Narrated Archives
Discover classic literature, vintage fiction, and public domain short stories on Narrated Archives. This audio project focuses on professional narration of short fiction from legendary authors and hidden literary talents of the past. Perfect for fans of audiobooks, vintage fiction, and anthologies. With each episode a brief biography of the author(s) introduces the episode.
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Episodes
55 episodes
Observations and Musings of Alice Ruth Moore
In this episode we're diving into the brilliant, sharp, and deeply observant world of Alice Ruth Moore—perhaps better known by her later married name, Alice Dunbar-Nelson.Biography of Alice Ruth MooreThe Woman - ...
Travels with Washington Irving
Step back into the bustling, competitive literary world of 19th-century London with this double-feature reading from Washington Irving's classic collection, Tales of a Traveller. Through the sharp, witty chapters "Literary Life" and "A...
Things by Sinclair Lewis - Part 3
This is final chapter of our journey through Sinclair Lewis’s sharp, satirical short story, Things. We are narrating the final two parts: Seven and Eight. If you missed the build-up to this finale, j...
Things by Sinclair Lewis - Part 2
This 2nd of a 3 part series of episodes continues Sinclair Lewis’s story “Things”.Today, the weight of societal expectations and material objects deepen in parts Four, Five, and Six, As Lewis peels back the layers of societal e...
Things by Sinclair Lewis - Part 1
In this episode we begin a special three-part journey into the sharp, brilliant mind of Sinclair Lewis—the first American author to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Before he shook the literary world with his grand novels, Lewis penned a q...
A Message from the Flood
We chose today's piece, "A Message from the Flood", purely for its gripping narrative. But as we dug into the archival history, we uncovered a thrilling twist.When this story was first published in Chambers’s Journal...
The Nice People
Today, we are listening to one of Henry Cuyler Bunner's most famous satirical sketches, first published in his 1891 collection Short Sixes: "The Nice People." Set in a summer boarding house perched on Orange Mountain, ...
The False Gems
In our last regular episode, we explored Guy de Maupassant’s famous masterpiece, “The Necklace”. We witnessed Mathilde Loisel spend ten years in grueling poverty to replace a piece of costume jewelry she believed was real.
The Necklace
This episode holds a story that has become a universal cautionary tale about vanity, class, and the crushing weight of a single mistake. Published in 1884, 'The Necklace' is perhaps the most famous work by the master of the short story...
Impossible Choices
Today, we are cracking open a specific piece of literary history. We’re looking at two tales that were hand-picked over a century ago for the classroom in the 1921 collection, Modern Short Stories: A Book for High Schools...
C. A. Mercer's Garden of Memories
Today, in this bonus episode we’re exploring the work of C.A. Mercer. In this story, we follow a man returning to his childhood home after twenty years away. He expects to find the sprawling, majestic domain of his youth; ...
A Deal in Exchange
Today, we unseal a file from Perceval Gibbon, a man who saw the world from the deck of a merchant ship and the frontlines of war. Gibbon was a master of the 'ironic twist,' and today’s story is a masterclass in the high cost of human d...
A Mystery of the Missing
Today, we’re exploring True Crime of the early 20th Century.In 1927, a man named Edward Henry Smith sat in a New York apartment, surrounded by the files of the world’s most baffling disappearances. He wasn't just a reporter; he...
How Does It Feel To Be Free
In today’s Bonus Episode “How Does It Feel To Be Free” by Manuel Komroff is in contrast to his story “The Little Master of the Sky”. Both explore the concept of liberty, however they approach it from opposite directions—one through the eyes ...
The Little Master of the Sky
In this episode you’ll hear a short story by Manuel Komroff: “The Little Master of the Sky”. This is one of Komroff's most celebrated early works, first appearing in the prestigious literary magazine The D...
The Spider's Eye
In this episode we hear "The Spider's Eye" (1884), a short story by Lucretia P. Hale that explores themes of perception and social consciousness. Originally published in the anthology Stories by American Authors, Volume 3, the narrativ...
Grace Darling
Welcome to a bonus episode of Narrated Archives. Today, we look back to a stormy September night in 1838 to uncover the story of a young woman whose name would soon be carried on the wind across all of Victorian Britain: Grace Darling.
Heroines Told by Clayton Edwards
In this episode we’ll explore Clayton Edwards’ recounting of two remarkably courageous women, Molly Pitcher and Edith Cavell, from his 1920 book A Treasury of Heroes and Heroines.Both of these stories sit...
3 Life Scenes from Durivage
In this episode, we present three distinct tales that showcase Bostonian author, Francis A Durivage's range as a storyteller:"The Obliging Young Man" - A witty look at the pitfalls of being too helpf...
Miggy from Friendship Village
Today, we’re heading into Friendship Village to meet Miggy. You’ll hear a chapter taken from the 1909 collection Friendship Vill...
3 Stories with a Dash of Humor
Today, we explore three stories that, with a sense of humor, delve into the complexities of reputation, political and journalistic and the mathematical quirks of time. These tales from the early 20th century showcase authors who found the ex...
The Old Lady
We’re stepping into the experimental world of the 1920s with a haunting piece of short fiction titled “The Old Lady”, by Evelyn Scott. Originally published in the May 1925 issue of The Dial—the premi...
Taking Some Chances with Clarence Cullen
Today, we’re stepping out of the high-brow literary salons and into the world of Clarence Louis Cullen, a man who wrote about the hustle, the gamble, and the gritty humor of the American underdog.In this episode, we have a ...