A. J. Liebling, born in Manhattan in 1904, joined the staff of the New Yorker in 1935 and contributed innumerable articles to the magazine throughout his lifetime, on subjects ranging from food to boxing and France to horse racing. As a war correspondent during the Second World War, he reported from France, England and Algeria, and participated in the Normandy landings. In later life he married the writer Jean Stafford, his third wife. He died in 1963.

A. J. Liebling

A. J. Rosen is an author of YA fantasy and is known as @agatharoza on Wattpad.

A. J. Rosen

A. K. Davidson

A. O. Scott has been a film critic at the New York Times since 2000. His writing has appeared in many other publications, including the New York Review of Books, Slate, the New Yorker and the Nation. A finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in criticism in 2010, Scott is currently Distinguished Professor of Film Criticism at Wesleyan University. He lives with his family in Brooklyn, New York. 
 
@aoscott

A. O. Scott

A.S. Byatt (1936-2023) was a novelist, short-story writer and critic of international renown. Her novels include Possession (winner of the Booker Prize 1990), the Frederica Quartet and The Children’s Book, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction. She was appointed CBE in 1990 and DBE in 1999, and was awarded the Erasmus Prize 2016 for her ‘inspiring contribution to life writing’ and the Pak Kyongni Prize 2017. In 2018 she received the Hans Christian Andersen Literature Award.

A. S. Byatt

A. T. Williams won the George Orwell Prize for Political Writing in 2013 for his book A Very British Killing: The Death of Baha Mousa. He lives in Warwickshire.

A. T. Williams

A. W. Chase

Dubbed ‘The new queen of spy fiction’ by the Guardian newspaper, and ‘the real thing’ by the Washington Post, A.C. 'Ava' Glass is the CWA Dagger-shortlisted author of Alias Emma (The Chase), The Traitor and The Trap. The Traitor was a 2023 Richard and Judy Bookclub pick. Alias Emma was a Barnes and Noble book of the month. A former crime reporter and communications consultant, for five years Ava worked closely with spies. Her time in that world fascinated her, and the people she met back then inspire every book she writes.

A.C. Glass

A.E. Housman

Arthur Edward Waite was the designer and co-creator of the now famous Rider Waite Tarot deck. 
 
An American-born British poet and scholarly mystic, his strong interest in all esoteric matters - divination, magic, Kabbalism, alchemy and Freemasony - led to him penning a number of books. These include the Key to the Tarot, The Book of Ceremonial Magic and A New Encyclopedia of Freemasony.

A.E. Waite

A.E. Warren is the author of the Tomorrow's Ancestors series, which consists of Subject Twenty-One, The Hidden Base, The Fourth Species and The Final Rising. 
 
After spending eight years working as a lawyer, she began to write in the evenings and early mornings as a form of escapism from life in a very small cubicle with lots of files. She self-published her first novels in her spare time, which were picked up by Del Rey UK which is the science fiction/fantasy imprint of Penguin Random House. 
 
 She is an avid reader, occasional gamer and fair-weather runner. She lives in the UK with her husband, daughter and hopefully, one day, a wise border terrier named Austen.

A.E. Warren

A.G.D. Maran

A.J. Ayer

A K Benedict writes crime and speculative fiction in a room filled with clowns, mannequins and Doctor Who figures. Her first novel, The Beauty of Murder, was nominated for an eDunnit award and is in development for a major 8-part TV series by Company Pictures. Her second, Jonathan Dark or The Evidence of Ghosts, came out in February 2016. She's written Torchwood audio dramas for Big Finish and her short stories have featured in anthologies including Great British Horror and Best British Short Stories. She lives in St Leonards-on-Sea with her dog, Dame Margaret Rutherford.

A.K.Benedict

A. L. Kennedy has twice been selected as one of Granta’s Best of Young British Novelists and has won a host of other awards – including the Costa Book of the Year for her novel Day. She lives in Essex.

A.L. Kennedy

A.M. Ellis is a speculative fiction author and lover of everything steeped in myth and mystery. Her stories often lean into diverse voices, not only in her identity as a Black woman, but in exploring neurodivergence and mental health. A proud introvert and nostalgic gamer, she lives in Maryland, USA, with her husband and three children. Angelica is also the author of Hunt A Killer, a PERFECT SCORE novel, under the pen name A.M. Ellis, which she wrote as an IP for Scholastic in the US.

A.M. Ellis

A.N. Wilson was born in 1950 and educated at Rugby and New College, Oxford. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, he holds a prominent position in the world of literature and journalism. He is an award-winning biographer and a celebrated novelist, winning prizes for much of his work. He lives in North London.

A.N. Wilson

A.T. Emerald

A.W. Priest

A.B.C. Merriman-Labor was a barrister, writer and munitions worker born in Freetown, Sierra Leone in 1877. His published works include A Series of Lectures on the Negro Race and The Story of the African Slave in a Nutshell. He also edited two editions of the Handbook of Sierra Leone. He arrived in the UK in 1904 to study law. In 1907, he organised a centenary commemoration of the abolition of the slave trade in Westminster Abbey. He later embarked on an 'entertainment-lecture' tour called Life and Scenes in Britain, travelling across thousands of miles of West, South West and Central Africa, which he expanded on to create Britons Through Negro Spectacles.

ABC Merriman-Labor

AJ Cronin

AJ Molloy

Aabria Iyengar is an American actress and author.

Aabria Iyengar

Aaliya Jaleel is a freelance illustrator, designer, and visual development artist, currently majoring in Animation at the University of Texas at Dallas. She is also the illustrator of Under My Hijab and Muslim Girls Rise. You can visit her online at www.aaliyamj.com.

Aaliya Jaleel

Aaron Allston

After more than fifteen years of experience as a clinical psychotherapist, Dr Aaron Balick has taken the amazing insights from psychology and psychotherapy out of the consultation room and made them accessible to the wider world. 
 
He has been an ‘agony uncle’ for many years for both CBBC and BBC Radio 1, as well as on television, including BBC Worldwide, BBC 3 and BBC Learning.

