Michael Symmons Roberts’s fourth book of poetry, Corpus, was the winner of the 2004 Whitbread Poetry Award, and was shortlisted for the T. S. Eliot Prize, the Forward Prize, and the Griffin International Prize. His sixth collection, Drysalter, was the winner of both the Forward Prize and the Costa Poetry Prize in 2013. He collaborated with Paul Farley on Edgelands (Cape/Vintage) and will do so again in The Deaths of the Poets (Cape, 2017). He has also worked many times with the composer James MacMillan. He has published two novels, and is Professor of Poetry at Manchester Metropolitan University.

Michael Symmons Roberts

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Charles Dickens

Tom Baker reads Charles Dickens' timeless seasonal story. 
 
Charles Dickens' story of solitary miser Ebenezer Scrooge, who is taught the true meaning of Christmas by the three ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future, has become one of the timeless classics of English literature. First published in 1843, it introduces us not only to Scrooge himself, but also to the memorable characters of underpaid desk clerk Bob Cratchit and his poor family, the poorest amongst whom is the ailing and crippled Tiny Tim. 
 
In this captivating recording, Tom Baker delivers a tour-de-force performance as he narrates the story. The listener joins Scrooge on Christmas Eve, witnesses the visitation of Marley's ghost, and is given a glimpse of the many homes and lives which Scrooge has touched in his wretched life to date. 
 
With atmospheric sound design, this ultimately uplifting tale is a festive delight to be treasured and listened to again and again. 
 
Duration: 3 hours approx

A Christmas Carol

A BBC Radio Reading

Jeremy Summerly

Jeremy Summerly tells the story of the Christmas Carol in England in these illuminating and delightful programmes. 
 
The Christmas carol is as popular now as it was when singers celebrated the birth of Edward III in 1312. But the journey it has taken is unique in music history. Here Jeremy Summerly follows that journey from medieval times to the present day. It's a story that sees the carol veer between the sacred and secular, in a tradition that has always had one foot in the pub and another in the church. 
 
The carol is an expression of seasonal joy in the coldest, hardest time of the year. However inefficient the heating system may be, the carol still generates warmth and positive nostalgia. Many favourite carols were actually written for children to sing, including Once in Royal David's City. It famously leads off the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, a service broadcast by the BBC from King’s College, Cambridge since the 1920s, commanding a worldwide audience of several million. But has it left an imbalance in the appreciation of our caroling tradition? And why do carols remain popular and familiar to so many? 
 
Illustrated with examples of carols obscure and familiar through the ages, and taking in numerous locations around Britain along the way, this is a history of the carol to bring comfort and joy.

A Cause for Caroling

A celebration of the Christmas carol in Britain

Sir David Jason reads Charles Dickens' magical, much-loved Christmas story. Ebenezer Scrooge is a mean, unpleasant man who dislikes people generally and Christmas especially. But one Christmas Eve, he has a terrifying experience: He sees the ghost of his one-time business partner, Jacob Marley, who is bound in chains and doomed to wander the Earth because of the sins of his past life. Marley warns Scrooge that he is headed for the same dreadful fate: but there is one possible means of escape. 
Soon, he will be visited by three more spirits: the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come. Can these phantoms persuade Scrooge to change his ways?

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

Here's Dicken's Christmas classic of Ebenezer Scrooge and his encounter with the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future. Originally published in 1843,A Christmas Carol has continued to be one of the most popular and enduring Christmas stories of all time. 
Click here to see all the titles in our Charles Dickens collection. 
Public Domain (P)2008 BBC Audiobooks Ltd

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