The Cold Embrace | A Ghost Story by Mary Elizabeth Braddon | A Bitesized Audiobook
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- Опубліковано 6 чер 2024
- An early work by one of the most popular authors of Victorian suspense, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, 'The Cold Embrace' is gothic tale of young love, betrayal and tragic consequences...
Narrated/performed by Simon Stanhope, aka Bitesized Audio. If you enjoy this content and would like to help me keep creating, there are a few ways you can support me:
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00:00:00 Introduction
00:01:30 The Story begins
00:29:20 Credits, thanks and further listening
Mary Elizabeth Braddon (1835-1915) was born in London. She was privately educated, although her childhood was disrupted by her parents' separation when she was five years old. Her older brother Edward emigrated aged 16, and later became Premier of Tasmania. She worked as an actress in her early 20s, and was successful enough to support her mother and herself, before turning to writing fiction. She had an early success with 'Lady Audley's Secret' (1862), one of the best known of the "sensation novels" which were hugely popular in the mid-Victorian era and she is most closely associated with that genre. It's the work for which she is best remembered today and has never been out of print. In addition, she also wrote a number of supernatural short stories, the best known of which include 'The Cold Embrace', 'At Chrighton Abbey' and 'The Shadow in the Corner' (also available to listen to on this channel).
Braddon married John Maxwell (1824-1895), a publisher and property developer, in 1874, although they were in a relationship and living together for more than a decade prior to this. At the time they met in 1860, he had a wife who was confined to a mental asylum in Ireland. Braddon and Maxwell had six children together, including Fanny Margaret Maxwell, Gerald Melbourne Maxwell (who became an actor) and William Babington Maxwell, a successful novelist and playwright. The family lived in Richmond, Surrey, where a number of the streets are named after characters in her fiction (thanks to her property developer husband).
'The Cold Embrace' is one of Braddon's earliest published stories, having first appeared in 'The Welcome Guest' in September 1860.
Recording © Bitesized Audio 2022. - Розваги
Timestamps:
00:00:00 Introduction
00:01:30 The Story begins
00:29:20 Credits, thanks and further listening
Biographical notes on the author and further information can be found in the video description.
Thank you Simon Stanhope. This one had me thinking about Jane Austen's Persuasion. Remember the scene, late in the book, when Anne Elliott was talking with Captain Harville? Conversation was about constancy of a man compared to that of a woman. Roughly in my memory, she said 'we sit at home, quiet, and our feelings prey upon
us'. While a man is kept busy with must do's and have to's.
Doing the young lady so wrong, for him to go off living carefree, and numb to her suffering would have been a little death to his soul. At least he had conscience enough to feel remorse. And he did swear to love her to his grave.......
Hope life is treating you very well. Take care.
Since the very early days when I first came to your channel and to this day, you have been a welcome voice to those of us who might otherwise hear few. Thank you for the generosity of your kind heart …the number of people who appreciate you has grown so much, it’s a joy to see. 📖Thank you , dear friend. 📖🙏🏼
Lovely to hear from you Christine, I hope you're keeping well. Thanks for your kind comments
@@BitesizedAudio
Many thanks to you 🙏🏼
Simon, I hear your intro music and I feel the day's tension just melt away... The stories are all wonderful but the mastery is in the narration and you dear Simon, are The Master! ❤
So true !
It's a bit too chilly to sit in the vineyard tonight, so I'll have to settle for sitting in the study instead. Thanks, Simon.
When Mr. Simon post's, I know I'm going to hear a good tale.
Ooh, I'm the first to say: thank you, Simon!
I so needed a good ghost story right now. It's raining, cold, wet, with snow, and dark. Perfect!
'Tis the season, indeed....
I love that
I always wait, with great anticipation, for the next narrations. The stories are fantastic but your voice and reading style are my real joy. Thank you
Yay, Simon! Its always such a pleasure to go down this rabbit hole with you. Today's literature lacks "lustre" of language, and introspective characters. You bring this rich colage alive with your excellent narative acting.
Such a sad love story, but then, aren't they all...?
Thank you Simon 🌺
Oh thank you for the upload. I was just about to listen to legacy BBC content and saw this.