Aaron Balick

Aaron Carroll

Aaron Dignan is the founder of The Ready--a global organizational transformation and coaching practice--that helps companies large and small adopt new forms of self-organization and dynamic teaming. Clients include Johnson &amp; Johnson, Microsoft, Lloyds Bank, Citibank, Boeing, Mailchimp, Airbnb, Dropbox, and charity: water. 
 
He is also the founder of Murmur--a SaaS startup that helps teams scale culture through the magic of working agreements. The Murmur platform will allow every team on the planet to define and share their ways of working. 
 
Dignan is the author of Brave New Work (2019) and Game Frame (2011), co-host of the Brave New Work podcast, and a friend to misfit toys.

Aaron Dignan

Aaron Edwards is a senior lecturer in defence and international affairs at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, specialising in terrorism and counter-insurgency. He is the author and editor of several books, including Defending the Realm: The Politics of Britain’s Small Wars Since 1945, and has lectured all over the world on aspects of national and international security. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

Aaron Edwards

Aaron Robertson is a writer, an editor, and a translator of Italian literature. His translation of Igiaba Scego’s Beyond Babylon was short-listed for the 2020 PEN Translation Prize and the National Translation Award, and in 2021 he received a National Endowment for the Arts grant. His work has appeared in the New York Times, The Nation, Foreign Policy, n+1, The Point, and Literary Hub, among other publications. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Aaron Robertson

PublicationStatus

Brand

Format

AgeRange

Series

Imprint

CategoryLabel

Michael Butt

Marcy Kahan

Nick Warburton

Jeremy Front

Gary Ogin

Seven BBC full-cast romantic comedies about love, longing and life-changing moments 
 
 Written by a host of top radio writers and starring some of Britain's finest actors, these sparkling, beautifully crafted comedy dramas are centred around people with unconscious yearnings. From the serial seducer to the lonely mother's boy, each is looking for love - but will they find it? 
 
 Vongole by Michael Butt: Oxford professor Tristram Swann's favourite pastime is wooing his female students with Petrarch and pasta. But what is he really after? Starring Bill Nighy. 
 
 The Non-Entity by Marcy Kahan: Once a successful Soviet hack, Dimitri hasn't sold a story since the fall of Communism. So why has a British publisher flown out to Moscow to see him? Starring Kenneth Cranham, Eleanor Bron and Sylvestre Le Touzel. 
 
 Toad Squad by Nick Warburton: Bitter at being retired prematurely, Reg embarks on a mission to protect the humble toad. Starring Philip Jackson and Amanda Root. 
 
 The Anniversary Waltz by Jeremy Front: Deli owners Max and Shirley spend their days sniping at one another - but a sudden epiphany makes them realise things have got to change... Starring Prunella Scales, Roger Allam and Rebecca Front. 
 
 Catching Heathcliff by Nick Warburton: Lindsey dreams of someone brooding and passionate - and then Morton walks into her book group... Starring Philip Jackson and Amanda Root. 
 
 Battersea Triangle by Michael Butt: Passive Dougie is trapped in a relationship with his domineering boss, Angela. When he meets the docile India, his problems seem to be over - but are they just beginning? Starring Mark Benton, Christine Kavanagh and Indira Varma. 
 
 The Dangers of Self-Hypnosis by Gary Ogin: Having had no luck with speed-dating, Maurice turns to a self-hypnosis CD to find romance. Exploring his subconscious, he finds the beautiful Rachel... Starring Richard Coyle, Prunella Scales and Sophie Winkleman. 
 
 
 Produced and directed by Peter Kavanagh 
 
 Vongole 
 Tristram - Bill Nighy 
 Minnie - Emma Callander 
 Helen - Miranda Colchester 
 Freddie - Stephen Critchlow 
 Mamma/Judy - Carolyn Jones 
 Written by Michael Butt 
 
 The Non-Entity 
 Dmitri - Kenneth Cranham 
 Annoushka - Eleanor Bron 
 Claire - Sylvestra Le Touzel 
 Robert - Stephen Critchlow 
 Written by Marcy Kahan 
 
 Toad Squad 
 Reg - Philip Jackson 
 Bel - Amanda Root 
 Mr Topping - Jonathan Coy 
 Written by Nick Warburton 
 
 The Anniversary Waltz 
 Shirley - Prunella Scales 
 Max - Roger Allam 
 Roszinka - Rebecca Front 
 Girl - Rosie Fellner 
 Marcy - Liza Sadovy 
 Toastmaster/Old man - Bruce Purchase 
 Written by Jeremy Front 
 
 Catching Heathcliff 
 Graham - Philip Jackson 
 Lindsey - Amanda Root 
 Heathcliff/Morton - Mark Straker 
 Postman - Nick Warburton 
 Written by Nick Warburton 
 
 Battersea Triangle 
 Dougie - Mark Benton 
 India - Indira Varma 
 Angela - Christine Kavanagh 
 Fiona - Emily Rose Smith 
 Written by Michael Butt 
 
 The Dangers of Self-Hypnosis 
 Maurice - Richard Coyle 
 Mother - Prunella Scales 
 Rachel - Sophie Winkleman 
 Abigail - Christine Kavanagh 
 Hypnotist/Judge - Sam Dale 
 Daniel - Mark Straker 
 Written by Gary Ogin 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd 
(p) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Hopes and Desires

Seven BBC full-cast romantic comedies

Various

10 dramas focusing on women's untold stories from history. 
 
This diverse, eclectic collection of plays explores an array of social, political and historical events from a female point of view. In these captivating dramas, we see the world through their eyes, giving us a fresh perspective on a female history that is too often unrecorded, misrepresented or misunderstood. 
 
Featuring a multiplicity of styles and genres, and written by a wide variety of authors, they range from comedy dramas themed around the Bayeux Tapestry and the 1962 Cheltenham Literary Festival, to award-winning, thought-provoking tales of Nigerian teenagers kidnapped by Boko Haram. A contemporary version of the heroines from Greek mythology, Persephone and Demeter; Profumo affair from a female perspective, Britain's last witch (Helen Duncan); a legendary ballerina (Margot Fonteyn); a little sister (Dious, sibling of St Anthony) and a youngest daughter (Judith Shakespeare). 
 
