Alec Russell

Alec Vidler

Alec Wilkinson

Aled Jones

Aleesha Nandhra

Alejo Carpentier (1904-1980) was one of the major Latin American writers of the twentieth century, as well as a classically trained pianist and musicologist. His best-known novels are The Lost Steps, Explosion in a Cathedral, and The Kingdom of This World. Born in Lausanne, Switzerland, and raised in Havana, Cuba, Carpentier lived for many years in France and Venezuela before returning to Cuba after the 1959 revolution. A few years later he returned to France, where he lived until his death.

Alejo Carpentier

Dr Aleks Krotoski is an award-winning international broadcaster, author and academic. She has topped the ratings for the BBC and Channel 4, winning Emmy, BAFTA, Radio Academy and Royal Society awards, and has written and presented landmark technology and social science series for both radio (with BBC Radio 4’s The Artificial Human and The Digital Human) and international television (with BBC World’s The Virtual Revolution). Krotoski has held fellowships at the University of Oxford and the London School of Economics and received an honorary doctorate from the Open University. She currently teaches at NYU Tisch School of the Arts.

Aleks Krotoski

Aleksandar Ciric

Aleksandar Sotirovski

Aleksandar Zolotic

Aleksandr Orlov

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was born in 1918 and grew up in Rostov-on-Don. He graduated in Physics and Mathematics from Rostov University and studied Literature by correspondence course at Moscow University. In World War II he fought as an artillery officer, attaining the rank of captain. In 1945, however, after making derogatory remarks about Stalin in a letter, he was arrested and summarily sentenced to eight years in forced labour camps, followed by internal exile. In 1957 he formally rehabilitated, and settled down to teaching and writing, in Ryazan and Moscow. The publication of One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich in Novy Mir in 1962 was followed by publication, in the West, of his novels Cancer Ward and The First Circle. In 1970 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, and in 1974 his citizenship was revoked and he was expelled from the Soviet Union. He settled in Vermont and worked on his great historical cycle The Red Wheel. In 1990, with the fall of Soviet Communism, his citizenship was restored and four years later he returned to settle in Russia. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn died in August 2008.

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

Aleksei Bitskoff

Aleksei Evdokimo

Aleksi Hoffman

Alena Tkach is an award-winning Ukrainian freelance illustrator who studied Graphic Arts at Kharkiv State Academy of Design and Arts. She works mostly as children’s book illustrator and 2D artist. Alena loves llamas because they are cute and sweet, and when they jump it's really funny. Follow Alena on Instagram @alena.tkach.

Alena Tkach

Alessandra Peters

Alessandro Manzoni

Alex Bellos

Alex Bellos is a journalist, broadcaster and puzzle master. He read Mathematics and Philosophy at Oxford University before becoming a journalist and writer. Alex was born in Oxford and grew up in Edinburgh and Southampton and lived in Brazil for five years as a foreign correspondent for the Guardian before returning to the UK He is the author of 8 books about puzzles and mathematics and currently writes weekly puzzle column for the Guardian.

Alex Berenson

Alex Boardman

Alex Brummer

Alex Bulmer

Alex Butterworth

Alex Caine

Alex Carter

Alex Chance

Alex Cliff

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Myles Rudge

‘Stop Messing About - the first all-nude radio show. Nervous listeners are advised to keep their eyes closed... and it’s forbidden to take photographs.’ Taking over the mantle of 'Round the Horne', 'Stop Messing About' carried on the comedy tradition, which reunited Kenneth Williams with his 'Carry On' co-star Joan Sims and Hugh Paddick. These four episodes include the story of a young politician, who can put his hand to anything. It also features the Homey Secretary and his friend Black Rod (who bear a bona similarity to Julian and Sandy), and whose performances on the floor of the House leave a lot to be desired... There’s also a dirty wartime romp and the tale of a naughty gnome. We’re introduced to Varda Marvello the Mind Reader, and a movie spoof called '2002: A Space Oddity'. Featuring Douglas ‘Hot Lips’ Smith and 'Crackerjackanory With Mother', 'Stop Messing About' is packed with outrageously funny sketches, parodies and saucy songs. Join Kenneth Williams, Hugh Paddick and Joan Sims as they go beyond 'Round the Horne'.

