The Four-fifteen Express | A Ghost Story by Amelia B. Edwards | A Bitesized Audio Production
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- Опубліковано 15 жов 2024
- On a grey and foggy December afternoon, a traveller finds himself sharing his private compartment on the four-fifteen express train out of London...
A new, original recording of a classic public domain text, read and performed by Simon Stanhope for Bitesized Audio.
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Amelia Ann Blanford Edwards (1831-1892) was a prolific journalist, traveller and Egyptologist, as well as a hugely popular English novelist of the Victorian era. Born in London she was well educated at home by her Irish mother, and showed early promise as a writer as well as demonstrating skill in several other areas, including painting and musical composition. She devoted herself to writing professionally from the early 1850s, producing novels including 'My Brother's Wife' (1855) and 'Barbara's History' (1864). She also travelled widely and published several travelogues, including 'A Thousand Miles up the Nile' (1877), which is still widely read and admired today. Aside from her travel writing she is best remembered today for her many short stories with ghostly, supernatural and mysterious themes, many of which were contributed anonymously to literary magazines. Charles Dickens regularly invited her to compose seasonal tales for his annual Christmas numbers of 'All the Year Round' between 1860 and 1866.
'The Four-fifteen Express' was first published in December 1866, and may have been written for the celebrated 'Mugby Junction' 1866 Christmas issue of 'All the Year Round' which featured a number of ghost stories by various authors set in and around the railway, the most famous of which is Dickens's own 'The Signal-man'. However, for some reason (perhaps due to space, as it is relatively long for a short story) it did not appear in that issue, and went instead to a rival periodical, 'Routledge's Christmas Annual', in December 1866.
Recording © Bitesized Audio 2020.
She is one my favorite ghost story writers. She put her heart into her work.
A neat, enthralling and perfectly wandering ghost story, with lovely images of all things trains - the glimmer of book kiosk lights in some filled stations, ticket collectors peering at tickets, jostling crowds boarding and de boarding, stern directors of railways and of course …the ghost! First class!
What a superb story - and so well read! Many thanks! How did I not know of A.A.B. Edwards till your readings of these stories?
I was not sure, confused I was, about what direction this story was trying to take. I have to say the story took a turn for the great!
I think I can state without fear of contraception, cher Simon, that your back catalogue is beyond compare. One always a joy to revisit and a pastime in which I frequently indulge. ❤
Don't you mean... 'contradiction'?
@@debbiehenri345 I quite like the idea of stating things without fear of contraception!!!
@@debbiehenri345 it’s a double-entendres joke from a 70s British Sitcom. Mrs Slocombe in Are You Being Served used to say it.
Forkishism maybe 😮
@@misswormI am unanimous in that!
Many Thanks - loved this!
A most remarkable “ghost” story, the best I have heard so far. Thank you for its resurrection, and for breathing such wonderful air into it.
This was genius. She is a solid writer! I look forward to finding more of her work!
Thanks @BlaqueCzar Yes indeed, she wrote some excellent early detective and ghost stories, amongst the best of her era I think
Oh my! This took my breath away!
My VERY favourite ghost stories always include trains. (Steam preferably!) From Charles Dickins to LTC Rolt and all inbetween. My forebears included many a railway company employee & my own maternal great grandfather was mown down by the Edinburgh to Perth Express whilst inspecting the sleepers & ballast in 1907. Perhaps his unquiet spirit still wanders the tracks, looking for faults? (I'll write that short story one day!)
Ghostly porters, ethereal drivers and long dead passengers still waiting for their trains on abandoned, ruinous stations. This is an excellent story and one I wasn't familiar with. Expertly read and totally compelling.
Happy to have discovered you. Thank you! ❤️
Thank you Gill, glad you enjoyed it. Yes, I love stories involving (steam) trains too, although sorry to hear about your sad family history involving one! That does sound like a good story, worth writing
Simon Stanhope, my favourite narrator, did this particular story justice. Thoroughly enjoyable.
Extraordinary that you’ve been able to find, and so beautifully present all of these stories! Thank you!
Thanks for listening!
Another Blessing from this wonderful man !! I enjoy his story telling so much I listen several times !! God Bless You for sharing your talents with us.
Thank you Bonnie
Woo-Hoo! Every time you release a reading is like a little bit of Christmas!!
How lovely. A great time for ghost stories, Christmas!
No one else can deliver so much Christmas joy without driving a team of reindeer through the sky.
Yes. The story selection and the vocal interpretation are top notch. I love Victorian ghost stories. Amelia Edwards is one of my favorites.
Yeah!!! Perfect timing for my beddy bye story.