Embroidering the Truth 
Queen Edith - Katy Brand 
Bishop Odo - Charlie Anson 
Other cast, Katy Sobey, Lisa Zahra, Jonny Holden, Rosie Cavaliero, Tracy Wiles. Written by Abigail Youngman. Produced by Mary Ward-Lowery. First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 17 October 2019 
 
Girls 
Tisana - Amaka Okafor 
Ruhab - Faith Alabi 
Haleema - Joan Iyiola 
Written by Theresa Ikoko. Directed by Abigail Gonda. First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 14 July 2017 
 
The Bulbul Was Singing 
Laura - Rebecca Humphries 
Ariman - Shaniaz Hama Ali 
Other Cast: Paul Hickey, Jonny Holden, Saya Zahawi, Catherine Cusack, Shaun Mason, Debbie Korley, Chris Pavlo 
Written by Judy Upton. Directed by Emma Harding. First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 19 August 2019 
 
Seven Pomegranate Seeds 
Performed by Niamh Cusack, Ruth Bradley and Leah McNamara 
Written by Colin Teevan. Produced and directed by Allegra McIlroy. First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 7 January 2020 
 
Festival 
Elizabeth Jane Howard - Melody Grove 
John Moore - Tony Gardner 
Kingsley Amis - Jonathan Forbes 
Other cast: Will Howard, Emma Handy, John Lightbody. Written by Sarah Wooley. Directed by Gaynor Macfarlane. First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 31 July 2018 
 
Well, He Would, Wouldn't He? 
Mandy (younger) - Aimee-Ffion Edwards 
Christine Keeler - Lyndsey Marshal 
'Pops' Murray - Stephen Marzella 
Stephen Ward/Peter Rachman - Ewan Bailey 
Other cast: Adrian Schiller, Alex Dower, Anthony Courier. Written by Charlotte Williams. Directed by Kate McAll. First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 23 February 2013 
 
Tony's Little Sister and the Paradox of Monasticism 
Anthony - Duncan Preston 
Dious - Samantha Spiro 
Satan - Tim McMullan 
Other cast Ben Crowe, Rachel Bavidge. Written by David and Caroline Stafford. Produced by Marc Beeby. First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 6 August 2007 
 
Judith Shakespeare 
Judith Shakespeare - Amanda Root 
William Shakespeare - Michael Pennington 
Henry, Earl of Southampton - Anton Lesser 
Other Cast, Andrew Wincott, Melinda Walker, Thomas Connor, Stephen Critchlow, Ann Beach, Colleen Prendergast, Jillie Meers 
Written by Nan Woodhouse. Directed byTracey Neale. First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 25 April 1996 
 
An Unchoreographed World 
Margot Fonteyn - Sophie Jerrold 
Constant Lambert - Richard McCabe 
Other cast Oliver Millingham, Kate Littlewood 
Chorus - Anne-Marie Piazza, Maria Askew, Ffion Jolly, Ben Ashton &amp; Coen de Groot 
Written by Frances Byrne. Produced and directed by Mark Smalley. First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 22 May 2008 
 
The Last Witch Trial 
Lucy - Indira Varma 
Margo - Lyndsey Marshal 
Other Cast: Joanna Monro, Vineeta Rishi Sam Dale, Michael Shelford, Keely Beresford 
Written by Melissa Murray. Directed by Marc Beeby. First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 4 June 2010 
©2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

HER Story: Women’s Untold Histories

10 BBC Radio full-cast dramas

William Ingram

Richard Davies

Maurice Travers

Barry Campbell

Roald Dahl

Rene Basilico

Elizabeth Morgan

Charles Birkin

Twenty tales of terror and suspense, brought to you by sinister storyteller Vincent Price 
 
Horror legend Vincent Price presents an anthology of eerie, unsettling tales with a devilish twist - some purportedly based on his own adventures, others narrated by him in his own inimitable style. 
 
Listen to his horrifying accounts of an unnerving piscatorial experience Down Under, a violinist with very special hands, a Bonfire Night party when a bullying father disappeared and a secretary's murderous revenge. Here, too, are the spine-chilling stories of a beloved cat with an unusual inheritance, a scientist whose experiments on his own son lead to unforeseen danger and a phoney clairvoyant and her client, who seeks a preview of eternity... 
 
Among the star casts are Garard Green, Peter Cushing, Bill Kerr, Coral Browne, Christopher Bidmead, Adrienne Corri, Betty Huntley-Wright, Freddie Jones, Edward Woodward, Annette Crosbie, Maurice Denham and Hywel Bennett. 
 
Production credits 
Presented by and starring Vincent Price 
Produced by John Dyas 
 
Remains to be Seen 
Dramatised by William Ingram from the story by Jack Ritchie. First broadcast BBC World Service, 1 September 1973 
 
William and Mary 
Dramatised by Barry Campbell from the story by Roald Dahl. First broadcast BBC World Service, 8 September 1973 
 
Cat's Cradle 
Dramatised by Richard Davis from the story 'The Squaw' by Bram Stoker. First broadcast BBC World Service, 15 September 1973 
 
Meeting in Athens 
Dramatised by Maurice Travers from the story 'So Pale, So Cold, So Fair' by Charles Birkin. 
First broadcast BBC World Service, 22 September 1973 
 
The Man Who Hated Scenes 
Dramatised by William Ingram from the story by Robert Arthur. First broadcast BBC World Service, 29 September 1973 
 
Lot 132 
Written and dramatised by Elizabeth Morgan. First broadcast BBC World Service, 6 October 1973 
 
The Waxwork 
Dramatised by Barry Campbell from the story by AM Burrage. First broadcast BBC World Service, 13 October 1973 
 
Fish 
Written and dramatised by Rene Basilico. First broadcast BBC World Service, 20 October 1973 
 
