Adam Henson presents Countryfile, often from his 650-hectare farm in the Cotswolds. Having studied Agriculture at college, Adam took over Bemborough Farm from his father, Joe. The farm now grows wheat, spring barley and oilseed rape, runs a flock of 400 commercial ewes and has the UK's leading collection of rare breeds, many of which are in demand for film sets and advertisements. Cotswold Farm Park (www.cotswoldfarmpark.co.uk) offers a total countryside experience for all the family, welcoming more than 100,000 visitors each year. 
 
Adam presented Lambing Live with Kate Humble, writes for Countryfile magazine and has appeared on Radio 4's On Your Farm and Farming Today. He is the author of three previous books, Adam’s Farm: My Life on the Land, the Sunday Times bestseller, Like Farmer, Like Son and A Farmer and His Dog.

Adam Henson

Adam Henson is perhaps the best-known farmer in the UK, presenting on BBC's Countryfile to millions of viewers each Sunday evening. He's also appeared on Lambing Live, Secret Britain, Coast and Inside Out. Adam also runs the award-winning Cotswold Farm Park in Gloucestershire, which welcomes family visitors all year round and is home to many rare breeds. He has a monthly column in Countryfile magazine, as well as the Cotswold Life magazine. He has written several books including the Sunday Times bestseller Like Farmer, Like Son. This is his first children's book and it is the perfect introduction to the farm.

Adam Higginbotham writes for The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, Wired, GQ, Businessweek, Smithsonian, Men’s Journal, and The Atavist. He began his career in magazines and newspapers in London, where he was the editor-­in-chief of The Face and a contributing editor at The Sunday Telegraph. The author of Midnight in Chernobyl, he lives in New York City.

Adam Higginbotham

Adam Hills is an internationally recognised comedian and host of award-winning Channel 4 show The Last Leg. His collection of stories from a life in comedy, Best Foot Forward, was a Times bestseller.

Adam Hills

Adam Howling

Adam J. Kurtz

Adam Jacot de Boinod

ADAM JOHNSON won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2013 for his second novel, the New York Times bestseller The Orphan Master’s Son (‘Excavates the very meaning of life’ New York Times). His short story 'Nirvana' won the prestigious Sunday Times/EFG Short Story Award. He is the author of acclaimed story collections, Fortune Smiles and Emporium and the novel Parasites Like Us. He teaches creative writing at Stanford University and lives with his family in San Francisco.

Adam Johnson

Adam Kay is a former doctor who has written five million books and sold seven copies. No, hang on – he’s written seven books and sold five million copies. His debut book, This is Going to Hurt, is a literary sensation: a Sunday Times number one bestseller for over a year, winning a record-breaking four National Book Awards and selling over 3 million copies. Kay adapted This is Going to Hurt as a BAFTA-winning comedy-drama series for the BBC. Adam Kay’s children’s books have been translated into 32 languages and sold over 1 million copies, making him one of the UK’s bestselling children’s authors. Kay’s Anatomy became the fastest-selling children’s general non-fiction hardback of the decade. His first picture book, Amy Gets Eaten, was published in 2023, and his first children’s novel, Dexter Procter the Ten-Year-Old Doctor, was published in September 2024.

Adam Kay

Adam studied illustration and animation, and received a BA followed by an MA from the Edinburgh College of Art. As a student he won a competition to create a short film for MOMI and Channel 4, and once his career producing animated commercials was under way, he became an illustrator as well. He has regular columns in the UK and the US.

Adam Larkum

Adam Lashinsky

Adam Macqueen

Adam Mars-Jones

Adam O'Riordan was born in Manchester in 1982, where he currently lives. In 2008 he became the youngest Poet-in-Residence at The Wordsworth Trust, the Centre for British Romanticism. His first collection In the Flesh (2010) win a Somerset Maugham Award. He is the Academic Director of the Writing School at Manchester Metropolitan University.

Adam O'Riordan

Adam Phillips, formerly Principal Child Psychotherapist at Charing Cross Hospital, London, is a practising psychoanalyst and a visiting professor in the English department at the University of York. He is the author of numerous works of psychoanalysis and literary criticism, including most recently On Giving Up, On Wanting to Change, Attention Seeking, In Writing, Unforbidden Pleasures and Missing Out. He is General Editor of the Penguin Modern Classics Freud translations, and a Fellow of The Royal Society of Literature.

Adam Phillips

Adam Rackley

Adam Richardson is the UK's top trending health and fitness coach with a rapidly growing audience across both TikTok and Instagram. Adam is passionate about removing barriers to exercise and movement, a philosophy that is key to his work as a Personal Trainer in which he strives to help his clients feel more confident, as well as more fit and healthy.

Adam Richardson

Adam Roberts is the author of The Amateur Gourmet and Secrets of the Best Chefs, and coauthor of Give My Swiss Chards to Broadway. He started his food blog, The Amateur Gourmet, in 2004 and currently writes The Amateur Gourmet Newsletter on Substack. Roberts has also written for The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times, and for film and television. He lives in Brooklyn with his husband and their dog, Winston. Food Person is his first novel.

Adam Roberts

Adam Roberts is acknowledged as the senior scholar of international relations in the UK. He was Montague Burton Professor of International Relations at Oxford University 1986-2007, and President of the British Academy 2009-13 - the head of humanities in Britain. He was on the Council of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, London (2002-08), a member of the UK Defence Academy Advisory Board (2003-15) and is now on the Board of Advisers of the Lieber Institute for Law and Land Warfare at the United States Military Academy, West Point.

Adam Robinson is based in the Middle East and is a regular contributor to newspapers in the Arab world and also to the British media. He is the author of numerous books on the region, including Bin Laden: Behind the Mask of the Terrorist.

Adam Robinson

Adam Ross

Adam Rutherford is an award-winning writer, broadcaster, and geneticist at University College London. His books include A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived, The Book of Humans, and the Sunday Times bestseller How to Argue with a Racist. He has written and presented numerous documentaries for BBC radio and television, including Inside Science and The Cell. Adam has also worked as a science advisor on many films, including the Oscar-winning Ex Machina (2015) and Annihilation (2018).

Adam Rutherford

Adam Smith

Adam Smyth runs the 39 Step Press, an experiment in printing, from a cold barn in Oxfordshire. He is also Professor of English Literature and the History of the Book at Balliol College, University of Oxford.

Adam Smyth

Adam Sweeting

Adam Tandy

Adam Thirlwell was born in London in 1978. The author of three previous novels, his work has been translated into thirty languages. His essays appear in the New York Review of Books and the London Review of Books, and he is an advisory editor of the Paris Review. His awards include a Somerset Maugham Award and the E. M. Forster Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters; in 2018 he was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. He has twice been selected by Granta as one of their Best of Young British Novelists.

Adam Thirlwell

Adam Thorpe was born in Paris in 1956. His first novel, Ulverton, appeared in 1992 and he has published two books of stories and ten further novels, most recently Missing Fay (2017), and six poetry collections. 
 
 
www.adamthorpe.net

Adam Thorpe

Adam Tooze is the author of the highly praised Crashed, The Deluge and The Wages of Destruction, all published by Allen Lane. He has been the recipient of the Wolfson Prize for History, the Longman-History Today Book of the Year Prize and the Lionel Gelber Prize. Tooze has taught at Cambridge and Yale and is now Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Professor of History at Columbia University.

Adam Tooze

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Anton Chekhov

BBC radio productions of some of Anton Chekhov's finest plays 
 
A master of Russian realism, Anton Chekhov is renowned for his meticulously observed plays and short stories exploring the human condition, in all its joys and sorrows. Included here are six of his best-known dramas, as well as Michael Frayn's adaptation of Wild Honey, drawn from an early, untitled Chekhov play; and one documentary exploring Chekhov's life and work. 
 
Wild Honey - The acclaimed radio version of Michael Frayn's adaptation and Olivier Award-winning comedy, in which village teacher Platonov's youthful ambitions are rekindled when the seductive Sofya arrives. Ian McKellen stars as Platonov 
 
The Seagull- Recorded on location in Russia, this much-praised version of Chekhov's classic set on a lakeside dacha features a star cast including Diana Quick, Alex Jennings, Robert Glenister and Helena Bonham-Carter. 
 
Ivanov - 19th Century landowner Ivanov is in debt and depressed - can the love of a beautiful young woman rejuvenate him? Alec McCowan, Maurice Denham, Maxine Audley and Judi Dench star in this vintage production, adapted by John Gielgud. 
 
The Cherry Orchard- Returning home from Paris, Madame Ranyevskaya and her daughter Anya discover that the family estate must be sold to cover their debts. Can they save their beloved cherry orchard? Starring Sinéad Cusack, Anna Massey, Patricia Routledge and Andrew Sachs. 
 
Three Sisters - Stuck in provincial Russia, Olga, Masha and Irina dream of one day returning to Moscow. But life keeps getting in the way... Hattie Morahan, Scarlett Alice Johnson and Flora Spencer-Longhurst star in Chekhov's poignant meditation on love and longing. 
 
Uncle Vanya - Life on a rural Russian estate is thrown into turmoil by the visit of the ailing Professor Serebryakov and his beautiful young wife Yelena. Anton Lesser stars as Serebryakov, with Lyndsey Marshal as Yelena and Neil Dudgeon as Vanya. 
 
Great Lives - Matthew Parris, William Boyd and Chekhov biographer Donald Rayfield consider the Russian writer's claim to greatness. 
 
First published 1887 (Ivanov), 1895 (The Seagull), 1898 (Uncle Vanya), 1900 (Three Sisters), 1904 (The Cherry Orchard), 1984 (Wild Honey) 
Wild Honey © Michael Frayn 1984, 1985, 2016 
Michael Frayn has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as author of this work 
All rights reserved 
 
Cast and credits 
Written by Anton Chekhov 
Wild Honey translated and adapted by Michael Frayn 
Cherry Orchard - Translated by Richard Cottrell 
Uncle Vanya - Adapted by Christopher Hampton 
 
Contents list 
Wild Honey 
The Seagull 
Ivanov 
The Cherry Orchard 
Three Sisters 
Uncle Vanya 
Great Lives: Anton Chekhov 
 
©2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Anton Chekhov: 6 Full-Cast BBC Radio Productions

The Seagull, The Cherry Orchard, Uncle Vanya, Wild Honey & More

James Fenimore Cooper

BBC Radio drama adaptations of two action-packed adventures by James Fenimore Cooper 
 
A founding father of American literature, James Fenimore Cooper was one of America's first professional novelists, and a pioneer of both the Western and the historical romance. Included here are his 1826 masterpiece The Last of the Mohicans and his 1821 classic The Spy, widely considered the world's first espionage novel. 
 
The Last of the Mohicans - 1757, and Britain and France are struggling for control of the New World. Caught between them are the tribes of the First Nations... Hawkeye is an American scout who lives with the American Indians and fights for the British. When the daughters of a British army officer are captured by a vengeful Huron chief while travelling to join their father, Hawkeye and his Mohican friends set out on a rescue mission... This gripping dramatisation of James Fenimore Cooper's epic is narrated by Garrick Hagon, stars Michael Feast as Hawkeye and Helen McCrory as Cora. 
 
The Spy - New York State, 1778. Henry Wharton, a young soldier for the British in the American Revolutionary War, sneaks into no-man's land in disguise to spend an evening with his family. But their happy reunion is cut short when American troops surround the house. Can the mysterious peddler Harvey Birch provide Henry with a means of escape? Burn Gorman and Rose Leslie star in this thrilling tale of double agents and divided loyalties. 
 
First published 1821 (The Spy) and 1826 (The Last of the Mohicans) 
 
Production credits 
Written by James Fenimore Cooper 
 
The Last of the Mohicans 
Narrator - Garrick Hagon 
Hawkeye - Michael Feast 
Major Heyward - Philip Franks 
Cora - Helen McCrory 
Alice - Naomi Radcliffe 
General Munro - Russell Dixon 
Chingachgook - Okon Jones 
Uncas - Clarence Smith 
Magua - Alfredo Michelsen 
General Montcalm - John Jardine 
David - Robert Whelan 
Tamenund - Joe Speare 
 
Dramatised by David Calcutt 
Produced and directed by Michael Fox 
Music: Trevor Allan Davies 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 5-12 November 1995 
 
 
The Spy 
Harvey Birch - Burn Gorman 
Frances - Rose Leslie 
Henry - Alex Waldmann 
Mr Wharton - James Lailey 
Sarah - Francine Chamberlain 
Mr Harper - Timothy Watson 
Caesar - Richard Pepple 
Peyton Dunwoodie - Simon Bubb 
Captain Lawton - Gerard McDermott 
Colonel Wellmere/Skinner - Adam Billington 
Isabella Singleton - Victoria Inez Hardy 
Colonel Martin - Paul Moriarty 
 
Dramatised by DJ Britton 
Directed by Sasha Yevtushenko 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 22-29 January 2012 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

The Last of the Mohicans & The Spy

Two BBC Radio full-cast dramatisations

Jane Austen

A captivating BBC radio dramatisation of Jane Austen's most overlooked novel 
 
Sent away from her poverty-stricken parents in Portsmouth to live with her wealthy aunt and uncle, Sir Thomas and Lady Bertram, nine-year-old Fanny Price is abruptly transplanted to a new, luxurious home: Mansfield Park. Overwhelmed by the grandeur of her surroundings, she feels out of place - and as she grows up, her spoiled cousins, Tom, Maria and Julia, never let her forget her humble beginnings. Only her cousin Edmund treats her with kindness, and the two become close companions. 
 
