In this episode taken from the BBC Radio 4 series, Melvyn Bragg 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'. We hear the forgotten voices of people such as Joseph Lingard, a respectable Derbyshire man who was wrongfully convicted of the theft...

Arsene Lupin, master criminal and 'gentleman thief', is locked up in a prison cell when a brilliant crime bearing all of his hallmarks is committed. Could there be a copy-cat criminal out there in the underworld? But who could match the cunning, agility and grace of Arsene Lupin?

Melvyn Bragg looks at dialects from around Britain: the Pitmatic of Northumberland, the dialect of (London/Derry), the increasingly elusive Cornish dialect, Pidgin, and Shropshire dialect, and then finishing up with a speculation on the future of English dialects.

In this episode taken from the BBC Radio 4 series, Melvyn Bragg travels to the historic dockyard of Chatham to explore the life of a seaman in Nelson's navy. Our popular image of the 18th century sailor below decks is one of a downtrodden, press-ganged man who was a victim of regular beatings. While Bragg finds some evidence to support this view, h...

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. We are extremely lucky to have an exceptional eyewitness account of a plague outbreak in...

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. In the decade following the conquest, the north of England was one of the main focuses of...

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. At the beginning of his reign, King Charles I faced a perennial problem for English monar...

A very clever story which will keep you guessing right up until the twist in the tale. Dame Muriel Spark's talent for crime fiction abounds here and her hitherto undiscovered detective has surprises and answers in store for sleuthing listeners.

Felix Lane is bent upon revenge for the death of his young son in a hit-and-run accident, and uses all the knowledge he has gained as a well-known crime writer to track down the culprit . The plot features amateur sleuth Nigel Strangeways, a character modelled on W.H. Auden.

Oliver Goldsmith's "Adventures of a Strolling Player" explores the fickleness of fame. This rollicking, exuberant tale flows effortlessly from the pen of the great 18th century master storyteller and from the lips of T. P. McKenna, whose Irish brogue suits the story perfectly. It is the uproarious story of a travelling player who likes to embellish...

This truly spooky story leaves a listener chilled and unsure which characters to pity. An abusive and cruel husband wears down his wife to the degree that she never argues or complains but lives an existence of quiet misery. When circumstances change drastically, the man's servants start to hear her voice when he cannot - is he going insane or is s...

The first fully recognizable Jeeves and Bertie story. Bertie's cousin arrives in New York lured by the bright lights of Broadway, forcing his dreaded Aunt Agatha to make an unscheduled visit to America. A struggling artist needs help in a romantic intrigue. A wonderful Wodehouse story full of laughs, gaffes and unlikely though touching camaraderie.

Wooster receives a letter out of the blue from his Aunt Agatha inviting him and Jeeves to join her in Rouville-sur-Mer, France. It turns out that Aunt Agatha has decided it is time that Wooster gets married and has some children. She has met an eminently respectable girl she wants to introduce him to, as she considers her absolutely right for the j...

Rockmetteler (Rocky) Todd, one of the laziest people in America, visits Wooster and Jeeves in New York for their advice. Rocky's aunt has written him a letter informing him that she will give him a large monthly allowance on the condition that he visits all the clubs and retaurants and lives life to the full as she would have done had she been much...

Wooster bumps into Bingo and his uncle Old Bittlesham in St James' Street. Old Bittlesham has received a threatening letter in an uneducated hand. Bingo and his uncle think that the culprit is a man with a beard. So Bingo with the help of œ50 offers to sort the matter out. Instead he puts the œ50 on Ocean Breeze a horse owned by his Unc...

This story concerns an obnoxious child called Anthony Martin, a character based upon Christopher Robin, made famous by A.A. Milne's Winnie the Pooh books. Despite Anthony being spoiled and famous, the unchanging and ever-indifferent William has reliably never heard of him! Richmal Crompton's loveable rogue of an anti-hero is always a delight on aud...

William Brown's Christmas day is typically filled with a burst of mouth organ at 6am in the morning, buying people presents that he expects to be given straight back and generally making an albeit good-intentioned nuisance of himself to all and sundry. Chock-full of William's famous observations on life and ruminations on the human condition, Chris...

Inspired by Charles Dickens' story A Christmas Carol, where miserly Ebenezer Scrooge is transformed overnight by ghosts, Jimmy embarks on his own mission to 'Cure a mizzen for Christmas'. Walking along, he sees his victim, the Vicar, who is counting a large sum of cash. Jimmy convinces his friend Bobby to help him on his mission but their plan does...

A rollicking adventure in the vast catalogue of mischievous japes that chronicles the life of irrepressible and ageless schoolboy William Brown. The scruffy, mud-stained and mischievous boy is a loveable rogue whose heart is usually(!) in the right place and whose pranks usually end in disaster. An ill-advised joke is the basis for this funny tale...

This shady tale takes a listener into the unhappy marriage life of Mr. and Mrs. Bodman, holidaying in snowier climes. Whilst each may have their motives, which party may find that they are driven to the edge and are staring into the abyss? An atmospheric thriller, this story examines two people with extreme personalities who unfortunately do not co...

A well-crafted piece of writing about schadenfreude - sheer pleasure, in this case, at seeing someone 'get his comeuppance' - with an element of slapstick. Lieutenant Golightly is a young officer in the British Army in India who prides himself on "looking like 'an Officer and a Gentleman'" and it is clear he puts a little too much emphasis on his a...