Soul Music 
Written and dramatised by William Ingram. First broadcast BBC World Service, 27 October 1973 
 
Guy Fawkes' Night 
Written and dramatised by Richard Davis. First broadcast BBC World Service, 3 November 1973 
 
Come As You Are 
Written and dramatised by William Ingram. First broadcast BBC World Service, 6 April 1974 
 
The Ninth Removal 
Dramatised by Barry Campbell from the story by R Chetwynd Hayes. First broadcast BBC World Service, 20 April 1974 
 
An Eye for an Eye 
Written by William Ingram. First broadcast BBC World Service, 27 April 1974 
 
Blind Man's Bluff 
Written and dramatised by William Ingram. First broadcast BBC World Service, 4 May 1974 
 
Goody Two Shoes 
Written and dramatised by William Ingram. First broadcast BBC World Service, 30 May 1983 
 
To My Dear, Dear Saladin 
Written by William Ingram. First broadcast BBC World Service, 6 June 1983 
 
The Family Album 
Written by William Ingram. First broadcast BBC World Service, 13 June 1983 
 
Out of the Mouths 
Written by William Ingram. First broadcast BBC World Service, 20 June 1983 
 
Not Wanted on the Voyage 
Written by William Ingram. First broadcast BBC World Service, 27 June 1983 
 
Is There Anybody There? 
Written by William Ingram. Music by Derek Price 
First broadcast BBC World Service, 4 July 1983 
 
©2021 BBC Studios Distributio Ltd (P)2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

The Price of Fear: 20 tales of suspense told by Vincent Price

A BBC Radio 4 vintage horror series

Joan Bakewell

Humphrey Carpenter

Francine Stock

Matthew Parris

Famous fans choose their favourite writers for BBC Radio 4's Great Lives 
 
For 20 years, Great Lives has been a cornerstone of the Radio 4 schedules, presented by Joan Bakewell, Humphrey Carpenter, Francine Stock and Matthew Parris. Each week, a well-known personality is invited to select someone who has inspired them. They then discuss the 'Great Life' with the presenter and a guest expert to decide whether their hero really merits the accolade. 
 
This special collection, celebrating the programme's 20th anniversary, contains the very best episodes featuring authors' lives - from novelists to poets, playwrights to food writers. The eclectic selections include Armando Iannucci on Charles Dickens, Caroline Criado Perez on Jane Austen, and Rich Hall on Tennessee Williams. Two Prime Ministers, John Major and Boris Johnson, discuss the lives of Rudyard Kipling and Samuel Johnson respectively, while MP Rory Stewart champions Sir Walter Scott and Andrew Motion, Poet Laureate, nominates Alfred, Lord Tennyson. 
 
From Fay Weldon on H. G. Wells, to Prue Leith on Elizabeth David, the lives of the guests themselves are revealed to be just as fascinating as those of their chosen candidates for greatness. 
 
Illuminating and insightful, these gripping Great Lives episodes track the highs and lows of some of the most illustrious characters in the world of literature, sifting fact from fiction to show why they achieved so much and how they have inspired and influenced so many. 
 
List of episodes and date of first broadcast on BBC Radio 4: 
 HG Wells 12.10.2001 
 George Eliot 7.6.2002 
 Lord Byron 19.7.2002 
 Charles Dickins 21.11.2003 
 Edith Wharton 14.5.2004 
 George Orwell 12.11.2004 
 Robert Burns 31.12.2004 
 Elizabeth Gaskell 20.5.2005 
 Robert Louis Stevenson 22.4.2005 
 George Sand 8.4.2005 
 Vasily Grossman 28.10.2005 
 Anton Chekhov 17.4.2007 
 George Bernard Shaw 29.5.2007 
 Elizabeth David 25.9.2007 
 Katherine Mansfield 22.1.2008 
 Charles Bukowski 8.4.2008 
 Dr Samuel Johnson 8.9.2009 
 Rudyard Kipling 29.9.2009 
 Alfred, Lord Tennyson 4.8.2009 
 Tennessee Williams 15.12.2009 
 Bertolt Brecht 06.04.2010 
 Michel de Montaigne 21.09.2010 
 Samuel Beckett 21.12.2010 
 DH Lawrence 14.12.2010 
 Lewis Carroll 3.5.2011 
 Simone de Beauvoir 19.04.2011 
 Hans Fallada 6.9.2011 
 William Shakespeare 30.08.2011 
 Sir Walter Scott 14.8.2012 
 John Updike 07.01.2014 
 Elie Wiesel 13.12.2016 
 CS Lewis 03.01.2017 
 Jane Austen 7.5.2019 
 
 
Copyright © 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd 
 
Presented by Matthew Parris, Francine Stock and Humphrey Carpenter 
Produced by Perminder Khatkar, Miles Warde, Jolyon Jenkins, John Byrne, Maggie Ayre, Toby Field, Alasdair Cross, Mary Ward Lowery, Peter Everett, Mark Smalley, Isobel Eaton, Jolyon Jenkins, Christine Hall, Lizz Pearson, Beth O'Dea, Paul Dodgson, Nicola Humphries, Chris Ledgard, Melvin Rickarby, Camellia Sinclair, Eliza Lomas, Beatrice Fenton

Great Writers' Lives

A BBC biography collection

Mary Cooper

Jonathan Tafler

Anna Linstrum

Alistair McGowan

Elizabeth Lewis

Robin Brooks

Lucy Caldwell

Sarah Wooley

Stephen Wakelam

Frances Bingham

David Pownall

Katie Hims

Ian Billings

Sian Ejiwunmi-Le Berre

Judith Adam

18 biographical dramas based on the lives and loves of celebrated writers 
 
These surprising, revealing dramas take a behind-the-scenes look at some of our best-loved authors, mingling fact and fantasy to explore their extraordinary hidden lives. From love affairs, friendships and family relationships to traumas, tragedies and journeys of self-discovery, we glimpse the unwritten worlds that shaped their unforgettable fiction. Among the star casts are Andrew Scott, Toby Jones, Richard Dormer, Glenda Jackson, Bella Ramsey, Julia Davis, Ian McDiarmid, Haydn Gwynne, David Threlfall, Alistair McGowan, Tom Goodman-Hill, Hattie Morahan, Rosie Cavaliero, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Paul Ritter and Lia Williams 
 
Jane and Tom - Writing to her sister, Jane Austen describes her love for Tom Lefroy - a love that would lead to Pride and Prejudice. 
 