But their lives are turned upside down when Sir Thomas goes away to visit his sugar plantation in the West Indies - and the charismatic Crawfords, Henry and Mary, arrive on the scene. Glamorous, attractive and flirtatious, they shake up the entire Bertram family - and leave Fanny grappling with emotions she's never felt before... 
 
In Mansfield Park, Jane Austen gives us her subtlest and most unusual heroine: a displaced child, shaped by family and adversity, who becomes a quietly resolute young woman with an unshakeable moral code. This enthralling dramatisation focusses on the precariousness of Fanny's life - as a poor relation, unmarried, and living on an estate funded by sugar and slavery - and follows her as she navigates this high-stakes world with courage and conviction. 
 
Production credits 
Written by Jane Austen 
Adapted by Clara Glynn 
Produced by Gaynor Macfarlane 
Directed by Bruce Young 
 
Fanny Price - Lydia Wilson 
Edmund Bertram - Bryan Dick 
Mary Crawford - Tala Gouveia 
Henry Crawford - Tom Mothersdale 
Mrs Norris/Mrs Grant - Janice Acquah 
Lady Bertram - Madeleine Worrall 
Tom Bertram/William Price - Joshua Riley 
Sir Thomas - John Hollingworth 
Mr Rushworth- Samuel Valentine 
Maria Bertram - Faith Alabi 
Julia Bertram - Hollie Burgess 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 10-17 July 2022 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Mansfield Park

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation

Henry Fielding

A collection of contemporary adaptations of the best-known works of Henry Fielding - plus bonus documentary programme 
 
Dubbed 'the father of the English novel' by Sir Walter Scott, Henry Fielding is well known for his ribald humour and ironic, satirical fiction. Collected here are four of his most famous works, including his comic masterpiece Tom Jones, as well as a fascinating documentary exploring the foundling motif in fiction. 
 
Tom Jones - Fielding's bawdy picaresque tale follows the amorous adventures of foundling Tom, one of the most sparkling heroes in English literature. Starring Simon Russell Beale as Henry Fielding and Michael Legge as Tom. 
 
Joseph Andrews - Sitting down to write about the misadventures of a handsome young footman on the road, Henry Fielding finds himself unexpectedly collaborating with his smart, witty wife, Charlotte. As they laugh and bicker about the plot, the story of their writing partnership interweaves with that of Joseph Andrews... Max Bennett and Lyndsey Marshal star in this 18th Century romp with an up-to-date twist. 
 
The Life and Death of Jonathan Wild, The Great - Based on the real-life 'Thief-Taker General' and notorious underworld boss, Fielding's tongue-in-cheek tale draws sly parallels between the corrupt Jonathan Wild and Britain's first Prime Minister, Robert Walpole. Starring Timothy West, Christopher Fairbank and Crawford Logan. 
 
The Female Husband - Sandi Toksvig stars in this high-spirited dramatisation of the true story of Mary Hamilton, who was tried and flogged in 1746 for marrying as a man, and achieved notoriety in a sensational pamphlet published by Fielding. 
 
One of the Three Great Plots of All Literature - Why do foundlings appear so often in literature? Kate Adie discusses the theme underlying Henry Fielding's classic novel Tom Jones with Hugh Cunningham, Marina Warner, Jenny Uglow and contemporary foundling Andy McNab. 
 
First published 1742 (The History of the Adventures of Joseph Andrews and of his Friend Mr Abraham Adams), 1743 (The Life and Death of the Late Mr Jonathan Wild, the Great), 1746 (The Female Husband), 1749 (The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling) 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Henry Fielding: A BBC Radio Drama Collection

Full-cast dramatisations of Tom Jones, Joseph Andrews, Jonathan Wild & The Female Husband

Terence Rattigan

13 of the finest works by the world-renowned playwright, as heard on BBC radio 
 
Sir Terence Rattigan was one of Britain's greatest playwrights, renowned for his well-crafted dramas of upper-class manners and repressed sexuality. He was hugely popular throughout the 1940s and early 50s, and had the rare distinction of having plays running in three West End theatres simultaneously. Having fallen out of fashion in the Sixties, his work is now enjoying a huge revival. Included here are some of his most esteemed plays, adapted for radio and brought together in chronological order in one statement collection. 
 
We begin with the sparkling comedy French Without Tears, introduced by the author himself. Next is one of his most famous plays, The Winslow Boy, the moving story of an innocent boy accused of theft. The Browning Version features a teacher overwhelmed by a schoolboy's unexpected gift, Adventure Story tells the dramatic tale of Alexander the Great, and The Final Test, adapted from Rattigan's 1951 television play, tells the comic story of a veteran cricketer's son who prefers music and poetry to cricket. 
 
The Deep Blue Sea centres around the troubled relationship of Hester and Freddie, who need each other, but are worlds apart. In Separate Tables, a radio version of the classic stage play set in the 1950s, a small group of residents at a Bournemouth hotel discover one of them harbours a devastating secret. Variation on a Theme is a reworking of Alexander Dumas' classic 19th-century novel La Dame aux Camélias, Ross explores the enigmatic life of T.E. Lawrence and Man and Boy focuses on a fraudulent financier who, with his worldwide empire facing collapse, flees to the New York apartment of his estranged son. 
 
Also featured are A Bequest to the Nation, a dramatised account of the Battle of Trafalgar and Lord Nelson's affair with Emma Hamilton, and In Praise of Love, inspired by the relationship between Rattigan's friend, the actor Rex Harrison, and his wife Kay Kendall. Last up is Rattigan's final play, Cause Célèbre, based on the story of Alma Rattenbury, who went on trial with her teenage lover for the murder of her husband. And in two bonus documentaries, Kaleidoscope: Terence Rattigan and Conversations with Terence Rattigan, the great author discusses his life, work and influence. 
 
Among the array of stars in these enthralling dramas are John Gielgud, Alan Bates, Diana Dors, Siân Phillips, Anna Massey, Amanda Root, Peter Sallis, Michael Williams, Saeed Jaffrey and Carleton Hobbs. 
 
NB: This collection contains language that reflects the attitudes of the era in which the plays were written 
 
Production credits 
Written by Terence Rattigan 
First published in 1936 (French without Tears), 1942 (While the Sun Shines),1946 (The Winslow Boy), 1948 (The Browning Version), 1949 (Adventure Story), 1951 (The Final Test), 1952 (The Deep Blue Sea), 1954 (Separate Tables), 1958 (Variation on a Theme), 1960 (Ross), 1963 (Man and Boy), 1970 (A Bequest to the Nation), 1973 (In Praise of Love), 1977 (Cause Célèbre) 
 
Contents List 
· French Without Tears 
Introduction by Terence Rattigan 
· The Winslow Boy 
· The Browning Version 
· Adventure Story 
· The Final Test 
· Deep Blue Sea 
· Separate Tables 
· Variation on a Theme 
· Ross 
· Man and Boy 
· A Bequest to the Nation 
· In Praise of Love 
· Cause Célèbre 
· Kaleidoscope: Terence Rattigan 
Presented by Christopher Matthew with Terence Rattigan 
· Conversations with Terence Rattigan 
 
©2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Terence Rattigan: A BBC Radio Drama Collection

13 full-cast productions: The Winslow Boy, The Browning Version, The Deep Blue Sea, Separate Tables & More

John Reed

A dramatised retelling of John Reed's thrilling eyewitness account of the Russian Revolution - plus bonus documentary 
 
'Fizzy and fast, but never flippant' The New Statesman 
 
John Reed's first-hand description of the October Revolution was written in early 1918 and published in the USA the following year. The veracity and impact of his dynamic, snapshot-style reportage made the book an instant bestseller, and it has since become a modern classic, inspiring films including Sergei Eisenstein's October and the Oscar-winning Reds. 
 
This fast-paced dramatisation begins in autumn 1917, with news of upheaval in Russia hitting the headlines worldwide. The Tsar has abdicated, and the Provisional Government, formed to replace him, is losing control. American journalists John Reed and Louise Bryant arrive in Petrograd to find the city in chaos. The tension between factions is palpable, and it's only a matter of time before the situation explodes - but in what direction? As revolutionaries and counter-revolutionaries struggle to seize power, the duo find themselves at the very heart of the insurrection, experiencing history as it unfolds... 
 
Vividly capturing the anarchy and confusion of those tumultuous days, Reed's sensational blow-by-blow account, adapted by acclaimed dramatist Robin Brooks, transports us to the chilly, mud-churned streets of Petrograd as these world-changing events play out. It is accompanied by a fascinating retrospective documentary, Start the Week: Russian Revolution a hundred years on, in which Tom Sutcliffe travels to Moscow to discover the forces that led to the Revolution, and finds out how far Russians today embrace or reject such a pivotal moment in their country's story. 
 
Production credits 
Written by John Reed 
Dramatised by Robin Brooks 
'The Internationale' sung by Eiry Thomas 
Directed by Alison Hindell 
A BBC Cymru/Wales production for BBC Radio 4 
 
Cast 
John Reed - Richard Laing 
Louise Bryant - Kelly Burke 
Lenin/Driver/Soldier/Shatov/Colonel/Meshkovsky/Cab Driver - Nicholas Murchie 
Liazonov/Kerensky/Doorman/Kameniev - Ewan Bailey 
Lunacharsky/Trotsky/Comberg - Matthew Gravelle 
Buchanan/Karelin/Commissar/Baklanov - Richard Elfyn 
Doorwoman - Lynn Hunter 
Zorin/Robert/Saratov/Antonov/Leonsky/Student/Zinoviev - Sion Pritchard 
Woman - Sarah Ridgeway 
Spiridonova/Girl - Gwawr Loader 
Oblomov/Sverdlov - Simon Ludders 
Krylenko - Tom Forrister 
Mayor/Nathanson - Philip Fox 
Dybenko - Richard Nichols 
Melcher - Charlie Clements 
Wife - Eiry Thomas 
Other parts played by members of the cast 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 9-20 October 2017 
 
Start the Week: Russian Revolution a hundred years on 
Presented by Tom Sutcliffe 
With Konstantin Kosachev, Mikhail Zygar, Arkady Ostrovsky and Zelfira Tregulova 
Produced by Katy Hickman 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 9 October 2017 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Ten Days That Shook The World

A BBC Radio full-cast dramatisation

Edith Nesbit

Rosamund E. Nesbit Bland

Martin Jameson

A BBC Radio collection of dramatisations of E. Nesbit's finest children's books with extra magical readings plus an original drama by Martin Jameson 
 
 E Nesbit is widely regarded as the first modern children's writer. Her ground-breaking novels have influenced authors from Oscar Wilde to Jacqueline Wilson, and over 100 years after their first publication, they remain perennially popular. 
 
 This wide-ranging collection comprises some of her very best children's fiction, commencing with her timeless tale The Railway Children. Starring Victoria Carling, Daniel Eyssen and Kate McEnery, Frances Jeater this enchanting dramatisation tells the story of three suburban children forced to move to the countryside after their father is mysteriously taken away. 
 
 Martin Jameson's sequel Roberta, Peter and Phyllis revisits them 13 years later, in 1919, to reveal how their lives have changed. Fiona Clarke, James Alper and Emma Hughes-Jones star as the titular siblings. 
 
 Also included is Nesbit's classic 'Psammead' trilogy. In Five Children and It, Five children are granted a series of wishes by a sand fairy - but inevitably, things do not go to plan... 
 Cast includes Julia McKenzie, Simon Carter, James Richard, Justyn Towler. 
 
 Patricia Hodge reads the second book in the series, The Phoenix and the Carpet, in which the discovery of a mysterious egg in an old carpet heralds the start of a magical adventure. And in The Story of the Amulet, a full-cast dramatisation the children voyage through history on a quest for an ancient lucky charm. Featuring the same cast as Five Children and It 
 
 Penelope Keith stars as E Nesbit in The House of Arden, a time-travelling fantasy tale about the hunt for a lost family treasure; Other cast includes Timothy Spall and Kelly Bright. 
 
 Prunella Scales reads five stories from Nesbit's delightful compendium The Book of Dragons: 'Last of the Dragons', 'Kind Little Edmond', 'The Deliverers of their Country', 'The Book of Beasts' and 'The Dragon Tamers'. Concluding this anthology are two fantastic feline fables from Cat Tales, co-written by Nesbit and her adopted daughter Rosamund E Bland: 'The White Cat', read by Jenny Agutter, and 'Too Clever by Half', read by Helen Clapp. 
 
 Cast and credits 
 Written by E Nesbit 
 Cat Tales written by E Nesbit and Rosamund E Bland 
 Roberta, Peter and Phyllis written by Martin Jameson 
 First published 1901 (The Book of Dragons), 1902 (Five Children and It), 1904 (The Phoenix and the Carpet, Cat Tales), 1906 (The Story of the Amulet, The Railway Children), 1908 (The House of Arden) 
 
 The Railway Children 
 Dramatised by Marcy Kahan. Produced by John Taylor 
 First broadcast BBC Radio 5, 3-24 January 1991 
 
 Roberta, Peter and Phyllis 
 Produced and directed by Gary Brown 
 First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 4 January 2005 
 
 Five Children and It 
 Dramatised by Malcolm McKee. Directed by Rosemary Watts 
 First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 31 August 1998 
 
 The Phoenix and the Carpet 
 Abridged by Penny Leicester. Produced by Marion Nancarrow 
 First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 28 March-1 April 1994 
 
 The Story of the Amulet 
 Dramatised by Malcolm McKee. Directed by Rosemary Watts 
 First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 30 August 1999 
 
 The House of Arden 
 Dramatised by Chris Curry. Produced by Mary Kalemkarian 
 First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 23 April-25 June 1989 
 
 The Book of Dragons 
 First broadcast BBC Radio 5, 7-11 December 1992 
 
 Cat Tales 
 The White Cat 
 First broadcast BBC Radio 3, 3 January 2000 
 
 Too Clever by Half 
 First broadcast BBC Sounds, 23 July 2019 
 
 © 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

E. Nesbit: A BBC Radio Collection

The Railway Children, Five Children and It, The Phoenix and the Carpet & more

Lew Wallace

A thrilling adaptation of Lew Wallace's epic biblical tale of betrayal, destiny and redemption. 
 
