The Well Told Tale

Last week, we started a new Tale, entering a new world where death is no more, and people can live as long as they choose.  Our narrator, Julius, has lived more than a century, but appears to be in his twenties.  He's now living in Disney World with his girlfriend Lil, who is actually in her twenties.  His friend Dan, who previously declared he would end his life when he'd 'done it...

Here at The Well Told Tale, we seek to share the best of sci-fi, fantasy and speculative fiction.  For the past year we have focussed exclusively on classics of their genres, but this week's Tale marks an expansion into more modern works.  "Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom" is Cory Doctorow's debut novel, published in 2003,  and is unusually issued under a creative commons lic...

This week's Tale is the charming fantasy 'The Velveteen Rabbit' by Margery Williams.  Beginning on a Christmas morning in the early 20th century, this story needs so little introduction, it's probably best just to pull up a chair, sit back and relax, as you imagine the excitement of a childhood Christmas morning. If you'd like to support The Well Told Tale, please visit us...

We return to Dunwich for Part 2 of Lovecraft's "The Dunwich Horror" Last time, we were introduced to the Whateley family in the isolated village of Dunwich.  Something is going on at their farmhouse which scares all visitors.  Young Wilbur Whateley is horribly deformed, and his mother has disappeared, but strange noises are heard in the farmhouse and something seems to be... growing...

This week, we return to the Cthulhu mythos.  H. P Lovecraft's seminal creation has been featured in a fair few episodes of The Well Told Tale and this third standalone tale is similar in tone to "The Call of Cthulhu" and "At the Mountains of Madness."  Something unspeakable and horrible lies dormant under the surface of polite society, just as much as in the wild places of...

This week's tale is a sci-fi short story from legendary Sherlock Holmes creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.  Holmes was not his only bombastic hero, and this short story concerns another of his characters, Professor Challenger.  He was first introduced in The Lost World , and features in a number of Conan Doyle science fiction stories.  He may possess a similar analytical mind to Holmes, and alt...

This week, we return to Sleepy Hollow for Part 2 of Washington Irving's beloved gothic Tale.  We have met the cast of characters - school master Ichabod Crane, the object of his affection Katrina Van Tassel, and his rival for her attention Brom Bones.  We have also heard the famed local legend of the Headless Horseman.  Our protagonists are gathered together at a fabulous party at the Van Tas...

To celebrate Halloween, we return to the work of Washington Irving with his gothic horror classic "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow".  Published 200 years ago, this classic Tale has been an inspiration to many since appearing in the collection The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent , even getting the Disney treatment.  But with All Hallow's Eve lurking between both parts of this Tale,...

We return with another short story from the Hyborian age. If you'd like to support The Well Told Tale, please visit us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thewelltoldtale   Books - (buying anything on Amazon through this link helps support the podcast): Conan: The Barbarian - Complete Collection - https://amzn.to/341JWWZ The Complete Chronicles of Conan: Centenary Edition - https://amzn.to/3d...

Today's Tale is a charming story by E. Nesbit.  She is perhaps best known for "The Railway Children" and her more fantastical novels such as "Five Children and It," and is widely regarded as the first modern children's author. "The Book of Beasts" is the first story in a collection called "The Book of Dragons," which we may well revisit in the futu...

In the second part of our reading of Sinbad the Sailor, we hear his retelling of his last four voyages. He's already faced being lost at sea (twice), giant birds, ogres and found fabulous treasures.  What wonders await him on his final four voyages? If you'd like to support The Well Told Tale, please visit us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thewelltoldtale Books - (buying anything on...

This time, we return to the Thousand and One Nights to hear the Tale of Sinbad the Sailor, and his Seven Voyages. Interestingly, it wasn't in the earliest editions of the collection known as the Arabian Nights, and so likely developed as a story in its own right, but thanks to Galland's famous translation, this and some of the other famous stories became included in the collection as a w...

Today's Tale is a whimsical short story from renowned Victorian writer, Oscar Wilde. Best known for his plays, Wilde did write a number of short stories, including this charming morality tale-within-a-tale. Or is it a critique of morality tales?    If you'd like to support The Well Told Tale, please visit us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thewelltoldtale Books - (buying anything on...

