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Descubre un mundo infinito de historias

Escucha y lee

Liam Dale

A dog began to howl somewhere in a farmhouse far down the road, a long, agonized wailing, as if from fear. The sound was taken up by another dog, and then another and another, till, borne on the wind which now sighed softly through the pass, a wild howling began, which seemed to come from all over the country, as far as the imagination could grasp it through the gloom of the night.”

With howling dogs, a shimmering moon and a chill wind through a darkened landscape, these words could only come from one novel; the great horror classic, Dracula, penned by the Irish born writer Bram Stoker.

The name Dracula strikes fear whenever it is mentioned, such is the power of this novel, about a monstrous vampire that feeds on human blood. The character of Count Dracula himself has become as legendary as the hideous Frankenstein’s monster in the history of horror, while the story of Dracula has been used time and again in films, dating back to the early 20th Century and the silent movies, right up to the present day and the post millennium Hollywood blockbuster.

But, what of the author of this gruesome novel of blood lust? Who created this tale of the living dead sucking every last drop of blood from their unsuspecting victims? In precisely the same way that Mary Shelley is little recognized for Frankenstein, the novel she created when she was a mere 18-years old, the author of Dracula, Bram Stoker is a similarly overlooked figure in the world of literature.

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The History Journals

Bram Stoker: The True Story of the Life & Time of the Great Author

There is no one, the whole world over, who doesn’t enjoy a good story, and many of our best-loved traditional tales have been passed down through countless generations to the present day. This is especially true of the Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm, including such classics as “The Elves and the Shoemaker”, “Cinderella”, “Hansel and Gretel” and “Snow White”. But who were these famous brothers, and how did two studious young men who were destined to be Lawyers become perhaps the Greatest Storytellers the world has ever known?

All these questions and many more will be answered in this fascinating journal, looking at the lives and works of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, and the magical quality of their unique literary talent.

The Brothers Grimm: The True Story of the Life & Time of the Great Authors

"It is a far, far better thing that I do now, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to, than I have ever known." Dicken's ending to "A Tale of Two Cities" resonates for all listeners of this master author and in this journal, you can follow in the footsteps of his life and works. Visit the locations that inspired his great classics and appreciate the contribution that Dickens not only made to literary history, but social matter as well.

Charles Dickens: The True Story of the Life & Time of the Great Author

“Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
"Tis some visitor," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door -
Only this, and nothing more."

Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December,
And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
Eagerly I wished the morrow; vainly I had tried to borrow
From my books surcease of sorrow - sorrow for the lost Lenore -
For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore,
Nameless here for evermore.”

These are the first two verses of ‘The Raven’, a poem full of dark and disturbing images, rife with tension, fear, paranoia, terror and a yearning for a lost love that has returned to this earth as a ghost. As a poem ‘The Raven’ is without doubt more famous and widely known than the troubled author who penned it. His name was Edgar Allan Poe, and his work was directly responsible for shaping the modern horror industry as we know it. He was the Godfather of Gore, the Father of Fear, the Master of the Macabre, and the Guardian of the Gruesome. Poe was also one of the best mystery writers of all time, however the most fascinating puzzle he left us was that of his own life, and in this journal, we will follow in the great man’s footsteps to turn detective.

Edgar Allan Poe was born early in the 19th Century, yet still his legacy lives on. Throughout this celebration of his life and work, you’ll also get the opportunity to read extracts from his poetry and prose, some of which will be very familiar but just as terrifying all the same!

Edgar A Poe: The True Story of the Life & Time of the Great Author

Ask a random sample of people to name the History Makers of World War II and you can pretty much predict their answers. First on the list will be Adolf Hitler, who made history for all the wrong reasons, then next it could well be Sir Winston Churchill with his characteristic V for victory sign and large cigar. Such luminaries as Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, fondly known to his men as “Monty”, General de Gaulle and President Franklin D Roosevelt are all likely to be in the top ten, along with Hitler’s henchmen Herman Goering and the Desert Fox, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, as well as Italy’s fascist dictator Benito Mussolini.

Whether fighting for good or evil, each of these men had a larger-than-life persona, and although Hitler’s ruthlessness as a dictator kept the Nazis in line, the Allies needed to work together by more democratic means. The task of diplomatically leading these undoubtedly great but not always easy characters when it mattered most, fell to affable American, Dwight D Eisenhower, who certainly deserves to be called a History Maker of World War II."