Judea, 26 AD. Two men's lives run almost in parallel. One is a prince of Jerusalem. The other is known as 'He that is born King of the Jews'... 
 
When Judah Ben Hur visits his childhood playmate Messala, now a Roman tribune, he hopes to rekindle an old friendship. But their meeting has devastating consequences. Betrayed and falsely accused of attempted murder, Judah's property is confiscated and his family arrested - and he himself is sent to the galleys. En route to the sea, he meets a carpenter's son, who gives him water - and looking into the man's eyes, he almost loses his desire for vengeance. 
 
Freed from slavery years later, Judah travels to Antioch, where he hears of a King who will lead the Jewish people, and vows to go and fight for him. He also encounters his former friend Messala once more, and seizes the opportunity to crush him in a high-stakes chariot race. Emerging victorious, he journeys back to Jerusalem to find his lost mother and sister, and raise a resistance force against Rome. But as his life intersects with that of the King he champions, he comes to realise that Jesus of Nazareth is not a warrior, but a saviour - and that the path to his kingdom lies through forgiveness. 
 
First published in 1880, Ben Hur was famously adapted as a 1959 blockbuster starring Charlton Heston, which won a record 11 Oscars. This spectacular, cinematic dramatisation boasts a stirring score by award-winning composer Wilfredo Acosta, and is brought to life by a stunning cast including Julian Glover, Samuel West and Michael Gambon. 
 
Production credits 
Written by Lew Wallace 
Dramatised by Catherine Czerkawska 
Directed by Glyn Dearman 
Music and sound design by Wilfredo Acosta 
Iras' song sung by Elizabeth Mansfield 
 
Cast 
Judah Ben Hur - Jamie Glover 
Messala - Samuel West 
Angel/Esther - Deborah Berlin 
Amrah - Phyllis Calvert 
Mother - Margaret John 
Arrius/Man 2 - Derek Waring 
Tirzah/Maid - Natasha Pyne 
Chief of Rowers/Man 1 - Don McCorkindale 
Man 1/Servant/Roman 1/Man at Inn - Joshua Towb 
Thord/Man 2/Passenger/Servant - Michael Tudor Barnes 
Man in Boat/Malluch - Gavin Muir 
Simonides - Bernard Hepton 
Sheik Ilderim - Freddie Jones 
Balthasar - Michael Hordern 
Drusus - Ian Masters 
Iras - Becky Hindley 
Jesus/Man 3 - Peter Yapp 
Pilate/Guide/John the Baptist - Neville Jason 
Assassin - Oliver Senton 
Man 4 - Peter Whitman 
Michael Gambon reads from the Bible 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 19 March - 9 April 1995 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Ben Hur

A BBC Radio 4 Full-Cast Dramatisation

William Holland

Eric Pringle

A BBC Radio dramatisation of the real-life diaries of a West Country village parson, writing at the turn of the 19th Century 
 
'A good diary can provide an unsurpassed entry into society, and the diary of William Holland is a very good diary indeed' The Spectator 
 
On October 25th, 1799 - his 18th wedding anniversary - cantankerous Somerset parson William Holland begins his diary, chronicling events at the vicarage and in the small farming community of Over Stowey. He would keep it for the next 19 years, candidly recording the small trials of day-to-day life - from chaotic church services and unruly locals to lazy servants and irksome in-laws. 
 
As the new century dawns, he finds himself dealing with parish problems and domestic dramas: including a madman in the poorhouse, a drunkard in the pulpit, and his wife's prattling cousin in the house. At harvest time, he has his work cut out collecting tithes from the local farmers, and his troubles are further compounded by an escaped cow, some curious medical complaints, and an audacious plum-plunderer... 
 
Paying a social visit to Bath with his family, the hectic pace has him longing for the relative peace and quiet of home. And back at the parsonage, his life is transformed when his manservant Robert resolves to give up drinking and womanizing. But will it last? 
 
Full of humorous observations and comic incident, this delightful journal paints a unique picture of a wonderful collection of characters, and the entertaining and often hilarious things that happen to them. Dramatised by Eric Pringle, it is brought to life by a full cast of well-known actors, and stars Ronald Pickup as William Holland, Rosemary Martin and Rowena Cooper as his wife, Mary, and Gavin Muir as Robert. 
 
Production credits 
Written by William Holland 
Dramatised by Eric Pringle 
Directed by Cherry Cookson 
 
Cast 
William Holland - Ronald Pickup 
Mary - Rosemary Martin/Rowena Cooper 
Robert - Gavin Muir 
Miss Dodwell - Tessa Worsley 
Mr Amen - Gordon Gostelow 
Farmer Morle - David Collings 
William Frost/Farmer Landsey - David Timson 
Rector Reekes/Ben Hunt - John Hartley 
Thomas Poole/Farmer Trant/Porter - Stephen Critchlow 
Mrs Southcomb - Margaret Courtenay 
Farmer CottleMr Lewis - Andrew Branch 
Margaret/Hannah/Betty/Little Will - Jane Whittenshaw 
Sally Hill/Grace - Caroline Strong 
With Tilly Gaunt, Giles Fagan and Ben Crowe 
 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 7-21 February 1996 (Series 1), 29 October-12 November 1999 (Series 2) 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Paupers and Pig Killers from the diaries of William Holland

A BBC Radio 4 comedy drama

Stendhal

A BBC Radio drama of Stendhal's masterpiece - plus bonus documentary 
 
Both a sweeping chronicle of 19th Century France and a coming-of-age story of a young, idealistic social climber, The Red and the Black is one of the great works in world literature, and widely considered to be the first psychological novel. 
 
It charts the misadventures and romantic escapades of Julien Sorel, a timber miller's son who idolises Napoleon and dreams of military glory. But post-Waterloo, the path to power does not lie with the army (the 'red'), but the Church (the 'black'), so he decides to study for the priesthood. Then an opportunity arises to further increase his status as tutor to the Mayor's children - and when the Mayor's wife, Mme de Renal, falls in love with him, he seduces her. 
 
Their affair is discovered, and he is forced to leave Verrières and enter the seminary - only for his life to be transformed when his mentor, Abbé Pirard, finds him a job in Paris, as private secretary to the aristocratic Marquis de la Mole. Finally, Julien has an entrée into high society - and when he wins the heart of the Marquis' beautiful, haughty daughter Mathilde, he seems to have the world at his feet. But as his past returns to haunt him, Julien commits a terrible crime that will seal his fate... 
 
A gripping tale of love, ambition, morality and hypocrisy, The Red and the Black was adapted as an award-winning 1954 film by Claude Autant-Lara, and televised as a 1993 BBC mini-series starring Ewan McGregor. This lively, fast-paced radio adaptation stars William Squire as the Narrator and Andrew Hall as Julien, with a cast including Margo Gunn, Deborah Paige and Edward de Souza. 
 
Also included is the fascinating documentary feature Stendhal and Napoleon, in which Andy Martin tells how Stendahl followed Napoleon across Europe to Moscow in 1812 as catering manager to the troops - and changed fiction in the process. 
 
Production credits 
Written by Stendhal 
Translated by C.K. Scott Moncrieff 
Dramatised by D.G. Bridson 
Directed by Brian Miller 
 
Cast 
Narrator - William Squire 
Julien Sorel - Andrew Hall 
Mme de Renal - Deborah Paige 
Napoleon - Edward de Souza 
Mme Derville - Marilyn Le Conte 
M de Renal - John Franklyn-Robbins 
Fouqué - Norman Eshley 
Elise/Adolphe - Debby Comming 
Valenod/Guillaume - Esmond Rideout 
Mme Valenod/Marquise de la Mole - Margaret Robertson 
Abbé Chelan - Hedley Goodall 
Amanda - Rosalind Adams 
Abbé Pirard - Malcolm Hayes 
Student/Bishop/Antoine - Andrew Hilton 
Abbé Castenede - Roger Snowdon 
Abbé Chas Bernard - Haydn Andrews 
Examiner/Stewart - John Livesey 
Marquis de la Mole - Cyril Shaps 
Mlle Mathilde - Margo Gunn 
Norbert - Sion Probert 
Croisenois - Jon Glentoran 
Caylus/Coachman - Stephen Garlick 
Thayler/Lt Lievin - Anthony Hyde 
Chevalier de Beauvoisis - Alexander John 
Conde Altamira/Friar - Nicholas Courtney 
Academician - Christopher Scott 
Mathilde's cousin - Amanda Murray 
Queen Marguerite - Theresa Streatfeild 
Prince Korasoff - John Rye 
Mme la Margchal - Pauline Letts 
Gunsmith - John Webb 
Jailer - David Timson 
Magistrate - Alan Dudley 
Père Sorel - Jerold Wells 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 2 August-13 September 1981 
 
Stendhal and Napoleon 
Presented by Andy Martin 
Produced by Tim Dee 
First broadcast BBC Radio 3, 9 December 2012 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

The Red and The Black

C.P. Snow

The full-cast BBC Radio adaptation of C. P. Snow's epic series about the English establishment across the twentieth century 
 
'A vivid portrait of British academic, political and public life' Guardian 
 
'A very considerable achievement... It brings into the novel themes and locales never seen before (except perhaps in Trollope)' Anthony Burgess 
 
In 1920s Leicester, Lewis Eliot must escape the drudgery of a council clerk's office and his provincial lower class background to begin his decades-long rise to power. As the years pass, and Lewis progresses to successful London lawyer, to Cambridge don, to wartime service in Whitehall, to senior civil servant and finally retirement, he faces in his own life and the lives of those around him collapsing marriages, terrible illness, the politics of academia, Nazism, nuclear weapons, the price of power, and the ever-present realities of war. 
 
The New York Times praised the book series, saying, 'through [them] as in no other work in our time we have explored the inner life of the new classless class that is the 20th century Establishment'. John Betjeman claimed the books were 'as full of life as life itself'. The Strangers and Brothers series captures perfectly the ever-present battle between political and personal integrity Lewis must face, as well as all the upheaval and social change of the two world wars and the decades that followed. 
 
This adaptation stars David Haig and Adam Godley as Lewis Eliot, Bill Wallis as George Passant, Juliet Aubrey as Margaret Davidson, Stephen Moore as Herbert Getliffe, and Danny Webb as Percy Hall, with a full cast including Jeremy Swift, David Tennant, Anne-Marie Duff, Iain Glen, Claire Skinner and Tim McInnerny. 
 
Directed by Jeremy Howe and Sally Avens 
Dramatised by Jonathan Holloway 
 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, January-June 2003 
 
Full cast: 
Narrator/Lewis Eliot - David Haig 
Young Lewis Eliot - Adam Godley 
George Passant - Bill Wallis 
Marion - Laura Doddington 
Sheila Knight - Anastasia Hille 
Herbert Getliffe - Stephen Moore 
Percy Hall - Danny Webb 
Charles March - Jamie Glover 
Leonard March - John Standing 
Katherine March - Carla Simpson 
Ann Simon - Emma Woolliams 
Mrs Getliffe - Suzanna Hamilton 
Revd Knight - Brett Usher 
Young Francis Getliffe - Andy Taylor 
Winslow - Clive Merrison 
Young Brown - Philip Franks 
Roy Calvert - Adam Levy 
Young Jago - David Calder 
Nightingale - Jeremy Child 
Chrystal - Matthew Marsh 
Crawford - Hugh Quarshie 
Mrs Jago - Joanna Monroe 
Sir Horace Timberlake - Ian Hogg 
Young Hector Rose - Rupert Vansittart 
Houston Eggar - Peter Marinker 
Willy Romantovski - Kenneth Collard 
Gilbert Cooke - Anthony Calf 
Margaret Davidson/Margaret Eliot - Juliet Aubrey 
Rosalind - Anne-Marie Duff 
Betty Vane - Carla Simpson 
Martin Eliot - Tim McInnerny 
Walter Luke - Jeremy Swift 
Irene - Claire Skinner 
David Rubin - Rolf Saxon 
Sawbridge - Adrian Scarborough 
Edgar - Andrew Wincott 
Captain Smith - Sean Baker 
Sir Hector Rose - John Carlisle 
Sir Thomas Beville - Robert Laing 
Austin Davidson - David Collings 
Jago - Sean Barrett 
Dawson Hill - Peter Blythe 
Skeffington - David Acton 
Francis Getliffe - Geoffrey Whitehead 
Brown - Jonathan Coy 
Donald Howard - David Tennant 
Roger Quaife - Iain Glen 
Lord Collingwood - Ronald Pickup 
Caro Quaife - Julia Watson 
Lord Gilbey - John Woodvine 
Diana Skidmore - Avril Clark 
Phillips - Richard Firth 
Osbaldiston - David Leonard 
Brodzinski - Christopher Rozycki 
Ellen Smith - Emma Bown 
Monteith - Paul Venables 
Trafford - Stephen Critchlow 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Strangers and Brothers

An epic BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation

Anthony Trollope

Six lavish BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisations of Anthony Trollope's much-loved novels, plus a bonus documentary about Trollope himself. 
 
