Idle Thought of an Idle Fellow
Summary
Jerome. K. Jerome allows us to laugh, with and at, both himself and ourselves, in his writing. As we peruse his Idle Thoughts on subjects ranging from babies to ambition, from dogs to poverty, we find that the dust of over a hundred years have not dimmed the mirror in which we look. Jerome, as in his other comic works, presents a seeming stream of consciousness that can shift in a moment from the ridiculous to the sublime, from self-deprecation to intense longing. Such Idle Thoughts will not be in vain while we can still recognise that humanity changes very little over the ages, and while we can still laugh at ourselves. Narrated by Simon Hester with original music.
©2021 Simon Hester (P)2021 Simon Hester
Eight Pointed Cross
Summary
The violent clash between the Ottoman Empire and the Knights of St John on the island fortress of Malta serves as the backdrop to Eight-Pointed Cross. Young siblings Domenicus and Katrina Montesa live under constant threat of raids by the Ottoman Turks, the staunchest enemies of the Christian knights. All the while, hundreds of leagues away in Istanbul, Demir's dream of becoming an imperial horseman in the Sultan's cavalry is his only salvation against relentless torment by his cruel brother. The Turkish invasion of Malta and the island's bloody defence will forever change the lives of the three protagonists, whose fates are intertwined not only with each other, but with nobles and peasants, knights and corsairs, tyrants and gally slaves, on both sides of the conflict as the novel sweeps across the Mediterranean world of the 16th century - from Malta, a barren Christian outpost, to Istanbul, the glittering seat of Islam, from filthy prison cells to lush palace gardens. Against soaring cliffs and open sea-lanes, the men and women of Eight-Pointed Cross face corruption and oppression, broken vows and betrayal, as two great empires collide. Surviving this battle-soaked world of swords and scimitars will test the limits of every character's courage, loyalty, and love.
©2011 Marthese Fenech (P)2019 Marthese Fenech
Through the Looking Glass (Annotated)
Summary
Once again Alice enters into an imaginary world full of nonsense, color and paradox. This time she enters through a mirror and, as one might expect, everything becomes back to front. She is on a quest to become a Queen in a fantastical game of chess meeting both help and hindrance in a cast of unforgettable characters such as Humpty Dumpty and the White Knight.
Public Domain (P)2020 Simon Hester
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Summary
The Picture of Dorian Gray is a novel which shocks us still. The sensibilities of its original Victorian readership may have blanched at the exoticism and barely disguised eroticism which drip from Wildes prose, but for us today who barely look twice at such things, we find something much more horrific at the heart of the book.
Public Domain (P)2020 Simon Hester
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Summary
After first introducing Sherlock Holmes in "A Study in Scarlet", Sir Arthur Conan Doyle then began his series of shorter Holmes' adventures as chronicled by the famous detective's friend and companion Dr. John Watson. Here, we have many classics of the Holmes series. The gothic horror of "The Speckled Band", the bizarre and clever deception of "The Red Headed League", the unique and frightening experience of the "Engineer's Thumb", and the lofty client from "A Scandal in Bohemia", a case that finds Holmes up against "The Woman". Simon Hester gives a compelling narration with specially composed theme music.
©2021 Simon Hester (P)2021 Simon Hester
Falcon's Shadow: A Novel of the Knights of Malta
Summary
The ghosts of war leave no footprints. When legendary Ottoman seaman Dragut Rais attacked the Maltese islands in 1551, his army left Gozo a smoking ruin emptied of its entire population. Among the 5,000 carried into slavery is Augustine Montesa, father of Domenicus and Katrina. Wounded and broken, Domenicus vows to find his father, even if it means abandoning Angelica, his betrothed. Armed with only a topaz to serve as ransom, he sets out on a journey that sees him forcibly recruited from the streets of Europe and thrown into the frontline. On Malta, Katrina struggles to find work after the Grand Master has her publicly flogged for speaking out against him. When, at last, she stumbles upon a promising position, all is not as it seems. Her job forces her to confront a terrible truth one that may prove disastrous for Robert, the man she loves. Hundreds of leagues to the east in Istanbul, Demir, son of a wealthy Turkish bey, works hard to become an imperial Ottoman horseman, despite having to endure the cruelty of his father and half-brother. Life takes an unexpected turn the moment Demir encounters a young woman, stolen from Malta, brought into the household as another of his fathers servants. Falcons Shadow sweeps from quarry pits to sprawling estates, tumultuous seas to creaking gallows, the dungeons beneath the bishops palace to the open decks of warships. Fates will collide at the Battle of Djerba, a momentous clash which unites lost kin, only to tear them apart once more.
©2020 Marthese Fenech (P)2020 Marthese Fenech