The Spoilers

Gold. Greed. Justice. And one man caught in the storm

Sample performed by Jim Patton

This is your narrator, Jim Patton.

The Spoilers was written in 1906. I prefer reading and performing contemporary fiction – contemporary to the author, that is – which is over 100 years ago.

Even in fiction, authors tend to reflect the society around them. Imagine you had a telephone that served also as a time machine, and that you were able to call someone living over 100 years ago. You have them tell you all about life back then – how people spoke, how they dressed, how they behaved, and how they interacted.

This prose is not easy to read (or narrate) because the language is formal and flowery – indicative of the early 1900s. The narrator’s job is to add meaning and clarification in this situation. But it’s worth the trouble to hear the true voice of an author who lived then. Even if the work is fiction, it is more likely to represent the true culture than not. For example, it’s not hard to imagine the famous works by Charles Dickens actually represented life in his time, even though the stories are fiction. The same is true here, and for many other, lesser known authors of the time. I encourage you to give it a chance – read or listen to the contemporary fiction of bygone days.