Sydney Carton, a lawyer and wastrel, tries to redeem himself somewhere between Paris and London to make up for his mis-spent youth. A tale of two cities is considered by many to be Dickens' most thrilling novel. Whilst contrasting the tranquility of London with revolution-torn Paris, incident follows incident as Sydney Carton finally redeems himse...

King Lear is one of Shakespeare's most performed and celebrated plays - presented here in accessible story fom by brother and sister team Charles and Mary Lamb. An ideal story for newcomers to Shakespeare, young people and as an additional study aid for students.King Lear is to abdicate, and wants to divide his kingdom between his three daughters....

Charles and Mary Lamb revolutionized Shakespeare by re-writing the great Bard's plays into short stories, originally intended for children, in 1807. Since then, generations after generations of people have read and listened to their stories, which appeal just as much to adults as they do to children. Also good resources for students studying Shakes...

This story makes Shakespeare's world-famous play accessible to everyone in Charles and Mary Lamb's acclaimed prose form. Ideal as a study aid for students, or as an introduction to the play's plot for any listener. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth plot to seat Macbeth as the king of Scotland, both of them knowing that they will have to get their hands very...

An adaptation of Shakespeare's comedy in which hapless couples are forced into cross-dressing to avoid their loan-shark woes: Charles and Mary Lamb turn the master of all playwright's works to prose to great effect.

A touching tale of companionship and redemption, that challenges the age-old 'blood is thicker than water' adage. Silas Marner, a weaver, is cast out from his religious community and arrives in Raveloe, where he is feared because of his mysterious nature and brooding manner. When he is left an unwanted child to care for, his love for the child grow...

Orwell's darkly comic novel centres around the life of Gordon Comstock, onetime advertising copywriter turned bookshop employee and struggling poet. Gordon's disdain for money and artistic compromise preclude his earning enough of a living to escape constant public embarrassment. On top of this, it gives him terrible trouble holding on to his girlf...

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...

Madame Bovary is one of Europe's most famous pieces of literature causing a huge scandal when first published in 1856 as a serial in La Revue de Paris and then, after being acquitted at a trial, as a book in 1857. Ahead of its time, Madame Bovary shocked its readers when first published, with its candid themes of adultery and betrayal. Emma Bovary...

Our narrator begins by asking a listener if they think that he is 'mad'...then goes on to relate a story of passion and drastic action that may lead a listener to begin so. A tale of jealousy, seemingly unreasonable competitiveness and obsession, this story of love-rivals is definitely not your usual...for the love rival may emerge as being rather...

The famous writer's trials are detailed with interest and compassion. A fascinating blend of fact and fiction, This Oscar Wilde double bill offers significant insight into one of the world's most significant literary figures. Oscar Wilde was ruined by a notorious libel case and two years in reading prison. The 'trials' part of the pack is recorded...

A joyfully picaresque novel, Tom Jones is satirical and farcical in large doses, as well as confronting serious issues such as the importance of religion in eighteenth-century society. Tom is thrown out of his foster father's house for 'crimes' that he didn't commit, and proceeds to have numerous bawdy adventures and fights in the process of life,...

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation of the strange legal case of film star Peter Lorre, written and produced by Michael Butt and starring Stephen Greif. Originally broadcast as the "Afternoon Play" on 10 May 2010. Towards the end of his unique career, movie star Peter Lorre found himself at the centre of an unusual legal case. Incorporating verba...

A comedy for BBC Radio 2 starring Miranda Hart (Hyperdrive, Absolutely Fabulous, Jack Dee's Lead Balloon) and written by Miranda Hart and Tony Roche, with additional material by Richard Hurst and Leisa Rea. Miranda (Miranda Hart) is an unconventional woman: a very tall, life-embracing, self-effacing clown, who is at her happiest amongst the whoopey...

To escape a catastrophic volcanic eruption the Doctor takes the TARDIS out of space and time - and into a void he can only describe as 'nowhere'. But the crisis is far from over and when the time-machine's circuits overload, the TARDIS explodes. The Doctor, Jamie and Zoe come to in a dark unearthly forest. There they encounter a host of characters...

The second book in the classic Just William series, read by Martin Jarvis. These hilarious stories follow twelve months in the life of the terror of the Brown family, starting on Christmas Day - when the centipede appears on Aunt Evangeline's plate, the library clock is found mysteriously dismantled and the conjuring trick with the egg goes disastr...

When Harry Winter goes out collecting rocks to repair the wall around his father's farm, he makes a fatal mistake. He disturbs Lucifer's Tombstone, and awakens something demonic and dreadful...The TARDIS arrives in the 18th Century village of Thornton Rising in the Yorkshire Moors - a village cut off from the world by an all-consuming darkness, whe...

The Doctor's been everywhere and everywhen in the whole of the universe and seems to know all the answers. But ask him what happened to the Starship Brilliant and he hasn't the first idea. Did it fall into a sun or black hole? Was it shot down in the first moments of the galactic war? And what's this about a secret experimental drive? The Doctor is...

Radio 4 sitcom about four women friends, written by and starring Susie Donkin, Charlotte McDougall, Oriane Messina and Fay Rusling. Four women friends cope with life, work and men. Mel is hunting for a man - any man, and Lucy wants Kevin to help her get rid of a rat. Jo and Kevin are trying for a baby so she can be a really Yummy Mummy, and Alex is...

This edition from the best-selling poetry series brings together the most beloved poems for children, from "The Owl and the Pussycat" through "On the Ning Nang Nong" to "I Know Someone Who Can" to "Us Two". The Nation's Favourite Children's Poems will compel and amuse adults and children alike, with poems drawn from themes as diverse as animals, sc...

Pam and Gordon Grant are a couple at odds running a rural garden centre. While Pam still feels young and is determined to avoid the slippery slope into middle-age, Gordon seems keen to dive in - slippers first. Pam's ally at the garden centre is teenager Carol, a girl more than happy to speak her mind. If only, Gordon complains, there was something...