Showing results by narrator "Walter Covell" in All Categories

Marcus Aurelius was Roman Emperor from 161 C.E. to his death in 180 C.E. He was destined to be a leader, havin being born into a prominent family - one related by blood and marriage to rulers and bankers. During his era, Romans who inherited power and vast fortunes were expected to set an example.

Frederick Douglass was an American abolitionist, women's suffragist, editor, orator, author, statesman and reformer. He was called both "The Sage of Anacostia" and "The Lion of Anacostia" and is one of the most prominent figures in African-American history and United States history.

W.E.B. Du Bois said, on the launch of his groundbreaking 1903 treatise, The Souls of Black Folk, "for the problem of the 20th century is the problem of the color-line", a prescient statement. Setting out to show to the audience "the strange meaning of being black here in the dawning of the 20th century", Du Bois explains the meaning of the emancipation, and its effect, and his views on the roles of the leaders of his race.

Maurice Leblanc, a writer of detective fiction during the same period as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, created Arsene Lupin, a sort of French Robin Hood. An inventive genius, a master of disguise, and an accomplished actor, Lupin operates in the choice chateaux and salons. He scorns sham and with great disdain leaves his card in a baron's residence. The card reads, "Arsene Lupin, gentleman-burglar, will return when the furniture is genuine."

One of the greatest of French novelists, Balzac, trained as a lawyer, was a great judge of human nature. In 1833 he conceived the idea of linking together his novels so that they would comprehend the whole society in a series of books. This plan eventually led to 90 novels and novellas (including more than 2,000 characters) that he called "The Human Comedy". Balzac's huge and ambitious plan drew a picture of the customs, atmosphere, and habits of the bourgeois France.

Dostoevsky studied human nature with passion and precision. He plumbed the depths and never winced at what he found, even when it was beyond his understanding. This extraordinary novel is a recital of his findings, told in the story of four brothers: Dimitri, pleasure-seeking, impatient, unruly; Ivan, brilliant and morose; Alyosha, gentle, loving, honest; and the illegitimate Smerdyakov, sly, silent, cruel. What give this story its dramatic grip is the part these brothers play in their father's murder.

This is the very first Sherlock Holmes novel, published in 1887. In it, Holmes and Watson meet for the first time. It is a fascinating and exciting tale of kidnapping and murder. The detective and the doctor are immediately in fine form as Holmes plucks the solution to the mystery from the heart of Victorian London.

Marco Polo (1254-1324), is probably the most famous Westerner who traveled on the "Silk Road." His journey through Asia lasted 24 years. He traveled the whole of China and returned to tell the tale, which became one of the world's greatest travelogues.

Les Miserables is set in the Parisian underworld. The protagonist, Jean Valjean, is sentenced to prison for 19 years for stealing a loaf of bread. After his release, Valjean plans to rob monseigneur Myriel, a saint-like bishop, but cancels his plan. However, he forfeits his parole by committing a minor crime, and for this crime Valjean is haunted by the police inspector Javert. Valjean eventually reforms and becomes a successful businessman, benefactor, and mayor of a northern town.

Set during the reign of Louis XIII (1610-43) and based on actual events, The Three Musketeers is perhaps the greatest "cloak and sword" story ever written. Three Musketeers, loyal servants of the King, are joined by the dashing D'Artagnan, a veritable Byronic hero. These four are pitted against the master of intrigue, Cardinal Richelieu, and the quintessential wicked woman, Lady de Winter. Dumas was quite expert in pacing and varying action while weaving historical fact with purest fiction.

Edgar Allan Poe, American poet and master of the horror tale, is also credited by many with inventing the American mystery story. "The Gold Bug" is one of his most famous stories. It was first published in the Philadelphia Dollar Newspaper in June 1843, after Poe had won a competition held by the paper and received a prize of $100.

This choice collection of spine tingling tales runs the gamut from slightly spooky to "I'm sleeping with all the lights on tonight!" A splendid grouping of tales from the pens of some of the great writers of the past. Enjoy these classic stories alone or with a friend, whenever your ears are free.

"The Old Man" rivals Sherlock Holmes in his insightfulness but is much closer to Sherlock's brother, Mycroft, in his methods. Like Mycroft, the old man reasons through mystery cases but leaves the legwork to others.

Kate Chopin was an American author of short stories and novels, mostly with a Louisiana Creole background. Today she is now considered a forerunner of the feminist authors of the 20th century. This powerful story concerns a wife who learns that her overbearing husband has been killed. The short period of mourning turns to the hope of her new freedom - but then comes the very unexpected climax.

In the tradition of his very popular Candide, Zadig is what might be called a "philosophical tale." Zadig, a handsome young man with a fine education, is puzzled by the uncertainties of his destiny. He attains great success in government but is unsuccessful in love. Despite his wisdom and shrewdness, he meets with a number of misfortunes. The central question of the story is, "Why do bad things happen to good people?"

Hawthorne approached the Romantic notion of the ability of science to destroy art (or beauty) in the form of fictive "horror stories" of biological research out of control. This story is the best of that group. A devoted scientist marries a beautiful woman with a single physical flaw: a birthmark on her face. Aylmer becomes obsessed with the imperfection and his attempts to remove it via his scientific skills, thus rendering his bride perfect.

The setting is before the American Revolution when Robin, a youth arrives in Boston seeking his kinsman, Major Molineux, who is an official in the British Colonial government and has promised him work. Yet no one in town tells him where the major is and he begins to hear some strange stories and finally meets his kinsman under very unusual circumstances.

"The Adventure of the Cardboard Box" is one of the 56 short Sherlock Holmes stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It is the second of the 12 Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes in most British editions of the canon and second of the eight stories from His Last Bow in most American versions.

A comet speeds toward earth, a deadly, glowing orb that soon fills the sky and promises doom. But mankind is too consumed with greed and violence to care. The Earth slips past the comet by the narrowest of margins, but all succumb to the gases in its tail. When mankind wakes up, everyone is completely and profoundly different.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is a collection of 12 stories by Arthur Conan Doyle that were originally published in Strand magazine from July 1891 to June 1892. This collection includes some of Holmes' most famous cases.