The Classic Tales Podcasts and Audiobooks

During the month of November, we have all been enjoying stories from The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle .  These are the first three stories in the series, Silver Blaze , The Yellow Face , and The Stockbroker's Clerk .  B.J. knew we hadn't had mysteries in a while, and we needed a break from all the horror stories.  I am delighted, as I truly enjoy following Holmes and Watson on their adventures.  All of these stories are masterfully written.  They are complex, witty and often break the pattern of a basic mystery. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was born in 1859 in Scotland.  He was a multi-faceted man.  After a rough childhood dealing with an alcoholic and insane father, he was educated at a Jesuit school in England, where he had trouble adjusting to the rigid lifestyle. About these experiences, he wrote, "Perhaps it was good for me that the times were hard, for I was wild, full blooded and a trifle reckless. But the situation c...

After wrapping up The Gods of Mars , B.J. Harrison and The Classic Tales Premium Podcast bring us David Copperfield , by Charles Dickens .  This book was released as a full novel in 1850, after being published serially the two previous years.  The actual title of the book is, The Personal History, Adventures, Experience and Observation of David Copperfield the Younger of Blunderstone Rookery (Which He Never Meant to Publish on Any Account) .  As you probably know, Dickens got paid by the word. Dickens said that, like many parents, he had a favorite child, "and his name is David Copperfield ."  It is also B.J.'s all time favorite book.  If you ask him today, "What's your favorite book?"   He'll say, " David Copperfield, of course!"  If you'd asked him the same question ten years ago, he would have said, "Why, it is David Copperfield !"  If you ask him in five years.... well OK.  You get the idea. Why is this his favorite boo...