Showing results by narrator "Charles Armstrong" in All Categories

In Agatha Christie’s “The Affair at the Victory Ball,” Poirot is enlisted by Chief Inspector Japp to assist in the investigation of a murder at a costumed Ball. Six attendees form a circle of suspicion when a young aristocrat and his fiancée are found dead. Poirot then makes an interesting discovery about the costumes worn by the six friends. This short story originally appeared in the March 7, 1923 issue of The Sketch magazine.

Immerse yourself in the history of ancient Rome - from its origins as a small settlement on the Palatine Hill to its peak as an empire reigning over 90 million people, and its tumultuous decline. Covering more than 1,000 years of history, and an empire that stretched from Scotland to Syria, Ancient Rome reveals in vivid detail all of the key political, cultural, and military events that shaped the Roman Empire and explores what it was like to live in a society that laid the foundations for many aspects of the modern world.

The British monarchy is at a turning point. Concise and engaging, this book charts the very beginnings of British reign through to the longest serving monarch, Queen Elizabeth II—and looks forward to the reign of King Charles III. Much more than a linear history, this is the intertwined story of royalty and state, of divisions, invasions, rivalries, death and glory; the story of nation fates tied with the personal endeavours of monarchs through the ages. This book is a necessary and comprehensive guide to the British Monarchy and how it has shaped history—and our lives today.

A petty thief known as John Smith was arrested for fraudulent behaviour in 1877. He tricked women into thinking he was rich, then stole their belongings and vanished. His guilt was obvious. In 1852, Adler and Adolf Beck's father died on an expedition to a glacier, and their lives separated. One became a respected climate scientist, one a successful opera singer touring the world. Or so he claimed. But both remained in touch, if only to share the mysterious voices only they could hear.

In Craven House, among the shifting, uncertain world of the English boardinghouse, with its sad population of the shabby genteel on the way down and the eternal optimists who would never get up or on, the young Patrick Hamilton, with loving, horrified fascination, first mapped out the territory that he would make uniquely his own. Although many of Hamilton's lifelong interests are here, they are handled with a youthful brio and optimism conspicuously absent from his later work.

Apart from the headline-making politics, not much is known in the West about the Korean people and their ancient culture. Yet those who visit Korea, whether North or South, find a land of great interest. The Koreans, when not constrained by politics or other considerations, are friendly and sociable, and the peninsula has areas of outstanding natural beauty. The South’s cities, if not always beautiful, are vibrant and alive. The North, while very different, is complex and fascinating.

Discover the stories behind the most shocking and infamous books ever published. Censorship of one form or another has existed almost as long as the written word, while definitions of what is 'acceptable' in published works have shifted over the centuries and from culture to culture. Packed with eye-opening insights into the history of the written word and the political and social climate during the period of suppression or censorship, this is a must-listen for anyone interested in literature, creative writing, politics, history or law.

Sera Skohlidon longs for adventure, to be like the brave crusaders of lore. In her guarded imagination, fauns have rejected the Royal Coven, the Coven’s magic, and the questionable trades faunkind makes for it. One day, her quest for answers unearths a family secret that draws her to the heart of the Coven's malfeasance. What is the true source of her world's magic? With the help of a shape-shifting deadringer, Sera embarks on an epic journey that sharpens her self-image, emboldens newfound confidence with a dashing, cavalier classmate, and levels the magical playing field.

Ranging from epistemology to existentialism and featuring ideas from philosophers as varied as Plato, Immanuel Kant, and Jean-Paul Sartre, this essential guide will bring you up to speed on the core themes and theories of this great subject.

Originally published as a series of short stories in Sketch magazine, this tale of international intrigue and espionage begins when a visitor stumbles into detective Hercule Poirot's bedroom. In the final moments before his death, he tells Poirot of the crime cartel known only as the Big Four. What follows is Hercule Poirot's biggest case yet, taking him and his sidekick Arthur Hastings on the trail of the Big Four before their plans to take control of the world unfold.

