Alan Melville

Alan Moore

Alan Moorehead was born in Melbourne, Australia. He travelled to England in 1937 and became a renowned foreign correspondent for the London Daily Express. Writer, world traveller, biographer, essayist, journalist, Moorehead was one of the most successful writers in English of his day. During World War II he won an international reputation for his coverage of campaigns in the Middle East and Asia, the Mediterranean and Northwest Europe. He died in 1983.

Alan Moorehead

Alan Paton

Alan Pattullo

Alan Pauls

Alan Pollock is a playwright, translator and screenwriter. His numerous plays include One Night in November, Pigs and All Tomorrow's Parties.

Alan Pollock

Alan Root was born in London in 1937 but moved to Kenya as a young boy. He dropped out of school at sixteen but soon found himself behind the camera. He married Joan Thorpe in 1961 and together they produced an array of award-winning wildlife films including Baobab: Portrait of a Tree, commissioned by David Attenborough, Safari by Balloon, The Year of the Wildebeest and Castles of Clay, which was nominated for an Oscar. Alan won over sixty awards during his career, including an Emmy, three Lifetime Achievement Awards an OBE. Alan Root died in August 2017.

Alan Root

Alan Rosenthal

Alan Ruddock

Alan Rugman

Alan Rusbridger

Alan Ryan

Alan S. Blinder

Alan Shearer CBE  grew up in Newcastle, leaving home as a  teenager to pursue a career in professional football with his first  team, Southampton. He went on to  reach football stardom, winning the Premier League with Blackburn in  1995, breaking the world transfer record by signing to Newcastle United  in 1996 and achieving international success as the Captain of England.  Alan also holds the record for most goals scored in Premier League history.

Alan Shearer

Alan Siegel

Alan Simpson

Alan Spence

Alan Stewart

Alan Taylor

Alan Tennant

Alan Thompson

Alan Titchmarsh MBE is known to millions through his career as a television presenter of shows including Love Your Weekend, Love Your Garden, Ground Force, Gardeners' World, The Alan Titchmarsh Show and Spring Into Summer. He has written more than forty gardening books, as well as twelve novels and three volumes of memoirs. He was made MBE in the millennium New Year Honours list and holds the Victoria Medal of Honour, the Royal Horticultural Society's highest award.

Alan Titchmarsh

Alan Unterman

Alan Watts was a British philosopher, writer and speaker who was best known for his expertise in Eastern philosophies including Zen Buddhism and Taoism. He wrote over 25 books and numerous articles on subjects such as personal identity, the true nature of reality, higher consciousness, the meaning of life, concepts and images of God and the non-material pursuit of happiness.

Alan W Watts

Alan Warner is the author of eight novels: Morvern Callar, These Demented Lands, The Sopranos, The Man Who Walks, The Worms Can Carry Me to Heaven, The Stars in the Bright Sky, which was longlisted for the 2010 Man Booker Prize, The Deadman's Pedal and Their Lips Talk of Mischief. He is Writer in Residence at Edinburgh University.

Alan Warner

Alan Watts

Alan Weisman is an award-winning journalist and the author of several books, including the global bestseller The World Without Us, which has been translated into 34 international languages and was nominated for numerous awards. His writing has appeared in Harper's, The New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic Monthly, Vanity Fair, The Los Angeles Times Magazine and many other places. Alan has worked on all seven continent and reported from 58 countries, and lives in western Massachusetts.

Alan Weisman

Alanna Mitchell

Alasdair Fotheringham is a freelance journalist and writer based in Spain. He writes regularly on cycling for the ‘I’, The Independent.co.uk, The Express, ProCycling and Cyclingnews. He has been reporting on the Tour de France and other top road cycling events since 1992. His first book was The Eagle of Toledo, a biography of cycling’s greatest ever climber, Federico Martín Bahamontes. He has also written Reckless, a biography of the ill-fated Luis Ocaña, the 1973 Tour winner and considered Eddy Merck’s top Grand Tour rival, and The End of the Road, an account of the 1998 Tour de France.