That locomotive is Furness Railway (FR) No’ 20 which was built in 1863 by the Sharp Stewart & Company of Manchester for the FR. in present day it is the oldest operational steam locomotive in the UK
Wow. Might I say it looks like a very interesting railway engine. And I really love the Railway Series.
Like your accent and voice modulations very much. As a non-native speaker, I have much to learn from you. Thank you.
Glad to know it helps! Thanks for listening
As a proud and native-born speaker of proper English I can attest that the enunciation of the reader is of the highest order, and one could do no better than follow his exemplary example, if a student of the subject.
Another first-rate reading. I love classic railway stories, and this is one of the best!
@alannothnagle Wonderful, thank you! Yes, I enjoy a good railway mystery too
This is one of my favorite stories. I love everything about it and being read to me by my absolute favorite voice actor... Well, life is good! Thank you Simon! ❤
This has got to be in my top 5 favourite stories of all time, I have listened again and again, even the way it rolls you along to the end, like riding a wave that builds onto the beach, doesn't dull after hearing it many times, wonderfully written, perfectly executed. Thank you.
How wonderful, that's lovely to know. Thanks for your support Tracy
@@BitesizedAudio your very welcome.
At last one I'm familiar with (and quite like) but your reading/rendering of it is exquisite. I am only sorry I didn't listen to it sooner (may fault probably though I have the bell activated and all). Thank you for this Gift.
Thanks HerrCrankzy; actually not your fault at all, I didn't set the bell to ring for this one as it was a re-upload of one of my earliest narrations, re-recorded due to errors and glitches in the original audio. I turned the bell off as I didn't want to clog up everyone's notifications with stories they might already have heard. Glad you enjoyed it, I like Amelia B. Edwards and think she's rather overlooked as a ghost/mystery story author, overshadowed by some of the big names which came after her, but she's amongst my favourites of the mid-Victorian era.
I touched the 🔔, but don't understand what it does, or where I find the info? These readings are life-changing for me, the plays on the wireless are so few, and so depressing! With these, I know I will have hours of pleasure as I go about my chores.
I enjoy these stories. I sometimes feel are part of “time” spent in the era. Everything springs from imagination. Amazing author and and most excellent reader!
Great story. I had heard of it before but never actually read it. Intriguing, perfectly paced, and I like the suggestion of a wry tone from the narrator as well. Thanks once again!
Appreciate your comments, thanks Jade!
Your annunciation is perfect...Such a pleasure listening to well spoken english...❤
Brilliant as always. Heard and read this many times but your vocal gymnastics make it so real
Kind of you to say so, thanks Lee!
This list is fantastic for wrapping time.
Thanks for all of these, Simon!
My research has now educated me as to the nature of this life preserver with which the victim was murdered. When listening to the story, I imagine the victim being struck with a quotation ring and was thinking what a clumsy and inefficient murder weapon that must be
Flotation?
I suspect a life preserver might have been dock slang for a cudgel used by longshoremen to resolves disputes. Nobody in their right mind would turn up at a railway station with a rubber ring…
@@Paxtonparsnip Thanks for this info I've been wondering a long time about it🤔
Can't help thinking of the canoe scene in the Marx Brothers' Horse Feathers (1932) with its play on yet another sense of Life Preserver!
Divine intervention! Thank you for sharing!
Yes indeed... something more than just a ghost story, this one: Amelia Edwards's supernatural tales often seem to have an element of seeking justice, or exposing wrongdoing. Thanks for listening!
Wow!! What a story! And beautifully narrated. Thank you very much for this.
I got goosebumps twice! Great job!
Love your channel.
Wow, that was amazing... I love your channel so much since finding it, please continue to narrate more short ghost stories
Thank you! I've got lots more stories I'm hoping to read in the coming months, so do stay tuned. Thanks for listening
@@BitesizedAudio Yes please! I certainly will stay tuned.
As always, you bring a great story to life. Congratulations on 10k plus subs!
Thanks Emily, appreciated!
Great story and so beautifully read as always, thank you so much, can’t wait for Christmas ghost stories 😉
Thanks Elizabeth. Yes, I like this time of year, the traditional ghost story season, Hallowe'en to Christmas period. A very strange year this one, though! Thanks for listening
Merchant Taylors in Crosby Liverpool………oh deary me
How we loved to give their rugger team a good drubbing in those far off halcyon days of the 1970’s………most enjoyable 😉👍
I stopped rehearsal for an hr so I could listen to this in one bite sized helping. Love it
Great story 😊 The more it went on, the more questions there were isnstead of answers. It just had to be a ghost story; it's the only way the tale makes sense.👏👏
Thank you Nancy. Yes, I'm fond of this particular story, indeed Amelia B. Edwards must rank as probably my favourite author of ghost stories in the Victorian era. Glad you enjoyed it
@@BitesizedAudio I'm glad you know who the best authors are, 'cause I don't. I'll continue to trust your judgement, and keep on listening. Thanks again for sharing your great talent with us.❣️❣️❣️👻👀
A haunting, and a temporal echo.
