Joseph Delaney used to be an English teacher, before becoming the best-selling author of the Spook's series, which has been published in 30 countries and sold over 4.5 million copies worldwide. The first book, The Spook's Apprentice, was adapted into a major motion picture starring Jeff Bridges and Julianne Moore.

Joseph Delaney

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Emile Zola

BBC radio adaptations of novels and short stories by Émile Zola, plus a fascinating short documentary and an original drama 
 
Novelist, journalist and literature&rsquo;s greatest whistleblower, Émile Zola was one of the 19th century&rsquo;s pre-eminent authors. He is renowned for his philosophy of naturalism, which informed his 20-volume Rougon-Macquart cycle, an epic family saga set during France&rsquo;s Second Empire, and for his controversial intervention in the Dreyfus affair through his infamous protest letter, J&rsquo;Accuse. 
 
Here are some of his superlative works, adapted for radio with stellar casts and beginning with his breakthrough novel, Thérèse Raquin. A cautionary tale of lust, murder and madness, it stars Charlotte Riley, Andrew Buchan and Toby Hadoke. It is followed by five of the most famous novels in the Rougon-Macquart series &ndash; L&rsquo;Assommoir, The Ladies&rsquo; Delight, Germinal, His Masterpiece and La Bête Humaine. With settings ranging from Paris to the far north of France, they portray 1860s French society at its most brutal, corrupt and duplicitous. Featuring a host of unforgettable characters, from slum laundress Gervaise to idealistic miner Etienne, impoverished painter Claude and tortured train driver Jacques, these poignant, powerful and provocative dramas star David Bradley, Claire Goose, Georgia King, Joe Absalom, Rob Edwards, Michael Maloney and Imogen Stubbs. 
 
Based on short stories by Zola, Kelvin Segger&rsquo;s Dead Men Tell No Tales and Trooping with Crows introduce us to a dead man observing his funeral preparations, another killed by advertising, a dreamer who delays for too long and a devious entrepreneur with an extraordinary marketing idea. Michael Maloney, Norman Bird, Struan Rodger, Terry Molloy and Trevor Peacock star in these dark, inventive plays. 
 
To conclude, two captivating bonus programmes explore Zola&rsquo;s involvement in the exoneration of the falsely accused and convicted army officer Alfred Dreyfus. Zola and the Dreyfus Affair charts the course of the scandal that rocked a nation; while Hattie Naylor&rsquo;s original drama J&rsquo;Accuse looks at events through the eyes of the right-wing, nationalistic Louis Grigori, who comes to believe that the persecution of the guiltless Dreyfus was the correct and only action. 
 
Contents 
Thérèse Raquin 
L&rsquo;Assommoir 
The Ladies&rsquo; Delight 
Germinal 
His Masterpiece 
La Bête Humaine 
Dead Men Tell No Tales 
Trooping with Crows 
Zola and the Dreyfus Affair 
J&rsquo;Accuse 
 
First published 1867 (Thérèse Raquin), 1876 (L&rsquo;Assommoir), 1882-83 (Au Bonheur du Dames), 1884-85 (Germinal), 1885-86 (L&rsquo;Œuvre), 1890 (La Bête Humaine) 
 
Copyright &copy; Kelvin Segger 1999 (Dead Men Tell No Tales), 2000 (Trooping with Crows) 
J&rsquo;Accuse copyright &copy; Hattie Naylor 2009 
 
&copy; 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Émile Zola: A BBC Radio Drama Collection

Nine Full-Cast Dramatisations

Andrey Kurkov

A penguin is all that stands between one man and murder by the mafiaSit back and enjoy this darkly comic full-cast adaptation of Andrey Kurkov’s bestselling novel set in mid-90s Ukraine, plus a bonus interview with the author.Viktor Alekseyevich Zolotaryov is an aspiring writer in Ukraine, with only his pet king penguin, Misha, for company. After Viktor gets a job writing obituaries for a local newspaper, he soon finds that his articles are being used as a hit list by some unknown organisation. Feeling as lost and unhappy as his penguin, Viktor’s life takes a complicated turn when he takes in Sonya, the young daughter of an old friend, and hires Nina to be her nanny. Can Viktor protect everyone and keep himself (and his penguin) alive, or is he destined to become the subject of the paper’s latest obituary?A blend of Gogol’s absurdist humour and Kafka’s alienation, this tragi-comedy is set in the wild west atmosphere of a newly independent Ukraine following the collapse of the Soviet Union. At its heart, this is a story about surviving and enduring in perilous times.Starring Tom Basden (After Life) as aspiring writer Viktor, and BAFTA winner Jason Watkins (The Crown) as the mysterious Lyosha.This release also includes an episode of BBC Radio’s World Book Club, in which Kurkov discusses his darkly funny tale with Harriett Gilbert. Recorded live in his native Ukraine, at the historic Mikhail Bulgakov Museum in Kiev, he responds to listeners' questions from around the world.Andrey Kurkov is a Ukrainian author who writes in Russian. He has written 19 novels and is a respected commentator on Ukraine, regularly appearing on Radio 4 with his ‘Letters from Ukraine’ series. Death and the Penguin is Kurkov's most famous work, translated into more than 30 languages.©2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2024 BBC Studios Distribution LtdDeath and the Penguin Written by Andrey KurkovTranslated by George BirdAdapted by Hattie NaylorDirected by Gemma Jenkins 
Viktor - Tom Basden 
Lyosha - Jason Watkins 
Igor - David Hounslow 
Sonya - Blythe Arbery 
Nina - Chloë Sommer 
Misha-non-Penguin - Roger Ringrose 
Sergey - Tom Kiteley 
Natasha - Fiona Skinner 
Dr Pidpaly - Joanna MonroFirst Broadcast BBC Radio 4, 14 January 2023World Book Club: Andrey Kurkov - Death and the Penguin Presented by Harriett GilbertFirst Broadcast BBC World Service, 5 September 2015