Kenneth Williams' Stop Messing About (Classic BBC Radio Comedy)

Martin Jameson

This full-cast dramatisation by Martin Jameson for BBC Radio 4 is a fictionalised account of the incident in 1964 when a group of students attempted to kidnap the then-Prime Minister, Sir Alec Douglas-Home, in Scotland.  Originally broadcast as the Afternoon Play on 15 July 2009, this dramatisation stars Tim McInnerny as Sir Alec, Chris Starkie as Robbie, Benjamin Askew as Eric, Michelle Duncan as Sheila and Grainne Dromgoole as the girl. With Annabelle Dowler and David Hargreaves. Directed by Jeremy Mortimer.

Night They Tried To Kidnap The Prime Minister, The (BBC R4)

Amanda Whittington

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation written by Amanda Whittington, originally broadcast as the Afternoon Play on 23 February 2009.  The tumultuous tale of the trial of Lady Jane Grey, proclaimed Queen of England in 1553 at the age of 16, nine days later locked in the Tower and, within a year, dead.  ‘Loo Brealey puts in a superb performance’ (Observer) as Lady Jane Grey, with Emma Stansfield as Nurse Ellen, Helen Schlesinger as Frances and Agnes Bateman as the young Jane. Also stars Janice Acquah, Paul Rider, Robert Lonsdale, Stephen Critchlow, Malcolm Tierney and Zebedee Soanes.

Nine Days Queen, The BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play)

Alexander McCall-Smith

A full-cast BBC Radio Scotland comedy dramatisation written by Alexander McCall Smith.  An Edinburgh couple on holiday in the Highlands discover that centuries-old tensions are still very near the surface. Starring John Buick, Kenny Blyth, Monica Gibb and Paul Young.

The Misunderstanding Of Glencoe

L. Frank Baum

Linda Marshall’s BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation of L. Frank Baum's children's classic, ‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz’. Originally broadcast as part of the BBC Christmas 2009 season.  When a tornado strikes her farmhouse in Kansas, young Dorothy and her dog Toto are lifted to the magical world of Oz, the strange land of the Munchkins. There she embarks upon a perilous journey befriending the Tinman, the Scarecrow and the Cowardly Lion who join her quest to find the wonderful Wizard of Oz and her way back home.  This timeless story that has enchanted generations of readers both young and old is brought to life in this dramatisation starring Amelia Clarkson as Dorothy; Jonathan Keeble as the Wizard of Oz, Kalidah and Uncle Henry; Kevin Eldon as the Scarecrow; Burn Gorman as the Tinman; Zubin Varla as the Lion and Emma Fielding as the Witches of the North, South and West and as Aunt Em. Also stars Andrew Westfield and Graeme Hawley. With Original Music by Olly Fox and directed by Nadia Molinari.

Wonderful Wizard Of Oz, The (BBC Radio 4 Saturday Play)

Edith Wharton

A full-cast dramatisation of Edith Wharton's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about a passionate love affair which breaks all the rules of the restrictive high society of 1870s New York.  In the exclusive world of upper-class New York, in which attendance at balls and dinner passes for occupation, Newland Archer anticipates his marriage to May Welland, a beautiful young girl from a suitable family 'who knows nothing and expects everything'. Into this well-ordered community May's cousin, the captivating and exotic Countess Olenska, arrives. She has returned from Europe after the collapse of her marriage and alternately enchants and outrages New York society with her cosmopolitan lifestyle. Newland is sympathetic to her escape from a loveless marriage, and as his sympathy deepens into love he not only gains insight into the brutality of society's treatment of women, but also discovers the real anguish of loving outside its rules.   Dramatised by Jane Rogers, starring Andrew Wincott and Susanne Bertish.

