Joe battles the greed of his parents, who want him to marry for money, not love.

The disappearance of a rather strong-willed and domineering woman is the talk of the town. She is nowhere to be found, and rumours abound that a kidnapping may well be afoot. Another satirical winner from Saki writing as H.H. Munro, where all is not necessarily as it seems and the witticisms are fast and frequent.

The Elk is the story of Bertie Thropplestances' grandmother, who is intent upon finding him a suitable wife, and it would seem that their tame elk would have a large part to play in this matter. Hector Hugo Munro, better known by his pen-name Saki, gives us another humorous satirical comedy on Edwardian society and culture.

Terry Neil, a bone-setter and doctor, agrees to keep watch over the big house, which is rumoured to be haunted by an old inhabitant. After building his courage by drinking alcohol, he stays up through the night, and starts to hear sounds and see things that should frighten him, but which actually have surprising and even almost comical requests and...

David Threlfall stars as Father Paolo Baldi in two full-cast BBC Radio 4 dramatisations. On sabbatical from the Franciscan order, Father Paolo Baldi is working as a philosophy lecturer in Dublin when his life takes an unexpected turn and he finds himself helping the police to solve crimes. Death Cap sees Paolo attending a monastic retreat far out i...

Six Sci Fi stories from the past depicting the future which is NOW.some frightening and believable predictions that may well still come true. A great listen. This is science fiction at its literate best with every story a little gem. They include a clock that reverses the order of history, a potion that prolongs youth, a machine that disintegrates...

Holmes calls on Watson late one evening to tell him about a case that he has been working on, and also to invite him to be a witness to the final stage of the investigation. Colonel James Barclay, of The Royal Mallows based at Aldershot Camp, is dead, apparently by violence, and his wife Nancy is the prime suspect. Holmes and Watson never disappoin...

A story in Conan Doyle's famous 'Professor Challenger' series. In this story he encounters a Russian scientist who has created a machine that not only disintegrates humans but also re-assembles them. He is selling his plans to the country that made the highest offer but first Professor Challenger wants to test out the machine himself.

Sherlock Holmes is dying of a rare Asian disease, and desperately needs the help of a sworn enemy. Watson must try to get to the bottom of this mystery, and save Holmes' life. Written with Arthur Conan Doyle's characteristic ingenuity, this Holmes mystery is not one to miss.

Sherlock Holmes arrives at a large, dark, seemingly deserted house with Dr. Watson. Heavily loaded carriages with luggage are visible outside the house. Our intrepid team find a window ajar, and climb into the apartment where they find they are not alone. Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes Adventures are legendary classics of crime writing, and a...

Sir Samuel White Baker, (b. 8 June 1821 - d. 30 December 1893) was a British explorer, officer, naturalist, big game hunter, engineer, writer and abolitionist. This account of a big game encounter is a thrilling testimony that relays the sights, smells and especially sounds of a nineteenth-century hunting experience.

The murder by suspected poisoning of Mr. Weatherby at the guest house at No. 9, Hill Crescent, points the finger of suspicion at a number of likely suspects. Crime writer Mr. Lattimer is on the case, noticing details around the house that the detectives seem to have overlooked. But what will Mr. Lattimer do with his all-important 'inside' informati...

A gritty and absorbing glimpse into the lives of women and men living in a small community, and the often unpleasant truths that relationships can sometimes hold. Bathsheba Everdene flees her abusive husband and spends the night by a stagnant and spooky swamp. When light begins to break over her hiding-place, she sees strong parallels between her...

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation of Val McDermid's bestselling Kate Brannigan mystery Clean Break, starring Charlotte Coleman. Manchester-based private eye Kate Brannigan is not amused when thieves steal a Monet from a stately home where she had arranged the security. She sets off on a chase that takes her across Europe bringing her head to he...

Quasimodo is the lonely and deformed bell-ringer of Notre Dame in Paris, will there ever be anyone that can brighten his life and relieve his sorrowful isolation? Quasimodo, the hunchback, is bell-ringer at Notre Dame. One day, he notices a gipsy girl dancing in the square below, and desires to get to know her. Events transpire so that the two mee...

Woof! Woof! I am a spaniel called Flush and owned by Elizabeth Barret Browning and her husband Robert and this is my amusing but ultimately sad autiobiography. Virginia Woolf's biography of Elizabeth Barrett Brownings spaniel was what she called "a little escapade", begun to "ease my brain" in the wake of The Waves (1931). The intensities of that m...

Nicholas Parsons and Paul Merton introduce four classic archive episodes of the ever-popular Radio 4 comedy panel game.

Nicholas Parsons and Paul Merton introduce Ian Messiter's four classic archive episodes of the ever-popular comedy panel game. Just as uproariously funny and terrifically popular today as when it first began on BBC Radio 4 in 1967, Just a Minute challenges contestants to speak for one minute on a given subject without repetition, hesitation or devi...

The Best of Just a Minute is a yearly event which brings together the greatest shows of the year. Just a Minute was devised by the late Ian Messiter, who came up with the idea on the top of a number 13 bus, where he suddenly remembered the horrible task of speaking for one minute without hesitation or deviation being meted out by one of his school...

Four specially selected episodes of Radio 4's much-loved panel game, hosted by Nicholas Parsons. Among the subjects hilariously tackled are tomboys, my secret vice, charisma, hot air, Speakers' Corner, cat lovers, agony aunts and bugs. First broadcast in 1968, Just a Minute is one of the longest-running radio comedy shows. A national institution, i...

Four of the most sparkling editions from recent series of the ever-popular Radio 4 comedy panel game, chaired by Nicholas Parsons with regular players Paul Merton and Clement Freud joined by a host of guest players. Among the subjects hilariously tackled are: The Scottish Play, The A to Z, An Infinite Number of Monkeys, Leonardo da Vinci, The Famou...