About the Authors
Herman Melville (1819–1891) was born in New York City. Family hardships forced him to leave school for various occupations, including shipping as a cabin boy to Liverpool in 1839—a voyage that sparked his love for the sea. A shrewd social critic and philosopher in his fiction, he is considered an outstanding writer of the sea and a great stylist who mastered both realistic narrative and a rich, rhythmical prose. He is best known for his novel Moby-Dick and the posthumously published novella Billy Budd.
Rudyard Kipling (1865–1936) was born of English parents in Bombay, India. At seventeen, he began work as a journalist and over the next seven years established an international reputation with his stories and verses of Indian and army life, including such classics as The Jungle Book and Kim. In 1907 he became the first English writer to receive the Nobel Prize.
Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894) was born in Scotland. He studied engineering and law at the University of Edinburgh and then began writing while traveling in France. The publication of Treasure Island in 1883 brought him fame and entered him on a course of romantic fiction beloved by young and old alike.
Algernon Blackwood (1869–1951) led a
rich and varied life. Storyteller, mystic, adventurer, and radio and television
personality, he is best remembered for his two superlative horror stories, “The
Willows” and “The Wendigo.” But in his lifetime he wrote over 150 stories, at
least a dozen novels, two plays, and quite a few children’s books as well. By
the time of his death, he had become one of the greatest writers of
supernatural fiction in the twentieth century.
W. W. Jacobs (1863–1943) is considered a master of the
macabre tale, mostly for his work The
Monkey’s Paw, a classic horror short
story. He was a master at weaving terror and suspense into scenes of everyday
life. Nevertheless, his popularity in his own lifetime arose mostly due to his
amusing maritime tales of life along the London docks.
Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860–1935) gained much of her fame with lectures on women’s issues, ethics, labor, human rights, and social reform. She often referred to these themes in her fiction. She is best remembered for her 1892 short story “The Yellow Wallpaper,” based on her own bout with severe postpartum depression and misguided medical treatment.
Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1848) transformed the American literary landscape with his innovations in the short story genre and his haunting lyrical poetry, and he is credited with inventing American gothic horror and detective fiction. He was first published in 1827 and then began a career as a magazine writer and editor and a sharp literary critic. In 1845 the publication of his most famous poem, “The Raven,” brought him national fame.
About the Narrators
Andrew Eiden, an Earphones Award–winning narrator, is an actor and voice artist. He has been acting since the age of four, working at regional theaters including La Mirada Theatre, the Glendale Center Theatre, and the Pasadena Playhouse. He has starred in dozens of national commercials, guest-spotted on numerous television shows, and has been a series regular on three programs: Discovery Channel’s Outward Bound, Disney Channel’s Movie Surfers, and most notably ABC’s Complete Savages
Emily Eiden is an award-winning actress best known
for her role in the 2005 film Scab. She also appeared in the television
series Campus Ladies. She is the winner of the 2012 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Children’s Video, and she was named a 2013 Notable Children’s Recording by the American Library Association.