Showing results by narrator "Laurel Lefkow" in All Categories

Does Max Nilsson live here?" These words from a woman I had never seen before changed my family's lives entirely. This is a true story about a man who lived a double life: "A new day, a new life" was his motto. The man I fell in love with and who became my fiancé was a fraud. Being found out by chance brought out his madness. He started a campaign of persistent harassment, and I couldn't get him out of my life. The more I delved into his life, the more appalling things I discovered. He screamed at me, telling me I could have anything I wanted if I stopped.

The ballad is one of the oldest poetic forms in English and are simply poems or songs that tell a story. Maybe it’s because of childhood associations or that we all enjoy a cracking good story told in rhyme but as this volume demonstrates, the ballad has endless appeal. We include favourites such as Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Edna St. Vincent Millay’s The Ballad of the Harp Weaver, Edgar Allan Poe’s Annabel Lee as well as classics such as Sir Patrick Spens, the Ballad of Reading Gaol by Wilde and La Belle Dame Sans Merci by Keats.

In this collection of short stories some of our most popular and well-known authors are grouped together with an unfortunate tag: dead at 44. These authors are not run-of-the-mill or ten a penny; they are literary leviathans who left enduring works of literature and sadly may have left us many more had they lived. We will never know.

Zona Gale was born on 26th August 1874, in Portage, Wisconsin. Her first novel ‘Romance Island’ was published in 1906 and she also began the popular ‘Friendship Village’ series of stories. In 1920 came ‘Miss Lulu Bett’, which depicts life in the Midwest. Adapted into a play it won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1921. It was a stellar achievement.

Louisa May Alcott was born on 29th November 1832 in Germantown, Pennsylvania. Well-loved for her classic ‘Little Women’, she was a superb writer in difficult times for any woman, a strong advocate of women’s issues, the anti-slavery movement, temperance and social reform. Her work often reflects on the rich experiences in her life and these poignant short stories are a fine testament to this. One of Alcott’s most startling stories is the ‘The Brothers’, a tale of two brothers during the Civil War and the after-effects.

Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce was born on 24th June 1842 at Horse Cave Creek in Meigs County, Ohio. His parents were poor but they introduced him to literature at an early age, instilling in him a deep appreciation of books, the written word and the elegance of language. In 1891 Bierce wrote and published the collection of 26 short stories which included ‘An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge’. Success and further works including poetry followed.

Alice Christiana Gertrude Thompson was born on 22nd September 1847 in Barnes, London. In 1876 she married Wilfred Meynell, the newspaper publisher and editor, and together they set up and published a number of magazines as well as publishing the initial works of several poets including Francis Thompson. As the new century dawned, she along with many other artists began to question the colonial needs of Empire with its segregation and oppression. In particular she sought and gained a role in the Women’s Suffrage movement as it attempted to obtain greater equality for women.

Jamie MacAfee's life is almost perfect. She's sure she loves her fiancée, even if she hasn't quite worked out why she won't set a wedding date, and she certainly adores her job, working as an architect on her family's home renovation show. Meanwhile, her beloved mother, Caroline, has built up her confidence after a painful divorce, working closely alongside her daughter as the very successful host of Gut It! Everything is going to plan until the lives of both women are changed overnight.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman was born on the 3rd July 1860 in Hartford, Connecticut, to an unaffectionate mother and a father who abandoned her and her older brother to a life of poverty. In this volume we bring her extensive poetry writings to the fore. Her talents in the poetic arena are indisputable, bringing a brave and focused eye to a world of her words that is too often neglected.

Sherwood Anderson was born on 13th September 1876 in Camden, Ohio. That same year his first book ‘Windy McPherson’s Son’ was released and in 1919, his most famous book, ‘Winesburg, Ohio’, a collection of short stories about life in an Ohio town was released. Anderson continued to write short stories, novels and non-fiction but his only true bestseller came with ‘Dark Laughter’. His influence on writers that followed, from Faulkner to Hemingway, was immense. He also married a further two times.