Anthony Trollope's series of witty, gently satirical stories of provincial life are set in the fictional town of Barchester and the surrounding county of Barsetshire. With a focus on the lives, loves and tribulations of the local clergy and rural gentry, the canvas is broad and colourful, with a set of iconic characters in whose lives we become intimately involved as they grow up, grow old, and fall in or out of love and friendship across the years. 
 
The Warden: The gentle Mr Harding finds his peaceful life disrupted when his would-be son-in-law calls into question the large income he receives as warden of Barchester alms house. Starring Tim Pigott-Smith and Maggie Steed. 
 
Barchester Towers: The cathedral town is changing again, with the arrival of a new Bishop, his wife and his Chaplain from London throwing all Barchester into disarray. Starring Tim Pigott-Smith and Una Stubbs. 
 
Dr Thorne: When young heir Frank Gresham expresses his desire to marry Mary, her uncle Dr Thorne realises that a secret he has concealed for so long can no longer stay secret. Starring Iain Glenn, Pippa Haywood and Douglas Booth. 
 
Framley Parsonage: Mark Robarts, the young vicar of Framley, cannot resist the lure of celebrity beyond his own village. But his ambitious pursuits will lead him to risk his devoted wife and children, as well as his sister's happiness. Starring Pip Carter, Hattie Morahan and Kate Buffrey. 
 
The Small House at Allington: The arrival of the handsome Adolphus Crosbie causes quite a stir at Allington. There is concern for Lily Dale in her fight against scarlet fever, and Dr Crofts is a frequent visitor to the Small House. Starring Scarlett Alice Johnson and Blake Ritson. 
 
The Last Chronicle of Barset: Henry Grantley has fallen in love again, Lily's past returns to haunt her, and Mr Crawley must reckon with an angry butcher. Johnny traverses Europe trying to save Mr Crawley and meets an unexpected new friend. Starring Adam Kotz and Samuel Barnett. 
 
Also included is the documentary Trollope, in which poet Michael Symmons Roberts, who dramatised several of the books in this release, sets out to visit the places that inspired Trollope's writing - interrupted at times by Trollope (voiced by Hamilton Berstock) himself. 
 
 
Cast and credits 
Written by Anthony Trollope. 
 
The Warden 
Dramatised by Michael Symmons Roberts. 
Directed by Susan Roberts. 
Produced by Charlotte Riches. 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 26th January 2014. 
 
Barchester Towers 
Dramatised by Nick Warburton. 
Directed by Marion Nancarrow. 
Music composed by David Tobin, Jeff Meegan and Julian Gallant. 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 2nd-16th February 2014. 
 
Dr Thorne 
Dramatised by Michael Symmons Roberts. 
Directed by Susan Roberts. 
Produced by Charlotte Riches. 
Music composed by David Tobin, Jeff Meegan and Julian Gallant. 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 4th-18th May 2014. 
 
Framley Parsonage 
Dramatised by Nick Warburton. 
Directed &amp; produced by Marion Nancarrow. 
Music composed by David Robin, Jeff Meegan and Julian Gallant. 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 31st August - 14th September 2014. 
 
The Small House at Allington 
Dramatised by Michael Symmons Roberts. 
Directed by Gary Brown. 
Produced by Charlotte Riches. 
Music composed by David Tobin, Jeff Meegan and Julian Gallant. 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 21st December 2014 - 4th January 2015. 
 
The Last Chronicle of Barset 
Dramatised by Nick Warburton. 
Directed &amp; produced by Marion Nancarrow. 
Music composed by David Tobin, Jeff Meegan and Julian Gallant. 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 31st May - 21st June 2015. 
 
Trollope 
Presented by Michael Symmons Roberts. 
Produced by Faith Lawrence. 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 3rd January 2014. 
 
©2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

The Barchester Chronicles

Six BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisations

Christopher Marlowe

The complete dramatic works of Christopher Marlowe, plus a brand new docudrama about his death 
 
Christopher Marlowe was the most celebrated writer of his generation, surpassing even William Shakespeare during his lifetime. A playwright, poet, hellraiser, rebel and spy, he lived fast and died young, stabbed to death in a Deptford lodging house aged only 29. This definitive collection comprises all six of his groundbreaking plays, as well as a riveting documentary drama examining the mysterious circumstances around Marlowe's killing. 
 
Dido, Queen of Carthage - Inspired by Virgil's Aenid, Marlowe's first play tells the tragic tale of the doomed love affair between the Carthaginian queen and the Trojan hero Aeneas. Starring Sally Dexter and Timothy Walker. 
 
Tamburlaine - Said to have changed the course of British theatre through its pioneering use of blank verse, this classic drama about the rise to tyrannical power of a Scythian shepherd stars Con O'Neill, Oliver Ford Davies and Kenneth Cranham. 
 
The Jew of Malta - When Barabas the Jew has his assets stripped by Christians, he wreaks a terrible revenge... Ian MacDiarmid stars in this savage 'comic' tragedy of intrigue, murder and love. 
 
Doctor Faustus - A German scholar sells his soul to the Devil in return for 24 years of knowledge and power on Earth. Starring Paterson Joseph, Ray Fearon and Toby Jones. 
 
Edward the Second - Obsessed with his lover, Gaveston, a weak monarch pays the ultimate price for choosing passion over political responsibility. Toby Jones stars as the titular king. 
 
The Massacre at Paris - Marlowe's final play, based on the St Bartholomew's Day Massacre of the Huguenots in Paris in 1572, is a shocking portrayal of the grisly consequences of political and religious strife. Starring John Webb, Timothy Walker and Jeremy Blake. 
 
The Reckoning - Adapted from Charles Nicholl's award-winning investigative biography, this gripping true crime drama explores the events behind the murder of Christopher Marlowe, revealing an extraordinary story of espionage, treason and betrayal. 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

The Christopher Marlowe BBC Radio Drama Collection

Seven full-cast productions including Doctor Faustus, Tamburlaine & The Jew of Malta

G.K. Chesterton

Three BBC Radio performances of works by the great G. K. Chesterton 
 
Best known as the creator of clerical detective Father Brown, G. K. Chesterton was a prolific and talented writer in virtually every area of literature: from novels, poetry and short stories to plays, biographies and essays. A noted thinker, controversialist, raconteur and wit, he has influenced authors from Neil Gaiman to Jorge Luis Borges. This collection comprises his two most famous novels, The Man Who Was Thursday and The Napoleon of Notting Hill, as well as half a dozen tales from his short story collection, The Club of Queer Trades. 
 
The Man Who Was Thursday - Poet turned Scotland Yard detective Gabriel Syme goes undercover in Edwardian London to investigate a secret society of anarchists - all of whom are named after days of the week... Read by Geoffrey Palmer. 
 
The Club of Queer Trades - In these six full-cast comedy crime dramas, retired KC Basil Grant, his brother Rupert and friend Charlie Swinburne explore the extraordinary stories of people who earn their living by some novel and unusual means. Starring David Warner as Basil, Martin Freeman as Rupert and Geoffrey McGivern as Charlie. 
 
The Napoleon of Notting Hill- Written in 1904, Chesterton's comic political satire is set in London 80 years on. The city is still full of horse-buses and hansom cabs, but democracy is dead, and the King is chosen by lottery. No one cares, because none of it matters - until the choice falls on Auberon Quin... This full-cast drama stars Roger Hammond as G. K. Chesterton and David Collings as Auberon Quin, with Kim Wall, Stuart Organ and Paul McGann. 
 
First published 1904 (The Napoleon of Notting Hill), 1905 (The Club of Queer Trades), 1908 (The Man Who Was Thursday) 
 
The Man Who Was Thursday 
Read by Geoffrey Palmer 
Directed by Lawrence Jackson 
First broadcast BBC Radio 7, 10-28 March 2005 
 
The Club of Queer Trades 
Basil Grant - David Warner 
Rupert Grant - Martin Freeman 
Charlie Swinburne - Geoffrey McGivern 
Major Brown/Lord Beaumont - Geoffrey Whitehead 
Lady - Vicki Pepperdine 
PG Northover/Gardener/Old Man/Constable/Dr Colman - Martin Hyder 
Drummond - Nicholas Farrell 
Wimpole/Burrows - Justin Edwards 
Sir Walter Chumley/Rev Shorter - Richard Griffiths 
Muriel - Alice Lowe 
James - Alexei Sayle 
Mowbray - Nell Edmond 
Brett - Matthew Holness 
Lieutenant Keith - Jeff Harding 
Montmorency - Simon Jones 
Christina - Amelia Bullmore 
Bingham - Chris Douglas 
Adeleide - Felicity Montagu 
Prof Chadd - John Nettleton 
Greenwood - James Rawlings 
Old Lady - Angela Thorne 
Dramatised by Simon Littlefield 
Produced by Simon Nicholls 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 4 April-9 May 2005 
 
The Napoleon of Notting Hill 
G. K. Chesterton - Roger Hammond 
Auberon Quin - David Collings 
Wilfred Lambert - Kim Wall 
James Barker - Stephen Hattersley 
President del Fuego - Manning Wilson 
Policeman/Mr Wilson - Stuart Organ 
Boy Adam Wayne - Alexander Goodman 
Adam Wayne - Paul McGann 
Mr Buck - Aubrey Woods 
Mr Mead - Paul Gregory 
Mr Bowles - Brian Hewlett 
Mr Turnbull - Gordon Reid 
Dramatised by Peter Buckman 
Produced by Eric Stovell 
Directed by Richard Imison 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 22 December 1986 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd 
(p) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

G. K. Chesterton: Three BBC Radio Mysteries

The Man Who Was Thursday, The Club of Queer Trades & The Napoleon of Notting Hill

Nancy Mitford

BBC Radio adaptations of Nancy Mitford's most famous novels and acclaimed biography of Madame de Pompadour plus bonus programmes 
 
 The eldest of the notorious Mitford sisters, Nancy Mitford was renowned for her comic novels of upper-class life. An aristocrat and socialite, she mingled with the 'Bright Young Things' in interwar London, and went on to satirise their foibles in razor-sharp, wickedly funny prose. Collected here are adaptations of her two bestsellers, the semi-autobiographical The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate; her delightful biography of Louis XV's chief mistress; and a pair of fascinating programmes exploring her own unconventional life. 
 
 The Pursuit of Love 
 This bittersweet tale follows the fortunes of Fanny Logan and her eccentric aristocratic cousins, the Radletts, as they embark on disastrous love affairs and misconceived marriages while searching for Mr Right. 
 
Cast 
 Lord Radlett - Rolf Lefebvre 
 Lady Radlett - Joan Matheson 
 Fanny - Susan Maudslay 
 Linda - Jane Knowles 
 Matt - Brian Hewlett 
 Captain Davey Warbeck - Godfrey Kenton 
 Emily - Joan Hart 
 Tony Kroesig - Michael Spice 
 Lord Merlin - John Rye 
 Bessie - Olwen Griffiths 
 Mrs Fletcher - Barbara Mitchell 
 The Bolter - Cecile Chevreau 
 Other parts played by Sion Probert, George Raistrick, Alan Rowe and William Sleigh. 
 Adapted by Alan Melville. Produced by Norman Wright. 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 23 February 1974 
 
 Love in a Cold Climate 
 A glamorous invitation to a grand party at Hampton - home of the fantastically rich Montdores and their beautiful daughter Polly - brings Fanny into the world of 1920s high society: and in and out of love when the temperature drops... Amanda Root stars in this sparkling sequel to The Pursuit of Love. 
 
Cast 
 Fanny - Amanda Root 
 Lady Montdore - Barbara Jefford 
 Polly - Teresa Gallagher 
 Veronica - Jenny Howe 
 Uncle Davey - Jon Strickland 
 Aunt Emily - Patience Tomlinson 
 Aunt Sadie - Tessa Worsley 
 Uncle Matthew - Ioan Meredith 
 Boy Dougdale - Stephen Critchlow 
 Jassy - Sarah-Jane Holm 
 Victoria - Tilly Gaunt 
 Cedric - William Hope 
 Alfred - Tom Beard 
 Dramatised by Claire Luckham. Directed by Marion Nancarrow. 
 First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 3 May 1999 
 
 The King's Favourite 
 Based on Mitford's Madame de Pompadour, this three-part drama vividly evokes the colourful atmosphere of 18th Century Versailles, and Louis XV's tempestuous relationship with his adored mistress, Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour. 
 
Cast 
 Narrator - Alan Melville 
 Duc d'Orléans - Patrick Tull 
 Madame de Ventadour - Katherine Parr 
 Infanta Maria of Spain - Elizabeth Proud 
 Louis XV (as a youth) - Nigel Anthony 
 Duc de Bourbon - James Thomason 
 The Queen - Pauline Letts 
 Louis XV - Edward de Souza 
 Lebel, concierge - Robin Browne 
 Marquise de la Ferté - Margot Boyd 
 Monsieur Poisson - Harold Kasket 
 Madame d'Etioles - Moira Lister 
 Monsieur d'Etioles - John Gabriel 
 Lasmartre, a huntsman - David Timson 
 Lady of the Court - Olwen Griffiths 
 Produced by Norman Wright. 
 First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 10-24 December 1971 
 
 Dearest Evelyn, Darling Nancy 
 Adapted from the witty correspondence of lifelong literary friends Evelyn Waugh and Nancy Mitford, this entertaining, gossipy 'conversation in letters' stars Timothy West and Prunella Scales. 
 
