The Classic Tales Podcast

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Ep. 915, The Prussian Officer, by D.H. Lawrence Mar 22, 2024

Show notes

Why does the Prussian officer pick on his orderly so much? Seriously, what's eating the guy? D.H. Lawrence, today on The Classic Tales Podcast.

Welcome to The Classic Tales Podcast. Thank you for listening.

The Vintage Episode for the week is "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves", from the Arabian Nights. Be sure to check it out on Tuesday.

If you enjoy the show, please become a monthly supporter, and help us continue to highlight these amazing stories.

Please go to http://classictalesaudiobooks.com and become a monthly supporter for as little as $5 a month. As a thank you gesture, we'll send you a coupon code every month for $8 off any audiobook order. Give more, and you get more! It's a great way to help us keep producing sparkling audiobook content.

Go to http://classictalesaudiobooks.com and become a supporter today.

I've been having fun designing the specials for our Kickstarter for the next Arsène Lupin book – The Golden Triangle. Boxed sets, special editions, enamel pins – I've got a lot to do, and I want to get it all ready so we can hit the ground running. Keep an ear open for when we pull the trigger!

Today's story is about two soldiers – an officer and his orderly. The officer is a little older, comes from a wealthy family, has squandered his inheritance and must make a living in the military. He's angry and ornery all the time.

This orderly is the opposite – he's young and sensitive. His name is Schöner, which means "more beautiful" in German. I hope you like it.

And now, The Prussian Officer, by D.H. Lawrence.

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Ep. 914, The Million-Pound Bank Note, by Mark Twain VINTAGE Mar 19, 2024

Show notes

An outrageously generous gift proves increasingly inconvenient, when no one has change for a million-pound bank note. Mark Twain, today on The Classic Tales Podcast.

Welcome to this Vintage Episode of The Classic Tales Podcast. Thank you for listening.

A Vintage Episode is released every Tuesday. Please help us to continue producing amazing audiobooks by going to http://classictalesaudiobooks.com, and becoming a supporter. New content is still coming your way on Fridays.

Keep an ear open for our Kickstarter for The Golden Triangle – the sixth novel in the Arsène Lupin series. We're getting ready with boxed sets, special editions, and more! We'll let you know when we're ready to pull the trigger.

Mark Twain – I mean, he's Mark Twain. This story was first published in 1893, and has been dramatized several times, first in a silent film, then radio plays, television, and even a film in 1954 with Gregory Peck. I hope you like it!

And now, The Million Pound Bank Note, by Mark Twain.

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Ep. 913, The Wrong Shape, by G.K. Chesterton Mar 15, 2024

Show notes

Can Father Brown solve a murder in a curious household? G.K. Chesterton, today on The Classic Tales Podcast.

Welcome to The Classic Tales Podcast. Thank you for listening.

The Vintage Episode for the week is "The Million Pound Bank Note", by Mark Twain. Be sure to check it out on Tuesday.

If you enjoy the show, please become a monthly supporter, and help us continue to highlight these amazing stories.

Go to http://classictalesaudiobooks.com and become a supporter today.

The Classic Tales Book Club was so much fun! It was great getting to know you, and talking a little shop. I think next time we'll have some giveaways, so keep your schedule clear for the second Wednesday in April.

I've been having fun designing the specials for our Kickstarter for the next Arsène Lupin book – The Golden Triangle. Boxed sets, special editions, enamel pins – I've got a lot to do, and I want to get it all ready so we can hit the ground running. Keep an ear open for when we pull the trigger!

G.K. Chesterton was a pioneer of the detective story. Many consider his creation of Father Brown the equivalent to, if not an improvement on, Sherlock Holmes. The window that a man of the cloth has to the dark secrets of crime is indeed fascinating and very effective in solving crime.

One thing I noticed in today's story is Chesterton's use of racism as a plot device. This story will land differently on twenty-first century ears than it did when it was written in 1911. I don't want to say much about it other than there are some racially charged terms in the story today – just a heads up.

And now, The Wrong Shape, by G.K. Chesterton.

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Ep. 912, The Man Upstairs, by P.G. Wodehouse VINTAGE Mar 12, 2024

Show notes

Annette Brougham can't get any composing done with all the racket from the apartment upstairs. But when she meets the handsome, pompous tenant, her humor only improves slightly. P.G. Wodehouse, today on The Classic Tales Podcast.

