In a Steamer Chair and Other Stories

Thirteen short stories by one of the most famous writers in his day. Robert Barr was a British Canadian short story writer and novelist, born in Glasgow, Scotland. In London of the 1890s Barr became a more prolific author - publishing a book a year - and was familiar with many of the best selling authors of his day, including Bret Harte and Stephen Crane. Most of his literary output was of the crime genre, then quite in vogue. When Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories were becoming well known, Barr published in the Idler the first Holmes parody, "The Adventures of Sherlaw Kombs" (1892), a spoof that was continued a decade later in another Barr story, "The Adventure of the Second Swag" (1904) (For these two stories, see in LibriVox Barr's The Triumphs of Eugène Valmont). Despite the jibe at the growing Holmes phenomenon Barr and Doyle remained on very good terms. Doyle describes him in his memoirs Memories and Adventures as, "a volcanic Anglo - or rather Scot American, with a violent manner, a wealth of strong adjectives, and one of the kindest natures underneath it all." (Summary by Wikipedia and David Wales) (6 hr 37 min)

Chapters

00 Dedication	1:08	Read by David Wales
01 In A Steamer Chair Part 1 The First Day	18:53	Read by David Wales
02 In A Steamer Chair Part 2 The Second Day	18:49	Read by David Wales
03 In A Steamer Chair Part 3 The Third Day	27:02	Read by David Wales
04 In A Steamer Chair Part 4 The Fourth Day	26:46	Read by David Wales
05 In A Steamer Chair Part 5 The Fifth Day	40:41	Read by David Wales
06 In A Steamer Chair Part 6 The Sixth Day	16:53	Read by David Wales
07 In A Steamer Chair Part 7 The Seventh Day	15:42	Read by David Wales
08 In A Steamer Chair Part 8 The Eighth Day	7:59	Read by David Wales
09 In A Steamer Chair Part 9 The Ninth Day	16:26	Read by David Wales
10 Mrs Tremain	29:27	Read by David Wales
11 Share and Share Alike	12:14	Read by David Wales
12 An International Row	14:10	Read by David Wales
13 A Ladies' Man	32:53	Read by David Wales
14 A Society For The Reformation Of Poker Players	20:38	Read by David Wales
15 The Man Who Was Not On The Passenger List	14:46	Read by David Wales
16 There Terrible Experience of Plodkins	13:26	Read by David Wales
17 A Case Of Fever	11:19	Read by David Wales
18 How The Captain Got His Steamer Out	14:16	Read by David Wales
19 My Stowaway	16:29	Read by David Wales
20 The Purser's Story	13:07	Read by David Wales
21 Miss McMillan	14:25	Read by David Wales

Reviews

TRAVEL WAS ONCE CIVILIZED

(5 stars)

AVID READER

A fine selection of short stories. especially the beginning novelette. David Wales gives life to a time when travel by ship was distinctly pleasurable. Today, transoceanic travel is taken in stuffy. overcrowded airplanes where the noise and uncomfortable juxtaposition of usually obnoxious (or at least uninteresting) persons make it a time of discomfort rather than a time of relaxation. Then there are the much ballyhooed cruise ships whose overcrowded conditions, combined with the many passengers whose sole purpose is to overeat and to get drunk cause many to look forward only to the end of the voyage. The stories certainly evoke memories of a much better day!

Wonderful!

(5 stars)

jbrown

This is a nice compilation of excellent short stories. The narration is exceptional and every story only made me want more. I’m very grateful to LibriVox and especially to the narrator. Truly wonderful!