Simon Jones, who played Arthur Dent in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, presents a look back at the life and work of a writer who has captivated the imagination of millions. When Douglas Adams created The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy for BBC Radio 4, it was the genesis of a science fiction comedy legend. In this programme, Simon Jones t...

Scott and Amundsen is a controversial double biography of the first and second to reach the South pole. This audiobook has been described as the 'case against Scott' and it does not hold back on criticism of him. Plus it looks at evidence that Scott's failure was not just because of his personality but examines problems that existed out of his cont...

Untold Stories, Alan Bennett's first major collection of prose since his bestselling Writing Home, brings together the finest and funniest of his writing over the last ten years. Following on from Untold Stories: Part 1: Stories and Part 2: The Diaries (also available from BBC Audiobooks), Part 3: Written on the Body is both a reflection on Alan Be...

Playwright, actor, singer, songwriter, poet and scriptwriter, Sir No‰l Coward used his `talent to amuse' to spectacular effect for almost sixty years. Sir Laurence Olivier, Lord Mountbatten and Joyce Carey are just some of the voices heard paying tribute to the elegant star in this audio biography which is linked by the broadcaster and criti...

Gerard Hoffnung was an artist, musician, broadcaster, raconteur - and genius. A true Renaissance Man, the multi-faceted Hoffnung crammed a great deal into his tragically short span. Using much previously unreleased archive material, this audio biography, presented by Humphrey Lyttelton, looks at every aspect of his life and career. From his childho...

Alan Bennett's gentle, wry observations of life have made him one of the country's best-loved and most famous authors. He reads extracts from his bestselling diaries which offer a fascinating insight into his life - the work on location, life in Camden and fond, poignant memories of his childhood and home life.

A unique anthology of Alan Bennett's radio and television work featuring extracts from his diaries and readings, tributes to friends Russell Harty and Peter Cook plus commentary and specially recorded links by Bennett himself.

lan Bennett reads three further chapters from Untold Stories, his major collection of new writings. Untold Stories, Alan Bennett's first major collection of prose since his bestselling Writing Home, brings together the finest and funniest of his writing over the last ten years. After Untold Stories: Part 1: Stories, Part 2: The Diaries and Part 3:...

Untold Stories, Alan Bennett's first major collection of prose since his bestselling Writing Home, brings together the finest and funniest of his writing over the last ten years. Part 2: The Diaries Alan Bennett's diaries from 1997-2004 are an erudite collection of witty yet poignant recollections told in his own unique voice. Whether appreciating...

'We Churchills die at forty,' said Winston in 1908, 'and I want to put something more on the slate before then.' By the time he died in 1965, the slate was full. From his earliest days Churchill was an ambitious character, eager for action.He achieved fame and popularity through his dispatches from the Boer War, and in 1900 was elected MP for Oldha...

Taken from the new book of the same name, these are Tony Benn's diaries from 1991 - 2001, read by Tony Benn. They encompass the Gulf War, the rise of New Labour, and the global consequences of the attack on the World Trade Center in September 2001. These political observations are entwined with a moving personal account of family life to produce a...

Durrell's autobiographical account of his childhood, concentrating on his time spent in Corfu 1935-39, is rich with both humour and naturalist observations on the ecosystems and nature of the island. A heartfelt and warming account of island life that impacted significantly on tourism in Corfu, this memoir is one for listeners all ages and inclinat...

The Last Over really was the last Memoir from a fine sporting journalist mainly for the London Daily Telegraph and also a former BBC broadcaster. He made this recording at the age of 91 and sadly died soon after. An authoritative account largely of cricket from a man whose knowledge of the game was second to none! E.W. 'Jim' Swanton was cricket cor...

Byrne is not alone in believing in angels: three quarters of Americans and more than a third of Britons are also convinced that such heavenly helpers exist. If you met a woman who said that she talked to angels every day, you might be forgiven for raising a discreetly cynical eyebrow but somehow, Lorna Byrne is different.Thousands of people say tha...

Senator Barack Obama reflects on the American ideals that led him into politics. Barack Obama has been hailed by voters of all stripes as a man of uncommon gifts and far-reaching vision. In THE AUDACITY OF HOPE, he draws on his personal experience as a senator and lawyer, professor and father, Christian and skeptic, and finds a shared language abou...

Lawrence of Arabia's seminal work charts his time in the British Military Intelligence in the Levantine territories, during the wars with the Turks. The manuscript is candid and action-packed, and was entirely re-written after Lawrence lost the original manuscript whilst changing trains.

The extraordinary story of an obscure German princess who became one of the most powerful women in history. Born into a minor noble family, Catherine transformed herself into empress of Russia by sheer determination. For thirty-four years, the government, foreign policy, cultural development and welfare of the Russian people were in her hands. She...

This fascinating collection of archive interviews with the renowned actress and MP begins with a radio interview in 1970 and runs through to a guest appearance on Desert Island Discs in 1997. Along the way Glenda Jackson appears on numerous programmes including Parkinson, In The Psychiatrist's Chair and Start the Week, during the course of which sh...

Homage to Catalonia is George Orwell's account of his experiences fighting in the Spanish Civil War, and a portrait of disillusionment with his early politics. Orwell's experiences include being shot in the neck by a sniper, and being forced into hiding as factions of the Left battled on the streets of Barcelona. Orwell entered Spain intending to g...

A memoir of Roald Dahl's childhood containing some hilariously true stories, such as the great mouse plot of 1924, when an eight year old Dahl and his gobstopper-loving friends took a just revenge on the disgusting sweetshop owner Mrs Pratchett. Dahl also recounts the deaths of his father and his sister within the space of a few short weeks, the ca...

In 1909, actress Sybil Thorndike wed Welsh-born actor/director Lewis Casson. This is the story of their great theatre partnership as told by their son John.