Steve Mason

1Oscar Wilde: Art and Morality

By Stuart Mason

“Who can help laughing when an ordinary journalist seriously proposes to limit the subject-matter at the disposal of the artist?”<br><br>“We are dominated by journalism.... Journalism governs for ever and ever.”[/i]<br><br>One of the nastiest of the British tabloids was founded a year too late to join in the moral panic generated to accompany Oscar Wilde’s court appearances in 1895. Yet there was no shortage of hypocritical journalists posing as moral arbiters to the nation, then as now.<br><br>This compendium work - skillfully assembled by the editor, Stuart Mason - ends with transcript of Wilde’s first appearance in the Old Bailey, when he was cross-examined on the alleged immorality of his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray. The disastrous outcome of these trials provides an ironic conclusion to the earlier knockabout exchanges between Oscar and his reviewers. In these he is at his flamboyant best, revelling in the publicity he pretends to disdain. His brave performances in the dock did nothing, however, to save him from hard labour, the treadmill and complete physical and moral breakdown which the law found it necessary to inflict on him.<br><br>In contrast to the hacks and lawyers, two refreshingly open-minded Americans write perceptively about the novel, as does Walter Pater, the grand old man of Aestheticism.<br><br>This solo Librivox project complements a new dramatised reading of The Picture of Dorian Gray, currently in preparation, featuring the present reader as Narrator. (Introduction by Martin Geeson)

2Four Feathers

By A. E. W. Mason

The Four Feathers is a 1902 adventure novel by British writer A.E.W. Mason that has inspired many films of the same title. The novel tells the story of British officer, Harry Feversham, who resigns his commission in the East Surrey Regiment just prior to Sir Garnet Wolseley's 1882 expedition to Egypt to suppress the rising of Urabi Pasha. He is faced with censure from three of his comrades for cowardice, signified by the delivery of three white feathers to him, from Captain Trench and Lieutenants Castleton and Willoughby, and the loss of the support of his Irish fiancée, Ethne Eustace, who presents him with the fourth feather. His best friend in the regiment, Captain Durrance becomes his rival for Ethne.<br>(Summary extracted from Wikipedia)

3Running Water

By A. E. W. Mason

Although A.E.W. Mason is best known for The Four Feathers, an adventure novel of 1902 set in Egypt and the Sudan (and filmed several times), he was a prolific and popular writer of the period. Running Water, published in 1907, is, like its predecessor, a tale of romantic adventure. Though much of the story takes place in England, the real setting here is in the high Alps, in the range of Mont Blanc near Chamonix and Courmayeur. Here it is that Captain Hilary Chayne arrives, having spent the prior four years of his army service on the shores of the Red Sea, dreaming all the time of his return to the Alps, to the world of rock, ice, and snow, to mountaineering with all its challenges and joys, and to its comradeship. And here it is too that he meets the young and beautiful Sylvia Thesiger, a girl already in love with the high mountains, and seeking in them an escape, as far as possible, from her unpleasant and domineering mother.<br>Is it necessary to add that disappointments. problems, misunderstandings, and outright villainies, ensue to complicate the course of true love? After the twists and turns of novel's English midsection, the setting shifts back to the high Alps, and the final, climactic scene is played out on the heights of the Italian face of the Mont Blanc. This is the Brenva -- where thousands of feet of rock and glacier sweep steeply up to reach the highest point in western Europe. It is an Alpine route that today, over century later, even experienced climbers still find a challenge. There are not many novels given over to mountaineering, and some consider Mason's descriptions of climbing among the finest in fiction. Unlike The Four Feathers, Running Water has never been filmed – though given the quality of some of Hollywood's mountaineering movies, that may actually be a blessing.<br> Finally, for those unfamiliar with the teminology, several French terms are customarily used by alpinists and appear in Mason's book. An aiguille (needle) is a peak, usually sharp pointed, often of rock, sometimes of ice and snow. The Chamonix aiguilles, many of which are mentioned here, are famous among climbers and lovers of alpine scenery. A col is a pass between two mountains, or ranges, and in the High Alps often of steep ice and snow, sometimes of rock. And an arête is a ridge, or spur, of a mountain, sometimes of ice or snow, sometimes of rock, and often of all three. Historical note: The first ascent of the Brenva face was made by A.W. Moore and a party of three other British climbers and two Swiss alpine guides, in July, 1865. The account was published in Moore's book, The Alps in 1864, and it is this book that Garratt Skinner is reading in Chapter XII, as he lies in his Dorsetshire hammock. In 1943, another great British climber, T. Graham Brown published his Brenva, describing the various routes on the great southern face, on two of which had had made first ascents. Brown credits Running Water as first turning his attention to the face, and has high praise for its descriptions of mountaineering. (The second ascent for the Brenva route was made by W.A.P. Coolidge and others in 1870).<br>A further note: in Chapter XIII, Mason twice refers to Switzerland when he means France. Perhaps he was dozing; or perhaps he was drawing some of his material from Baedeker's Guide to Switzerland, whose earlier editions included the range of Mont Blanc, a chain shared by France, Italy, and Switzerland.