Alasdair Fotheringham

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Stephanie Dale

A BBC Radio 4 drama by Stephanie Dale, originally broadcast as the 'Afternoon Play' on 10 January 2011.  When art teacher Rachel, walking home festooned with end-of-term gifts from her pupils, bumps into Tyrone on his first day in London it is the beginning of a passionate love affair. Soon it makes sense for Tyrone, now working as a chef in a local up-market cafe, to move into Rachel's flat. But it's not long before there are tiny bits of grit starting to despoil the love oyster. As things get more serious, issues of control, jealousy, trust and violence rise to the surface in this thriller exploring a lesser-known side of domestic abuse.  'Believe Me' stars Naomi Frederick as Rachel and Alex Lanipekun as Tyrone. Also included in the cast are Leah Brotherhead, Sally Orrock, Lloyd Thomas and Sean Baker. Directed by David Hunter.

Believe Me

A BBC Radio 4 dramatisation

Karen Laws

Fiona Evans

A BBC Radio 3 drama that was developed with a community group in Byker, Newcastle which takes a journey into the reality of neglect as one child's life spirals out of control. Originally broadcast as part of the 'Drama on 3' collection on 25 October 2009.  In a fractured society Lives a fractured family. In their fractured home Lies a fractured body.  Recorded in front of an audience as part of the 'Free Thinking 2009' Festival of Ideas at The Sage in Gateshead, this hard-hitting play explores how a tragedy can unfold right before the eyes of a child's family and carers.  'Beware the Kids' stars Matthew McNulty as Mark and Rosie Stancliffe as Jaden. Also featured amongst the cast are Judi Earl, Jane Holman, Tony Neilson and Max Watson. Written by Karen Laws and Fiona Evans, and directed by Kate Rowland.

Beware The Kids (BBC Radio 3 Drama On 3)

Lee Hall

Jill is 14, overweight and obsessed with food. Her mum is glamorous, disappointed in Jill and about to embark on a new relationship with Billy, whilst Dad watches silently from a chair. 
©1997 Lee Hall (P)2011 AudioGO Ltd

Blood Sugar

Simon Brett

Jeremy Front

Charles finds himself uncharacteristically employed in a film, having landed the part of Szabec, a middle management vampire in The Wreathing. 
 
His co-star is swimwear model turned actress Jodie Ricks and before long, Jodie is using Charles as a confidant. Poor Jodie is in terrible trouble - not only is she being blackmailed over some compromising photos, but she is also carrying the baby of the film's producer, Elliot Roth, who now wants nothing to do with her. Then things take an even nastier turn when it appears that someone is trying to kill Jodie. 
 Always keen to help a damsel in distress, Charles sets about trying to solve the mystery... 
 
Starring Bill Nighy and Martine McCutcheon and dramatised by Jeremy Front. 
 
Written by Jeremy Front, based on the novel by Simon Brett. 
 
Duration: 1 hr 50 mins approx.

Charles Paris: Cast in Order of Disappearance

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation

Matti is the 14-year-old son of a traditional Sami family living in Lapland, living 250 miles inside the Arctic Circle. Matti is a modern boy, who loves messing about with computers and hates pollution, drugs, and Ginger Spice. By the author of Billy Elliott. Performed by Ben Tibber. Written by Lee Hall. 
Lee Hall has asserted his moral rights (including the right to be identified as the author) in the Work. All rights reserved. Applications for performance or other use should be made to Judy Daish Associates Limited, 2 St Charles Place, London W10 6EG. 
©2000 Lee Hall (P)2011 AudioGo Ltd

Child Of The Snow

'Children of the Rain' by Lee Hall, starring Ben Tibber and Sita Patel. Drama about extraordinary children presenting the thoughts and opinions of British children about children in other parts of the world. By the author of Billy Elliott. Written by Lee Hall. Lee Hall has asserted his moral rights (including the right to be identified as the author) in the Work. All rights reserved. Applications for performance or other use should be made to Judy Daish Associates Limited, 2 St Charles Place, London W10 6EG.

