The Book Reader

The Notting Hill Mystery by Charles Warren Adams audiobook. Genre: mystery Charles Felix was the pseudonym of Charles Warren Adams, an English Lawyer and publisher and is now known to have been the author of 'The Notting Hill Mystery', thought to be the first full length detective novel in English. The story first appeared as an eight part serial in a weekly magazine in 1862, and was subsequently published as a single volume novel in 1865. The story deals with the then newly emerging field of 'mesmerism' which we now know as hypnotism, and its use in the planning and execution of three truly devious crimes. The novel, unusually, is written wholly in the form of a series of letters and reports gathered by the investigator from the various witnesses in the case, and the reader is left to decide themselves the guilt or otherwise of the chief suspect. For ad-free listening try our premium subscription Chapters (Approximate) (00:00:00) Chapter 01 (00:11:50) Chapter 02 (00:37:38) Chapter 03 (01:11:13) Chapter 04 (01:47:42) Chapter 05 (02:23:00) Chapter 06 (02:58:22) Chapter 07 (03:39:36) Chapter 08 (04:15:42) Chapter 09 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Early Tudors - Henry VII and Henry VIII by Charles Edward Moberly audiobook. Genre: history In The Early Tudors - Henry VII and Henry VIII, historian and educator Charles Edward Moberly guides listeners from the battered aftermath of the Wars of the Roses into the hard-edged rise of Tudor power. Beginning with Henry VII, Moberly traces how a new dynasty steadies a divided realm through careful statecraft, the management of rivals, and the slow tightening of royal authority. The narrative then turns to Henry VIII, whose appetite for magnificence, war, and decisive personal rule pulls England onto a far larger stage. Along the way, the book keeps one eye on court and council chambers and the other on Europe: shifting alliances, the rivalry of France and the Habsburg empire, the pressures of the papacy, and the wider contest for influence in Italy. As religious debate deepens across the continent, England's internal politics become inseparable from questions of faith, legitimacy, and national direction. Clear, compact, and rich in context, Moberly's account is both a portrait of two striking rulers and a study of how a centralized monarchy takes shape in a rapidly changing world. For ad-free listening try our premium subscription Chapters (Approximate) (00:00:00) Chapter 01 (00:28:11) Chapter 02 (00:43:13) Chapter 03 (00:56:43) Chapter 04 (01:28:30) Chapter 05 (01:47:17) Chapter 06 (02:15:54) Chapter 07 (02:46:55) Chapter 08 (03:12:38) Chapter 09 (03:35:00) Chapter 10 (03:56:29) Chapter 11 (04:17:24) Chapter 12 (04:39:58) Chapter 13 (05:01:27) Chapter 14 (05:15:21) Chapter 15 (05:39:50) Chapter 16 (06:02:17) Chapter 17 (06:20:43) Chapter 18 (06:36:33) Chapter 19 (06:57:58) Chapter 20 (07:20:40) Chapter 21 (07:37:43) Chapter 22 (07:55:14) Chapter 23 (08:16:50) Chapter 24 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Lady of the Shroud by Bram Stoker audiobook. Genre: adventure When young Englishman Rupert Sent Leger inherits a fortune from an eccentric uncle, the will comes with conditions that pull him far from London society and into a rugged coastal land on the edge of Europe. Determined to claim his legacy and understand the strange charge entrusted to him, Rupert travels to the blue waters and steep mountains of the Balkans, where local unrest and international intrigue simmer just beneath the surface. There, in a lonely castle battered by sea winds and old legends, he encounters a veiled figure who appears only