Short stories 1
Talking Books
The titles in this booklist are just a selection of the titles available for loan from the RNIB National Library Talking Book Service.
Don’t forget you are allowed to have up to 6 books on loan. When you return a title, you will then receive another one.
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A feast of stories; edited by Clare Francis and Ondine Upton. 1996. Read by various narrators, 15 hours 40 minutes. TB 11030.
28 short stories by leading novelists, offering everything from adventure to romance, from relationships to humour and crime. Contains strong language. TB 11030.
Alfred Hitchcock's tales to take your breath away; edited by Alfred Hitchcock and Eleanor Sullivan. 1982. Read by various narrators, 16 hours 11 minutes. TB 7659.
This anthology from Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine contains stories by such well-known authors as Lawrence Block, Nedra Tyre, Jack Ritchie, Brian Gardfield, John Lutz, Robert Bankier, Edward Wellen and Bill Prozini. You will find the most dastardly of plots, the most suspicious of circumstances and the strangest of fiction, exactly what you associate with the name of Alfred Hitchcock. TB 7659.
An anthology of American short stories. From "The Oxford book of American short stories"; edited by Joyce Carol Oates. 1994. Read by various narrators, 32 hours 42 minutes. TB 10788.
A sweeping survey of American short fiction, in a collection of tales combining classic works with "different, unexpected gems". There are little known stories, such as Mark Twain's "Cannibalism in the cars" and harrowing and dreamlike, allegorical fiction by Malville. The introductions to each writer blend biographical information with the author's own observations on their work. An introductory essay offers the fruit of years of reflection on a genre in which she herself is a master. TB 10788.
Breaking ice: an anthology of contemporary African-American fiction; edited by Terry McMillan. 1992. Read by various narrators, 19 hours 56 minutes. TB 10492.
A striking collection of works from authors both established and emerging, this is the first original anthology of African-American writing in over a decade. Authors include: Tina McElroy Ansa, Doris Jean Austin, Wesley Brown, Octavia Butler, Steven Corbin, Melvin Dixon, Bill Williams Forde, Charles Johnson, John McCluskey, Richard Perry, Barbara Summers, Cliff Thompson, Alice Walker, John Edgar Wideman. TB 10492.
Great law & order stories; edited and introduced by John Mortimer. 1990. Read by various narrators, 14 hours 29 minutes. TB 9385.
This superb collection of short stories contains classics of suspense and mystery and, with stories ranging from Charles Dickens and Conan Doyle to Ruth Rendell, P.D. James and John Mortimer himself, explores new dimensions in crime writing. TB 9385.
Great soldiers' tales; edited and introduced by Lord Carver. 1991. Read by Garard Green, 9 hours 26 minutes. TB 9739.
All the heroism, sacrifice and humour of the soldier at war, captured in a superb collection of short stories with a wartime theme. Contributors include C. S. Forester, Leo Tolstoy, Kipling and Monsarrat. TB 9739.
London after midnight: a conducted tour; edited by Peter Haining. 1996. Read by various narrators, 11 hours 52 minutes. TB 12032.
Contents: The knife by Robert Arthur; Fu Manchu and the frightened redhead by Sax Rohmer; The funspot-street affair by Thomas Burke; The girl who loved graveyards by P. D. James; The most hated man in London by Patricia Moyes; Flight from Fleet street by Carter Dickson; Dangerous Game by Michael Gilbert; Karmesin the murderer by Gerald Kersh; The day lucky's luck ran out by Allan Prior; A little place off the Edgware road by Grahame Greene; People don't do such things by Ruth Rendell; The elusive bullet by John Rhode; The adventure of the worst man in London by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; The bottle party by H. C. Bailey; Aces high by Peter Cheyney; Yellow Iris by Agatha Christie; Trent and the fool-proof lift by E. C. Bentley; The cave of Ali Baba by Margery Allingham; The Santa Claus Club by Julian Symons; The incautious burglar by John Dickson Carr; The bones of the case by R. Austin Freeman.
A fictional tour around the criminal heartland of the capital, bringing together in one anthology twenty-two stories by some of the undisputed masters of the crime and mystery genres. TB 12032.
Major American short stories; edited by A Walton Litz. 1980. Read by various narrators, 40 hours 37 minutes. TB 10266.