4At the Villa Rose

By A. E. W. Mason

Harry Wethermill, the brilliant young scientist, a graduate of Oxford and Munich, has made a fortune from his inventions, and is taking a vacation at Aix-les-Bains. There he meets, and immediately falls in love with, the young and beautiful Celia Harland, who serves as companion to the aging but warm-hearted Madam Dauvray of Paris. All this is observed by Julius Ricardo, a retired financier from the City of London, who spends every August at Aix, expecting there to find a pleasant and peaceful life. Imagine his consternation when he learns that Mme. Dauvray has been brutally murdered, and imagine Harry Wethermill's consternation when he learns that every finger of suspicion is pointed at the now vanished Celia Harland.<br>Implored to do so by Wethermill, Ricardo asks his friend Inspector Hanaud, the great detective of the Paris Sûreté (who is also vacationing in Aix) to involve himself in the case so that the truth may come out. Hanaud agrees to do so (with the permission of the Aix police, of course), and goes to work. Will he be up to the job? And will Harry Wethermill ultimately be glad that he called in the great man? We can only wait to find out. But surely Hanaud will exercise his powerful little grey cells – one of several characteristics he shares with a famous Belgian detective of later decades, and indeed some scholars of mystery stories suggest that Agatha Christie, in her invention of Hercule Poirot, owes a debt to Mason and his invention of Inspector Hanaud. And indeed Julius Ricardo has than a passing resemblance to Arthur Hastings, Poirot's sidekick, who is invariably a few confused steps behind the detective.<br>(Introduction by Nicholas Clifford)

5Watchers

By A. E. W. Mason

A dark tale of adventure, piracy, murder, and revenge set on a rugged Cornish island in the mid-1700s. Told with the literary excellence to be expected from the author of The Four Feathers, the tale begins with a dangerous youth who sat in the stocks, and a girl named Helen, and a gang of men watching a granite house at the edge of the sea. NOTE: Contains some language that would be considered offensive to the modern ear. (Christine Dufour)

6Life of Isaac Mason as a Slave

By Isaac Mason

Isaac Mason was born into slavery. As a young man, he escaped to freedom and made a life for himself. An intelligent man, he gave lectures on his experiences and was later encouraged to publish them in book form. - Summary by Lynne Thompson

7Astounding Stories 14, February 1931

By Harry Bates, Charles Willard Diffin, Anthony Gilmore, Desmond Winter Hall, F. V. W. Mason and Captain S. P. Meek

This issue includes "Werewolves of War" by D. W. Hall, "The Tentacles from Below" by Anthony Gilmore, "The Black Lamp" by Captain S. P. Meek, "Phalanxes of Atlans" by F. V. W. Mason, and continues with "The Pirate Planet" by Charles W. Diffin, - Summary by Bill Boerst

8Astounding Stories 15, March 1931

By Ray Cummings, Charles Willard Diffin, F. V. W. Mason, Harl Vincent and Jack Williamson

This issue includes "When the Mountain Came to Miramar" by Charles W. Diffin, "Beyond the Vanishing Point" by Ray Cummings, "Terrors Unseen" by Harl Vincent, the conclusion of "Phalanxes of Atlans" by F. V. W. Mason, and "The Meteor Girl" by Jack Williamson. - Summary by Bill Boerst

This is the first volume in the Home Education Series detailing Charlotte Mason's method of education. This volume is subtitled: The Education of Children under Nine Years of Age. The series is used today by many homeschoolers around the globe and is considered a classic reference by the founder of the homeschooling movement. Volume 1 of 6. - Summary by rachelrw

10Witness for the Defence

By A. E. W. Mason

Part romance, part mystery, part courtroom and quasi-courtroom drama. Young love reignites itself after a hiatus of some years. Or does it? Much can change in that time -- both to the people themselves, and to the events that shape their lives. The action moves from England to India, and back again, confronting the protagonists with problems they never dreamed they’d have to face. ( Nicholas Clifford)

11Clementina

By A. E. W. Mason

This well-written novel is a fictional account of a true historical rescue mission. In 1719, at the age of 17, when she was on her way across Europe to marry James Stuart, the Catholic pretender to the British throne, Princess Maria Clementina Sobieska was kidnapped and held prisoner by Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI, with the approval of his ally, the Protestant king of England. The king feared that the marriage would produce heirs who might raise a rebellion against the Crown, though Stuart’s own rebellion had failed four years earlier. But Irish soldier of fortune and Stuart's ablest spy, hatches a daring plot to rescue the princess. Filled with spies, romance, palace intrigue and uncertain loyalties, this is the story of how Charles Wogan, once indicted for High Treason in Protestant England, set out to play his part on the international stage. Failure would mean certain death at the hands of Wogan's powerful enemies. But would success bring the result he expects? (Jacquerie)<br><br>Prooflisteners: <a href="https://librivox.org/reader/3220">Betty M.</a> and <a href="https://librivox.org/reader/5796">Linette Geisel</a>