at night: a silent, captivating woman wrapped in a shroud, rumored to be something not quite living. Rupert's rational courage is tested as eerie rituals, secret passages, and whispered superstitions collide with very real dangers from spies, assassins, and rival powers watching the region. As Rupert tries to protect his newfound domain and the mysterious Lady who haunts it, he is drawn into a high-stakes struggle over identity, loyalty, and the future of a small nation fighting to define itself in a hostile world. For ad-free listening try our premium subscription Chapters (Approximate) (00:00:00) Chapter 01 (00:49:30) Chapter 02 (01:42:14) Chapter 03 (02:19:09) Chapter 04 (03:10:25) Chapter 05 (04:00:31) Chapter 06 (04:33:09) Chapter 07 (05:38:53) Chapter 08 (06:46:13) Chapter 09 (07:31:48) Chapter 10 (08:14:38) Chapter 11 (08:55:59) Chapter 12 (09:47:07) Chapter 13 (10:43:42) Chapter 14 (11:40:49) Chapter 15 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Rockspur Eleven by Burt L. Standish audiobook. Genre: drama In The Rockspur Eleven, Burt L. Standish drops listeners into a turn-of-the-century football season where character is tested as hard as muscle. Don Scott wants nothing more than to help Rockspur win, but his quick temper and stubborn pride keep putting him at odds with teammates, rivals, and even the game itself. When a new, swaggering coach, Dolph Renwood, takes charge, practices turn harsher, expectations rise, and Don finds his resentment growing just as the schedule tightens. With the big games looming, Don's loyal friend Danny Chatterton tries to keep him grounded, while Don's father urges him to master the one opponent he cannot tackle on the field: his own anger.As Rockspur's eleven pushes toward its defining matchups, the boys face bruising competition, schoolyard politics, and moral pressure that reaches beyond playbooks and touchdowns. Rumors, mistakes, and a shadow of wrongdoing threaten to fracture the locker room, forcing Don to choose between defending his ego and protecting the team. Packed with brisk game action and old-school locker-room banter, this classic sports tale asks what it really means to be tough, fair, and worthy of the jersey. For ad-free listening try our premium subscription Chapters (Approximate) (00:00:00) Chapter 01 (00:08:40) Chapter 02 (00:17:20) Chapter 03 (00:30:23) Chapter 04 (00:43:21) Chapter 05 (00:59:06) Chapter 06 (01:08:00) Chapter 07 (01:20:06) Chapter 08 (01:30:40) Chapter 09 (01:39:45) Chapter 10 (01:49:43) Chapter 11 (01:58:13) Chapter 12 (02:08:11) Chapter 13 (02:16:30) Chapter 14 (02:24:26) Chapter 15 (02:38:18) Chapter 16 (02:48:56) Chapter 17 (02:59:45) Chapter 18 (03:13:21) Chapter 19 (03:24:36) Chapter 20 (03:35:59) Chapter 21 (03:47:07) Chapter 22 (04:03:07) Chapter 23 (04:16:10) Chapter 24 (04:28:32) Chapter 25 (04:37:03) Chapter 26 (04:45:38) Chapter 27 (04:57:26) Chapter 28 (05:06:27) Chapter 29 (05:15:53) Chapter 30 (05:35:00) Chapter 31 (05:49:43) Chapter 32 (05:56:00) Chapter 33 (06:05:08) Chapter 34 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Boy Scouts Handbook by Boy Scouts of America audiobook. Genre: self help The Boy Scouts Handbook by the Boy Scouts of America is the essential field guide for a young person stepping into the world of Scouting, where character is built through action, service, and outdoor adventure. Written to be carried, consulted, and lived, it introduces the Scout Oath and Scout Law as a practical compass for everyday choices, then backs those ideals with step-by-step skills for real situations. Readers learn how to plan and lead as part of a patrol, camp responsibly, cook outdoors, care