Richard Doddridge Blackmore, referred to most commonly as R. D. Blackmore was one of the most famous English novelists of the second half of the nineteenth century.
Clara Vaughan, Vol I
Running Time:05:50:04 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
Read in English by Lynne Thompson; Denise Nordell; Ellen Preckel; Claire Schreuder; Anna Simon; Katie McClain; WoollyBee; KHand
CLARA VAUGHAN, the young heroine, narrator, and namesake for R. D. Blackmore’s early detective novel, is determined to solve the mystery of her father’s murder—a crime that occurred when she was only 10 years of age. The book gives an account of Clara’s adventures, romances, and encounters with many eccentric characters, when, years later, she devotes herself to unraveling the mystery. As Clara states at the beginning of Chapter II, “How that deed was done, I learned at once, and will tell. By whom and why it was done, I have given my life to learn.” R. D. Blackmore, undoubtedly better known for his later novel LORNA DOONE, published this book anonymously in 1864.
Clara Vaughan, Vol. II
Running Time:07:19:46 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
Read in English by Ellen Preckel, Lynne Thompson, Helen Taylor, Acousticwave, Sandra Cullum, Rapunzelina
Volume II of the trilogy continues the account of Clara’s adventures, romances, and encounters with many eccentric characters, when, years later, she devotes herself to unraveling the mystery. As Clara explains in an early chapter: “How that deed was done, I learned at once, and will tell.
Clara Vaughan, Vol. III
Running Time:07:52:59 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
Read in English by Lynne Thompson; acousticwave; Soumen Barua; Sheila; Sandra; Deon Gines; Maggie Travers; Fiddlesticks
The third volume of the trilogy concludes the account of Clara’s adventures, romances, and encounters with many eccentric characters while she finally unravels the mystery. As Clara explains to the reader in an early chapter: “How that deed was done, I learned at once, and will tell. By whom and why it was done, I have given my life to learn.”
Cradock Nowell
Cradock Nowell: a Tale of the New Forest is a three-volume novel by R. D. Blackmore published in 1866. Set in the New Forest and in London, it follows the fortunes of Cradock Nowell who is thrown out of his family home by his father following the suspicious death of Cradock's twin brother Clayton. It was Blackmore's second novel, and the novel he wrote prior to his most famous work Lorna Doone.
*Warning: Some listeners may be offended by some of the language. Words that were considered acceptable in the nineteenth century are not always politically correct today.
Cradock Nowell Vol. 1
Read in English by Lynne Thompson
Running Time:08:30:41 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
Cradock Nowell Vol. 2
Read in English by Lynne Thompson
Running Time:08:09:15 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
Cradock Nowell Vol. 3
Read in English by Lynne Thompson
Running Time:08:14:30 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
Cripps the Carrier
Read in English by Keith Salis
Running Time:13:47:29 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
Esther Cripps, the younger sister of the Carrier, Zacchary Cripps, witnesses the disposal of what appears to be the body of the only daughter, Grace, of Squire Oglander of Oxford. Grace's suitor, Russell Overshute, is not convinced with the Coroner's inquiry, and enlists the Carrier to help him investigate the situation.
Erema
Running Time:17:42:40 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
Read in English by Linda Dodge, Neeru Iyer, Maryann Speigal, Ezra Goldschlager, Ellie
A few years before the great Civil War, a young English woman and her father, having left the security of their wagon train, are lost in the unforgiving Californian desert, looking in vain for the landmark that marks the short-cut across those last western mountains which would lead them to the home of an old friend. George Castlewood gives all the water and rations he has to his daughter, Erema, and dies just a short distance from help. Rescued by kind Sampson “Uncle Sam” Gundry, the family friend they had been seeking, Erema lives for a time at his sawmill. One day, one Mr. Goad, a bounty-hunter from England, arrives at the mill, offering $10,000 for proof of Lord Castlewood’s death and custody of his young daughter. Lord Castlewood had been accused of the crime of patricide 15 years earlier, escaped from jail and been on the lam ever since. Erema, believing her father’s innocence and determined to clear his good name, returns to England to discover the long-lost secrets of her family and the cloudy circumstances of the murder of her grandfather.
Told by Erema herself, this is a grand story of mystery and the coming of age of an independent and courageous woman. Set in Victorian England and the throes of the Civil War, the story is replete with twists and turns of plot in every chapter.
George Bowring - A Tale of Cader Idris
Read in English by Gary J. Conover
Running Time:01:17:26 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
Our narrator, Bob, knows George Bowring from school days. Their lives, dreams and misfortunes are parallel until George marries the woman Bob loves. But still, their friendship endures, despite numerous tensions over the years. The two men go on a fishing trip to Wales, George promising Bob he will see mountains. One of these mountains is the infamous, supposedly haunted Cader Idris. Will George regret taking his friend on the trip?
Kit and Kitty
Read by Keith Salis
Running Time:18:30:39 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
Kit Orchardson, an apprentice produce grower in Sunbury, England describes for us a time in his youth in which he fell in love with Kitty, a young lady of higher status, endeavored to secure her love and ventured to solve her mysterious disappearance shortly after they were joined in marriage. Through Kit's perspective, we get a wonderful view of life in 1860 England where people's attitudes were maneuvering between their societal status and their character.
Lorna Doone, a Romance of Exmoor
Running Time:27:39:56 in 2 MP3 Audio CDs
Read in English by Hume Angel, Shirley Anderson, MichelleHarris, Landii, daisy55, Rachel Lintern, Chloey Winters, Fran, Liz Lassetter, Anna Roberts, G Fairchild
"If anybody cares to read a simple tale told simply" ... thus opens Lorna Doone, one of the best love stories ever written. The novel has inspired at least ten movies and mini-series. "John (in West Country dialect this is pronounced Jan) Ridd is the son of a respectable farmer who was murdered in cold blood by a member of the notorious Doone clan, a once-noble family now living in the isolated Doone Valley. Battling his desire for revenge, John also grows into a respectable farmer and continues to take good care of his mother and two sisters. He falls hopelessly in love with Lorna, a girl he meets quite by accident, who turns out to be not only the granddaughter of Sir Ensor Doone (lord of the Doones), but destined to marry (against her will) the impetuous, menacing, and now jealous heir of the Doone Valley, Carver Doone. Carver will let nothing get in the way of his marriage to Lorna, which he plans to force upon her once Sir Ensor dies and he comes into his inheritance".
The Maid of Sker
Running Time:22:10:47 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
Read in English by Jim Locke and Jennifer Painter
Who is Bardie? Her refined clothes show that she is not an ordinary girl. But why did she have to be saved from the sea by a fisherman? This story is through the eyes of the fisherman, who followed Bardie throughout her childhood and attempted to discover her roots.
Note: This text, published more than 150 years ago, contains race-related words and descriptions, which listeners may find offensive.
Mary Anerley
Running Time:20:24:39 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
Read in English by Lynne Thompson, Annike Lindhout, Cleon Cumberbatch, Kathleen Moore,
Elsie Selwyn, Keith Salis, Gillian Hendrie, Lynn Danforth, Sophia Gannaoui, Aisha, K Hand
It is 1801, in the wild and rugged country that is northern England. A local Squire has died but his manor, Scargate Hall, is left to two sisters, Philippa and Eliza, while the squire's son is disinherited. The family lawyer has discovered a problem with the inheritance and needs to apprise the family of the fact. Meanwhile, over a hundred miles away, Mary Anerley of Anerley Farm meets a man who is running for his life and helps him to evade capture. This man's history is a complicated one and throws up many obstacles in the path of true love with Mary.