February | 2020 | Paula Cappa

Monthly Archives: February 2020

February 11, 2020 · 9:34 am

Ghostly Inspirations

The Trial for Murder by Charles Dickens (1865)

Tuesday’s Tale of Suspense February 11, 2020

This week, February 7, is the birth date of Charles Dickens. How many of us have read his ghostly inspired The Trial for Murder? Let’s focus on Dickens today to remember this timeless author and his life.

A quick 30-minute read, this story is a dive into 19^th century England, murder, a trial, and a ghost. Because Dickens was a court reporter during Victorian times, we can appreciate the accuracy and characterization of this murder trial.

During the 1830s, Dickens covered Parliament and British elections for the Morning Chronicle. Many of his fans know that Dickens owned a beloved raven “Grip.” Dickens believed that his pet raven was immeasurably more knowing and “could make a very queer character of him.”

He was a member of the Ghost Club along with Arthur Conan Doyle and William Butler Yeats.

On days when he gave public readings, Dickens had two tablespoons of rum with fresh cream for breakfast, and a pint of champagne for tea.

And, of course we all recall that Dickens’ novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, was left unfinished when he died of a stroke in 1870.

Read the short story The Trial for Murder at East of the Web:

http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/TriaMurd.shtml

Listen to the audio on Librivox:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6ewgThUwi8

Don’t forget to view the INDEX above of more free reading at Reading Fiction Blog. This is a compendium of over 200 short stories by more than 100 famous storytellers of mystery, suspense, supernatural, ghost stories, ‘quiet horror,’ crime, fantasy, sci-fi, and mainstream fiction.

As of 2020, I will be posting one short story per month. Do follow or sign up to join me in exploring contemporary and classic authors of short fiction every month.