Showing results by narrator "Phillip J Mather" in All Categories

Jesus of Nazareth has been dead for some 65 years. The eyewitnesses to this extraordinary life have died, often as martyrs, and only a scattered handful remain. Might anyone have resolved to interview those last few before it was too late, it being a matter of mind-boggling importance? What if someone had? Mysterium I: Rome presents the story of a young Roman scholar who determines to do precisely that.

Since my childhood I have been intrigued by castles. It started after a family holiday to Scarborough and being taken to see the castle there. Magnificent things, centuries old. How did they build them way back then without the modern machinery and building techniques we have today? They are remarkable feats of architecture, design, building and magnificent in their purpose both military and governance.

Hector Hugh Munro (December 18, 1870-November 14, 1916), better known by the pen name Saki and frequently as H. H. Munro, was a British writer whose witty, mischievous, and sometimes macabre stories satirize Edwardian society and culture. He is considered a master of the short story and often compared to O. Henry and Dorothy Parker. Influenced by Oscar Wilde, Lewis Carroll, and Rudyard Kipling, he himself influenced A. A. Milne, Noel Coward, and P. G. Wodehouse.

First published in the Pall Mall Gazette in 1895, this dark tale from master storyteller, H. G. Wells gives an account of the truly maddening battle for scientific supremacy between two notable entomologists.

Originally published as part of the Just So stories, this tale has no animals, but is the endearing story of a Neolithic child and the hilarious ramifications of attempting to request a fresh fishing spear from the village by use of a pictorial letter. As ever, Kipling’s timeless prose is evocatively presented by Phillip J Mather - an excellent listen!

"The Beginning of the Armadillos" is a tale that focuses on two days in the lives of three creatures "who lived on the banks of the turbid Amazon": Stickly-Prickly the hedgehog, Slow-and-Solid the tortoise, and Painted Jaguar.

"The Hour" by James Bernard Fagan (1873-1923) was published in Poems of the Great War in 1914 on behalf of The Prince of Wales' National Relief Fund. Fagan was an Irish-born actor, poet and playwright.

Thirty-seven wonderful short tales of historical figures and events, especially and charmingly written for children.

Shakespeare wrote for grown-up people, for men and women, and in words that little folks cannot understand. Hence Nesbit's Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare: to reproduce the entertaining stories contained in the plays of Shakespeare, in a form so simple that children can understand and enjoy them.

"We Willed It Not" by John Freeman (1882-1937) was published in Poems of the Great War in 1914 on behalf of The Prince of Wales' national Relief Fund.

The Just So Stories began as bedtime stories told to "Effie" (Josephine, Kipling's firstborn). When the first three were published in a children's magazine, a year before her death, Kipling explained: "....in the evening, there were stories meant to put Effie to sleep, and you were not allowed to alter those by one single little word. They had to be told just so; or Effie would wake up and put back the missing sentence." (Wikipedia)

Written in 1914 by Owen Seaman, the poem "Pro Patria" is a call to arms to defend the righteous and noble values that England was deemed to represent. Calling upon God to support the coming actions of the war, based on a gallant national history, "Pro Patria" is an allusion to Horace and was also utilized in Dulce Et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen.

The Just So Stories began as bedtime stories told to "Effie" [Josephine, Kipling's firstborn]. When the first three were published in a children's magazine, a year before her death, Kipling explained: "....in the evening, there were stories meant to put Effie to sleep, and you were not allowed to alter those by one single little word. They had to be told just so; or Effie would wake up and put back the missing sentence." (Wikipedia)

The Speckled Band: one of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic Sherlock Holmes adventures, published in 1892. Doyle considered this tale to be his best Holmes story - a "locked door" mystery. It has been adapted for stage, film, radio, and TV and is now available in audiobook format, where Phillip J. Mather's masterful delivery transports the listener back over 100 years to Victorian England.

Rudyard Kipling’s Gentlemen-Rankers first appeared in Barrack-Room Ballads and refers to young men of the privileged classes who may have suffered the indignity of bankruptcy or scandal, and joined the ‘rank-and-file’ of the British Army as privates.

"The Stars in Their Courses" by John Freeman [1880 - 1929] was published in Poems of the Great War in 1914 on behalf of The Prince of Wales’ national Relief Fund.

Everyone needs a friend. Poin needs one the most. Poin is running out of time. Tick tock, tick tock. Poin's story might just touch your heart. Kids will be inspired, and imagination will never be the same.

The kangaroo once ambulated on four legs. This charming story by Rudyard Kipling, and wonderfully narrated by Phillip J. Mather tells us how the kangaroo became the marsupial we know today.

Kipling’s timeless classic of How the Leopard Got His Spots is skilfully narrated by Phillip J. Mather. Phillip’s mellifluous tones transport the listener, young or old, back to a time when the world map was indeed coloured red!

This quintessentially English poem is in the form of a father’s advice to his son on transitioning into manhood. Phillip J. Mather’s masterful delivery poignantly captures Kipling’s inspirational and timeless philosophy.