Volume two of the Home Education Series by Charlotte Mason talks about parents and children. Charlotte breaks down a couple of different topics about home education, like the family, the parent's role as the teacher, and much more. - Summary by Elijah Fisher

A compendium of Oscar Wilde's wit, including some of his most famous epigrams as well as unpublished quotations supplied by his friends. The book is formatted as a calendar, with one saying for each day of the year, and was edited by Wildean scholar, Stuart Mason (born Christopher Sclater Millard). - Summary by Rob Marland

14Affair at the Semiramis Hotel

By A. E. W. Mason

Inspector Hanaud is a member of the French Sûreté. He is said to have been the model for Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot, as well as the opposite of Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes. The Affair At The Semiramis Hotel (1917), a novella, is the second Hanaud mystery. Did the robbery/murder really happen or was it the mescal-induced hallucination of the witness? The first novel is At The Villa Rose (1910). The third is The House Of The Arrow (1924) (there are seven through 1949, available at project gutenberg Australia). In 1910, Mason undertook to create a fictional detective as different as possible from Sherlock Holmes, who had recently been resuscitated after his supposed death by Arthur Conan Doyle in 1903. Inspector Gabriel Hanaud was stout, not gaunt like Holmes; a professional policeman, not a gentleman amateur; from the French Sûreté, not Victorian England; and relying on psychological insights rather than physical evidence. His "Watson" is a retired London banker named Mr. Julius Ricardo. - Summary by David Wales

15House Of The Arrow

By A. E. W. Mason

A young English girl is accused in Dijon of murdering her French aunt. Hanaud to the rescue! Inspector Hanaud is a member of the French Sûreté. He is said to have been the model for Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot, as well as the opposite of Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes. In 1910, Mason undertook to create a fictional detective as different as possible from Sherlock Holmes, who had recently been resuscitated after his supposed death by Arthur Conan Doyle in 1903. Inspector Gabriel Hanaud was stout, not gaunt like Holmes; a professional policeman, not a gentleman amateur; from the French Sûreté, not Victorian England; and relying on psychological insights rather than physical evidence. His "Watson" is a retired London banker named Mr. Julius Ricardo, though he appears only briefly in this novel. (David Wales )

This is third volume in the Home Education Series detailing Charlotte Mason's method of education. This volume is subtitled: School Education. The series is used today by many homeschoolers around the globe and is considered a classic reference by the founder of the homeschooling movement. Volume 3 of 6. - Summary by rachelrw / linny

17Woman Of Yesterday

By Caroline Atwater Mason

Anna is the daughter of a clergyman in a small town in Vermont. She is very happy with her lot. But when she goes to nurse a woman in the big city, she starts to discover the world. She sees new places, meets new people, and falls in love. This will test all the resolutions she once held dear. - Summary by Stav Nisser.

This is Book I of the forth volume in the Home Education Series detailing Charlotte Mason's method of education. This volume is subtitled Ourselves and Book I is titled Self-Knowledge. The series is used today by many home-schoolers around the globe and is considered a classic reference by the founder of the homeschooling movement. - Summary by rachelrw / linny

The sixth volume in the Home Education Series detailing Charlotte Mason's method of education. This volume is subtitled A Liberal Education for All. The series is used today by many home-schoolers around the globe and is considered a classic reference by the founder of the homeschooling movement. - Summary by InTheDesert

This is the fifth volume in the Home Education Series detailing Charlotte Mason's method of education. This volume is subtitled "Some Studies in the Formation of Character," although the author explains in the preface why she considers this to be somewhat of a misnomer. The series is used today by many home-schoolers around the globe and is considered a classic reference by the founder of the homeschooling movement. - Summary by Devorah Allen

This is Book II of the fourth volume in the Home Education Series detailing Charlotte Mason's method of education. This volume is subtitled Ourselves and Book II is titled Self Knowledge. The series is used today by many home - schoolers around the globe and is considered a classic reference by the founder of the home - schooling movement. - Summary by L Andrus

In proposing these lectures, my original notion was to popularize and amplify the valuable educational hints contained in some two or three chapters of Dr. Carpenter's "Mental Physiology;" but the subject is a wide one, and I have found it necessary to cover much ground untouched in that work. A complete or worthy treatment of "Home Education" within the limits of a single small volume is out of the question. My attempt is, to suggest a method of education resting upon a basis of natural law: and to touch, in this connection, upon the mother's duties to her children in the three stages of life during which they fall under her personal training, childhood, school-life, and young maidenhood. - Summary by Introductory