Sherwood Anderson was born on 13th September 1876 in Camden, Ohio. That same year his first book ‘Windy McPherson’s Son’ was released and in 1919, his most famous book, ‘Winesburg, Ohio’, a collection of short stories about life in an Ohio town was released. Anderson continued to write short stories, novels and non-fiction but his only true bestseller came with ‘Dark Laughter’. His influence on writers that followed, from Faulkner to Hemingway, was immense. He also married a further two times.

Louisa May Alcott was born on 29th November 1832 in Germantown, Pennsylvania. She is most definitely a writer of her own experiences. Her father was a transcendentalist, philosopher and educational experimenter who founded, Fruitlands, a utopian community. Well-loved for her classic ‘Little Women’ she was a superb writer in difficult times for any woman, a strong advocate of women’s issues, the anti-slavery movement, temperance and social reform.

Anna Katharine Green was born in Brooklyn, New York on November 11th, 1846. Anna’s initial ambition was to be a poet. However that path failed to ignite any significant interest and she turned to fiction writing. She published her first―and most famous work in 1878―‘The Leavenworth Case’. Wilkie Collins praised it and it sold extremely well. Anna Katharine Green died on April 11, 1935 in Buffalo, New York, at the age of 88.

William Sydney Porter was born on 11th September 1862 in Greensboro, North Carolina. At age 3 his mother died from tuberculosis. From an early age it was clear Porter had a large appetite for reading as he absorbed the world around him. He was a member of several singing and dramatic groups when he met 17 year old Athol Estes, daughter of a wealthy Austin family. Despite her mother’s objection owing to Athol’s tuberculosis, they began courting and in July 1887, they eloped and soon married.

As the 1900’s begin women are in a difficult situation. Whatever the pretence of society the reality for almost all women is that they are second class and the property of men. Whilst women have created enduring works of literature and poetry for centuries, much has remained hidden and voiceless. But technology and the mass distribution of printed materials has allowed new ideas and thoughts to circulate, to demand a voice. In this volume their talents and voices speak with determination, wisdom, courage and love on many subjects through their extraordinary verse.

William Sydney Porter was born on 11th September 1862 in Greensboro, North Carolina. At age 3 his mother died from tuberculosis. From an early age it was clear Porter had a large appetite for reading as he absorbed the world around him. He was a member of several singing and dramatic groups when he met 17 year old Athol Estes, daughter of a wealthy Austin family. Despite her mother’s objection owing to Athol’s tuberculosis, they began courting and in July 1887, they eloped and soon married.

William Sydney Porter was born on 11th September 1862 in Greensboro, North Carolina. At age 3 his mother died from tuberculosis. From an early age it was clear Porter had a large appetite for reading as he absorbed the world around him. He was a member of several singing and dramatic groups when he met 17 year old Athol Estes, daughter of a wealthy Austin family. Despite her mother’s objection owing to Athol’s tuberculosis, they began courting and in July 1887, they eloped and soon married.

William Sydney Porter was born on 11th September 1862 in Greensboro, North Carolina. At age 3 his mother died from tuberculosis. From an early age it was clear Porter had a large appetite for reading as he absorbed the world around him. He was a member of several singing and dramatic groups when he met 17 year old Athol Estes, daughter of a wealthy Austin family. Despite her mother’s objection owing to Athol’s tuberculosis, they began courting and in July 1887, they eloped and soon married.

William Sydney Porter was born on 11th September 1862 in Greensboro, North Carolina. At age 3 his mother died from tuberculosis. From an early age it was clear Porter had a large appetite for reading as he absorbed the world around him. He was a member of several singing and dramatic groups when he met 17 year old Athol Estes, daughter of a wealthy Austin family. Despite her mother’s objection owing to Athol’s tuberculosis, they began courting and in July 1887, they eloped and soon married.

Louisa May Alcott was born on 29th November 1832 in Germantown, Pennsylvania. She is most definitely a writer of her own experiences. Her father was a transcendentalist, philosopher and educational experimenter who founded, Fruitlands, a utopian community. Well-loved for her classic ‘Little Women’ she was a superb writer in difficult times for any woman, a strong advocate of women’s issues, the anti-slavery movement, temperance and social reform.