Dwight D. Eisenhower: The True Story of his Life & Time during World War II: History Makers of WW2

Once upon a time, as all good stories with happy endings begin, a penniless young mother walked the streets of Edinburgh with her beloved baby daughter, hoping to make her fortune. In truth, “fortune” is probably over-exaggerating; enough money to feed and clothe the two of them and put a decent roof over their heads was all this young mother asked, but it was proving to be incredibly difficult.

Yet this is no fairy tale from the Brothers Grimm or Hans Christian Anderson, it’s the true story of one of the most successful women the world has ever known, who in 1990 came up with the idea for a book about an orphaned boy wizard. The boy’s name was Harry Potter, the young woman, JK Rowling, and the rest is history!

JK Rowling: The True Story of the Life of the Great Author & the Birth of Harry Potter

On December 7th 1941 as World War II raged, the focus of attention was snatched from the battlefields of Europe and diverted to the smoke and flames rising from the American Naval Base in Hawaii, Pearl Harbor. The Empire of the Rising Sun had finally struck, piercing the heart of the US navy in a bid to ensure that their plans for an Asian Empire, every bit as ambitious as Adolf Hitler’s Thousand Year Reich, were not threatened.

But as the injured were rushed to safety and America reeled from the shock of the Japanese attack, those battling against Hitler, most notably Winston Churchill and the people of Great Britain, were able to find some comfort in the tragedy, because America’s President, Franklin D Roosevelt, could now justify bringing the United States into the war.

The story of Pearl Harbor may have been told many times, but it’s nonetheless always fascinating and in this journal, we will have the opportunity to revisit the events of that monumental day as they unfolded, from the bombing of the USS Panay to the attack on Pearl itself, while discovering the reasons why the Japanese fleets travelled far across the ocean, to pick a fight with World War II’s sleeping giant.

Attack on Pearl Harbor: America Enters World War II

If I asked you how many Robin Hoods you could name, what would the list be like?

I’m sure you’d reel off a whole host of famous actors, like Errol Flynn, Douglas Fairbanks, Kevin Costner, Michael Praed, Sean Connery, and John Cleese, to name but six. All of these men have played the role of Robin Hood in various television and movie adaptations of the famous story.

But that’s not what I meant.

I’m talking about Robin Hood himself; the ever popular and ever noble outlaw hero who robbed from the rich and gave to the poor, with his trusty bow and arrow as his weapon of choice. The leader of a band of like-minded outlaws, christened the Merry Men (‘merry’ – in this instance – derives from an Anglo-Saxon word meaning ‘illustrious, famous, great, mighty’, etc. In the same sense, Hood means ‘hoodlum, thief, thug, criminal’). Robin Hood was a champion for justice, fighting against the oppression of the evil Sheriff of Nottingham and his right-hand man Guy of Gisbourne, all under the watchful eye of the wicked Prince John (who had been placed on the throne as a substitute monarch whilst his brother, King Richard The Lionheart, fought in the Crusades).

Of course, that was only one Robin Hood. Very much like the various incarnations that have appeared in classic novels, Hollywood movies, television series, radio serials and theatrical plays, Robin Hood was more than one man.

Robin Hood: The True Story of the Life & Time of the Outlaw Hero

The early years of World War II saw Nazi Germany dominate Europe, but by the end of 1941, as Adolf Hitler continued to build his Empire, events in the Pacific took on their own momentum as Imperial Japan and America became locked in battle after the bombing of the US Naval Fleet at Pearl Harbor.

As the smoke and flames rose from Pearl, America and its President, Franklin D Roosevelt, could no longer remain on the sidelines of the war that had been waging in Europe for over two years, and on December 7th, 1941, the hostilities were transformed into a global conflict. This would mark the beginning of a new chapter in the Second World War where the Americans joined the fight for what Roosevelt had laid out as the Four Freedoms.

The first was Freedom of Speech, the second, Freedom of Religion and Expression, the third Freedom from Want, and last but by no means least, the fourth was Freedom from Fear. The story of how the nation, which so treasured its neutrality and had gone to such great lengths to avoid fighting on foreign soil, joined the war, will follow in the footsteps of Roosevelt, the man responsible for the American Dream.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt: His Finest Hour - The Winning of World War II

When you look back in history at royal romances, surprising as it may seem, few have happy ever after endings, and in many instances the idea of “Love and Marriage” being inextricably linked is not quite as common as you might at first think. In fairy stories handsome Kings and Princes regularly sweep fair maidens off their feet, transforming them into Princesses and Queens, and although a rarer occurrence, a Royal Princess can create a Prince out of the most unpromising of characters!

From King Arthur through to Prince Charles and Diana, Royal Romances - The British Monarchy gives you an enlightening insight into British Royal history.