Premium Short Stories Collection - Blackmailing, Crank, Spook & Classic Tales (Annotated)
Enriched Edition. Edwardian Ghost Stories, Social Satire, and Classic Weird TalesBy E. F. Benson
Length17h 18m
About this audiobook
Premium Short Stories Collection - Blackmailing, Crank, Spook & Classic Tales gathers E. F. Benson's compact mastery of social comedy, moral unease, and supernatural suggestion. Moving between drawing-room intrigue, eccentric obsession, and ghostly disturbance, these tales display the polished surfaces and darker undertones of late Victorian and Edwardian short fiction. Benson's prose is elegant, ironic, and sharply observant, balancing urbane wit with an instinct for the uncanny and the psychologically grotesque. Edward Frederic Benson (1867–1940), born into a distinguished clerical and intellectual family, was the son of Edward White Benson, Archbishop of Canterbury. Educated at Marlborough and King's College, Cambridge, he inhabited the social worlds he so often anatomized: respectable, cultivated, competitive, and quietly ruthless. Best known today for the Mapp and Lucia novels, Benson also wrote prolifically in the ghost-story tradition, bringing to it a modern sensitivity to repression, vanity, and social performance. This collection is recommended for readers who enjoy classic short fiction with both elegance and bite. Admirers of M. R. James, Saki, Henry James, and Edith Wharton will find in Benson a distinctive voice: urbane, unsettling, and consistently entertaining.
This enriched edition has been carefully crafted to add value to your reading experience.
- A comprehensive Introduction outlines these selected works' unifying features, themes, or stylistic evolutions.
- A Historical Context section situates the works in their broader era—social currents, cultural trends, and key events that underpin their creation.
- A concise Synopsis (Selection) offers an accessible overview of the included texts, helping readers navigate plotlines and main ideas without revealing critical twists.
- A unified Analysis examines recurring motifs and stylistic hallmarks across the collection, tying the stories together while spotlighting the different work's strengths.
- Reflection questions inspire deeper contemplation of the author's overarching message, inviting readers to draw connections among different texts and relate them to modern contexts.
- Lastly, our hand‐picked Memorable Quotes distill pivotal lines and turning points, serving as touchstones for the collection's central themes.
Audiobook details
GenreHorror, General Fiction
Length17 hrs 18 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateAug 10, 2015
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1Premium Short Stories Collection - Blackmailing, Crank, Spook & Classic Tales (Annotated)
2Introduction
3Historical Context
4Synopsis (Selection)
5The Room in the Tower, and Other Stories (pt. 1)
Show all chaptersShow less
6The Room in the Tower, and Other Stories (pt. 2)
7The Room in the Tower, and Other Stories (pt. 3)
8The Room in the Tower, and Other Stories (pt. 4)