Children Of The Rain

James Goss

‘The Dead are not alone. There is something in the mist and it talks to them.’ In a remote clinic in 18th-century Italy, a lonely girl writes to her mother. She tells of pale English aristocrats and mysterious Russian nobles. She tells of intrigues and secrets, and strange faceless figures that rise from the sea. And she tells about the enigmatic Mrs Pond, who arrives with her husband and her physician. What she doesn’t tell her mother is the truth that everyone knows and no one says - that the only people who come here do so to die... A complete and unabridged reading by Clare Corbett.

Doctor Who: Dead Of Winter

When Lord Woolcroft and his team break open the fabled Tomb of Artemis, sealed for thousands of years, they are astonished by what they find inside... The Doctor and Amy have come to Smyrna in 1929 to investigate a mystery. The Doctor knows that something very bad happened there: something that caused a lot of people to die and an entire, magnificent Temple to be found and then immediately lost again. But he doesn't know what is picking off the archaeologists one by one, or how it is connected to the terrifying howling in the night. And as he and Amy get closer to the terrible truth behind an ancient evil, he begins to wish he'd never found out. Written specially for audio by James Goss, and read by Matt Smith as the Doctor and Clare Corbett as Helen Stapleton, The Hounds of Artemis features the Doctor and Amy Pond as played by Matt Smith and Karen Gillan in the acclaimed hit series from BBC Television.

Doctor Who: The Hounds Of Artemis

David Fisher

Susan Engel reads this novelisation of a classic Doctor Who serial featuring the Fourth Doctor, Romana and K9. 
 
When the Doctor, Romana and K9 arrive on Bodcombe Moor, they meet the elderly Professor Rumford and her friend Vivien Fay. From them they learn the chequered history of the stones, and of the inhabitants of the nearby manor house - currently one Leonard de Vries, leader of a druidic sect. But all is not as it seems, and soon the Doctor and his companions are enmeshed in a deadly web of deceit. 
 
Powerful creatures rampage across the moor, and the nature of a long family line is called into question. Romana is trapped by a cunning enemy, and time is running out for the Doctor and K9... 
 
Now published in paperback by BBC Books, David Fisher's novelisation is read by Susan Engel, who played Vivien Fay in the 1978 BBC TV serial, with John Leeson as the voice of K9. 
 
©2011 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2011 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Doctor Who: The Stones Of Blood

Carl Grose

A surreal, dark comedy from BBC Radio 3's 'The Wire', by Cornish writer Carl Grose that was inspired by seeing a Johannesburg local newspaper headline about a farmer who hanged 49 donkeys from tree branches on his land. Originally broadcast 1 November 2008 and repeated 18 Jul 2009.  In Grose's play, Stanley Bray, a Cornish farmer, is compelled to hang donkeys and his wheelchair-bound wife Joy is desperate to get out of the house. Their way of life is fast disappearing, the farm is bankrupt and this is Stanley's bizarre response.  'The Wire' is BBC Radio 3's showcase for works that push the boundaries of drama and narrative. '49 Donkeys Hanged' stars Charles Barnecut as Stanley Bray and Amanda Lawrence as Joy Bray. Also included in the cast are Sibusiso Mamba, Helen Longworth, John Canford, and the writer Carl Grose as himself. Directed by Claire Grove.

Drama on 3

Peter returns home to poverty in Newcastle, from active service in Northern Ireland. He has been horribly injured, and his relationship with his wife and friends deteriorates. His status as the outsider allows him to see the corruption of everyday existence, but he is unable to salvage any dignity from his situation. 'Gristle' is based on Ernst Toller's 'Hinkerman', which deals with the impact of war on ordinary people's lives. By the author of Billy Elliott.Written by Lee Hall. Lee Hall has asserted his moral rights (including the right to be identified as the author) in the Work. All rights reserved. Applications for performance or other use should be made to Judy Daish Associates Limited, 2 St Charles Place, London W10 6EG.

