Audiobook · read by volunteers
Dead Men Tell No Tales
E. W. Hornung (1866–1921)
Read by Cori Samuel, Lucy Burgoyne (1950-2014), Kristin Hughes (1974-2021), Robin Cotter, Nichole Karl, Belinda Brown, Gesine, Kristine Bekere, Lucie Nadejova, Susan Umpleby · 20 chapters · 6 h 10
About the book
Love on the ocean, a mysterious cargo, a journey to the water's edge: E. W. Hornung, best remembered for the gentleman thief Raffles, here writes a swift first-person adventure that begins at sea and goes on to a convalescent home, a garden and a final statement. Its twenty chapters carry titles such as The Sole Survivor, A Small Precaution, Thieves Fall Out, A Man of Many Murders and The Statement of Francis Rattray, which together promise romance, danger and a mystery that takes its time to unfold. Expect plenty of incident, brisk narration and the sort of nineteenth-century storytelling that trusts the listener to enjoy a good chase. Ten LibriVox volunteers take turns with the chapters, and the whole runs for about six hours, making it a lively choice for anyone who likes sea tales with a touch of intrigue.
Introduction
Ernest William Hornung, who lived from 1866 to 1921, was an English author born in Middlesbrough. He is best known for the Raffles stories, whose gentleman burglar became a famous counterpart to the detectives of his day; the first collection, The Amateur Cracksman, appeared in 1899 with a dedication to Conan Doyle. As a young man Hornung spent two years in Australia, and the experience coloured much of his fiction. Hornung was also the brother-in-law of Arthur Conan Doyle, which tells us something about the literary company he kept.
Dead Men Tell No Tales appeared in 1897 and sits within the genre of adventure and mystery fiction. Its chapter titles, from the one about love on the ocean to the mysterious cargo and the approach to the water’s edge, promise a story that moves between romance and suspense, and that is a fair guide. The book belongs to a period when the sea story was a popular form, and the sea gives it much of its atmosphere.
Hornung’s style is brisk and readable. He writes dialogue that moves quickly and descriptions that serve the action, and he does not linger over explanation. As with other books of the 1890s, some attitudes and turns of phrase will strike a modern ear as dated, which adds to the period flavour.
This recording has twenty chapters read by ten LibriVox volunteers and lasts about six hours. It is a good choice for listeners who know Raffles and want to meet Hornung in a different register, and for anyone who enjoys an old-fashioned yarn told at a good pace.
Public domain
E. W. Hornung died in 1921: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
The LibriVox volunteers dedicated this recording to the public domain.
Sources : LibriVox page · Files at the Internet Archive · Original text