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Find out moreBrowse audiobooks narrated by Eleanor Bron, listen to samples and when you're ready head over to Audiobooks.com where you can get 3 FREE audiobooks on us
Little Secrets
Winning the War in Your Mind: Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life
Shelter in Place
People Like Us
The Secret Keeper of Jaipur
What Happened to You?: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing
The Squiggly Career: Ditch the Ladder, Discover Opportunity, Design Your Career
Virgin River
Life's Too Short
False Witness
An elegant and magisterial new biography of Her Majesty The Queen, tracing the events of a reign that now spans seven decades, and evaluating her achievement as a practitioner of monarchy across the entirety of her reign. For millions of people, both in Britain and across the world, Elizabeth II is the embodiment of monarchy. Her long life spans nearly a century of national and global history, from a time before the Great Depression to the era of Covid-19. Her reign embraces all but seven years of Britain's postwar history; she has been served by fifteen UK prime ministers from Churchill to Johnson, and witnessed the administrations of thirteen US presidents from Truman to Trump. The vast majority of Britons cannot remember a world without Elizabeth II as head of state and the Commonwealth. In this brand-new new biography of the longest-reigning sovereign in British history, Matthew Dennison traces her life and reign across an era of unprecedented and often seismic social change. Stylish in its writing and nuanced in its judgements, The Queen charts the joys and triumphs as well as the disappointments and vicissitudes of a remarkable royal life; it also assesses the achievement of a woman regarded as the champion of a handful of 'British' values endorsed - if no longer practised - by the bulk of the nation: service, duty, steadfastness, charity and stoicism. 2021 Head of Zeus
Show moreThe BBC radio adaptations of Judith Kerr's internationally acclaimed trilogy - plus bonus documentary Based on her own childhood experiences, Judith Kerr's When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit is a timeless classic loved by children and adults alike. By turns heart-rending and heart-lifting, it is even more resonant today than when it was first published in 1971. This story of a Jewish family who escape Germany just as the Nazis come to power is seen through the eyes of their young daughter Anna, and traces their perilous journey - splintered by conflict, driven by fear and eventually rewarded with reunion. The two sequels, Bombs on Aunt Dainty and A Small Person Far Away, follow Anna as she grows up, settles in London - and, many years later, returns to Berlin to confront the past. These three radio plays are the very first dramatisations of Kerr's trilogy, and feature a stunning cast including Anna Madeley, Paul Moriarty and Adjoa Andoh. Also featured is a bonus edition of World Book Club, in which Harriett Gilbert talks to Judith Kerr about her life and work. When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit 1933. Leaving her beloved Pink Rabbit behind, nine-year-old Anna leaves her Berlin home to flee with her family across the Swiss border. As they cross Europe in search of sanctuary, she quickly adapts to being a refugee - but will she ever feel she belongs anywhere? Bombs on Aunt Dainty 1940. Teenage Anna is enjoying her new life in London, and looking forward to embarking on a secretarial course. But then her brother Max is interned as an enemy alien - and as the Blitz begins in earnest, she fears for the future of her family. A Small Person Far Away 1956. Happily married and living in West London, Anna gets a worrying telegram. Her mother, who has been living back in Berlin for seven years, has pneumonia, and Anna must go to her at once. With the Cold War heating up, can Anna bear to return to the city of her birth? World Book Club: Judith Kerr - When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit The German-born author talks to Harriet Gilbert about her much-loved novel, answering questions from the audience about writing from a child's perspective, assimilating into British society, and staying happy despite the hardships she endured. Production credits Written by Judith Kerr When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit text copyright © Kerr-Kneale Productions Ltd 1971 Bombs on Aunt Dainty first published in Great Britain as The Other Way Round by