It’s time to kick-off another week of fabulous story-telling in Voice, brought to Second Life by the staff and volunteers at the Seanchai Library SL.
As always, all times SLT, and unless otherwise stated, events will be held on the Seanchai Library’s home on Imagination Island.
Sunday March 16th,13:30: Tea-time at Baker Street: The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax
Tea-time at Baker Street sees as Caledonia Skytower, Corwyn Allen and Kayden Oconnell reading stories from His Last Bow.
A 1917 anthology of previously published Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, His Last Bow originally comprised seven stories published byThe Strand Magazine between 1908 and 1917, but an eighth was added to later editions.
In this episode, Sherlock Holmes steps back from the spotlight as he dispatches John Watson to Lausanne, Switzerland, to investigate The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax.
Unwed, and denied what should be wealthy inheritance, Lady Fairfax is given to writing to her former governess every other week, wherever she may be – but for five weeks, nary a letter has been received, and fearing for her safety, the governess has contacted Sherlock Holmes.
Reaching his destination, Watson learns that Lady Carfax had been ensconced in the Hôtel International for several weeks prior to leaving suddenly, possibly the result of her being hounded by a large, bearded man. Watson also learns that Lady Carfax paid her maid a hefty £50.00 prior to the latter leaving her employ.
Thus the good doctor is faced with a series of riddles to solve: where did Lady Carfax go? Who was the bearded man and is he somehow involved in her disappearance? Why did she pay her maid so handsome a sum? And where did the maid go after leaving her employ?
Find out more by joining Caledonia, Corwyn and Kayden!
Monday 17th March, 19:00 – The Quiet Man
Released in 1952, John Ford’s The Quiet Man is regarded as a classic Irish-American romantic comedy / drama. Starring John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara (and assorted members of their RL families!) and Barry Fitzgerald, it is a popular choice among critics and film-lovers.
The screenplay for the film was drawn in a large part from a short story of the same name originally published in 1933 in the Saturday Evening Post, and penned by Irish author, Maurice Welsh. Together with a number of other short stories by Walsh, The Quiet Man was gathered into a single volume of his short stories, The Quiet Man and Other Stories, which dealt with many recurring characters living in rural Ireland of the 1920s, and set against the backdrop of the civil unrest which affected the country at that time, while examining the complexities and occasional intrigues of life, love and Irish traditions.
Join Caledonia Skytower as she reads Walsh’s original tale of The Quiet Man, Paddy Bawn Enright.
Tuesday March 18th, 19:00: The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making
Faery Maven Pralou reads from Catherynne M. Valente’s tale about twelve-year-old September. Living in Omaha, she has a very ordinary life until her father goes to war and her mother goes. leaving her at home on her own.
One day, she is visited by a Green Wind who invites her on an adventure, implying that her help is needed in Fairyland, where the new Marquess, of about the same age as September, is unpredictable and fickle.
This Green Wind tells September that only she can retrieve a talisman the Marquess wants from the enchanted woods, and if she doesn’t, then the Marquess will make life impossible for the inhabitants of Fairyland. And so begins an extraordinary adventure, which sees September travelling through Fairyland, accompanied by a book-loving dragon, and a boy named Saturday …
Wednesday March 19th, 19:00: Tír na nÓg
Tír na nÓg (“Land of the Young”) is, in Irish folklore and mythology, one of the names of the “otherworld”, in part a supernatural realm of everlasting youth, beauty, health, abundance and joy. It is also the title of the first volume of Marni L.B. Troop’s The Heart of Ireland Journals.
In looks, the Faerie are folk little different to humans, other than their pointed ears, although they are vastly different in other ways, and Casey is a princess among them.
She is horrified when a stranger from Iberia arrives on the shores of Ireland, home of the Faerie, believing them to be the gods of his people, but the kings of the Faerie respond to his overtures by having him slaughtered.
Thus the Faerie kings bring down the vengeance of the Iberian people upon their own folk, and war comes to their land. Caught in the middle, and herself in love with an Iberian called Amergin, Casey tries to find a way to bring peace between the two peoples so that they might live together. Unfortunately for her and her beloved, things do not go as she had hoped.
Join Caladonia as she continues reading this intriguing faerie tale.
Thursday March 20th
16:00: Irish Tales
With Dubhna Rhiadra and Aoife Lorefield
19:00: Haunted Irish Tales
With Shandon Loring.
21:00: Seanchai Late Night
Details still TBA, so please check with the Seanchai Library blog as the week progresses.
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Please check with the Seanchai Library SL’s blog for updates and for additions or changes to the week’s schedule. The featured charity for March and April is Project Children: building true and lasting peace in Northern Ireland one child at a time.
Related Links
I’ve been covering the events at Seanchai library SL for the last couple of years, providing a weekly overview of their upcoming events to tie-in with their own preview published weekly on the Seanchai Library blog.
