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 In 1970 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, and in 1974 his citizenship was revoked and he was expelled from the Soviet Union.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

PublicationStatus

Brand

Format

AgeRange

Series

Imprint

CategoryLabel

Dominic Sandbrook

A 15-part BBC Radio 4 series exploring the origins of the Post Office, how it became a cherished national institution, and how it adapted to globalisation and commercialisation. It's called Royal Mail but it should be known as the People's Post. Launched in 1516 by Henry VIII, it was intended to support royal communications and bolster intelligence. It was only a rise in literacy, trade and interest that stimulated a demand for a public service, and it wasn t until the advent of the Penny Black in 1840 that it became affordable to the general public.  Over the centuries, the Post Office has become a much-loved social institution, linking people together and extending their vision outward into the wider world. How the people made it their own is a fascinating story that has not been told.

The People's Post

Alexandre Dumas

A BBC Radio 4 dramatisation of Alexandre Dumas’s swashbuckling epic, starring Jamie Glover, Robert Glenister and Timothy Spall.  ‘All for one and one for all’ ...  17th Century France. Dashing young swordsman D’Artagnan heads for Paris, dreaming of serving the King as a member of his elite guard. On arrival, he meets the three musketeers – Athos, Porthos and Aramis – and the four men soon become fast friends.  Together, they strive to outwit the murderous schemes of power-hungry Cardinal Richelieu, and save the Queen from a plot to dishonour her. Their adventures take them on a perilous journey through the French countryside and across the Channel to England...  Now a major motion picture starring Logan Lerman, Matthew Macfadyen, Luke Evans and Ray Stevenson, The Three Musketeers is a thrilling action-adventure full of duelling, danger, courage and camaraderie.  This BBC Radio 4 version was dramatised by James Saunders.

The Three Musketeers

Agatha Christie

Ten guests travel to an island at the invitation of someone named U.N. Owen. All are strangers, but they have two things in common: they have all been responsible for someone's death, and none will leave the island alive. Over the next two days and nights, each of the guests is killed off in a different manner in keeping with the nursery rhyme, 'Ten Little Soldier Boys'. As they are picked off one by one, who could possibly be responsible? The killers are forced to turn detective so they can find the unknown murderer, but one by one they become victims... Billed as 'the famous detective story without a detective', And Then There Were None is one of Agatha Christie's darkest and most enduring tales.

And Then There Were None

Various

Everyone loves a bedtime story. And here are eight of the best, each with a Christmas theme, written by an array of literature's best-known names: Laurie Lee, Charles Dickens and Hans Christian Andersen are just some of the storytellers included in this collection.   Amongst those giving voice to these stories are Patricia Routledge, Joss Ackland, Miriam Margolyes, Dame Judi Dench and Richard Briers.   Intriguing, funny, poignant and above all entertaining, these eight Christmas stories are the best of BBC Radio 4's 'Book at Bedtime'.

Christmas Book At Bedtime

Christopher Marlowe

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast adaptation of Christopher Marlowe's notorious portrait of a weak king in thrall to his passions, who pays the ultimate price for choosing his heart over his political responsibilities. Originally broadcast 13 September 2009 in the ‘Drama on 3’ slot.  Edward, preoccupied by the banishment of his lover, Gaveston, barely acknowledges the nascent crises that threaten his realm. Chief among his critics is the morally righteous Mortimer, horrified by the king's criminal lapse of duty and yet able to countenance the further crime of taking arms against his king. As their enmity develops, and Mortimer's political grip tightens, he takes Queen Isabella as a lover, and plots the death of Edward, even after his abdication.   Toby Jones stars as Edward, Patrick Kennedy as Mortimer and Anastasia Hille as Queen Isabella. Produced by Jessica Dromgoole.

Marlowe's Edward The Second (BBC Radio 3 Drama On 3)

Robin Glendinning

Robin Glendinning's BBC Radio 4 full-cast black comedy telling the story of a real mystery. Originally broadcast in the ‘Saturday Play’ slot on 11 July 2009.  In 1946, the Duke of Windsor (formerly Edward VIII) and his wife (formerly Wallis Simpson) paid a visit to Britain, hoping to secure a government job for the Duke and a title for the Duchess. During the visit, the Duchess' jewels, worth millions, were stolen. Conspiracy theories abounded. Was it an inside job by the Royal Family, or even an insurance fraud by the Duke and Duchess?  Starring Jon Glover as the Duke of Windsor, Christine Kavanagh as the Duchess of Windsor and Christian Rodska as Capstick. Also with Chris Yapp, Amy Clifton, Alan Moore, Paul Humpoletz, David Collins, Stephen Perring and Paul Mohan.

The Windsor Jewels

A BBC Radio 4 dramatisation

Steve Tribe

If you enjoyed the Eleventh Doctor’s first series of TV adventures, you’ll love this opportunity to hear again the most exciting, scary, funny and moving moments. What is the new Doctor really like? What’s in store for Amy and Rory when they join him on his travels? Confront the Smilers, the Daleks, the Weeping Angels, the Dream Lord and all the other terrifying aliens they face! Meet Winston Churchill and River Song amongst the many brave friends who help along the way. Travel to Starship UK, Alfava Metraxis, Venice, Provence and Stonehenge – all in the company of your favourite Time Lord and his friends. Doctor Who: The Essential Companion has everything you need to know about the Doctor’s travels before he – and you – set off in the TARDIS once again.

Doctor Who: The Essential Companion

Simon Passmore

This BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation is a captivating thriller written by Simon Passmore, originally broadcast as the Afternoon Play on 29 June 2009.  What would you be prepared to do to escape the grind of a life going relentlessly downhill? For former City lawyer Alice, the price is getting higher by the minute.  Stars Claudia Harrison in the lead role of Alice, Emily Joyce as Hattie, Stephen Hogan as Patrick, Lizzy Watts as Marcy and Paul Rider as Stone. Directed by Toby Swift.

Accomplices

Alistair Cooke

For years legendary broadcaster Alistair Cooke brought America to the rest of the world with incomparable wit and wisdom. This is his classic "personal history" of America, guiding us through centuries of changing life in the USA. Beginning with his own arrival in America as a graduate in the 1930s, Alistair Cooke discusses the explorers who put their new-found land on the map, the pioneers who tamed the Wild West, the soldiers who fought for independence and the tycoons who built fortunes. From the Mayflower to the gold rush, the jazz age to Pearl Harbour, with figures as varied as Buffalo Bill, John D. Rockefeller and Martin Luther King, here is the defining portrait of America.

Alistair Cooke's America

Rowan Atkinson

Richard Curtis

Rowan Atkinson stars as many different characters in four episodes from the classic comedy series, written by Rowan Atkinson and Richard Curtis (&#39;Four Weddings and a Funeral&#39;, &#39;Notting Hill&#39;), which investigates the lives of four great - but imaginary - men. 

We hear about the life and times of master orator, Sir Benjamin Fletcher: writer, statesman, Nobel Prize winner, painter, farmer, diplomat, wit, etc, etc... There’s France’s greatest thinker and philosopher George Dupont; and actor, raconteur and general bore, Sir Corin Basin. Barry Good - the ‘Pope of pop’ - also looks back at his life (before he came a rich tax exile). 

Produced by Griff Rhys Jones, &#39;Atkinson’s People&#39; was one of the first radio series ever to star Rowan Atkinson and was a forerunner to the massively successful &#39;Blackadder&#39; TV series. 

Rowan Atkinson stars in the spoof radio series which looked at the personalities behind the headlines - co-written by Richard Curtis.

Atkinson’s People

A BBC Radio Comedy starring Rowan Atkinson

Paul Magrs

In the icy wastes of the Murgin Pass, the Doctor and Mike take refuge in a remote lodge alongside Albert Tiermann, storyteller to the king. But the owner’s hospitality is repaid with a grisly attack, and suddenly death is amongst the small party. What is the significance of a book of fairy tales, one of which prophesies the Doctor’s encounter with an Ice Queen monster? What long-held secret is Albert Tiermann holding back? And what dark figure stalks the snowy mountainside? The answers to these questions add up to a terrifying encounter with a strangely familiar foe. With Tom Baker as the Doctor, Richard Franklin as Mike Yates, Samuel West as Tiermann, Carole Boyd as Frau Herz, Jan Francis as the Ice Queen, Tom Lawrence as Hans, and Susan Jameson as Mrs Wibbsey, A Shard of Ice is the third of five linked stories written by the acclaimed Paul Magrs.

Doctor Who Demon Quest 3: A Shard Of Ice

Ben Willbond

Justin Edwards

Here are all six episodes of the BBC Radio 4 sitcom written by and starring Ben Willbond and Justin Edwards about two incompetent science teachers who work at a college that specialises in drama, and whose world is turned upside down by the arrival of a new boss.   Forresters Sixth Form College has a highly successful drama department run by the odious Danny Woods. For years, the science department was a forgotten and neglected area where Colin and Kenneth could brew their own ales in peace and quiet. Kenneth even devised a self-assessment system where one class taught itself. Then Dr Oates, the head of department died from a massive coronary - probably induced by a butter chicken-laden diet. Alison Hatton, his replacement, is keen and wants to bring in new students. Nothing will be the same again.   Stars Ben Willbond as Colin, Justin Edwards as Kenneth, Raza Jaffery as Danny and  Rebecca Front as Alison.

Double Science (BBC Radio 4 Comedy)

Brian Johnston

When Brian Johnston died in 1994 at the age of 81, the Daily Telegraph described him as ‘the greatest natural broadcaster of them all’. In this delightful reading from his autobiography 'It’s Been a Lot of Fun', Brian recalls his schooldays at Eton and Oxford, his early career in the family coffee business in the City, Hamburg and Brazil, and his service as a Technical Adjutant in the Grenadier Guards during World War II.   In January 1946 Brian joined the BBC Outside Broadcasts Department. For the next 48 years he presented hundreds of programmes on radio and television, from 'Let’s Go Somewhere' to royal weddings and 'Down Your Way', but he was probably best known as a cricket commentator and he became a national institution on 'Test Match Special'.   Recorded in 1990 when he was 77, Brian tells some of his favourite stories and gaffes in this cheerful look back at a unique career behind the microphone, a life full of lucky breaks and private disappointments, but always a lot of fun.

Johnners' It's Been A Lot Of Fun

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

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, 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

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

Green Ideas

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

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