Showing results by narrator "George Doyle" in All Categories

"The Island of Doctor Moreau" (1896) is a classic of early science fiction and remains one of Wells' best-known books, and has been adapted to film and other media on many occasions. The novel is the narration of Edward Prendick, a shipwrecked man rescued by a passing boat, and left on the island home of Doctor Moreau, who creates human-like hybrid beings from animals via vivisection.

"The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" is one of the most famous novella of Stevenson. The story is about a London lawyer named Gabriel John Utterson, who investigates strange occurrences between his old friend, Dr. Henry Jekyll and the evil Edward Hyde. The work is commonly associated with the rare mental condition often called "split personality", where, within the same body, there exists more than one distinct personality.

"Heart of Darkness" (1899) is a classic of world literature by Joseph Conrad. He acknowledged that "Heart of Darkness" was in part based on his own experiences during his travels in Africa. In 1890, at the age of 32, he was appointed to serve as the captain of a steamer on the Congo River by a Belgian trading company. The book tells a story about a voyage up the Congo River into the Congo Free State, in the heart of Africa.

The fictional town of Mudfog was based on Chatham in Kent, where Dickens spent part of his youth. When "Oliver Twist" first appeared in Bentley's Miscellany in February 1837, Mudfog was described by Dickens as the town where Oliver was born and spent his early years, making "Oliver Twist" a continuation of "The Mudfog Papers". This allusion was removed when the novel was published as a book, under the title "The Mudfog Papers and Other Sketches" (1837).

"Ethan Frome" is a novel by Edith Wharton, set in the fictional New England town of Starkfield. There a visiting engineer tells the story of his encounter with Ethan Frome, a man with a history of thwarted dreams and desires. The accumulated longing of Frome ends in an ironic turn of events. His initial impressions are based on his observations of Frome going about his mundane tasks in Starkfield, and something about him catches the eye and curiosity of the visitor, but no one in the town seems interested in revealing many details about the man or his history -or perhaps they are not able to.

The Lost World (1912) is a novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Edward Malone, a reporter for the Daily Gazette, asks his news editor, McArdle, for a dangerous and adventurous mission in order to impress the woman he loves, Gladys Hungerton. He is sent to interview the cantankerous Professor Challenger, who has become notorious for claims made about his recent expedition to South America. The professor has been plagued by intrusive reporters, and, being a formidable man of great strength, has taken to forcibly ejecting them, despite the resulting police prosecutions.

"The Cloak" (1842) is a short story by Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol. The story narrates the life of titular councilor Akaky Akakievich, an impoverished government clerk and copyist in the Russian capital of St. Petersburg. Akaky is dedicated to his job, though little recognized in his department for his hard work. Instead, the younger clerks tease him and attempt to distract him whenever they can. His threadbare overcoat is often the butt of their jokes.

"The Picture of Dorian Gray" (1890) is a novel by Oscar Wilde. Dorian Gray is the subject of a painting by artist Basil Hallward. Dorian is selected for his remarkable physical beauty, and Basil becomes strongly infatuated with Dorian, believing that his beauty is responsible for a new mode of art. "The Picture of Dorian Gray" is considered one of the last works of classic gothic horror fiction with a strong Faustian theme.

Dr. James Mortimer asks Holmes to investigate the death of his friend, Sir Charles Baskerville. Sir Charles died at his Devonshire estate, Baskerville Hall, and Mortimer now fears for Sir Charles's nephew and sole heir, Sir Henry Baskerville. The death was attributed to a heart attack, but Mortimer is suspicious, because Sir Charles died with an expression of horror on his face, and Mortimer noticed "the footprints of a gigantic hound" nearby.

"Master Flea: A Fairy-Tale in Seven Adventures of Two Friends" is a humorous fairytale fantasy novel by E. T. A. Hoffmann first published in 1822. Set in the city of Frankfurt am Main, the novel follows the story of Peregrinus Tyss, who becomes entangled in the conflict between supernatural characters in bourgeois form over Dörtje Elverdink, in reality princess Gamaheh of Famagusta.

"A Study in Scarlet" (1887) marks the first appearance of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, who would become two of the most famous characters in popular fiction. The book's title derives from a speech given by Holmes, an amateur detective, to his friend and chronicler Watson on the nature of his work, in which he describes the story's murder investigation as his "study in scarlet": "There's the scarlet thread of murder running through the colorless skein of life, and our duty is to unravel it, and isolate it, and expose every inch of it."