Thanks!
Thanks so much for your support
Excellent. Thanks. So enjoyable with such a twist at the end.
Edwards is my favorite 😍.
Excellent... Thank You!
Thank you KiKi, I see you've been listening to quite a few stories over the last few days. Glad you enjoyed them - thanks for the comments, much appreciated
I loved and enjoyed listening, thanks a lot for the upload
You're welcome, thanks for listening and commenting Frances. All best wishes
Wonderful narration. I'm hooked to your channel. Thank you so much for bringing these stories to life. Love from New Zealand :)
Thanks Liz, glad to know you're enjoying them! All best wishes to you.
Good collection of material; thank you for posting them for us.
Darn it. Why did I expect this to end like a Sherlock Holmes story when it’s a ghost story. Very intriguing though! Great listen
An interesting observation, thank you Heather. There's a very close overlap between the genres of detective/mystery tales and ghost stories, especially in this era, with many authors (including Conan Doyle of course) writing both types of stories. This one is an interesting example of the crossover...
I’m finally getting to all of your wonderful authors & performances….Amelia B Edwards is a truly superlative writer-especially regarding storyline & characterization ….A widely-traveled & brilliant woman, she is someone I would like to have known ….
Btw, Simon, you have a particular talent for voicing weasely, whining scoundrels….😂. Gayle Loveland
I love this writer.
She's one-of-a-kind
@@Charles-oo8bq You should check out her personal life. I don't know why she isn't in history books.
@@code-52 will do. Thank you
"The phantom coach" of hers that Simon read is my favorite
I listen to it often lol
Another brilliant story
Thanks for listening and taking the time to comment, much appreciated
Great story😊 you have an excellent voice much love from across the water the motor city Detroit!
Thank you Tracelle, very kind of you to say so. Best wishes to you!
Yay Detroit City MOTOWN!
Wow another great story!!
Marvelous reading...thank you.
Wonderfully read, as ever. Your voice really suits the prose of this era.
(spoilers) It may have been a lifetime spent reading science fiction that helped me to guess the ending... all the particulars matched up if you allowed yourself to transpose the appropriate events by three months. ;)
Dastardly crime 😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😳😳😳 thanks again for a wonderful reading. Cheers Rosemary Perth Western Australia (71 yrs)
You're most welcome, thank you Rosemary!
Oh oh! How interseting story!! I can t stop listening! I love your chanel! I love your voice!! Thank you!
Wonderful. I was transported to a simpler time......
Thoroughly enjoyable once again. Thank you.
What an interesting story. Very much enjoyed, thankyou.
Thanks for listening Catherine
I like yalls style...makes me feel like im there
Thank you Thomas, appreciated!
Great narrator.
One of my many favourites 👍
Goodness me, this was fascinating
Glad to know you enjoyed it, thanks for listening
Loved it! Thank you.
Excellent, thanks Lilly. I see you've been listening to a few today, appreciate your comments
@@BitesizedAudio Yes, I am binge listening. I love these classics and always looked forward to stories on radio four. Thank you for making these readily available. I have just introduced your channel to a couple of young people. I hope they introduce others too.
Thank you so much for spreading the word!
I love this channel so much! 🥰
Great story, thoroughly enjoyable.
Thanks Steven
Even better the Second time! The first time I heard this Was long before I left my first comment on UA-cam! At least now I can say thank you! Flawlessly read and well acted! What a fantastic writer!
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Thanks Maria, I'm glad you've been inspired to comment!
Thank you.
Love your vids! I'm going to listen to them when I wrap soaps with my mum
Thanks Miss Darling! That sounds like a lovely occupation
I'm going to save this for bedtime.
Excellent, thank you. 👌💕
You're welcome, thanks Mary Mary
Thank you! So well done!
@H Mark Glad you enjoyed it, appreciate your kind feedback
Excellent ghost story ... Thank You *Simon* obv a relisten for me & I'm still wondering what kind of *life preserver* was the weapon🤔 must Google this
I made a somewhat long comment about this then added spoiler alert now I can't find the comment. Hope it is still here ...somewhere
Great story, very absorbing mystery akin to a “locked room mystery” in that what appears to have happened can’t have happened. How disappeared the passenger of railway car and what happened to the missing company funds? Was he an specter, or as real as the cigarette case left behind in the compartment? All the fine elements are present: trains, absconders, loot, missing persons, apparitions (or not?), clues and a battle between two startling differential accounts of a single short journey and the interactions between the characters within.
