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Broken Shaft: Tales in Mid-Ocean

This special anthology, published in 1885, is formed of seven stories, together with an introductory chapter setting up a framing narrative by Henry Norman, which is returned to at the end of each subsequent tale. This connecting narrative concerns a group of travelers on a transatlantic crossing. When their ship, the Bavaria suffers a ‘broken shaft’, they are forced to remain becalmed mid-ocean, telling stories to pass the time. - Summary by Ann Boulais (5 hr 51 min)

Chapters

On Board the Bavaria by Henry Norman

The Upper Berth by F. Marion Crawford

Markheim by Robert Louis Stevenson

Marjory by F. Anstey

The Action to the Word by Walter Herries Pollock

My Fascinating Friend by William Archer

Riley, M.P. by Tighe Hopkins

Love and Lightning by Henry Norman