Alan Cutler

Alan Davies

Alan Dean Foster

Alan Duff

Alan Durant is the author of books for a wide age-range, from picture books such as Burger Boy, Angus Rides the Goods Train and Always and Forever to top-end teenage thrillers (Blood, Flesh and Bones). Having worked as a copywriter at Walker Books, he is now a full-time author. 
 
He's married, with three children and lives in Brighton. He does a lot of school visits throughout the UK and abroad and also runs writing workshops.

Alan Durant

Alan Edge

Alan Ereira

Alan Garner

Alan Gilbey

Alan Gordon is the founder and director of the Pain Psychology Center in California, a leading treatment facility for chronic pain sufferers that sees over 1,500 patients from around the world every year. Debilitated by chronic pain throughout his body for several years and frustrated by the lack of effective treatment, Gordon developed the ground-breaking Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT) – a highly effective system of psychological techniques that rewire the brain’s neural circuits to turn off “stuck” pain signals. He is an adjunct assistant professor at the University of Southern California.

Alan Gordon

Alan Grant

Born in 1926 in New York City, Alan Greenspan worked as a Juilliard-trained professional musician before studying Economics at New York University, where he earned his PhD. From 1974 to 1977, he served as Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Gerald Ford. In 1987, President Ronald Reagan appointed him Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, a position he held until his retirement in 2006. He is the author of the bestselling The Age of Turbulence and The Map and the Territory 2.0.

Alan Greenspan

Alan H Guth

Alan Hansen was one of Britain's most respected football players and is now one of the most outspoken and popular football pundits.

Alan Hansen

Alan Harris is a Welsh playwright who has written several plays for BBC radio including The Lighthouse and The Gold Farmer. His play A Good Night Out in the Valleys launched the new National Theatre Wales in 2010 and he has also been awarded a prestigious Creative Wales Award.

Alan Harris

Alan Hill

Alan Hollinghurst was born in 1954. He is the author of one of the most highly praised first novels to appear in the 1980s, The Swimming-Pool Library, and was selected as one of the Best of Young British Novelists 1993. His second novel, The Folding Star, won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and was shortlisted for the 1994 Booker Prize. His novel The Line of Beauty won the Booker Prize in 2004. His most recent novel, The Sparsholt Affair, was published in 2017.

Alan Hollinghurst

Alan Hooper is a founder and Honorary Fellow of the Centre for Leadership Studies, 
University of Exeter, and is also a visiting Professor at Bristol Business 
School. He has been a CEO in the public sector and now consults widely on 
senior management development and the management of change.

Alan Hooper

Alan Isler was born in England in 1934, emigrating to the US at the age of 18. After serving in the US army he went on to study literature at Columbia University, and taught for much of his adult life. Isler was the author of several novels including Kraven Images, The Bacon Fancier, Clerical Errors, The Living Proof and The Prince of West End Avenue, which won the National Jewish Book Award in 1994. Isler died in 2010. 
 .

Alan Isler

Alan J Wilson

Alan Jenkins

Alan Johnson was born in May 1950. He is a British Labour Party politician who served as Home Secretary from June 2009 to May 2010. Before that he filled a wide variety of cabinet positions in both the Blair and Brown governments, including Health Secretary and Education Secretary. Until 20 January 2011 he was Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer. Johnson was the Member of Parliament for Hull West and Hessle until his retirement from politics in 2017. 
 His first book, This Boy, won the RSL Ondaatje Prize and the Orwell Prize in 2013. His second, Please Mister Postman, won the National Book Award for Autobiography of the Year in 2014. His third, The Long and Winding Road, was published in 2016 and won the Parliamentary Book Award for Best Memoir.

Alan Johnson

Alan Jones

Belfast-born twins Alan and Gary Keery love cereal. As creators of The Cereal Killer Café, the trendiest new eatery on Brick Lane, they have turned that love of the nation’s favourite comfort food into a thriving business. The opening of their first café saw extraordinary interest with press and broadcast coverage from all over the world. The café was voted best new restaurant by Hot Dinners in 2014. A second café is opening in summer 2015.