Gristle

Colin Shindler

A BBC Radio 4 fictionalised account of the interrogation of P.G. Wodehouse (Tim McInnerny) by MI5 during World War II. 'How to be an Internee with No Previous Experience ' was originally broadcast as the 'Afternoon Play' on 15 December 2010.  In 1944, P.G. Wodehouse, the creator of 'Jeeves and Wooster', was questioned by MI5 after broadcasting to America from a German internment camp. One of the interrogators was an up-and-coming journalist called Malcolm Muggeridge. The other was Major E.J.P. Cussen, who later became a high court judge.  The stakes were high: one of Britain's best loved authors was facing the possibility of the death penalty.  With Tim McInnerny as Wodehouse and Alex Jennings as Muggeridge. Also starring Anton Lesser, Stephen Critchlow and Gunnar Cauthery. Produced and directed by Peter Leslie Wild.

How To Be An Internee With No Previous Experience

Barry Johnston

During the lunch interval on the Saturday of every Test in England, BBC Radio’s ‘Test Match Special’ used to invite a well-known guest into the commentary box for a chat with Brian Johnston about themselves and their passion for cricket. Some turned out to be able cricketers, but they all had stories to tell about matches they had seen and cricketers they had met.   Barry Johnston - Brian Johnston’s son - has selected five chats from the series ‘A View from the Boundary’, beginning in 1980 with the playwright Ben Travers, and his vivid recollections of W.G. Grace and other characters from the golden age of cricket.   He is followed by Michael Charlton, the political broadcaster and former cricket commentator, who covered the great Australia v West Indies tied Test in 1960, and John Cleese, a lifelong Somerset supporter, who tells some funny stories about ‘Monty Python’ and ‘Fawlty Towers’.   Hollywood film star Sir Christopher Lee recalls watching the legendary Jack Hobbs and Don Bradman, and Sir Michael Parkinson talks about opening the batting at Barnsley with Dickie Bird and how he nearly played for Hampshire.   Publisher’s note: This recording was taken from part of the cassette release of ‘A View from the Boundary’.

Johnners' A View From The Boundary Test Match Special

Helen Clohessy

An offbeat 21st Century urban love story starring Rosie Cavaliero and John Dougall, originally broadcast as BBC Radio 4's 'Afternoon Play' on 12 January 2011.  It's a difficult time for Sue, her mother has just died and the kids have moved out. She has a vision of leaving their tough housing estate behind and starting a new life by the sea but husband Finn earns little and won't borrow... Finn is a rock in this sensitive tale of love, loyalty and dreams.  'My Haunted Expression' stars Rosie Cavaliero as Sue and John Dougall as Finn. Also featured amongst the cast are Sally Orrock, Tony Bell, Daniel Cooper, Deeivya Meir and Jude Akuwudike. Written by Helen Clohessy and directed by David Hunter.

My Haunted Expression

Gregory Evans

A BBC Radio 4 tragic-comedy drama depicting the principal events of Shirley Porter's time as leader of Westminster city council in the 1980s.   Originally broadcast as the 'Friday Play' on 27 November 2009, and starring Tracy-Ann Oberman as Shirley Porter.  Also featured amongst the cast are Maggie Steed, Joseph Cohen-Cole, Piers Wehner, Stephen Hogan, Sagar Arya, Bruce Alexander, Ewan Hooper, Philip Fox, John Biggins and Tessa Nicholson. Directed by Marc Beeby.

Shirleymander (BBC Radio 4 Friday Play)

Ed Harris

A tender and sad BBC Radio 4 comedy drama about losing your past, starring Richard Briers. 'The Moment You Feel It' was originally broadcast as the 'Afternoon Play' on 18 May 2009.  Alf's memories come in flashes with great blank holes, along with a running commentary from the voices of his past. So how does finding a strange coat in his kitchen remind Alf why he doesn't want a bath today?  With Richard Briers as Alf (and Rory Kinnear as the young Alf), Tracy Wiles as Pru, Hugh Ross as Steven, Caroline Guthrie as Marina and Janice Acquah playing the other parts.

The Moment You Feel It

Melvyn Bragg

Melvyn Bragg follows his long historical exploration of the Routes of English with 'Voices of the Powerless', the BBC Radio 4 series in which he explores the lives of the ordinary working men and women of Britain at critical moments across the last 1,000 years. 
 