Age Of Innocence

Geoffrey Chaucer

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation of Chaucer's 'Troilus and Criseyde' by poet and writer Lavinia Greenlaw.  One of the great works of English literature, this powerful, compelling story explores love from its first tentative beginnings through to passionate sensuality and eventual tragic disillusionment. Lavinia Greenlaw's new version for radio brings Chaucer's language up-to-date for a modern audience while remaining true to his original poetic intention.  After seeing the beautiful widow Criseyde at the temple in Troy, Troilus falls instantly in love with her. Inexperienced in love, he is unable to act on his feelings and locks himself in his room to compose love songs. Criseyde's Uncle Pandarus becomes the matchmaker for the couple, but what will happen when Criseyde is handed over to the Greeks at the gates of Troy to join her 'traitor' father?  The cast includes Tom Ferguson as Troilus, Maxine Peake as Criseyde and Malcolm Raeburn as Pandarus. Also starring Kathryn Hunt, Kevin Doyle, Terence Mann and Declan Wilson. Directed by Susan Roberts.

Chaucer's Troilus And Criseyde

Chris Harrald

Chris Harrald's Sony Radio Academy Award-winning play takes a light-hearted look at a chaotic day in the life of an emerging poet.  One morning in September 1957, Philip Larkin receives a very official looking letter which sends him into a spin. The events that unfold provide a delicious insight into Philip’s character, with a tremendous sense of period.  The Sony Gold citation said: 'Assured direction, excellent performances and concise, skilfully-researched writing all made this deceptively straightforward story a masterpiece. Funny and touching by turns, a single, seemingly insignificant incident in the life of Philip Larkin brought out the humanity and humour of a poet whose personal life is not commonly associated with either.'  Starring Adrian Scarborough as Philip Larkin with a cast including Anne Reid, Lynne Verrall, Stephen Critchlow and Chris Pavlo.

Mr Larkin's Awkward Day

A Sony Radio Academy Award-Winning Play

Anthony Trollope

This novel, described as a '... brilliantly choreographed legal thriller' (Mail on Sunday), centres on the pathos of the main character, Lady Mason. Youthful marriage choices, middle-aged marital crisis, love and loss revolve around the legal action and the complex portrayal of Lady Mason, who is both sympathetic and wily. The novel proposes a standard of morality higher than that embodied in the practice of an English court of law. With its concern for social issues and its extensive coverage of middle-class and landed life, 'Orley Farm' is a novel that demands attention in the rich field of nineteenth century fiction. Trollope wrote in his Autobiography that his friends considered this 'the best I have written'. With Tim Pigott-Smith as Anthony Trollope and Samantha Bond as Lady Mason, this production also stars Ronald Pickup, Dan Stevens, Amanda Root, Jonathan Christie and Lydia Leonard. Directed by Tracey Neale.

Orley Farm (BBC Radio 4 Classic Serial)

Jaroslav Hašek

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation by Christopher Reason of the satirical Czech novel by Jaroslav Hasek.  This tale charts the exploits during the First World War of 'European Forrest Gump', Svejk, in his progress through the ranks of the Austro-Hungarian army.   Good-natured and garrulous, Svejk becomes the Austrian army's most loyal Czech soldier when he is called up on the outbreak of the First World War - although his bumbling attempts to get to the front serve only to prevent him from reaching it. This story of a 'little man' caught in a vast bureaucratic machine combines dazzling wordplay and piercing satire to create a hilariously subversive depiction of the futility of war.  Starring Sam Kelly as Svejk and Adrian Lukis as Lukas. Directed by Gary Brown.

The Good Soldier Svejk

Thomas Hardy

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation by Jon Sen of Thomas Hardy's tragic tale of star-crossed lovers in the West Country. 
 