Alan Keery

Alan Langford

Alan Lerner

Alan MacDonald

Alan Macdonald

Alan Macfarlane

Alan McDonald

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Judy Upton

Resourceful mum Shanice is persuaded by her next-door neighbour, Evie, to take up the bizarre sport of jelly wrestling to make ends meet in this BBC Radio 4 'Afternon Play'. Becky, AKA 'Azaria The Amazon', shows Shanice the ropes, and she is soon wowing the rowdy stag night audiences with her slams and smackdowns. By night she's bikini clad 'Alice Malice', by day she's mum to gymnastics-mad Alex and a devoted daughter to her disabled, ex-army dad.   When these two worlds threaten to collide, it reawakens a painful episode from Shanice's childhood which threatens to tear apart her cherished family life and leads to a show-down with the father she adores.   'Jelly Babes' was written by Judy Upton, and stars Sally Orrock as Shanice, Nadine Marshall as Becky and Jane Whittenshaw as Evie. Also featuring amongst the cast are David Seddon¸ Sam Dale and Ryan Watson. 'Jelly Babes' was originally broadcast on 13 April 2011.

Jelly Babes

A BBC Radio 4 dramatisation

Simon Passmore

A fast-paced psychological thriller from BBC Radio 4's 'Saturday Play' slot, originally broadcast 26 March 2011.  A city banker is found dead in an opulent apartment. At the funeral, his former girlfriend Helen is unexpectedly questioned about when she last saw him. Did he mention computer files, or give her anything as a keepsake? Helen's suspicions mount as she retraces his last movements. Her discoveries put her in the firing line...  A taut, character-driven conspiracy thriller, writhing with twists and heavy on menace, by one of radio's leading writers of thrillers, Simon Passmore. 'Leverage' stars Claire Foy, Blake Ritson, Charlie Cox, Sally Orrock, Joanna Monro, Nyasha Hatendi and Sean Baker.

Leverage (BBC Radio 4 The Saturday Play)

Christopher Green

Summer 2006: Christopher Green meets Frida. He is the after-dinner entertainment. She is a dinner party guest. What starts as a 'I'm your biggest fan' conversation turns into a long chat about the nature of loving someone you've never met.   'Like an Angel Passing Through My Room' is about being a fan. About a real and an imagined intimacy. A project several years in the making, what started as an upbeat reflection on fame and the notion of being a fan, has developed into a meditation on the communication between two people and coping with the blows life deals. Green's partner died shortly after recording the interview with Frida, in which they talked about her long recovery from the death of her husband in 1999. This play is deeply personal and reflective but with a firmly comic sensibility. The journey takes in life and death, and some of the territory in between, with a heavy emphasis on pop music.  Directed by Claire Grove. Originally broadcast 16 February 2011.

Like An Angel Passing Through My Room

Bettina Gracias

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast drama about a young Pakistani boy forced into bonded labour in a carpet factory at the age of four, and who became a figurehead for the Bonded Liberation Movement aged eleven. Originally broadcast as the 'Afternoon Play' on 25 February 2009, and repeated on 18 January 2011.  Despite the valiant efforts of many, there are still thousands of child labourers in factories across Asia - often working long hours in terrible conditions to provide cheap clothing and other goods for our high street stores. This play, the extraordinary and moving story of Iqbal Masih, brings to the foreground one of the less savoury elements of an increasingly global economy, and contributes to the continuing debate about our wider responsibilities as consumers. It also celebrates the tragically short life of a remarkable individual.  'My Name is Iqbal Masih' won the 2009 Clarion Radio Drama Award, and stars Sagar Radia in the title role, with Bhasker Patel as Khan, Kaleem Janjua as the carpet master and Manjeet Mann as Inayat. Also featured amongst the cast are Inam Mirza, Gagan Sharma, Janice Acquah, Chris Pavlo and Saikat Ahamed.

My Name Is Iqbal Masih

Charlotte Thompson

A frank and uncompromising BBC Radio 3 drama about a young woman in prison. Originally broadcast on 5 February 2011 as part of 'The Wire', a showcase for works that push the boundaries of drama and narrative.  Tomorrow 23-year-old Ronia will have the most important conversation of her life - her parole hearing. Ronia has been serving an 'Imprisonment for Public Protection' sentence ever since she was eighteen. With an IPP sentence there is no automatic release date: once a prisoner has served their full tariff, they still have to convince a parole board that they've changed. And that's what Ronia must do.  After five years, Ronia has long served her tariff, and is ready to persuade the parole board that she's no longer a danger to the public. As the night passes, Ronia takes us back to her younger self, having fun with her friend Tyson, hanging out on London streets, and trying to steer clear of violent girl gang, the Sykes Crew.  Starring Sophie Cosson and Holli Dempsey as the older and younger Ronia, Zaraah Abrahams as Tyson and Marian Kemmer as the Parole Judge. Also featured in the cast are Ben Crowe and Lloyd Thomas.

