Abigail Ulman was born and raised in Melbourne. She has a BA in Creative Arts from the University of Melbourne/VCA and was a recent Wallace Stegner Fellow in Fiction at Stanford University. This is her first book.

Abigail Ulman

Abilio Estévez

Abir Mukherjee is the bestselling author of the award-winning Wyndham &amp; Banerjee series of crime novels set in 1920s India and the British Book Awards Crime Thriller of the Year 2025 Hunted. His books have been translated into sixteen languages and won various awards including the CWA Dagger for best Historical Novel, the Prix du Polar Européen, and the Wilbur Smith Award for Adventure Writing. 
 
 
He also co-hosts the popular Red Hot Chilli Writers podcast which takes a wry look at the world of books, writing, and the creative arts, tackling everything from bestsellers to pop culture. Abir grew up in Scotland and now lives in Surrey with his wife and two sons. 
 
 
Website: abirmukherjee.com Twitter, Threads &amp; Instagram: @radiomukhers Facebook: AuthorAbir

Abir Mukherjee

Abolqasem Ferdowsi

Abraham Lincoln

Abraham L. Newman is a professor at the School of Foreign Service and Government Department at Georgetown University. He is a 2022-2023 Berlin Prize winner and his work has been published in leading outlets like The New York Times, The Financial Times, The Washington Post, Nature, Science, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Harvard Business Review, and Politico.

Abraham Newman

Abraham Verghese

Absolut Vodka

Ad Putter

Ada Moncrieff is the author of Murder Most Festive, Murder at the Theatre Royale and Murder at Maybridge Castle. She lives and works in London.

Ada Moncrieff

Adam Aleksic is a linguist and content creator posting educational videos as the “Etymology Nerd” to an audience of over three million. As a linguistics student at Harvard College, he founded and served as president of the Harvard Undergraduate Linguistics Society. He’s discussed online language on NPR, repeatedly contributed to The Washington Post, and his work has been mentioned in The New York Times, The Economist, and The Guardian. He’s lectured on language and social media at Stanford, Yale, Georgetown, and other top universities, including a TEDx talk at the University of Pennsylvania. Adam is based in New York City, where he spends a lot of time scrolling TikTok for “research.”

Adam Aleksic

Adam Alter is an Associate Professor at New York University's Stern School of Business, and holds an affiliated appointment within the Psychology Department. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller Drunk Tank Pink: And Other Unexpected Forces That Shape How We Think, Feel and Behave and has written for The New York Times, New Yorker, Atlantic, Wired, Popular Science and numerous other publications.

Adam Alter

Professor Adam Balen is lead clinician at one of the UK's largest and most successful IVF units at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. In recognition of his research on fertility and related conditions, he holds a DSc (the highest academic degree in medicine) from the University of Leeds. Adam is internationally renowned, holding roles with the World Health Organisation (WHO), the International Federation of Gyneacology and Obstetrics (FIGO) and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gyneacologists (RCOG). He runs both NHS and private fertility clinics so he understands the issues that arise from both sides and he works closely with fertility patient support organisations across the UK. Adam regularly features in the media on all aspects of reproductive health and lectures widely throughout the world.

Adam Balen

Adam Baron

Adam Bornstein

Adam Brookes grew up in the UK and was a journalist with BBC News for many years. As a foreign correspondent he was based in Indonesia, China and the United States. Along the way he reported from many other countries, including Iraq, Afghanistan and North Korea. He lives in Washington DC.

Adam Brookes

Adam Buxton

Adam Byatt started his cooking career at Claridge’s aged just 16. He first introduced his seasonal, sustainable philosophy with the opening of Thyme in 2004. Having achieved both local and critical success, he returned to Clapham Old Town with Trinity in 2006. Following from the success of Trinity, Adam opened Bistro Union in 2011, and oversaw the hugely successful launch of Upstairs at Trinity, a recipient of a Bib Gourmand Award. Trinity now holds a coveted Michelin Star as well as three AA rosettes and is visited by 50,000 diners a year. Voted in the top ten restaurants in London by both Hardens and Zagat, it has also been included in The Times’ Top 100 Restaurants in the UK, and voted by Opentable diners as one of the top ten restaurants in the UK. 
 
Adam was named Imbibe’s Restaurant Personality of The Year 2017 in recognition of his impact on the London dining scene as well as his commitment to passing on his culinary knowledge to future generations of young chefs. Adam has worked for many charities including DEBRA and Action Against Hunger and travels to numerous culinary schools and colleges to give talks on careers in the hospitality industry. Adam has been appointed Chef Director of Food and Beverage at Brown’s Hotel in Mayfair, where he oversees Charlie’s. Adam is now the Chairman of the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts and recently announced his sixth restaurant, Brasserie Constance, in Fulham Pier. He has appeared on numerous television shows including regular appearances on Saturday Kitchen and Great British Menu. From 2025 Adam will be chef-in-residence for Delicious magazine, also presenting a podcast.