This collection of 46 stories by 28 writers encompasses the full range of American short fiction. It includes a wide variety of subjects and forms, but strongly emphasises the work of the major writers, with four stories each by Hawthorne and Poe, two by James and two each by Irving, Crane and Faulkner. Stories range in time from 1819 to 1977, from traditional works to recent experimental fiction by Barth, Coover and Joyce Carol Oates. TB 10266.
My favourite stories of Lakeland; edited by Melvyn Bragg. 1981. Read by George Hagan, 4 hours 55 minutes. TB 4122.
Stories written over the years by authors familiar with the people and the countryside of the Lakelands. TB 4122.
Raconteur 6: a collection of prize-winning short stories; edited by Graham Lord. 1995. Read by various narrators, 9 hours 3 minutes. TB 10438.
A collection of 22 short stories including contributions from Fay Weldon, Brian Freemantle and Cecil Lewis. Contains strong language. TB 10438.
Sagebrush and spurs: classic western short stories; edited by Eric Tripp. 1992. Read by Jonathan Oliver, 10 hours 22 minutes. TB 9913.
The stories in this collection come from the high noon of western writing, where the American civil war, and subsequent frontier wars provided a mixture of legend and fact as monuments to national courage. There are contributions from the earliest protagonists of the "formula" western, with stories from Jack Schaefer, Stephen Crane, Owen Wister, O. Henry and others, the emphasis is on finely drawn characters and believable plots. TB 9913.
Sightlines; edited by P.D. James and Harriet Harvey Wood. 2001. Read by various narrators, 14 hours 17 minutes. TB 12555.
The text includes pieces from many of the UK's foremost writers. With a number of extracts concerning blindness from literature of the past and present. Contains violence. TB 12555.
Such devoted sisters: an anthology of stories; edited by Shena Mackay. 1993. Read by various narrators, 13 hours 26 minutes. TB 10348.
Sisters may be inseparable, or the relationship may arouse intense, tangled emotions. Here some prestigious writers unravel this intricate bond in a compelling anthology. Stories revealing unbreakable allegiances and private codes are countered by those of sisters pitched against each other in battles for parental affection or sibling supremacy. Rivalry, companionship, love and dislike feature in a collection exposing the innermost secrets of family life. TB 10348.
Telling stories: the best of BBC radio's recent short fiction; edited by Duncan Minshull. 1992. Read by various narrators, 6 hours. TB 10284.
A collection of twenty stories by some of the most exciting and popular authors writing today. Specially commissioned for Radio 3 and 4, works by established writers such as Maeve Binchy, Angela Carter, John McGahern and Christopher Hope, are offset by new talent, amongst whom are Jonathan Treitel and Romesh Gunesekera. The stories are chosen for their quality, originality and strong storytelling. TB 10284.
The big book of western action stories; edited with an introduction and headnotes by Jon Tuska. 1996. Read by Garrick Hagon, 23 hours 49 minutes. TB 10983.
With selections by the premier short story writers of the genre, the reader will travel down the "Trail of the lonely gun", with Les Savage Jr., will witness "The strange ride of Perry Woodstock", by Max Brand, and will be introduced to Frank Bonham's "Border man". Also included are stories by Luke Short, Ernest Haycox, Ryerson Johnson, and many others. TB 10983.
The Good Housekeeping short story collection; Good Housekeeping. 1997. Read by Diana Bishop, 12 hours 30 minutes. TB 11293.
Contents: A dream of fair women by Penelope Lively; Lottery of the birds by Maeve Binchy; The Italian sweater by Doris Lessing; The immaculate bridegroom by Helen Simpson; Horrible Luck by Clare Boylan; The playmate by Philippa Gregory; Christmas wings by Joanna Trollope; Ruby wedding by Lesley Glaister; Long live the queen by Ruth Rendell; Journey of a lifetime by Gillian Tindall; Fat people by Alison Lurie; Another time by Edna O'Brien; Mother of the bride by Angela Huth; The third party by William Trevor; Listen to reason by Elizabeth Tallent; The bellows of the fire by Rose Tremain; Irish coffee by Angela Huth; Lady in the bath by Eva Ibbotson; Uncle Ahmad by Anne Tyler; Clara's day by Penelope Lively; Fen hall by Ruth Rendell; Your place is empty by Anne Tyler; The property of Colette Nervi by William Trevor; Theatre street by Eva Ibbotson.
Twenty-four Good Housekeeping stories, ranging from the domestic to the supernatural, and from comedy to romance. TB 11293.