Story Of A Rude Gal

Mervyn Peake

Paul Rhys, Miranda Richardson and Carl Prekopp star in this major six-part BBC Radio Classic Serial based on the writings of Mervyn Peake and Maeve Gilmore. 
 
The life and times of Titus Groan, 77th Earl of Gormenghast - a vast stronghold of crumbling masonry steeped in immemorial ritual and inhabited by an extraordinary cavalcade of characters including the kitchen boy, Steerpike, who ruthlessly rises to the upper echelons of dynastic power through mischief and murder. Based on the novels written by Mervyn Peake and on the recently discovered concluding volume, Titus Alone, written by his widow, the six one-hour episodes chronicle Titus' life from birth, through childhood and adolescence to his decision to renounce his title and embark on an exploration of the alien world beyond the confines of his home. It is a journey in search of identity that eventually takes him to a distant island where he encounters the man who is none other than his creator. 
 
The 'Gormenghast' trilogy is both a powerful and unique fantasy and a satirical allegory on the fancies, foibles and phobias of the world around us, and this BBC Radio production brings Peake's extraordinary imagination to vivid life. Featuring a star cast including James Fleet, Tamsin Greig and Olivia Hallinan, it was dramatised for radio by Brian Sibley. The series was produced by Jeremy Mortimer.

The History Of Titus Groan

Donna Franceschild

A BBC Radio 4 black comedy about the unlikely friendship between an asylum seeker and a migrant worker, who find a stray lottery ticket and think it may be the answer to all their problems.  Originally broadcast as the 'Afternoon Play' on 18 February 2009, and repeated on 1 April 2011, 'The Lottery Ticket' was written by BAFTA winner Donna Franceschild, and stars Nitzan Sharron, John Kazek and Meg Fraser.

The Lottery Ticket

Nigel Planer

At the heart of this explosive BBC Radio 4 comedy-drama are two morally opposed characters, both in love with the same woman, who has just - tragically - died. Originally broadcast as the 'Afternoon Play' on 22 March 2011, The Magnificent Andrea is the first original radio play by Nigel Planer ('The Young Ones', 'Hairspray'), in which two wonderful characters, Barry (Roger Allam) and Nigel (Nigel Planer), collide and wrestle over the memory of their shared inspirational warrior woman - and of course, her home. Andrea's former husband, boozy columnist Barry, is at the tail end of a career marked by low achievement in pugnacious, snide journalism. By contrast, Nigel - recent partner until her sudden death - is an alternative but ultra-orthodox, politically-correct naturopath. We join Barry after a typically hearty breakfast on his way from Chelsea to attend the funeral in South London, where he confronts his squeaky-clean nemesis Nigel. The lugubrious Barry is appalled at the ceremony, and it is while milling outside that the basically decent Nigel makes the mistake of inviting Barry back to the house - Barry's house - for the reception. There the fireworks really start... 'The Magnificent Andrea' also stars Sally Orrock, Brian Bowles, Jane Whittenshaw, Sam Dale, Joanna Monro and Stuart McLoughlin.

The Magnificent Andrea

James Goss

Rupert Laight

Ryan Scott

Three radio plays featuring Captain Jack, Ianto, Gwen and Rhys. The Devil and Miss Carew sees Gwen and Rhys involved in a nursing home mystery. Why is Miss Carew, an octogenarian with terminal heart disease, suddenly looking so fit and healthy? And what is her connection with the mysterious power cuts that are sweeping the nation? Written by Rupert Laight. Submission finds the Torchwood team heading for the bottom of the sea - the Mariana Trench - after they intercept a distress call. But when the submarine they are on crashes, they find themselves at the mercy of a hungry alien... Written by Ryan Scott. The House of the Dead sees a special séance being held at the most haunted pub in Wales. The House of the Dead is about to close, and many regulars have turned up on the last night in the hope of seeing their deceased loved ones. But then the ghosts start arriving - and all hell breaks loose... Written by James Goss.