Adam Byatt

Adam Christopher is the New York Times bestselling author of Star Wars: Shadow of the Sith and Stranger Things: Darkness on the Edge of Town. He has also written official tie-in novels for the hit CBS television show Elementary and the award-winning Dishonored video game franchise. Co-creator of the twenty-first-century incarnation of Archie Comics superhero The Shield, Adam has also written for the universes of Doctor Who and World of Warcraft, and is a contributor to the internationally bestselling Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View anniversary anthology series and the all-ages Star Wars Adventures comic. Adam’s original novels include Made to Kill and The Burning Dark, among many others, and his debut novel Empire State was both a SciFi Now and Financial Times book of the year.

Adam Christopher

Adam Foulds's most recent books are In the Wolf’s Mouth, The Quickening Maze, which was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and won the Encore Award and the European Union Prize for Literature, and The Broken Word, which won the Costa Poetry Award and the Somerset Maugham Award. He has recently been awarded the E.M. Forster Award by the American Academy of Arts and Letters and named as one of Granta’s ‘Best of Young British Novelists’.

Adam Foulds

Dr Adam Fox is a highly qualified and respected allergy specialist and consultant paediatric allergist and clinical lead for Allergy at Guy's &amp; St Thomas' Hospitals. The Times recently named him as one of Britain's top 100 children’s doctors. 
 
www.allergyfreebabyandtoddler.com

Adam Fox

Adam Frost

Adam Galinsky is currently the Morris and Alice Kaplan Professor of Ethics and Decision in Management at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. He received his PhD from Princeton University in Social Psychology and his B.A. from Harvard University.

Adam Galinsky

Adam Glasser

Adam Goodfellow

Adam Goodwin

Adam Grant is an organizational psychologist at The Wharton School, where he has been the top-rated professor for seven straight years. His books have sold millions of copies, his TED talks have been viewed more than thirty-five million times, and he hosts the hit podcast Re:Thinking. His pioneering research has challenged widespread assumptions about motivation, success, character, and change, and his viral piece on languishing was the most-read New York Times article of 2021 and the most-saved article across platforms. He has been recognized as the world’s number-two most influential management thinker and one of Fortune’s 40 Under 40, and he has received distinguished scientific achievement awards from the American Psychological Association and the National Science Foundation. Grant received his B.A. from Harvard University and his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan, and he is a former Junior Olympic springboard diver and magician. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife, Allison Sweet Grant, a novelist and poet; their two cats (who don’t get along); and their three children (who mostly do).

Adam Grant

Adam and Charlotte met in Zanzibar while working with Voluntary Services Overseas. Upon their return to the UK, Charlotte completed an MA at Oxford Brookes and started her career in publishing. Adam in the meantime became writer-in-residence at the Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre before co-founding Storytelling Schools, an international organisation dedicated to training teachers in oracy, literacy and creativity. Adam and Charlotte's first book together was the best-selling and award-winning Spaghetti with the Yeti. Since then, Adam and Charlotte have continued to follow their passion for creating engaging books that inspire interaction and creativity in young readers.

Adam Guillain

ADAM HAMDY is a bestselling author and screenwriter. His most recent novel, The Other Side of Night, was an NPR best book of 2022 and a New York Times best thriller of the year, and has been described as ingenious and deeply moving. He is the author of the Scott Pearce series of modern spy thrillers, Black 13, Red Wolves and White Fire, and the Pendulum trilogy. Keep up to date with his latest books and news at www.adamhamdy.com.

Adam Hamdy

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Nev Wilshire

Nev’s unorthodox management style, which involves compulsory sing-a-longs, matchmaking attempts, arm wrestling bouts and the use of very direct language delivered at high volume, often puts him at odds with HR. But, as CEO and founder of Save Britain Money, which turns over £60m a year, and which recently came second in a competition to find the best company to work for in the UK, Nev’s skills are undisputed. 
 
 And now, in Happy People Sell, Nev will, for the first time, share the secrets of his success. With chapters including SWSWSWN (Some Will, Some Won’t, So What? Next!), Dial with a Smile, Proper Planning Prevents Piss-Poor Performance, I Favour Those with a Glide in their Slide and The Heart of the Matter is a Matter of the Heart, Nev offers his own, no-nonsense vision of empire building and corporate administration. 
 
Case studies featuring popular call centre staff, including tea-lady Hayley who excelled in Episode 3 at organising a piss-up in a brewery, will appear throughout – though HR have added their own notes when Nev wasn't looking. 
 
As Nev would say, 'GET IN HERE, NOW!'

Happy People Sell

My Philosophies for Success

Can’t afford a townhouse in London’s most illustrious neighbourhood? Well this is the next best thing – your ultimate and official guide to all things Made in Chelsea. 
 
