The Tragedy on the London and Mid-Northern | Victor L. Whitechurch | A Bitesized Audiobook
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 14 ม.ค. 2022
- When an unknown man is found dead with a head wound, leaning out of the window of a locked first class railway compartment in which he was travelling alone, it at first appears to be a tragic accident. Thorpe Hazell, railway enthusiast and amateur detective, suspects there may be more to the case than meets the eye...
A new, original recording of a classic public domain text, read and performed by Simon Stanhope for Bitesized Audio.
If you enjoy this content and would like to help me keep creating, you may like to consider supporting me on Patreon:
/ bitesizedaudio
Or for occasional one-off contributions, you can Buy Me a Coffee here: www.buymeacoffee.com/bitesize...
The Rev. Victor Lorenzo Whitechurch (1868-1933) was Church of England clergyman, who during his career served as Chaplain to the Bishop of Oxford and later became Rural Dean of Aylesbury. He is best remembered today for a series of rural crime novels which he published in the 1920s and early 30s, with titles such as 'Murder at the Pageant', 'Shot on the Downs' and 'Murder at the College'. However, much earlier in his career, while he was still a curate, he wrote a series of detective mysteries for magazine publication, which appeared in numerous periodicals in the 1890s and into the first decade of the 20th century. He invented the character of Thorpe Hazell, who is a specialist in railways, and crime committed in and around trains.
Hazell is an eccentric character; in addition to his fascination with trains and the British railway network, he's a keen collector of antiquarian and rare books and is also notable for his unusual diet and health regimes. He is (relatively unusually for the era) a vegetarian, and several of the stories reference this, as well as his "digestive exercises" and other oddities which amuse and perplex his clients and associates.
'The Tragedy on the London and Mid-Northern' first appeared in the August 1905 edition of The Royal Magazine (issue No.82). It was subsequently published in book form along with several other stories featuring Thorpe Hazell, under the title 'Thrilling Stories of the Railway', in 1912.
Recording © Bitesized Audio 2022. - บันเทิง
This story is one of a series featuring Thorpe Hazell, "the railway detective", originally published in The Royal Magazine in 1905. If you'd like to hear more of Thorpe Hazell's cases, they are collected in this playlist: th-cam.com/play/PLi95qAoufCZLvCU7wSz3kSgiKfLkxe3XH.html
Thank you so much for this, Simon - I do love these Thorpe Hazell stories (such a wonderfully eccentric character!) and you read it beautifully!
Adding the link to the playlist is a great idea. I wish more people would do this. Love your channel!
I've heard and enjoyed those which is why I was so happy to see that you had uploaded this one. Lots of new or not so new ideas seem to be becoming popularised around that period .
A really great time to be around,as long as you weren't poverty stricken and didn't mind the healthcare situation 🧐
BTW I first started listening late Saturday night and fell asleep so I replayed on Sunday morning. So you get one extra view on me. Happy to oblige. I looked at BMAC but I don't have a credit card, sorry I would like to show my appreciation in a more tangible way 🤷🏻🥰
@Pilgrim Much appreciated. Listening, liking, commenting and so on are all very helpful and all help to support the channel, so thank you!
Bravo! I give you a standing ovation for this one, Simon! The story is excellent, and your vocal gymnastics with all the different accents are nothing short of genius. Thank you so much, Simon.
That's very kind of you to say, thank you Jody!
Thank you Simon. That was beautifully read. I could see the red brick bridges and the tiny terraced houses lining the railway tracks.
Interesting that the writer refers to locking the carriage door to prevent other passengers joining the man. I’m in my seventh decade so I can remember those carriages.
Thank you again Simon. Absolutely lovely to hear you tell these stories. 🤗🤗
Great to hear from you aunty, I hope you're keeping well. Glad to know you enjoyed this one
A detective that never got to prove he knew more than everyone else. Mystery solved without any recognition. And a humorous fellow, the way he keeps up with his exercises
Yes indeed. I'm tempted to try some of them myself sometime... Thanks Ady
Also after knocking on the door of a stranger to beg a glass of milk and a crust of bread, then lays prostrate on her floor doing his thing, priceless 😅😂🥰
Enjoyed the story thoroughly. Bought to life by excellent narration. Listened to it on my lonely drive to work through the forest at 5.30am. A dark and bleak morning serving as a perfect backdrop to the story.