When Fanny Met Germaine - A delightful romp through the passionate, scandalous friendship between two 18th Century writers: Fanny Burney and Mme de Stael. 
 
Comrade Ackland - Dorset, 1936. Newly returned from an illicit trip to Civil War Spain, Sylvia Townsend Warner and her lover Valentine Ackland have an unexpected visitor.... 
 
Tongues of Fire - 1913. When a Nobel laureate visits Dublin's Abbey Theatre, fireworks erupt between WB Yeats and Sean O'Casey. 
 
A Year at the Races - Approaching the end of his career, Groucho Marx meets a wisecracking fan determined to teach him new comedy tricks. 
 
Spike and the Elfin Oak- A comic fantasy inspired by Spike Milligan's madcap attempts in the mid-1960s to preserve a curious sculpture in Kensington Gardens. 
 
Everybody's Got Conditions - Casting Bette Davis in his play The Night of the Iguana proves the biggest mistake in Tennessee Williams' career... 
 
I Believe I Have Genius- Humble and obscure, young Charlotte Brontë travels to Brussels to study at a girls' school. 
 
Marian and George - Marian Evans (aka George Eliot) must choose between her adored brother and the love of her life... 
 
Lying Low - An intriguing drama imagining what happened to Samuel Beckett during his mysterious three weeks in Folkestone in 1961. 
 
A Terrible Beauty - WB Yeats travels to France to propose to beautiful Maud Gonne, soon after her husband's execution in the 1916 Easter Rising. 
 
The Watcher on the Wall - Dramatised from his letters, this is the story of Louis MacNeice's transatlantic love affair and the poetry it inspired. 
 
Edith Sitwell in Scarborough - Returning to her birthplace, Edith Sitwell sets out to wreak revenge. 
 
Mrs Tolstoy - A five-part drama charting the tempestuous marriage between Leo and Sofya Tolstoy. 
 
The 'B' Word - The opening night of George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion causes a scandal and sparks a passionate love/hate triangle... 
 
The Rules of Palship - The young Noël Coward demanded fierce loyalty from his friends - but did he live up to his own high standards? 
 
The Lost Road - A playful tribute to the long friendship between CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien and how it influenced their respective masterpieces. 
 
Luxembourg Gardens - Re-imagined from Katherine Mansfield's stories, letters and journals, this Mansfieldesque play explores her last day in Paris, where she is dying of consumption aged 34. 
 
Copyright © 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Behind the Author's Desk: Dramas of Famous Writers' Real Lives

A BBC Radio 4 drama collection

Oscar Wilde

Arthur Conan Doyle

Virginia Woolf

A treasure chest of timeless short stories by some of the world's greatest authors 
 
Suspense and horror 
1 The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire - Arthur Conan Doyle 
2 The Signalman - Charles Dickens 
3 Lost Hearts - MR James 
4 The Sealed Room - Arthur Conan Doyle. 
5 Mrs Badgery - Wilkie Collins 
6 Wailing Well - MR James 
7 The Open Window - Saki 
8 How it happened - Arthur Conan Doyle 
9 The Tell-Tale Heart - Edgar Allan Poe 
10 The Cone - HG Wells 
11 A Haunted House - Virginia Woolf 
12 Rats - MR James 
13 The Oval Portrait - Edgar Allan Poe 
14 Tarquin of Cheapside - F. Scott Fitzgerald 
15 One Crowded Hour - Arthur Conan Doyle 
16 The Mezzotint - MR James 
17 The Masque of the Red Death - Edgar Allan Poe 
 
Love 
18 The Kiss - Kate Chopin 
19 Eleonora - Edgar Allan Poe 
20 About Love - Anton Chekhov 
21 The Lovers - Hans Christian Anderson 
22 Love - Guy De Maupassant 
23 The Sphinx Without a Secret - Oscar Wilde 
24 A Wedding Gift - Guy De Maupassant 
25 Kew Gardens - Virginia Woolf 
26 The District Doctor - Ivan Turgenev 
27 Happiness - Guy De Maupassant 
28 A Blunder - Anton Chekhov 
29 The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky - Stephen Crane 
30 In a Far-Off World - Olive Schreiner 
31 The Cook's Wedding - Anton Chekhov 
32 The Recruit - Honore de Balzac 
33 The Nightingale and the Rose - Oscar Wilde 
34 Pyramus and Thisbe - Ovid 
35 Aunt Hetty on Matrimony - Fanny Fern 
36 A Country Cottage - Anton Chekhov 
37 Marriage a la Mode - Katherine Mansfield 
38 The Statue of Limitations - Ernest Dowson 
39 The Dilettante - Edith Wharton 
 
Humorous 
40 Tobermory - Saki 
41The Mesmeric Mountain - Stephen Crane 
42 The Children's Joke - Louisa May Alcott 
43 At The Siren - Anton Chekhov 
44 The Garden Party - Katherine Mansfield 
45 The Cask of Amontillado - Edgar Allan Poe 
46 The New Dress - Virginia Woolf 
47 How I Built Myself A House - Thomas Hardy 
48 The Model Millionaire - Oscar Wilde 
49 A Pair of Silk Stockings - Kate Chopin 
50 At The Barbers - Anton Chekhov 
51 A Respectable Woman - Kate Chopin 
 
