Mostrando resultados por narrador "Simon Hester" en Todas las categorías

An author who kills off his hero in so dramatic a fashion relatively early in that hero’s literary career (and then of course returns him to life in an equally dramatic manner) has, perhaps, little else to offer us in the final stories of his famous character. Yet in this final series of short stories Conan Doyle does not cease from developing his famous detective, giving us a fascinating selection of tales.

John Bunyan's classic allegory of the Christian journey of pilgrimage has never lost its power to teach the important truths of faith. A Pilgrim's Progress speaks to us as plainly as it has to generations before about the simple yet profound truths of the Christian faith. Narrated by Simon Hester with original music.

In The Green Fairy Book, Andrew Lang continues his celebrated work of gathering fairy tales from many nations into one collection, preserving stories that have delighted generations and offering them anew to young listeners—and to all who value the enduring charm of folklore. This volume, the third in Lang’s famous “Coloured” Fairy Book series, draws its tales from an especially wide array of sources: French, German, Russian, Italian, Scottish, and even oral traditions from tribal cultures such as the Zulus of South Africa.

"White Nights" is one of Dostoyevsky's shorter works told from the standpoint of an ultimate introvert, brought briefly out of his shell by love. It might have been written 170 years ago, but certain aspects of it are very relatable to the modern listener, especially to those of us who gravitate toward solitude and introversion.

The enigmatic and diminutive priest continues to fathom the deepest of mysteries in a set of 11 fascinating stories which are set in such diverse locations as a Mexican Hotel, an English Seaside Pier, and an Oxford University Garden. Chesterton presents his humble and blinking detective as an almost childlike contrast to the bizarre and dark machinations of the fallen world.

1565. Malta stands on the precipice of one of the bloodiest battles in history. An elite Ottoman army, 50,000 strong, prepares to depart Istanbul, the seat of the Empire. Deeply conflicted, Demir must sail alongside the host determined to conquer his mother’s homeland and crush the Order of St John once and for all. Testing his loyalty is the knowledge that Angelica, the half-sister he has never met, dwells on the tiny island.

The violent clash between the Ottoman Empire and the Knights of St John on the island fortress of Malta serves as the backdrop to Eight-Pointed Cross. Young siblings Domenicus and Katrina Montesa live under constant threat of raids by the Ottoman Turks, the staunchest enemies of the Christian knights. All the while, hundreds of leagues away in Istanbul, Demir's dream of becoming an imperial horseman in the Sultan's cavalry is his only salvation against relentless torment by his cruel brother.

Wild rabies runs rampant through the woods. The foxes are gaining ground, boldly making their way into the village. In Dichtersruhe, an insular yet charming haven stifled by the Swiss mountains, these omens go unnoticed by all but the new parish priest. The residents have other things on their mind: literature. Everyone’s a writer - the nights are alive with reworked manuscripts. So when the devil turns up in a black car claiming to be a hot-shot publisher, unsatisfied authorial desires are unleashed and the village’s former harmony is shattered.

The ghosts of war leave no footprints. When legendary Ottoman seaman Dragut Rais attacked the Maltese islands in 1551, his army left Gozo a smoking ruin emptied of its entire population. Among the 5,000 carried into slavery is Augustine Montesa, father of Domenicus and Katrina. Wounded and broken, Domenicus vows to find his father, even if it means abandoning Angelica, his betrothed.

The Russia of the mid 19th century was a period in which the society was awash with a myriad of philosophical ideas as it became increasingly influenced by the West. The writer instinctively reacts against Utopian ideals and sees in himself the proof that such a philosophy is doomed.

Far from its popular image, the story of Frankenstein as told by Mary Shelley is not a tale that finds horror in a hideous "monster", or a "crazed" scientist. The darkness in the narrative is found in the profound loneliness of both Creator and Created, as they seek one another in a tragic cycle of unfulfilled longing and revenge.

This powerful novel, first published in 1818, still surprises and shocks us with the fundamental questions about the moral boundaries of human discovery, and helps us to question what it means to be human.

In the swirling mists of post-World War I England, a character emerged from the pen of "Sapper", (H.C.McNeile) whose adventures would captivate readers and endure through the ages. Bulldog Drummond, the invincible hero, burst onto the literary scene with a resounding force that echoed the sentiments of a society grappling with the aftermath of conflict and the winds of change.

The shadow of Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes would inevitably fall across much of the crime fiction that followed that most famous of detectives. However, in 1910, G.K Chesterton's unassuming, devout, and unprepossessing Father Brown made his first appearance and proved no less of a fascinating figure who would stands firmly on his own two ecclesiastical feet. Head Stories presents the first in a series of the complete Father Brown, read by Simon Hester with original music.

Today we take for granted the exploration of the fascinating submarine depths of the oceans, so ubiquitous are its many representations on our screens. It is therefore surprising to realise that in his thrilling 1869 novel Jules Verne was anticipating much which was then not even imagined by science. The enigmatic Captain Nemo takes his awe-inspiring Nautilus around the Oceans of the world exploring the deep with its wonders and horrors.

Once again Alice enters into an imaginary world full of nonsense, color and paradox. This time she enters through a mirror and, as one might expect, everything becomes back to front. She is on a quest to become a Queen in a fantastical game of chess meeting both help and hindrance in a cast of unforgettable characters such as Humpty Dumpty and the White Knight.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (commonly shortened to Alice in Wonderland) is an 1865 novel written by English author Charles Lutwidge Dodgson under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll. It tells of a young girl named Alice falling through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world populated by peculiar, anthropomorphic creatures. The tale plays with logic, giving the story lasting popularity with adults as well as with children.

First published in 1912, The Unbearable Bassington stands as Saki’s most substantial venture into longer fiction, and perhaps his most poignant. Known primarily for his razor-edged short stories—where wit, mischief, and a certain cool cruelty dance in quick succession—Saki (H. H. Munro) brings those same gifts to this novel, but with a deeper, darker resonance.

Edward Prendick finds himself floating perilously in the ocean after having been shipwrecked. He is picked up and saved by the curious Dr. Montgomery, a medical man travelling with a cargo of various wild animals. Prendick soon finds himself once again adrift at sea after an argument with a hostile and drunken captain.

June 1813. As the Peninsular War edges toward its climactic battle at Vitoria, a well-bred, newly commissioned, and hopelessly incompetent officer arrives to take charge of a seasoned troop of British cavalry. The troop's eloquent but shifty corporal takes the officer under his wing, and thus begins a journey through the campaign with many laugh-out-loud moments as the less-than-upright members of the troop determine to turn the war against the French to their pecuniary advantage.

Once again, Alice enters into an imaginary world full of nonsense, color, and paradox. This time, she enters through a mirror and, as one might expect, everything becomes back to front. She is on a quest to become a queen in a fantastical game of chess meeting both help and hindrance in a cast of unforgettable characters such as Humpty Dumpty and the White Knight.