· Lucy gets up in your grill 
· How to get Millie and Rosie’s SW3 style 
· Discover Binky’s secret London hang-outs 
· Pardy with the bois in the world’s most exclusive hot spots 
· Mark Francis and Victoria reveal their fashionista dos and don’ts 
· Everything you wanted to know about Spencer, but were afraid to ask 
 
· And Binky’s mum provides the voice of reason … 
 
Keep calm and carry on...you’re in Chelsea, darling.

Made in Chelsea

Life and Style Essentials: The Official Handbook

Eric Morecambe

Ernie Wise

Eddie Braben

With a brand new introduction by Eddie Braben and including never-before-seen material 
 
Morecambe and Wise charmed a nation for decades and at their height commanded TV audiences that could only be matched by the moon landings and the 1966 World Cup final. Often called the third member of Morecambe and Wise, the late Eddie Braben was the quiet genius behind their best-loved jokes. Here, collected together for the first time, is a celebration of the finest repartee Braben ever penned for them - the banter between Eric and Little Ern, lines from those horrendous plays what Ernie wrote, and the unforgettable celebrity encounters with such names as Glenda Jackson, Andre Previn and, of course, Des O'Connor. The perfect Christmas stocking-filler for Eric and Ernie fans young and old. 
 
Ernie: Can you remember the first words you spoke in the theatre? 
 
Eric: I'll never forget them. How could I? 'This way, please! Programmes!...' After a couple of months came my big break. That great Shakespearian actor and dance band leader, Sir Lawrence Olivier came to the theatre. 
 
Ernie: What happened? 
 
Eric: He came up to me. My heart stopped. He said, ' Young man, have you read any of Shakespeare's plays?' 
 
Ernie: What did you say? 
 
Eric: I said, 'Only two of them.' He said, 'Which ones?' I said, 'Romeo and Juliet.' So he put me in his next play. 
 
Ernie: What was it about? 
 
Eric: It was about thirty minutes too long.

Eddie Braben’s Morecambe and Wise Book

James Hogg

Robert Sellers

Spontaneous, hilarious, irrepressible and, of course, trailblazing - Kenny Everett was revolutionary in television and radio comedy. Chris Evans, Chris Moyles, Rob Brydon and Steve Wright have all cited Kenny as a huge influence on their work - even the great Spike Milligan called him a genius. It was Kenny who developed the radio show format with which we are so familiar today: a mix of music, jingles, funny voices and sound effects. When he seamlessly made the move to television in the seventies, he created unforgettable characters such as Sid Snot, Cupid Stunt and Marcel Wave. 
 
Rarely seen without a smile on his face in public, in reality, Kenny was a deeply insecure man who suffered severe bouts of depression. He also struggled with his sexuality, only coming out to the public in 1985. Diagnosed with HIV in 1987, Kenny died in 1995. 
 
This in-depth and affectionate biography has been fully authorised by Kenny's family and contains original interviews with Kenny's sister, Kate and with his former wife, Lee, as well as entertainment figures such as Barry Cryer, Cliff Richard, Chris Tarrant and Paul Gambaccini. Packed with fabulous stories about the highs and lows of Kenny's life, his great friendships with The Beatles and Freddie Mercury, this is a book that any fan of comedy and entertainment must read.

Hello, Darlings!

The Authorized Biography of Kenny Everett

J. F. Roberts

___________________ 
They had a cunning plan. 
 
A few decades ago, three young grads from England's greatest universities - Oxford, Cambridge, and Hull (actually, Manchester) - came up with a historical comedy series. Few thought it would live long in the memory. 
 
Today, Blackadder is a timeless comic masterpiece, and its stars have gone on to glittering careers. The True History of the Black Adder is the first ever history of one of Britain's greatest and most unique sitcoms, from its medieval beginnings to its legendary tragic finale. 
 
Informed by exclusive - and hilarious - interviews with essential figures like Rowan Atkinson, Tony Robinson, Ben Elton, Stephen Fry, Brian Blessed and many more, this the definitive account of how a British institution came to be, as well as a fascinating look into how this classic comedy was almost very different - and a compendium of brilliantly funny anecdotes from a team of Britain's most celebrated comedians. 
 
British history is a patchwork of questionable stories, constantly rewritten, re-evaluated and ridiculed; final editorial control has always belonged to the winners. And nobody likes winners... 
 
At last, Blackadder enthusiasts can now uncover THE cunning plan, in all its hideous hilarity.

The True History of the Blackadder

The Unadulterated Tale of the Creation of a Comedy Legend

Steve Coogan

Peter Baynham

Armando Ianucci

Patrick Marber

Alan Partridge is Britain's most remarkable broadcaster. He's scaled the giddy heights of a short-lived TV chat show, and the crashing lows of twenty-six weeks in a motel equidistant between Norwich and London. He's survived the death of a guest on air, his wife leaving him for a fitness instructor, Toblerone addiction and his autobiography Bouncing Back being pulped. But Alan continues to bounce back - resilience and Gordon are his middle names. 
 
