Showing results by narrator "Rob Goll" in All Categories

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.

Lamia is a tragic narrative poem in two parts. It was written in 1819 and first published in 1820 with "Isabella" and "The Eve of St. Agnes". The Greek god Hermes has left Olympus in search of a beautiful nymph. He comes across Lamia, a woman trapped in the form of a snake, who promises to reveal the nymph to him if he, in exchange, restores her human form so she may seek the love of Lycius, a youth of Corinth.

The Cricket on the Hearth, published in 1845, is the third in Charles Dickens' series of "Christmas Books." The story centers around the hearth and home of the good-hearted carrier, John Peerybingle, and his young wife Mary—affectionately called Dot by her husband. Their baby boy is cared for by a clumsy nanny, Tilly Slowboy. The household is completed by Boxer the dog and the cricket on the hearth, who acts as a guardian angel to the family. When disaster looms following the arrival of an elderly stranger, the cricket appears in fairy form to save the day.

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

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?

Parisina was first published in 1816. The tragic narrative poem is the sixth, and shortest, in the series of Byron's "Oriental Romances" or "Heroic Tales". Prince Azo, overhearing his wife, Parisina, muttering in her sleep, discovers that she is having an affair with his illegitimate son, Hugo. Parisina and Hugo were engaged to be married before Azo claimed her for his own bride. Hugo is sentenced to death, and Parisina is forced to watch the execution as her punishment.

After 25 years of torment, Matthew is released from a mental institute under the watchful eye and care of Tammy Atkins, a care worker with a secret history of alcohol abuse and self-harm. As Matthew struggles to adapt to his new found liberty, he finds himself continuously plagued by the demons of his past. Haunted by strange and ghastly images and urges, Matthew sets himself upon a path of vengeance; determined to seek out his parents' killer and put his demons to rest once and for all.

Wilfred Owen is widely regarded as one of the greatest poets of the First World War. He was tragically killed on patrol on 4 November 1918, a week before the armistice was signed. Owen was to see only five of his poems published during his lifetime. This collection of 23 poems, containing many of his best known works, uses the texts as published in Poems - edited by Wilfred Owen’s friend and mentor Siegfried Sassoon with the assistance of Edith Sitwell and first published in 1920.

A Christmas Carol is one of Charles Dickens' best loved tales. Ebenezer Scrooge, described as "a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner," is certainly no lover of the Christmas season. He is visited on Christmas Eve by the ghost of his former partner, Jacob Marley, who warns him that he will be visited by three further spirits: The Ghosts of Christmas Past, Christmas Present, and Christmas Yet to Come.

Soldiers from varying eras and vastly different backgrounds, including the IX Legion of Rome, are snatched away from Earth at the moment of their passing and transported to the far side of the galaxy. Thinking they have been granted a reprieve, their relief turns to horror when they discover they face a stark ultimatum: Fight or die.

I left her when she was eight. Just a child. Too young to be alone. I killed myself because I could never atone for the things he made me do. There is something wrong with my family, you see. A fear runs through us, through our blood. A fear that circles above us, shredding the sky and clawing at our hearts, and now, from a deathless realm, I am forced to watch as my lonely daughter is tortured by the life I gave her to endure....

In a land of forbidden magic, a mysterious cave holds both riches and danger for three adventurers who discover a mighty treasure and a terrible secret.

The story is told by the clergyman to his brother as a later-life confession concerning a brush with the supernatural which he has kept a secret for many years. Before he joined the church he met and fell in love with Miss Jeromette, a Frenchwoman living alone in London. They enter into a relationship but she tells him candidly she loves another man who has deserted her. Miss Jeromette predicts the man will return to her but that she will die young and miserably.

A Tale of Two Cities is one of Charles Dickens’ later novels, published and serialized in 1859. It is a compelling tale of love, sacrifice, and redemption set against the backdrop of the violence and horror of the French Revolution.

The art of dragon killing: Dragons have been eating humans for centuries. Now heroes throughout history stalk their legendary foe. Learn how to hunt, kill, and eat the wild dragon. Never before has revenge tasted so good. A literary feast for the bloody-minded. In Janet Morris' anthology on the art of dragon killing, 17 writers bring you so close to dragons, you can smell their fetid breath.

After he is found adrift in the Arctic by Captain Fredrick Walton, a gravely ill Victor Frankenstein recounts the story of his life up to his discovery. He tells how his obsession with science led to the creation of an abomination who, to his horror and shame, he abandoned. The creature's quest for both revenge and understanding from his creator leaves a violent trail of devastation in Victor’s life that affects all those he holds dear. Frankenstein is a powerful story of love and ambition, of friendship and morality, and of horror and violence.

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.

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.

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.

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.