'Two on a Tower' is Hardy's ninth novel and contains perhaps his most complete treatment of the theme of love across the class and age divide, and also the fullest expression of his fascination with astronomy and science. This story of passion and sacrifice begins when Lady Viviette Constantine discovers the handsome young astronomer Swithin St Cleeve on the lonely tower on her estate. 
 
Starring Maggie O'Neill as Lady Constantine, Blake Ritson as Swithin St Cleeve, Conrad Nelson as Parson Torkingham and with Amy Humphreys, Stephen Tomlin, Pauline Jefferson, Richard Heap and Carter Dowland. 
 
Directed by Stefan Escreet.

Two On A Tower (Bbc Radio 4 Classic Serial)

Valentine Dyall

Various

Four gripping episodes from the famous 1940s BBC Radio horror series.   Includes: 'The Pit and the Pendulum' by Edgar Allen Poe (18 September 1943); 'The Speaking Clock' by John Dickson Carr (13 April 1944);  'The Clock Strikes Eight' by John Dickson Carr (18 May 1944);  'And the Deep Shuddered' by Monckton Hoffe (20 November 1945).   'Appointment With Fear' ran for a total of ten series between 1943 and 1955, with Valentine Dyall – ‘The Man in Black’ – introducing nine of them. The four episodes here are the sole surviving ones from the BBC archive.   'The Pit and the Pendulum' is a terrifying tale of torture told by a prisoner of the Spanish Inquisition, while 'The Speaking Clock' tells of a man who commits murder and gets away with it. In 'The Clock Strikes Eight', we learn from Dr Gideon Fell the awful truth about the Barton case, while 'And The Deep Shuddered' is a haunting tale of a survivor of a maritime disaster who subsequently goes insane.   Dramatised with a full cast, these four sinister stories will chill your blood and strike terror into your heart.

Appointment With Fear

David Attenborough

David Attenborough reads his own bestselling memoir 
 
'An enthralling autobiography from one of the linchpins of television' Good Book Guide 
 
David Attenborough is the acknowledged voice of nature, loved and revered worldwide for his groundbreaking wildlife documentaries. Over the course of his long BBC career, David has risen from trainee producer to award-winning film-maker, and in Life on Air, he tells the extraordinary stories of the people and animals he has met along the way. 
 
We hear of his earliest days in television; his stint as Controller of BBC2, during which he introduced colour TV to Britain; and his encounters with luminaries such as Montgomery, Anthony Eden, Benjamin Britten and the Queen. Here, too, are tales of his travels to some of the most far-flung corners of the globe, including New Guinea, Borneo, Paraguay and the Australian outback, and the rare creatures he captures on film: from the exotic birds of paradise and the elusive Indri lemurs to the endangered Komodo dragon. 
 
Featuring behind-the-scenes accounts of the making of his landmark natural history series, beginning with the pioneering Zoo Quest and concluding with Life in Cold Blood, this wonderful memoir - read by David Attenborough himself - recounts the highlights of a remarkable life in broadcasting. 
 
Production credits 
Read by David Attenborough 
 
© 2010 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2010 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd.

David Attenborough Life On Air: Memoirs Of A Broadcaster

Brian Johnston

Brian Johnston, aka ‘Johnners’, the BBC’s long-time cricket commentator, is the umpire in this test of wit and general knowledge, as two teams try to score the highest number of runs under his watchful eye.   In these four episodes, team captains Tim Rice and Willie Rushton are joined by Stephen Fry, Paul Merton, Tim Brooke-Taylor, Barry Cryer, Bill Tidy, Caroline Quentin, Bernard Cribbins and Robin Bailey.   But which questions will they go for? The easier ‘single’ worth just one run? Or will they try the harder question and attempt a ‘boundary’ (four runs)?   Can the batting team reach six questions (an ‘over’) before the other team gets a go? And there’s every chance that calls of ‘Howzat!’ or ‘Bouncer!’ can interrupt play...   With questions that include trivia and unusual facts, hear the stumps fly and the wickets fall in these four wonderful episodes.