Torchwood: The Lost Files Complete Series

Harriett Gilbert

To tie-in with Radio 4's new versions of the Raymond Chandler classic thrillers aired in February 2011, Harriett Gilbert presents a reappraisal of the life and legacy of the man from Upper Norwood who invented the PI as we know him.  'I needed a drink, I needed a lot of life insurance, I needed a vacation, I needed a home in the country. What I had was a coat, a hat and a gun.'  Philip Marlowe has become, in many people's minds, the archetypal American detective anti-hero, yet his creator was educated at English public school, took the Civil Service exam and started a career in the Admiralty. This re-examination of the greatest crime writer of all time assesses him as an uneasy Englishman abroad and analyses his love-hate relationship with Hollywood, as well as his writing.  Interviewees include the best-selling writer Sarah Dunant, who was inspired to write crime after reading Chandler as a teenager; Professor John Sutherland; David Thomson (the leading film critic who also went to school at Dulwich); and David Fine, author of a book about mythic LA.  Originally broadcast on 3 February 2011, 'A Coat, a Hat and a Gun' is presented by Harriett Gilbert, presenter of 'The World Book Club' on the World Service. She is also a writer, huge Chandler fan and daughter of Chandler's solicitor.

A Coat, A Hat And A Gun

Carlo Gebler

A BBC Radio 3 play exploring the extraordinary relationship between brother and sister Charles and Mary Lamb, the writers of 'The Tales of Shakespeare' (1807), the seminal children's introduction to Shakespeare, which is still in print. Originally broadcast as part of the 'Drama on 3' series on 16 January 2011.  Although their publication is of great renown, what is less well known are the tragic circumstances, domestic and personal, behind the partnership of Charles and Mary. The Lamb family were London born and bred, bohemian and penniless. A combination of poverty and stress drove Mary insane, and she committed a shocking crime. Charles saved her from prison and promised he would always take care of her. Mary was never 'sane' again but during the writing of 'The Tales' alongside her brother, she was at her sanest. Literary production gave order and structure to her life. The main essence of this play explores the connection between literary creativity and mental equilibrium.  'Charles and Mary' was written by experienced novelist and playwright Carlo Gebler ('The Eleventh Summer', 'The Cure' and 'How to Murder a Man'), and stars BAFTA award-winning Lia Williams and Paul Rhys as the leading characters. The supporting cast includes Anna Carteret, Dudley Sutton, Mark Bazeley, Marcella Riordan, Christine Kavanagh and Sam Dale.

Charles And Mary

Justin Richards

In 1920s London the Doctor and Rose find themselves caught up in the hunt for a mysterious murderer. But not everyone or everything is what they seem. Secrets lie behind locked doors and inhuman killers roam the streets. Who is the Painted Lady and why is she so interested in the Doctor? How can a cat return from the dead? Can anyone be trusted to tell or even to know the truth? With the faceless killers closing in, the Doctor and Rose must solve the mystery of the Clockwise Man before London itself is destroyed... Read by Nicholas Briggs, the 'voice of the Daleks' in Doctor Who, The Clockwise Man features the Doctor and Rose, as played by Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper in the hit series from BBC Television.

Doctor Who: The Clockwise Man

Sally Griffiths

A BBC Radio 4 drama in which professional illusionist, Will Morgan, fronts a TV show in which he exposes spiritualist mediums as frauds. 'Haunted' was originally broadcast as the 'Afternoon Play' on 19 January 2011.  Hayley Taylor is the spiritualist medium who refuses to back down under illusionist Will's scrutiny - a challenge Will can't walk away from. Both are to have their belief systems sorely tested when a voice from one of their pasts refuses to keep silent...  Starring Steffan Rhodri ('Gavin and Stacey') as Will and Zoe Tapper ('Desperate Romantics') as Hayley. Also amongst the cast are Vineeta Rishi, Henry Devas, Lloyd Thomas and Joanna Monro.

Haunted

Peter Jukes

A BBC Radio 4 drama looking at the impact on a divorcing couple of recent changes to British prenuptial law. Originally broadcast as the 'Afternoon Play' on 21 January 2011.  Two academics, British Paul (Sam Dale) and American Amy (Sally Orrock), have married in the US with a prenuptial agreement. They did so because Paul's previous marriage ended in a messy divorce, making him wary of future commitment.  Paul loves Amy and was relieved to hear that, like him, she doesn't want children. Access issues round his daughter, Iona, have greatly complicated his life in recent years; and because the loss of his house has been traumatic, Amy also generously suggested a 'prenup' to allay his fears of losing more of his property and pension.  But now things have gone wrong and Amy has filed for divorce. She has done so in Britain, believing that the agreement they signed before marriage will not take effect. However, the law is about to change...  Starring Sam Dale as Paul and Sally Orrock as Amy, Peter Jukes' 'Prenup' also features Christine Kavanagh, Claire Harry, Adeel Akhtar and Deeivya Meir.