William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd in 1975. Text copyright © Kerr-Kneale Productions Ltd 1975 A Small Person Far Away text copyright © Kerr-Kneale Productions Ltd 1978, 1989 Dramatised by Beaty Rubens Directed by David Hunter Cast Young Anna - Lauren Mote Older Anna - Anna Madeley Young Max - Hugo Docking Older Max - Adam Billington Mama - Adjoa Andoh Omama - Eleanor Bron Papa - Paul Moriarty Elsbeth - Xenia Mainelli Julius/Ken - James Lailey Aunt Sarah - Sheila Steafel Fraulein Lambeck/Barbara - Tracy Wiles Herr Rosenfeld/Cotmore - Gerard McDermott Other cast: Alex Rivers, Christopher Webster, Thelma Ruby, Susan Engel, Joanna Monro, Ann Beach, Harry Livingstone, Jack Holden, Malcolm Tierney, Simon Treves, Carl Prekopp, Sara Kestelman, Emerald O'Hanrahan, Peter Hamilton Dyer First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 11-25 March 2012 World Book Club: Judith Kerr - When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit Presented by Harriett Gilbert With Judith Kerr Produced by Karen Holden First broadcast BBC World Service, 6 March 2016
Show moreThe Master turns sleuth and spy in this quintet of radio dramas Actor, playwright, songwriter, director, author and star – as far as we know, Noël Coward never added ‘detective’ or ‘undercover agent’ to his astonishing achievements. But could the intriguing gaps in his memoirs be hiding a thrilling secret life? Design for Murder In this wry backstage whodunit set just before World War II, Coward must put aside the play he’s writing to track down a murderous psychopath in London’s West End. Blithe Spy This Second World War espionage adventure finds Coward in New York, where he turns secret agent and uses his talent to amuse to help Britain battle the Nazis. A Bullet at Balmain’s 1948, and the celebrated playwright is in post-liberation Paris to take the lead role in his play Present Laughter. But the murder of a fashion-house mannequin provides a stylish distraction. Death at the Desert Inn 1955. When $300,000 is left in a satchel in Noël Coward's Las Vegas suite, it’s the prelude to a baffling murder mystery, complete with Judy Garland, a showgirl, a Broadway agent, an unlikely croupier, and a US Congressman. Our Man in Jamaica 1961. Reconciled to being out of fashion, Noël Coward is determined to finish his first novel – until his neighbour Ian Fleming sets him a challenge: become a spy once more to help destabilise Fidel Castro… Written by Marcy Kahan and starring Malcolm Sinclair as Coward, Eleanor Bron as his devoted secretary Lorn Loraine and Tam Williams as his devoted valet Cole Lesley, these light-hearted thrillers see Noël Coward solving crimes and foiling villains with his favourite weapon: wit. Cast and credits Written by Marcy Kahan Starring Malcolm Sinclair as Noël Coward, Eleanor Bron as Lorn Loraine and Tam Williams as Cole Lesley
Show moreBBC radio productions of classic works by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Edith Wharton – plus two bonus documentaries American author Edith Wharton is renowned for her merciless satires of marriage and money, set in the upper-class milieu into which she was born. Included here are a superb selection of her novels, short stories and plays, recorded for BBC Radio – as well as two programmes exploring her life and work. The House of Mirth – Bewitching socialite Lily Bart is hunting for a wealthy husband – but time is running out… Starring June Barrie, Carole Mowlam and Keith Alexander. Madame de Treymes – John Durham's fight for the woman he loves sparks a confrontation with a powerful and devious French family. Starring Anna Massey and Philip Voss. The Reef – Jodhi May, Sian Thomas and Ben Miles star in Edith Wharton’s neglected classic following the complicated love lives of four Americans in France. The Age of Innocence – Recently engaged Newland Archer is drawn to his fiancee's cousin, the exotic, independent Countess Ellen Olenska. Starring Eleanor Bron, Ryan McCluskey and Susan Lynch. The Custom of the Country– Beautiful Undine Spragg arrives in New York, setting her sights on Ralph Marvell. But will he live up to her expectations? Starring Rebecca Night, Dan Stevens and Tom Hollander. Ethan Frome – Trapped in an unhappy marriage, Ethan Frome becomes obsessed with his wife's cousin. Dominic Mafham, Jessica Raine and Laurel Lefkow star in this tragic love story set in rural Massachusetts. The Shadow of a Doubt – Former nurse Kate Derwent carries a terrible secret. Phoebe Fox, Francesca Annis and Paul Ready star