 Every Ruddy Word charts Alan's incredible journey - from his first, unforgettable radio chat show, to the recent construction of a house to his own specifications.

Alan Partridge: Every Ruddy Word

All the Scripts: From Radio to TV. And Back

Richard Porter

Life is full of complications. 
 
From buying petrol and driving on a motorway to using a microwave oven and becoming a Formula 1 driver, all men have suffered from the stresses and inconveniences of the modern world. 
 
Happily, this handy book will solve all of these problems by applying the unique brand of Top Gear logic to a range of everyday situatons, such as making a ham sandwich, designing a supercar, receiving directions and, of course, how to parachute into a moving car.

Top Gear: How to Parachute into a Moving Car

Vital Survival Tips for the Modern Man

Simon du Beaumarche

Who is The Stig? Where did he come from? Why does he never speak? 
 
To answer these questions, award-winning biographer Simon du Beaumarche spent a year chasing The Stig and talking to those closest to him, including Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, James May and leading figures from Formula 1, music, movies and the military. 
 
What he discovered is an explosive story of intrigue, influence and a sensational conspiracy that seeks to hide the truth about one of the 21st century’s greatest icons. 
 
Get behind the visor of the man, the myth, the driver, the legend, THE STIG. 
 
This book contains adult humour and some themes that may be unsuitable for children.

The Stig

The Untold Story

Jeremy Clarkson

Ten years ago, at an ex-RAF aerodrome in Surrey, Jeremy Clarkson and his friends built the perfect place to work and play: they called it Top Gear HQ. 
 
But they didn't stop there. With Surrey sorted out, Jeremy and the boys decided to have a crack at the rest of the world. 
 
And all along Jeremy was writing about it. Here are the fruits of his labours: the cars, the hijinx, the pleasure and the pain. Brilliantly written and laugh out loud funny, The Top Gear Years is Clarkson at his pithy, provocative, hilarious best.

The Top Gear Years

Paul O'Grady

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 
 
'Funny, forthright and sharp as a knife . . . O'Grady writes just as he speaks.' Daily Mirror 
 
Lilian Maeve Veronica Savage, international sex kitten, was born on the steps of The Legs of Man public house, Lime Street, Liverpool on a policeman's overcoat. Her mother, the lady wrestler Hell Cat Savage, had no such luxuries as gas and air. She just bit down on the policeman's torch and recovered afterwards at the bar with a large pale ale... 
Paul O'Grady shot to fame via his brilliant comic creation, the blonde bombsite Lily Savage. In the first two parts of his bestselling and critically acclaimed autobiography, Paul took us through his childhood in Birkenhead to his first, teetering steps on stage. Now, in Still Standing, for the first time, he brings us the no-holds-barred true story of Lily and the rocky road to stardom... 
Paul pulls no punches in this tale of bar room brawls, drunken escapades and liaisons dangereuses. And that's just backstage at the Panto... Along the way, we stop off at some extremely dodgy pubs and clubs, and meet a collection of exotic characters who made the world a louder, brighter and more hilarious place. From the chaos of the Toxteth riots and the Vauxhall Tavern police raid, to the mystery of who shot Skippy and the great chip pan fire of Victoria Mansions, Paul emerges shaken but not stirred. 
Still Standing will make you laugh and make you cry. Some of the stories might even make your hair curl. But it stands as a glorious tribute to absent friends and to a world which has now all but vanished. 
 
Readers love Still Standing: 
 
'Paul makes you feel like he's chatting to you as a friend. The stories are bold, honest, sometimes hilarious, sometimes very sad.' ***** 
 
'This had my crying, nervous and laughing out loud. I would expect nothing less from the fabulously honest Paul O'Grady.' ***** 
 
'He writes as he speaks, entirely from the heart . . . with his usual warmth, care, concern and honesty, a brilliant read.' *****

Still Standing

The Savage Years

P.G. Wodehouse

Set inside Blandings Castle, this comedy series follows Lord Emsworth and his pig Empress as they meet with his dysfunctional family and friends, and the havoc that follows.

EPISODE 1 IN A MAJOR BBC DRAMA STARRING TIMOTHY SPALL, DAVID WALLIAMS AND JENNIFER SAUNDERS 
 
Clarence has to get his pig eating again or lose the fat-pig prize to his arch nemesis. 
 
Lord Clarence Emsworth’s pride and joy, the prize-winning pig Empress of Blandings refuses to eat when Cyril the pig-man is jailed by Clarence’s conniving rival Sir Gregory Parsloe-Parsloe. 
 
With the prize’s weigh-in only two-weeks away, Clarence and his gambling, spendthrift son Freddie are desperate to get the Empress to eat. 
 