Prenup

Wynyard Browne

A BBC Radio 4 production of Wynyard Browne’s classic play about a 1950s family homecoming at Christmas. 
It is Christmas Eve and the family are gathering at Reverend Martin Gregory’s Norfolk vicarage. A soldier son destined for Oxbridge, two elderly aunts with a passion for chatter, a cousin with a military background and a pair of daughters who are both hiding secrets join the vicar to celebrate the festive season. 
But family tensions soon come to the fore, and as skeletons tumble from closets, the vicar finds his Christmas spirit sorely tested and is forced to reconsider all the values he holds dear... 
The Holly and the Ivy was adapted as a successful film starring Ralph Richardson and Celia Johnson. Among the distinguished cast in this 1971 production are Stephen Murray, John Samson, Jane Knowles, Isobel Black and Geoffrey Beevers. 
©2011 AudioGO Ltd (P)2011 AudioGO Ltd

The Holly And The Ivy (Classic Radio Theatre)

Noel Coward

This Happy Breed opens in 1919, when the Gibbons family have just moved to their smart new home in the suburbs of South London. Against a background of social change and national upheaval spanning twenty years, the family celebrate their own triumphs and deal with their personal traumas. Coward’s moving and humourous production, showing what life was like for a typical suburban family between the wars, was a huge hit and was adapted into a famous 1944 film starring John Mills and Celia Johnson. Among the distinguished cast in this 1989 BBC Radio 4 production are John Moffatt, Rosemary Leach, Anna Cropper and Doris Hare.

This Happy Breed (Classic Radio Theatre)

Terrence Rattigan

‘It is easy to do justice - very hard to do right.’ When he is accused of stealing a five-shilling postal order, fourteen-year-old Ronnie Winslow is expelled from naval college. But his father believes his claim of innocence and, determined to clear his name, engages the most famous barrister in England to fight his case. It is up to Sir Robert Morton to take on the Establishment in order to ‘let right be done’... Adapted as a famous British film starring Robert Donat, The Winslow Boy is a moving story about fairness and fighting for a principle. This gripping BBC Radio adaptation from 1981 features a distinguished cast including Michael Aldridge, Pauline Letts, Sarah Badel and Michael Maloney.

Winslow Boy, The (Classic Radio Theatre)

Marcus du Sautoy

This ten-part history of mathematics reveals the personalities behind the calculations: the passions and rivalries of mathematicians struggling to get their ideas heard. Professor Marcus du Sautoy shows how these masters of abstraction find a role in the real world and proves that mathematics is the driving force behind modern science. 
 
He explores the relationship between Newton and Leibniz, the men behind the calculus; looks at how the mathematics that Euler invented 200 years ago paved the way for the internet and discovers how Fourier transformed our understanding of heat, light and sound. In addition, he finds out how Galois' mathematics describes the particles that make up our universe, how Gaussian distribution underpins modern medicine, and how Riemann's maths helped Einstein with his theory of relativity. Finally, he introduces Cantor, who discovered infinite numbers; Poincaré, whose work gave rise to chaos theory; G.H. Hardy, whose work inspired the millions of codes that help to keep the internet safe, and Nicolas Bourbaki, the mathematician who never was. 
 
The BBC Radio 4 series looking at the people who shaped modern mathematics, written and presented by Marcus du Sautoy.

A Brief History Of Mathematics

Complete Series

Andrew Rawnsley

The special New Year's Day 2011 edition of BBC Radio 4's 'Beyond Westminster', in which Andrew Rawnsley considers the lessons of history for Britain's coalition government - and its opponents.  Conservative and Liberal Democrat ministers are busily advancing their ambitious political and economic agenda - albeit amid parliamentary revolts and embarrassing comments to undercover reporters. Exactly a hundred years ago too, no party had an outright majority at Westminster, and a Liberal government relied on Irish Nationalists and a fledgling Labour Party to enact reform of Parliament, a radical budget and social changes.  Lloyd George continued in coalition with the Conservatives after World War One only for peacetime tensions within the government to culminate in the ejection from Downing Street of Britain's last Liberal prime minister, amid mass disaffection with Liberal splits. Can Nick Clegg avoid a similar fate befalling today's Liberal Democrats?   Seven months into 'new politics', Andrew Rawnsley explores with historians Juliet Nicolson and Martin Pugh the record of past coalitions. He also discusses with The Rt. Hon. David Davis MP, Simon Hughes MP and Tristram Hunt MP the lessons of the past and questions whether this coalition will re-shape British politics.