Folk &amp; Fable 
52 The Happy Prince - Oscar Wilde. 
53 The Elves and the Shoemaker - The Brothers Grimm 
54 The Emperor's New Clothes -Hans Christian Andersen 
55 The Tongue Cut Sparrow - Yei Theodora Ozaki 
56 Finn and the Scottish Giant - Harold F. Read 
57 The Postmaster - Rabindranath Tagore 
58 The Toys of Peace - Saki 
59 The Selfish Giant - Oscar Wilde 
60 The Flower Gatherer - Edward Thomas 
61 Araby - James Joyce 
62 The Interlopers - Saki 
63 Tom Thumb - The Brothers Grimm 
64 The Kabuliwalah - Rabindranath Tagore 
65 The Monkey's Paws - WW Jacobs 
 
Christmas 
66 The Little Match Girl - Hans Christian Andersen 
67 Papa Panov's Special Christmas - Leo Tolstoy 
68 Christmas Storms and Sunshine - Elizabeth Gaskell. 
69 The Gift of the Magi - O'Henry 
70 At Christmas Time - Anton Chekhov 
71 A Dill Pickle - Katherine Mansfield 
 
Classic Tales 
72 The Yellow Wallpaper - Charlotte Perkins Gilman 
73 The Fall of Lord Barrymore - Arthur Conan Doyle 
74 The Necklace - Guy De Maupassant 
75 Holiday Group - EM Delafield 
76 Three Questions - Leo Tolstoy 
77 The Cop and the Anthem - O'Henry 
78 The Fly - Katherine Mansfield 
79 The Christening - DH Lawrence 
80 After the Race - James Joyce 
81 The String Quartet - Virginia Woolf 
82 Two Friends - Guy De Maupassant 
83 An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge - Ambrose Bierce. 
84 A Gentleman Friend - Anthon Chekhov 
85 Ma'ame Pelagie - Kate Chopin 
86 Second Best - DH Lawrence 
87 El Verdugo - Honore de Balzac 
88 The Story of an Hour - Kate Chopin 
89 The Man of No Account - Bret Hart 
90 The Piece of String - Guy De Maupassant 
©2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

BBC Classics: Ultimate Story Collection

90 unmissable tales

Robert Barr

Edgar Allan Poe

Julius Chambers

R. Austin Freeman

Arthur B Reeve

Matthias McDonnel Bodkin

Jacques Futrelle

Arthur Morrison

Ernest Bramah

Louisa Pirkis

Anna Katherine Green

The complete collection of all 16 episodes from this gripping BBC Radio crime series 
 
Inspector Lestrade of Scotland Yard was made to look a fool in the Sherlock Holmes stories. Now he gets his own back, introducing sixteen tales of detectives whose abilities rival that of the great Sherlock Holmes. 
 
Starring James Fleet (Series 1, 3 and 4) and Tim Piggott-Smith (Series 2) as Lestrade, with casts featuring Andrew Scott, Paul Rhys, Anton Lesser, Honeysuckle Weeks, Rupert Vansittart, John Sessions, Marcia Warren and Tim McInnerny. 
 
Dramatised for radio by Chris Harrald, these stories are written by masters of the crime and thriller genre, all contemporaries of Arthur Conan Doyle. 
 
They include: 
 The Murders on the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allan Poe 
The Problem of Cell 13 by Jacques Futrelle 
Murder By Proxy by Matthias McDonnel Bodkin 
The Mystery of Redstone Manor by Catherine Louisa Pirkis 
The Problem of the Superfluous Finger by Jacques Futrelle 
The Clue of the Silver Spoons by Robert Barr 
The Intangible Clue by Anna Katharine Green 
The Game Played in the Dark by Ernest Bramah 
The Kinght's Cross Signal Problem by Ernest Bramah 
A Snapshot by Matthias McDonnel Bodkin 
Seven, Seven, Seven - City by Julius Chambers 
The Moabite Cipher - by R Austin Freeman 
The Clairvoyants - by Arthur B Reeve 
The Stanway Cameo Mystery - Arthur Morrison 
The Secret of Dunstan's Tower - Ernest Bramah 
The Mystery of the Scarlet Thread - Jacques Futrelle 
 
Directed by Sasha Yevtushenko (Series 1) and Liz Webb (Series 2, 3, 4) 
 
 
(c) BBC Studios Distribution Ltd 2021 
(p) BBC Studios Distribution Ltd 2021

The Rivals: Tales of Sherlock Holmes’ rival detectives

16 BBC Radio full-cast dramas

Alan Bennett

A unique collection of eight Alan Bennett stories, read by the author. Alan Bennett is one of Britain's best-loved authors and an acclaimed storyteller. This exclusive compilation includes eight of his best tales, collected together for the first time. 
 
Here is his celebrated, iconic memoir The Lady in the Van; as well as two fascinating autobiographical accounts of his family and childhood. Uncle Clarence sees Bennett visiting the grave of a relative who died in Flanders in 1917; while in Hymn he joins forces with composer George Fenton and the Medici String Quartet to explore his musical memories. 
 
Bennett's incisive, acute observations shine through in his fiction too, with wry, moving and darkly humorous meditations on death (Father! Father! Burning Bright and The Laying On of Hands), sex (The Shielding of Mrs Forbes) and middle-age ennui (The Clothes They Stood Up In). His gift for affectionate satire reaches its pinnacle in The Uncommon Reader, a delightful tale in which the Queen discovers the pleasures of literature. 
 
Poignant, compassionate, wise and witty, the stories included are The Lady in the Van, Uncle Clarence, The Clothes They Stood Up In, Father! Father! Burning Bright, Hymn, The Laying On of Hands, The Uncommon Reader and The Shielding of Mrs Forbes. Duration: 13 hours approx.

Alan Bennett: Stories

Read by Alan Bennett

Mark Jones

A unique collection of historic recordings covering the events of 1916, from the final evacuation of Gallipoli to the aftermath of the Somme. These fascinating and often poignant first-hand accounts describe the humiliating retreat by Allied forces from Gallipoli, starvation during the Siege of Kut-al-Amara in Mesopotamia, the Easter Rising - viewed from both sides of the Irish divide - and the costly battles of Jutland and the Somme. At Jutland, the only full-scale fleet-to-fleet encounter of the war, 6,000 sailors died. Survivors are haunted by memories of their drowning comrades but it is the Somme which arouses the strongest feelings. Soldiers speak bitterly of the carnage and needless sacrifices as men were cut down ‘like sickled grain’. With a final toll of over 600,000 Allied casualties and no decisive breakthrough, the battle marked the point at which hope began to fade. Among the reminiscences, conscientious objectors defend their beliefs, the poets Edmund Blunden and Robert Graves offer their own distinctive observations on life in the trenches and a fusilier on the Western Front recalls meeting his new battalion commander, Lt-Col Winston Churchill. Finally, David Lloyd George, looking back on 1916, remembers a ‘dark and desperate’ time for the country.Duration: 2 hours approx.