Welcome to this Vintage Episode of The Classic Tales Podcast. Thank you for listening.

Tomorrow is the Classic Tales Book Club! We'll be meeting on Zoom on March 13th at 4:00PM pacific time, 7 PM Eastern Time. Zoom links will be sent through the newsletter, so be sure you're subscribed and watching your emails. See you then!

Today's story is part of a collection of short stories titled, The Man Upstairs and Other Stories. It's a compilation of various stories that don't contain any of Wodehouse's typical characters, and fall outside of any canon. I hope you like today's installment!

And now, "The Man Upstairs", by P.G. Wodehouse.

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Ep. 911, Referent, by Ray Bradbury Mar 08, 2024

Show notes

Roby Morrison attends a very privileged boarding school. But when a spherical space ship lands, everything changes. Ray Bradbury, today on The Classic Tales Podcast.

Welcome to The Classic Tales Podcast. Thank you for listening.

The Vintage Episode for the week is "The Man Upstairs", by P.G. Wodehouse. Be sure to check it out on Tuesday.

If you enjoy the show, please become a monthly supporter, and help us continue to highlight these amazing stories.

Go to http://classictalesaudiobooks.com and become a supporter today.

Wednesday, March 13th at 4 PM Pacific time, 7 PM Eastern time, we'll have our meeting of The Classic Tales Book Club! I'll be sending the link to the zoom meeting through the newsletter, which will go out on the 12th. So be sure you're subscribed to the newsletter, and you'll be able to join us! A link to subscribe to the newsletter is in the show notes, as well as on the classic tales website. See you then!

"Jump, and you will find out how to unfold your wings as you fall." -Ray Bradbury

Ray Bradbury was the consummate writer, telling stories he loved, while thrilling us and challenging the things we thought we knew. Farenheit 451, Something Wicked This Way Comes, Dandelion Wine, The Martian Chronicles, he wrote books, short stories, screenplays, and more.

Today's story was written under the pseudonym of Brett Sterling for the magazine Thrilling Wonder Stories in October 1948. I hope you like it.

And now, Referent, by Ray Bradbury.

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Ep. 910, The Man Who Would Be King, by Rudyard Kipling VINTAGE Mar 04, 2024

Show notes

Adventurers Dravot and Carnehan have decided to take over a country. Not a big country, just a tiny one. Should be simple, right? Rudyard Kipling, today on The Classic Tales Podcast.

Welcome to this Vintage Episode of The Classic Tales Podcast. Thank you for listening.

A new Vintage Episode is released every Tuesday. Please help us to continue producing amazing audiobooks by going to http://classictalesaudiobooks.com, and becoming a supporter. Thank you so much.

Keep an ear open for our coming Kickstarter campaign to fund the audiobook of The Golden Triangle, the next in the Arsène Lupin series, by Maurice Leblanc. We've got a ton of special bonuses planned. More details coming soon!

And mark your calendar for the Classic Tales Book Club! We'll be meeting on Zoom on March 13th at 4:00PM pacific time. See you then!

Today's story has had many media iterations. Most famous is likely the 1975 film with Sean Connery, Michael Caine, and Christopher Plummer. It's been dramatized in radio on the program Escape, in 1943, and even the Dreamworks film "The Road to Eldorado" can be said to be loosely based on it. J.M. Barrie called it, "the most audacious thing in fiction". It inspired T.S. Eliot to write a poem when he was young. Kingsley Amis called it, "grossly overrated". Overrated? Maybe. Audacious? Absolutely. Either way, we hope you like it.

And now, "The Man Who Would be King", by Rudyard Kipling.

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Ep. 909, Clouds of Witness, Part 9 of 9, by Dorothy Sayers Mar 01, 2024

Show notes

All is revealed. Buckle up. Dorothy Sayers, today on The Classic Tales Podcast.

Welcome to The Classic Tales Podcast. Thank you for listening.

The Vintage Episode for the week is "The Man Who Would Be King", by Rudyard Kipling. Be sure to check it out on Tuesday.

If you've enjoyed the show, please become a monthly supporter, and help us keep doing what we do.

Go to http://classictalesaudiobooks.com and become a supporter today.