And very passable Brummie and Polish accents.
Thanks Nick, appreciated!
Fantastic. Love Thorpe Hazell stories, but only when they're read by you Simon! Thank you sooooo much. Hope you & your family are keeping well & happy. 😊
We are, thank you! Best wishes to you and yours
Simon, I feel like you are an old friend. You have narrated me to sleep many nights and I have been your dam since I first listened to you. You have found your glory. I follow you to the ends of TH-cam.
Thank you Julie, how lovely of you to say so!
Thank you so much for introducing me to some of the lesser known authors of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Listening to you read these novels has been an absolute pleasure. Thank you.
"Sanguinary minded youth"-what a great writer! What an awesome narrator! Thank you!
I enjoyed that phrase too! Thanks Gina, glad you enjoyed it
Oh good show! Another Thorpe Hazell story. This is a good treat after a very hard work week. Thank you.
You're welcome Tina, thanks for listening and taking the time to comment, much appreciated!
Brilliant story.
Hello from snow ❄️ covered SW Missouri! About 5 inches of big fluffy snowflakes fell on us today! So I am all snuggled up with the current gem from one of my favorite narrators! Thank you Simon, and a happy new year to you. I really enjoy these older detective stories! You have saved another one from obscurity. 😊
Thanks Felene. Stay warm!
All tucked in (on cold winters night in mid January) and ready for this story.
Thanks in advance, Simon.
Three stories that will cover bedtime all week. You know, I've listened to some of your stories so many times I've nearly memorized the lines. Thank you for these new detective stories and for the work you must go through to get these out for us. Thank You !
You're welcome BlueFriend. Yes, I'm working on quite a few detective stories just at the moment, my list seems to be ever-expanding!
Very interesting story and excellent narration by Mr. Simon. Thank you.
You're most welcome, glad you enjoyed it
A wonderfully plotted story and your usual perfect rendering of it!
Wow! That says it all. There ARE beautiful beings (narrator & listeners) on this planet? Hoorah. Blessings to both.
Beautifully read, as ever. Thank you Simon. And thank you for finding such marvellous stories to share. It's the weather for "injunction of the lungs" so I hope everyone is wrapping up warm when they go out.
I seem to remember a P.G. Woodhouse Psmith book featuring someone doing their Indian club exercises - I think they're also in one (or more) of the Mapp and Lucia books. Clearly a constant source of fun for late Victorian/Edwardian writers.
Ah yes, that rings a bell for me too. Lovely to hear from you Hannah, I hope you're keeping safe and well (and warm!). Glad to know you enjoyed the story
This is Wonderful, I'd never heard of this author, thanks so much!
You're welcome Janet, glad to know you enjoyed it. I'm working my way through this series, if you'd like to hear the others I've done previously by this author they're collected in this playlist: th-cam.com/play/PLi95qAoufCZLvCU7wSz3kSgiKfLkxe3XH.html
Utterly engaging as always, Simon. Thoroughly enjoyed this story and your vocal performance was a delight. Well worth the wait. Another forgotten gem rediscovered. Thank you. ❤
So glad you enjoyed it Bob! All the best
Wonderful as always Simon.
I love it when there's different accents. Smooth transitions from character to character really highlights your talent. Thanks for another interesting detective story. 😊
Thanks so much Shannon, appreciated!
@@BitesizedAudio agreed! Accents are so interesting & well done Simon!
Both Thorpe & the Polish guy are extremely clever! & I loved the ending, the very subtle way he said it, lol.
Lovely new story and narration Simon, thank you! I don't know why but it gave me flashbacks of Saki's Quail Seed, perhaps because of similar romantic themes of exiled foreign nobility, danger, secret signals, and exotic endings. Your interpretation of a sick foreign accent was also excellently done. Much appreciated by a happy subscriber!
Thank you @synesthete23, appreciated - especially re the accent. I apologise to any Polish listeners for my attempts at the accent, but he's obviously well travelled throughout Russia and eastern Europe (that's my convenient excuse anyway!)...