Such a Scary story.Indeed.Very good.Thankyou Simon.💋🙏♥️🍂🍂👻🍂🦇🍂🎃🍂🍂🍁🍂😔💔🍂🔥🙂
What a cad - he couldn’t even face his uncle and offer his condolences for his loss. His cousin’s broken-hearted spirit deserved peace in the hereafter. She didn’t know he wasn’t worth her love and devotion, but she probably knew once she passed over and that’s why she haunted him. Sweet revenge.
That was probably one of the best ghost stories Simon has recorded.
Brilliant, I’ve been re-listening to your other stories, whilst I waited for a new one. Thank-you.
Thank you, Simon! Always a treat to see a new offering from you. Well done.
Again, thank you Simon, for a Beautiful haunting story. This may be the best one yet. A perfect birthday present for me today!🎂
Happy Birthday 🎉🎉🎈
@@waningmooncancer9628 🌹 Thank you so much.🌹
@@beverlyadams7205 😁✌️🕊️
Adding my belated birthday wishes!
Excellent read. Thank you. I value and admire your narrative. Gertrude got her man in the end. May she find peace and leave him to his own demise.
We are so blessed to have you here on UA-cam. Thank you
I Just Love These Kind Of Dark Haunting Romantic Stories 🖤🥀 Hatsoff To Simon Sir. What An Elegant Voice ❤
Such a joy to find another posting. A dose of sunshine (murky, scary, thrilling sunshine) for teh day!
Creepy ... Thank You *Simon* I always appreciate your hard work
Chilling story superbly narrated!
Sincere thanks
620 am setting up my press and listening to a nice little story. Thank you Simon!
Oh Simon, many thanks for this treat! I just opened UA-cam intending to choose a bedtime story to lull me off to sleep and saw the notification of your new performance - so now I shall have to stay awake to enjoy it all! 😹
In the today's story I could feel something new and I'm highly appreciating your effort of making good classical stories to your listeners.
Brilliant work as always, thank you!
What a wonderful story, thank you Simon, you have made my day.
Another gem. Thank you Simon. X
Great to have you back again, and with a story that was unpredictable! Thank you!
You have a good voice sir-A cup of coffee my pillows all fluffed up-Now to listen to The cold embrace and hopefully THE WARM EMBRACE OF SLEEP Thank you
Superb as ever, thank you
Pretty darn good image for the title card, Mr S! Loved this one. The perfect revenge.
Thank you Simon! You're the best !
Good story! Thank you so very much for sharing your talent with the world. 🍁✌
One of my favorites, and read by one of the best! Thank you!
You did a great job with the eerie voice in this story! Loved this very spooky tale!
Absolutely outstanding as always thank you.
I started listening to you to fall asleep but it got to a point where I was upset that I fell asleep on the story and will listen to them when I’m more awake. I enjoy your voice and stories. They are well done. Keep them coming, please.❤
Thank you Elizabeth! I'll do my best
Cousins in love? 😱 Great story though & narrated beautifully, as always, Simon.
Amazing 👏 love to hear your reading
Thank you Simon😊
Thank you for another outstanding episode
Excellent thanks Simon keep up the good work 👏
This was wonderfully creepy. It reminded me of the 2004 Thai horror movie "Shudder." I wonder if this story was an inspiration for that film. Thanks Simon for another good one.😊
Bravo Simon!
Just the ticket Simon thank you 💜🙏
You really do have a marvelous voice. I love the way you breathe dramatic life into the stories. Thank you. x
Good story; excellent narrator.
I concur w everyone here ... absolutely love these stories, and especially your wonderful delivery. So often I fall asleep and must rewind ! And I don't get to comment. Thank you👍 🇨🇦
Thanks for commenting! Much appreciated
Brilliant. Finally professional people. Thank you very much.
Great story!
Such a joy to get the notification of another story - thank you
I am overjoyed to hear the new story. As tonight I discovered you had posted. Oh Wow I say!
Thank you for your background information on the author.
Thanks, Simon, well done. Enjoyed listening to this story.
Hello Simon! Great to catch up with you & your amazing stories- been going through a family bereavement so It will help me distract myself now I’ve been through the worst of it! Take care of yourself! Thanks and blessings!☮️
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Lovely to hear from you Maria, good to see you back and I hope you and your family are all doing OK
Good one. Good job. All your life's work shows itself. Thanks.