@grimtt Ah yes, the railway, especially the Victorian railway, is a fabulous atmospheric setting for supernatural stories
Well narrated
Hello, dear Simon.Thank you so much for posting.How long have you been having this business in hands?When is the birthday of your incredibly interesting channel?
Enjoy your Tuesday.🇷🇺
No birthday in particular, it sort of happened gradually over the last 18 months or so when I started uploading some old recordings to see whether people might like listening....and the reaction was quite positive, so now I'm recording new ones as and when I can
@@BitesizedAudio Dear Simon, You've invented and actually perform the best way for listening and watching.Everything is comfortable.You're wise, aren't you?
Another great reading.
Fantastic!
Wonderful reading.
Thanks Geoff, glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you
Excellent
This story is at least equal to Dickens' work. The narration is, of course, perfect!
This was good!
Another triumph!
Thanks Graham!
With gratitude 💫✨
You're very welcome!
It said they were carving a turkey for Christmas, I was surprised as it was usually goose that was served in Victorian times.
I think it depended somewhat on class/income and the size of family concerned. Goose was popular with smaller families and poorer people would save up for it as their Christmas treat, but it wouldn't provide enough meat for a large meal for lots of people. In 'A Christmas Carol', the Cratchit family are expecting to eat a small goose, until the reformed Scrooge sends them an enormous turkey (bigger than Tiny Tim!), and Mrs Beeton wrote in 1861 that "A Christmas dinner, with the middle classes of this Empire, would scarcely be a Christmas dinner without its turkey", so it seems that turkey was very much the traditional "big" bird for Christmas festivities, in the Victorian era and earlier (I think the tradition actually began in Tudor times, IIRC).
Christmas turkey in victorian England? I didn't know that was a thing.
Yes, very much so. It featured in Mrs Beeton's famous 1861 book, I believe, but apparently was established in England from the 17th century onwards
@@BitesizedAudio Thank you, thank you. I suppose it's as they say "What's good for the goose.."
Excellent narration of a well written tale, most enjoyable
CONGRATIOLATIONS!!! I HAVE NEVER, BUT NEVER READ A NEGATIVE COMMENT ABOUT YOUR SITE, IT SEEMS AS IF YOU JUST CAN NOT FAIL. WELL DONE
Thank you Michelle, kind of you to say! There are a few negative comments to be found on some of the stories, but I'm glad that most people do seem to enjoy them
Top marks for the word 'anent'.
Yes, rarely heard these days
Hell yeah! Me love you long time!
Thanks Adam!
This one certainly is a tad tedious... so many details pertaining to little matters. But we'll read as always, dear Simon.
Also does Bitesized audio have an app for Iphone?
I don't, although of course they should be listenable through the UA-cam and Audible apps. I'm also looking into options for a podcast which would be available on more platforms. Interesting question about having my own app, I'd not thought of it! I shall investigate...
I PARTICULARLY LIKE THIS STORY. A GHOST MYSTERY STORY. ;-))
Excellent, glad you enjoyed it. Yes, Amelia Edwards wrote some interesting mystery tales as well as ghost ones, and this one covers both...
Gosh, at times it seemed like a foreign language the words used and pronounced were so eloquent.
What is the name of this reader? He is my very Favorite!
Sooooo . . . did Cousin John show up for Christmas???
Good question! Perhaps not, if all had been satisfactorily resolved by then.....?
@@BitesizedAudio Perhaps the ghost latched onto the narrator as someone who could get bring him to the attention of his family, and so bring peace to his restless spirit. Who knows?
A very handsome lady, with a devilish imagination.
Hospitable..hispitable ....?...messing with my brain lol
💗💗💗
Its funny how they are willing to entertain any other explanation other than ghost. beating a dead horse about it even
Boo...ooo...subtitles have just disappeared.Where might i push on my phone ?
Oh dear, I hope it's not a problem with the subtitles? They should run for the whole of the story... but maybe not for the "thanks for listening" speech at the end, is that what you're referring to? If so, I believe the "Join" button I mention isn't supported on some devices, e.g. iPhones, but you may be able to access this direct link (only if you're interested!): ua-cam.com/channels/wLSA3pDeSve120Pu9NaNyw.htmljoin
@@BitesizedAudio Thank you so much.Now your subtitles are on my screen.I' m so happy!!!Cheers.
Dear Simon, good morning! Where are you originally from???Your speech is perfect.You are very polite and attentive person.That's so nice of you.Great job.Sheer joy!!!