Beyond Westminster Lessons Learnt From Coalitions Past

Darren Jones

The Amazon rainforest, 1827. The Doctor, Amy and Rory arrive in the jungle near a hurriedly abandoned campsite, where they are surrounded by hungry black caiman - huge lizards. Only the arrival of a man with a rifle sees off the giant beasts. Oliver Blazington has come to the forest to bag big game, and his companion Garrett is a naturalist, collecting exotic creatures for London Zoo. But the Doctor soon discovers that another very different hunter is stalking the Amazon. Animals and people have been disappearing without trace, and local villagers speak darkly of 'The Eye of the Jungle'. Amy senses that the all-seeing Eye is watching them - but she and Rory are powerless to intervene when it sets its sights on the Doctor... Written specially for audio by Darren Jones and read by David Troughton, The Eye of the Jungle features the Doctor, Amy and Rory as played by Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill in the acclaimed hit series from BBC Television.

Doctor Who: The Eye Of The Jungle

Una McCormack

England, today. Between the housing estate and the motorway lies an ancient wood. The motorway bends to avoid it. Last week, teenager Laura Brown went missing. Tonight, Vicky Caine will miss her bus and take a shortcut through the wood. And she will disappear too.   England, 1917. Between the village and the main road lies an ancient wood. The old Roman road bends to avoid it. Tonight Emily Bostock and a man called Rory Williams will go to the woods.    Investigating events in the present day and back in 1917, the Doctor and Amy are desperate to find out what’s happened to Rory. He was supposed to look after Emily - and now they’ve both vanished. Something is waiting in the woods. Something that’s been there for thousands of years. Something that is now waking up...   Read by Clare Corbett, this thrilling adventure features the Doctor, Amy and Rory, as played by Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill in the spectacular hit series from BBC Television.

Doctor Who: The Way Through The Woods

David Eldridge

This BBC Radio 4 'Friday Play' is a heady mix of marriage, class, and politics, as Gillian and Ray attempt to keep their relationship alive over 25 years of social change. Starring Ruth Wilson and Tom Brooke, Like Minded People was originally broadcast on 4 February 2011. 
Gillian and Ray meet at University. She's from a privileged background whilst his father works in a hardware shop and his mother's a dinner lady. Despite this disparity, they embark on a relationship - a relationship that may well have burnt itself out except for a car accident that binds them together through a mixture of guilt and need. As their lives progress we are given an intimate portrait of the ups and downs of marriage and the political and social changes that help shape our lives. 
Starring Ruth Wilson as Gillian and Tom Brooke as Ray, Like Minded People was directed by Sally Avens. 
©2011 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2011 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Like Minded People (BBC Radio 4: Friday Play)

Hugh Costello

Vatican City, December 1942. As war rages across the globe, Pope Pius XII prepares to deliver his annual Christmas message. It is perhaps the most important public address he will ever give. This BBC Radio 4 play explores the Pontiff's thoughts as he faces the starkest dilemma of his reign. Originally broadcast as the 'Saturday Play' on 29 January 2011, 'My Dear Children of the Whole World' stars Hugh Ross as Pope Pius XII.  For months beforehand evidence has been growing of a vast, organised genocide of Jews and other races in German-occupied lands. Now the Vatican is coming under increasing pressure to speak out against Nazi atrocities. In private audiences, the British and American ambassadors to the Holy See urge Pius to show moral leadership by explicitly attacking Hitler in his Christmas message.  Yet Pius is reluctant to specifically condemn the Holocaust. He is concerned that speaking out risks making things worse. As Pius writes and discards draft after draft of the message, it becomes clear that there are other factors to explain his ambivalence. Europe's future seems to hang in the balance between Nazism and Bolshevism, and it is the latter ideology that he most fears.  Stars Hugh Ross as Pope Pius XII and Nick Dunning as Sir Francis Osborne. Also featured amongst the cast are Pat Laffan, Patrick Fitzsymons, Stella McCusker, Stuart Milligan, Colin Stinton and Christine Kavanagh. Directed by Eoin O'Callaghan.