in this newly-discovered play from 1901. Great Lives: Edith Wharton – Naomi Wolf joins presenter Matthew Paris to talk about Wharton and her work. In Our Time: Edith Wharton – Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Wharton’s novels of America’s Gilded Age. First published 1901 (The Shadow of a Doubt), 1903 (‘The Dilettante’), 1905 (The House of Mirth), 1907 (Madame de Treymes), 1910 (‘Afterward’), 1911 (Ethan Frome), 1912 (The Reef), 1913 (The Custom of the Country), 1920 (The Age of Innocence) Cast and credits Written by Edith Wharton The House of Mirth Narrator – June Barrie Lily Bart – Carole Mowlam Lawrence Selden – Keith Alexander Simon Rosedale – Alexander John Mrs Bertha Dorset – Anne-Marie Davies Judy Trenor – Roberta Hamond Mr Hudson Bart/Van Allstyne– Barry Dennen Mrs Hudson Bart – Jennie Lee Poleworth – Haydn Andrews Percy Gryce – Arril Johnson George Dorset – Paul Maxwell Jack Stepney – Stuart Milligan Carry Fisher – Zhivila Roche Gwen Van Osburgh – Jean Baird Gus Trenor – John Church Gerty Farish – Celia Bannerman Mrs Van Osburgh – Tucker McGuire Mrs Haffen – Thomasine Heiner Mrs Peniston – Margot Lawrence Grace Stepney – Kate Lock Mrs Wellington Bry – Pat Field Ned Silverton/Mr Wellington Bry – Graham Faulkner Lord Hubert – Anthony Hyde Duchess – Pauline Letts Mattie Gormer – Jayne Lloyd Miss Kilroy/Nettie – Judith Morse Miss Haines/Kathleen – Janene Possell Dramatised by Eileen Cullen Directed by Brian Miller First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 21 March-18 April 1981 Madame de Treymes Narrator – Valerie Sarruf Christiane de Treymes – Anna Massey John Durham – Philip Voss Fanny de Malrive – Gwen Humble Mrs Humble – Auriol Smith Nanny – Jane Whittenshaw Katey – Tara Dominick Bessie Boykin – Elizabeth Kelly Elmer Boykin – James Greene Dramatised by John Peacock Directed by Jane Morgan First broadcast BBC Radio 3, 7 September 1990 The Reef Narrator – Sian Thomas George Darrow – Ben Miles Anna – Teresa Gallagher Sophie – Jodhi May Owen – Julian Ovenden Adelaide/Laura – Debora Weston Dramatised by Penny Leicester Produced by Di Speirs First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 27 June-8 July 2005 The Age of Innocence Newland – Ryan McCluskey Ellen– Susan Lynch May – Kellie Bright Catherine – Eleanor Bron Augusta – Lorelei King Adeline – Barbara Barnes Jane– Sarah Goldberg Sillerton – Kerry Shale Julius – Conrad Nelson Lawrence – Martin T Sherman Medora – Margaret Robertson Ned – John Guerrasio Dramatised by Jane Rogers Produced by Nadia Molinari First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 6-13 January 2008 The Custom of the Country Undine Spragg – Rebecca Night Mrs Spragg – Barbara Barnes Mrs Heeny – Lorelei King Abner Spragg/Popple – Jonathan Keeble Peter Van Degen – William Houston Mr Dagonet – Paul McCleary Laura Fairford/Princess Estradina – Provence Maydew Elmer Moffatt – Tom Hollander Ralph Marvell – Dan Stevens Mabel Lipscombe – Tessa Nicholson Clare Van Degen – Lucy Gaskell Raymond de Chelles – Joseph Kloska Marquise de Chelles – Olwen May Paul – Daniel Rogers Dramatised by Jane Rogers Produced by Nadia Molinari First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 3-17 January 2010 Ethan Frome Ethan Frome – Dominic Mafham Mattie – Jessica Raine Zeena – Laurel Lefkow Denis Eady –Christopher Webster Post Mistress – Adjoa Andoh Andrew Hale – Paul Moriarty Edith Wharton – Fenella Woolgar Jotham Powell – Adam Billington Denis Eady – Christopher Webster Widow Homan – Victoria Inez Hardy Mrs Hale – Tracy Wiles Dramatised by Lin Coghlan Produced by Sally Avens First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 16-20 January 2012 The Shadow of a Doubt Kate Derwent – Phoebe Fox John Derwent – Paul Ready Sylvia Derwent – Rosie Boore Lord Osterleigh – David Horovitch Lady Uske – Francesca Annis Dr Carruthers – Don Gilet Clodagh Nevil – Alexandra Constantinidi Bobby Mazaret – Cameron Percival Footman – Lewis Bray Mrs Fullerton – Emma Handy Introduced by Laura Rattray, Reader in American Studies, University of Glasgow Dramatised by Melissa Murray Directed by Emma Harding First broadcast BBC Radio 3, 28 October 2018 Great Lives: Edith Wharton Presented by Matthew Paris With Naomi Wolf, Janet Beer and Avril Horner Produced by Jolyon Jenkins First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 25 September 2012 In Our Time: Edith Wharton Presented by Melvyn Bragg With Dame Hermione Lee, Bridget Bennett and Laura Rattray Produced by Simon Tillotson First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 4 October 2018