9The Countess of Lowndes Square, and Other Stories
10BLACKMAILING STORIES
11GENERAL STORIES
12CAT STORIES
13CRANK STORIES
14SPOOK STORIES
15Analysis
16Reflection
17Memorable Quotes
The Werewolf Blood Trail: Tales of Gore, Terror & HuntE. F. Benson, Marie de France, Alexandre Dumas Père, George W. M. Reynolds, Eugene Field, Émile Erckmann, Alexandre Chatrian, Rudyard Kipling, Robert E. Howard, Gladys Gordon Trenery, Clifford Ball, Clemence Housman, Caroline Taylor Stewart61h 23m$1.99 · $0.00
Paying Guests (Unabridged) (Annotated)E. F. Benson10h 22m3.9 (244)$2 · $0.00
Mrs. Ames (Annotated)E. F. Benson11h 4m$2 · $0.00
Paying Guests (A Satirical Novel) (Annotated)E. F. Benson10h 26m3.9 (243)$2 · $0.00
MAPP AND LUCIA (Annotated)E. F. Benson60h 38m4.3 (466)$2 · $0.00
DAVID BLAIZE TRILOGY - Complete Collection (Illustrated) (Annotated)E. F. Benson24h 27m4.5 (14)$2 · $0.00
Complete Short Stories of E. F. Benson: 70+ Classic, Ghost, Spook, Supernatural, Mystery and Other Tales (Annotated)E. F. Benson41h 46m4.4 (22)$2 · $0.00
MAKE WAY FOR LUCIA - Complete Mapp and Lucia Series (6 Novels & 2 Short Stories) (Annotated)E. F. Benson60h 39m4.5 (1.6K)$2 · $0.00
The Luck of the Vails (Annotated)E. F. Benson12h 34m4.3 (12)$2 · $0.00
Premium Short Stories Collection - Blackmailing, Crank, Spook & Classic Tales (Unabridged) (Annotated)E. F. Benson17h 23m$2 · $0.00
E. F. Benson: Complete Short Stories Collection: 70+ Classic, Ghost, Spook, Supernatural, Mystery, Haunting and Other Tales (Annotated)E. F. Benson41h 46m$2 · $0.00
An Act in a Backwater (Annotated)E. F. Benson7h 21m$2 · $0.00
The Relentless City (Annotated)E. F. Benson10h 26m3.7 (11)$2 · $0.00
The Complete DODO TRILOGY: Dodo - A Detail of the Day, Dodo's Daughter & Dodo Wonders (Annotated)E. F. Benson27h 44m3.4 (103)$2 · $0.00
The Relentless City (Unabridged) (Annotated)E. F. Benson10h 26m3.7 (11)$2 · $0.00
The E. F. Benson Ultimate Collection (Annotated)E. F. Benson334h 30m$2 · $0.00
Spook Stories - Complete Collection: 25 Supernatural, Mystery, Ghost and Haunting Tales (Annotated)E. F. Benson16h 6m$2 · $0.00
MAPP AND LUCIA SERIES – Complete Make Way For Lucia Collection: 6 Novels & 2 Short Stories In One VolumeE. F. Benson60h 34m4.4 (1.4K)$1 · $0.00
E. F. Benson: Complete Short Stories Collection: 70+ Classic, Ghost, Spook, Supernatural, Mystery, Haunting and Other TalesE. F. Benson41h 37m4.4 (136)$1 · $0.00
A Long Way from OrdinaryAnn Charles, Sam Lucky9h 13m4.6 (1K)$20
Warrior’s FateWalt Browning10h 37m4.5 (1.6K)$20
The Picture of Dorian Gray: The Uncensored 13 Chapter Version + The Revised 20 Chapter Version (Annotated)Oscar Wilde16h 12m4.5 (2.8K)$1.99 · $0.00
The Skull of the WorldKate Forsyth10h 28m4.5 (3.8K)$20
Reign Of AngelsBen Reeder8h 54m4.6 (189)$20
THE CTHULHU MYTHOS TALES (Annotated)H. P. Lovecraft22h 46m4.5 (16.9K)$2 · $0.00
We’re AliveKc Wayland5h 10m4.5 (4.3K)$15
The Undead PoolKim Harrison16h 13m4.4 (34.6K)$33 · $0.00
Glacier's EdgeR. A. Salvatore13h 44m4.5 (3.4K)$33 · $0.00
Haint BlueStephanie Alexander11h 55m4.5 (675)$23
The King in Yellow (Annotated)Robert W. Chambers8h 53m4.6 (122)$1.99 · $0.00
