Showing results by narrator "Susan Iannucci" in All Categories

A who-done-it mystery from Anna Katharine Green written in 1917 begins immediately with a murder by Native American arrow within a museum. Who is the young girl who is murdered, and why is she alone? No one knows. Who is the woman right next to her? Ms. Green develops her story and characters, and the intrigue builds. Is the murderer a man or woman?

Passion and intrigue among the upper classes form the basis of Lady Windermere's Fan, Oscar Wilde's first successful play, which displays his trademark wit and wisdom. Beautiful and innocent Lady Windermere finds out that her husband has been keeping company with the scandalous and mysterious Mrs. Erlynne. Her discovery unleashes a host of tensions at her 21st birthday party, where London's elite have gathered to gossip.

First published in 1881, the subtitle of this book tells us that it was written “for children and those who love children”. Heidi, a 5-year-old orphan, is handed off by her young Aunt Dete to live with her grandfather in the Swiss Alps. Though her new life is foreign, Heidi soon falls in love with her grandfather, and he with her. They share a contented life of goat-herding. But when Grandfather refuses to allow Heidi to attend school in the small village below, quarrels ensue.

When Mr. Burton Crane leases a house in the country, he expects it to be fully staffed. Except—it isn’t. Mr. Crane enlists the help of his friend, Mrs. Falkener, to interview his prospective cook, butler, housemaid, and general helper. She, however, doesn’t like them—but Mr. Crane is especially drawn to the cook and overrules his friend. But was Mrs. Falkener right to be suspicious? Who are these servants, really? Soon the helper, the housemaid, and the butler are dismissed, leaving only the cook—a most improper scenario!

Freckles is the only name he has ever known. His right hand is missing at the wrist, and he is haunted by not knowing how it happened. Raised since infancy in a Chicago orphanage, he speaks with a slight Irish accent and sings with a beautiful voice. Now, exhausted after many days of walking, he applies for a job with the Grand Rapids Lumber Company, guarding timber in the Limberlost Swamp from timber thieves. His Swamp Angel declares her love for him and promises that she will find his parents and prove that Freckles comes from "a race of men that have been gentlemen for ages."

The story from which this collection takes its title describes the adventures of an imaginative boy who discovers an omnibus that enables him to travel to the past in the company of famous historical personages. When at his invitation, an incredulous adult accompanies him on a journey, the astonishing new vistas unfolding alarm the security-conscious older man, who wishes himself back in his comfortable suburban home.

Down and out John Stratton, recently robbed by two elderly gentlemen on the train to Adelaide, has one shilling left for his next meal. He is loitering near the post office when a large, sleek car pulls up with a beautiful girl and older man. The man goes into the post office, returns, and departs. There is a wallet in the street right where the man entered the car and John realizes the man dropped it. Looking down the street he can see that traffic is stopped and, if he runs, he can catch the car and return the wallet. With this one good deed, the trajectory of his life is changed.

Anna Katharine Green (1846-1935) was one of the first crime novelists and paved the way for later female writers of detective novels, like Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, and Ngaio Marsh. Among her prolific output are twelve novels featuring her main character, detective Ebenezer Gryce of the New York Metropolitan Police Force. This collection contains the third group of three novels in the series: Initials Only (1911), One of My Sons (1901), and The Mystery of the Hasty Arrow (1917).

When Jennifer and Robert Stinson buy a beautifully restored Victorian house, the last thing they expect is to share their home with a ghost, especially one with a penchant for setting fires. Unfortunately the ghostly arson only creates more tension in their already strained marriage. Jen launches her own investigation into the history of her house and discovers a surprising ally in a sympathetic fire captain. But can she unravel the mystery of the fires before they consume her home, her marriage...and her life?

When Olaf Jenson discovers a secret hidden world within the bowels of the earth, he has no idea that it will be as hard to leave as it was to find it. This subterranean, Edenic civilization is inhabited by a race of scientifically advanced giants who worship the “smoky God” in the center of the earth.

In a city of majesty and brutality, of warring races and fragile alliances, a sacred mermaid has been brutally murdered. An abomination, a soulless Arukh is summoned to hunt the killer. As the world around the Arukh drifts into war and madness, her search for justice leads her on a journey to discover redemption and even beauty in the midst of chaos.

In 1907 New Thought author James Allen published a verse anthology entitled Poems of Peace. Included in the collection is his sole dramatic work, Eolaus, which describes the journey of a troubled pilgrim from the wilderness of worldly despair to the heights of personal realization.

On the eve of the end of the world, 20 December 2012, five friends meet in Spanish Gardens, the cafe where they had celebrated their college graduation 20 years before. Over Irish coffees, they reminisce—and reveal long-held and disturbing secrets. Each friend in turn is given a curious set of instructions by an enigmatic bartender named Ariel: "Your life is filled with crossroads, and you are free to choose one road or another at any time. Stepping through this door takes away all choices except two—the choice to live a different life, or return to this one."

Deception, mystery, romance, inheritance—this novel has it all! Written by Anna Katharine Green and published in 1923, it is one of her best. Wealthy Edgar Quenton Bartholomew has a beautiful daughter, a great estate, and vast business holdings. It is his final wish that the man who marries his daughter will inherit it all. When he dies it is thought to be of natural causes until a young woman viewing the casket cries out that he appears to be poisoned ... and the investigation begins! Where is his final will? Who poisoned him?

Life and adventure in the Green Forest continue! Featuring Jimmy Skunk, Billy Possum, Peter Rabbit, Bowser the hound, and Farmer Brown's boy.

Dorothy Scarborough was an academic and author who had a particular interest in the supernatural. The following collection, first published in 1921, features stories that have a strong comical or satirical focus.

The mayor is running for governor. His wife is suddenly distant, distracted, and unhappy. And his new home is haunted. Has his wife seen a ghost? The elderly ladies next door watch day and night from their attic, peering into his windows. Watching for what? The mayor's wife has a secret that she has never confided to anyone. Rumors begin to appear in the newspapers hinting at the scandal. Will the scandal harm his campaign? What is her secret?

Romantic comedy, light and slightly awkward by Henry James with his characteristic observations of character, motivations and relationships. Two young men, best friends, deeply interested in the same woman. The background is Europe at the turn of the century and the world of ex-pats. With time and several countries, they each discover love.

Allegheny, Pennsylvania, now a part of the city of Pittsburgh, floods frequently and Mrs. Pittman has her boat tied to the stair banister, just inside the front door. It's 1904 and Jennie Brice, a stage actress, is missing from Mrs. Pittman's respectable boarding house. A blood-stained rope, bloody towel, floating slipper, a soaking wet fur coat, and a missing onyx clock are all clues. Most helpful is the installation of a periscope from Mr. Holcombe's floor through to ceiling of the room below. Where is Jennie Brice?

In the not-too-distant future, 2185 AD, anti-gerisone is the new drug that stops ageing. People are now living into their hundreds until it's time to take their own big trip up yonder, and in the case of the Ford family and Gramps, the notable patriarch, families are living and fighting together in one home for much longer. Eventually there are no prisons, slums, asylums, poverty, wars, or disease. and 200 years later the population of the US is set at 40 million people. But since no one gets any older, someone must volunteer to die if a baby is born.