The Norman Conquest is his starting point, a time when William the Conqueror's 'harrying of the North' affected the poor apprentice, the lowly ploughman and the humble shepherd. He goes on to look at the Peasants' Revolt in 1381 (inspired by a hated Poll Tax) and the religious changes brought about by Henry VIII's Reformation. The so-called 'Plantation' of Ulster, the Siege of Chester, and the plague which ravaged Salisbury in 1627 are later stopping-off points in Bragg's journey, which also finds him traversing the country and speaking to historians and experts about the life of the ordinary citizen in each period. 
 
Next Melvyn visits urban Lancashire to explore the warp and weft of the Industrial Revolution to see how the upheavals of the new mechanisation affected workers who found their traditional trades marginalised by the growth of industrialization. After he travels to the historic dockyard of Chatham to explore the life of a seaman in Nelson's navy, he voyages to Tasmania to find out what a sentence of transportation to Van Diemen’s Land really meant to those who survived the journey 'beyond the seas'. As well as the Highland Clearances - still talked of as one of the harshest pieces of social manipulation in Britain's history - we travel to East Yorkshire to discover the little-known story of the Wolds Wagoners, a regiment drawn up by the local landlord from the men on his estate during World War One. Lastly, Melvyn Bragg visits Merthyr Tydfil to look at the plight of the miners in the Depression and how the disastrous effects of the Wall Street Crash, combined with industrial unrest, left towns like Merthyr Tydfil a mere shadow of its former self. 
 
First broadcast in 2002, this Complete Series contains all 12 episodes of Series One and Two: 'The Norman Conquest', 'The Peasants' Revolt', 'The Reformation', 'The Plantation of Ireland', 'The English Civil War', 'The Great Plague'; 'The Industrial Revolution', 'The Napoleonic Wars', 'The Colonisation of Australia', 'The Highland Clearances', 'The First World War' and 'Coal Mining and the Depression'. 
 
Guidance: due to the archive nature of the recording the sound quality may vary.

Voices Of The Powerless The Complete Series

Alan Bennett

Two unexpected tales written and read by the best-selling author of The Uncommon Reader, Untold Stories and The History Boys. 
"The Greening of Mrs Donaldson" - Mrs Donaldson is a conventional middle-class woman beached on the shores of widowhood after a marriage that had been much like many others: happy to begin with, then satisfactory and finally dull. But when she decides to take in two lodgers, her mundane life becomes much more stimulating… 
"The Shielding of Mrs Forbes" - Graham Forbes is a disappointment to his mother, who thinks that if he must have a wife, he should have done better. True, her own husband isn’t all that satisfactory either. Still, this is Alan Bennett, so what is happening in the bedroom (and in lots of other places too) is altogether more startling, perhaps shocking, and ultimately more true to people’s predilections

Smut Two Unseemly Stories The Greening Of Mrs Donaldson & The Shielding Of Mrs Forbes

Mark Burgess

A gripping BBC Radio 4 drama about King George VI's struggle to overcome his stammer and his close working relationship with his speech therapist.It is Coronation Day, 1937. As the country celebrates, the new monarch must face one of the most difficult challenges he has ever encountered: the dreaded BBC Radio Broadcast to the Nation. Only one man can prepare the terrified King for his ordeal at the microphone - Australian speech therapist Lionel Logue. With his unconventional methods such as tongue-twisters, breathing exercises and Shakespearean quotations, and a variety of teaching styles ranging from empathy to bullying, Logue aims to give George VI the confidence to navigate the minefield ahead. As the two men wrestle with the intricacies of the speech, their conversation ranges from the Abdication Crisis to the King's childhood and his uneasy relationship with his father - and the King's dependence on and deep friendship with Logue becomes apparent. Starring Alex Jennings as George VI and Trevor Littledale as Logue, this is a riveting portrait of a prominent man at a pivotal moment in his own life and in the history of the 20th century.