Death and the Penguin

A Full-Cast BBC Radio Dramatisation

Thomas Mann

Dramatisations of Thomas Mann’s three bestselling novels 
 
'"his collection of radio plays is a wonderful way to explore the world of Thomas Mann and comes strongly recommended." - Entertainment Focus 
 
One of Germany’s greatest and most revered writers, Thomas Mann won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1929. A vocal critic of Nazism, he had to leave his homeland when Hitler came to power, and lived in exile in Europe and America for the rest of his life. Collected here are full-cast adaptations of his three most famous novels. 
 
Buddenbrooks – Drawing on Mann’s own experience as the son of a wealthy merchant in 19th-century Lübeck, his debut novel follows four generations of Buddenbrooks as they struggle to maintain the family business in the face of change. Powerful, humorous and heartbreaking, this epic drama traces the decline of a civilisation as well as a family. Starring Terence Edmonds, Harriet Walter, James Laurenson and Timothy Spall. 
 
Death in Venice – Seeking inspiration, a famous German writer travels to Venice, but finds only decay and disease behind the city’s gorgeous facades. Then he notices a beautiful young Polish boy, and is consumed by a fatal obsession... Clive Francis stars as Aschenbach, with Peter England as Tadzio. 
 
The Magic Mountain – When Hans Castorp pays a social visit to a Swiss sanatorium, he is himself diagnosed with TB and ends up staying for seven years. Trapped on the mountain, he becomes acquainted with his fellow inmates – including the humanist, the radical, the dionysiac and the inamorata – who represent a microcosm of European society and culture in the run-up to World War One. Paul Scofield stars in this radio version of Thomas Mann’s masterpiece. 
 
First published 1901 (Buddenbrooks), 1912 (Death in Venice), 1924 (The Magic Mountain) 
 
© 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Thomas Mann: Buddenbrooks, Death in Venice, The Magic Mountain

Three BBC Radio full-cast dramas

Italo Calvino

Dramatisations of Calvino’s most famous works, starring Toby Jones and Mackenzie Crook, plus bonus programmes 
 
Italo Calvino was one of the 20th Century's great experimenters, who consistently pushed the boundaries of literature. His works ranged from fantasy and science fiction to folktales and neo-realism, but he is best known for If on a winter’s night a traveller, Marcovaldo and Invisible Cities. Radio adaptations of all three are collected here, alongside a comic short story by Calvino and two illuminating programmes about his ideas and writing. 
 
If on a winter’s night a traveller – Relax. Concentrate. Turn off your phone. You are about to listen to a radio adaptation of If on a winter’s night a traveller… Enter a labyrinth of ingeniously inventive audio worlds as you, the listener, turn detective in your attempts to get to the heart of the story. Prepare to become embroiled in a trans-global conspiracy of rogue translators, lost languages and disintegrating publishing houses, and be plunged into an epic caper of disappearance, double crosses and beautiful, authentic romance… Toby Jones, Indira Varma and Tim Crouch star in this reimagining of Calvino’s iconic, metafictional masterpiece. 
 
Marcovaldo – These five tales, adapted by Toby Jones from Calvino's enchanting short story collection, centre around Marcovaldo, a poor rural man living with his family in a big city in northern Italy. Included are Mushrooms in the City, Moon and Gnac, The Rain and the Leaves, The Wrong Stop and Smoke, Wind and Soap Bubbles, starring Toby Jones as the Narrator and Mackenzie Crook as Marcovaldo. 
 
Invisible Cities – Cecilia, Eusapia, Zobeide, Maurilia … Are these exotic, faraway places or just different names for the great Metropolis we all inhabit? Perhaps they are reflections of our own state of mind? In Claire Benedict’s readings from Calvino’s playful, profound novel, we voyage through the avenues and alleyways of his invisible cities – hidden cities, dead cities and cities which never end... 
 
Desire in November – Elderly porter Barbagallo’s search for winter clothes takes him into the salons of the rich – but what can Fabrizia’s furriers offer him? Tim Piggott-Smith reads this whimsical short story. 
 