You're the best!! ❤️
Thank you Simon! 💚
Loving your narration of these classic stories. Thank you 😊
Thank you, so glad to know you like them!
As a dog lover, you may especially enjoy this story from my back catalogue: ua-cam.com/video/n3NmpMaqYmY/v-deo.html (the dog on the title card was my own dog, who sadly died in 2021)
Wow. Just... Wow.
Thank you from Indiana.
Another brilliant one Simon. Thanks
Glad to know you enjoyed it, thanks Susan
Great performance as usual but I must also thank you for presenting this little unknown jewel for me ! which just goes to show that sometimes ignorance can treat you with a reward .
My first action will be to see if you have previously done some other work of Mary ,E.Braddon ?
Merci encore :) !
I'm always glad to hear from you and to watch your program you are awesome your programs hold you tight thank you for that not everybody can say that
Thanks for sharing when they're ghost stories. I'm not much into dramas or mysteries.
Very good but you really do reap what you sow. Many thanks Simon xx
Wow... Thank you
I love this sort of stuff,
Amazing work🏆, attention to detail👍, atmosphere, subtitles and all! I've been listening this channel for a few days, greetings from Warsaw.
Thank you very much! Glad you found your way here, I hope you enjoy listening to the back catalogue (and more to come...)
@@BitesizedAudio I think I've already listened to most of it, it doesn't matter, I turn it on again and listen with the children, it will be useful for them to catch a little melody of the language. Thanks again for your effort!😀
I love this channel
If only that poor girl could move on from him, for he is unworthy.
Indeed.
Thanks!
Thank you so much
Thank you
Reminds me of the plot of the ballet Giselle, my favourite ballet.
Good story🥰
Yay. Thank you, Simon
I noticed that my bank didn't take your money out. Do I need to do that on another format?
Hello Tammy, do you mean your channel membership? I'm not sure to be honest, I'm sent that once a month and I don't get a breakdown, just a total for all members. Thanks for your support anyway!
What's with all the 'cuz nuzzling' in Edwardian and Victorian literature? Noticed that in 'Mansfield Park' as well. I suppose Einstein had a go at his cousin too and Darwin did as well..
It's quite a common theme... funnily enough another Victorian story I've been working on recently has something similar!
Take a look at royalty and the nobility. Very frequent marriages of cousins and other near relatives and most interrelated.
Oh, I didn't come back to comment on this one...its stylistic oddity is striking - repetition, present tense, a fable-like quality with the lack of dialogue - but what to make of it I'm not sure. I feel dreadfully sorry for poor drowned Gertrude, at any rate, the young lady never had a chance to do anything in life: no friends or mother to advise her, a father who denied her agency, one suitor who forgot her and another that wouldn't hear 'no'. At least she got to go to Paris as a ghost.
Good points - I especially enjoyed your last one!
Love wants what it wants.
Sad that first cousins think to marry. Their genetic problems do hurt their children. Gladys was a carrier of a genetic disorder and passed it to her only living son. He had gained the disorder himself and the truth of his illness actually caused his death at 42; the same disease problem that had taken his mother's life at 46 years. Yes, Elvis.
Such a story. The attitude toward suicide has always been controversial. Would they haunt together? Perhaps.
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😱😱😱😱❤❤
Was he free of her, finally?
The Cold wet embrace is a reference to the squid-like Beast of Revelation 11. I'm so sorry all of you must experience this. 😔 I know what happened, and you are Forgiven by Mr. Handy and me. 🌹
Thank you Simon. Your reading give these classic tales grace and charm. I really am diving into older tales and love how the scenes are delivered.
These days. So much violence and jump scares, it really has tainted the genre. I’m no prude, but it just becomes monotonous. I like dread, atmosphere. So many horror stories and film lack any kind of subtle presentation.
But these shall always be treasured. Hope to have one for Halloween. Sorry I know. I’m addicted.
Psst count magnus 🫣
Thanks Max. Yes, I do have something lined up for Halloween, details to come soon. Also I'm putting together all the MR James's I've done to-date in another compilation. I do have Count Magnus on my list, and hope to get to it soon (along with regular requests Number 13, Counting the Runes, Lost Hearts... so many stories, so little time! I'll get to them all in the end I hope)