Publisher Description
Assembled and edited by Julian Hawthorne and first published in 1907, the Old Time English volume of The Lock and Key Library features ten classic mysteries and ghost stories by Charles Dickens, Edward Bulwer-Lytton, Thomas de Quincey, Charles Robert Maturin, Laurence Sterne, and William Makepeace Thackeray.
The Old Time English volume opens with two classic ghost stories from Charles Dickens: the first takes place in the traditional (and titular) “Haunted House,” while the second follows the haunting of a railroad, of all places. Then you’ll be treated to two stories by Edward Bulwer-Lytton: one a tale of a rationalist investigating a haunted house, and another a tale of the search for the elixir of life itself! Up next is a ghastly story of murder in a small German town from the mind of Thomas de Quincy, followed by a selection from the classic Irish yarn Melmoth the Wanderer by Charles Robert Maturin.
But not every tale featured here is doom and gloom. In Laurence Stern’s “A Mystery with a Moral," you’ll be subjected to the eccentric musings of an English parson as he tries to make sense of a mystery that might not even be real. And then in “The Notch in the Axe", William Makepeace Thackeray contemplates the nature of crime and guilt and judgment, reaching some rather Swiftian conclusions himself. Finally, the last two stories, about another murder in a small German town and about a longstanding family curse, respectively, are both written by anonymous writers, as Julian Hawthorne often chose to include in his collections.
This volume of The Lock and Key Library is sure to haunt and charm fans of ghost and detective mysteries alike.
Full Contents:
“The Haunted House” by Charles Dickens
“No. 1 Branch Line: The Signal Man” by Charles Dickens
“The Haunted and the Haunters; or, The House and the Brain” by Edward Bulwer-Lytton
“The Incantation” by Edward Bulwer-Lytton
“The Avenger” by Thomas de Quincey
Melmoth the Wanderer (selection) by Charles Robert Maturin
“A Mystery with a Moral” by Laurence Sterne
“The Notch on the Ax” by William Makepeace Thackeray
“Bourgonef” by Anonymous
“The Closed Cabinet” by Anonymous
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About the Authors
Julian Hawthorne (1846–1934) was an American writer and journalist, the son of novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne and Sophia Peabody. He wrote numerous short stories, mystery and detective fiction, essays, travel books, biographies, and histories.
Patrick
Tull (1941–2006), born in the United Kingdom, was a multitalented actor of the stage, screen, and
television, as well as an award-winning audiobook narrator. He acted in
numerous American television shows from 1962 to 1996, including Crossroads, and he had roles in six Broadway plays between 1967 and
1992, including Amadeus. His film credits
from 1969 to 1996 included roles as Cecil in Parting Glances and Jerry the bartender in Sleepers. He served as narrator for the television series Sea Tales. He narrated nearly forty audiobooks,
and his readings of The Canterbury Tales,
The Letter of Marque, Monk’s Hood, The Vicar of Wakefield, and
How Green Was My Valley each earned
him an AudioFile Earphones Award. His narration of Patrick O’Brian’s
Aubrey/Maturin novels was praised by novelist Stephen King as among his ten favorite
audiobooks of 2006.
Stefan Rudnicki first became involved with audiobooks in 1994. Now a Grammy-winning audiobook producer, he has worked on more than five thousand audiobooks as a narrator, writer, producer, or director. He has narrated more than nine hundred audiobooks. A recipient of multiple AudioFile Earphones Awards, he was presented the coveted Audie Award for solo narration in 2005, 2007, and 2014, and was named one of AudioFile’s Golden Voices in 2012.
Laurence
Sterne (1713–1768) was an Irish-born English novelist and an Anglican clergyman. He is best
known for his novels The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman and A Sentimental Journey through France and Italy, but he also
published many sermons, wrote memoirs, and was involved in local politics.
William Makepeace Thackeray (1811–1863) was born and educated to be a gentleman but gambled away much of his fortune while at Cambridge. He trained as a lawyer before turning to journalism. He was a regular contributor to periodicals and magazines and Vanity Fair was serialised in Punch in 1847–8.
Bradford Hastings is a voice talent and audiobook narrator.
About the Narrators
Cassandra Campbell has won multiple Audie Awards, Earphones Awards, and the prestigious Odyssey Award for narration. She was been named a “Best Voice” by AudioFile magazine and in 2018 was inducted in Audible’s inaugural Narrator Hall of Fame.
Cassandra Campbell has won multiple Audie Awards, Earphones Awards, and the prestigious Odyssey Award for narration. She was been named a “Best Voice” by AudioFile magazine and in 2018 was inducted in Audible’s inaugural Narrator Hall of Fame.
Gabrielle de Cuir, award-winning narrator, has narrated over three hundred titles and specializes in fantasy, humor, and titles requiring extensive foreign language and accent skills. She was a cowinner of the Audie Award for best narration in 2011 and a three-time finalist for the Audie and has garnered six AudioFile Earphones Awards. Her “velvet touch” as an actor’s director has earned her a special place in the audiobook world as the foremost producer for bestselling authors and celebrities.
John Lee is the winner of numerous Earphones Awards and the prestigious Audie Award for Best Narration. He has twice won acclaim as AudioFile’s Best Voice in Fiction & Classics. He also narrates video games, does voice-over work, and writes plays. He is an accomplished stage actor and has written and coproduced the feature films Breathing Hard and Forfeit. He played Alydon in the 1963–64 Doctor Who serial The Daleks.
Arthur Morey has won three AudioFile Magazine “Best Of” Awards, and his work has garnered numerous AudioFile Earphones Awards and placed him as a finalist for two Audie Awards. He has acted in a number of productions, both off Broadway in New York and off Loop in Chicago. He graduated from Harvard and did graduate work at the University of Chicago. He has won awards for his fiction and drama, worked as an editor with several book publishers, and taught literature and writing at Northwestern University. His plays and songs have been produced in New York, Chicago, and Milan, where he has also performed.
Stefan Rudnicki first became involved with audiobooks in 1994. Now a Grammy-winning audiobook producer, he has worked on more than five thousand audiobooks as a narrator, writer, producer, or director. He has narrated more than nine hundred audiobooks. A recipient of multiple AudioFile Earphones Awards, he was presented the coveted Audie Award for solo narration in 2005, 2007, and 2014, and was named one of AudioFile’s Golden Voices in 2012.
James Langton, an Earphones Award–winning narrator, trained as an actor at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and later as a musician at the Guildhall School in London. He has worked in radio, film, and television, also appearing in theater in England and on Broadway. He is also a professional musician who led the internationally renowned Pasadena Roof Orchestra from 1996 to 2002.