This collection of Culture Smart guidebooks introduces listeners to China, Japan, and India. Each guidebook includes concise chapters on the local customs, traditions, and values of the country's inhabitants and, crucially, the key historical and cultural events that have shaped them. There are sections on social and business etiquette, tips on communication, both verbal and non-verbal, and advice on how to be a good guest.

This collection of Culture Smart guidebooks introduces listeners to Italy, Germany, and Spain. Each guidebook includes concise chapters on the local customs, traditions, and values of the country's inhabitants and, crucially, the key historical and cultural events that have shaped them. There are sections on social and business etiquette, tips on communication, both verbal and non-verbal, and advice on how to be a good guest.

Immerse yourself in more than 400 years of the world's most celebrated operas and discover the fascinating stories behind them. Explore the lives of singers such as Maria Callas, Luciano Pavarotti, and Jonas Kaufmann. Meet composers like Mozart, Wagner, and Britten, and the librettists with whom they collaborated to create the magical blend of words and music that make up opera.

Comedy and romance, history, and tragedy, Shakespeare's canon has it all. Some 400 years after they were written and first performed, his works still remain fresh and relevant today. Shakespeare: His life and Works is an accessible and lavish celebration of the Bard himself and his 39 plays, great sonnets and narrative poems. Themes, plots, characters and language are brought to life with act-by-act plot summaries, resumes of main characters and in-depth analysis of Shakespeare's use of, and influence on, the English language.

The seven volumes of Studies in the Psychology of Sex by Havelock Ellis (1859-1939) that appeared between 1900 and 1928 were each a landmark in the more open considerations of sexual impulse in the Western world. And none more so than Volume 2, which appeared in 1900. It examined homosexuality, though Ellis more frequently used the term sexual inversion, which, at the time, had broader (but not derogatory) implications.

This stunning guide explores and explains the defining eras, key moments and outstanding people that have made history. History, a children's encyclopaedia, is a way in to understanding the diversity of world history, from the African kingdoms that pre-dated colonialism and the cultures of the pre-Colombian Americas to the dynasties that have ruled China for thousands of years and the many empires that have come and gone over the centuries in Asia and Europe.

For Howie, the lonely barista, he longed for the dream life. Husband, house with a white picket fence, 2.5 kids and a dog. Sadly, all he could get were meaningless one night stands leaving him feeling empty. Jackson Milsap, the introverted writer, quietly pined for Howie from the corner of the café. Stepping outside of his comfort zone and asking him out on a date sent his social anxiety into overdrive. That was until the day he came to Howies rescue, forever changing both their lives.

Paradiso is the third and final part of The Divine Comedy, Dante's epic poem describing man's progress from hell to salvation. In it, the author progresses through nine concentric spheres of heaven. Corresponding with medieval astronomy, the Moon, Mercury, Venus, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn deal with the four cardinal virtues Prudence, Fortitude, Justice, and Temperance. The remaining two spheres are the fixed stars and the Primum Mobile, containing the purely virtuous and the angels, followed by the Empyrean, or God itself.

In the second book of Dante’s epic poem The Divine Comedy, Dante has left hell and begins the ascent of the mount of purgatory. Just as hell had its circles, purgatory, situated at the threshold of heaven, has its terraces, each representing one of the seven mortal sins. With Virgil again as his guide, Dante climbs the mountain; the poet shows us, on its slopes, those whose lives were variously governed by pride, envy, wrath, sloth, avarice, gluttony, and lust.

In an idyllic resort on the island of La Réunion, Liane Bellion and her husband, Martial, are enjoying the perfect moment with their six-year-old daughter. Turquoise skies, blue sea, palm trees, a warm breeze. Then Liane disappears. She went up to her hotel room between three and four p.m. and never came back. Her husband, worried, went to the room along with the concierge - the room was empty, but there was blood everywhere. Despite his protestations of innocence, the police view Martial as their prime suspect.