Audiobooks by Richard Steele

The Gift of Friendship: What the Wisest Minds Said About Our Deepest Bonds Across Two Thousand Years

"This beautifully curated anthology draws on major historical figures including Emerson, Thoreau, Carlyle, Oliver Goldsmith, Dr. Samuel Johnson, Francis Bacon, Montaigne, and Aristotle. The pieces range across themes such as the sentiment of friendship, its pleasures, and the art of choosing friends well — together forming a rich portrait of what the wisest minds across two millennia considered one of life's most essential bonds. The voices are varied in tone, era, and temperament, but united in their love and respect for friendship, the greatest of relationships. From Aristotle's philosophical precision to Emerson's idealism, Thoreau's observations and the polish of Addison and Steele., what unites them all is a shared conviction that friendship is not incidental to a good life but central to it — that to understand friendship is, in some measure, to understand what it means to be human. We find celebration of loyalty, of mutual recognition, of the rare pleasure of being truly known, alongside a frank acknowledgement of friendship's fragility, its demands, and its occasional disappointments. Together the selections build into something more than the sum of their parts: a sustained meditation on human connection that feels as pertinent today as when it was first compiled. A short but deeply rich book, it reminds us that what matters most never changes, and that a good friend is the greatest of all treasures."

Alfred H. Hyatt, Anthusa, Aristotle, Francis Bacon, George Berkeley, Henry Mackenzie, Henry David Thoreau, Joseph Addison, Michel de Montaigne, Oliver Goldsmith, Richard Steele, Samuel Johnson, Thomas Carlyle (Author), Charles Featherstone (Narrator)

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Dear Mr Spectator: A BBC Radio full-cast drama inspired by the anonymous writings of the famous social commentator

"The complete Series 1 and 2 of the drama based on the publications of the real-life Lady Whistledown - the anonymous 18th Century columnist, 'Mr Spectator' 'Wonderfully droll' The Spectator London, 1710. Enigmatic man of letters Mr Spectator moves like a shadow through the city's streets and coffee-houses, observing the manners, morals and misdemeanours of his fellow men. He has his finger on the pulse of all the latest news and fashions, and shares his wit and wisdom in his daily news-sheet - which is avidly perused by readers from all stations of society, from the humble to the highest in the land. In these two radio series, we meet his greatest fans, who look to him to solve their problems and determine their futures... Series 1 centres around Gilbert Mowbray, a clockmaker who is fast approaching his 40th birthday - and is not handling it well. Neglecting his workshop and his customers, he spends his time glued to Mr Spectator's musings - much to his wife Kitty's exasperation. As his midlife crisis deepens, can the nation's favourite agony uncle help Gilbert reassess his life? In Series 2, Britain is nine million pounds in debt - but Chancellor of the Exchequer Robert Harley has a plan to generate the necessary income: a little idea called the South Sea Company. However, to get his Bill through Parliament, he needs someone the public trusts to speak out in favour of the scheme. Enlisting the aid of Palace paper-boy Ned Dempsey, Harley determines to track down Mr Spectator - but can Ned unmask the elusive scribbler before time, and Harley's patience, run out? Adapted by Elizabeth Kuti from Joseph Addison and Richard Steele's Spectator essays, this wry, whimsical drama stars Benjamin Whitrow (Pride and Prejudice) as Mr Spectator, the anonymous oracle who, like his fictional counterpart Lady Whistledown, hid behind a nom de plume to stoke controversy. Among the supporting cast are Richard Lumsden, Sam Troughton, Bryan Dick, David Schofield, Jemma Redgrave and Claire Rushbrook. Production credits Inspired by and dramatised from Joseph Addison and Richard Steele's 18th-century Spectator essays by Elizabeth Kuti Produced and directed by Heather Larmour Violin played by Paddy O'Flaherty Cast Mr Spectator - Benjamin Whitrow Gilbert - Richard Lumsden Kitty - Amy Marston Jonathan - Sam Troughton Coffee-boy - Samuel Barnett Lady - Fo Cullen Gentlemen- Miche Doherty/Richard Dormer/Chris McHallem/Mark Lambert Stockjobbers - Miche Doherty/Mark Lambert Disgruntled man/Freddie/Lion - Richard Dormer Wife/Leticia - Sarah Kants Spectacle inventor/Gravedigger - Chris McHallem Signor Niccolini - Miche Docherty Isabel - Emma Bolger Jacob - Daniel Walsh Aggie - Laura Conway Ned Dempsey - Bryan Dick Harley - David Schofield Abigail - Christina Cole Queen Anne - Jemma Redgrave Anne Baldwin - Claire Rushbrook Defoe - Sam Dale Aunt Maude - Stella McCusker Opera Singer - David Revels With Seainin Brennan, Niall Cusack, Paul Kennedy, Marty Maguire and Charlie Niblock-Hamill First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 12-16 January 2009 (Series 1), 16-20 August 2010 (Series 2) © 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd"

Joseph Addison, Richard Steele (Author), Benjamin Whitrow, Bryan Dick, Claire Rushbrook, David Schofield, Full Cast, Jemma Redgrave, Richard Lumsden, Sam Troughton (Narrator)

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