Meanwhile, Clarence’s sister Connie attempts to thwart her niece Angela’s love affair with ex-cowboy Jimmy and instead find her a more eminent match in the smarmy Heacham – Sir Gregory’s nephew! 
 
'Sublime comic genius' 
Ben Elton 
 
'You don't analyse such sunlit perfection, you just bask in its warmth and splendour.' 
Stephen Fry 
 
'The funniest writer ever to put words to paper.' 
Hugh Laurie 
 
'P.G. Wodehouse remains the greatest chronicler of a certain kind of Englishness, that no one else has ever captured quite so sharply, or with quite as much wit and affection.' 
Julian Fellowes

Blandings: Pig-Hoo-o-o-o-ey!

(Episode 1)

Aleksandr Orlov

‘Hello peoples of UK! I have create very special treat: all six classic Meerkovo Tales in one luxuriance, thrillsy collection - lucky you! Please be seat for bumper listening experience!' 
 
Will the Mysterious Knightkat defeat the evil Doctor Robogoose? 
Will Bogdan win the Meerkovian Grand Prix, despite mongoose cheating? 
Maiya has her big ballet debut with the famous Aleksandrovich Orlovski, but will her nerves get the better of her? 
Can Captain Sergei fulfil his ambition to play golf on the moon? 
Will all Vassily’s dreams come true as he makes Meerkovo rock? 
And can everyone’s favourite toymaker Yakov save Christmas when Santa Claws has an accident? 
 
From the publishers of A Simples Life comes this complete set of six new meerkat tales, including: Aleksandr and the Mysterious Knightkat, Bogdan and the Big Race, Maiya in the Beautiful Ballet, Sergei's Space Adventure, Vassily the King of Rock and Yakov Saves Christmas. 
 
Comparethemeerkat.com and comparethemarket.com are trading names of BISL.

Aleksandr Orlov presents: Meerkat Tales

Damon Beesley

Iain Morris

Following on from last year’s huge Sunday Times bestseller, The Inbetweeners Yearbook, comes The Inbetweeners Script Book, the perfect gift for all die-hard Inbetweeners fan and lovers of fine award-winning literature. 
 
The book features all eighteen scripts of the televised show, each with its own introduction from the writers and creators, Damon Beesley and Iain Morris, sharing behind the scenes stories about filming, the writing process, and the real events that inspired the show’s storylines.

The Inbetweeners Scriptbook

Andrew Pinder

One plucky meerkat with a thirst for knowledge. No happy endings.

Curiosity Killed the Meerkat

Richard Curtis

Ben Elton

The complete soundtracks of all four Blackadder series, plus over three hours of specials and extras 
 
Through the ages of Britain, from the 15th century to the 21st, Edmund Blackadder has meddled his way along the bloodlines, aided by his two imbecilic sidekicks, Lord Percy and Baldrick, and hindered by an assortment of dimwitted aristocrats. With cunning plans and cutting comedy, listen as the Blackadder dynasty plot their way through history… 
 
The Black Adder – Set in the Middle Ages, this iconic first series follows the fictitious reign of King Richard IV, played by Brian Blessed, through the experiences of his unfavoured second son Prince Edmund “The Black Adder” 
 
Blackadder II - The Blackadder genes resurface in Elizabethan England for more historical comedy 
 
Blackadder the Third - Blackadder turns up as butler to the Prince Regent in the late 18th Century 
 
Blackadder Goes Forth – The scheming Blackadder is dropped into the trenches during the First World War 
 
Also included in this collection are eight Blackadder TV and radio specials: Blackadder’s Christmas Carol, Blackadder: The Cavalier Years, Blackadder: Woman’s Hour Invasion, The Shakespeare Sketch, Blackadder: Back and Forth, Blackadder: The Army Years, Blackadder: I Have a Cunning Plan and the Blackadder instalment of the TV series Britain's Best Sitcom. 
 
Written by film and TV royalty Richard Curtis, Ben Elton and Rowan Atkinson, and starring comedy giants Rowan Atkinson, Tony Robinson, Tim McInnerny, Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry, Miranda Richardson, and Rik Mayall, this is history at its grittiest and funniest. 
 
Track Listing:<ul><li>Chapters 1-6: The Black Adder</li><li>Chapters 7-12: Blackadder II</li><li>Chapters 13-18: Blackadder the Third</li><li>Chapters 19-24: Blackadder Goes Forth</li><li>Chapter 25: Blackadder’s Christmas Carol</li><li>Chapter 26: The Cavalier Years</li><li>Chapter 27: Woman’s Hour Invasion</li><li>Chapter 28: The Shakespeare Sketch</li><li>Chapter 29: Back and Forth</li><li>Chapter 30: The Army Years (Royal Variety Performance)</li><li>Chapter 31: I Have a Cunning Plan</li><li>Chapter 32: Britain's Best Sitcom</li></ul>Cast and credits 
Written by Richard Curtis, Ben Elton and Rowan Atkinson 
 
