The Horror of the Heights (1913) by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
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- Опубликовано: 26 авг 2024
- The Horror of the Heights was first published in Strand Magazine in 1913. A fragment of a pilot's journal is found by a farm labourer strewn along the bottom of a ditch on a farm in the south of England. Sussex from memory. In it he details an extraordinary encounter at great altitude in his monoplane. It's a jungle up there, is literally his conclusion.
John Singer Sargent's work is not altogether apposite, given the RFC or RAF roundels, and the fact it's a bi-plane, but nonetheless it captures something of the spirit of the Edwardian Icarus.
It reminds me very much of some of the aeronautical scenes and ideas in Tono-Bungay by H G Wells, also narrated by me somewhere else, which is his much neglected masterpiece.
As always, thanks for listening and all comments welcome.
The paintings you choose for all non-Sherlock stories both add to the stories and are works of art by themselves.
Indeed, they are seemingly works of art created for the very story, at least many of them
My thoughts exactly. This one particularly perfect!
Very HG Wellsian
more Conan Doyleish i feel
Excellent rendition, sir. I often wondered if Conan Doyle ever flew himself. For the description of the protagonist's flight (which takes up over two-thirds of the story) is so detailed. Or perhaps, as all good writers should, he simply did his research.
Spectacular narration, Mr. Wagland! Bravo and thank you. A work of art in and of itself!
From the first time I read this story, I became enthralled. I can't begin to recall the number of times I've reread this gripping tale. The narrator did a beautiful job of making his listeners feel the horror Sir Conan Doyle wished to convey. Well done!
I am scared by the story now... Imagine what it must have caused readers at a time when only a few humans had ever been on a plane. Absolutely gripping.
It's where Ryanair got all their ideas from !
@@sherlock_holmes_magpie_audio wait, what is this Ryanair you speak of?
Written in 1913- interesting to think of how many developments in aviation were to come (perforce) between 1914-18. Fascinating story, not one I'd read before, thank you.
Thanks Olwen.
Very well read Watson. 😉👌 absolutely perfect narration.
Absolutely beautiful and well read by the narrator.
Keeps one eager to hear more and more.
Ah! The Flying Spaghetti Monster does exist!
Wow, that was great! Aviation and science fiction, what an adventure. I see the purple beings as guardians of the others, or herders. Doyle had quite an imagination!
I am enthralled by these new narrations. Superb quality .
Cracking story! Thanks.
Makemoremst3k…
It's pretty cool that this is essentially a science-fiction story, from a time when the sphere of the world that humanity had conquered was smaller, and it was places like Antarctica or the upper air, rather than distant planets, where such stories could be set.
I detect a hint of Lovecraft, to be honest.
Conan Doyle had a tremendous capacity for pioneering ideas and is one of the finest writers of short stories I consistently enjoy reading and hearing again. HG Wells another!
I should add that I love the way the reader has read it! Perfect!
Agreed!
The (un)holy Trinity - Lovecraft, Poe, Doyle
I love these stories they keep me engrossed for hours..But Sir Arthur certainly loved the word singular didn’t he .
Wow! It Predates Lovecraft and Matheson's "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet".
Thank you-interesting glimpses of the technology of the day.
Sixty years later, this story was mirrored by "A Meeting With Medusa", in which an explorer dives into the atmosphere of Jupiter, and finds life forms much like the ones in this story.
Mirrored. Some might say...
My goodness, I've read that Jupiter story! Thanks for mentioning the title, which I had forgotten. 😀
Well! I guess this helps put that crazy Aeromexico flight in 1987 into prospective! :D
Ripping yarn and well read 👍
This was amazing
Cheers!
Love... Thank you!
Excellent stories well read
Cheers!
When I started listening to this I thought that it would be about a person with a fear of heights... Whoops!
Well, I suppose, it sort of is.
Thanks MISTER ❤
Cheers Sean.
Now that’s suspense!
How fun. As time & tech progressed, I figure people (sub/unconsciously) sought tales where "magic" had the mere potential of existing, even in fictionalized form. Over such a looong evolution & history it was as real as the land itself, and so will not be turned off so easily as a switch.
Some un-impeachable Theory of Everything could be discovered tomorrow. Yet even if it were universally accepted, we remain very much hardwired to "believe".
Oh to be alive (and well off of course) at those times!
Dear Greg, I once again need to thank you for providing these wonderful narrations. Hope all is well over there. I really miss the “I digress” series.. where did they go?
Thanks for listening, Felene, and your many kind comments. I digress still exists in the nether world of podcasts, titled Classic Breakdown. Not for the fainthearted, obvs and views may be expressed with which you may disagree. But that's life!
Cheers and best wishes.
@@sherlock_holmes_magpie_audio thank you! I have FINALLY found the podcast! Getting started right away, I have such fond memories of listening to the first digression during the early days of lockdown. Trust me when I say it helped my sanity immensely. Looking forward to exploring..? What’s the right term for that platform? Site? Channel? Cheers from across the pond.
I wonder what stories Sir Arthur Conan Doyle would have made of outer space.
Although mentioned briefly and what I'm about to say has nothing to do with this brilliant story by ACD... it's still difficult for me to hear the name Venables... I don't know if it strikes anyone else like that.
6:43 What is the most permanent danger airmen will have to encounter?
I'd reckon that would be gravity.
All jokes aside I absolutley LOVE this story. Incredibly interesting premise, and a neat glimpse into the wonder that was the early decades of aviation.
Glad you liked it, Sean. Cheers.
This guy has the best voice ever! But don’t let him sing Just sayin
ROOOD 😂
20 years? In 1913?? The Wright Brothers only flew for 12 seconds at 180 ft..only.10 years earlier
Yes, amazing speed of development. Try Tono-Bungay by H G Wells for great early aviation moments
Pronunciation is the way a word or a language is spoken, or the manner in which someone utters a word.
Too weird for me...a good job reading as always
:D
When Lieutenant Myrtle's misfortunes were mentioned for a second time at 12:45 ("“And then there was Myrtle’s head..."), I somehow understood "Merkel's head" - Oh! the horror...
Gads this is boring.