Good OmensNeil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett12h 33m4.4 (1.1M)$33 · $0.00
Dark of NightJonathan Maberry, Rachael Lavin4h 59m4.4 (3.8K)$20 · $0.00
The Renegade HunterLynsay Sands10h 7m4.4 (17.3K)$29 · $0.00
The Fall of the House of CabalJonathan L. Howard14h 54m4.4 (4.1K)$23
Lost GodsBrom14h 50m4.4 (18.5K)$33 · $0.00
The AccusedJana DeLeon6h 32m4.4 (3.9K)$12 · $0.00
Corpus HermeticumHermes Trismegistus3h 43m4.4 (8.6K)$7 · $0.00
LambChristopher Moore15h 22m4.3 (211.3K)$33 · $0.00
CARMILLA (Gothic Classic) (Annotated)Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu4h 2m4.4 (1K)$1.99 · $0.00
Ethic IIAshley Antoinette9h 1m4.7 (8K)$20
RiversnowTess Thompson8h 11m4.7 (1.3K)$20
Supreme ClienteleAshley & JaQuavis8h 58m4.7 (3.4K)$20
Body Refinement in a Beast Tamer’s World, Book 1Seth Ring14h 7m4.7 (1.3K)$27
Desperate MeasuresBrenda Jackson8h 59m4.7 (669)$28 · $0.00
Searching For ThanksgivingS.E. Smith4h 24m4.8 (395)$20
Naughty 4Brenda Hampton7h 30m4.7 (726)$17
The Dance with Me TrilogyShelley Shepard Gray21h 44m4.7 (1.2K)$35
The DopemanJaQuavis Coleman5h 25m4.7 (3.8K)$20
BAEJahquel J.5h 22m4.7 (3.1K)$20
Dark RisingJeffrey Wilson, Brian Andrews13h 47m4.7 (1.3K)$27
WhistlerAnn Patchett10h 45m4.6 (4.6K)$29 · $0.00
Grand Opening 2Carl Weber9h 16m4.7 (2.4K)$20
Sons of Valor II: Violence of ActionBrian Andrews, Jeffrey Wilson12h 34m4.6 (3.6K)$23
Malevolent MagicMildred Abbott7h 13m4.7 (1.2K)$17
Bikes, Toys, and Hot BoyzGenesis Woods, Shantaé13h 9m4.7 (722)$23
This Side of Paradise - The Original 1920 Edition (Annotated)F. Scott Fitzgerald11h 30m4.6 (1.6K)$2 · $0.00
War LordBernard Cornwell13h 21m4.6 (33.1K)$33 · $0.00
Ghetto BastardK’wan7h 37m4.6 (2.9K)$20
The Great Gatsby: Original 1925 Edition (An F. Scott Fitzgerald Classic NovelFrancis Scott Fitzgerald4h 45m4.6 (9.3K)$18 · $0.00
You may also like
The Last SeanceAgatha Christie13h 3m4.0 (13.9K)$33 · $0.00
The Phantom of the OperaGaston Leroux8h 35m4.1 (326.5K)$15 · $0.00
Can Such Things Be?Ambrose Bierce7h 36m3.8 (1.7K)$6.50 · $0.00
Carnacki, The Ghost FinderWilliam Hope Hodgson8h 16m4.0 (5.6K)$1.80 · $0.00
The Phantom of the OperaGaston Leroux9h 18m4.1 (326.4K)$1.20 · $0.00
World's Greatest Horror StoriesMark Twain, Edgar Allan Poe, M. R. James, F. Harvey, E. M. Delafield, H.P. Lovecraft, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Franz Kafka, Charles Dickens, William Hope Hodgson, Algernon Blackwood, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, J. Sheridan Le Fanu, Arthur Conan Doyle, Margaret Oliphant, Walter de la Mare, Achmed Abdullah, Eleanor Scott, Harriet Prescott Spofford, E. F. Benson, Fitz-James O'Brien, E. T. A. Hoffmann48h 43m4.2 (434)$35 · $0.00
Premium Short Stories Collection - Blackmailing, Crank, Spook & Classic Tales (Unabridged) (Annotated)E. F. Benson17h 23m$2 · $0.00
The Purcell Papers — Volume 1Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu3h 59m3.0 (85)$2.30
The Greatest Works of Arthur MachenArthur Machen197h 5m4.4 (16)$2 · $0.00
Madam Crowl's Ghost and the Dead SextonJoseph Sheridan Le Fanu1h 28m4.2 (28)$2.30