Open Book: Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities – Lauren Elkin and Darran Anderson take us on a tour of the imagined cities in Calvino’s seminal work, a majestic prose-poem in which a fictional Marco Polo recalls his own intrepid travels. 
 
Three Italian Writers: Italo Calvino – Paul Bailey looks at the life and career of the prolific writer described by a contemporary as 'the squirrel with the pen’, and reflects on his inexhaustible supply of ideas, allusions and visions. With readings by Benjamin Whitrow. 
 
© 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Italo Calvino: A BBC Radio Collection

If On A Winter’s Night a Traveller, Marcovaldo & Invisible Cities

Federico Garcia Lorca

Three of Federico García Lorca's best-known plays, as heard on BBC Radio 3 
 
Poet and playwright Federico García Lorca is one of the most famous figures in 20th-century Spanish literature. A member of the 'Generation of '27' avant-garde movement that included Dalí and Buñuel, he became well known for his lyrical, symbolic works mixing modernism and the folkloric traditions of his native Andalusia. He was executed by Nationalist forces at the start of the Spanish Civil War, aged only 38. Over 80 years later, his poetry is revered worldwide, and the plays in his 'Rural Trilogy' are widely regarded as masterpieces. 
 
Blood Wedding - Based on the true story of a tragic feud between two families in rural Almeria, Lorca's atmospheric meditation on fate, war, tradition, passion and repression is adapted for radio by former Poet Laureate Ted Hughes. The winner of the 2008 Sony Award for Best Drama, it stars Barbara Flynn, Carl Prekopp, Sarah Smart and Andrea Riseborough. 
 
Yerma - Infused with poetic imagery and song, this evocative drama tells the tragic tale of a woman's desperate desire for a child. Her maternal yearnings escalate to the point of obsession, ultimately driving her to commit a terrible crime... Emma Cuniffe stars as Yerma, with a full cast including Conrad Nelson, Declan Wilson, Rebecca Callard and Annette Badland. 
 
The House of Bernarda Alba - Written in 1936 and completed just a few months before his assassination, Lorca's final play explores the familial passions and tensions that arise following the death of Bernarda Alba's second husband. After the funeral, the tyrannical matriarch imposes an eight-year period of mourning on her daughters - but the ensuing power struggle will have tragic consequences. Starring Siân Thomas, Brigit Forsyth and Elaine Cassidy. 
 
 
First published 1932 (Blood Wedding), 1934 (Yerma), 1936 (The House of Bernarda Alba) 
 
Cast and credits 
Written by Federico Garcia Lorca 
Produced and directed by Pauline Harris 
 
Blood Wedding 
Mother of Bridegroom - Barbara Flynn 
Bridegroom/Woodcutter - Carl Prekopp 
Bride - Sarah Smart 
Leonardo - William Ash 
Leonardo's Wife/Girl - Andrea Riseborough 
Father of Bride - David Fleeshman 
Beggar Woman/Neighbour - Mary Cunningham 
Servant/Mother-in-Law - Ellie Haddington 
Moon - Claire Benedict 
Girl - Liz Carter 
Woodcutters - Sam Curtis &amp; Chris Hannon 
Little Girl - Daisy Jones 
Adapted by Ted Hughes 
Music composed by Matthew Wood 
First broadcast BBC Radio 3, 25 November 2007 
 
Yerma 
Yerma - Emma Cunniffe 
Juan - Conrad Nelson 
Victor - Declan Wilson 
Maria - Rebecca Callard 
Pagan Old Woman - Annette Badland 
Dolores - Claire Benedict 
Dolores' Neighbour - Kate Layden 
Washerwomen - Deborah McAndrew &amp; Fionnuala Dorrity 
Washerwoman/Girl 1 - Liz Carter 
Washerwoman/Female at the Pilgrimage - Helen Longworth 
Male at the Pilgrimage - Kevin Harvey 
Spanish Voice - Anna Castineiras 
Translation by Michael Dewell and Carmen Zapata 
Music composed by Tayo Akinbode 
Musicians: Tayo Akinbode, Richard Arthurs and Chris Cruiks 
Singers: Members of the cast and Leslie Pratt 
First broadcast BBC Radio 3, 26 Sep 2010 
 
The House of Bernarda Alba 
Bernarda Alba - Sian Thomas 
La Poncia - Brigit Forsyth 
Maria Josefa - Pauline Jefferson 
Angustias - Kate Coogan 
Magdalena - Victoria Brazier 
Martirio - Christine Bottomley 
Adela - Elaine Cassidy 
Prudencia - Christine Cox 
Girl - Daisy Jones 
Adapted by Pauline Harris 
Translation by Michael Dewell and Carmen Zapata 
Musical direction and original music composition by Conrad Nelson 
Male chorus singers: Les Pratt, Martin Medina, Nathan Jenkins, Andrew Johnston, David Cane, Peter Edge and George Leeming 
First broadcast BBC Radio 3, 2 March 2014 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. 
(p) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Lorca’s Rural Trilogy

Blood Wedding, Yerma & The House of Bernarda Alba

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