My Dear Children Of The Whole World

Jonathan Myerson

It is 6th October 1973. Golda Meir has become Prime Minister of Israel in her seventies. Syrian and Egyptian troops are massing on Israel's borders, but despite eleven warnings of impending war in the past month, the Israeli cabinet has not called up the reserve.  In Florida, Richard Nixon awaits the final verdict of the Washington Appeal court on his objections to surrendering the Watergate Tapes.  In New York, Henry Kissinger is about to be woken at his room in the Waldorf Astoria, with news of a new Middle East War.   Stars Henry Goodman as Henry Kissinger, Peter Marinker as Richard Nixon and Sara Kestelman as Golda Meir. Also included in the cast are Kerry Shale, Ewan Bailey, Sam Dale, Sean Baker and Christine Kavanagh. Produced and directed by Jonquil Panting. 'Payback' was originally broadcast on 22 January 2011.

Payback (BBC Radio 4 Saturday Play)

Julia Blackburn

Julia Blackburn's play captures the warm, heartfelt and comic story of the Victorian poet and painter Edward Lear's lifelong friendship with his eccentric Greek servant, Giorgio, who inspired him to address the painful truths in his life while making us laugh. Stars Andrew Sachs as Edward Lear and Alexi Kaye-Campbell as Giorgio Kokalis. Also featured in the cast are Mark Meadows, Ross McKendrick, James Rastall and Kim Hicks. Directed by Mary Ward-Lowery. The Need for Nonsense was originally broadcast on 9 February 2009, and repeated on 17 January 2011.

The Need For Nonsense

Marc Platt

Perivale, 1983. A column of smoke rises from the blazing ruins of a forgotten, decaying mansion. Perivale, 1883. In the sleepy village of Greenford Parva, Gabriel Chase is by far the most imposing edifice. The villagers shun the grim house, but the owner, the reclusive and controversial naturalist Josiah Samuel Smith, receives occasional visitors. The Reverend Ernest Matthews, for instance, Dean of Mortarhouse College, has travelled from Oxford to refute Smith’s blasphemous theories of evolution. And in a deserted room upstairs, the Doctor and Ace venture from the TARDIS to explore the decaying mansion... Who - or what - is Josiah Smith? What terrible secret does his house conceal? And why does Ace find everything so frighteningly familiar? Ian Hogg, who played Josiah Smith in the original Doctor Who TV serial, reads Marc Platt’s complete and unabridged novelisation, first published by Target Books in 1990.

Doctor Who: Ghost Light

Paul Finch

‘There’s no end to the horror in this place - it’s like Hell, and there are devils round every corner.’ On Leisure Platform 9 gamblers and villains mix with socialites and celebrities. It’s a place where you won’t want to win the wrong game. With Rory kidnapped by a brutal crime lord, the Doctor and Amy infiltrate a deadly contest where fugitives become the hunted. But how long before they realise the Doctor isn’t a vicious mercenary and discover what Amy is up to? It’s a game that can only end in death, and time for everyone is running out. Hunter’s Moon features the Doctor, Amy and Rory, as played by Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill in the spectacular hit series from BBC Television. A complete and unabridged reading by Arthur Darvill.

Doctor Who: Hunter's Moon

Gary Brown

'Market' is an umbrella series of six plays, originally broadcast in BBC Radio 4's 'Afternoon Play' slot, about people who work in and around its stalls. Each story is a self-contained quirky tale.  'Loco Parentis' is a bitter-sweet comedy about Jim, who can't sleep because his daughter's left for uni, his business is going belly-up, and his father is going gaga. Oh, and to top it all he suspects his wife is having an affair with her boss. He needs to escape - but where to?  The play was originally broadcast on 24 January 2011 and stars Reece Dinsdale as Jim. Also featured in the cast are Gerard Fletcher, Bobby Knutt, Sue Kelly, Kathryn Hunt, Ellie Meigan-Rose, Joncie Elmore, Szilvi Naray Davey and Sam Hevicon. With original music by Steven D. Reid, this is a modern morality play with a whiff of the fantastical about it. Produced by Peter Leslie Wild.