for gear, and travel safely in the backcountry. Clear instruction covers knots and lashings, navigation and map reading, fire building and outdoor ethics, fitness and personal safety, and first aid that can make a difference when help is far away. Alongside hands-on techniques, the handbook explores citizenship, community involvement, and leadership habits that grow with each rank and challenge. Whether used to prepare for a first campout or to set goals for advancement, this classic manual frames Scouting as a journey: becoming more capable, more reliable, and more ready to serve others, one skill and one choice at a time. For ad-free listening try our premium subscription Chapters (Approximate) (00:00:00) Chapter 00 (00:25:54) Chapter 01 (00:39:33) Chapter 02 (00:54:41) Chapter 03 (01:08:25) Chapter 04 (01:52:55) Chapter 05 (02:11:11) Chapter 06 (02:28:05) Chapter 07 (02:43:21) Chapter 08 (02:56:51) Chapter 09 (03:11:23) Chapter 10 (03:27:53) Chapter 11 (03:41:01) Chapter 12 (04:00:52) Chapter 13 (04:17:24) Chapter 14 (04:31:17) Chapter 15 (04:43:19) Chapter 16 (05:00:43) Chapter 17 (05:16:59) Chapter 18 (05:40:51) Chapter 19 (05:58:05) Chapter 20 (06:04:28) Chapter 21 (06:16:28) Chapter 22 (06:27:25) Chapter 23 (06:46:32) Chapter 24 (06:58:12) Chapter 25 (07:12:11) Chapter 26 (07:28:49) Chapter 27 (07:49:52) Chapter 28 (08:03:40) Chapter 29 (08:16:10) Chapter 30 (08:30:40) Chapter 31 (08:46:01) Chapter 32 (08:58:26) Chapter 33 (09:10:14) Chapter 34 (09:19:33) Chapter 35 (09:26:45) Chapter 36 (09:43:22) Chapter 37 (09:54:44) Chapter 38 (10:08:51) Chapter 39 (10:21:41) Chapter 40 (10:35:03) Chapter 41 (10:51:45) Chapter 42 (11:10:07) Chapter 44 (11:24:31) Chapter 45 (11:42:45) Chapter 46 (12:17:57) Chapter 47 (12:35:01) Chapter 48 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Case of Miss Elliott by Baroness Emma Orczy audiobook. Genre: mystery In Edwardian London, crimes that stump Scotland Yard become tea-room talk in an ABC shop off the Strand. There, a mild, unassuming figure known only as the Old Man in the Corner sits with a cup of tea, a length of string, and a talent for seeing what everyone else misses. When a sharp young journalist, often identified as Polly Burton, brings him fresh newspaper accounts and courtroom gossip, he listens, asks a few disarming questions, and then patiently reconstructs the truth from motive, timing, and the smallest contradictions. The Case of Miss Elliott gathers twelve of Baroness Emma Orczy's early detective tales, each built around a seemingly impossible puzzle: a death in a quiet Maida Vale street that raises the question of murder or suicide, a prized racehorse targeted by an insidious plot, stolen jewels in a high-society house full of guests, baffling disappearances, and scandals that ripple through drawing rooms and docks alike. As Polly tests his conclusions and bristles at his certainty, the Old Man spins elegant solutions that expose greed, desperation, and the fragile masks of respectability - all without leaving his chair. For ad-free listening try our premium subscription Chapters (Approximate) (00:00:00) Chapter 01 (00:30:37) Chapter 02 (01:06:45) Chapter 03 (01:37:40) Chapter 04 (02:10:36) Chapter 05 (02:44:31) Chapter 06 (03:15:31) Chapter 07 (03:52:28) Chapter 08 (04:21:42) Chapter 09 (04:53:06) Chapter 10 (05:23:31) Chapter 11 (05:51:24) Chapter 12 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Artist by B. F. Gandee audiobook. Genre: self help First published in 1835, The Artist by B. F. Gandee is an art manual disguised as a friendly lesson book, inviting listeners into the drawing room where technique is taught through