Showing results by narrator "Ralph Cosham" in All Categories

In this second Sherlock Holmes novel, the indomitable sleuth is visited by a woman in distress. Each year on the anniversary of her father’s mysterious disappearance ten years ago, Miss Mary Morstan has been receiving pearls, she knows not why or from whom. This time, her anonymous benefactor wants to meet. In the letter, he promised to reveal the mystery and to “right the wrongs” against her. “If you distrust me,” he wrote, “bring two friends.” She brought Holmes and Watson.

This immortal horror story, which has implications for modern science and genetic engineering, has captured the imagination of countless generations.

With amazing insight, Anton Chekhov wrote of the lives of the Russian common man as well as the landowner. He established the style of the modern short story and influenced many great writers, including George Bernard Shaw, James Joyce, Ernest Hemingway, Katherine Mansfield, and Virginia Woolf.

The Time Machine, perhaps Wells' best known work, tells the story of the first time traveler. In the distant future, the human race has evolved into two beings: the gentle Eloi and their dreaded cousins, the Morlocks, masters of the underworld. Ralph Cosham's performance is possibly the best narration ever of this science-fiction classic.

Race across the world and explore the depths of the caverns below in this pair of adventure stories: Around the World in 80 Days and Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne.

James Joyce, 1882-1941, is one of the world's greatest writers. Dubliners, his first and most accessible fiction, was started in in 1904 and completed in 1905. Because it was considered explicit and critical of the Church, it was censored in Ireland. Two publishers broke contracts rather than publish it. When, in 1912, Joyce returned to Dublin to buy back his work, a printer destroyed the sheets and broke up the type. It was not published until 1914.

A U.S. marshal and her prisoner are gunned down outside London's Heathrow Airport just as the prisoner is to testify against the head of a violent animal-rights group. Leeds Detective Sergeant Keen Dunliffe doesn't seem like the right man for the case, except that he has the undercover experience and knowledge of Yorkshire, the terrorists' backyard. He's ordered to head up a sting operation with Rachel Colver, an inexperienced police constable.

Here are two classic thrillers by a master of suspense. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde explores the split nature of man. Dr. Jekyll, a respectable man, transforms into an alter ego named Mr. Hyde who carries out all the wickedness Dr. Jekyll represses. In the body of Mr. Hyde, Jekyll finds freedom from the bonds of social convention but soon finds himself lured deeper into violence, and ultimately murder. The second tale, Markheim, tells of a robber named Markheim who murders a shopkeeper on Christmas day.

Although he is best known for his speculative novels, H.G. Wells also wrote engaging works of short fiction, most dealing with the strange, the unsettling, and the unknown. In this performance, Ralph Cosham brings 4 of Wells's stories to vivid life. "The Cone" is a shocking tale of revenge, "The Diamond Maker" tells of a fortune that might have been, "The Country of the Blind" tells of a man with sight who tries unsuccessfully to be king in a valley where everyone is blind, and the haunting classic "The Door in the Wall" captures the pathos of lost youth.

More than a year and many hundreds of miles into their expedition, Lewis and Clark face their biggest hurdle yet: unless they acquire horses to carry them over the mountains, they will fail in their mission to reach the Pacific Ocean. With hope all but gone, Sacagawea, their young Shoshone interpreter, guides them to her tribal village. Though she knows it will forever change her people's way of life, Sacagawea helps obtain the horses, and thus ensures the completion of the historic journey.

A Difference in Magnitude uses selected government documents, radio and newsreel broadcasts, and eyewitness accounts to tell the story of the atomic bomb and the nuclear attacks on Japan. Letters, official memos, and diary entries describe the Trinity Test in White Sands, New Mexico, recount President Truman's thoughts before the attacks, tell of the opposition of scientists who worked on the Manhattan Project and give Japan's response to the devastation. Extensive and well-written reports detail and quantify the destruction and casualties.

Joseph Rudyard Kipling was born December 30, 1865 in Bombay, India. The name Rudyard was taken from a lake in Staffordshire, England. At the age of 6, he and his younger sister were sent back to England where they lived with separate families that took in children for hire. He returned to India at age 16. Rudyard knew literary success at a young age and was able to travel. He married Carrie Balestier, an American, and moved to the United States. The Jungle Books were written in Vermont. He died January 18, 1936 in Middlesex, England during an operation.

Speculative novelist H.G. Wells wrote engaging short fiction dealing with the strange, the unsettling, and the unknown. Here, Ralph Cosham lends his narrative expertise to 5 classic tales. "The Strange Orchid" concerns a horticulturist who must contend with the macabre appetites of an exotic orchid. "The Truth About Pyecraft" explains why an overbearing fat man wears lead underwear. "The Man Who Could Work Miracles" recounts the problems with defying nature. "The Purple Pileus" deals with a life-altering fungus. Finally, in "Aepyornis Island," a man has a special relationship with a prehistoric bird.