Many of the stories written in the 19th century contain language that sounds jarring to our 21st century ears. I enjoyed narrating this sweet and humorous story written by Henry Cuyler Bunner (1855-1896) in part because his words sound more contemporary. In this age where people meet on-line and break up by text message, The Love-Letters of Smith is a refreshing look at relationships in past times.

Mr. Smith’s letters gave me the key to his character’s voice. For instance, here’s one sample of his writing style:

A mishnery that sells Rum
is the menest of Gods crechers

I recorded this story for the LibriVox Short Story Collection, Volume 35. Download this short story (20Mb, time 21:48)

Photo: Stefan Klein, iStockPhoto.com

Karen Commins

Karen Commins is an award-winning, professional audiobook narrator, producer, publisher, writer, and leading curator of information about the audiobook industry. She's also the chief cartographer of NarratorsRoadmap.com, THE destination for narrators of all levels.

Got a question for Karen to answer on the blog? Send her an email or enter a comment below. She prefers to answer publicly so that more than one person benefits from the answer. Due to the volume of requests that she receives, Karen may not respond personally to your message. Also, the info you seek may already be in her blog archives.

©1999-2022 by Karen Commins

Click here to subscribe to Karen's blog and/or newsletter.