Edmund Blackadder - Rowan Atkinson 
S. Baldrick - Tony Robinson 
Melchett - Stephen Fry 
Lord Percy Percy – Tim McInnerny 
George – Hugh Laurie 
Queen Elizabeth I / Various – Miranda Richardson 
 
Including standout performances by Rik Mayall, Miriam Margolyes, Patsy Byrne, Brian Blessed, Robbie Coltrane, Jim Broadbent, Gabrielle Glaister, Elspet Gray, Robert East, Helen Atkinson-Wood, Bill Wallis, Stephen Frost, Mark Arden, Lee Cornes, Warren Clarke, Philip Pope, Barbara Miller, David Nunn, Denis Lill, Adrian Edmondson, Nigel Planer, Stephen Frost, Chris Barrie, Jeremy Hardy and Ben Elton. 
 
 
©2019 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2019 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Blackadder: The Complete Collected Series

Jeremy Paxman

The influence of the British Empire is everywhere, from the very existence of the United Kingdom to the ethnic composition of our cities. It affects everything, from Prime Ministers' decisions to send troops to war to the adventurers we admire. From the sports we think we're good at to the architecture of our buildings; the way we travel to the way we trade; the hopeless losers we will on, and the food we hunger for, the empire is never very far away. 
 
In this acute and witty analysis, Jeremy Paxman goes to the very heart of empire. As he describes the selection process for colonial officers ('intended to weed out the cad, the feeble and the too clever') the importance of sport, the sweating domestic life of the colonial officer's wife ('the challenge with cooking meat was "to grasp the fleeting moment between toughness and putrefaction when the joint may possibly prove eatable"') and the crazed end for General Gordon of Khartoum, Paxman brings brilliantly to life the tragedy and comedy of Empire and reveals its profound and lasting effect on our nation and ourselves.

Empire

What Ruling the World Did to the British

Nick Martin

Did you know that foreigners who want to live in Britain have to pass a government test to get in? It's true, and some of the questions are harder than "Why does everyone hate Manchester United?" 
 
So the Have I Got News For You team have, in a moving and totally out of character display of public-spiritedness, compiled this Guide to Modern Britain to help guide you around, er, modern Britain. With reassuringly jaundiced reflections on everything from the global recession, religion and the Royal Family to the NHS, education and the media, it's a handy primer to the British Constitution, even though we don't actually have one. (How clever is that?) Think of it as the sort of manual you get with a car - enough information to help you check the oil, though not enough to re-balance the steering. 
 
Packed with useless facts and unhelpful cynicism, the Have I Got News for You Guide to Modern Britain will help you understand exactly how the most ingenious, resilient, resourceful and proudest people on earth became the Twittering, touchy-feely, fame-obsessed, flu-fearing wimps that they are today.

Have I Got News For You: Guide to Modern Britain

Jimmy Perry

David Croft

Meet the gang in these four classic BBC TV episodes! Enjoy the exploits of the Royal Artillery Concert Party, a motley troupe of military thespians seconded to India during the Second World War. In 'My Lovely Boy', When RSM Williams realises the love of his life is Parky's mum, he sets about recruiting him for the concert party. In 'The Supremo Show', a VIP visit calls for a very special show - but when Gloria sprains his ankle, the Sergeant Major must take his place. In 'We are Not Amused', Gloria plays Queen Victoria in a jingoistic pageant - but the men don't realise they'll be playing to an Indian VIP. In 'Money Talks', when the men discover that Gunner Graham is due to receive an inheritance, they set about winning his favour. Starring Windsor Davies, Melvyn Hayes, Don Estelle and Michael Bates.

It Ain't Half Hot Mum

James Woods

Tom Hollander stars in the complete award-winning comedy series, as seen on BBC TV.Tom Hollander ('In the Loop', 'Pirates of the Caribbean') stars as the Rev Adam Smallbone. He’s a Church of England vicar, newly promoted from a sleepy rural parish to the inner-city world of St Saviour’s in east London. He has little experience of this world, and it shows.In this series, Adam grapples with an evangelical priest hell-bent on taking over his church, pushy parents fighting for school places and even pole dancers. He succumbs to envy when he hears an old rival on 'Thought for the Day', and then suffers a crisis of faith when he’s humiliated within the Christian online community, leading to a drunken incident at a vicars and tarts party...Co-created by Tom Hollander and James Wood, this divine comedy soundtrack also stars Olivia Colman, Steve Evets, Miles Jupp, Lucy Liemann, Simon McBurney, Ellen Thomas and Jimmy Akingbola. Special guests are Alexander Armstrong, Hugh Bonneville, Darren Boyd and Colin Salmon.Winner of the BAFTA Television Award for Situation Comedy.Winner of the South Bank Show Award for Best Comedy.

