Snoozecast

Tonight, we’ll read the opening to the second novel featuring Sherlock Holmes, “The Sign of the Four.” It was published in 1890 and written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyal.

Sherlock referred to himself as a "consulting detective" in the stories, and is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science, and logical reasoning that borders on the fantastic.

Written from the point of view of Holmes’ friend Dr. Watson, “The Sign of the Four” has a complicated plot involving Indian colonial service, a stolen treasure, and a secret pact among four convicts.

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We hope you enjoy this preview of an episode from our back catalog available to our premium subscribers. Tonight, we’ll read the opening to the social novel “North and South,” published in 1854 and written by Elizabeth Gaskell. The novel’s protagonist, Margaret Hale, is forced to leave her home in the tranquil, rural south, to settle with her parents in Milton, a fictional industrial town in the north. To unlock full episodes, ad-free listening, and more, please go to snoozecast.com/plus.

Elizabeth Gaskell, often referred to as Mrs. Gaskell, was an English novelist, biographer and short story writer. Her novels offer a detailed portrait of the lives of many strata of Victorian society Her work is of interest to social historians as well as readers of literature.

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Tonight, we’ll read the next chapter of “Little Women” by American author Louisa May Alcott, published in 1868, titled “Secrets”.

You can listen to the whole series in order at snoozecast.com/series.

In the last chapter, “Castles in the Air”, Laurie joins the sisters for their secret hilltop “Busy Bee Society” meeting. They discuss what their own personal heavens would be.

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Tonight, we’ll read from a little cookbook titled “Pennsylvania Dutch Cookery.” The publisher and author are unknown. 

The Pennsylvania Dutch live primarily in Southeastern and South Central Pennsylvania. Some Pennsylvania Dutch live in the historically Pennsylvania Dutch-speaking areas of Maryland, North Carolina, and Virginia's Shenandoah Valley.

The continued use of the term ""Pennsylvania Dutch"" was strengthened by the Pennsylvania Dutch themselves in the 1800s as a way of distinguishing themselves from later waves of German immigrants to the United States.

There are possibly more than 300,000 native speakers of Pennsylvania German language in the United States and Canada.

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We hope you enjoy this preview of an episode from our back catalog available to our premium subscribers. Tonight, we’ll read an 1886 short story titled “Kashtanka” by Anton Chekhov, and adapted by Snoozecast. It is a sincere and simple story about loyalty, about a dog named Kashtanka who experiences life with two very different masters. It has been speculated that the story is a veiled biography of the author himself. To unlock full episodes, ad-free listening, and more, please go to snoozecast.com/plus.

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Tonight, we shall read the next part of “Pride and Prejudice”, written by Jane Austen. If you’d like to listen from the beginning, please find and listen to all the previous episodes easily at snoozecast.com/series. In the last episode, the Bennet’s had differing experiences at the ball at Netherfield. For example, Jane, in love with Bingley, had a lovely time. Elizabeth, holding prejudice against both Mr. Collins and Mr. Darcy, and generally embarrassed by all the other members of her family, did not have a lovely time. We will pick up with the Bennet family being the last to leave the ball at Netherfield.

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We hope you enjoy this preview of an episode from our back catalog available to our premium subscribers. Tonight, we’ll read another excerpt from “The Wind in the Willows” by Kenneth Grahame, published in 1908. To unlock full episodes, ad-free listening, and more, please go to snoozecast.com/plus.

This story centers around four small animals: Mole, Rat, Toad, and Badger. Their stories take place in the countryside of Edwardian England.

If you’d like to start with the first episode, it aired on March 22, 2021.

Grahame grew up on the River Thames. As secretary of the Bank of England, he told his son bedtime stories that evolved into this book after he took an early retirement.

In the last episode, new friends Mole and Rat have a picnic on the river bank, and take an accidental plunge in the river afterwards. Later, they pay a visit to the estate of The Toad to see what he was up to. The Toad’s newest passion was for his fancy carriage he referred to as a gypsy caravan. The Toad hoped for company to join him on the open road and tries to convince his visitors to come along.

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We hope you enjoy this preview of an episode from our back catalog available to our premium subscribers. Tonight, we’ll read the German fairy tale “Rapunzel” lightly adapted by us from “The Red Fairy Book,” and attributed to The Brothers Grimm. To unlock full episodes, ad-free listening, and more, please go to snoozecast.com/plus.

Some researchers have proposed that the earliest possible inspiration for the “Maiden in the Tower” archetype is to the pre-Christian European (or proto-Indo-European) sun or dawn goddess myths, in which a “light deity” is trapped and then rescued.

If you are still awake after Rapunzel, you will find another hair-themed fairy tale titled “Ricky with the Tuft” from “The Tales of Mother Goose,” by Charles Perrault.

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We hope you enjoy this preview of an episode from our back catalog available to our premium subscribers. Tonight, for the 400th episode of Snoozecast, we shall read the next chapter to “Peter Pan”, the 1911 novel by J.M. Barrie. To unlock full episodesof this series, ad-free listening, and more, please go to snoozecast.com/plus.

An easy way to listen to this continuing story in order is at snoozecast.com/series.

When we left off, the lost boys were tricked into thinking the pirates aboveground were defeated by the tribal warriors in battle. Up the boys came only to be bound and carried off to the pirate ship, along with Wendy, as hostages. Hook stayed behind, to go below ground and deal with Peter Pan himself. The pirate captain dropped poison into Peter’s bedside cup of water for him to wake up to.

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We hope you enjoy this preview of an episode from our back catalog available to our premium subscribers. Tonight, we’ll read selected poems from Emily Dickinson, starting with a collection about nature. To unlock full episodes, ad-free listening, and more, please go to snoozecast.com/plus.

Little-known during her life, Dickinson has since been regarded as one of the most important figures in American poetry.

Evidence suggests that Dickinson lived much of her life in isolation. Considered an eccentric by locals, she developed a penchant for white clothing and was known for her reluctance to even leave her bedroom. Dickinson never married, and most friendships between her and others depended entirely upon correspondence.

Her poems were unique for her era. They contain short lines, typically lack titles, and often use slant rhyme as well as unconventional capitalization and punctuation. In early editions, including this one, Emily Dickinson's poems were edited by her friends, better to fit the conventions of the times. Thus some of the uniqueness is best understood by viewing her direct handwriting on the page, or by reading more recent editions.

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