The Loot Of Cities


Read by David Wales

(4.5 stars; 22 reviews)

Published in 1917, this is a collection of a novella and seven short stories by one of the cleverest authors of the early twentieth century. ‘In Queen's Quorum (1951), a survey of crime fiction, Ellery Queen listed Bennett's The Loot of Cities among the 100 most important works in the genre. This collection of stories recounts the adventures of a millionaire who commits crimes to achieve his idealistic ends. Although it was "one of his least known works," it was nevertheless "of unusual interest, both as an example of Arnold Bennett's early work and as an early example of dilettante detectivism".’ - Summary by David Wales (5 hr 31 min)

Chapters

The Loot Of Cities: Chapter 1 The Fire Of London 34:47 Read by David Wales
The Loot Of Cities: Chapter 2 A Comedy On The Gold Coast 34:42 Read by David Wales
The Loot Of Cities: Chapter 3 A Bracelet At Bruges 33:25 Read by David Wales
The Loot Of Cities: Chapter 4 A Solution Of The Algiers Mystery 33:46 Read by David Wales
The Loot Of Cities: Chapter 5 In The Capital Of The Sahara 34:33 Read by David Wales
The Loot Of Cities: Chapter 6 ‘Lo! ‘Twas A Gala Night!’ 31:22 Read by David Wales
Mr. Penfound’s Two Burglars. The Story Of His Walk With Them 20:52 Read by David Wales
Midnight At The Grand Babylon 26:29 Read by David Wales
The Police Station 28:15 Read by David Wales
The Adventure Of The Prima Donna 13:13 Read by David Wales
The Episode In Room 222 13:39 Read by David Wales
Saturday To Monday 12:28 Read by David Wales
A Dinner At The Louvre 14:01 Read by David Wales

Reviews

ENJOYABLE COLLECTION


(5 stars)

My prior experience with AB has shown him to be a storyteller who has an incredible insight into the working of the mind on even the most trivial of matters. This collection shows another side of him, also a positive one. Some of the tales, especially the first one, exhibit a bit of the subtle, dry wit of Owen Wister. Perhaps it is heightened by the fact that DW reads many of Wister's works. Nevertheless, enjoy this collection.

odd stories


(4 stars)

Don’t know whether it was the reading style or the stories themselves, but I was left with a slightly uneasy feeling at the end of each tale.