Show moreA witty and profound audiobook portrait of the most talked-about English royal. She made John Lennon blush and Marlon Brando tongue-tied. She iced out Princess Diana and humiliated Elizabeth Taylor. Andy Warhol photographed her. Jack Nicholson offered her cocaine. Gore Vidal revered her. Francis Bacon heckled her. Peter Sellers was madly in love with her. For Pablo Picasso, she was the object of sexual fantasy. Princess Margaret aroused passion and indignation in equal measures. To her friends, she was witty and regal. To her enemies, she was rude and demanding. In her 1950s heyday, she was seen as one of the most glamorous and desirable women in the world. By the time of her death in 2002, she had come to personify disappointment. One friend said he had never known an unhappier woman. The tale of Princess Margaret is Cinderella in reverse: hope dashed, happiness mislaid, life mishandled. Such an enigmatic and divisive figure demands a reckoning that is far from the usual fare. Combining interviews, parodies, dreams, parallel lives, diaries, announcements, lists, catalogues, and essays, Craig Brown's Ninety-Nine Glimpses of Princess Margaret is a kaleidoscopic experiment in biography and a witty meditation on fame and art, snobbery and deference, bohemia and high society.
Show moreWINNER OF THE SOUTH BANK SKY ARTS LITERATURE AWARD 2018 A GUARDIAN BOOK OF THE YEAR A TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR A SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR A DAILY MAIL BOOK OF THE YEAR 'A masterpiece' Mail on Sunday 'I honked so loudly the man sitting next to me dropped his sandwich' Observer She made John Lennon blush and Marlon Brando clam up. She cold-shouldered Princess Diana and humiliated Elizabeth Taylor. Andy Warhol photographed her. Jack Nicholson offered her cocaine. Gore Vidal revered her. John Fowles hoped to keep her as his sex-slave. Dudley Moore propositioned her. Francis Bacon heckled her. Peter Sellers was in love with her. For Pablo Picasso, she was the object of sexual fantasy. "If they knew what I had done in my dreams with your royal ladies" he confided to a friend, "they would take me to the Tower of London and chop off my head!" Princess Margaret aroused passion and indignation in equal measures. To her friends, she was witty and regal. To her enemies, she was rude and demanding. In her 1950's heyday, she was seen as one of the most glamorous and desirable women in the world. By the time of her death, she had come to personify disappointment. One friend said he had never known an unhappier woman. The tale of Princess Margaret is pantomime as tragedy, and tragedy as pantomime. It is Cinderella in reverse: hope dashed, happiness mislaid, life mishandled. Combining interviews, parodies, dreams, parallel lives, diaries, announcements, lists, catalogues and essays, Ma'am Darling is a kaleidoscopic experiment in biography, and a witty meditation on fame and art, snobbery and deference, bohemia and high society. 'Brown has been our best parodist and satirist for decades now ... Ma'am Darling is, as you would expect, very funny; also, full of quirky facts and genial footnotes. Brown has managed to ingest huge numbers of royal books and documents without losing either his judgment or his sanity. He adores the spectacle of human vanity' Julian Barnes, Guardian
Show moreThe Chronicle is an epic anthology of the most interesting and revealing diaries and journals written during the last 500 years, providing a fascinating and intriguing record of life as witnessed by some history's most colourful characters. From Samuel Pepys to Alan Bennett, Dorothy Wordsworth to Barbara Castle and Oliver Cromwell to Evelyn Waugh. The Chronicleis one of the most ambitious productions ever commissioned as an audiobook. It contains 120,000 words from over 150 diarists and letter writers, and is performed by an outstanding cast of 30 actors in a dramatised setting with music and soundtrack, with a combined total running time of just under 12 hours. Available in four parts. Arranged in the form of a calendar, it is a daily record of British life from 1st January to 31st December, and provides a vivid and entertaining portrait of the life and times in which the writers lived. Narrated by Joss Ackland; Jenny Agutter; James Bolam; Tony Britton; Charles Dance; Eleanor Bron; Maureen Lipman; John Sessions; Robert Powell; Donald Sinden; Imogen Stubbs; David Suchet; Harriet Walter; Timothy West; plus full supporting cast.