Johnners' Trivia Test Match

Agatha Christie

Elspeth McGillicuddy is down from Scotland for a holiday and boards the 4:50 train from Paddington station to visit her friend, Miss Marple. During the journey, another train pulls alongside, and through the window Mrs McGillicuddy witnesses a tall, dark man strangling a blonde woman.   She reports what she has seen, yet no one takes any notice. There is no report of any murder, no dead woman found on any train, and the police have no record of any persons reported missing that match the description.   Only Miss Marple believes her account, and realising that the body must have been thrown off the train, with the help of maps and train timetables she pinpoints the exact spot where the body must be.   With the help of her young friend Lucy Eyelesbarrow, she goes about the tricky task of uncovering a murder - and a cunning murderer...   Agatha Christie's intricate mystery is dramatised with a full cast including Ian Lavender as Inspector Craddock, Joan Sims as Mrs McGillicuddy and Susannah Harker as Lucy Eyelesbarrow.

4.50 From Paddington

'A murder is announced and will take place on Friday, October 29, at Little Paddocks, at 6:30pm. Friends please accept this, the only intimation.' Nestled among the usual notices about dogs for sale and appeals for domestic help, the startling entry in the personal column of the Chipping Cleghorn Gazette has the entire village agog with curiosity. Is it a game? And who is meant to attend? The mistress of Little Paddocks, Letitia Blacklock, is also taken completely by surprise. Suspecting her nephew of a practical joke, she's sure of one thing: half the village will be converging on the house expecting a glass of sherry. Sure enough, the evening sees a crowd of residents standing expectantly in the drawing-room. Then the clock strikes the half-hour, the lights go out, and three gunshots ring in the dark. When the lights go back on, the promised murder has been committed. Can Miss Marple work out what has happened and why? One of Agatha Christie's most intriguing mysteries is dramatised with a full cast including Ian Lavender and Jamie Glover.

A Murder Is Announced

Wealthy businessman Rex Fortescue is found dead with rye grain in his pocket. His death is followed in quick succession by a woman dying while eating bread and honey, and a maid in her garden.   Inspector Neele, in charge of investigating the spate of murders, consults with Miss Marple, who has an interesting and surprising theory to offer. She senses the murderer is dispatching his victims on the basis of the children's nursery rhyme 'Sing a Song of Sixpence'.   The similarities are numerous - not least the fact that Rex means 'king', and as a financier, he could be said to have been in his counting house when he died. Soon the blackbirds of the rhyme put in an appearance, not to mention a whole shoal of red herrings. What secrets are lurking at the heart of the Fortescue family?   Miss Marple finds herself enmeshed in one of the strangest cases of her life... An intriguing mystery from the Queen of Crime, dramatised with a full cast including Nicky Henson and Derek Waring.

A Pocket Full Of Rye

'You do see, don't you, that she's got to be killed? It's the only solution.'   Even when on holiday in Jerusalem - the so-called City of Peace - Hercule Poirot can't seem to escape the strains of death and murder. His first evening at the King Solomon Hotel finds the above phrase floating into his room from outside. What does it mean? Who is the speaker, and just how seriously should it be considered? Whilst Poirot struggles to resist the lure of a fresh mystery, he cannot suppress the foreboding in his heart.   Also in residence at the hotel are the Boyntons, a nervous American family held tightly in the grip of their matriarch. Then there is the young medic Sarah King, plus Dr Theodore Gerard, an expert in the subject of schizophrenia. These and other guests are thrown together on an organised trip to the ancient city of Petra.   Whilst love apparently blossoms for Miss King, death visits another member of the party. It is clearly murder, and there are a number of likely suspects. Only one man has the skill to distinguish between them: Hercule Poirot.   Agatha Christie's exotic mystery is dramatised with a full cast including Jill Balcon and Miriam Karlin.

