Narrated Archives

In this bonus episode we’re looking at a moral and legal puzzle by the Scottish-Canadian master of irony, Robert Barr.  We’ve heard from Mr. Barr in the episode “The Doom of London”.  

First published in his 1896 collection Revenge!, Barr’s story “Which Was the Murderer?”  presents a case that feels modern in its critique of the justice system. It’s a story where the body is cold, the assailant is caught red-handed, and yet… the law might let him walk free on a technicality.

It’s a tale that forces a grieving woman into an impossible, chilling choice.  Enjoy!

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Send requests for authors or short stories to: [email protected] or www.narratedarchives.com

All music courtesy of Ende.app.

Audiobooks narrated by Sally Barron can be found at:

• audible
• Spotify
• Nook
• Kobo
• Libro.fm
• storytel
• ...

In this episode we’re unearthing a chillingly prescient piece of Victorian science fiction by Robert Barr that feels all too modern.

In 1892, Robert Barr—a writer who influenced the likes of Agatha Christie—penned a pioneering harrowing account of urban catastrophe titled “The Doom of London”. Set in a then-future mid-20th century, our narrator looks back on the final days of the 19th century, when a freak meteorological coincidence turned London's iconic fog into a lethal atmospheric trap.

Step back in time together and listen to the voice of the past with “The Doom of London”.

Project Gutenberg Link to The Doom of London

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Thanks for listening!  Rate & Review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite podcast provider. SUBSCRIBE for at least 2 Bonus Episodes each month.

Send requests for authors or short stories to: [email protected] or www.narratedarchives.com

All music courtesy of Ende.app.

Audiobooks narrated by Sally Barron can be found at:

• audible
• Spotify
• Nook
• Kobo
• Libro.fm
• storytel
• ...

In this episode of Narrated Archives we step into the brief, blazing life of Stephen Crane, author of The Red Badge of Courage.  In the four stories presented, Stephen Crane captures the intersection of quiet human longing and the harsh often indifferent realities of society. 

• “An Eloquence of Grief” - written around 1896, captures a routine New York City police court.
• “The Auction” - a public auction features the possessions of a former sailor named Ferguson and his wife. Crane explores the collision of financial tragedy and social humiliation.
• "A Great Mistake" - a brief, atmospheric scene that centers on the silent, intense longing and hunger of a small child gazing at an elaborate fruit stand.
• “A Fishing Village" - a descriptive piece, originally published in the August 1899 issue of The Philistine, that captures the rugged isolation, quiet endurance and daily rhythms of a coastal community with his characteristic impressionistic detail.

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Thanks for listening!  Rate & Review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite podcast provider. SUBSCRIBE for at least 2 Bonus Episodes each month.

Send requests for authors or short stories to: [email protected] or www.narratedarchives.com

All music courtesy of Ende.app.

Audiobooks narrated by Sally Barron can be found at:

• audible
• Spotify
• Nook
• Kobo
• Libro.fm
• storytel
• ...

In this episode are 2 stories froma collection all written by H. D. Umbstaetter, entitled “The Red Hot Dollar and Other Stories from The Black Cat”.   Also included is the Introduction to the collection written by Jack London

•  “One Chance in a Million” tells of an entrepreneur so secretive that he   almost loses his live
• “In Hell’s Cañon” a prospector is determined to locate a "lost lead". 

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Support the show

Thanks for listening!  Rate & Review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite podcast provider. SUBSCRIBE for at least 2 Bonus Episodes each month.

Send requests for authors or short stories to: [email protected] or www.narratedarchives.com

All music courtesy of Ende.app.

Audiobooks narrated by Sally Barron can be found at:

• audible
• Spotify
• Nook
• Kobo
• Libro.fm
• storytel
• ...

This week we’re listening to a sample from Harris Newmark’s memoir, “Sixty Years in Southern California".

We’ll be listening to the first 2 chapters in which Newmark recounts his upbringing and how he ended up traveling to California from Prussia covering the years 1834-1853

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Thanks for listening!  Rate & Review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite podcast provider. SUBSCRIBE for at least 2 Bonus Episodes each month.

Send requests for authors or short stories to: [email protected] or www.narratedarchives.com

All music courtesy of Ende.app.

Audiobooks narrated by Sally Barron can be found at:

• audible
• Spotify
• Nook
• Kobo
• Libro.fm
• storytel
• ...

In this episode we’re meeting the 19th century humorist, journalist and author known for his witty satirical columns and depictions of western life.