Cast 
Evelyn Waugh - Timothy West 
 Nancy Mitford - Prunella Scales 
 Adapted by Alan Bell. Produced by Pete Atkin. 
 First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 30 December 1993 
 
 Greatest Lives - Nancy Mitford 
 Grace Dent loves Nancy Mitford for her wit, and for the way in which she showed women that it was possible to live your life fully and unconventionally. Matthew Parris asks what it is about Nancy that so inspires Grace, with the aid of Mitford biographer Lisa Hilton. 
 Produced by Beth O'Dea. 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 22 January 2013 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Nancy Mitford: Pursuit of Love, Love in a Cold Climate & More

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast drama collection

Anthony Hope

BBC Radio adaptations of Anthony Hope's famous swashbuckling adventure novel and its sequel 
 
Anthony Hope's swashbuckling historical novel The Prisoner of Zenda was first published in 1894 and was an instant hit, spawning an 1898 sequel, Rupert of Hentzau, and launching the Ruritanian romance genre. Included here are the radio dramatisations of both thrilling novels, starring Julian Glover as Rudolf Rassendyll and King Rudolf, Martin Jarvis as Rupert of Hentzau and Hannah Gordon as Flavia. 
 
The Prisoner of Zenda - On holiday in the East European province of Ruritania, English gentleman Rudolf Rassendyll is caught up in a web of subterfuge. When his distant cousin, King Rudolf, is drugged on the eve of his coronation, Rassendyll is persuaded to impersonate him at the ceremony, thereby thwarting Rudolf's half-brother's attempts to seize the throne. But as the doppelganger is crowned, the real King is kidnapped and imprisoned. To save him, Rassendyll is forced to continue the deception: and finds himself falling in love with the King's intended bride, Princess Flavia... 
 
Rupert of Hentzau - Three years on from his Ruritanian adventures, Rudolf Rassendyll is living in voluntary exile, separated from his beloved Flavia since her marriage to the King. His only consolation is the annual red rose she sends him, as a token of love and remembrance. But now, instead of a flower, she has sent a letter - and this incriminating missive has been intercepted by the dastardly Rupert of Hentzau. The repercussions will bring Rassendyll face-to-face with his old foe, as he is embroiled once more in danger and intrigue. 
 
First published 1894 (The Prisoner of Zenda) and 1898 (Rupert of Hentzau) 
 
The Prisoner of Zenda 
Rudolf Rassendyll/King Rudolf - Julian Glover 
Colonel Sapt - Nigel Stock 
Princess Flavia - Hannah Gordon 
Count Fritz von Tarlenheim - David Timson 
Rupert of Hentzau - Martin Jarvis 
Duke Michael - Michael Spice 
Antoinette de Mauban - Anne Kidd 
Lord Burlesdon - Clive Swift 
Lady Rose Burlesdon/ Innkeeper - Diana Bishop 
Countess Helga - Hilda Schroder 
Rosa - Cherry Gilliam 
Captain Detchard - Terry Scully 
Johann - Sam Dastor 
Josef - Haydn Jones 
Train guard - William Sleigh 
Bersonin - David Gooderson 
Customs officer - Brian Haines 
 
Adapted by Eric Maschwitz and Kay Patrick 
Produced by Martin Jenkins 
Original music (1939) by Robert Chignell and Leslie Woodgate 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 19 May 1973 
 
Rupert of Hentzau 
Rudolf Rassendyll/King Rudolf - Julian Glover 
Queen Flavia - Hannah Gordon 
Herbert/Bauer - Nigel Anthony 
Hermann/Anton von Strofzing - David Sinclair 
James - Timothy Alcock 
Station-Master/Butler - Wilfrid Carter 
Countess Helga - Hilda Schroder 
Count Fritz von Tarlenheim - David Timson 
Madame Helsing/Mother Holf - Diana Bishop 
Rischenheim - Kerry Francis 
Rupert of Hentzau - Martin Jarvis 
Chancellor Helsing/Farmer - Peter Williams 
Constable/Thug - Vernon Joyner 
Colonel Sapt - Nigel Stock 
Fraulein Helsing - Bonnie Hurren 
Bernenstein - Sean Barrett 
Simon/Thug - Fraser Kerr 
Rosa - Cherry Gilliam 
 
Adapted by Cynthia Pughe and Kay Patrick 
Produced by Martin Jenkins 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 26 May 1973 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

The Prisoner of Zenda & Rupert of Hentzau

Two BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisations

John Creasey

Three vintage crime serials, adapted from John Creasey's hugely popular thrillers 
 
Roger West is a home-loving, hard-hitting and very human policeman. Nicknamed 'Handsome' West, he's more than just a pretty face - he's also Scotland Yard's youngest, smartest detective and a crime-solving supremo. Six of his adventures were dramatised for radio between 1967 and 1971, but only three survived, all of which are included in this box set. 
 
Battle for Inspector West - Idle curiosity takes the Chief Inspector to a high-society wedding - and leads him into a case involving a notorious blackmailer and a missing bride. Drawn into a web of terror, West comes face-to-face with an old adversary - a dangerous criminal mastermind named Carosian... 
 
Inspector West at Home - When Roger West finds the dead body of a small-time crook, he faces opposition from the formidable Superintendent Abbott, his superior at the Yard. Suspended from duty, he sets out on a trail of conspiracy, corruption and murder... 
 
Inspector West at Bay - First West is targeted by a vicious attacker, then his wife Janet receives an anonymous, threatening message. Caught up in a deadly game of blind man's buff, can he save himself and his family from an enemy who seems determined to destroy them? 
 
Starring real-life husband and wife Patrick Allen and Sarah Lawson as Roger and Janet West, these three full-cast dramas are full of excitement and suspense. Also featured is a 30-minute episode from The Radio Detectives, 'Stand by for West', in which Professor Jeffrey Richards investigates the 'master craftsman of mystery' John Creasey and his greatest creation, Inspector West. 
 
 
Written by John Creasey 
Adapted by Maurice Travers 
 
Starring Patrick Allen as Chief Inspector Roger West and Sarah Lawson as Janet West 
 
Battle for Inspector West 
Michael Grant - Philip Bond 
Christine Grant - Denise Buckley 
Sir Guy Chatworth - Hamilton Dyce 
Prendergast - John Cazabon 
Vic - Charles Haggith 
Carosian - Francis de Wolff 
Arthur Morley - Preston Lockwood 
Julieta - Eva Stuart 
Sir Mortimer Grant - Humphrey Morton 
Detective Sergeant Hubert Gill - Trevor Bannister 
Pearly Willis - Henry Stamper 
Superintendent Mulloon - Harry Webster 
Produced by John Fawcett Wilson 
First broadcast BBC Light Programme, 4 May-15 June 1967 
 
Inspector West at Home 
Detective Inspector Bob Cornish - Frederick Treves 
Mark Lessing - Edward de Souza 
Superintendent Abbott - Grant Taylor 
Pep Morgan - Harry Landis 
Pickerell - Robert James 
Sir Guy Chatworth - Maurice Hedley 
Mrs Fleming - Margaret Robertson 
Lois Randall - Carol Marsh 
Bill Tennant - Anthony Jackson 
'Whistler' Malone - Rio Fanning 
Raymond Fleming - Frederick Jaeger 
Produced by John Fawcett Wilson 
Pianist: Max Harris 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2, 25 March-15 April 1968 
 
Inspector West at Bay 
Sir Guy Chatworth - Maurice Hedley 
Detective Inspector Bill Sloan - Derek Newark 
Mark Lessing - James Kerry 
Eve Wedlake - Anna Gilchrist 
With Leonard Fenton, John Baddely, Elizabeth Proud, Judy Bennett, Margaret Wolfit, Peter Williams, John Pullen, Ian Frost and Peter Thompson 
Produced by John Browell 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2, 27 May-19 June 1969 
 
The Radio Detectives, Series 3 Episode 5: Stand by for West 
Presented by Professor Jeffrey Richards 
With Richard Creasey, Patrick Allen and Sarah Lawson 
Produced by Liz Anstee 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 28th March 2000

Inspector West: A Classic BBC Radio Crime Collection

Three action-packed vintage adventures

Mark Twain

BBC radio productions of Mark Twain's very best novels and short stories - plus bonus material 
 
Mark Twain (real name Samuel Langhorne Clemens), was one of the foremost writers and humorists to come out of the United States. Hailed by William Faulkner as 'the father of American literature', he is renowned worldwide for his classic novels The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. This wide-ranging collection comprises dramatisations and readings of a host of his much-loved stories, from well-known works to less familiar gems. 
 
The adaptations include Tony Award-winning Bryony Lavery's rhythmic reworking of The Million Pound Bank Note; The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, dramatised by award-winning playwright Marcy Kahan; and The Diary of Adam and Eve, Twain's affectionate satire about the battle of the sexes. They are performed by full casts including Trevor White, Mark Caven, Christopher Jacot, Inika Leigh Wright and Tom Goodman-Hill. 
 
Among the readings are an abridged version of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, in which Ed Bishop brings Tom's escapades to colourful life; the little-known yarn The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County (read by Jon Glover) telling the tall tale of an inveterate gambler and a talented amphibian; and The Prince and the Pauper (read by Jason Isaacs), an abridgement of Twain's historical fantasy about two identical boys born on the same day - one rich, the other poor. And in Mark Twain Stories, Frasier star Kelsey Grammer reads five of the great author's finest short stories. 
Also included is Kaleidoscope Feature: The Further Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, charting the troubled 100-year history of Twain's controversial novel, which has gone from being banned to being beloved - and back again. 
 
NB: Contains language that listeners may find offensive 
 
Cast and credits 
Written by Mark Twain. First published 1867 (The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County), 1868 (Cannibalism in the Cars), 1870 (The Facts in the Case of the Great Beef Contract, A Ghost Story), 1875 (The Experience of the McWilliamses with Membranous Croup, Niagara), 1876 (The Adventures of Tom Sawyer), 1881 (The Prince and the Pauper), 1884 (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn), 1893 (The Million Pound Bank Note), 1931 (The Private Life of Adam and Eve) 
 
The Million Pound Bank Note 
Dramatised by Bryony Lavery. Produced by Pauline Harris and Sharon Sephton 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 31 December 2011 
 
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer 
Abridged by Brian Miller. Read by Ed Bishop. First broadcast BBC Radio 5, 20-31 May 1991 
 
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn 
Dramatised by Marcy Kahan. Directed by Ned Chaillet. First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 15-29 December 2002 
 
The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County 
Read by Jon Glover. Produced by Mitch Raper. First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 4 September 1978 
 
The Diary of Adam and Eve 
Dramatised by Martin Glynn. Produced by Jenny Stephens. Directed by Peter Leslie Wild 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 20 March 2005 
 
The Prince and the Pauper 
Read by Jason Isaacs. First broadcast BBC Radio 7, 17 October 2009 
 
Mark Twain Stories: The Facts in the Great Beef Contract, A Day at Niagara, Cannibalism in the Cars, A Ghost Story and Experiences of the MacWilliamses 
Read by Kelsey Grammar. Abridged and produced by Duncan Minshull. First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 15-19 September 1997 
 
Kaleidoscope Feature: The Further Adventures of Huckleberry Finn 
Produced by Paul Quinn. First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 25 May 1996 
 
©2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Mark Twain: A BBC Radio Drama Collection

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Million Pound Bank Note & More

Tennessee Williams

A collection of BBC Radio full-cast dramatisations of plays by Tennessee Williams, plus bonus material. 
 
Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tennessee Williams is one of the three most important American dramatists of the 20th Century, alongside Arthur Miller and Eugene O'Neill. Acclaimed for their lyrical language, dark themes and vivid portrayal of the American South, his works have spawned several Oscar-winning films and been translated and performed worldwide. 
 
Collected here are some of the best, beginning with the play that launched Williams' career: The Glass Menagerie. Telling the story of a family in crisis in 1930s St Louis, it is one of his most autobiographical works, and a timeless evocation of lost love and loneliness. It is introduced by Williams' biographer, John Lahr, and stars Anastasia Hille, George MacKay, Patsy Ferran and Sope Dirisu. 
 
Next up is his masterpiece A Streetcar Named Desire. With an introduction by author Sarah Churchwell, it stars Olivier Award-winning actress Anne-Marie Duff as damaged Southern belle Blanche Dubois, pushed to the brink of sanity by her explosive brother-in-law Stanley Kowalski (Matthew Needham). It is followed by one of Williams' earliest plays, Spring Storm, about Heavenly Critchfield, a young woman forced to decide between a respectable suitor and a handsome, wild, lover. Liz White stars as Heavenly, with Matthew Malarkey and Michael Thomson. 
 
First broadcast on Radio 4 in 2006, Tennessee's Women comprises five one-act plays: This Property is Condemned, Something Unspoken, The Long Goodbye, Portrait of a Madonna and 27 Wagons Full of Cotton. Among the casts are Maria Watton-Graham, Barbara Jefford, Elizabeth McGovern, Nick Sayce, Eleanor Bron and Gerard Murphy. 
 
Also included is the world premiere of one of Williams' last screenplays, Secret Places of the Heart, starring Sheila Gish and Ian Hogg. In addition, three bonus programmes take an in-depth look at the iconic playwright. John Lahr's evocative biography, Mad Pilgrimage of the Flesh, draws on Williams's poems, journals and correspondence to create a compelling portrait of his life and career; Frost Over America: Tennessee Williams features David Frost in conversation with the author; and in Cat on A Hot Tin Roof, Kwame Kwei-Armah investigates the creative influence of Williams' childhood home on his writing. 
 
