Showing results by narrator "Elliot Fitzpatrick" in All Categories

Victor Marie Hugo was born on 26th February 1802, in Besançon, France. There can be no doubt that Hugo is ranked as the greatest of French authors and poets. In ‘Claude Gueux’ one prisoner dares to challenge a system and its cruel Governor who takes away his only friend purely out of spite. The consequences are appalling.

Wilkie Collins was born on 8th January 1824 in Marylebone, London. He pursued his education at Mr Cole’s private boarding school in Highbury, Islington. Here, he began his literary career under unusual circumstances: the school bully would give him no peace until he had been told a bedtime story. This ‘little brute’ helped create one of England’s greatest writers.

Abraham Stoker was born in Dublin, Ireland on the 8th of November 1847, the third of seven children. Strikingly at Trinity College, Dublin his health had returned with such vigour that he was named their University Athlete whilst also achieving a BA in Mathematics with honours. At this time his interest in theatre became a job offer to be the Dublin Evening Mail’s theatre critic, co-owned by Sheridan Le Fanu. He now began to also write short stories and in 1872 ‘The Crystal Cup’ was published. An interest in art developed and he co-founded the Dublin Sketching Club.

Abraham Stoker was born in Dublin, Ireland on the 8th of November 1847, the third of seven children. He began to also write short stories and in 1872 ‘The Crystal Cup’ was published. An interest in art developed and he co-founded the Dublin Sketching Club. Despite this busy life Stoker continued to write and these works paved the way for his most famous creation, published in 1897, ‘Dracula’. It is rightly recognised as one of the greatest horror novels of all time and although not the first with a theme of Vampires, it is undoubtedly the most well-known.

A thrilling and vivid work of history, Class War weaves together literature and politics to chart the making and unmaking of social class through revolutionary combat. In a narrative that spans the globe and more than two centuries of history, Mark Steven traces the history of class war from the Haitian Revolution to Black Lives Matter.

In this Venetian set story Edwards follows the trail of a man who, after the briefest of meetings, falls in love with a young Jewish girl, who has but one request of him.

On the death of a cruel man, the terms of a secret are demanded from him to no avail. When the facts are finally revealed his true evil has changed everything.

The world since earliest times has always had spies. Information is a valuable commodity and even more so in times of war or tension. Many authors and poets have had real life incarnations as spies from Christopher Marlowe and Aphra Behn to Daniel Defoe. But it’s a dangerous game. Working in a murky, secretive world where any trust given could be at the expense of your life.

In this rural story a man is inspecting schools in the district of an old and now fabulously rich university friend. When they finally meet a dark secret is revealed to both of them.

Being an English author in a new and different culture seems to work its magic when these two are placed together in the same spot with a rich vocabulary; ideas seem more fully formed and characters have another edge to their existence. For the outsider looking in, more can be revealed and shared with ourselves.

We Aim to Live is a collection of fourteen powerful, dark and funny short stories, about ordinary people – mostly men – at moments of crisis, crossroads or revelation. The stories look unflinchingly at men’s behaviour and the moments when masculinity is on the edge of turning dangerous. Some stories portray the toxic world of professional football drawing upon the writer’s past in that world; while others are set in high end hotels, removals firms and sheds.

In this story two men strike up a conversation and one reveals that he is, in fact, dead as the result of titanic war in the future. In this bold premise Wells once more reveals a startling and empathetic story.

For an atheist it’s a great deal, though it does suggest atheism may have a weak point. For those of faith it’s a matter of jam now and purgatory tomorrow. A bargain many artists feel is something they can live with. For agnostics it’s usually a question of can the afterlife really be that bad, would workplace regulations reach all parts of heaven and hell. However, in this volume the terms are agreed and the Devil pays his fees and the character his dues, each happy to wait a few decades for the eternal payback.