First World War: 1916

Voices from the BBC Archive

The complete audio collection of Alan Bennett’s celebrated monologues, published together for the first time and performed by some of Britain’s best actors 
 
The Talking Heads monologues are widely regarded as one of Alan Bennett’s finest dramatic achievements. First broadcast on BBC TV and BBC Radio 4 in the 1980s and 1990s, they won a host of awards and huge popular acclaim, and remain among his most admired works today.This collection includes all twelve Talking Heads, plus the precursor of that series, A Woman of No Importance. Beautifully crafted and full of compassion and wry observation, each tale is ripe with the quirky, insightful detail that has become Bennett's trademark. The monologues are:A Woman of No Importance (Patricia Routledge); A Chip in the Sugar (Alan Bennett); A Lady of Letters (Patricia Routledge); Bed Among the Lentils (Anna Massey); Soldiering On (Stephanie Cole); Her Big Chance (Julie Walters); A Cream Cracker Under the Settee (ThoraHird); Miss Fozzard Finds Her Feet (Patricia Routledge); The Hand of God (Eileen Atkins); Playing Sandwiches (David Haig); The Outside Dog (Julie Walters); Nights in the Gardens of Spain (Penelope Wilton) and Waiting for the Telegram (Thora Hird). 
 
Intensely moving, deeply engrossing and highly entertaining, these spellbinding soliloquies are essential listening.

The Complete Talking Heads

The classic BBC Radio 4 monologues plus A Woman of No Importance

Francis Durbridge

For thirty years the fictional crime novelist and detective Paul Temple, together with his Fleet Street journalist wife Steve, solved case after case in one of BBC Radio's most popular series. They inhabited a sophisticated world of chilled cocktails and fast cars, a world where Sir Graham Forbes, of Scotland Yard, usually needed Paul's help with his latest tricky case.   Flying home from a lecture tour of America, Paul Temple encounters Mike Langdon who is seeking to persuade his employer's spoilt daughter Julie to give up her boyfriend, pop-singer Tony Wyman.   Meeting Paul at the airport, Steve is drugged and kidnapped. She is released without harm - but mysteriously in possession of a coat, bearing the label 'Margo'.   As Mike seeks Paul's help, the Temples enter into a dangerous web of lies and murder.

Paul Temple And The Margo Mystery

'I tend to think of myself as a man of few words, but looking at this collection it seems to have been gab gab gab for the last thirty years'.   Admittedly not all the words are his own - but even the work of other writers can be transformed by Alan Bennett.   This unique anthology of Bennett's BBC radio and television work features extracts from his diaries and readings, as well as tributes to friends Russell Harty and Peter Cook.   He recollects his early memories of Leeds, reads his favourite children's stories (most of which he only discovered as an adult) and reveals his first and only true comedy performance. He talks about the business of being a writer and muses on language, television, the theatre and his abiding interest in art and architecture.   With an introduction and specially recorded links by Alan Bennett, this collection is essential listening for fans of one of Britain's best-loved authors and storytellers.

At The BBC

From 1938 to 1969 the fictional crime novelist and detective Paul Temple, together with his Fleet Street journalist wife Steve, solved case after case in one of BBC radio's most popular series. They inhabited a sophisticated world of chilled cocktails and fast cars, where the women were chic and the men wore cravats - a world where Sir Graham Forbes, of Scotland Yard, usually needed Paul's help with his latest tricky case. In this adventure, Paul Temple is called in to investigate the disappearance of the Desmond baby, and the 'Sitter-In' Miss Millicent. When they visit Mary Desmond she is, understandably, very upset - it's already been a week since her eighteenth-month-old daughter vanished. The only clue is a telephone message left in Miss Millicent's handwriting: 'A Mr Vandyke telephoned, he left no message'. However, no-one knows who this mysterious Mr Vandyke is... This audio edition also includes the BBC Radio 4 programme The Radio Detectives: 'Send for Paul Temple', an affectionate look at the indomitable husband and wife team, Paul and Steve Temple. It features an exclusive interview with the definitive Paul Temple, Peter Coke, and rediscovered vintage recordings.

Paul Temple And The Vandyke Affair

R.D Wingfield

A collection of RD Wingfield’s finest thrillers from the Sixties, Seventies and Eighties 
 
Best known for his ‘Inspector Jack Frost’ series of novels, RD Wingfield also penned a string of gripping thrillers for BBC Radio. Initially thought lost, many of the 14 dramas in this collection were recovered and restored by Keith Wickham and the Radio Circle, and thanks to their careful preservation, are now available to enjoy once more. 
 
Credit Risk is a robbery comedy caper about a man with a cunning plan to defraud a credit card company of a quarter of a million pounds. Cleft Stick sees the police investigating an attack on a woman, and the dramatic way she chose to defend herself. In The Last Escape, a mugging ends in murder, and Superintendent Dawson must find the perpetrator – a patient who has escaped from a private nursing home after 35 years. And in The Alternative Plan, a frightened ex-Army captain and a dying ex-Nazi hold the key to preventing a political assassination. 
 
In A Second Class Risk, when a man dies in a car crash the same week he insures his life for £50,000, the widow’s claim must be investigated. A Test for Destruction finds a Security Supervisor at the Department of Scientific Warfare facing an agonising crisis when his son’s safety is at stake. Our West Ladyton Branch centres around a bank manager recovering from a nervous breakdown, whose new assignment in a sleepy Devon town is not at all what he expected. In Letter of the Law, Detective Inspector Nash wants nothing to do with his newly arrved (and newly demoted) Sergeant, but with seven unsolved robberies on his plate, Nash needs all the help he can get…Cover Up features another demoted ex-Inspector, kicked out of the Division but brought back to investigate a bank raid. 
 