The final part of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" by L. Frank Baum. Dorothy has accidentally succeeded in slaying the Wicked Witch and her companions have been 'rewarded' with their sought after brains, heart and courage, but the Wizard of Oz is stumped at how to keep his promise to her. Will Dorothy ever be able to get back to Kansas?  If you'd like to support The Well Told...

Part Four of our reading of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" by L. Frank Baum.  Our intrepid crew have finally made it to the Emerald City and secured an audience with the great and terrible Oz.  He has agreed, in his many forms, to the requests of Dorothy, the Tin Woodman, the Scarecrow and the Cowardly Lion, but on one condition: they must kill the Wicked Witch of the West. Will they? And...

Part Three of our reading of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" by L. Frank Baum.  Dorothy and the Scarecrow have been joined by the Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion on their quest to see the Wizard of Oz, but they have run into danger - a deadly poppy field that could send Dorothy and the Lion to sleep forever.  With some quick thinking, the Tin Woodman and Scarecrow have rescued little Doro...

In our last episode, Dorothy was given the Wicked Witch of the East's silver shoes and embarked on the long journey to reach the Wizard of Oz in the Emerald City, as it seems he's the only person powerful enough to magic her home. On the way, she liberated the Scarecrow, who decided to join her and ask the Wizard for some brains. Who will they meet next in their adventure? If you'd...

Our new Tale is the "The Wizard of Oz" by L. Frank Baum. Thanks to the classic movie, it's a story most people are familiar, but there are some interesting differences between that and the book it was based on.  Baum's idea for the book was a modern fairy tale, something to be simply enjoyed by the children of the day. So, in that spirit, let us journey to Oz with Dorothy and T...

The second part Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story, "Rappaccini's Daughter." Our protagonist, Giovanni, is falling in love with Beatrice, but something is amiss.  Why are all the plants in Rappaccini's garden so poisonous?  And what secret is Beatrice hiding? If you'd like to support The Well Told Tale, please visit us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thewelltoldtal...

This week, we have the first part of a short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne, "Rappaccini's Daughter." Hawthorne is probably best known for his novel "The Scarlet Letter," but this story has inspired many other works since its first appearance in 1844, from songs and opera to Batman villain Poison Ivy.  In this first part, we discover Rappaccini's garden and his mysterio...

The final part of our reading of 'The Invisible Man' by H. G. Wells.  The Invisible Man, Griffin, has been relaying his extraordinary tale and scientific method to his old university acquaintance, Dr Kemp, and it is beginning to get darker.  This is a man who has left sanity behind, and Kemp is trapped in his own house with the unseen danger.  What is Griffin's plan, and can Kemp st...

The fifth part of our reading of 'The Invisible Man' by H. G. Wells.  We now know that the Invisible Man is called Griffin.  He has taken shelter at the house of an old acquaintance, Doctor Kemp, and Kemp has persuaded him to share his story.  But is all as it seems...?  If you'd like to support The Well Told Tale, and get access to exclusive Tales, please visit us on Patreon: https...

The fourth part of our reading of 'The Invisible Man' by H. G. Wells.  We last saw Thomas Marvel, the Invisible Man's unwilling accomplice, racing toward the village of Burdock.  He's run off with the money the pair stole, but also the Invisible Man's notebooks.  These appear to hold the key to the Invisible Man's predicament, and he'll stop at nothing to get the...

The third part of our reading of 'The Invisible Man' by H. G. Wells. The Invisible Man has been discovered for what he is, and he was forced to flee without clothes or his precious books. He has persuaded a homeless man, Thomas Marvel, to assist him in his coming schemes.  We are about to hear the perspective of the villagers of Iping. If you'd like to support The Well Told Tale, an...

The second part of our reading of 'The Invisible Man' by H. G. Wells. The Invisible Man has arrived in the village of Iping and taken a room. He is frustrated, trying to find a cure for his invisibility and has had to resort to stealing money to survive. Meanwhile, his disguise is wearing thin with the villagers - how long can he stay invisible to them? If you'd like to support The...