Rev. The Complete First Series

Aleksandr Orlov has become one of the most loved figures in British culture and his catchphrase - Simples! - can be heard from the playground to the office. Written in his inimitable voice (as dictated to his sidekick Sergei), his autobiography will offer the same humour as his TV ads, giving us the full story of his ancestor's Journey of Courageousness from the Kalahari to Russia, the low-down on his life as entrepreneur and founder of comparethemeerkat.com and his love of grubs and cravats. 
 
'My name is Aleksandr Orlov. I live and make work in Moscow. I have a success business. I have a mansion decorate with many fine things. I have a naturally majestic posture. But I would have none of these things if it were not for my family. This book is dedicated to them. I also wish to inspire next generation of young businesskats. I am hope that this book will show what can come of courage, hard work and a good fur-care regime. I am also hope that with royalties I will be able to re-marble roof on Orlov family mansion'

A Simples Life

The Life and Times of Aleksandr Orlov

John Armstrong

Ann Armstrong

Have you ever wondered how typewriters can rival commercial radio? Why, according to John, it's best to shave only once a week, and with old fashioned soap and water? And what the various repercussions of spring and its extra hour of daylight bring? 
 
The BBC created a fantastically cult television series when they filmed the daily operations of John and Ann's double glazing firm U-Fit, the third largest in Coventry. It was here we were first introduced to John's misanthropic musings and no-nonsense attitude to management and his wife Ann's doting loyalty. 
 
Now their individual and highly entertaining personalities have been brought to the page, as they ruminate on various aspects of life from asbos to Buddhism, and Chekov to Maltesers.

The Armstrongs' A-Z Guide to Life

John Lloyd

Rowan Atkinson

Twenty-six years ago, Edmund Blackadder made his first appearance on our screens. Comedy has never been the same since (nor indeed has history). 
 
Gathered here - in this twenty-sixth anniversary commemorative edition - are the complete scripts of Blackadder's adventures and, mostly, misadventures. Every word, every lie, every cunning plan and cock-up. 
 
From medieval nastiness, through Elizabethan and Regency glory, to the mud and sautéed rats of the First World War, Blackadder and his oafish underling Baldrick can be most definitely blamed for ruining England's reputation as a country with a great history. 
 
This historical record has been set down by Mr Richard Curtis, Mr Ben Elton, Mr Rowan Atkinson and Mr John Lloyd.

Blackadder

The Whole Damn Dynasty

Jeremy Paxman is to many the embodiment of Englishness yet even he is sometimes forced to ask: who or what exactly are the English? And in setting about addressing this most vexing of questions, Paxman discovers answers to a few others. Like: 
 
 &bull; Why do the English actually enjoy feeling persecuted? 
 
&bull; What is behind the English obsession with games? 
 
&bull; How did they acquire their odd attitudes to sex and to food? 
 
&bull; Where did they get their extraordinary capacity for hypocrisy? 
 
Covering history, attitudes to foreigners, sport, stereotypyes, language and much, much more, The English brims over with stories and anecdotes that provide a fascinating portrait of a nation and its people.

The English

Richard Topping

Have you ever wanted to be a lumberjack? Had trouble with a dead parrot? Or gone for a silly walk? 
 
Combining outrageous humour, unbridled creativity and surreal animation, John Cleese, Michael Palin, Graham Chapman, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones and Eric Idle entertained millions and inspired generations of future comedians. Including all Monty Python material ever produced, from the Flying Circus to the Life of Brian to Spamalot! with biographies, programme guides and a filmography, this is a must-have plethora of Pythonism and a fitting tribute to comedic pioneers.

Monty Python

From the Flying Circus to Spamalot

Boyd Hilton

David Walliams

Matt Lucas

Written together with friend and journalist Boyd Hilton, Inside Little Britain follows a year in the lives of Matt Lucas and David Walliams - the good, the bad, the mundane and the monumental. A year that includes at its core a mammoth nine-month Spinal Tap-esque tour where Little Britain goes in search of Great Britain. This is a milestone book that offers an unrivalled close-up of a classic British comedy act, as it happens, at the height of its powers. 
 
But it is also a journey back into their pasts, reflecting on just how they got from there to here. It covers their childhoods, family life and early comedy performances as they found their feet; their complex friendship and working relationship; and the increasingly insane world they now inhabit. 
 
Mixing memoir and travelogue to paint an engrossing portrait of fame and comic genius, Inside Little Britain is an unmissable, candid window on life inside the celebrity bubble in all its glamour and awfulness.

Inside Little Britain

Stuart Prebble

To everything there is a season. A time to be born, a time to die ... and a time to have a bloody good moan. Following the huge success of Grumpy Old Men, Stuart Prebble, writer of the highly acclaimed TV series, gives us a more in-depth look at what it's really like to be a pissed-off man of a certain age. 
 