Market: Loco Parentis

Shelagh Stephenson

A BBC Radio 4 play about the marriage of George, Prince of Wales, originally broadcast as the 'Afternoon Play' on 11 December 2008 (and repeated on 9 December 2010).  Facing financial ruin, George was obliged by his father, George III, to marry his first cousin, Princess Caroline of Brunswick. But if he had been expecting a docile partner with whom he could maintain appearances, George had seriously underestimated his wife-to-be...  Starring Alex Jennings as George and Rebecca Saire as Caroline. Also featured amongst the cast are Julian Rhind-Tutt, Chris McHallem, Richard Howard, Mark Lambert, Jill Cardo and Nial Cusack. Written by Shelagh Stephenson and directed by Eoin O'Callaghan.

The People's Princess

Philip Mould

Art historian Philip Mould discusses the art chosen by Government ministers in this BBC Radio 4 broadcast from 26 January 2011.  Becoming a Minister has many perks, but one they can see every day is the art hanging in their office, often borrowed from the Government Art Collection. Art historian Philip Mould speaks to new ministers about what they chose and why they chose it, and he asks what it says about them.

What The Minister Saw (BBC Radio 4)

Everyman's Library Barbreck

Everyman's Children's Classics has more than 50 titles in print. It offers the finest editions currently available of the world's greatest children's books in handsome, full cloth hardcover bindings. 
 
The library brings back into print major illustrators such as Ivan Bilibin, Kate Greenaway, Arthur Rackham, Nicolas Bentley, Walter Crane, Aubrey Beardsley, Edward Ardizzone, W.Heath Robinson and Mervyn Peake.

Everyman's Library CHILDREN'S CLASSICS

The finest editions available of the world's greatest classics from Homer to Achebe, Tolstoy to Ishiguro, Proust to Pullman, printed on a fine acid-free, cream-wove paper that will not discolour with age, with sewn, full cloth bindings and silk ribbon markers, and at remarkably low prices. All books include substantial introductions by major scholars and contemporary writers, and comparative chronologies of literary and historical context.

Everyman's Library CLASSICS

P G Wodehouse is widely recognized as the greatest English comic writer of the twentieth century. 
 
His characters and settings have entered our language and our mythology. The first ever collected edition (Wodehouse had many publishers in his lifetime), the Everyman Wodehouse, will contain all the novels and stories, newly edited and reset from the first British edition. 
 
Printed on cream-wove, acid-free paper, sewn and bound in cloth, each Everyman volume is already recognized as the finest edition of the master ever published.

Everyman's Library P G WODEHOUSE

Everyman's Pocket Classics complements highly successful Pocket Poets series, offering the best prose writing in a handy pocket-sized format. Like all Everyman Library books, each title is printed on a cream-wove, acid-free paper with full cloth sewn binding, headbands and silk ribbon marker. Eminently collectable and great gifts.

Everyman's Library POCKET CLASSICS

Pocket clothbound volumes from the world's greatest poets, and with a stunning range of anthologies. Each volume has an elegant jacket, full cloth sewn binding, silk ribbon marker and headbands, with gold stamping on front and spine and decorative endpapers. In size, price and presentation they make ideal gifts and are a joy to read and collect. More than eighty titles in print.

Everyman's Library POCKET POETS

Everyman’s Library Contemporary Classics

Ex-Heroes

Explore with Peter Rabbit

Extraordinary Lives

Factory Girls

Fairwick Chronicles

Fairytale in Progress

Faith, Hope and Glory

Laid-back Roman detective Marcus Didius Falco investigates crimes in the dangerous world of first century Rome, a place of political intrigue, corruption and murder.

Falco

Fall of the Dragon

Luce doesn’t like the sound of the Sword and Cross reform school, and it lives up to all her expectations. Until she meets Daniel. He’s perfect, but what she doesn’t realise is that they have met before. Many times. He is a fallen angel, and each time they meet they are torn apart, Luce dying and Daniel forced to live on without her. They think that they have found a way to break the curse, but they will have to make great sacrifices along the way. Love never dies in this darkly romantic series which spans centuries in its storytelling.

Fallen

Falling Kingdoms

Far Out Five

Far-Flung Adventures

Sam and Remi Fargo are a husband and wife team on a quest. Treasure hunters, they travel the world looking for ancient artefacts and exotic bounty. They're in it for the history and the mystery, but others are not so honourable, and the Fargo's often find themselves caught up in ancient riddles, desperate to solve the puzzle before the bad guys get there first.

Fargo Adventures

Fate & Flame

Father Brown

Father, I Don’t Want This Marriage

Faust

Feral Love

More than 100 million copies sold worlwide, this is a series that will obsess you, possess you, and stay with you forever.

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