themes and literary avenues that classic authors were so adept at creating.

Joseph Conrad was born on 3rd December 1857 in Berdychiv in the Ukraine, then part of the Russian Empire. His birthplace had been part of Poland which its neighbours dismembered into their own Empires. Conrad brought to English Literature both narrative mastery, compelling prose and fully formed characters as well as a deeper examination of the human psyche in a wealth of work. He wrote many novels, short stories, nonfiction, and memoirs which are rightly regarded today as some of the finest in English literature. Jospeh Conrad died on the 3rd August 1924 at Bishopsbourne, Kent in England.

John Ferguson was born on the 18th August 1881 in Stirling in Scotland. His literary canon is exceedingly small, this being the only volume of his poems ever published. What is known is that he suffered from ill-health and these poems were written whilst in a sanitorium. The book itself was very successful after its publication in 1912, with at least 14 editions published during his lifetime. John Ferguson died on the 8th March 1928 and is buried in the cemetery at Stirling Castle. He was 46.

Sax Rohmer was born on February 15th, 1883 as Arthur Henry Sarsfield in Birmingham to working class parents. Rohmer started his career as a civil servant but soon had ambitions to change careers and write full time. Not content with just fiction he wrote poetry, songs as well as comedy sketches for music hall performers. From these varied beginnings he reinvented himself as Sax Rohmer.

There is something about the number 3. The Ancient Greeks believed 3 was the perfect number, and in China 3 has always been a lucky number, and they know a thing or two. Whatever history and culture says WE think 3, a hat-trick of stories, is a great number to explore themes and literary avenues that classic authors were so adept at creating.

Richard Bernard Heldmann was born on 12th October 1857, in St Johns Wood, North London. By his early 20’s Heldmann began publishing fiction for the myriad magazine publications that had sprung up and were eager for good well-written content. Marsh was a prolific writer and wrote almost 80 volumes of fiction as well as many short stories, across many genres from horror and crime to romance and humour. His unusual characters, plotting devices and other literary developments have identified his legacy as one of the best British writers of his time.

Convicted criminal Simms finds himself imprisoned not behind bars, but within the confines of an alien technology so advanced, it’s indistinguishable from reality. Trapped on a deserted island, Simms thought he had found paradise. But little did he know, he was actually imprisoned on Mars in a simulated world created by the Vehni. As he struggles to survive and unravel the island’s mysteries, Simms must also face a journey of self-discovery and transformation.

Throughout the long centuries of human history is the want, and the need, to share information, to exchange ideas and for that knowledge and experience, for curiosity and learning, to be the basis of a civil society. In this volume we offer up a small selection of talents from the literary landscape of 1800 to 1849 and its male authors whose time has now come again.

The Russian novel has a reputation that is immense, both in narrative and in length. Unquestionably though the ideas, themes and characters make many novels rightly revered as world class, as icons of literature. The Russian short story is, in many respects, in a genre of its own. It is at its captivating best whether it’s an exploration of real-life experiences, through fantasy and fables and on to total absurdity.

Throughout the long centuries of human history is the want, and the need, to share information, to exchange ideas and for that knowledge and experience, for curiosity and learning, to be the basis of a civil society. In this volume we offer up a small selection of talents from the literary landscape of the Russian male author whose time has now come again.