The Ghost at Massingham Mansions | A Max Carrados story by Ernest Bramah | A Bitesized Audiobook
121,121
Published 2021-08-21
A new, original recording of a classic public domain text, read and performed by Simon Stanhope for Bitesized Audio.
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Ernest Bramah (1868–1942) was born Ernest Bramah Smith, probably in or near Manchester, where he attended grammar school. An intensely private man, very little information is known about his personal life. His early career included a stint as assistant to Jerome K. Jerome; his first success as a writer came as a contributor of humorous sketches somewhat in the manner of Jerome, to newspapers and periodicals, and he later became editor of one of Jerome's magazines. As an author he is best remembered for creating two characters: Kai Lung, a Chinese storyteller who appeared in a number of humorous stories from 1900; and Max Carrados, the blind detective, created in 1913. He also wrote science fiction, and his 1907 novel 'What Might Have Been' (also known as 'The Secret of the League') is a dystopian story which was acknowledged by George Orwell as a major influence on his own 'Nineteen Eighty-four'. Orwell was also a great admirer of the Max Carrados stories, bracketing them with Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes and Freeman's Dr Thorndyke as "the only detective stories since Poe that are worth re-reading". The character of Carrados appeared in more than 25 short stories and novels between 1913 and 1934, and by the 1920s was more popular than Sherlock Holmes (whose later cases appeared alongside Carrados in The Strand Magazine). His blindness proves no obstacle to his detective skills; indeed his other senses are heightened and he regularly outwits criminals and fellow detectives alike.
The first known publication of 'The Ghost at Massingham Mansions' came in 'The Eyes of Max Carrados', a 1923 collection of short stories. Most of the stories in that volume had appeared in 'The News of the World' in 1913, but I've not been able to find any evidence whether this story had previously had a newspaper publication. As a result the exact date of composition is uncertain.
Recording © Bitesized Audio 2021.
All Comments (21)
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If you enjoyed this story, you may like to visit my Bandcamp page where you can listen for free to my narrations of many more classic stories. You can also purchase and download an mp3 (or another format of your choice) of this or any of my other recordings: bitesizedaudio.bandcamp.com/ Listener support on Bandcamp helps me to keep producing new content like this. I also have a Patreon page: www.patreon.com/bitesizedaudio Or for occasional one-off support, you can Buy Me a Coffee here: www.buymeacoffee.com/bitesizedaudio Thanks for listening. Simon Stanhope (narrator)
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Most enjoyable tale to listen to, lying on the sofa, with just table light on & a mug of coffee, quite relaxing with the addition of your dulcet tone, thank you for another enjoyable & not heard before gem of past literature
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Now I'm sleepy and I could be wrong but 9 minutes in and it seems like they are talking to the super because a ghost keeps turning on the lights in am unoccupied apartment and running up the gas bill! More real estate horror! I love it!
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Confession: I let you talk me to sleep. After my nap, I rewind and actually listen to the story. Delightful. 💛
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This was another good one Simon. I love when there's lots of different characters. Your changes in tones and accents are flawless. Cheers!😊
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I love that this author became so successful even though he wasn’t very educated and at one point was even more popular than Sherlock Holmes! That’s another thing I love about this channel is the background information! This channel is nothing if not thorough and very professional and I love the story! I love the premise of a blind detective!🦋
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I love the Max Carrados stories, and your reading does them justice! Please may we look forward to the rest of the series?!
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An hour and ten minutes bathed in your dulcet tones. I am refreshed. What a marvel you are, Simon. Always a pleasure. And I am reminded of the old adage - "Save water - bath with a friend". ❤
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Hello Simon! Old fan here 😊 Thank you for your brilliant work. I save all of these for bedtime, the soothing quality of your voice cannot be overstated.
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Dear Mr Stanhope: a most pleasant accompaniment to an evening, a hitherto unknown (to me) writer, well read and a pleasure to listen to.
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I’ve never been on YT when a story from you was put up. And an excellent-sounding one at that!
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Yes! I was hoping it was going to be a long one! Time flies when listening to your readings at night, absolutely enjoy them. Thanks my dude
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Yay love your stories Thanks so much You're a gem
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Thank you for introducing me to the worlds of Ernest Bramah and Max Carados.
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What a wonderful story can’t wait to hear the end.I really like all your videos.have good and blessed day.😉👩🏻🦱
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This story looks especially intriguing. Thank you so much for all the work you put into recording these stories for us. You are SO appreciated !
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Love these stories!! Thank you so much!
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Thank you, Simon and friends. I really cant listen today so, poor me, I have to wait until tomorrow.
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I just read the description, and am utterly amazed that I'd never heard of this author or the character, Max Carrados. Thank you for my introduction into this character. I shall certainly seek out more Max Carrados; I'll also seek out the Dr. Thorndyke stories. I've listened to all the Sherlock Holmes stories. I was also elated to read that Bramah was an assistant to another of my favorite late-19th/early-20th century authors: Jerome K. Jerome. What I've listened to so far left me ROFLMAO. Thank you again.
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What a treat, to listen to a good story while working on my current jigsaw puzzle. Another good one, Simon!