In painstaking detail, he takes us through a year in the constantly irritated life of a Grumpy Old Man, recounting the manifold vexations and absurdities he has to put up with in the perpetual torment that we call modern living. Drinks parties, holidays, hospital visits, his children's misdemeanours, buying presents for the wife, watching television, attempts to visit the gym, trips to the shops, the trials and tribulations of everyday life - each event has something to tip him over the edge. Stuart's diary proves that grumpiness is not just an occasional mood or a temporary feeling, but a way of looking at the world, and will strike a chord with all those who are proud to call themselves Grumpy Old Men.

Grumpy Old Men: The Secret Diary

Michael Palin

Eric Idle

Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones star in this innovative and groundbreaking series which includes 19 of their best sketches.   From the memorable 'Nudge Nudge Wink Wink' to the celebrated 'Dead Parrot Sketch', there’s also the hairdresser with a fear of hair who really wanted to be a lumberjack in 'Barber Shop Sketch' and the 'Lumberjack Song'. Also featuring among many timeless classics are leading figures from the Third Reich, who fetch up in a B&amp;B in the West Country, and the famous composer who only has one shed but did once think of getting a second...   Vintage Beeb: classic albums first available as BBC LPs, now reissued on CD and as downloads.

Monty Python's Flying Circus

Do you know someone who is incensed by compulsory tipping? Who is infuriated if kept on hold for more than a minute? Who is positively apoplectic if someone answers their phone during dinner? If so, youve probably encountered the phenomenon of the grumpy old man. 
 
 Following their first massively successful BBC1 series, this autumn will see the grumpy old men will return to our screens, and this time theyre grumpier than ever. 
 
 Packed with funny and informative chapters such as Who are we, What are we grumpy about and How can you spot the signs of grumpiness coming on, this book will leave even the grumpiest of men with a grin on his face.

Grumpy Old Men: The Official Handbook

Judith Holder

We all know what it means these days to be a grumpy old man, because part of that role is to be outspoken. Well, we've heard just about enough out of the men, thank you very much! Grumpy Old Women gives us the other perspective: the female take on the million irritations of today's world. 
 
So whats the difference? Surely what is irritating to the mature members of one sex is equally annoying to the other? Not necessarily, and this is precisely what Grumpy Old Women seeks to address. Body image, visitors, children, animals, shopping, careers, parties, holidays and, yes, grumpy old men themselves all are very much on the list of what today's mature woman finds a source of concern. 
 
From the series producer and stand-up comic Judith Holder, the book incorporates material from the television series Grumpy Old Women, which features a diverse, colourful and very grumpy group of celebrities, including Janet Street Porter, Jenny Eclair, Ann Widdecombe, Germaine Greer, Kathryn Flett and Jilly Cooper. Written with wit, style and sympathy, the book is a source of both amusement and comfort to women everywhere - grumpy, old or otherwise.

Grumpy Old Women

Diehard Dad's Army fan Phill Jupitus has selected four of his favourite episodes from the sitcom that captured the heart of a nation. As Jupitus says, 'There are episodes here you will be familiar with and some you may never have heard, but what I can promise is that they are all achingly funny.' 'The Man and the Hour' is the first ever episode of the series, in which Mainwaring barks out, 'Come on Adolf, we're ready for you!'; 'My British Buddy' finds Mollie Sugden guest starring as a Walmington inhabitant besotted with the new GIs in town; 'Time on My Hands' finds a German airman snagged by his parachute on the town hall clock; and in 'A Soldier's Farewell' Mainwaring dreams he is Napoleon at Waterloo, with Wilson an elegant Duke of Wellington... Providing stalwart support to the stars are John Laurie, James Beck, Arnold Ridley, Ian Lavender and Bill Pertwee. 
 
2 CDs. 1 hr 53 mins.

Dad's Army: The Very Best Episodes

Volume 1

Athenian

Atlantia

Avalon

BBC Children's Classics

BBC Classics

BBC Earth

BBC Radio’s The Lord of the Rings

BBC TV Soundtracks

BP Animation

Baby Touch

Ballroom Girls

Barnaby Grimes

Be More...

Bear Mountain Rescue Series

Beasts of Prey

The complete boxed collection of Beatrix Potter's beloved Peter Rabbit books

Beatrix Potter Originals

Beautiful Creatures

BeddyByes

Bel Dame Apocrypha

Bella Wallis Victorian Mysteries

Belle

Ben & Holly's Little Kingdom

Bergman Brothers

Big Ideas for Little Philosophers

Bill Clinton & James Patterson stand-alone thrillers

Bill Smith / Lydia Chin

Bim Blake

Bindi Babes

Tim and Biscuit, two unlikely friends, always seem to get themselves into difficult situations. From their first meeting in Cliffhanger, where bookish Tim is forced to endure an activities camp, to Buried Alive, where a quiet camping holiday turns out to be full of surprises, there is never a dull moment with these two around.Jaqueline Wilson’s hilarious duo of books catalogues their escapades, triumphs and failures, with a good helping of snacks along the way!

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