Complete Short Stories of E. F. Benson: 70+ Classic, Ghost, Spook, Supernatural, Mystery and Other Tales (Annotated)E. F. Benson41h 46m4.4 (22)$2 · $0.00
Spook Stories – Ultimate Collection: 25 Supernatural, Mystery, Ghost and Haunting Tales (Annotated)E.F. Benson16h 1m$2 · $0.00
Twenty-Five Ghost StoriesW. Bob Holland5h 58m3.6 (312)$2.30
SHERIDAN LE FANU - Ultimate Collection: 65+ Novels & Short Stories (Including Poetry Collections and Biography)Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu232h 41m4.4 (18)$2 · $0.00
Not Exactly GhostsAndrew Caldecott6h 49m3.7 (31)$2 · $0.00
Goosebumps for Christmas: 30+ Supernatural Thrillers & Ghost StoriesCharles Dickens, Robert Louis Stevenson, Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, George MacDonald, Arthur Conan Doyle, Algernon Blackwood, Thomas Hardy, John Kendrick Bangs, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Grant Allen, Saki, Fergus Hume, William Douglas O'Connor, Florence Marryat, Catherine Crowe, James Bowker, J. M. Barrie, E. F. Benson, Jerome K. Jerome, M. R. James, Sabine Baring-Gould, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Frank R. Stockton, Louisa M. Alcott, Leonard Kip, Lucie E. Jackson, Katherine Rickford, Bithia Mary Croker, Catherine L. Pirkis44h 32m$1 · $0.00
The Evil ClergymanH. P. Lovecraft12m3.0 (1K)$2.30
The Horror Of ChristmasRobert Louis Stevenson, Arthur Conan Doyle, M. R. James, Thomas Hardy, Saki, Sabine Baring-Gould, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Charles Dickens, Fergus Hume, John Kendrick Bangs, Jerome K. Jerome, Leonard Kip, Catherine Crowe, Lucie E. Jackson, William Douglas O'Connor, Frank R. Stockton, James Bowker, Grant Allen, Louisa M. Alcott, Florence Marryat, Katherine Rickford, J. M. Barrie, Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, George MacDonald, Bithia Mary Croker, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Catherine L. Pirkis, E. F. Benson, Algernon Blackwood44h 33m$2 · $0.00
Supernatural Mysteries: 60+ Horror Tales, Ghost Stories & Murder MysteriesThéophile Gautier, Edgar Allan Poe, Arthur Conan Doyle, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Wilkie Collins, Anton Chekhov, Arthur B. Reeve, Anna Katherine Green, Sir Robert Anderson, Thomas W. Hanshew, Mary E. Hanshew, Villiers de l'Isle Adam, Cleveland Moffett, Florence Marryat, William Archer, Fitz-James O'Brien, Robert Louis Stevenson, Guy de Maupassant, Pliny the Younger, William F. Harvey, M. R. James, Katherine Rickford, Ralph Adams Cram, E. F. Benson, Rudyard Kipling, Daniel Defoe, Lord Edward Bulwer-Lytton, Leopold Kompert, Ambrose Bierce, Vincent O'Sullivan, Ellis Parker Butler, E. T. A. Hoffmann, Thomas Hardy, A. T. Quiller-Couch, Margaret Oliphant, Erckmann-Chatrian, Fiona Macleod, Amelia B. Edwards, Frederick Marryat, Jack London, William T. Stead, Gambier Bolton, Andrew Jackson Davis, Nizida, Helena Blavatsky, Walter F. Prince, Mark Twain, Chester Bailey Fernald46h 21m4.2 (10)$1 · $0.00
Four Classic Horror StoriesEdith Wharton, Edgar Allan Poe, Robert Louis Stevenson2h 15m$15