Appointment With Death

Jane Marple is being treated to a few days' holiday by her niece, staying at Bertram's Hotel - a dignified, establishment tucked away in a back street of busy Mayfair. It is a place where sedate upper-class ladies, retired military gentlemen and the higher echelons of the clergy can indulge in the comforts of a bygone age.   But Miss Marple begins to feel uneasy. Something sinister lurks beneath the polished veneer. Why are so many major crimes associated in some way with the hotel and those eminently respectable people staying there?   Instead of rest and relaxation, Miss Marple finds herself hard at work as she attempts to discover what goes on behind closed doors.   Siân Phillips and Maurice Denham are among the cast of this absorbing mystery, starring June Whitfield as Miss Marple.

At Bertram's Hotel

Hercule Poirot, along with three other luminaries from the world of crime detection, is invited to dinner by the renowned London socialite Dr Shaitana. Also on the guest list are four members of what Shaitana calls his Black Museum - a collection of murderers who have each succeeded in 'getting away with it'.   An elegant dinner is followed by a game of bridge, in which Shaitana himself does not participated. But just after midnight, when the guests prepare to leave, they make a terrible discovery. Their host is dead in his armchair, stabbed in the chest.   The four sleuths are thus faced with one murder and a quartet of likely suspects. Working both together and independently, they investigate the pasts of the Black Museum's finest in order to determine the most likely killer.   Poirot finds that many hindrances and distractions are thrown in his way, as he attempts to read the meaning of the cards which each suspect has placed on the table.   Agatha Christie's intriguing mystery is dramatised with a full cast including Stephanie Cole and Donald Sinden.

Cards On The Table

To distract himself from his fear of flying, Hercule Poirot observes his fellow passengers on the noon flight from Le Bourget to Croydon. On his right sits a pretty young woman, clearly very aware of the handsome man opposite her; ahead of him is a nervous aristocrat and her maid; and across the aisle is a writer of detective novels, troubled by an aggressive wasp. Lulled into drowsiness by a sedative he has taken, Poirot abruptly awakens when the woman behind him is found dead. A reaction to a wasp-sting is suggested, but Poirot discovers that a poisoned dart is the real cause - and a blow pipe is discovered stuffed down the back of his own seat.   The murderer can only be one of the eleven passengers in the rear of the plane, or one of the stewards. The dead woman was a moneylender to the upper classes, so the Countess, addicted to cocaine and gambling, is an obvious suspect. Or could it be the detective writer, trying out a plot for his new book? No-one is above suspicion: not even Poirot himself. He must unravel this baffling mystery - if only to clear his own name...   John Moffatt stars as the great Belgian detective, with Philip Jackson as Inspector Japp.

Death In The Clouds

Linnet Ridgeway has led a charmed life. Blessed with beauty, enormous wealth and a devoted husband, she has everything anyone could wish for. But as the happy couple set out on an idyllic honeymoon cruise on the Nile, storm clouds are gathering...   Linnet's former friend, Jacqueline de Bellefort, follows her and Simon wherever they go and Linnet senses she is in danger. At first her fears seem groundless. But an attempt is made first on her life and then on her husband's. Eventually the killer is successful, and Linnet is found horribly murdered.   With an obvious suspect who cannot possibly have committed the crime, it is up to Hercule Poirot to probe the depths of a remarkable criminal mind and discover the dark secret behind what is only the first in a series of inexplicable deaths.

Death On The Nile

Famous crime novelist Ariadne Oliver, visiting her friend Judith Butler in the little town of Woodleigh Common, is invited to a Hallowe'en Party put on by society hostess Mrs Rowena Drake for the local teenagers.   During her preparations for the party, the conversation turns to Ariadne's grisly novels. One of the teenagers, Joyce Reynolds, boasts that she once witnessed a murder, although she didn't realise at the time what she'd seen.   Convinced that she is just trying to attract attention, no-one believes her - but later she is found tragically drowned in an apple-bobbing tub. Distraught, Ariadne decides to call upon the services of her old friend Hercule Poirot to solve the case.   Assuming that Joyce was killed because of what she said, Poirot knows he must find out if the teenager was telling the truth. If so, there is not just one death for him to investigate, but two...  Starring John Moffatt as Hercule Poirot, with Stephanie Cole as Ariadne Oliver.

Hallowe'en Party

'Monsieur Poirot, somehow or other I've just got to get rid of my husband!'   No sooner had she uttered the words than Lady Edgware's husband was dead, brutally stabbed in the neck. The evidence against her is overwhelming, the case cut and dried.   But what is the truth behind it all? What enemies lurked in the background of the victim's life? Hercule Poirot is on the case, intrigued once more, ready to investigate murder in the library...   John Moffatt stars as the great Belgian detective in this BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation.

Lord Edgware Dies

Theo is determined to seek happiness with her husband's business rival, Vincent. Having fled London for Paris, however, she soon learns of Richard's financial collapse - and discovers that rather more than just his job is at stake. Starring Emilia Fox as Theo, Alex Jennings as Richard and Julian Rhind-Tutt as Vincent. Dramatised by Mike Walker.

Magnolia Blossom

The gruesome death of Mrs McGinty provokes Superintendent Spence to seek the help of his old ally Hercule Poirot. The victim's young lodger has been found guilty and is due to hang. But Spence is not convinced by the circumstantial evidence which influenced the verdict.   So, at considerable personal discomfort, Poirot goes down to the sleepy village where the old lady lived and where, by chance, his good friend Ariadne Oliver is also staying. There he alights upon his first and most crucial clue - a newspaper article on the present whereabouts of women implicated in notorious murder cases.   Did Mrs McGinty have to die because she had identified one of her neighbours as a brutal killer? Is that killer still at large, and can Poirot and Ariadne act swiftly enough to save an innocent man from the gallows?   Agatha Christie's intriguing mystery is dramatised with a full cast including Julia McKenzie and George Baker. John Moffatt stars as Hercule Poirot.

Mrs McGinty's Dead

In the sleepy little English country village of St Mary Mead, all is not as it seems. Under a seemingly peaceful exterior lurks intrigue, guilt, deception - and murder.   Colonel Protheroe, local magistrate and overbearing landowner, is the most detested man in the village. Everyone, even the vicar, wishes he were dead. And very soon he is - shot in the head in the vicar's own study.   A visiting artist confesses to the murder, but residents saw him elsewhere at the time the Colonel was shot. If he didn't do it, who did? Is he protecting the wife whom he loves?   Faced with a surfeit of suspects, only the inscrutable Miss Marple can unravel the tangled web of clues. A trap is set, and Miss Marple's theory is put to the test when the true killer is finally unmasked.   This full-cast dramatisation of Agatha Christie's very first Miss Marple mystery stars June Whitfield as the indomitable amateur detective, with Imelda Staunton and Nigel Davenport.

Murder At The Vicarage

Just as Amy Leatheran is about to return to England, she is hired by celebrated archaeologist Dr Leidner to work as a nurse/companion for his wife, who is subject to fits of nervous terrors. As they travel to an ancient site in the Iraqi desert, Amy finds herself in a situation stranger than she could ever have imagined, whilst Mrs Leidner proves to be a demanding yet fascinating woman. Gradually Mrs Leidner warms to Amy and, taking her into her confidence, she reveals the source of her terror. But as the oppressive tension in the air thickens, events come to a terrible climax and result in murder. With just one spot of blood as his only clue, Hercule Poirot must embark on a journey not just across the desert but into the darkest crevices of the human soul. There he hopes to unravel a mystery which taxes even his remarkable powers. 
 