Cast and credits 
Written by Tennessee Williams 
First published 1937 (Spring Storm), 1944 (The Glass Menagerie), 1946 (This Property is Condemned, The Long Goodbye, Portrait of a Madonna, Wagons Full of Cotton), 1947 (A Streetcar Named Desire), 1953 (Something Unspoken), 1984 (Secret Places of the Heart) 
 
The Glass Menagerie 
First broadcast BBC Radio 3, 8 July 2018 
 
A Streetcar Named Desire 
First broadcast BBC Radio 3, 26 March 2017 
Broadcast by arrangement with the University of the South, Sewanee, Tennessee 
 
Spring Storm 
First broadcast BBC Radio 3, 6 March 2011 
 
Tennessee's Women 
1. This Property is Condemned 
 
2. Something Unspoken 
 
3. The Long Goodbye 
 
4. Portrait of a Madonna 
 
5. 27 Wagons Full Of Cotton 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 23-27 January 2006 
 
Secret Places of the Heart 
First broadcast BBC Radio 3, 4 November 1988 
 
Tennessee Williams: Mad Pilgrimage of the Flesh 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 22-26 September 2014 
 
Frost over America: Tennessee Williams 
Interviewer: David Frost 
Interviewee: Tennessee Williams 
First broadcast BBC One, 15 July 1970 
 
Cat on A Hot Tin Roof- an audio documentary 
Presented by Kwame Kwei-Armah 
First broadcast BBC Radio 2, 4 August 2009 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Tennessee Williams: A BBC Radio Drama Collection

A Streetcar Named Desire, A Glass Menagerie, Spring Storm and More

Marcel Proust

A landmark BBC radio production of Proust's epic masterpiece, starring Derek Jacobi as the narrator, Marcel 
 
'Beautiful' - Charlotte Runcie, The Telegraph 
 
Waking in the small hours, Marcel Proust embarks on a retrospective journey, endeavouring to capture the elusive moments that shaped his life. A sip of tea and the taste of a madeleine prompt further recollections, and the floodgates of memory open, pouring forth a torrent of vivid reminiscences. 
 
Beginning with his childhood summers in Combray, and the long nights waiting for his mother to come and kiss him goodnight, he looks back on the places and people who have had a significant, lasting impact on him. The tragic story of his neighbour Charles Swann's obsessive love for the seductive Odette brings to mind his own youthful experiences and amours in Paris, Balbec and Venice; his mistress, Albertine; his closest companion, Robert; his predatory acquaintance the Baron de Charlus; and his many high-society friends and associates. 
 
Time, and the Great War, take their toll on Marcel and his circle, rendering the world he knows unrecognizable. But as he attempts to reconcile his past with his present, an encounter with an old flame sparks an epiphany, enabling him to finally become the writer he has always yearned to be... 
 
Adapted from the French by acclaimed playwright Timberlake Wertenbaker, this superb dramatisation of Proust's allegorical reflection on time, memory, art and love boasts an all-star cast including Derek Jacobi, Frances Barber, Paterson Joseph, Simon Russell Beale, Hattie Morahan and Robert Glenister. 
 
 
Production credits 
Translated and adapted from the French by Timberlake Wertenbaker 
Produced and directed by Celia de Wolff 
Production Co-ordinator: Sarah Tombling 
Recording and Sound Design: David Chilton and Lucinda Mason Brown 
Executive Producer: Peter Hoare 
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 
 
Cast 
Marcel (narrator) - Derek Jacobi 
Young Marcel - Isaac Watts 
Maman - Sylvestra le Touzel 
Papa - Oliver Cotton 
Grand-mère - Joanna David 
Françoise - Susan Brown 
Madame Verdurin - Frances Barber 
Monsieur Verdurin - Jeff Rawle 
Doctor Cottard - Lloyd Hutchinson 
Tante Leonie/Marquise de Sainte Euverte/Madame de Sazerat - Pamela Miles 
Mademoiselle Vinteuil/Prostitute/Madame d'Arpajon - Charlotte Blandford 
Mademoiselle Vinteuil's friend/Another prostitute - Phoebe Marshall 
Odette - Bessie Carter 
Pianist/Lift boy/Servant - Daniel Whitlam 
Charles Swann - Paterson Joseph 
Remi/Ski/Man at desk - Nicholas Armfield 
Elstir Biche/Monsieur de Breaute/Butler - Daniel Flynn 
Madame de Gallardon/Queen of Naples - Christine Kavanagh 
Brichot - Hugh Ross 
Forcheville/Boss/Bloch - Nicholas Gleaves 
Saniette/Older man - Roger Watkins 
Madame Cottard/Princess de Parme/Madame de Cambremer/Woman guest - Emma Amos 
Young Gilberte - Mary Glen 
Young Marcel - Isaac Watts 
Marcel - Blake Ritson 
Gilberte - Emma Mackey 
Monsieur de Norpois/De Boulbon/Servant/Jupien/Marquis de Cambremer - Ben Crowe 
Robert de Saint Loup - Kyle Soller 
Basin, Duke of Guermantes - Robert Glenister 
Oriane, Duchess of Guermantes - Fenella Woolgar 
Baron de Charlus - Simon Russell Beale 
Albertine - Hattie Morahan 
Morel - Tom Glenister 
Andree - Georgina Beedle 
Madame de Villeparisis - Serena Evans 
Servant/Concierge/Manager/Doctor - Finlay Paul 
Other voices - Nicholas Armfield, Phoebe Marshall 
Soldiers - Daniel Whitlam, Nicholas Armfield, Toheeb Jimoh, Tom Glenister 
Telephone operator - Alice Hoskyns 
Young men - Toheeb Jimoh, Finlay Paul, Daniel Whitlam, Sam Rawle 
Other parts played by members of the company 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 24-26 August 2019 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd 
(p) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

In Search of Lost Time

Dramatisations and a reading of selected novels by Barbara Pym - plus bonus material 
 
Barbara Pym is one of the 20th Century's wittiest, and most underrated, novelists. Her perceptive comedies of manners, centred around the domestic lives and loves of unassuming middle-class Englishwomen, won her many devoted readers and saw her hailed as a modern-day Jane Austen. Yet she spent 15 years out of print in the 1960s and '70s, until Philip Larkin championed her work in the Times Literary Supplement. Her seventh novel was subsequently shortlisted for the Booker Prize, and writers from Jilly Cooper to Alexander McCall Smith continue to laud her talent today. 
 
Included in this collection are the BBC Radio dramatisations of some of her most beloved books, including her debut Some Tame Gazelle; her second novel Crampton Hodnet, published posthumously in 1985; and its sequel Jane and Prudence. Alongside them are her fifth and sixth novels, A Glass of Blessings and No Fond Return of Love; and a comic spy thriller, So Very Secret. Adapted by actress and writer Elizabeth Proud, they feature stellar casts including Miriam Margolyes, Hannah Gordon, Samantha Bond, Rebecca Front, Joanna David, Penny Downie and Amanda Root. 
 
Her best-known novel, Excellent Women, about a clergyman's daughter whose life is disturbed by anthropologists and a handsome naval officer, is read by One Foot in the Grave star Annette Crosbie. It is followed by a bonus biographical drama, The Resurrection of Miss Pym, starring Penelope Wilton and Bill Wallis and telling the story of Barbara Pym's warm friendship with Philip Larkin, her years in the publishing wilderness, and her eventual triumphant rediscovery. And in the fascinating radio talk Finding a Voice, we hear from the author in her own words as she analyses her inspiration, influences, literary style and why she kept on writing 'even in the face of discouragement'. 
 
 
Cast and credits 
Written by Barbara Pym 
Copyright © Barbara Pym 1950 (Some Tame Gazelle), 1953 (Jane and Prudence), 1958 (A Glass of Blessings), 1961 (No Fond Return of Love), 1987 (So Very Secret) 
Crampton Hodnet copyright © Barbara Pym, Hilary Walton 1985, Hazel Holt 2004 
With thanks to the British Library for the sourcing of Crampton Hodnet 
 
Contents 
Some Tame Gazelle 
Crampton Hodnet 
Jane and Prudence 
A Glass of Blessings 
No Fond Return of Love 
So Very Secret 
Excellent Women 
The Resurrection of Miss Pym 
Finding a Voice 
 
©2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Barbara Pym: A BBC Radio drama collection

Some Tame Gazelle, No Fond Return of Love, Crampton Hodnet & More

Joseph Conrad

Dramatisations of six of Conrad's finest novels, plus bonus material 
 
 Polish-born author and mariner Joseph Conrad is widely regarded as one of the greatest English novelists. His 16 years in the merchant navy profoundly shaped his fiction, giving him transformative experiences of adventure and exotic places, and a unique insight into the human psyche. Included here are adaptations of six of his best works, brought together for the first time and collected in chronological order, plus one fascinating bonus programmes exploring his life and art. 
 
 Heart of Darkness - Ordered to sail up the Congo River in search of enigmatic ivory trader Mr Kurtz, Marlowe's journey takes him deep into an unknown continent... David Calder, Bill Wallis and Kris Marshall star in this radio production of Conrad's controversial masterpiece. 
 
Lord Jim - Faced with disaster, young first mate Jim abandons the sinking SS Patna. Wracked with guilt, he tries to start a new life - but can he ever escape his past? Starring Simon Treves and David March. 
 
 The Secret Agent - A terrorist bomb explodes in London, killing the bomber and threatening the authorities and anarchists alike... Ron Cook and Robert Glenister star in a 2-part dramatisation of Conrad's prescient black comedy. 
 
 Il Conde - An elderly aristocrat is traumatised by a terrifying encounter in Naples in this adaptation of Conrad's haunting short story, starring John Moffatt and John Woodvine. 
 
 The Secret Sharer - An inexperienced skipper gives sanctuary to a fugitive murderer who seems like his doppelganger: and faces his own subconscious fears. Michael Feast, Christopher Scott and Stephen Tompkinson, star in this dramatisation of one of Joseph Conrad's most popular short tales. 
 
 Victory - Set in the Far East, this 1915 novel tells of one man's struggle towards self-realisation and redemption in a hostile world. Starring David March and Patrick Barr. 
 
 Meridian: Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness - Onyekachi Wambu explores Conrad's most famous novel, inspired by the brutal imperialist exploitation of the Congo during the 1880s. 
 
 First published 1899 (Heart of Darkness), 1900 (Lord Jim), 1907 (The Secret Agent), 1908 ('Il Conde'), 1910 ('The Secret Sharer'), 1915 (Victory) 
 
 Cast and credits 
 Written by Joseph Conrad 
 With thanks to Keith Wickham and the British Library 
 
 Heart of Darkness 
 Adapted by Jeremy Howe. Produced by Jeremy Howe and Iain Hunter. Music by David Lord 
 First broadcast BBC Radio 3, 13 July 2003 
 
Lord Jim 
Dramatised by Keith Darvill. Directed by Martin Jenkins and Graham Gauld 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 28 July-1 September 1985 
 
 The Secret Agent 
 Dramatised by David Napthine. Directed by Jessica Dromgoole 
 First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 1-8 October 2006 
 
 Il Conde 
 Dramatised by Alun Owen. Directed by Enyd Williams 
 First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 2 March 1994 
 
 The Secret Sharer 
 Dramatised by Robert Forrest. Directed by Patrick Rayner 
 First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 7 June 1989 
 
 Victory 
 Other parts played by members of the BBC Drama Repertory Company 
 Adapted by Helena Wood. Produced by Joe Burroughs 
 First broadcast BBC Home Service Basic, 22 November 1965 
 
 Meridian: Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness 
 Presented by Onyekachi Wambu 
 With Adam Hochschild, Professor Allan H. Simmons, Michela Wrong 
 First broadcast BBC World Service, 20 February 2002 
 
 ©2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Joseph Conrad: The Secret Agent, Heart of Darkness & More

A BBC Radio 4 drama collection

John Webster

A BBC radio full-cast drama collection of John Webster's twin masterpieces, plus two documentaries examining their importance and enduring popularity 
 
One of the great Jacobean playwrights and a contemporary of William Shakespeare, John Webster is best known for his classic revenge tragedies based on real events in Renaissance Italy, The Duchess of Malfi and The White Devil. Both are included here, along with two insightful programmes putting the plays in their historical context, and probing the life of their mysterious author - a shadowy character about whom very little is known. 
 
The Duchess of Malfi - When the young, widowed Duchess dares to defy her brothers and marry again, the corrupt duo begin a chilling campaign to destroy her... Intercut with the music of Jimi Hendrix and Laura Marling, this visceral production moves from gentle romanticism to darkest cruelty. Introduced by Professor Emma Smith from Hertford College, Oxford, and starring Pippa Nixon as the Duchess of Malfi. 
 
The White Devil - Set in a murky 1950s underworld of shifting alliances, betrayals and sudden violence, this radical reinterpretation of Webster's bloodthirsty tragedy tells the story of Brachiano, who falls violently in love with the married Vittoria Corombona. Desperate to possess her, he arranges the murder of her husband and his wife - but in doing so, he makes a deadly enemy... Shaun Dingwall stars as Brachiano, with Anna Maxwell Martin as Vittoria. 
 
Role Play - Michael Billington talks to acclaimed actresses Eleanor Bron and Juliet Stevenson about The Duchess of Malfi and its relevance today, and discuss their experiences playing the lead role. 
 
The Skull Beneath the Skin - Elizabethan scholar and biographer Muriel Bradbrook delves into Webster's life and plays, exploring how his childhood and family background informed his writing. 
 
