Dramatic Selections from Henry Lawson's Short Stories

“Jack and Molly were twins, and this was their ninth birthday. Such a happy, exciting day it had been; it felt like a birthday all day long, so you can guess how jolly it was, and how special it made Jack and Molly feel. Little did they guess what a weird and mysterious end to the day was now approaching!.... “Had Aunt Phœbe known when she bought ‘this useful little thing’ what it Really Was—could she have foreseen any of the mysterious happenings that were to follow the arrival of her birthday present—she would have preferred to send her niece half a dozen of the most jingly silver bangles ever made; for she disapproved of adventures in any shape or form, even more than she disapproved of bangles. Yet it was entirely through Aunt Phœbe that Jack and Molly took part in the adventure of the Grey Pumpkin at all.” - Summary excerpted from Chapter 1 of Knock Three Times!

Arthur Scott Bailey (1877 - 1949) Betsy Butterfly has an exciting time in the meadow. Some dangers of course but lots of fun and productive work. Join her as she flutters from adventure to adventure.  Genre(s): Animals & Nature Language: English

The Black Cat (1895-1922) was a monthly literary magazine, publishing original short stories, often about uncanny or fantastical topics. Many writers were largely unknown, but some famous authors also wrote original material for this magazine. This is the eighth issue of volume 2 with the following five short stories: "The Passing of the Polly Ann", by Collins Shackelford: the survivor of a drifting ship testifies to a startling revelation "The Obsequies of Ole Miss Jug", by Jean Ross Irvine: these children know how to bury a faithful dog in style "A Modern Goliath", by J. C. W. Brooks, U.S.A.: witness a spectacular court-martial trial, trying to prove a soldier's innocence "The Colby Girls", by Charles Bryant Howard: two sturdy spinsters battle through a storm at sea "Trans-Saharan Station 15-M", by J. E. Pember: three men are struggling to stay alive in the stifling heat of the Sahara Genre(s): Fantastic Fiction, Short Stories Language: English

Hugh Walpole (1884 - 1941) Hjalmar Johanson (novel, 1926) is a boyish unworldly Swedish body builder come to Walpole’s fictional cathedral town of Polchester. His name is “simplified” by the townsfolk to Harmer John. He is attracted to Polchester by the cathedral. He has a vision of transforming the town and its populace to a healthier and more beautiful state. He establishes a business, essentially a gymnasium, to help people become healthier. He envisions tearing down the slums along the river and rebuilding the area with more attractive and publicly healthier buildings. But not everyone shares his vision, especially the slumlords who make their money by renting the slum to those who are poor and vulnerable, those unable to afford anything better. Harmer John encounters xenophobia, jealousy, and malice. In an earlier story Walpole novelized the Francis Thompson poem The Hound Of Heaven about a fearful soul pursued by an insistently loving God. Some observers see in Harmer John a parallel to Francis of Assisi, that is, a naïve holy man opposed by the selfish worldliness around him.  Genre(s): Literary Fiction, Published 1900 onward

Tatian (c120 - c180) Translated by Hope W. Hogg (1863 - 1912) The Diatessaron is such an impersonal work that we do not need to know very much about its compiler. It will suffice here to say that he tells us himself that he was born "in the land of the Assyrians," and brought up a heathen. After travelling in search of knowledge, he settled at Rome, where he became a pupil of Justin Martyr, professed Christianity, and wrote in Greek his Address to the Greeks, translated in vol. iii. of the Ante-Nicene Christian Library. He was too independent in his attitude to maintain a permanent popularity, and after Justin's death left Rome and returned to Mesopotamia. It was probably here that he issued in Syriac his most important work, the Diatessaron, which won such a warm place in the heart of the Syrian church. Among the Greek scholars, however, he became more and more regarded as a heretic, Encratite (ascetic), and Gnostic.

Dorothy Parker (1893 - 1967) Dorothy Parker was an American poet, writer, critic, and satirist based in New York. She was best known for her wit, wisecracks, and eye for 20th-century urban foibles. This poem is taken from her book "Enough Rope" (1926), freshly out of US copyright.  Genre(s): Multi-version (Weekly and Fortnightly poetry)

Henry Lawson (1867 - 1922) 01. That Pretty Girl in the Army The Salvation Army is having a hard time of things in the rough Outback town of Bourke.  That is, until Sister Hannah arrives... 

François Coppée (1842 - 1908) Translated by George Curzon (1859 - 1925) The poem was written in Paris during the Siege, November 1870 and celebrates caring nurses (specifically, nuns) who work with difficult patients. François Coppée was a French poet and novelist. He was famed as le poète des humbles (the poet of the humble). His verse and prose focus on plain expressions of emotion, patriotism, the joy of young love, and the pitifulness of the poor. Genre(s): Multi-version (Weekly and Fortnightly poetry)

Jack London (1876 - 1916) Ten short stories on various themes and subjects, all more or less bizarre. The Night-Born is about a woman who draws inspiration to change her life from an article she chanced to read. In The Benefit of the Doubt, a crooked judge gets a lesson in justice. When The World Was Young is the story of Primitive Man and Civilized Man sharing the same body. And so on. Each story is unique and thought-provoking.  Genre(s): Single Author Collections

"From vocalists you may learn much, but do not believe all that they say." Robert Schumann's Advice to Young Musicians is replete with good counsel. How, what, and from whom we learn is thematic to many of these 20 nonfiction selections, chosen by their readers. We learn from the lives of valorous persons (Simón Bolívar; José de San Martín; Booker T. Washington; Ishi, the last Yana Indian); from literature (Political Naturalism in England; Editorial Prejudice Against the Occult; Barbara Frietchie); from journalists, activists, and the opinionated (America and the English Tradition; Interned by the Bolshevists; The Cholera; Chimney Sweeping; Diet & Hygiene; Progress in Dairy Farming; Concerning Tobacco; Beer & Cider), and from nature (Duck Hawks of Taughannock; Sponges & Sponge Fisheries; The Grand Canyon; and Social Wasps Polistes).  Genre(s): *Non-fiction, Essays & Short Works Language: English