A belated Happy New Year and thanks for this very evocative railway mystery. A dilemma at the end which reminds me of a similar one faced by a certain other detective/railway mystery (the Mother of all railway mysteries by the Queen of all mystery writers).
Thank you, Simon, for sharing your magic gift, be well.
Thank you! Best wishes to you too
Yay! Looking forward to this. x
This story shows us that things are not always as they seam, that we may think that we know the reason. Thank you for posting.
You're most welcome, thanks Kimberly
I believe you outdid yourself with the accents in this one, Mr. Stanhope! And I’m tempted to try that exercise at the end. This particular detective is great fun.
Thank you! I'm tempted to try too... do let me know how you get on with them!
Awesome. Both you and the story were excellent
Thank you Granny Kim, appreciated
Loved it! Thank you. I could not wait to hear of Hazell's latest exercises to aid digestion! I immediately started rubbing my chest vigorously🤣🤣🤣
Wonderful! I hope it made you feel better...
Superb story expertly narrated. Thorpe's exercise regime is a hoot, isn't it?! Interestingly (for me, at any rate) my grandmother's family had some Hazells on one branch. I met one of her cousins once when I was a child. His physique suggested he did not share his namesake's love of P.T. though! 😄
So glad to know you enjoyed it Yvonne. Yes indeed, he's quite a quirky character: Rev Whitechurch obviously wanted him to stand out from the crowd!
Excellent story and reading ! Good accents ! Thanks !
Thanks Jeff, much appreciated!
Brilliant accents! The West Midlands accent reminded me of Pike from Dad's Army! Excellent work. Incrediblely nuanced.
Thank you!
I love all the railway stories, may you do many more
Yes Simon these are a treat. I am a railway buff anyway so it's like extra icing on the cake.
So glad to know that Angela. Actually, I have several more railway stories on my to-do list (not only Thorpe Hazell stories, it seems they're a favourite setting for many authors of this period) so do look out for those. Also, I see you've recently joined as a channel member: thank you so much for your support. Do keep an eye on the community tab, or membership page, depending on your device, for updates and early previews! There's also a members special recording, and I hope to do more of those in future.
I love it. Great mysteries. I enjoy the ghost stories most of all, though!
Thanks Christie. Rest assured, I have lots more ghost stories on my to-do list! I'm working on some more detective ones just at the moment but will be back with another supernatural tale before too long...
@@BitesizedAudio Yay! Looking forward to them. 😊
Good!!! 😠. very well written story and a empathetic good reading!!
loved your Polish accent :) 🌷🌿🌼🌱🌷
Excellent presentation, thank you!
Most enjoyable tale thank you
I can't stop listening to these shorts..imagine..an engrossing story that lasts an hr...brilliant
Glad to know you're enjoying them. The stories in this particular series are quite short, but I have some longer ones in the pipeline...
Thanks Simon.
Thank you for these stories!
You're most welcome, thanks for listening Tom
Excellent... Thank you!
Well done!
Thank you for this enjoyable story
Fantastic narration, and a good story. 32:39
Very well told story!
Thanks Sue, glad to know you enjoyed it
Utterly wonderful thank you x
Thanks Annette, very kind of you to say!
Very nice. Thank you!
Glad you enjoyed it, thanks Eliza
Thank you❤
Thank you.
Very good😊👍
Thnks nice story
super thank you
Intriguing fellow this Thorpe . He obviously has great powers of observation and deduction but he also seems to be a hygienist of some type - judging by his fondness for lentils and yogic breathing exercises . Perhaps he spent some time in India ? Excellent tale , well narrated as is the norm .
Another great story.😁👍🏻
Thanks Raymond, glad you enjoyed it
I really like this story especially w/what is going on in parts of this sad ol' world right now 🤔😠
Good story!!
Glad you enjoyed it, thanks GradKat. More to come...
Enjoyed this very much! Must admit I’ve never heard of Thorpe Hazel though have vague recollection of a detective with strange eating/exercising habits? Hope you’ll print more of these stories. Thanks very much
✊♥️
Thanks Julie. Yes indeed, this is the third Hazell story I've done so far, and I'll certainly be returning to the character in the future...
Yep checked your list,that’s where I’d heard of him😂sorry getting old✊😉
Sad...