Show moreThe Chronicle is an epic anthology of the most interesting and revealing diaries and journals written during the last 500 years, providing a fascinating and intriguing record of life as witnessed by some history's most colourful characters. From Samuel Pepys to Alan Bennett, Dorothy Wordsworth to Barbara Castle and Oliver Cromwell to Evelyn Waugh. The Chronicleis one of the most ambitious productions ever commissioned as an audiobook. It contains 120,000 words from over 150 diarists and letter writers, and is performed by an outstanding cast of 30 actors in a dramatised setting with music and soundtrack, with a combined total running time of just under 12 hours. Available in four parts. Arranged in the form of a calendar, it is a daily record of British life from 1st January to 31st December, and provides a vivid and entertaining portrait of the life and times in which the writers lived. Narrated by Joss Ackland; Jenny Agutter; James Bolam; Tony Britton; Charles Dance; Eleanor Bron; Maureen Lipman; John Sessions; Robert Powell; Donald Sinden; Imogen Stubbs; David Suchet; Harriet Walter; Timothy West; plus full supporting cast.
Show moreThe Chronicle is an epic anthology of the most interesting and revealing diaries and journals written during the last 500 years, providing a fascinating and intriguing record of life as witnessed by some history's most colourful characters. From Samuel Pepys to Alan Bennett, Dorothy Wordsworth to Barbara Castle and Oliver Cromwell to Evelyn Waugh. The Chronicleis one of the most ambitious productions ever commissioned as an audiobook. It contains 120,000 words from over 150 diarists and letter writers, and is performed by an outstanding cast of 30 actors in a dramatised setting with music and soundtrack, with a combined total running time of just under 12 hours. Available in four parts. Arranged in the form of a calendar, it is a daily record of British life from 1st January to 31st December, and provides a vivid and entertaining portrait of the life and times in which the writers lived. Narrated by Joss Ackland; Jenny Agutter; James Bolam; Tony Britton; Charles Dance; Eleanor Bron; Maureen Lipman; John Sessions; Robert Powell; Donald Sinden; Imogen Stubbs; David Suchet; Harriet Walter; Timothy West; plus full supporting cast.
Show moreThe Chronicle is an epic anthology of the most interesting and revealing diaries and journals written during the last 500 years, providing a fascinating and intriguing record of life as witnessed by some history's most colourful characters. From Samuel Pepys to Alan Bennett, Dorothy Wordsworth to Barbara Castle and Oliver Cromwell to Evelyn Waugh. The Chronicleis one of the most ambitious productions ever commissioned as an audiobook. It contains 120,000 words from over 150 diarists and letter writers, and is performed by an outstanding cast of 30 actors in a dramatised setting with music and soundtrack, with a combined total running time of just under 12 hours. Available in four parts. Arranged in the form of a calendar, it is a daily record of British life from 1st January to 31st December, and provides a vivid and entertaining portrait of the life and times in which the writers lived. Narrated by Joss Ackland; Jenny Agutter; James Bolam; Tony Britton; Charles Dance; Eleanor Bron; Maureen Lipman; John Sessions; Robert Powell; Donald Sinden; Imogen Stubbs; David Suchet; Harriet Walter; Timothy West; plus full supporting cast.
Show moreA new BBC Radio 4 dramatisation of the novel by Agatha Christie, first published in 1961. Mark Easterbrook learns of a mysterious organisation called the Pale Horse, and in the village of Much Deeping he is told of the organisation's supernatural connections. A piece of paper with a list of names seems to foretell the deaths of several people, and Mark must discover what connects them all, and who is behind the strange powers of the Pale Horse.
Show moreInspired by an old photograph album to investigate the life of a lost relative, a man finds himself on a journey that traverses the 20th century, leading him from an American asylum to the shores of the Dead Sea. Adapted by Edward Kemp from W G Sebald's acclaimed novel about the experiences of Jewish emigrants. Starring John Wood, Henry Goodman, Eleanor Bron, Ed Bishop, Margaret Robertson, Andrew Sachs, Cosmo Solomon, Thomas Arnold, Jasmine Hyde and Maximilian Graber. Music by Gary Yershon. Directed by Edward Kemp.
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