Tonight, we’ll continue with The Petit Trianon, adapted from An Adventure by Charlotte Anne Moberly and Eleanor Jourdain, first published in 1911. This episode is part of our Spooky Sleep Story series, where we share classic tales of the strange and mysterious. In Part One, the two English academics described an uncanny afternoon walk through the gardens of Versailles in 1901—an experience they could neither explain nor forget. In this second part, Miss Morison and Miss Lamont revisit the scene and begin to investigate what happened. Their return visits bring no repetition of the strange events, yet each discovery only adds to the puzzle. The vanished paths, missing buildings, and contradictions in the landscape leave them wondering whether they had truly stepped into another century. What began as a curious outing gradually turns into a quiet obsession. Tonight’s reading follows their continued search for reason amid the unaccountable, and the lingering question of what, exactly, they had walked into that August day. — read by 'V' — Sign up for Snoozecast+ to get expanded, ad-free access by going to snoozecast.com/plus! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tonight, we’ll read the first half of The Petit Trianon, adapted from An Adventure by Charlotte Anne Moberly and Eleanor Jourdain, first published in 1911. This episode is part of Snoozecast’s 7th annual Spooky Sleep Story series, where we share true and imagined encounters with the strange and unexplained every October. The two English women, both Oxford academics, recorded their uncanny experience while visiting the gardens of Versailles in 1901. What began as an ordinary afternoon outing soon became one of the most famous “time-slip” mysteries in modern folklore. Their book recounts the event through two separate testimonies, each written without the other’s influence: first that of Miss Morison (Moberly), then Miss Lamont (Jourdain). The pair describe wandering from the lively palace grounds into an oddly still corner of the estate—the Petit Trianon—where they encountered figures, fashions, and a mood belonging to another century. Later, their impressions would be linked to the last days of Queen Marie Antoinette, whose private retreat once stood on the same path. This episode presents the first half of their written accounts. Next week, in Part Two, we’ll continue with the remainder of their story—and the discoveries that followed, as they began to investigate what truly happened that August afternoon. — read by 'V' — Sign up for Snoozecast+ to get expanded, ad-free access by going to snoozecast.com/plus! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tonight, at long last, we’ll read the final chapter of “Good Wives” written by Louisa May Alcott titled “Harvest Time”. It’s hard to believe, but we have been reading this book for the first time as we’ve read it to you, and that first chapter was started back in December 2019, when Snoozecast was less than 1 year old. We took a break after part one concluded in June 2022 to explore other books. By popular request, we reopened the story in 2023, beginning the second part of Little Women—originally published separately as Good Wives. In our last chapter, “Under the Umbrella,” Jo, busy but lonely, had often thought of Professor Bhaer and regretted their stiff parting. On a rainy errand she met him beneath an umbrella; as they walked, he gently explained why he had stopped reading her sensational tales, and Jo told him she had left that work behind for truer writing—bringing them closer. In the rain he confessed his love, and Jo happily returned it. They reached the March home soaked but radiant, where Marmee quickly understood, and the chapter closed on Jo’s quiet, genuine happiness and the promise of a life with Bhaer. — read by 'V' — Sign up for Snoozecast+ to get expanded, ad-free access by going to snoozecast.com/plus! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tonight, for this month’s Snoozecast+ Deluxe bonus episode, and in the vein of our Spooky Sleep Stories series, we’ll read the opening to “Dead Souls”. It was written by Nikolai Gogol and first published in 1842. It is known as a ghost story with no ghosts—unless you count the living. The novel follows the mysterious Pavel Chichikov as he travels through provincial Russia buying the legal rights to deceased serfs—“dead souls”—to use in a scheme for social advancement. Though often grimly comic rather than overtly supernatural, Dead Souls captures a kind of haunting unique to Gogol’s world: one of moral decay, vanity, and the hollow pursuit of status. Our monthly bonus episodes—like this one—are made especially for Snoozecast+ Deluxe subscribers. If you’re not a Deluxe listener, you’ll hear a shortened cut of tonight’s story; to get the full episode and more, visit snoozecast.com/plus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tonight, for the next in our October spooky sleep story series, we’ll read an excerpt from “The Castle of Otranto”, a novel by Horace Walpole. First published in 1764, it is generally regarded as the first gothic novel. Set in a haunted castle, the novel produced a new style that has endured ever since, and has shaped the modern-day aesthetic of the goth subculture. Walpole wrote it at Strawberry Hill, his fanciful neo-Gothic villa, and pitched it as a “Gothic story” that fused chivalric romance with novelistic realism. Its startling images—a colossal helmet from the sky, moving portraits, doors that yield on their own—fixed the template later taken up by Clara Reeve, Ann Radcliffe, and beyond. The first edition masqueraded as a Crusades-era manuscript “translated” by Walpole, a playful hoax that lent the tale mock-antique authority. Manfred’s name nods to Manfred of Sicily, a learned, charismatic king repeatedly excommunicated—apt echoes for a plot of usurpation and prophecy. In tonight’s excerpt, Princess Isabella flees the tyrant after he demands her hand on the very night his own son—her betrothed—dies beneath that impossible, fallen helmet. — read by 'N' — Sign up for Snoozecast+ to get expanded, ad-free access by going to snoozecast.com/plus! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tonight, as part of our annual Spooky Sleep Stories series, we’ll read the opening to the novella “The Willows”. It was written by Algernon Blackwood, and first published in 1907. Two friends drift down the Danube by canoe, threading a maze of shifting channels, sandbanks, and low islands crowded with willow scrub. The river’s moods—eddies, gusts, glittering sun—seem to lean in and watch them, and the thickets along the banks gather like a listening crowd. As night closes, the landscape feels less like scenery and more like a presence with its own designs—most vividly in the willows, which “moved of their own will as though alive.” Blackwood was a devoted outdoorsman and a writer fascinated by the numinous in nature; he often suggested that the wilderness is not merely backdrop but a more-than-human realm. “The Willows” helped define early modern weird fiction by trading blood and monsters for unease and awe, its influence echoed by later authors across the genre. H.P. Lovecraft praised it as the finest supernatural tale in English, and readers still come to it for that distinctive sensation of the world turning subtly, inexorably, strange. — read by 'V' — Sign up for Snoozecast+ to get expanded, ad-free access by going to snoozecast.com/plus! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tonight, for our next Spooky Sleep Story, we’ll read Phantasmagoria, a narrative poem by Lewis Carroll first published in 1869. A polite Ghost drops in after midnight and proceeds to instruct his puzzled host in the finer points of spectral etiquette. Each October we bring back Snoozecast’s Spooky Stories Series—now in its seventh year—our annual run of classics with a candlelit vibe: ghostly, atmospheric, and cozy rather than truly scary. Think creaking floorboards and wry smiles, not jump scares. Best known for Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Carroll turns domestic life into mock-epic ritual here, mixing puns with parody of Victorian manners. In seven cantos, the Ghost explains everything from haunt-house “housekeeping” to courtly forms of address—an odd, amiable manual for the afterlife delivered with Carroll’s playful logic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tonight, as part of Snoozecast's seventh annual spooky sleep story series, we’ll read “The Haunted Orchard” written by British author Richard Le Gallienne and published in 1912. Each October, our Spooky Stories Series features classic tales that are more atmosphere than fright, all candlelight and creaking floorboards. In this one, a quiet country house and its untended orchard hold a lingering presence; whispers of a young woman seen among the trees and a tune that seems to rise with the wind give the story its soft, ghostly pulse. Born Richard Thomas Gallienne, the author adopted “Le Gallienne” after college, and—captivated by a lecture from Oscar Wilde—left office work to write poetry and prose. He and Wilde later struck up a brief affair and lasting friendship. Le Gallienne married three times and fathered Eva Le Gallienne, the celebrated actor–director. After settling in the United States and later on the French Riviera, he refused to write wartime propaganda and nonetheless kept publishing well into his seventies. — read by 'V' — Sign up for Snoozecast+ to get expanded, ad-free access by going to snoozecast.com/plus! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tonight, we shall read the next part to Persuasion, the last novel fully completed by Jane Austen, and published in 1817. The story concerns Anne Elliot, an Englishwoman whose family moves in order to lower their expenses, by renting their home to an Admiral and his wife.In the last episode, Anne visits her old school friend Mrs. Smith in Westgate-buildings. Though Mrs. Smith lives in poverty and poor health, she is cheerful, resourceful, and glad for Anne’s company. As their conversation turns to acquaintances, Mrs. Smith seems unusually hesitant when Mr. Elliot’s name arises. At first, she holds back, saying little. But upon realizing how closely Anne is now connected to Mr. Elliot, she finally decides it is her duty as a friend to speak. We will pick up at this point in their conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tonight, as we are beginning the month that ends with Halloween, we’ll read the first half of “The Diamond Lens”, a short story by Fitz James O’Brien first published in 1858.Every October, Snoozecast features our Spooky Stories Series—tales with a spectral or uncanny quality, meant to set a certain mood, without keeping you awake. This marks our seventh year of SSS, and we’re beginning with something more curious than chilling. O’Brien’s tale is steeped in the oddity of early scientific obsession, centering on microscopy—the study of the unseen through magnification. In the author’s hands, the microscope becomes not just a tool of science, but a gateway to another world, blurring the line between discovery and delirium. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tonight, we’ll read the 33rd chapter of “Anne of Green Gables”, the classic 1908 novel by Lucy Maud Montgomery. This chapter is titled “The Hotel Concert” In the last episode, Anne anxiously awaits the results of the Queen’s entrance examinations along with her friends. When the list is finally published, it reveals that Anne has come in first among all the candidates on the Island, with Gilbert Blythe placing second. Her friends Diana and the Barry family celebrate her success, and Matthew and Marilla express their quiet pride. For Anne, this achievement feels like the fulfillment of her long-held academic dreams and the beginning of new possibilities for her future. — read by 'N' — Sign up for Snoozecast+ to get expanded, ad-free access by going to snoozecast.com/plus! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tonight, for our monthly Snoozecast+ Deluxe bonus sleep story, we’ll read the opening to Mark Twain’s “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court” published in 1889. While we at Snoozecast adore ALL our listeners equally, our monthly bonus episodes like this one are specifically made for our Snoozecast+ Deluxe premium subscribers. If you are not a Deluxe subscriber, you will here a trimmed version of the story. To learn more about our 2 premium subscription options, go to snoozecast.com/plus. As a non-Deluxe listener, Tonight’s satirical novel tells the story of Hank Morgan, a 19th-century engineer from Hartford, Connecticut, who, after a blow to the head, finds himself transported back in time to the England of King Arthur. The book was one of the earliest major works of time-travel fiction, predating H. G. Wells’ The Time Machine by six years. At the same time, it sat firmly in Twain’s style: humorous, biting, and rooted in American sensibilities. Though filled with fantastical elements like knights, castles, and magic, the story is just as much a sharp social commentary as it is an adventure. When first published, the novel stirred controversy for its irreverent treatment of Arthurian legend, but over time it has come to be recognized as a clever and influential blend of satire, science fiction, and historical fantasy. — read by 'V' — Sign up for Snoozecast+ to get expanded, ad-free access by going to snoozecast.com/plus! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tonight, we’ll read the second half of "The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter," one of the 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The first half aired last week. In this tale, we were introduced to Sherlock’s elder brother, Mycroft—whose deductive gifts may surpass even Sherlock’s, though he lacks the drive to apply them in the field. Mycroft brings Holmes into the confidence of his neighbor, Mr. Melas, a professional interpreter who recently endured a disturbing ordeal. Melas was hired under mysterious circumstances, blindfolded, and taken by cab to an unknown house, where he was compelled to translate under threats from a ruffian named Latimer. We rejoin the story as Melas recounts to Holmes what he observed inside the house, despite the attempts to conceal its location. — read by 'N' — Sign up for Snoozecast+ to get expanded, ad-free access by going to snoozecast.com/plus! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tonight, we’ll read the first half to "The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter", written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It is one of 12 stories in the cycle collected as “The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes”. Out of all 56 Sherlock stories, Doyle ranked "The Greek Interpreter" seventeenth in a list of his nineteen favorites. This tale is especially notable for introducing us to Sherlock Holmes’s older brother, Mycroft, whose intellect may even outshine Sherlock’s own, though he lacks his brother’s energy for detective work in the field. Mycroft instead spends his days in government offices and evenings at the Diogenes Club, a setting that itself became an iconic part of the Holmes universe. When it was first published in 1893 in The Strand Magazine, the story added an intriguing new dimension to the detective’s world, showing readers that Holmes’s brilliance was not entirely unique within his family. The case itself revolves around a kidnapped interpreter and a sinister plot, combining Doyle’s flair for atmosphere with clever twists of reasoning. — read by 'N' — Sign up for Snoozecast+ to get expanded, ad-free access by going to snoozecast.com/plus! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tonight, we’ll read the next chapter of “Good Wives” written by Louisa May Alcott titled “Under the Umbrella”. This is also known as the second half of the “Little Women” novel and is considered the 46th chapter as part of that work as a whole. In our last chapter, “Daisy and Demi,” Meg’s twins become the delight of the March household. Meg devotes herself to their care, while John takes special pride in his son, dreaming of the man he will grow into. The babies charm the entire family—Jo, at first unsure of them, warms up and plays the lively aunt, while Laurie and the others also share in the joy of helping raise the little one. — read by 'V' — Sign up for Snoozecast+ to get expanded, ad-free access by going to snoozecast.com/plus! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tonight, we’ll read about the history of jewelry around the world, from Jewels and the Woman written by Marianne Ostier and published in 1958. Ostier was the principal designer and artistic driving force behind Ostier Inc., the New York jewelry firm she founded in 1941 with her husband, Oliver. Marianne was an accomplished painter and sculptor before her marriage, while Oliver came from a distinguished line of Austrian court jewelers. The couple emigrated to the United States to escape war, where they rebuilt their lives and careers. Their firm became known for its distinctive approach to jewelry design. The workshop specialized in bespoke commissions—one-of-a-kind pieces crafted for private clients, often film stars, collectors, or patrons of the arts. The book reflects Marianne Ostier’s deep understanding of both the artistry and the history of jewelry. In it, she traces how cultures across centuries and continents have used ornaments not merely as decoration, but also as symbols of power, wealth, protection, and devotion. From ancient amulets and royal regalia to modern design innovations, the story of jewels is inseparable from the story of civilization itself — read by N' — Sign up for Snoozecast+ to get expanded, ad-free access by going to snoozecast.com/plus! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tonight, we’ll read all about gemstones from the book Jewels and the Woman, written by Marianne Ostier and published in 1958. Marianne Ostier was not only an author but also a celebrated jewelry designer in mid-20th century New York. Along with her husband, she ran a renowned atelier that catered to an international clientele, including film stars, royalty, and collectors. Her training as a painter and sculptor in Vienna gave her designs a distinctive artistic sensibility, blending classical elegance with modern lines. The history of gemstones is as fascinating as their appearance. Ancient cultures ascribed protective and mystical powers to stones, such as amethyst for clarity of mind, or turquoise for safe travel. Over centuries, classification systems emerged to group gems by their mineral composition, as well as their beauty and rarity. Beyond color, jewelers also considered “water”—a poetic term describing the clarity and brilliance of the stone. A gem of “first water” is one of near-perfect transparency, prized above all others. — read by 'V' — Sign up for Snoozecast+ to get expanded, ad-free access by going to snoozecast.com/plus! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tonight, we’ll complete the 1928 children's book by A. A. Milne “The House at Pooh Corner” with the last section titled “IN WHICH Christopher Robin and Pooh Come to an Enchanted Place and We Leave Them There”. In the last episode, Owl’s house had blown down, so Rabbit sent everyone searching for a new one while Pooh tried to make up a song about it, which turned instead into a long hum praising Piglet’s bravery during the storm. Eeyore, feeling left out, announced he had found Owl a new home—but it turned out to be Piglet’s. Thinking of Pooh’s song, Piglet did a noble thing and offered it anyway. Christopher Robin gently agreed, and Pooh promised Piglet could live with him. So Owl got a house called The Wolery, and Piglet discovered that bravery sometimes means giving up what’s yours—and finding comfort in a friend’s paw to hold. — read by 'N' — Sign up for Snoozecast+ to get expanded, ad-free access by going to snoozecast.com/plus! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tonight we’ll read another Australian fairy tale called “The Fairy City” written by Hume Cook and published in 1925. This story can stand independently on its own, or as a follow up to "The Magic Well" episode that we aired last week. James Newton Haxton Hume Cook, the author, was an Australian politician who served in Parliament for almost a decade. Beyond his political career, he wrote collections of fairy tales that blended imaginative storytelling with touches of local color, reflecting the desire of early twentieth-century Australians to see their own landscapes and culture represented in children’s stories. “The Fairy City” is particularly curious in that it draws on imagery of architecture and civil engineering—disciplines often thought of as practical and technical—yet here given a whimsical treatment. Civil engineering, as a field, is one of humanity’s oldest pursuits, shaping daily life through bridges, roads, canals, and other public works. By weaving these concepts into a fairy tale, Cook turned topics usually reserved for city planners and engineers into something children could delight in, imagining a fantastical metropolis where fairies themselves might dwell. — read by 'V' — Sign up for Snoozecast+ to get expanded, ad-free access by going to snoozecast.com/plus! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tonight, we’ll read from “Lessons in Chalk Modeling, the New Method of Map Drawing” written by Ida Cassa Heffron and published in 1900. At the turn of the twentieth century, education was undergoing rapid changes. Teachers sought creative ways to engage students in subjects that were often taught by rote memorization. Geography, in particular, was considered a cornerstone of a well-rounded education, yet it was sometimes reduced to reciting capitals and drawing borders. Heffron’s work introduced a tactile and visual method known as “chalk modeling,” in which teachers could draw raised relief maps directly on the blackboard to show mountains, rivers, and valleys in a more dynamic way. Chalk modeling made classrooms more interactive, helping students imagine landscapes and physical features in three dimensions rather than flat diagrams. It reflected the broader educational trend toward “learning by doing,” a movement championed by reformers such as John Dewey. This method not only made lessons more engaging but also encouraged observation and critical thinking—skills at the heart of geography itself. By situating geography in this more hands-on practice, Heffron’s book connected everyday teaching to a field that bridges human culture and natural science. Her ideas gave teachers a practical toolkit to make the world vivid on the classroom chalkboard, turning simple white lines into whole continents of imagination. — read by 'V' — Sign up for Snoozecast+ to get expanded, ad-free access by going to snoozecast.com/plus! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices