Ajay Chowdhury, the inaugural winner of the Harvill Secker-Bloody Scotland prize, is a tech entrepreneur and theatre director. His children’s book – Ayesha and the Firefish, was published in 2016 and adapted into a musical which premiered in San Francisco. 
 
 
The Waiter (Sunday Times Crime Book of the Month), was published in 2021, and is the first in his critically-acclaimed crime series about Detective Kamil Rahman, an ex-policeman from Kolkata who has moved to Brick Lane in London. It is being adapted for television by Moonage Pictures.The Cook (Guardian Top Crime Books of the Year) was published in May 2022 to excellent reviews and deals with the issue of homelessness. The third book in the series – The Detective (Sunday Times Top Crime Books of the Year) – is about government surveillance and AI. The Spy (Longlisted Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing), the fourth book, sees Kamil infiltrate a terrorist cell. The Shadow (A Sunday Times Crime Book of the Month) is the latest book in the series.

Ajay Chowdhury

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Louisa May Alcott

Curl up with the classic novel that inspired the BBC series 
 
Loved by generations around the world, Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women is a truly universal coming-of-age story, as relevant and engaging today as it was when originally published in 1868. Set against the backdrop of a country divided, the story follows the four March sisters, Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy, on their journey from childhood to adulthood. With the help of their mother, the girls navigate what it means to be a young woman - from gender roles to sibling rivalry, first love, loss and marriage. 
 
This three-part adaptation has been written by Call the Midwife and Cranford creator Heidi Thomas and directed by Vanessa Caswill (Thirteen, My Mad Fat Diary). It features a stellar cast including Academy award-winner Dame Angela Lansbury (Murder, She Wrote, The Manchurian Candidate) as the girls’ wealthy relative - the cantankerous Aunt March. Bafta-winner Michael Gambon (Harry Potter, Churchill’s Secret) takes the role of their benevolent neighbour Mr. Laurence, and Jonah Hauer-King (Howards End) will play Laurie, the charming boy next door. 
 
Newcomer Maya Hawke takes the role of wilful and adventurous Jo, Willa Fitzgerald will play the eldest daughter Meg, Annes Elwy will play Beth, and Kathryn Newton takes the role of the youngest sister Amy. 
 
This is a combined edition of the original text of Little Women and the second novel in the series, Good Wives.

Little Women

Official BBC TV Tie-In

Official BBC TV Tie-In Edition

Jane Austen

Emma is wealthy, beautiful, accomplished and a self-proclaimed matchmaker. When Emma meets Harriet Smith, a young girl of unknown parentage, Emma is convinced she can find Harriet a suitable husband. But, in her quest to find Harriet the perfect match, Emma jeopardizes Harriet's happiness and, much to her surprise, her own happiness too. 
 
The much-loved Austen novel has been given a fresh look by award-winning writer Sandy Welch. With well-known actors taking the title roles, Romola Garai and Jonny Lee Miller are Emma and Mr Knightley, this promises to be a very special and enduring adaptation.

Emma

Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens died half way through writing The Mystery of Edwin Drood, and ever since speculation has been rife as to how the tale might have unfolded. 
 
For this intriguing two-part adaptation for BBC2, for prime-time January 2012, acclaimed screenwriter Gwyneth Hughes (Five Days, Miss Austen Regrets) scoured the text for clues indicating how the great author might have finished this masterpiece, and has drawn from those leads a seamless, compelling and surprisingly modern story of obsessive love, betrayal and murder. 
 
This tie-in edition of Dickens's unfinished text will also include an Afterword by Gwyneth Hughes, offering her own conclusion, and revealing how she knitted the strands from the original plot and her own work together to bring the book to a satisfying close. 
 
Key cast list: Matthew Rhys (Brothers &amp; Sisters) as John Jasper; Rory Kinnear (Hamlet, Women In Love, Lennon Naked) as Reverend Septimus Crisparkle; Freddie Fox (Worried About The Boy, The Shadow Line) as Edwin Drood; Tamzin Merchant (Jane Eyre, Miranda, The Tudors) plays Rosa Bud; Alun Armstrong (New Tricks, Garrow's Law) as Hiram Grewgious, Rosa's guardian; Julia McKenzie (Cranford, Miss Marple) plays the Reverend's mother, Mrs Crisparkle; David Dawson (Luther, The Road To Coronation Street) as Bazzard; Ron Cook (Little Dorrit) as Durdles; Sacha Dhawan (Five Days 2) as Neville Landless; Amber Rose Revah (House Of Saddam) plays Helena Landless, Neville's twin sister; Ian McNeice (Doctor Who) as Mayor Sapsea; Janet Dale (Holby; Casualty) as Miss Twinkleton; Ellie Haddington (Luther) as Princess Puffer; and young Alfie Davis plays Deputy.

The Mystery of Edwin Drood

Leo Tolstoy

This is the official tie-in edition to the BBC adaptation of War and Peace with an exclusive introduction written by Andrew Davies. 
 
Tolstoy’s beguiling masterpiece entwines love, death and determinism with Russia’s war with Napoleon and its effects on those swept up by the terror it brings. The lives of Pierre, Prince Andrei and Natasha are changed forever as conflict rages throughout the early nineteenth century. Following the rise and fall of some of society’s most influential families, this truthful and poignant epic is as relevant today as ever. 
 
This six part adaptation has been written by Bafta-winning author Andrew Davies and will be directed by Tom Harper (Peaky Blinders, The Scouting Book for Boys, Woman in Black: Angel of Death). Accompanied by a stellar cast including Paul Dano (12 Years a Slave, Prisoners, There Will Be Blood) as the idealistic Pierre, James Norton (Happy Valley, Belle, Grantchester) as the ambitious Prince Andrei and Lily James (Cinderella, Downton Abbey) as the impulsive beauty Natasha. It also features the legendary Jim Broadbent (Moulin Rouge, Harry Potter, Longford), Gillian Anderson (The Fall, The X-Files), Greta Scacchi (White Mischief, Presumed Innocent) and many more.

War and Peace

Ford Madox Ford

The Great War changes everything. In this epic tale, spanning over a decade, war turns the world of privileged, English aristocrat Christopher Tietjens upside down. It forces him to question everything he holds dear – social order, morality, marriage and loyalty. And it rocks the very foundations of English society. 
 
 This is a powerful story about love, betrayal and disillusionment in a time of horror and confusion by one of Britain’s finest novelists. 
 
 Ford Madox Ford's monumental novel came to our screens in August 2012 as a major BBC adaptation, with a screenplay by the legendary playwright Tom Stoppard and a stellar cast that included Benedict Cumberbatch. This edition of the novel includes all four parts, originally published separately between 1924 and 1928.

Parade's End

Joseph Conrad

London, 1886 and Mr Adolf Verloc runs a sex shop in the heart of Soho. Unbeknown to his loyal wife Winnie, Verloc also works for the Russian embassy, spying on a group of London anarchists. 
 
The Russian government are furious with the English establishment’s indifference to the anarchist threat gripping the rest of Europe. So Verloc is assigned a mission: Blow up the Greenwich Observatory and make it look like a terrorist attack to provoke a crackdown. Should he fail, Verloc’s real identity as a spy will be exposed to his vicious comrades. 
 
Verloc is forced to turn to the volatile anarchist, The Professor, to supply explosives for his mission – an act which attracts the attention of Chief Inspector Heat of Scotland Yard. Caught between the spy masters and the police, Verloc grooms Winnie’s young and vulnerable brother Stevie as his unsuspecting accomplice. When the truth and consequences emerge, Verloc must face Winnie’s wrath … 
 
From the producers of the acclaimed Line of Duty, this riveting psychological thriller stars Toby Jones as Verloc and Line of Duty’s Vicky McClure as Winnie, with Stephen Graham (Boardwalk Empire) and Ian Hart (The Last Kingdom). Adapted by BAFTA award-winning Tony Marchant (Great Expectations) and directed by Emmy award-winning Charles McDougall (Hillsborough, House of Cards, The Good Wife), The Secret Agent will be broadcast on BBC One this summer.

The Secret Agent

Winifred Holtby

The community of South Riding, like the rest of the country, lives in the long shadow of war. Blighted by recession and devastated by the loss, they must also come to terms with significant social change.Forward-thinking and ambitious, Sarah Burton is the embodiment of such change. After the death of her fiancé, she returns home to Yorkshire focused on her career as headmistress of the local school. But not everyone can embrace the new social order. Robert Carne, a force of conservatism, stands firmly against Sarah. A tormented man, he carries a heavy burden that locks him in the past. 
 
 As the villagers of South Riding adjust to Sarah's arrival and face the changing world, emotions run high, prejudices are challenged and community spirit is tested. 
 
Anna Maxwell Martin (Bleak House) and David Morrissey lead an outstanding cast in this rich and panoramic portrait of community in turmoil. Winifred Holtby's little-known and hard-to-find literary gem is a magnificent masterpiece, to be joyfully rediscovered by a whole new generation of readers.

South Riding

Victor Hugo

Where there is love, there is hope. 
 
Accompanying a 6-part series on BBC One from the makers of War and Peace, and starring Dominic West, Lily Collins, David Oyelowo and Olivia Coleman, this edition of Les Misérables also has a foreword from screenwriter Andrew Davies (War and Peace, Pride and Prejudice). 
 
Les Misérables is Victor Hugo's classic tale of injustice, heroism and love following the fortunes of Jean Valjean, an escaped convict determined to put his criminal past behind him. Those attempts are constantly put under threat: by his own conscience, and by the relentless investigations of the dogged policeman Javert. A compelling and compassionate view of the victims of early nineteenth-century French society, this is a novel on an epic scale, moving from the Battle of Waterloo to the the June rebellion of 1832. With striking intensity and relevance to us today, it is testimony to the struggles of France's underclass.

Les Misérables

TV tie-in edition

Thomas Hardy

An exciting new TV adaptation of Thomas Hardy's classic Tess of the D'Urbervilles has arrived on BBC 1, and this is the official tie-in edition with an exclusive introduction from the programme's producer David Snodin. 
 
A tragic tale of love, seduction and betrayal,Tess of the D'Urbervilles was named the nation's 12th favourite book in a poll for World Book Day in 2007 and 2008 marks the 80th anniversary of the death of Thomas Hardy. 
 
This new four-part series has been written by award-winning novelist and screenwriter David Nicholls. David wrote Starter for Ten, which he then adapted to film starring James McAvoy, as well as the screenplay of And When Did You Last See Your Father? starring Jim Broadbent and Colin Firth. 
 
Tess of the D'Urbervilles has a stellar cast with big-screen names and familiar faces from a number major TV dramas including Gemma Arterton (James Bond: Quantum Of Solace, St Trinian's) playing Tess, Hans Matheson (The Virgin Queen, Dr Zhivago) as her seducer Alec, Eddie Redmayne (Elizabeth: The Golden Age, The Other Boleyn Girl) as Angel and Jodie Whittaker (Venus) playing Tess's best friend Izzy. The drama also features Ruth Jones (Gavin and Stacey, Saxondale) as Tess's mother Joan, and Anna Massey (Oliver Twist, The Importance Of Being Earnest) as Mrs D'Urberville.

Tess of the D'Urbervilles

Great Expectations will form the centrepiece of the Dickens season this Christmas. 
 
Part thriller, part mystery, with a powerful love story at its heart, Sarah Phelps's (Oliver Twist, EastEnders) three-part adaptation embraces all of these qualities, delivering a vibrant, visceral, story. The stellar cast includes Gillian Anderson, David Suchet and Ray Winstone, and it will be broadcast on BBC1 in a prime-time slot in December this year.

Great Expectations

A new star-studded adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic Little Dorrit for BBC1 starts this November. 
 
The 15-part serial was adapted by highly acclaimed writer Andrew Davies, also responsible for the very successful Bleak House (2005) and Sense and Sensibility (2008). This is the official TV tie-in edition to the serial, including an exclusive introduction by Andrew Davies about his experience of adapting Little Dorrit for TV. 
 
William Dorrit is a long-term inmate in the debtors' prison, Marshalsea. He must stay there until his fortune improves and his debt is paid. For her entire life so far, his daughter Amy has faithfully nursed him in jail. Trying to keep herself out of debt she works as a seamstress for the stern Mrs Clennam. When Mrs Clennam's son, Arthur, returns home from years abroad working for the family business, Amy's life begins to change. As some shocking truths emerge, and as the fortunes of the Dorrits and the Clennams rise and fall by equally dramatic means, it is clear that no one is safe from Marshalsea.

Little Dorrit

QUIET AND DARK, BESIDE HIM STOOD THE PHANTOM, WITH ITS OUTSTRETCHED HAND 
 
A Christmas Carol, first published in 1843, is Charles Dickens’s timeless festive tale of transformation and redemption. On Christmas Eve Ebenezer Scrooge, the uncharitable miser, is visited by the ghost of his dead business partner, Jacob Marley, who comes with a warning. 
 
Later that evening, Scrooge falls into a deep sleep and is called upon in the night by three more spectres, the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come. These apparitions bring strange visions and offer Scrooge the chance to absolve for his lifetime of avarice and greed. 
 
Accompanying a the three-part special from Steven Knight (Taboo, Peaky Blinders) starring Guy Pearce, Andy Serkis, Stephen Graham, Charlotte Riley, Joe Alwyn, Vinette Robinson, Jason Flemyng, Kayvan Novak and Lenny Rush. Written and executive produced by Steven Knight, executive produced by Tom Hardy, Ridley Scott, Dean Baker, David W. Zucker, Kate Crowe and Mona Qureshi for the BBC.

A Christmas Carol BBC TV Tie-In

G K Chesterton

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of G. K. Chesterton’s Father Brown mysteries, BBC One Daytime has commissioned a new 10-part drama series for January 2013 to bring the priest-turned-detective back to life. BBC Books will be publishing a new edition of the original and complete short stories to tie-in to transmission. 
 
Set in the early-twentieth century, Father Brown's world is quintessentially English; crime scenes await in country houses, rural parish churches and quaint gardens as well as foggy London streets and shadowy railway stations. Father Brown may be a kindly cleric, but his bumbling nature disguises a detective mind to rival Sherlock Holmes... 
 
The character of Father Brown, brought to life by Mark Williams, is based on a real parish priest and the idea that priests, through hearing Confession, know the worst of human nature more than anyone, including the police. Father Brown uses his experiences to put himself into the mind of the criminal to solve each mystery and catch the perpetrators.

The Complete Father Brown Stories

Alexandre Dumas

The young Gascon d'Artagnan and the legendary musketeers Athos, Porthos and Aramis are ready to sacrifice everything for love, glory and the common good. The wicked machinations of Cardinal Richelieu and his accomplice, the magnetic Milady de Winter, propel the devoted friends across seas and battlefields from masked balls to a remote convent, in order to defend the honour of the Queen and the life of Constance Bonacieux, d'Artagnan's true love. 
 
Dashing, knockabout, romantic, violent, chilling and tragic, this buoyant new translation of The Three Musketeers brings Dumas' masterpiece to joyful life.

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