conversation, encouragement, and careful practice. The guide follows Charlotte as she tutors her cousin Ellen, moving step by step from foundational habits of hand and eye to the ornamental styles that fascinated early Victorian makers. Along the way, Gandee explains how to plan, prepare, and execute a variety of period methods, including Grecian painting, Japan painting, oriental tinting, mezzotinting, transferring, and inlaying, with practical advice on materials, surfaces, and common pitfalls. The instruction is geared toward creating decorative work that could be displayed at home or turned into attractive objects for bazaars and fancy fairs, making the book both a snapshot of nineteenth-century taste and a usable set of lessons for patient beginners. Part historical craft handbook and part gentle apprenticeship story, The Artist centers on discipline, experimentation, and the confidence that grows when practice starts to look like art. For ad-free listening try our premium subscription Chapters (Approximate) (00:00:00) Chapter 00 (00:02:38) Chapter 01 (00:18:23) Chapter 02 (00:33:27) Chapter 03 (00:44:30) Chapter 04 (00:54:02) Chapter 05 (01:08:42) Chapter 06 (01:21:49) Chapter 07 (01:32:12) Chapter 08 (01:46:04) Chapter 09 (01:53:44) Chapter 10 (02:02:58) Chapter 11 (02:10:33) Chapter 12 (02:19:49) Chapter 13 (02:27:03) Chapter 14 (02:33:14) Chapter 15 (02:39:29) Chapter 16 (02:46:25) Chapter 17 (02:51:35) Chapter 18 (02:56:49) Chapter 19 (03:02:32) Chapter 20 (03:17:00) Chapter 21 (03:25:13) Chapter 22 (03:34:04) Chapter 23 (03:52:08) Chapter 24 (03:58:32) Chapter 25 (04:07:42) Chapter 26 (04:18:58) Chapter 27 (04:36:10) Chapter 28 (04:46:10) Chapter 29 (04:55:28) Chapter 30 (05:02:17) Chapter 31 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Case of the Lamp That Went Out by Auguste Groner audiobook. Genre: mystery In late-19th-century Vienna, an ordinary morning turns grim when a milk girl, Anna, discovers the body of a well-dressed man in an empty lot. With no clear witnesses and only a handful of puzzling traces, the case is handed to Joseph Muller, a quiet, dutiful member of the Imperial Austrian police whose unassuming manner hides a razor-sharp talent for reading people and details. As officialdom pressures the investigation toward easy answers, Muller follows a subtler trail: a nervous woman glimpsed at a garden gate, a household full of guarded servants, and a strange recollection from a night watchman - a red-shaded lamp in an upstairs window that was not simply blown out by the wind, but deliberately extinguished by a human hand. The vanished light becomes a doorway into a tangle of respectability, secrecy, and motive, where every polite conversation seems to conceal a fear, and every object in a room may be a message. Patient, methodical, and quietly stubborn, Muller must separate coincidence from design before the truth disappears into Vienna's shadows. For ad-free listening try our premium subscription Chapters (Approximate) (00:00:00) Chapter 00 (00:05:17) Chapter 01 (00:18:42) Chapter 02 (00:34:05) Chapter 03 (00:45:19) Chapter 04 (01:04:59) Chapter 05 (01:14:21) Chapter 06 (01:34:41) Chapter 07 (02:11:24) Chapter 08 (02:30:00) Chapter 09 (03:00:13) Chapter 10 (03:14:58) Chapter 11 (03:24:46) Chapter 12 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Guy Garrick by Arthur B. Reeve audiobook. Genre: mystery In early twentieth-century New York, private detective Guy Garrick makes his name by treating crime like a laboratory problem. With his loyal friend and assistant Tom Marshall at his side, Garrick is pulled into a baffling case that begins with a rich young