Just ahead of the final instalment of our latest Tale for Our Time - Jane Austen's first completed novel, Northanger Abbey - thank you so much for the kind comments about my return to UK telly after many decades. James McNicholas, a First Fortnight Founding Member of The Mark Steyn Club from (old) Hampshire, writes:
What an absolute delight to be able to watch a news channel again, on British television. Years of unabashed liberal propaganda, masquerading as news, from all the mainstream providers, has meant that I had almost forgotten what it feels like to enjoy current affairs broadcasting.
GB news is such a breath of fresh air, and you did it credit... Great work.
Likewise, his fellow Englishman, Geoffrey Nicholson:
Mark, congratulations!
I am in London and great to see you on an extended look at British issues. But I really loved the von Trapp segment. Brilliant and lovely idea...
I hope Nigel F has you do this often. Or maybe you should get your own GB News show. I was sorry Andrew Neil left but it is a great channel (if a bit raw as yet). Great job!
Glad you enjoyed it, Geoffrey. Nigel's show is, like the man himself, a lot of fun.
And with that we come to tonight's concluding episode of Northanger Abbey. There is no deus ex machina but the next best thing, as Catherine's mother discovers to her surprise:
She knew not that a visitor had arrived within the last few minutes, till, on entering the room, the first object she beheld was a young man whom she had never seen before. With a look of much respect, he immediately rose, and being introduced to her by her conscious daughter as "Mr Henry Tilney," with the embarrassment of real sensibility began to apologize for his appearance there, acknowledging that after what had passed he had little right to expect a welcome at Fullerton, and stating his impatience to be assured of Miss Morland's having reached her home in safety, as the cause of his intrusion.
Members of The Mark Steyn Club can hear me read the conclusion of Northanger Abbey simply by clicking here and logging-in. Earlier episodes can be found here.
Thank you so much for your compliments about Tales for Our Time during this last hellish year-and-a-half. Some like the ripping yarns for boys, some the more genteel social comedy for girls, and some of you even enjoyed last summer's bit of whimsy from yours truly. But of the tales in totality all seem to be in favor. Thank you too for your kind words about The Mark Steyn Show, which returns in just a few hours.
If you've yet to hear any of our Tales, you can enjoy four-and-a-half years' worth of audio adventures - by Conan Doyle, Kafka, Conrad, Gogol, Dickens, Baroness Orczy, P G Wodehouse, Louisa May Alcott, George Orwell, Robert Louis Stevenson and more - by joining The Mark Steyn Club. For details on membership, see here - and, if you're seeking the perfect gift for a fan of classic fiction, don't forget our Steyn Club Gift Membership. Sign up that special someone today!
See you in a couple of hours for The Mark Steyn Show - and in November for another Tale for Our Time.
