Showing results by narrator "Cate Barratt" in All Categories

First serialized in the French magazine Je sais tout, The Hollow Needle was released in 1909. It featured the writer’s famed gentleman burglar, Arsene Lupin, who encountered the surprisingly apt amateur-detective qualities of young Isidore Beautrelet. As fans of Lupin would come to expect over subsequent novels, the burglar nonetheless always remained at least one step ahead of his adversaries, until...

Guy de Maupassant is widely regarded as the father of the modern short story. As his 13 volumes of short stories attest, he was a prolific writer of this form. He had a simple, efficient style of writing and, like Anton Chekhov, found inspiration for his stories in the day-to-day lives of characters, in which their hidden natures are often revealed. Many of his works also centerd on the Franco-Prussian War, in which he served.

One of Canada's most cherished writers, British-born Stephen Leacock was probably best known and loved for his works of light humor. First published in 1912, Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town is one of his most popular and enduring pieces of fiction. This collection of short stories describes the people that comprise a typical but fictional small town in Ontario - Mariposa. The book's appeal lies in the universality of the characters Leacock describes so eloquently, they live out their 'large' lives in the little town.

Mathematician and philosopher Bertrand Russell was prompted to write and publish Why Men Fight (in 1917) as he and the world were experiencing the Great War. Russell shares his thoughts on how to end war - not just between states, but also between classes and individuals.

Faith Bennison suffered a tragedy that changed her life in unimaginable ways. In an attempt to salvage her sanity, she leaves her home in the Midwest and travels to the small Oregon town of Somewhere. As she settles into the day-to-day life at Hope Bed & Breakfast, she makes friends and even meets a man who jump-starts her battered heart. Strange happenings, however, have her questioning her sanity as she tries to make sense of an unfathomable encounter.

Ivan Alekseyevich Bunin (1870-1953) was the first Russian author to receive the Nobel Prize for literature. The theme of the title story, which describes the death of a wealthy American in the island of Capri, has distinct links with the more famous treatment of this subject - "Death in Venice", by Thomas Mann. Bunin wrote: "The idea of a story [called initially] 'Death on Capri' came to me and in four days I finished the piece.

Raffles had vanished from the face of the town, and even I had no conception of his whereabouts until he cabled to me to meet the 7.31 at Charing Cross next night. That was on the Tuesday before the Varsity match, or a full fortnight after his mysterious disappearance. The telegram was from Carlsbad, of all places for Raffles of all men!

After teaching as Professor of Philosophy at the University of Beijing for the year 1920, Bertrand Russell penned The Problem of China, in which he describes China's past and present, opening on the country's possible future. Written 100 years ago, the work is demonstrative of the philosopher's insight and analysis of both the West and the East. His cautionary advice and predictions of the potential future of China are uncanny in their accuracy.

Russell once said, "Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric." His views on religion in general, and on Christianity in particular (as in this work), were considered "eccentric" by many of his contemporaries. So were his views on sex, which figures frequently as an example of the misery that Christian leaders and thinkers inflict, and for which he was often vilified. The lectures in this collection leave no doubt about his views on these and related subjects.

In The Phoenix and the Carpet, five adventurous children are given a carpet that, unknown by their parents, contains a magic egg that hatches into a phoenix. A series of escapades ensues, some amusing, others dangerous and but all of which are entertaining.

Is there somewhere to hide from the past? Dutch Mulvaney, a hero who will spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair, now carves sea creatures from driftwood and signs them as "Beach Bum." His relocation from the East Coast to the small coastal town of Somewhere in Oregon was a desperate attempt to salvage his sanity and dignity. Now, after a year of solitude, he finally feels ready to venture back into society. Taylor Jones enjoys her job as a waitress at Mama Pink's Diner, the most popular eatery in Somewhere. Daily, she thanks the universe for Edna Pink, the owner. Without Edna's help she could very well be six feet under, with her two precious sons being raised by a crime lord. When a disabled man enters the diner she gets a premonition that her life is about to change. Should she remain in the town she loves, or run yet again?

When the bus Sunny Fairbanks is traveling on stops for a layover in the small seaside town of Somewhere, she decides to walk on the beach at sunrise - and falls in love with the area. Her decision to remain in Somewhere for a few days is solidified when she steps on a shard of glass. A young man jogging along the shoreline comes to her aid, and she is forced to do something she hates - accept help. Welcome to Somewhere, Oregon.

Much Ado About Nothing appears to have been written about 1599, shortly before As You Like It and Twelfth Night. The action combines two narrative threads: the spirited comedy of the courtship of Benedick and Beatrice, and the somber tale of confused love between Hero and Claudio. The first is a creation by Shakespeare and the second appears to have been drawn from an Italian source, either by Bandello or Ariosto. The action takes place in Messina. Eponymous lovers Hero and Claudio seem to be ideally matched and nearly everyone is looking forward to their impending marriage.

This is final installment in Edith Nesbit's classic trilogy of time-traveling adventures by four enterprising children.

A Baker’s Dozen - A collection of 13 classic Christmas stories.

Volume I introduces the French history enthusiast to the author's beginnings, the king's unrelenting desire to establish his illegitimate children, his meddling in the lives of his court, and his successes and reverses on the battlefield.

Sense and Sensibility is Jane Austen’s first published novel. It tells the much-loved story of the two, very different, Dashwood sisters. Elinor suppresses her own emotions out of a keen sense of responsibility to her family and friends, while Marianne is highly expressive and romantic. When their father dies, British law leaves everything to their half-brother and his tight-fisted wife, and Elinor and Marianne, along with their mother and younger sister, have to move to a cottage on a relative’s estate where they experience the full spectrum of romance and betrayal.

Sandy Gutierrez wonders if she's in the midst of a lucid dream or perhaps a nightmare. As owner of the popular boutique Bathing Suits Galore in Somewhere, Oregon, she unexpectedly finds her orderly life shifted unimaginably when a handsome tourist enters her shop.

As the generating force of its plot, Twelfth Night uses a device which has since become a staple in comedy: gender confusion. Viola and her twin brother Sebastian, are shipwrecked on the coast of Illyria, a country ruled by the melancholy Duke Orsino. The twins are separated and Viola is led to believe that her brother has perished. She disguises herself as a male under the name of Cesario and makes her way to the ducal court, where Orsino employs her as a messenger, to communicate his love to the reclusive lady, Olivia—who is not willing to return his affection.

"The Eight Strokes of the Clock" is a collection of short stories centred on Arsène Lupin, former gentleman thief extraordinaire. In this series, Lupin has abandoned his life of crime in favour of that of crime solver. In Paris, six women have vanished, only to be found a week later, emaciated and disfigured, their skulls split open. What little evidence the police have suggests that the murderer is a woman and that she is preparing to strike again. When Prince Rénine’s lover disappears on a cold night in October, he fears that she is about to become the latest victim.