Excellent. I love this unusual character and I love a pc ending to any story. Thanks once again.
I think the lower case ' pc' is correct in this context but not 100% sure. Anyway I'm pretty sure people know what I mean which is the most important thing.
I enjoyed this Thorpe Hazell, "the railway detective" reading. I am also looking forward to more Dr. John Thorndyke stories. Although I appreciate the work and dedication of the volunteers at Librevox, I find that I can't listen to flat American accents with little experience reading obviously British literature. Thank you for your wonderful work! (I am an American in Texas)
Thank you @Macinvestor As it happens, I'm working on another Dr. Thorndyke story at the moment; I hope to upload it in the next week or two, all being well. Thanks for listening and for your kind comments
@@BitesizedAudio Terrific! Thank you, and best wishes.
Very good, I really enjoyed the story, I can never solve these crimes but your superb narration makes up for my lack of success. I tried the exercise but as I’ve got a gammy leg I lost my balance, I was a bit of a fool for trying, Many thanks Simon 🙏 xx
Perhaps I should add a "don't try this at home" disclaimer! Thanks Lynda
@@BitesizedAudio No it’s just me being clumsy as usual xx
Aha, another smashing ‘monkey moment’ 😀♥️ (as in I tend to go “ooh, ooh, ooh” when you’ve a new story up)
Wonderful! Thanks @talia bee
I don't know why, but I do have a little something about thriller stories that revolve around railways and trains. Thank you for reading sir. Much appreciated.
Thanks Nisa. I have a few more train-themed stories in the pipeline, so do stay tuned!
@@BitesizedAudio thank you so much! :)
A health nut sleuth. An odd qwerk to give a detective but I suppose you have Monk and he’s in the same line. Thank you for sharing.
Ah yes, Monk... I only saw the occasional episode of that series, but I can certainly see the parallels!
There's another version available - a radio show, I believe - that gives the pronunciation HAY-zell.
Well, I would have believed him, as well.
You got the Brummy accent down pretty well.
That's actually a breathing exercise used in martial arts. Quite interesting.
Indeed. And similar to some of the warm up exercises used by actors too!
E pericoloso sporghersi... my only Italian, read in trains :-)
💙🎙📚💙
Excellent and excellent story dam Bolshevik Marxist- probably a true story Reminds me of Gulag Archipelago
Politically inverted albeit - for publication
I enjoyed that one, thank you.
Its odd but i find you have a certain knack which i cannot put my finger on, exactly. 👆
And, its this, take for instance todays amateur detective
Mr Thorpe Hazell & without really giving him an accent or changing your reading technique
& neither raising nor lowering your voice you seem able to translate to us, a picture of Thorpe Hazell from his facial expressions, his beady eyed
Squint, his hikey up on his toes then down on his heels walk which gives him a bobbing effect
Hes obviously an authentic eccentric, however not overtly so
He may give the impression of being a tad unemotional & cooly business like but thats not true & he cares a great deal about persons, places & pleasures
Thorpe is just undemonstrative
While out & about, feeling that overt displays in public are rather attention seeking & just
NOT done
Well this is how i see him, about his life in general & his way of
" detecting " & its how you convey him over to us, your
Adoring fans, without resorting to " Oxbridge" accents or Foppishness, nor the callous meticulously voiced ( by most narrators who give out the required voice of..)
Mr Sherlock Holmes !
Anyway, im not in the remotest way bothered if people who read the comments think im as glaikey
As a moon calf or off my clogs
( no im not Dutch) its how your voice manages to change without noticing, thus creating a character plain enough for us to visualise
Thank you once again for another good tale
Lets see your subs treble in
2022
Best Wishes 🗣📚🔝
@Itallia 3,6,9 Thank you so much for your kind comments, delighted to know you enjoyed it!
This story could have been written today about russia's attempts to eliminate all fighters for freedom. Some things and countries never change.
Good detective, terrible health advice 🤣
It's certainly an unusual diet... though I think he has a point when he suggests Mr Rolfe needs to shed a few pounds!
@@BitesizedAudio true :)
Why do I feel this story is relevant today. Not much difference between the Czar's Russia and Putin's.