This episode is brought to you by our Patreon Supporters and by heavenly bodies. 

Tonight, we’ll read the opening to The Influence of the Stars published in 1904. It was written by Rosa Baughan, the eldest daughter of an eminent London newspaper man. She soon established a reputation of her own - as one of the most intriguing spiritualists in Victorian Britain. In her short life, she published more than twenty titles devoted to graphology, divination and astrology. 

This episode first aired on November 20, 2020. 

— read by V —

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Tonight, we’ll read the opening to the 1940 mystery “Behind the Green Door”, part of the “Penny Parker” series written by Mildred Wirt, also known by Mildred Benson. Benson was a journalist and prolific writer, under many pseudonyms, who is best known for creating the Nancy Drew series.

Along with being the heroine of the series, Penny Parker was a high school student turned sleuth who also sporadically worked as a reporter for her father's newspaper.

The author Benson favored Penny Parker over all the other books she wrote, including Nancy Drew. Her obituary quoted her as saying, " 'I always thought Penny Parker was a better Nancy Drew than Nancy is."

read by -V-

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Tonight, we’ll read the next part to “The Secret Garden”, a novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett published in 1911.

In the last episode, Dickon tends the vegetable garden he keeps at home in the evenings, after working on the flowery Secret Garden in the daytime. Sometimes his mother, Mrs. Sowerby, keeps him company. Dickon shares the secret with her, and she bakes rolls for the children to satiate their voracious appetites while they are gardening.

— read by V —

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Tonight, we’ll rebroadcast “The Opal”, a fairy tale about how the gemstone was formed. This story originally aired on December 7th, 2020.

Depending on the conditions in which it formed, precious opal may be iridescent with white, black, or nearly any color of the visual spectrum as a background color. Black opal is considered to be the rarest, whereas white, gray, and green are the most common.

Opal was rare and very valuable in antiquity. In Europe, it was a gem prized by royalty. Until the opening of vast deposits in Australia in the 19th century the only known source was beyond the Roman frontier in Slovakia.

Opal was also said to grant invisibility- if wrapped in a fresh bay leaf and held in the hand- and thus it was considered the gemstone of thieves.

— read by V —

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Tonight, we’ll read “The Million Dollar Bond Robbery”, a short story written by Agatha Christie and published in 1924 as part of her “Poirot Investigates” series.

In this story, a million dollars of bonds disappear from under a young man’s nose and he is being held accountable.

If you enjoy this episode, be sure to listen to our first Poirot story, “The Western Star” which aired in June of 2022 and “The Cheap Flat” which aired in August .

By the way, a “portmanteau” has two meanings. One is the way it is used in this story- a large suitcase or trunk that opens into two equal parts. The other way is as a word that blends the sounds and combining the meanings of two others, for example motel which combines ‘motor’ and ‘hotel’, podcast which combines ‘iPod’ with ‘broadcast’ or of course, Snoozecast which contains ‘getting cozy’ with bedtime.

— read by N —

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Tonight, we’ll read the next part to “Winnie-the-Pooh” a children’s story written by A.A. Milne and published in 1926. This collection of short stories features an anthropomorphic teddy bear, Winnie-the-Pooh, along with his friends Christopher Robin, Piglet, Eeyore, Owl, Rabbit, Kanga, and Roo.

In the previous episode, we read the second half of chapter five, in which Piglet met a Heffalump, and also the first half of chapter six, in which eeyore had a birthday and if he is lucky, he may get two presents.

— read by V —

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Tonight, we’ll rebroadcast the second and final part of “An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving”, a short story written by Louisa May Alcott. This story originally aired on November 23rd, 2020. Please find the first part of this story that aired on Monday.

In part one, the Bassett parents rush off when they hear that the grandmother was very ill, just as a snowstorm was starting. This left all the children to manage the farmhouse on their own. Luckily, they are a resourceful and industrious group.

We’ll pick up with oldest sister Tilly and Prue in the kitchen, as they are starting their first attempt at a Thanksgiving feast on their own.

— read by V —

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Tonight, we’ll rebroadcast the opening half from “An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving”, a short story written by Louisa May Alcott. This story originally aired on November 16th, 2020. The second half will air in our next episode.

“An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving” is a simple story set in the early 1800s, featuring a country family in New Hampshire. It’s full of idyllic and peaceful descriptions from an earlier time. 

— read by V —

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Tonight, we shall read the next part to “Pride and Prejudice”, written by Jane Austen.

In the last episode, Lydia is overjoyed when the wife of Colonel Forster invites her to Brighton. Kitty is peevish not to be included. Elizabeth secretly advises her father not to allow Lydia to go, but he does not take her concern seriously.

Before the departure of the regiment, Elizabeth meets Wickham. She sees a new side of him she is less impressed with. He seems concerned to learn that she doesn’t think that Darcy is so bad after all. 

— read by V —

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Tonight, we’ll rebroadcast the story of “The Devoted Friend,” written by Oscar Wilde and published in 1910. This episode originally aired on November 9, 2020.

Wilde was an Irish poet and playwright. He is best remembered for his epigrams and plays, his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, and the circumstances of his criminal conviction for his homosexuality.

In this fable, told by a linnet, or songbird in the finch family, to teach a water rat some life skills, Hans is an innocent gardener and the devoted friend of a wealthy but manipulative Miller. In this story, Wilde pokes fun at a society where charity is less about love and more about ensuring that the wealthy benefit. 

— read by V —

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