A King's Speech

Frances Byrne

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation of an event in the life of ballerina Margot Fonteyn, written by Frances Byrne and starring Sophie Jerrold and Richard McCabe. Originally broadcast as the ‘Afternoon Play’ on 22 May 2008 and repeated on 19 November 2010.  'An Unchoreographed World' explores a dramatic formative event in the life of one of the truly great dancers of our time, the young Margot Fonteyn. It's May 10th 1940, and she is trapped in Holland during the German invasion with her older lover, the composer Constant Lambert, and the fledgling Sadler's Wells Ballet. Frances Byrne's drama draws on contemporary accounts to evoke a time when, her life threatened, Fonteyn discovers who she really is, and what her destiny might cost her.  Starring Sophie Jerrold as Margot Fonteyn, Richard McCabe as Constant Lambert, Kate Littlewood as Ninette de Valois and Oliver Millingham as Robert Helpmann. Also featured in the cast are Anne-Marie Piazza, Maria Askew, Ffion Jolly, Ben Ashton and Coen de Groot.

An Unchoreographed World

Dan Allum

A BBC Radio 4 drama by Dan Allum, ‘Atching Tan’ was recorded on location on a Traveller site, with all Traveller parts cast from the Traveller community. Originally broadcast as the ‘Afternoon Play’ on 23 November 2010.  Lovvie Arkley is torn. Does she marry childhood sweetheart Nelius and live a traditional yet isolated Traveller life? Or does she renounce her culture to pursue a career in the outside ‘Gorgia’ world? Drama teacher John threatens to tip the balance.   ‘Atching Tan’ first started life as a 15 minute radio drama pilot on BBC Three Counties, then went on to run over three years across eight counties in Eastern England on six BBC local radio stations. The successful series helped develop Traveller writers and actors, many of whom had never written or acted before and indeed come from a culture that views drama as an alien world. Several of the Travellers developed through the local radio series were cast in this play, and a number of the writers and performers have since gone on to work at the Bristol Old Vic, Channel 4, Soho Theatre and The Royal Court.   With Candis Nergaard as Lovvie, Damian Le Bas as Nelius and Brodie Ross as John. Also starring Maryanne Loveridge, Sharon Loveridge and Dean Loveridge. With music by Howard Jacques, ‘Atching Tan’ was produced by Charlotte Riches and directed by Fiona Kelcher.

Atching Tan

Alison Kennedy

A BBC Radio 4 dark comedy by Alison Kennedy, set in 1870s London and based on a true story.   Mr Parker is a sincere and kind man who, in search of a higher meaning to life, has moved from conventional religion to séances and spiritualism. He believes he has met his saviour in the guise of Mr Thomson, a charming, erudite and utterly mesmerising medium. But, unbeknown to Parker, Thomson is a complete and utter fake.   Features Bill Nighy as Mr Thomson and Robert Glenister as Mr Parker. Also stars Jonathan Keeble, Andrew Westfield, Fiona Clarke, Daryl Fishwick and Daniel Browell. Directed by Pauline Harris.   Originally broadcast in the ‘Saturday Play’ slot on 13 March 2010.

Confessions Of A Medium

Terrance Dicks

Inferno is the name of a top-secret drilling project to penetrate the Earth's crust and release a major new energy source.   A crisis develops when a noxious green liquid leaks out as drilling progresses - the green poison has a grotesquely debilitating effect on human beings.   As the Earth's plight worsens, the Doctor is trapped in a parallel world, unable to rescue the planet and its inhabitants from the destructive force of Inferno...   Caroline John, who played Liz Shaw in the original Doctor Who TV serial, reads Terrance Dicks' complete and unabridged novelisation, first published by Target Books in 1984.  'BBC Audiobooks has chosen well with its books and has taken the right approach with its readers... they benefit from new music and sound effects.' - Doctor Who Magazine.

Doctor Who: Inferno

Gary Russell

An archaeological dig in 1936 unearths relics of another time... And - as the Doctor, Amy and Rory realise - another place. Another planet. But if Enola Porter, noted adventuress, has really found evidence of an alien civilization, how come she isn’t famous? Added to that, since Amy’s been travelling with him for a while, why does she think the Doctor is from Mars? As the ancient spaceship reactivates, the Doctor discovers that nothing and no-one can be trusted. The things that seem most real could actually be literal fabrications - and very deadly indeed. Who can the Doctor believe when no one is what they seem? And how can he defeat an enemy who can bend matter itself? Read by Arthur Darvill, who played Rory in Doctor Who, this exciting adventure features the Eleventh Doctor, Amy and Rory, as played by Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill in the hit BBC TV series.

