Books published by publisher Spiders' House Audio

The author of the famous Alice books also wrote many poems notably in the humorous and nonsense genres. "The Hunting of the Snark (An Agony in Eight Fits)", published in 1876 and possibly his best known and most accomplished verse, is presented here together with another of his longer poems, "Phantasmagoria" and "Melancholetta", "Sea Dirge", "Size and Tears", plus five poems from Alice: "Father William", "Humpty Dumpty's Song", "Jabberwocky", "The Lobster Quadrille", and "The Walrus and the Carpenter".

There was a verse writer named Lear who said, "In the future I fear, that the verses I write be recorded (they might) for all who desire so to hear" (R.M. with apologies to E. L.) Edward Lear is justly renowned as a writer of humorous verse. His Nonsense Songs were published in 1871 and include probably his best known and most loved poem, "The Owl and the Pussycat". Laughable Lyrics (1877) contains other popular rhymes, including "The Dong with a Luminous Nose", "The Courtship of the Yonghy-Bonghy-Bo", "The Pobble Who Has No Toes", and more.

Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) is celebrated for his tales of the macabre and the supernatural. “The Tell-Tale Heart” is one of his most famous. In it, the narrator tells how, without any motive, but merely because he is obsessed with his eye (“The eye of a vulture”), he murders an old man, and of the consequences when the murdered man's heart seeks revenge.

Reginald in Russia and Other Sketches was published in 1910 and was the second of Saki's collections of short stories following Reginald (1904). It consists of 15 stories or "sketches" as the author calls them and contains two of his most famous tales: "Gabriel Ernest" and "The Reticence of Lady Anne". The stories are: "Reginald in Russia" "The Reticence of Lady Anne" "The Lost Sanjak" "The Sex That Doesn't Shop" "The Blood-Feud of Toad-Water" "A Young Turkish Catastrophe" "Judkin of the Parcels" "Gabriel Ernest" "The Saint and the Goblin" "The Soul of Laploshka" "The Bag" "The Strategist" "Cross Currents" "The Baker's Dozen (A Playlet)" "The Mouse"

Oscar Wilde's classic comic ghost story was the first of his short stories to be published, in February 1887. It relates the experiences of Mr. Hiram B. Otis, an American minister and his family, when they move into Canterville Chase, an ancient pile haunted by the previous owner's dead ancestor, Sir Simon. Of course, Mr. Otis declares, "There is no such thing, sir, as a ghost", and all of Sir Simon's hauntings have no effect on the skeptical American family, with the exception of the daughter, Virginia, despite his most strenuous efforts. A beautifully told tale full of humor, but also of apposite social commentary. The two other stories in this volume are "The Sphinx Without a Secret" (May 1887) and "The Model Millionaire" (June 1887) and an essay, "The American Invasion" (March 1887).

Francis Marion Crawford (1854-1909) was an American writer, born in Italy and educated in the United States. He also studied at the universities of Cambridge and Heidelberg. He was a prolific writer in many fields, but it was his novels that were most popular, commanding a large following. His stories of the macabre and supernatural are very highly regarded.

THE TOYS OF PEACE AND OTHER PAPERS by "Saki" (H. H. Munro) is a collection of 33 "papers" or short stories, which were originally published separately in various journals and later issued in one volume in 1919, three years after the writer's death in the Great War. They are some of the most delightful of literary miniatures. They are: The Toys of Peace Louise Tea The Disappearance of Chrispina Umberleigh The Wolves of Cernogratz Louis The Guests The Penance The Phantom Luncheon A Bread and Butter Miss Bertie's Christmas Eve Forewarned The Interlopers Quail Seed Canossa The Threat Excepting Mrs. Pentherby Mark The Hedgehog The Mappined Life Fate The Bull Morlvera Shock Tactics The Seven Cream Jugs The Occasional Garden The Sheep The Oversight Hyacinth The Image of the Lost Soul The Purple of the Balkan Kings The Cupboard of the Yesterdays For the Duration of the War Note: A number of these stories are contained in The Best of Saki (three volumes) narrated by Roy Macready.

M. R. James (1862-1936) was provost of King's College, Cambridge, and Eton College. He was a highly regarded scholar and academic but is today remembered for his ghost stories, which are considered among the finest in the genre. His short novel for children, The Five Jars, is a bewitching fairy tale in the form of a letter to a young friend, telling of the writer's strange experiences after discovering a box containing five jars with labels that indicate the mysterious powers of their contents.