Showing results by narrator "David McCallion" in All Categories

Silas Marner, the namesake of the work, is a humble weaver. He comes to the town of Raveloe, where he continues his trade, yet his story intertwines with that of two brothers, Godfrey and Dunsey, the latter of whom is a conniving trickster. Silas, having little money to begin with, becomes obsessed with counting his small fortune that he keeps hidden in his cottage, and through a series of events involving the two brothers, that money is stolen, devastating Silas.

Most of the great Greek stories and epic tales are initiated over women, which is exactly what happens in the very beginning of The Iliad by Homer. The Trojan War has been waging for nearly a decade, and really erupted when Helen, the wife to Menelaos, was kidnapped and thus launched the "thousand ships" in pursuit of her. This is the reason that the Achaians and the Trojans have been fighting each other for so long. Achilles, who has become hero to the Greeks, is given the present of a slave girl for his excellence in battle.

The Odyssey by Homer is an ancient Greek poem which tells the story of the hero Ulysses and his arduous journey home to Ithaca after the long and bloody Trojan war. After the ten-year battle and the fall of Troy, Ulysses intends to make his way back to his wife Penelope and his son Telemachus. The Gods are against him and he faces many obstacles in his path which delay his return for many years. With her husband gone for so long Penelope assumes that he is dead and never to return.

The Man Who Was Thursday was written by G. K. Chesterton and follows newly recruited Scotland Yard detective Gabriel Syme as he infiltrates the dangerous underworld of the European anarchist council. Syme is a member of a special antianarchist division of the police and finds his way into the secret group through a poet he befriends, named Lucian Gregory.

The Picture of Dorian Gray, written by Oscar Wilde, tells the story of a handsome young man who is befriended by a painter, Basil Hallward, and becomes the inspiration for his work. The young man is also introduced to one of Basil's friends, the hedonistic aristocrat Lord Henry Wotton, who enthralls Dorian by sharing with him his philosophies and ideals about life, including his belief that youth is the most precious and important thing in the world.

20,000 Leagues Under The Sea by Jules Verne follows the adventures of the mysterious captain Nemo and his incredible submarine, the Nautilus. Joining the captain on his epic journey around the world is Professor Pierre Aronnax, his servant Conseil, and the Canadian whaler Ned Land. These three become guests of the reclusive submariner when they are washed overboard on a ship that is tracking the Nautilus, believing that it is some kind of giant sea creature.

Far from the Madding Crowd, which first appeared in Cornhill Magazine in monthly installments back in the late 19th century, features the love life of the young Bathsheba Everdene who is as poor as she is beautiful. Fortunately, Bathsheba's uncle leaves her his farm, which she goes to manage in the small town of Weatherbury. Before she leaves, however, she has an interesting encounter with a young farmer, Gabriel Oak, for whom she does a tremendous favor ,and he becomes indebted to her....