Cast and credits 
Written by John Webster 
 
The Duchess of Malfi 
The Duchess of Malfi - Pippa Nixon 
Bosola - Shaun Dooley 
Antonio - Sandy Grierson 
Ferdinand - Alexander Cobb 
Cardinal - Jonathan Keeble 
Delio/Pilgrim - Kevin Harvey 
Cariola/Julia - Jenny Platt 
Silvio/Pilgrim - Rupert Hill 
Doctor - Lloyd Hutchinson 
 
Abridged and adapted by Pauline Harris and Emma Smith 
Directed by Pauline Harris 
Original songs arranged and composed by Jules Maxwell and sung by Shaun Dooley and Jules Maxwell 
Introduction by Professor Emma Smith from Hertford College, Oxford 
First broadcast BBC Radio 3, 11 July 2021 
 
The White Devil 
Flamineo - Patrick Kennedy 
Vittoria - Anna Maxwell Martin 
Brachiano - Shaun Dingwall 
Francisco - Peter Wight 
Monticelso - Sean Baker 
Ludovico - Harry Myers 
Isabella - Christine Kavanagh 
Gasparo - David Seddon 
Camillo - Sam Dale 
Cornelia - Frances de la Tour 
Marcello - Michael Shelford 
Giovanni - Lloyd Thomas 
Hortensio - Tony Bell 
Zanche - Pippa Bennett Warner 
Dr Julio - Jude Akuwudike 
 
Adapted and directed by Marc Beeby 
First broadcast BBC Radio 3, 15 August 2010 
 
Role Play 
Presented by Michael Billington 
With Eleanor Bron and Juliet Stevenson 
Produced by Fiona McLean 
First broadcast BBC Radio 3, 16 July 1997 
 
The Skull Beneath the Skin 
Presented by Muriel Bradbrook 
First broadcast BBC Radio 3, 29 October 1980 
 
 
©2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

The Duchess of Malfi & The White Devil

2 BBC Radio 4 full-cast productions

George Bernard Shaw

15 of the finest works by the world-renowned playwright, as heard on BBC radio 
 
George Bernard Shaw - or Bernard Shaw, as he preferred to be known - was one of Ireland's foremost dramatists and thinkers. His plays range from contemporary satires to historical allegories, and are infused with ideas, insight, wit and wisdom. Included here are some of his best works, adapted for radio and brought together in reverse chronological order in one statement collection. 
 
We begin with his prophetic political comedy The Apple Cart, set in the future and pitting the fictional King Magnus against his Prime Minister. Next is his masterpiece Saint Joan, dramatising the trials of Joan of Arc, for which he won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1925. Heartbreak House lampoons England's ruling elite before World War I, as they sail heedlessly towards catastrophe; Pygmalion explores feminism and the class system through Cockney flowergirl Eliza Doolittle and irascible phonetics professor Henry Higgins; and in Androcles and the Lion, Shaw transforms Aesop's fable to impart his thoughts on human frailty, religion and martyrdom. 
 
The Dark Lady of the Sonnets imagines a meeting between William Shakespeare and Queen Elizabeth I, while alternate history Press Cuttings sets the suffragettes against crotchety war veteran General Mitchener. Here, too, are the controversial The Shewing-Up of Blanco Posnet, banned in England for contravening blasphemy laws; the classic comedy Major Barbara, a tale of romance, rich privilege and a battle of wills; and the humorous philosophical drama based on the Don Juan theme, Man and Superman, directed for Radio 3 by theatrical icon Sir Peter Hall. 
 
Also featured are early works Caesar and Cleopatra, a dramatised account of the relationship between the Roman dictator and the Egyptian queen; The Devil's Disciple, set against the backdrop of the American War of Independence; The Man of Destiny, in which Napoleon enters into a battle of wits with a beautiful stranger; and Candida, about a vicar's wife whose life is turned upside down by a young poet. Finally, Shaw's acclaimed 'problem play', Mrs Warren's Profession, probes issues of Victorian prostitution and double standards. And in a bonus documentary, devotees of the great author discuss his life, work and legacy. 
 
Among the array of stars in these coruscating dramas are Ralph Fiennes, Judi Dench, Prunella Scales, Anton Lesser, Juliet Stevenson, Paul Merton, Ron Cook, Victoria Hamilton, Nicholas Le Prevost, David Suchet, Eleanor Bron, David Troughton, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Alistair McGowan, Al Murray, Morgana Robinson, Robert Bathurst, Leslie French, Marius Goring, Arthur Lowe, Denys Hawthorne, Rebecca Front, Alan Badel, Gregory Peck, Paul Ritter, Hannah Gordon, Edward Petherbridge and Maggie Steed. 
 
NB: This collection contains language that reflects the attitudes of the era in which the plays were written. 
 
Production credits 
Written by George Bernard Shaw 
First published 1893 (Mrs Warren's Profession), 1894 (Candida), 1895 (The Man of Destiny), 1896 (The Devil's Disciple), 1898 (Caesar and Cleopatra), 1902 (Man and Superman), 1905 (Major Barbara), 1909 (The Shewing-Up of Blanco Posnet, Press Cuttings), 1910 (The Dark Lady of the Sonnets), 1912 (Androcles and the Lion, Pygmalion), 1919 (Heartbreak House), 1923 (Saint Joan), 1928 (The Apple Cart), 2007 (Great Lives) 
 
Contents 
 
 
The Apple Cart 
 
Saint Joan 
 
Heartbreak House 
 
Pygmalion 
 
Androcles and the Lion 
 
The Dark Lady of the Sonnets 
 
Press Cuttings 
 
The Shewing-Up of Blanco Posnet 
 
Major Barbara 
 
Man and Superman 
 
Caesar and Cleopatra 
 
The Devil's Disciple 
 
The Man of Destiny 
 
Candida 
 
Mrs Warren's Profession 
 
Great Lives: George Bernard Shaw 
 
©2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

A BBC Radio Drama Collection

Miguel de Cervantes

A captivating BBC Radio adaptation of Cervantes' masterpiece, chronicling the adventures of an intrepid knight errant and his faithful squire 
 
Locked up in jail, Miguel de Cervantes is attempting to start a novel when he is visited by a priest, who tells him about an old man driven insane by chivalric romances and a vision of glory. Inspired, Cervantes takes up his pen, and begins to write... 
 
His story begins in La Mancha, where an elderly country gentleman decides to emulate his knightly heroes, Sir Lancelot and El Cid, and embark on a quest to prove his valour. Renaming himself Don Quixote, he puts on his rusty armour, takes up his broadsword, saddles his broken-down horse, Rocinante, and rides out with his loyal squire Sancho Panza to put the world to rights. 
 
Spurred on by thoughts of his lady, the beautiful Dulcinea, he travels the Spanish countryside, charging at giants disguised as windmills, battling evil enchanters dressed as friars and bravely offering to fight a lion. But as his colourful fantasies come up against mundane reality, will the valiant knight be vanquished? 
 
Adapted by award-winning playwright John Arden and narrated by Ronald Baddiley as Cervantes, with Bob Grant as Don Quixote and Bernard Cribbins as Sancho Panza, this magical, metafictional tale, full of comic incidents and stories-within-stories, is at once farcical and heart-breaking. 
 
First published over 400 years ago, Cervantes' classic has been described as the first modern novel. One of the bestselling books of all time, it has been translated into over 100 languages and influenced countless authors including Flaubert, Dostoevsky, Kafka and Borges. Included here is a 2-part bonus programme, Masterpiece: Don Quixote, exploring its importance and enduring popularity. Among the contributors are Carlos Fuentes, Ben Okri and Doris Lessing, who voted the book 'the greatest literary work ever written' in a 2002 survey of 100 authors worldwide. 
 
Cast and credits 
 
Don Quixote 
Don Quixote - Bob Grant 
Sancho Panza - Bernard Cribbins 
Cervantes - Ronald Baddiley 
Father Perez - David Sumner 
Barber-Surgeon - Peter Wheeler 
Housekeeper - Kathleen Helme 
Antonia - Kate Lee 
Moor - Geoffrey Banks 
Innkeeper - Kenneth Alan Taylor 
Dorothea - Linda Gardner 
Market boy - Alan Parnaby 
Sergeant - Alan Meadows 
Don Fernando - Simon Molloy 
Aldonza - Meg Johnson 
Duke - Russell Dixon 
Samson - Stephen Boxer 
Teresa Panza - Paula Tilbrook 
Altisidora - Harriet Walter 
Scholar - Malcolm Hebden 
Puppet Master - Ken Campbell 
Duchess - Judith Arthy 
Veiled Lady - Anne Reid 
Steward - John McGregor 
Other parts played by members of the cast 
Written by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra 
Adapted by John Arden 
Directed by Alfred Bradley 
Music composed by Stephen Boxer and played by Ian Gammie, Bill Nixon, Jane Ryan, Roderick Skeaping, John Turner and Stephen Boxer 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 5-6 October 1980 
 
Masterpiece: Don Quixote 
With contributions from: Geoff West, Jeremy Lawrance, Julian Weiss, Francisco Rico, Andrew Sachs, Francisco Sesto, Adrienne Martin, Anne Cruz, Orson Welles, Edith Grossman, Carlos Fuentes, Ben Okri and Doris Lessing 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 15-22 August 2005 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd 
(p) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Don Quixote

Bebe Daniels

Bob Block

Bill Harding

Ray Sonnin

Ronnie Hanbury

The vintage radio comedy series starring a real-life American family - husband and wife Ben Lyon and Bebe Daniels, and their children 
 
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in 1950, Life with the Lyons was the first UK 'situation comedy'. Over 11 million listeners tuned in to the hilarious fictional misadventures of real-life Hollywood stars Bebe Daniels and Ben Lyons and their two children Barbara and Richard, as well as Scottish housekeeper Aggie and next-door neighbours Florrie and Mr Wimple. Such was its popularity that the series ran for 11 years, spawning a TV spin-off, a West End play and two feature films. 
 
Included here are 32 of the very best episodes, among them an early one from the first series and the very last show, Roaming Scandals. Molly Weir co-stars as Aggie, with Doris Rogers as Florrie, and there are special guest appearances from comedian Ted Ray, his son Robin Ray and boxer Freddie Mills, as well as cameos from household names including Charles Hawtrey, Roger Delgado and Norman Shelley. There's never a dull moment in the Lyons household, and these fast, frantic and funny slices of life are sure to have you roaring with laughter! 
 
 
Production credits 
Written by Bebe Daniels, Bob Block, Ronnie Hanbury, Bill Harding and Ray Sonin 
Produced by Tom Ronald 
BBC Variety Orchestra led by John Jezard and conducted by Paul Fenoulhet 
BBC Revue Orchestra conducted by Robert Busby 
Incidental music by Arthur Wilkinson 
 
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme on the following dates: 
 
Time Marches Back (26 February 1951) 
Accidents Will Happen (25 October 1951) 
Let Them Eat Cake (15 November 1951) 
I Don't Know What To Get Her (6 December 1951) 
The Play's the Thing (3 April 1952) 
Home Again (16 November 1952) 
The Christmas Story (26 December 1952) 
The Barbecue (23 January 1953) 
Ben's Birthday (6 February 1953) 
How To Be A Good Father (13 March 1953) 
You Can't Get Blood Out Of A Stone (10 April 1953) 
Lovely to Look At (3 June 1953) 
Once A Ham... (19 June 1953) 
Coming Home (12 November 1953) 
Nature Boy (19 November 1953) 
Let the Men Do It (26 November 1953) 
Come To The Fair (3 December 1953) 
No Rest for Ben (10 December 1953) 
Christmas Shopping (17 December 1953) 
'Twas The Night Before (24 December 1953) 
Who Gave Me That? (31 December 1953) 
Once Upon a Mime (7 January 1954) 
Father's Day (21 January 1954) 
Back in the Autumn (6 May 1954) 
Danger, Richard at Work (16 December 1954) 
The New Job (30 December 1954) 
A Crooner in the House (20 January 1955) 
An Afternoon on the Thames (21 April 1955) 
Three Blind Dates (12 May 1955) 
The Rising Son (9 February 1958) 
Dial Special Branch (16 February 1958) 
Roaming Scandals (19 May 1961) 
 
Cast 
Bebe - Bebe Daniels 
Ben - Ben Lyon 
Barbara - Barbara Lyon 
Richard - Richard Lyon 
Florrie Wainwright - Doris Rogers 
Aggie MacDonald - Molly Weir 
Mr Wimple - Horace Percival 
With Dennis Arundell, Wilfred Babbage, Clive Baxter, Richard Bellaers, Barbara Blair, Bob Block, Alanna Boyce, Hugh David, Roger Delgado, David Enders, Angela Ferguson, Patricia Field, Ronnie Harris, Charles Hawtrey, Arthur Hill, Arthur Lawrence, Gwen Lewis, Freddie Mills, Harry Morris, Hugh Morton, John Pullen, Philip Ray, Robin Ray, Ted Ray, Ian Sadler, Norman Shelley, Brian Smith, Selma Vaz Dias 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd 
(p) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Life with the Lyons

32 episodes of the classic BBC Radio sitcom

Harold Pinter

Karen Blixen

Harold Pinter's unproduced screenplay of Karen Blixen's intriguing short story of love and loss 
 
'An important addition to the Pinter canon' The Stage 
 
The annals of movie history are full of lost treasures - spectacular scripts from world-renowned writers that could have been classics, had they only been made. Now, for the first time, some of these forgotten gems have been brought to life, fully realised as vivid, cinematic radio productions. Scripted by major 20th Century writers, including Harold Pinter, Arthur Miller, Alfred Hitchcock and Dennis Potter, they star a host of A-list actors and feature richly evocative, atmospheric soundtracks. 
 