Post Mortem Shock concerns a man who appears to have been shot dead by an intruder – but the post mortem reveals he died of a heart attack. Who, or what, really killed him? In Sins of Commission, made redundant after 19 years’ faithful service with a firm?of?diamond merchants, Mr Fletcher is willing to take on almost any job – as long as it’s legal. It’s double or quits when £15,000 goes missing from a safe in Double Entry, and in Adequate Reasons, when a child is abducted, there’s a complex interplay between police, parents and kidnapper. Finally, in Moveable Assets, a crafty crook comes up with an ingenious scheme to rob a supposedly burglar-proof bank – but will it work, and will he get away with it? 
 
With ensemble casts including John Rowe, Diana Olsson, Roger Delgado, Robert Lang, Frederick Treves, Jill Bennett and Patricia Gallimore, these clever, artfully plotted dramas are full of twists, turns and surprises. 
 
With warm thanks to Keith Wickham and the Radio Circle 
 
Cast and credits 
Written by RD Wingfield 
 
Contents 
 
Credit Risk 
Cleft Stick 
The Last Escape 
The Alternative Plan 
A Second-Class Risk 
A Test to Destruction 
Our West Ladyton Branch 
Letter of the Law 
Cover Up 
Post Mortem Shock 
Sins of Commission 
Double Entry 
Adequate Reasons 
Moveable Assets 
 
© 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

R.D Wingfield: Post-Mortem Shock and other thrillers

14 Full-Cast BBC Radio Dramas

Eoin McNamee

A collection of suspenseful dramas from award-winning Northern Irish writer Eoin McNameeEoin McNamee is the author of 19 novels, two trilogies for young adults and three thrillers written under the pseudonym John Creed, one of which won him the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award. He has also written several screenplays and TV scripts, as well as numerous plays for Radio 4. Included here are eight of his acclaimed thrillers, exploring hard-hitting issues such as human trafficking, racism and nationalism through compelling stories of murder, revenge and intrigue. Among the star casts are Adrian Dunbar, Niamh McGrady, Denise Gough, Frances Tomelty, Bronagh Gallagher, Amybeth McNulty, David Caves and Claire Dunne.The Haunted Road sees police camera operator Leslie Burden assisting in the hunt for a young Polish woman – but his interest in this missing persons case soon spirals into obsession. In the Imison Award-winning The Road Wife, a truck driver gives a lift to a female Asian hitchhiker, but gets more than he bargained for when his truck is stopped by immigration officers. Intends to Take Action, co-written by Jimmie Potter and Eoin McNamee, revolves around a Belfast man who is forced to uproot his family for their protection, following a police warning that he has been targeted by a paramilitary organisation. Belfast is also the setting for No Trampy Immigrants, a shocking tale of rioting and racist violence inspired by events which took place in the city in the summer of 2009.North of Riga is a contemporary fairytale of magic and myth set in a Northern Irish fishing port, where a lonely 13-year-old girl befriends a mysterious hairdresser whom the locals believe to be a Latvian witch. In The Comets, 11-year-old Kirstie goes missing shortly after her mother’s death – but what does a story about an old and fragile pair of wings have to do with her disappearance? The Lights centres on a retired policewoman diagnosed with MS, who finds herself in the midst of a migrant trafficking ring – and the gangmaster is someone a little too close to home. And in Swans, it’s a race against time to locate a young child being smuggled through Dublin airport. But is it an inside job?Cast and creditsWritten by Eoin McNameeContentsThe Haunted RoadThe Road WifeIntends to Take ActionNo Trampy ImmigrantsNorth of RigaThe CometsThe LightsSwans© 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

The Haunted Road & more

Eight Full-Cast BBC Crime & Mystery Dramas

Mary Shelley

Jules Verne

Samuel Butler

H. G. Wells

John Wyndham

This collection presents a series of full-cast audio adaptations of seminal science fiction works, each offering a unique exploration of the genre's foundational themes. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein delves into the ethical implications of scientific advancement and the human desire for creation, setting the stage for modern science fiction. Jules Verne's Journey to the Centre of the Earth invites listeners on a thrilling expedition beneath the Earth's surface, blending adventure with scientific curiosity. Samuel Butler's Erewhon provides a satirical lens on societal norms, challenging perceptions of morality and progress through its imaginative narrative. 
Continuing the exploration of science fiction's rich tapestry, H.G. Wells The War of the Worlds immerses audiences in a gripping tale of alien invasion, highlighting human resilience in the face of otherworldly threats. Arthur Conan Doyle's The Disintegration Machine examines the ethical dilemmas posed by technological innovation, while John Wyndham's The Midwich Cuckoos presents a chilling narrative of alien influence disrupting the tranquility of rural life. Together, these adaptations underscore the enduring power of science fiction to provoke thought and captivate audiences, making this collection a must-listen for both enthusiasts and newcomers to the genre.

Classic Science Fiction: A BBC Radio Drama Collection

Six Full-Cast Dramatisations

A Private Thriller

A series of children's modern classic novels by renowned 20th century children's writers. All the titles in this series have the A Puffin Book logo, contemporary-style covers, and child-friendly endnotes.

A Puffin Book

A Ripley Novel

A Slice of the Moon

A Victorian Mystery

A Walk in...

A Women’s Murder Club Thriller

A chef Paul Delamare Mystery

Aberrations

Across the Universe

Actiphons

Adelia Aguilar

Adrian Mole

Adventures in Time

Aftermath

Against War

Age of X

Agent 21

Agent Z

Detective Aidan Waits is a troubled junior detective haunted by his past. Facing an uncertain future, and disconnected from his history, DC Waits and his partner, Detective Inspector Peter 'Sutty' Sutcliffe work on Manchester's streets to uncover the city's worst criminals among the grime of the underworld.

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