Snoozecast

We hope you enjoy this preview of an episode from our back catalog available to our premium subscribers. Tonight, we’ll read the story The Devoted Friend, written by Oscar Wilde, published in 1910. Wilde was an Irish poet and playwright. He is best remembered for his epigrams and plays and his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray. To unlock full episodes, ad-free listening of this series, and more, please go to snoozecast.com/plus.

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.

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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 next part to "The Princess and the Goblin", a children’s fantasy novel, published in 1872. To unlock full episodes and ad-free listening of this series and more, please go to snoozecast.com/plus.

One of the most successful and beloved of Victorian fairy tales, George Macdonald’s "The Princess and the Goblin" tells the story of young Princess Irene and her friend Curdie, who must outwit the threatening goblins who live in caves beneath her mountain home. 

When we left off, Curdie, our little hero who works as a miner within the caves of the mountain, realizes part of the Goblin’s devious plans: that they may flood the mines and destroy them with any miners in them. Curdie went home to his father’s house and have some sleep. Meanwhile, we will pick back up at the introduction of Princess Irene’s father, the King Papa."

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Tonight, we’ll read the story "The Adventure of The Speckled Band" from "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes", published in 1891 and written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. 

The story tells of Helen Stoner, a soon-to-be married young woman who suspects her stepfather may be trying to kill her in order to retain control of her inheritance. Convinced of her stepfather's intentions, she turns to Holmes for help. 

"The Speckled Band" is a classic locked room mystery that deals with the themes of parental greed, inheritance and freedom. Tinged with Gothic elements, it is considered by many to be one of Doyle's finest works, with the author himself calling it his best story.

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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 1865 Mark Twain short story “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County”. It was Twain’s first great success as a writer and brought him national attention. In it, the narrator retells a story he heard from a bartender, Simon Wheeler in California, about the gambler named Jim Smiley. To unlock full episodes, ad-free listening, and more, please go to snoozecast.com/plus.

Jim Smiley is described as betting on just about anything, for example, on the travels of a “straddle bug”. If you’re wondering what a straddle bug is, just picture a large, commonplace beetle.

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Tonight, for the last episode of our second annual October classic horror series, we’ll read a Snoozecast original called “Night Spell.” 

It’s Halloween Night and all the nocturnal animals of the forest will be attending a very important function. Where are they off to this evening? 

Besides a cameo from Maggie in this story, you may also notice poet Robert Frost, for a spell.

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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 next part to the classic children’s story "Heidi", published in 1881 by Swiss author Johanna Spyri. If you’d like to start from the beginning, you’ll find that the very first episode aired on March 8th, 2019. If you’d like to listen to the last episode before this one, it aired on September 28th, 2020. To unlock full episodes and ad-free listening of this series and more, please go to snoozecast.com/plus.

"Heidi" is a novel about the life of a young girl in her grandfather's care in the Swiss Alps. "Heidi" is one of the best-selling books ever written and is among the best-known works of Swiss literature.

 In the previous episode, Clara Sessemann’s grandmama comes to visit. The grandmama takes a liking to Heidi and inspires her to start reading. Heidi has trouble reading at first, and is still homesick, but by the end of the episode is able to find some solace in stories that remind her of her mountain home.

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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 "Herbs for Incantations", an excerpt from "The Folk-lore of Plants" by T. F. Thiselton-Dyer, published in 1889. To unlock full episodes, ad-free listening, and more, please go to snoozecast.com/plus.

The Reverend Thiselton-Dyer was a British curate and vicar, along with a writer of popular non-fiction books such as this one along with “Strange Pages from Family Papers”, which was considered a masterpiece of popular historical writing. 

He was particularly admired for his ability to couple in-depth research with the suspense and excitement normally associated with the nascent art of detective fiction.

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Tonight, during our second annual October classic horror series, we’ll read the opening to "Dracula", an 1897 Gothic horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker. 

"Dracula" introduced the character of Count Dracula and established many conventions of subsequent vampire fantasy. The novel tells the story of Dracula's attempt to move from Transylvania to England so that he may find new blood and spread the undead curse.

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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 next part to The Secret Garden, a novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett first published in 1911. Set in England, it is now one of Burnett's most popular novels and seen as a classic of English children's literature. To unlock full episodes and ad-free listening of this series and more, please go to snoozecast.com/plus.

 In the last episode, Martha the maid encourages Mary to explore the grounds and gardens of Misselthwaite Manor. Martha also lets Mary know there is a locked, walled garden that had belonged to Mr. Craven’s deceased wife. Mary finds a wall so covered in ivy that it doesn't seem to have a door at all. As she is searching, she meets the crusty old gardener Ben Weatherstaff, and his friend, a sweet little songbird of the Robin variety.

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Tonight, we’ll read the next part to Pride and Prejudice, written by Jane Austen. If you’d like to listen from the beginning, episode one aired on August 28th, 2019. 

If you’d like to listen to the last episode, it aired on September 11th, 2020. Pride and Prejudice follows Elizabeth Bennet, the dynamic protagonist, who learns about the repercussions of hasty judgments and eventually comes to appreciate the difference between superficial goodness and actual goodness. 

In the previous episode, Mrs. Bennet, the matriarch of the family, schemes to marry her daughter Jane to Bingley but it ends up making the daughters look bad when they overstay their welcome. Darcy is prejudiced against Jane and her family’s lowly social connections. Though Mrs. Bennet is disappointed that Jane and Elizabeth didn't stay longer, Mr. Bennet is glad to have them back. He had missed their conversation amid younger sister’s Kitty and Lydia's infatuation with anything related to the regiment.

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