(first published 1912)
Amanda McKittrick Ros (1860 – 1939)
Language: English
Amanda McKittrick Ros’s poetry and prose has earned notoriety for its highly individual syntax, creative punctuation, unique diction and particular use of alliteration. Listen to this verse – if you dare. … (summary by Newgatenovelist)
(first published 1927)
Virginia Woolf (1882 – 1941)
Language: English
The Ramsey family, with house guests, visit the Isle of Skye at least twice. The plot is not at all the point though, as this is a book about how people think and feel and relate. There’s insight into the world of childhood thought and emotion, and a variety of views of adult cares and perceptions.
I hope this doesn’t make it sound ‘difficult’, it doesn’t need to be – just let the sentences flow and make your own sense of the words. It’s perhaps as close as a novel can come to the highly individual experience of looking at a painting. … (summary by Cori Samuel)
(first published 1933)
Amanda McKittrick Ros (1860 – 1939)
Language: English
Amanda McKittrick Ros’s poems and prose are unique, and her determination to write saw her publish two novels and two volumes of verse in her lifetime. Whether you like it or loathe it, her style is inimitable. In her own words: ‘This inventive production was hatched within a mind fringed with Fumes of Formation, the Ingenious Innings of Inspiration and Thorny Tincture of Thought.’ … (Summary by Newgatenovelist)
(first published 1934)
Christopher St John Sprigg (1907 – 1937)
Language: English
The scene of this classic ‘whodunit’ story from the ‘Golden Age of detective fiction’ is a 1930’s Aero Club, filled with small open-cockpit aircraft and a host of eccentric characters. Experienced flight instructor George Furnace dies in a plane crash near the airfield, in full view of witnesses. The verdict at the inquest is ‘death by misadventure’. But an Australian bishop, who had signed up for flying lessons just before the incident, starts to question this. Could it have been murder? Or suicide? It takes some persistent work by police detectives Creighton and Bray, that takes them all over the UK and to France, to unravel the whole story.
Author Christopher St John Sprigg, also known under his pseudonym Christopher Caudwell (1907-1937) had a passion for aviation; he had previously published two beginners textbooks on the art of flying, so presumably he got his details right. Famous crime fiction novelist Dorothy L. Sayers wrote a glowing review for this novel at the time. (Summary by Anna Simon)
(first published 1925)
Rudyard Kipling (1865 – 1936)
Language: English
Helen Turrell’s life has been one of respectability and duty, and she adopts and raises her illegitimate nephew upon her scapegrace brother’s death. When the young man’s promising future is cut short by the First World War, Helen travels to his grave for a final meeting.
(Summary by Newgatenovelist)
by various authors
Language: various
This is a collection for poetry and short prose in English and German.
(first published 1928)
H. P. Lovecraft (1890-1937)
Language: English
“[The Call of Cthulhu] is a masterpiece, which I am sure will live as one of the highest achievements of literature. Mr. Lovecraft holds a unique position in the literary world; he has grasped, to all intents, the worlds outside our paltry ken.” — Robert E. Howard, creator of Conan.
The cover illustration is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike license by Danilo Neira (http://dibujando.net/dib/cthulhu-96836)
(first published 1928)
Virginia Woolf (1882 – 1941)
Language: English
A fictional biography following the adventures of Orlando: initially a gentleman, later a lady — always a poet — who romps through British history, living an unusually long and full life…. (summary by Cori)
(first published 1925)
Lucy Maud Montgomery 1874-1942
Language: English
Teenage orphan Emily Starr of New Moon has always wanted to be a great writer. But her old-fashioned aunt, who has never liked Emily’s writing, refuses to let Emily go to high school unless she stops! Shrewsbury brings new friends, new adventures, and new enemies, and the town is scandalized by some of Emily’s exploits. Perhaps the hardest trial is having to board with her Aunt Ruth. Or is it her promise to Aunt Elizabeth? But Emily’s troubles are only the beginning of her climb to success … and perhaps romance.
(Summary by Rachel)
(first published 1927)
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930)
Language: English
And so, reader, farewell to Sherlock Holmes! These are positively the last stories. There is some disagreement as to their quality, and some claim that Conan Doyle was writing more experimentally, rather than to the conventional Sherlock Holmes formula. Not all the stories are narrated by the faithful Watson, and the stories are regarded as the darkest of the Holmes canon, with some unusual villains.
Part 2 of this audio book will available as soon as it is recorded.
Please note: Section 5, The Adventure of the Three Gables, includes language which, though normal for the time it was written, is now regarded as highly unacceptable racial slurs. Anyone who finds this too offensive may wish to omit this story. Indeed, any listener who would understandably prefer to avoid my poor attempt at American accents, may prefer not to listen to a number of these stories. Conan Doyle seemed to like American villains. … (summary by Ruth Golding)