The Mammoth book of the western: an anthology of classic stories of the American frontier; edited by Jon E Lewis. 1991. Read by Garrick Hagon, 21 hours 37 minutes. TB 11945.
This volume brings together more than 20 short novels and stories, ranging from the excitement of Max Brand's `Wine on the Desert' to the realism of Stephen Crane's `The Blue Hotel', from Loren D. Estleman's elegiac `The Bandit' to Jack London's atmospheric `All Gold Canyon'. Many of the stories, which feature ranchers, American Indians, outlaws and pioneers, became celebrated films including Dorothy M. Johnson's `A Man Called Horse'. TB 11945.
The Mammoth book of Victorian and Edwardian ghost stories; edited by Richard Dalby. 1995. Read by various narrators, 26 hours 14 minutes. TB 10953.
This anthology contains the cream from the golden age of the ghost story, spanning the Victorian era from 1839 right up to the end of the Edwardian decade in 1910. Many of literature's greatest names are in this collection, and these masters promise delicious - and chilling - entertainment. TB 10953.
The Minerva anthology of 20th century women's fiction; edited by Judy Cooke. 1992. Read by various narrators, 36 hours 35 minutes. TB 9861.
An encapsulation of the best of 20th century women's writing. In the thirty plus novel extracts and short stories included, there is a nicely judged mixture of classic texts and new writing, mainstream and avant garde. From Margaret Atwood, through Colette, Daphne Du Maurier, Ruth Prawer Jhabwala, Iris Murdoch, Alice Walker to Virginia Woolf, the whole genre is surveyed, and there are many more. TB 9861.
The Oxford book of Irish short stories; edited by William Trevor. 1989. Read by various narrators, 25 hours 51 minutes. TB 10407.
This anthology is a celebration of the development of the Irish literary tradition, starting with the early folk tales, through Oliver Goldsmith and Maria Edgeworth to James Joyce and Joyce Cary and leading up to the present generation. The stories are all influenced by the same culture and the editor has searched for the right balance by including novels and short stories. TB 10407.
The Penguin book of Latin American short stories; edited by Thomas Colchie. 1992. Read by various narrators, 21 hours 12 minutes. TB 10277.
A collection of 26 tales, representing a concentration of some of the most celebrated and exciting authors in contemporary literature. Linked by the indefinable essence that characterises them as Latin American, there are contributions from, amongst others, Jorge Luis Borges, Isabel Allende, Rubem Fonseca, Carlos Fuentes and Gabriel Garcia Marquez. TB 10277.
The Penguin book of modern women's short stories; edited by Susan Hill. 1991. Read by Frances Jeater, 12 hours 48 minutes. TB 8874.
Susan Hill's collection of short stories by British women reveals the consolidations made during the post-war period as women became more confident about articulating their desires and intimate thoughts. Taken together, the stories drive a tap root into different aspects of the feminine psyche. TB 8874.
Three kinds of kissing and other stories by Scottish writers; edited by Tom Adair. 1993. Read by various narrators, 8 hours. TB 10078.
The stories encompass many landscapes: a group of shiftworkers in the Glasgow hinterland discover Botticelli; an elderly man in troubled South Africa rescues a child from her bigoted employer; in the Scottish islands, a barmaid experiences the joys of fishing; in the former Soviet Union, a woman who has known only the old regime is faced with the uncertainties of the new. Although many themes are shared, the stories demonstrate the vitality of the Scottish short story. Contains strong language. TB 10078.
Thrillers: a classic collection; introduction by Robert Sheckley. 1996. Read by various narrators, 24 hours 34 minutes. TB 11116.
For sheer suspense, there is nothing to better the well-crafted short horror story. This selection of more than thirty such tales offers an opportunity to sample exciting and spine-chilling work in over a hundred years of British, French and American writing. TB 11116.
Wayward girls & wicked women: an anthology of stories; edited by Angela Carter. 1986. Read by Gretel Davis, 15 hours 4 minutes. TB 6844.
Subversive tales with a common theme by many well-known writers: a celebration of the positive role of women who endure the status quo no longer. They are the "Bad" girls, wicked women and unsatisfactory wives, the sexually disruptive, the tough and the resilient, and their methods vary from the wily mother who cons a lifetime out of a generous buyer to save her son, to outright murder. Unsuitable for family reading. TB 6844.