Mark your calendars for The Classic Tales Book Club! Our first meeting will be at 4:00 Pacific time, 7:00 Eastern time on March 13th. We'll talk over Zoom about the podcast, and what genre you'd like to hear more often. See you then!

I'm pivoting a bit on the Kickstarter for Bleak House. I just think it's too long for our first Kickstarter. So, I'm thinking of the next in the Arsène Lupin series – The Golden Triangle. I'll be making a custom enamel pin only available for supporters of the Kickstarter, among other fun deals. More details coming soon!

And now, Clouds of Witness, Part 9 of 9, by Dorothy Sayers.

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Ep. 908, The Body Snatcher, by Robert Louis Stevenson VINTAGE Feb 27, 2024

Show notes

Is an anatomy professor having murder done to secure his specimens? Robert Louis Stevenson, today on The Classic Tales Podcast.

Welcome to this Vintage Episode of The Classic Tales Podcast. Thank you for listening.

A new Vintage Episode is released every Tuesday. Clouds of Witness, by Dorothy Sayers will continue episodically every Friday. Please help us to continue producing amazing audiobooks by going to http://classictalesaudiobooks.com, and becoming a supporter. Thank you so much.

Keep an ear open for our coming Kickstarter campaign to fund the audiobook of Bleak House, by Charles Dickens. We've got a ton of special bonuses planned. More details coming soon!

And mark your calendar for the Classic Tales Book Club! We'll be meeting on Zoom on March 13th at 4:00PM pacific time. See you then!

Today's story was inspired by true events. William Burke and William Hare committed 16 murders over a period of about 10 months in 1828 in Edinburgh, Scotland. They sold the bodies to Robert Knox, who used them in his anatomy lessons. Of course, Robert Louis Stevenson puts his wonderful spin on the tale. I hope you like it.

And now, "The Body Snatcher", by Robert Louis Stevenson.

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Ep. 907, Clouds of Witness, Part 8 of 9, by Dorothy Sayers Feb 23, 2024

Show notes

Peter runs off in a final mad dash to secure a secret testimony. But will it be enough to save his brother? Dorothy Sayers, today on The Classic Tales Podcast.

Welcome to The Classic Tales Podcast. Thank you for listening.

The Vintage Episode for the week is "The Body Snatcher", by Robert Louis Stevenson. Be sure to check it out on Tuesday.

If you've enjoyed the show, please become a monthly supporter, and help us keep doing what we do.

Go to http://classictalesaudiobooks.com and become a supporter today.

The Classic Tales Book Club's first meeting is set! We will be meeting via Zoom on March 13th, at 4:00 Pm Pacific time. That should make it 7:00 Eastern time. I'll be joined by the illustrious Christopher Oulette, and we'll have a fun little chat talking about the show and whatever else comes up. Mark you calendars for March 13th.

I'm working on setting up the Kickstarter project for Dickens' Bleak House. This is a long one, and I can't wait to dive in to an immersive story like this. I'm working on the artwork now, and I'll have more information in the weeks to come. Big thanks to Ammon Anderson for helping me set this up.

And now, Clouds of Witness, Part 8 of 9, by Dorothy Sayers.

Follow this link to become a monthly supporter:

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Ep. 906, The Blue Cross, by G.K. Chesterton VINTAGE Feb 20, 2024

Show notes

Why does Inspector Valentin, while following the track of the thief Flambeau, keep crossing paths with two argumentative priests? G.K. Chesterton, today on The Classic Tales Podcast.

Welcome to this Vintage Episode of The Classic Tales Podcast. Thank you for listening.

Keep an ear open for our coming Kickstarter campaign to fund the audiobook of Bleak House, by Charles Dickens. We've got a ton of special bonuses planned. More details coming soon!

Gilbert Keith Chesterton was a philosopher, writer, Christian apologist, and a critic of art and literature. He wrote around 80 books, 200 short stories, and 4,000 essays, (most of the essays appeared as newspaper articles). His most famous literary creation was Father Brown, a catholic priest that has heard the confessions of so many thieves, burglars, and law breakers over the course of his holy career, that he can usually anticipate and deduce the solution to any puzzling crime. Today's story is the first Father Brown story, first published on July 23rd, 1910 in The Saturday Evening Post.

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