1. Mush and Melody has Mr. Nye attempting to provide a grand solution for a non-problem, providing that if you squint hard enough anything can turn into a crisis. 
2. ‘Flying Machines’ showcases a range of aerial contraptions that hover somewhere between ‘mildly impressive’ and ‘why on Earth would anyone try that?’ 
3. In ‘The Amateur Carpenter’ Nye really  leans into the amateur part; the results of these carpentry projects may resemble disasters.
4. Up next is ‘One Kind of Fool’ with Nye’s portrait of a young drifter who’s about as skilled at lying as a toddler trying to play poker. 
5. And to wrap up, Bill Nye draws a curious parallel between his prose and the illustrious Noah Webster, proving that even in writing, comparisons can stretch the limits of credulity.

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Support the show

Thanks for listening!  Rate & Review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite podcast provider. SUBSCRIBE for at least 2 Bonus Episodes each month.

Send requests for authors or short stories to: [email protected] or www.narratedarchives.com

All music courtesy of Ende.app.

Audiobooks narrated by Sally Barron can be found at:

• audible
• Spotify
• Nook
• Kobo
• Libro.fm
• storytel
• ...

In this episode we’re sampling Kate Chopin.

1. ‘The Kiss’ is a short story about a calculating young woman managing a love triangle and  highlights themes of irony, pragmatism over romantic love, and the manipulation of social roles. 
2. Kate Chopin’s ‘A Pair of Silk Stockings’ explores the conflict between a woman's duty to family and her personal desires for independence and self-identity, common in Chopin's work. 
3. "A Reflection" is a brief, philosophical meditation contrasting the relentless "moving procession of human energy" with the stillness of those left behind. 

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Support the show

Thanks for listening!  Rate & Review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite podcast provider. SUBSCRIBE for at least 2 Bonus Episodes each month.

Send requests for authors or short stories to: [email protected] or www.narratedarchives.com

All music courtesy of Ende.app.

Audiobooks narrated by Sally Barron can be found at:

• audible
• Spotify
• Nook
• Kobo
• Libro.fm
• storytel
• ...

This episode holds 3 essays and musings of Sir Richard Steele. These writings hail from as far back as we’ve ventured so far.  

Sir Richard Steele born in Ireland in 1672, was an essayist, dramatist, and politician.

Steele's work focused on reforming manners and morals with wit, mixing social observation with political commentary, and establishing a successful formula for mass-market journalism. His final years were marked by financial troubles and declining health, eventually leading to his 1729 death in Wales. 

• "The Storyteller and His Art" outlines key techniques for engaging storytelling.
• "Of Companions and Flatterers" explores the crucial difference between genuine friendship and deceitful flattery.
• "Sir Roger and the Widow" details the charming, benevolent but hopelessly smitten Sir Roger de Coverley's long, unrequited love for a beautiful, teasing widow. 

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Thanks for listening!  Rate & Review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite podcast provider. SUBSCRIBE for at least 2 Bonus Episodes each month.

Send requests for authors or short stories to: [email protected] or www.narratedarchives.com

All music courtesy of Ende.app.

Audiobooks narrated by Sally Barron can be found at:

• audible
• Spotify
• Nook
• Kobo
• Libro.fm
• storytel
• ...

On this episode of Narrated Archives is the story, The Scarlet Woman, by Louis Bromfield, which was published in McClure's magazine in January of 1927 and was awarded one of the prizes for best stories for October 1926 to September 27 by the O. Henry Memorial Prize Committee.

The Scarlet Woman centers on Vergie Winters, a simple milliner in a conventional American town, who falls in love with a respected, up and coming handsome lawyer who later becomes a Senator.

The story is praised for its intense focus on Vergie's struggle against rigid social conventions, highlighting the hypocrisy of small-town values through stark realism and emotional depth.

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Thanks for listening!  Rate & Review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite podcast provider. SUBSCRIBE for at least 2 Bonus Episodes each month.

Send requests for authors or short stories to: [email protected] or www.narratedarchives.com

All music courtesy of Ende.app.

Audiobooks narrated by Sally Barron can be found at:

• audible
• Spotify
• Nook
• Kobo
• Libro.fm
• storytel
• ...

In the depths of winter Narrated Archives is taking a trip to warmer climates with Robert Louis Stevenson.  We're heading to the South Seas with a selection from “In the South Seas”. 

The narrative describes arriving at the Marquesas, the stunning beauty of the islands and the excitement of encountering their inhabitants, which includes both initial trepidation and eventual camaraderie with the locals.

Then From “Essays of Travel:  Forest Notes” we have a description of idyllic relaxation in Idle Hours.

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Thanks for listening!  Rate & Review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite podcast provider. SUBSCRIBE for at least 2 Bonus Episodes each month.

Send requests for authors or short stories to: [email protected] or www.narratedarchives.com

All music courtesy of Ende.app.

Audiobooks narrated by Sally Barron can be found at:

• audible
• Spotify
• Nook
• Kobo
• Libro.fm
• storytel
• ...