Doctor Who: The Glamour Chase

James Naughtie

2011 marks the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible, a seminal text that remains the most widely published and influential book in the English language. Once described as 'the noblest monument of English prose', it has been recognised for centuries as both a religious and a literary classic.  This compilation features James Naughtie's acclaimed three-part documentary series 'The Story of the King James Bible' - a fascinating exploration of how a new translation of the Bible came to be produced and the impact it has had since. In addition, there are 28 readings from the work itself, encompassing some of the most powerful and awe-inspiring passages narrated by well-known actors such as Samuel West, Emilia Fox, Hugh Bonneville, Niamh Cusack and Bill Paterson and introduced by eminent figures from the worlds of history, literature and religion such as Simon Schama, David Lodge, Will Self and Dr Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury.   Enlightening and inspiring, this is a thrilling tribute to one of the greatest works ever produced in English.

King James Bible, The Readings And Documentaries From BBC Radio

Madame de Lafayette

Madame de Lafayette's classic tale of intrigue and love, ‘La Princesse de Clèves’, dramatised for BBC Radio 3 and originally broadcast in the ‘Drama on 3’ slot on 28 February 2010.   Set in the 16th Century, the play follows the life of a beautiful young lady newly presented to Court. It's the reign of Henri II and Mary Queen of Scots is safely ensconced in France. It's a time of dangerous liaisons when one step out of line could ruin a woman and her family.  Quickly married off, the naïve Princess finds herself admired and taunted by those around her. And, whilst they gossip cruelly, she becomes helplessly and dangerously caught up in matters of love.  Playfully adapted, this BBC Radio 3 dramatisation offsets the Princess’ painful conflict between duty and love with characters who delight in the wickedness of their world.  ‘La Princesse de Clèves’ stars Melody Grove as La Princesse, Candida Benson as her mother and Liam Brennan as Clèves. Also featuring in the cast are Robin Laing, Laurie Brown, Meg Fraser, Irene MacDougall, Ralph Riach and Crawford Logan. Translated and dramatised by Jo Clifford and directed by Kirsty Williams.

La Princesse De Clèves (BBC Radio 3 Drama On 3)

Nigel Planer

High up on the wooden scaffolding tower of the Sistine Chapel, two fresco plasterers get on with the day’s work preparing the ceiling for their boss Michelangelo who has not bothered to turn up for work again. As they do so, they bemoan the uselessness of the great master.  Pope Julius and Cardinal Alidosi visit the chapel to inspect the progress of their commission. They are never very impressed, and the Pope is more concerned about getting Michelangelo to do his funeral monument at a knock-down price.  ‘On the Ceiling’ is not about great artists; it is about those people whose names don’t go down in history: the ones who do the essential drudge work, their frustration at their lack of genius and their pride in their own technical expertise. In this version of events, low elements combine to make high art.  Starring Phil Daniels as Lapo, Bryan Dick as Loti, Gary Waldhorn as Pope Julius and Roger Lloyd Pack as Cardinal Alidosi. Directed by Mary Peate.   ‘On the Ceiling’ was originally broadcast as the ‘Afternoon Play’ on 7 February 2009 and repeated on 11 December 2010.

On The Ceiling (BBC Radio 4 Saturday Play)

Annie Caulfield

Mahmoud the barber has exchanged Basra for Istanbul where his old friend Sergeant - now Captain - Billy has ended up as Military Attaché.  After witnessing a traumatic attack on duty in Kabul, squaddies Kev and Damon opt for a bit of escapism. Damon fancies himself as a secret agent and is obsessed with James Bond. He persuades his mate to join him in visiting Istanbul's famous ‘From Russia with Love’ film locations. First stop: Electra King's house.  But they discover they're not cut out to follow in Bond's footsteps and Billy and Mahmoud have to pick up the pieces when an unofficial trip to the Basilica Cisterns goes spectacularly wrong.  Billy tries to give the soldiers some worldly wisdom to take back to the front: survival skills more useful than anything they'd learn on the parade ground.  By turns funny, exciting and poignant, the play gets under the skin of life as a soldier.  ‘On the Field: On Leave’ stars Paul Chahidi as Mahmoud and Paul Mundell as Billy. Also amongst the cast are Carl Prekopp, Osi Okerafor, Sal Osbay and Hakan Silahsiz. Directed by Mary Ward Lowery. Originally broadcast as the ‘Afternoon Play’ on 28 September 2010.