2 CDs. 2 hrs 20 mins.

Murder In Mesopotamia

When Poirot arrives in France, following an urgent appeal for help, he finds he is too late. His client, a South American millionaire, has been stabbed to death and his body flung into a freshly dug open grave on the golf course adjoining the property.   Meanwhile the millionaire's wife is found bound and gagged in her room. Her wrists are badly cut and she seems to be in shock, but she agrees to speak to Poirot. She tells him that they were attacked by thugs who tied her up and forced her husband to leave the house, dressed only in his underwear, before brutally killing him.   Poirot is not sure whether to believe her story. Did she, as the sole beneficiary of her millionaire husband's estate, set the whole thing up? And if not, who did kill M. Renauld?   The suspects include the mysterious Dulcie Duveen and Renauld's son Jack, who had quarrelled violenty with his father. As Poirot investigates, the mystery begins to unfold - but not before another murder occurs...   John Moffatt stars as Poirot, with Jeremy Clyde as Captain Hastings, Madeline Smith as Dulcie Duveen and Stephen Tompkinson as Jack.

Murder On The Links

Miss Marple, living a quiet life in St Mary Mead, is saddened to hear of the death of Jason Rafiel. Not that they were friends - the old financier was much too irascible and self-centred for friendship - but they had once been allies in solving a series of murders that took place on the tiny Caribbean island of St Honoré.   She is therefore greatly surprised by a summons to the dead man's solicitor, where she receives a bizarre challenge in the form of a posthumous letter. According to Mr Rafiel, a crime has been committed, and her task is to investigate and solve it. If she succeeds, she stands to inherit twenty thousand pounds. But what is the crime, and who was involved?   Left literally without a clue, can even the ever-observant Miss Marple succeed in solving the most impossible case of her life?   June Whitfield stars as Miss Marple, with David Swift and Jill Balcon, in this full-cast dramatisation of one of Agatha Christie's most baffling mysteries.

Nemesis

Green Puffin Classics

Greg the Sausage Roll

Grumpy Monkey

Guillermo Downes Thriller

Guru Guru Pon Chan

Hairy Maclary and Friends

Meet Nathan Byrn. 
 
He's half White Witch, half Black Witch 
His mother was a healer, his father is a killer 
He's been kept in a cage since he was fourteen. 
 
If White Witches are good 
And Black Witches are evil... 
What happens if you are both?

Half Bad

Hammarby Thrillers

Intellectually brilliant, cultured and sophisticated, with refined tastes in art, music and cuisine. And a pure sociopath. This is the series that launched the world’s number one villain – Hannibal Lecter.

Hannibal Lecter

Happy Families

Harlem Renaissance Series

Harold Fry

Harry Hole

Harry and the Dinosaurs

Hatchimals

Hattie B, Magical Vet

Hawk series

Hawthorne

He Who Fights With Monsters

Heart Hassle

Heartbreaking romances from Rebecca Yarros

Heartland Trilogy

Heaven Official's Blessing

Heavenly Bodies

Henry Pratt is the epitomy of the great British underdog. Nothing is ever simple in his world, just when it seems things are going right, life throws him another unwanted curve-ball. Join Pratt as he traverses the highs and lows of everyday life in this comic masterpiece.

Henry Pratt

Her Hidden Fire

To some a brilliant warrior, to others a devil in human form; Hereward is as adept in the art of slaughter as the enemies that gather to claim England's throne. With King Edward heirless and ailing, Hereward has been declared an outlaw. What is he willing to risk in order to save the land he loves? 
 
Hereward's tales are of heroism, treachery, rebellion and bloody battles, with William the Bastard never too far away.

Hereward

Heroes of Olympus

Heroes of Olympus Graphic Novels

Hetty Feather was left at a foundling hospital when she was a tiny baby. Having grown up in a loving foster family until she was five, and then finding herself returned to the hospital, she begins to question who her actual family are, and is determined to stop at nothing to find out where she came from. Jacqueline Wilson’s acclaimed series follows Hetty and her friend Diamond as they work their way up from their lowly backgrounds to become stars, overcoming loss, unkind bosses and flirtatious boys.

Hetty Feather

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