man, Mortimer Warrington, reporting the theft of his prized automobile and quickly escalates into violence, intimidation, and a trail of clues that suggest the robbery is only the surface of something far bigger. As the police and an insurance investigator struggle to keep pace with a fast-moving underworld, Garrick applies emerging forensic methods and ingenious devices to test evidence, trace hidden connections, and expose the mechanisms of a motor-driven criminal ring. The investigation leads from respectable drawing rooms to backroom gambling, blackmail, and official corruption, where every witness seems compromised and every lead may be a trap. Blending brisk action with the excitement of new technology, Guy Garrick is a classic mystery of modernity arriving at street level, and a detective determined to prove that science can outthink the citys most ruthless operators. For ad-free listening try our premium subscription Chapters (Approximate) (00:00:00) Chapter 01 (00:06:31) Chapter 02 (00:15:58) Chapter 03 (00:28:28) Chapter 04 (00:40:40) Chapter 05 (00:55:37) Chapter 06 (01:12:47) Chapter 07 (01:28:11) Chapter 08 (01:43:07) Chapter 09 (01:59:08) Chapter 10 (02:14:09) Chapter 11 (02:30:59) Chapter 12 (02:54:17) Chapter 13 (03:08:30) Chapter 14 (03:21:26) Chapter 15 (03:35:51) Chapter 16 (03:52:14) Chapter 17 (04:03:03) Chapter 18 (04:15:53) Chapter 19 (04:34:12) Chapter 20 (04:48:50) Chapter 21 (05:09:00) Chapter 22 (05:20:26) Chapter 23 (05:31:49) Chapter 24 (05:54:35) Chapter 25 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

History of Animals by Aristotle audiobook. Genre: science Book I Grouping of animals and the parts of the human body. Book II Different parts of red-blooded animals. Book III Internal organs. Book IV Animals without blood (invertebrates). Books V & VI Animal reproduction. Book VII Human reproduction. Book VIII Habits (food, migration, health, diseases). Book IX Social behavior. Book X Dealing with barrenness in women was excluded from the translation of D'Arcy Thompson for being spurious so the translation of the Clergyman Richard Cresswell (Vicar of Salcombe Regis, Devon) is used instead. Sir D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson was a biologist, mathematician and classicist who also wrote On Growth and Form which discusses the mathematical patterns and structures formed in plants and animals. For ad-free listening try our premium subscription Chapters (Approximate) (00:00:00) Chapter 01 (00:08:10) Chapter 02 (00:31:30) Chapter 03 (00:55:30) Chapter 04 (01:16:06) Chapter 05 (01:34:42) Chapter 06 (02:01:27) Chapter 07 (02:17:58) Chapter 08 (02:39:35) Chapter 09 (02:57:43) Chapter 10 (03:13:15) Chapter 11 (03:32:07) Chapter 12 (03:51:28) Chapter 13 (04:13:28) Chapter 14 (04:37:19) Chapter 15 (04:50:54) Chapter 16 (05:07:17) Chapter 17 (05:24:17) Chapter 18 (05:40:41) Chapter 19 (06:05:16) Chapter 20 (06:17:37) Chapter 21 (06:37:01) Chapter 22 (06:54:15) Chapter 23 (07:17:21) Chapter 24 (07:33:27) Chapter 25 (07:47:30) Chapter 26 (08:02:37) Chapter 27 (08:19:40) Chapter 28 (08:33:50) Chapter 29 (08:55:44) Chapter 30 (09:17:33) Chapter 31 (09:39:43) Chapter 32 (10:02:29) Chapter 33 (10:23:52) Chapter 34 (10:39:10) Chapter 35 (10:55:33) Chapter 36 (11:12:05) Chapter 37 (11:25:03) Chapter 38 (11:51:11) Chapter 39 (12:15:26) Chapter 40 (12:32:05) Chapter 41 (12:56:26) Chapter 42 (13:09:52) Chapter 43 (13:22:08) Chapter 44 (13:39:47) Chapter 45 (13:57:53) Chapter 46 (14:15:38) Chapter 47 (14:39:18) Chapter 48 (15:00:16) Chapter 49 (15:27:22) Chapter 50 (15:47:08) Chapter 51 (16:04:00) Chapter 52 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices