An intriguing story that admits of various interpretations, the Ukrainian author Nikolai Gogol’s 1842 story “The Overcoat” influenced generations of writers.

For Reading Out Loud

Nikolai Gogol, The Overcoat, I

The second, concluding part of Nikolai Gogol’s “The Overcoat.”

Nikolai Gogol, The Overcoat, Part II

Two short stories by William Somerset Maugham, the world-traveling author whose stories have captivated generations of readers: “Mr. Know-All” and “The Happy Man.”

Somerset Maugham, Mr. Know-All, The Happy Man

An early classic of science fiction, this one by Edgar Allan Poe

E. Allan Poe, A Descent into the Maelstrom

Two small masterpieces by W. Somerset Maugham: The Verger and Salvatore

W. Somerset Maugham, the Verger, Salvatore

In time for the holiday's: "Jeeves and the Yuletide Spirit" by P. G. Wodehouse.

P. G. Wodehouse, Jeeves and the Yuletide Spirit

Saki, The Open Window, Esmé

Ten years later, Sherlock Holmes returns in The Adventure of the Empty House

Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of the Empty House

Thomas Mann's great early story Tonio Kröger, the first of four parts.

Thomas Mann, Tonio Kröger, 1/4

Comedy with music tonight from P. G. Wodehouse: Jeeves and the Song of Songs

P. G. Wodehouse, Jeeves and the Song of songs

G. K. Chesterton' priestly sleuth Father Brown in "The Hammer of God"

G. K. Chesterton, The Hammer of God

All the evidence points to one person, but Hercule Poirot keeps asking questions and solves  “The Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan.”

Agatha Christie, The Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan

Two short spring pieces tonight, by Jerome K. Jerome (Three Men in a Boat) and Elizabeth von Armin (The Enchanted April)

Jerome K. Jerome, Elizabeth von Arnim

The first of two episodes: Ernest Thompson Seton, The Biography of a Grizzly

Ernest Thompson Seton, The Biography of a Grizzly*, 1:2

Miss Marple in full flower  in this early mystery from The Tuesday Night Club: "Motive Versus Opportunity"

Agatha Christie, Motive Versus Opportunity

How to live in an uncertain or chaotic world? Two stories by W. Somerset Maugham.

Somerset Maugham, The Portrait of a Gentleman, The Ant and the Grasshopper

Elinor Mordaunt's "Genius," a story of a brilliant,  unworldly talent and its pursuit of a concert career

Elinor Mordaunt, Genius

Rudyard Kipling's classic tale of a fearless mongoose and the family that took him in: Rikki-Tikki Tavi


Rudyard Kipling, Rikki-Tikki-Tavi

Off to the world of newspapers in Jesse Lynch Williams's "The City Editor's Conscience"

Jesse Lynch Williams, The City Editor's Conscience

A Western tale by the gifted storyteller and illustrator Will James, "The Seeing Eye"

Will James, The Seeing Eye, 10-12-25

It has been said that P. G. Wodehouse’s inimitable comic style was as hard to analyze as his emotions; one critic described the task as “taking a spade to a soufflé.”  So no need to subject it to analysis, just relax and enjoy Wodehouse's "Jeeves and the Love That Purifies."

P. G. Wodehouse, Jeeves and the Love That Purifies

Ambrose Bierce's famous and startling  Civil War story, "A Horseman in the Sky"

Ambrose Bierce, Horseman in the Sky

Two stories by two great wits and storytellers: Oscar Wilde and Noël Coward

Wilde:Coward 11-25

A Hollywood yarn from P. G. Wodehouse: "The Nodder"

P. G. Wodehouse, The Nodder

About as cold as it gets: Jack London's "To Build a Fire"

London, To Build a Fire, 12-7-25

A fine young woman falls for a rotter. What directions might it take?  Lucy Maud Montgomery's  "A Redeeming Sacrifice"

Lucy Maud Montgomery, A Redeeming Sacrifice

So familiar, but somehow always new and wonderful: O. Henry's "The Gift of the  Magi"

Gift of the Magi*

A Christmas story set in Poland: Eric Kelly's "In Clean Hay"

Eric Kelly, In Clean Hay 12-25

A young girl discovers her passion for New England country life and her love and values for the animals that inhabit it.

Sarah Orne Jewett, A White Heron 1-4-26

When tonight’s author, Kate Chopin (1850-1904), was fifteen years old and living in St. Louis, Missouri, she snatched from the family’s front porch a flag put up by the victorious Union Army. She was promptly arrested and earned herself the affectionate label of the “Littlest Rebel in St. Louis.”
When she was married, she and her husband moved to Louisiana, where she began her career as a writer. She was a well-regarded author in her own lifetime but fell into obscurity for many years, dismissed as a “regional writer.” She was rediscovered and seriously reconsidered by the feminist movement of the 1960s, which brought attention to the work of women who had been excluded from the literary canon by its male creators. Today, her work seems assured of its proper place in the canon of American literature. Our story tonight is called “The Locket.”

For Reading Out Loud

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