On the Field: On Leave

Stephen Wakelam

A BBC Radio 3 full-cast drama by Stephen Wakelam on a period in the life of Shakespeare, ‘The Pattern of Painful Adventures’, originally broadcast in the ‘Drama on 3’ slot on 23 November 2008 and repeated on 25 April 2010.  Business is going well, but the playwright urgently needs a collaborator for his latest play. His daughter is getting married. His brother has a sick child and is in need of a job. It is 1607 and Shakespeare's life is at a turning point.  Starring Antony Sher as William Shakespeare, Will Keen as Jack Robinson and Stephen Critchlow as John Marston. Also included amongst the cast are Chris Pavlo, Helen Longworth, John Rowe, Robert Lonsdale and Joseph Kloska. Produced and directed by Jeremy Mortimer.

Pattern Of Painful Adventures, The (BBC Radio 3 Drama On 3)

Various

'Paul’s Letters to Titus, Philemon &amp; The Hebrews':  Rosemary Leach reads 'Paul’s Letter to Titus', Frank Windsor reads 'Paul’s Letter to Philemon' and Virginia McKenna reads the 'Letter to The Hebrews'. Specially composed music is included. The readings were part of BBC Radio 4's series of 341 daily episodes of the Bible, broadcast in 1991 and 1992. Abridged by Dennis Nowlan.  'The New Testament':  These abridged readings of the New Testament are taken from the 1989 Revised English Bible, which was translated directly from the original Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek into modern English to produce a Bible that was at once accessible and authoritative.

Paul's Letters to Titus, Philemon & The Hebrews

The New Testament, Revised English Edition

The First Festivals series invites children to explore the world's culture from the comfort of their home, encourages the development of hand-eye coordination and is recommended for children aged 2 and over.

First Festivals

First Impressions

First Steps with Spot

Five Minute Mum

Flaptastic

Fluffy

Folk Art

Foolproof

Football Academy

Football Skills

Forbidden Spaces Trilogy

Foul Play

DICK FRANCIS was one of the most successful post-war National Hunt jockeys and author of forty-three bestselling novels, a volume of short stories (Field of 13), the biography of Lester Piggott and his own autobiography (The Sport of Queens). He was rightly acclaimed as one of the greatest thriller writers in the world. 
 
 Since his death, his son FELIX FRANCIS has taken over the literary reigns from his father and Dick's legacy lives on through the Dick Francis novels. The Francis flair is clear for all to see in these national treasure thrillers, and readers will appreciate the sporadic reappearance of beloved series characters Sid Halley and Jeff Hinkley.

Francis Thriller

Frank Behr

Once a Detective Inspector in the Nottinghamshire Force, Frank Elder has retired to an isolated cottage in Cornwall, and is trying to live the quiet life. The past, however, is never far behind him.

Frank Elder

Fred

Free Collars Kingdom

Jean Plaidy combines imagination with facts to bring the French Revolution alive in this dynamic historical fiction series. From Louis XV’s debauchery to Marie Antionette’s demise, it is clear there was only one way this was going to end.

French Revolution

French Vintage Classics

Frieda Klein

Fright Club

From Scratch

Frontline Nurses Series

Frostheart

Fun With Ladybird

Funnybones

G.F. Newman’s The Corrupted

Gabriel's Inferno

The Roman grip on Britain is growing weaker and Druids are on the rise. Emperor Nero has turned away. Boudicca is preparing to lead tribes to war. 
 
Standing in her way is Gaius Valerius Verrens, commander of the veterans legion. In this battle he earns the accolade of Hero of Rome - but where will that title lead him next?

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