Showing results by narrator "Mark Rice Oxley" in All Categories

Short stories have always been a sort of instant access into an author’s brain, their soul and heart. They can lift our lives into locations, people and experiences with a sweep of landscape, narration, feelings and emotions that is difficult to achieve elsewhere. In the vast Empire of the Russians literature was a way to exchange ideas, values and cultures. Yet each author, each story, each character is an individual example of a journey that, story by story, has transformed the glimmering arc of its literature.

When Peter Attwood discovers a most unlikely find on an archaeological dig in Egypt, he knows the Antique Shop is up to something, and this time, he feels a deep dread. Yes, he has been searching for the tomb of Cleopatra, and yes, he would love to be the one to find it, but is the Antique Shop really going to send him back to see the queen, the last Pharaoh of Egypt? Could the shop be that helpful? Experience told him it was unlikely. When he gets home to London, he finds that, as usual, the shop will not let him rest until he knows what it has in mind.

With Peter and Jason away in Egypt in search of the the lost tomb of Cleopatra, Rachel is left to help Martha to settle into the 21st century. But the Antique Shop has other ideas and tempts them to go back to the 16th century. They believe they are going to rescue Lord Mountford, a man who lost his head during the reign of King Henry VIII for helping the monks during the dissolution of the monasteries. In fact, the shop sends them back too late for that and they meet Lord Mountford's stepson, Marcus, who they learn is from the future.

This audio study guide for Beowulf, translated by Seamus Heaney, includes detailed summary and analysis of each chapter and an in-depth exploration of the book’s multiple symbols, motifs, and themes, such as heroism and leadership and mortality and Christianity. Featured content also includes commentary on major characters, 25 important quotes, essay questions, and discussion topics.

An essay by Edward Lucie-Smith considers the Andy Warhol exhibition re-opening at Tate Modern on July 27. He puts forward a provocative view of the relevance of the art in an time of turbulent disruption. When the Warhol show returns to Tate Modern on July 27, almost the first thing you’ll meet if you go to see it will be a large painting, on two paired canvases, entitled Marilyn Diptych. It features repeated images the film star Marilyn Monroe.

In a set of essays entitled "Doubles" author, critic, curator, and traveller, Marina Vaizey explores pairings of artists drawn from the canonical cycle of Western art. She considers themes of engagement such as the portrait or figure, treated as stories of wider implication for society, that draw on the artist’s perception of the seen, combined with personal visions of dreams and imagination.

William Hope Hodgson was born in Essex, England, on November 15th, 1877. Over his short career he produced a large body of work which explored and covered many genres. From horror, to science fiction, to stories on the sea, where he had spent much of his early life. One of his most memorable creations was his Carnacki, Supernatural Detective creation. This fused together his passion for sleuthing and interest in the Occult. It was a memorable success.

Stefan Zweig was born on the 28th November 1881 in Vienna, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and into a wealthy Jewish family with interests in banking and textiles. Zweig first published in 1900 and two decades later was a popular and highly regarded author in many parts of the world, although not in England. He was also the librettist with Richard Strauss of two operas and a keen collector of autographed musical manuscripts. His collection of over two hundred pieces was later donated to the British Library.

William James Wintle was born in 1861. His talents extended to journalism and writing. He wrote and worked for various magazines and was later the director of a publishing house. He was deeply interested in nature and was a member of many societies as well as a celebrated collector of shells.

John Ferguson was born on the 18th August 1881 in Stirling in Scotland. His literary canon is exceedingly small, this being the only volume of his poems ever published. What is known is that he suffered from ill-health and these poems were written whilst in a sanitorium. The book itself was very successful after its publication in 1912, with at least 14 editions published during his lifetime. John Ferguson died on the 8th March 1928 and is buried in the cemetery at Stirling Castle. He was 46.

In 1890 W. B. Yeats and Ernest Rhys founded a poetry club. Based mainly at Fleet Street’s immortal ‘Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese’ pub, with occasional appearances at the Domino room in the Café Royal, poets gathered together to dine and drink. Whilst it was based on a core of poets, many others attended on an ad hoc basis including Oscar Wilde, Francis Thompson & Lord Alfred Douglas. The camaraderie, banter and poetry that played out in their dreams, ambitions and for many, their difficult lives led Yeats to call them ‘the tragic generation’.

Witness the birth and twilight of an age where the clatter of the blacksmith's hammer, the clash of sword against shield, and the solemn vows sworn in the chapel echoed through stone halls. This book is not just a tale of castles and knights; it's a vivid recounting of a society pivoting on the axis of war and chivalry. Stone and Sword is more than just a conventional narrative of historical accounts.

Edward George Earle Bulwer-Lytton was born on the 25th May 1803 the youngest of three sons. In 1828 his novel, ‘Pelham’, brought him an income, together with commercial and critical success. He followed these with a string of applauded works across several genres: historical fiction, mystery, romance, the occult, science fiction and poetry.

The Russian novel has a reputation that is immense, both in narrative and in length. Unquestionably though the ideas, themes and characters make many novels rightly revered as world class, as icons of literature. The Russian short story is, in many respects, in a genre of its own. It is at its captivating best whether it’s an exploration of real-life experiences, through fantasy and fables and on to total absurdity.

Simon Newcomb was born in 1835. He was a Canadian-American astronomer, applied mathematician and autodidactic polymath. He was fluent in several languages, and also published several popular science books, a science fiction novel and short stories.

Tarantulas, snakes, and lizards are no problem whatsoever for 12-year-old animal expert, Archie Jones! But when an unexpected turn of events lead to his annoying sister demanding they take home an innocent golden-plumed parakeet from a creepy animal sanctuary (and its creepy owner), Archie discovers rather quickly that this is not a cute and cuddly bird. Can Archie and his best-leopard-gecko-lizard-friend, Lizzie, return the evil monster bird before it destroys his life? Can the siblings put their rivalry aside and find their way to the sanctuary through the dark forest?

Izzy Miller has grown out of "family game night". As a mature and sporty 12-year-old, playing boring board games with her family is not her idea of a good time. But when her brainiac twin Noah discovers an ancient board game and casts the dice, he unknowingly sets off a chain of events that freezes time and leaves the twins with a frightening choice - play or never see your family again.

A collection of short stories featuring characters from the world of The Broken Gods trilogy by fantasy author Aaron S. Jones. Blood feuds in the Borderlands. Murder mysteries in the United Cities. A heist gone wrong in the East. Meet some of the weird and wonderful characters of the world of Takaara and they fight, love, and survive in A Long Way from Home.

Eleven years ago, the UK government burnt its quarantined cities and vanished in the flames. They left behind broken lives and a broken country. The Gamekeeper wanders the ruins of Britain, picking a living from the carcass of the old world. He's a nomad, utilizing his skills as a trapper and hunter to trade for whatever he can't get himself. He is all the company he has in this brutal world, and it is all he has ever needed. Or so he thought.

Tony Peso’s world is turned upside down the first time he is plugged into a cryonically frozen head, to experience their last 10 seconds of life. If this was properly marketed, it could be massive.... Ignoring the moral implications and ably assisted by Cryo-Biochemist Davis, Brit-abroad Tony makes millions selling this mind-blowing one-off hit to Billionaires. Way out of his depth from layers of deceit, he soon finds himself an international fugitive, on the run from the FBI for a murder he didn’t commit. A bagful of cash, but unable to distinguish friend from foe.