The Dreaming Child, one of seven 'unmade movies' available on audio, is an eerie, enigmatic drama set in Bristol in 1868. Emily Carter, married to a wealthy man, is haunted by her first love, who died at sea. Unable to have children, she and her husband Tom adopt a young slum child - but Jack is no ordinary boy, and seems to have an uncanny knowledge of his new home and family... 
 
Renowned for his critically-acclaimed plays, Harold Pinter also wrote many outstanding film scripts, including Accident, Betrayal and The Pumpkin Eater. The Dreaming Child was commissioned in 1997 by actress Julia Ormond, who wanted to produce and direct, but the project never got the green light - until now. Lydia Leonard (Last Christmas) stars as Emily, with Bertie Carvel (The Sister) as Tom, Rose Leslie (Game of Thrones) as Peggy and Anne Reid (Last Tango in Halifax) as the narrator, who provides the 'establishing shots' - the stage directions and descriptions from the screenplay. Moving, mesmerising and mysterious, this remarkable production is a triumphant fulfilment of Pinter's great artistic vision. 
 
 
Production credits 
Written by Harold Pinter 
Based on 'The Dreaming Child' by Isak Dinesen (Karen Blixen) 
Adapted by Joanna Hogg and Laurence Bowen 
Directed by Joanna Hogg 
Produced by Laurence Bowen 
Sound design: Wilfredo Acosta 
A Feelgood Fiction production for BBC Radio 4 
 
Cast 
Narrator - Anne Reid 
Emily - Lydia Leonard 
Tom - Bertie Carvel 
Charlie - Joshua Silver 
Mrs Jones - Joanna Scanlan 
Miss Scott - Susan Woolridge 
Jack - Jack Hollington 
Peggy - Rose Leslie 
Bess - Bryony Hannah 
Mr Rudd - Karl Johnson 
Mr Carter - Malcolm Sinclair 
Children - Flynn Allen, Esme Allen-Quarmby, Isabella Blake-Thomas &amp; Joey Price 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 7 March 2015 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd 
(p) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Unmade Movies: Harold Pinter's The Dreaming Child

A BBC Radio 4 adaptation of the unproduced screenplay

Harold Pinter's unproduced screenplay of Joseph Conrad's last great novel, specially adapted for radio by Sir Richard Eyre 
 
'All radio drama should be at this level' Spectator 
 
The annals of movie history are full of lost treasures - spectacular scripts from world-renowned writers that could have been classics, had they only been made. Now, for the first time, some of these forgotten gems have been brought to life, fully realised as vivid, cinematic radio productions. Scripted by major 20th Century writers, including Harold Pinter, Arthur Miller, Alfred Hitchcock and Dennis Potter, they star a host of A-list actors and feature richly evocative, atmospheric soundtracks. 
 
One of seven of these 'unmade movies' available on audio, Victory is a dark, morally complex drama set in the Dutch East Indies in 1900. It tells the story of Baron Heyst, a mysterious Swedish recluse living alone on a deserted island whose life is changed forever when he visits a neighbouring island, and falls in love with young English violinist Lena. Pursued by predatory older men, Lena is drawn to Heyst, and escapes with him to his island retreat... 
 
The foremost playwright of his generation, Harold Pinter was also a celebrated screenwriter, who wrote the scripts for hit movies including The Servant, The Go-Between and The French Lieutenant's Woman. Victory, however, was judged too expensive for Hollywood - but, courtesy of this special adaptation by award-winning director Sir Richard Eyre, it has finally seen the light of day. Bjarne Henriksen (The Killing) stars as Heyst, with Vanessa Kirby (The Crown) as Lena and Mark Strong (Cruella) as Ricardo, while narrator Simon Russell Beale sets the scene with directions and descriptions from Pinter's screenplay, some taken directly from Conrad's original novel. So sit back, grab some popcorn and let this epic production play out on the biggest screen of all - that of your imagination. 
 
 
Production credits 
Written by Harold Pinter 
Based on Victory: An Island Tale by Joseph Conrad 
Directed by Richard Eyre 
Produced by Laurence Bowen 
Sound Design: John Leonard and Wilfredo Acosta 
A Feelgood Fiction production for BBC Radio 4 
 
Cast 
Narrator - Simon Russell Beale 
Heyst - Bjarne Henriksen 
Lena - Vanessa Kirby 
Davidson - Matthew Marsh 
Ricardo - Mark Strong 
Jones - Robert Portal 
Schomberg - Patrick O'Kane 
Mrs Schomberg - Helen Schlesinger 
Pedro - Martin Marquez 
Chang - Paul Chan 
Mrs Zangiacomo - Flaminia Cinque 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 28 February 2015 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd 
(p) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Unmade Movies: Harold Pinter's Victory

Federico Garcia Lorca

Three of Federico García Lorca's best-known plays, as heard on BBC Radio 3 
 
Poet and playwright Federico García Lorca is one of the most famous figures in 20th-century Spanish literature. A member of the 'Generation of '27' avant-garde movement that included Dalí and Buñuel, he became well known for his lyrical, symbolic works mixing modernism and the folkloric traditions of his native Andalusia. He was executed by Nationalist forces at the start of the Spanish Civil War, aged only 38. Over 80 years later, his poetry is revered worldwide, and the plays in his 'Rural Trilogy' are widely regarded as masterpieces. 
 
Blood Wedding - Based on the true story of a tragic feud between two families in rural Almeria, Lorca's atmospheric meditation on fate, war, tradition, passion and repression is adapted for radio by former Poet Laureate Ted Hughes. The winner of the 2008 Sony Award for Best Drama, it stars Barbara Flynn, Carl Prekopp, Sarah Smart and Andrea Riseborough. 
 
Yerma - Infused with poetic imagery and song, this evocative drama tells the tragic tale of a woman's desperate desire for a child. Her maternal yearnings escalate to the point of obsession, ultimately driving her to commit a terrible crime... Emma Cuniffe stars as Yerma, with a full cast including Conrad Nelson, Declan Wilson, Rebecca Callard and Annette Badland. 
 
The House of Bernarda Alba - Written in 1936 and completed just a few months before his assassination, Lorca's final play explores the familial passions and tensions that arise following the death of Bernarda Alba's second husband. After the funeral, the tyrannical matriarch imposes an eight-year period of mourning on her daughters - but the ensuing power struggle will have tragic consequences. Starring Siân Thomas, Brigit Forsyth and Elaine Cassidy. 
 
 
First published 1932 (Blood Wedding), 1934 (Yerma), 1936 (The House of Bernarda Alba) 
 
Cast and credits 
Written by Federico Garcia Lorca 
Produced and directed by Pauline Harris 
 
Blood Wedding 
Mother of Bridegroom - Barbara Flynn 
Bridegroom/Woodcutter - Carl Prekopp 
Bride - Sarah Smart 
Leonardo - William Ash 
Leonardo's Wife/Girl - Andrea Riseborough 
Father of Bride - David Fleeshman 
Beggar Woman/Neighbour - Mary Cunningham 
Servant/Mother-in-Law - Ellie Haddington 
Moon - Claire Benedict 
Girl - Liz Carter 
Woodcutters - Sam Curtis &amp; Chris Hannon 
Little Girl - Daisy Jones 
Adapted by Ted Hughes 
Music composed by Matthew Wood 
First broadcast BBC Radio 3, 25 November 2007 
 
Yerma 
Yerma - Emma Cunniffe 
Juan - Conrad Nelson 
Victor - Declan Wilson 
Maria - Rebecca Callard 
Pagan Old Woman - Annette Badland 
Dolores - Claire Benedict 
Dolores' Neighbour - Kate Layden 
Washerwomen - Deborah McAndrew &amp; Fionnuala Dorrity 
Washerwoman/Girl 1 - Liz Carter 
Washerwoman/Female at the Pilgrimage - Helen Longworth 
Male at the Pilgrimage - Kevin Harvey 
Spanish Voice - Anna Castineiras 
Translation by Michael Dewell and Carmen Zapata 
Music composed by Tayo Akinbode 
Musicians: Tayo Akinbode, Richard Arthurs and Chris Cruiks 
Singers: Members of the cast and Leslie Pratt 
First broadcast BBC Radio 3, 26 Sep 2010 
 
The House of Bernarda Alba 
Bernarda Alba - Sian Thomas 
La Poncia - Brigit Forsyth 
Maria Josefa - Pauline Jefferson 
Angustias - Kate Coogan 
Magdalena - Victoria Brazier 
Martirio - Christine Bottomley 
Adela - Elaine Cassidy 
Prudencia - Christine Cox 
Girl - Daisy Jones 
Adapted by Pauline Harris 
Translation by Michael Dewell and Carmen Zapata 
Musical direction and original music composition by Conrad Nelson 
Male chorus singers: Les Pratt, Martin Medina, Nathan Jenkins, Andrew Johnston, David Cane, Peter Edge and George Leeming 
First broadcast BBC Radio 3, 2 March 2014 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. 
(p) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Lorca’s Rural Trilogy

Blood Wedding, Yerma & The House of Bernarda Alba

Ray Galton

Alan Simpson

Over 30 brilliant BBC recordings, including TV shows, radio highlights and a wealth of previously unreleased material 
 
Tony Hancock was one of Britain's best-loved and most influential postwar comedians. Collected here are some of the very best radio and TV episodes from Hancock's Half Hour, plus celebrations, compilations, interviews, original dramas and documentaries - many of which have never before been available on audio. 
 
There's the debut show from the radio series, The First Night Party, introduced by writers Ray Galton and Alan Simpson; and the last ever BBC television show, The Succession - Son and Heir. Also included are four new-to-audio TV episodes - The Oak Tree, The Train Journey, The Tycoon and The Lift - as well as many other television favourites: The Flight of the Red Shadow, The Wrong Man, The Economy Drive, Lord Byron Lived Here, The Cold, The Emigrant, The Baby Sitters, The Poison Pen Letters, The Bedsitter, The Bowmans, The Radio Ham and The Blood Donor. 
 
Two programmes introduced by Galton and Simpson, The Best of Hancock's Half Hour (Radio) and The Best of Hancock's Half Hour (TV) showcase the show's finest moments, and more classic clips can be found in Unique Hancock, an extended version of the vintage 1973 vinyl LP complete with commentary and linking narration. And in Steve Punt's Hancock Cuttings, included here for the first time on audio, the comedian and Tony Hancock fan presents a host of oddities and rarities featuring the lad himself. 
 
The life and wonderful work of Hancock, his writers, and fellow radio actor Kenneth Williams are commemorated in three never-before-released documentaries - The New Elizabethans: Tony Hancock, Celebration: Galton &amp; Simpson and Great Lives: Kenneth Williams. Also making their audio debut are two poignant radio dramas, Hancock's Last Half Hour (starring Richard Briers as Hancock) and Hancock's Ashes (starring Ewan Bailey as Willie Rushton). 
 
Finally, we go behind-the scenes with Galton and Simpson in a trio of insightful interviews - a fascinating 30-minute discussion, specially recorded for BBC Audio in 2003, and the radio programmes In Conversation with Galton and Simpson and The Complete and Utter History of Hancock's Half Hour, in which the duo chat to Paul Jackson and Paul Merton respectively. 
 
Please note: due to the age of these recordings, the sound quality may vary. 
 
Production credits 
Hancock's Half Hour written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson 
Produced by Dennis Main Wilson (radio) and Duncan Wood (TV) 
Theme and incidental music composed by, and orchestra conducted by, Wally Stott 
Collection compiled by Martin Gibbons 
With thanks to the Tony Hancock Appreciation Society 
 
Contents 
The First Night Party 
The Best of Hancock's Half Hour (Radio) 
The Best of Hancock's Half Hour (TV) 
The Succession: Son and Heir 
The Flight of the Red Shadow 
The Wrong Man 
The Oak Tree 
The Economy Drive 
Lord Byron Lived Here 
The Train Journey 
The Tycoon 
The Cold 
The Emigrant 
The Baby Sitters 
The Poison Pen Letters 
The Bedsitter 
The Bowmans 
The Radio Ham 
The Lift 
The Blood Donor 
Celebration: Galton and Simpson 
Unique Hancock 
Hancock's Last Half Hour 
In Conversation with... Galton and Simpson 
Interview with Galton and Simpson 
The Complete and Utter History of Hancock's Half Hour 
The New Elizabethans: Tony Hancock 
Steve Punt's Hancock Cuttings 
Hancock's Ashes 
Great Lives: Kenneth Williams 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd 
(p) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Hancock’s Half Hour: Selected TV Soundtracks & more

A BBC Classic Comedy Collection

Black Star Series

Blacklist

Set inside Blandings Castle, this comedy series follows Lord Emsworth and his pig Empress as they meet with his dysfunctional family and friends, and the havoc that follows.

Blandings

Blandings Castle

Blood City Rollers

Bloodlines

Blossom Street

Blue Ant

Bluey

Bodyguard

Bodyguard Series

Bollocks to Alton Towers

Book of Dust Series

Borderlands

Born Wicked

Boudica: the last defender of the Celtic culture; the only woman openly to have led her warriors into battle; the only British warrior to have stood against the might of Imperial Rome - and triumphed. 
 
This is her story.

Boudica

Boy Soldier

Brain Chemicals

Brave Bunnies

Bridge

Bridget Jones's Diary

Brief Encounters

Bright Young Things

Brotherband

Arthur Bryant and John May are Golden Age detectives living in the modern world. Together they head up the Peculiar Crimes Unit, ready to solve any of the weird and wonderful crimes that fall across their desks.

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