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Jacket

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Published 1900 onward
Chapter: 28 | Listen: 2

A framing story is told in the first person by Darrell Standing, a university professor serving life imprisonment in San Quentin State Prison for murder. Prison officials try to break his spirit by means of a torture device called “the jacket,” a canvas jacket which can be tightly laced so as to compress the whole body, inducing angina. Standing discovers how to withstand the torture by entering a kind of trance state, in which he walks among the stars and experiences portions of past lives. The jacket itself was actually used at San Quentin at the time and Jack London’s descriptions of it were based on interviews with a former convict named Ed Morrell, which is also the name of a character in the novel. For his role in the Sontag and Evans gang which robbed the Southern Pacific Railroad in the 1890s, Morrell spent fourteen years in California prisons (1894-1908), five of them in solitary confinement. London championed his pardon. After his release, Morrell was a frequent guest at London’s Beauty Ranch. (Introduction by Wikipedia) [chương_files]

Waldbauernbübel

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Published 1800 - 1900
Chapter: 34 | Listen: 1

“Das Waldbauernbübel” ist nichts anderes, als eine Sammlung von Erlebnissen und Erfahrungen aus dem Jugendleben in der Waldheimat. Die Erzählungen sind in sehr verschiedenen Zeiten entstanden. Sie bleiben stehen wie sie gewachsen sind, doch habe ich ihre Formen und Launen noch einmal scharf unter das Gewissen genommen… (Vorwort von “Das Waldbauernbübel) [chương_files]

Boy Travellers in Mexico

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Action & Adventure, Travel Fiction
Chapter: 35 | Listen: 2

An engaging travelogue published in 1890, written conversationally among two youths and their guide and mentor. From the preface: “a book describing the land of the Aztecs, its history and resources, the manners and customs of its people, and the many curious things to be seen, and adventures passed through, in a journey from one end of that country to the other.” Subtitle: Adventures of Two youths in a Journey to Northern and Central Mexico, Campeachey, and Yucatan, with a Description of the Republics of Central America and of the Nicaragua Canal. This is from The Boy Travellers series by Thomas W. Knox. (Summary by S Caulkins) [chương_files]

Fame and Fortune Weekly No 7 Winning His Way

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Action & Adventure, Action & Adventure Fiction
Chapter: 16 | Listen: 2

The recent death of Frank Morris’ father, Owner and Editor of the Green River Argus, has left his 18 year-old son, Frank to take up the challenge of running the paper. In the months preceding his death, Frank’s father had hired a man, Mr. Jebb, to run the paper in his absence. Unfortunately Mr. Jebb had purposefully mishandled the paper to diminish its value so the local powerhead, Squire Roach, could purchase it at a bargain. Now Frank needs his wits, ingenuity, and salesmanship to help the Argus to regain its stature in the community. (Summary by Keith Salis) [chương_files]

Schloß Dürande

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Published 1800 - 1900, Romance
Chapter: 5 | Listen: 3

Frankreich am Vorabend der französischen Revolution. Der Jäger Renald beobachtet seine Schwester Gabriele bei einem Stelldichein mit dem Sohn des Grafen Dürande. Das Schlimmste ahnend schickt er sie zur Tante ins Kloster. Als der jungen Graf Hippolyt nach Paris abgereist ist, will er sie zurück holen, doch sie ist inzwischen verschwunden. Renald ist sicher, dass sie mit dem jungen Grafen durchgebrannt ist. Er geht nach Paris, um Hippolyt zur Rede zu stellen und seine Schwester zurückzuholen, doch der Graf leugnet jede Kenntnis von Gabrielens Verbleib. Als der alte Graf wenig später stirbt, kehrt Hippolyt zum Schloß Dürande zurück. Das ganze Land ist inzwischen in Aufruhr. Auch Gabriel und Renald treffen dort ein und die Ereignisse spitzen sich dramatisch zu. “Liebe, Leben, Tod, Sprache, Charakteristik, Alles ist seltsam und in seiner Seltsamkeit poetisch, …” schrieb ein zeitgenössischer Rezensent 1836 in den “Blättern für literarische Unterhaltung, Leipzig”. (Zusammenfassung von Hokuspokus) [chương_files]

Michael Kohlhaas (Version 2)

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Published 1800 - 1900
Chapter: 5 | Listen: 3

Die Novelle spielt in der Mitte des 16. Jahrhunderts und handelt vom Pferdehändler Michael Kohlhaas, der gegen ein Unrecht, das man ihm angetan hat, zur Selbstjustiz greift und dabei nach der Devise handelt: „Es soll Gerechtigkeit geschehen, und gehe auch die Welt daran zugrunde!“ (Summary by Wikipedia) [chương_files]

Misérables – tome 1

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Published 1800 - 1900
Chapter: 70 | Listen: 4

C’est un roman historique, social et philosophique dans lequel on retrouve les idéaux du romantisme et ceux de Victor Hugo concernant la nature humaine. L’auteur lui-même accorde une grande importance à ce roman et écrit en mars 1862, à son éditeur Lacroix : « Ma conviction est que ce livre sera un des principaux sommets, sinon le principal, de mon œuvre ». Le tome I de l’œuvre qui en compte cinq est consacré à Fantine. (Source : Wikipedia) [chương_files]

Peggy Raymond’s School Days (or Old Girls And New)

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Published 1900 onward
Chapter: 20 | Listen: 1

Published in 1916, this third installment with The Friendly Terrace girls places them in The Girl’s High School, with an array of new characters, and a few peripherally known from the first book. A heavier edge of drama comes through via a new student with a superiority complex, another student whose diligent scholastic achievements mar her socially, and an odd tradition of affectionate favouritism between Freshman and Seniors which proves to be awkward and disruptive to more than just the students. Peggy, Amy, Priscilla and Ruth are again faced with new challenges, and complicated scenarios to help resolve. (Summary by Daryl Wor) [chương_files]

Europe and Elsewhere

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Essays & Short Works, Humor, Humorous Fiction, Modern (19th C), Modern (20th C), Short non-fiction, Single Author Collections, Writing & Linguistics
Chapter: 38 | Listen: 3

This collection of articles came from Mark Twain’s travels and experiences abroad. While many had been previously published, there also were many that had never before seen the light of day…which one reviewer said had never been Twain’s intent for them, having consigned them to obscurity. With introductory essays by Brander Matthews and Albert Bigelow Paine, the book paints a clear picture of the complexity and wide variety of Samuel L. Clemens’ thinking, where it originated and how it developed. [chương_files]

Nez d’un notaire

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Published 1800 - 1900
Chapter: 6 | Listen: 4

Un brillant notaire parisien, Alfred L’Ambert, épris d’une danseuse de ballet de quatorze ans est provoqué en duel par son rival turc après une altercation. Ayant perdu son nez au cours du duel, le notaire se tourne alors vers un chirurgien pour une greffe de peau. Le donneur est un auvergnat simple du nom de « Chébachtien Romagné ». Le notaire doit passer trente jours le visage collé contre le bras de l’auvergnat. Mais, une fois ce délai écoulé, il n’en est pas au bout de ses peines… A successful Parisian notary, Alfred L’Ambert, is smitten with a fourteen years old ballet dancer. After a quarrel, his Turkish rival challenges him to a duel during which the notary gets his nose cut off. Thereupon, a surgeon is called for a grafting. The donor is a simple man from the Auvergne with whom the notary is forced to spend thirty days, his nose being literally glued to the arm of the man. But even after this term, his bad fortune doesn’t come to an end… (Summary by Didier) [chương_files]