Perhaps the ultimate in TV comedy madness and absurdity, this cult series, which began in 1969, was conceived, written and performed by Graham Chapman, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones. It was innovative and ground-breaking comedy which inspired many of today's writers and performers. Its sketches, songs and catchphrases are...

We all know what it means these days to be a 'grumpy old man', because part of that role is to be outspoken. Well, we've heard just about enough out of the men, thank you very much. 'Grumpy Old Women' gives us the other perspective - the female take - on the million irritations of today's world. So what's the difference? Surely what is irritating t...

Finally given the heave-ho by Pandora, Adrian Mole finds himself in the situation of living with the love-of-his-life as she goes about shacking up with other men. Worse, as he slides down the employment ladder, from deskbound civil servant in Oxford to part-time washer-upper in Soho, he finds that critical reception for his epic novel, Lo! The Fla...

They say trouble comes in threes... Headstrong and organised, Mia is a single mum who wants to fix the world - but the one thing she can't fix is her family. Responsible older brother Will has fled Primrose Bay, unable to forgive and forget after the ultimate betrayal. And Jasmine, no longer the wayward baby sister, is determined to prove to her br...

Two true-crime cases from the hit TV series Murder is Forever MURDER BEYOND THE GRAVE: Stephen Small has it all - a Ferrari, fancy house, loving wife and three sons. But the only thing he needs right now is enough air to breathe. Kidnapped, buried in a box, and held for ransom, Stephen has forty-eight hours of oxygen. The clock is ticking . . . MUR...

From the world's favourite author, David Walliams - ten cautionary tales and a delightfully dreadful cast of characters. Are you ready to meet the World's Worst Children? Five beastly boys and five gruesome girls!  Like Sofia Sofa - a TV super-fan so stuck to the sofa that she's turning into one!  Or Dribbling Drew - a boy whose drool gets him in...

Most people ignored the outrageous reports on the news. But they became too frequent, they became too real. And soon, they began happening down the street. Then the Internet died. The television and radio went silent. The phones stopped ringing. And we couldn't look outside anymore. Malorie raises the children the only way she can; indoors. The hou...

The irascible husband of Victorian Egyptologist Amelia Peabody demonstrates again why he has been nicknamed "Father of Curses." Denied permission to dig at the pyramids of Dahshoor, Emerson is awarded instead the "pyramids" of Mazghunah: countless mounds of rubble in the middle of nowhere. Nothing in this barren spot seems worthy of interest-until...

Alan Groombridge had a fantasy. Husband to a woman he didn't like, father of two children he had never wanted, and manager of the second smallest branch of the Anglian-Victoria bank in the country, Alan was doomed to a life of domestic boredom and tedious routine. All that saved him was that one fantasy: stealing enough of the bank's money to allow...

The explosive finale to the Ringworld and the Fleet of Worlds series. For decades, the spacefaring species of known space have battled over the largest artifact-and grandest prize-in the galaxy: the all-but-limitless resources and technology of the Ringworld. Now, without warning, the Ringworld has vanished, leaving behind three rival war fleets. S...

Dr. Geoff Bunn presents a journey through 5000 years of our understanding of the most complex thing in the known universe: the brain, in this major ten-part BBC Radio 4 series. Human beings have long been fascinated by the brain and how it fulfils its many functions. This groundbreaking cultural history explores the development of our ideas about t...

Nicholas Parsons chairs the devious BBC Radio 4 word game, recorded at Derby University. The panellists are Josie Lawrence, Justin Moorhouse, Tony Hawks and Dave Gorman. Subjects include how to spot a mature student and three ways to pay back your student loan.

When Josh is forced to spend a summer with his eccentric aunt, he thinks it will be the most boring summer ever. Instead, he finds himself talking to a ghost from one hundred years ago! In order for the ghost to finally be at peace, it needs some help, and Josh reluctantly agrees to assist. But Josh needs to dig in the old cemetery, and when he doe...

Five disparate voices inhabit Ali Smith's dreamlike 'Hotel World', set in the luxurious anonymity of the Global Hotel, in an unnamed northern English city. The disembodied yet interconnected characters include Sara, a 19-year-old chambermaid who has recently died at the hotel; her bereaved sister, Clare, who visits the scene of Sara's death; Penny,...

Shakespeare classic in which ordinary people are toyed with by jealous and mischievous fairies - Charles and Mary Lamb's wonderful adaptations of Shakespeare translate beautifully to audio.

The complete fourth series of brief musical comedies - as heard on BBC Radio 4. These musical comedies contain some of the most foot-tapping satire you'll ever hear...

Roman Britain: Marcus Flavius Aquilla, a young centurion is forced into retirement after he is wounded in his first major engagement against a rebel British tribe. It allows him the freedom to embark upon a dangerous mission to find out what happened to the Ninth Legion which, years before, disappeared in the savage lands of the Picts. Will he find...

Trouble is haunting Cassidy Blake... even more than usual. She (plus her ghost best friend, Jacob, of course) are in Paris, where Cass's parents are filming their TV show about the world's most haunted cities. Sure, it's fun eating croissants and seeing the Eiffel Tower, but there's true ghostly danger lurking beneath Paris, in the creepy undergrou...

A gentle and deeply moving story of a young girl and her bear, told with great charm by a master storyteller. High in the mountains, in a tiny village, an abandoned bear cub is adopted by a lonely orphan child. Soon they are inseparable, beloved by the whole village - safe, until the arrival of a glamorous film crew who need a dancing bear.

One summer, Simon Armitage decided to walk the Pennine Way - a challenging 256-mile route usually approached from south to north, with the sun, wind and rain at your back. However, he resolved to tackle it back to front, walking home towards the Yorkshire village where he was born, travelling as a 'modern troubadour', without a penny in his pockets...

When seventeen-year-old Belinda Phillips falls in love with a handsome Anglo-Indian officer, she knows that he is a man she can never hope to marry. When he is reported missing, believed killed in action, Belinda discovers that she is pregnant. Facing disgrace and ruin, she has no option other than to accept an arranged marriage with a middle-aged...