Audiobooks narrated by Gordon Griffin

The official book behind the Academy Award-winning film The Imitation Game, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley Alan Turing was the mathematician whose cipher-cracking transformed the Second World War. Taken on by British Intelligence in 1938, as a shy young Cambridge don, he combined brilliant logic with a flair for engineering. In 1940 his machines were breaking the Enigma-enciphered messages of Nazi Germany's air force. He then headed the penetration of the super-secure U-boat communications. But his vision went far beyond this achievement. Before the war he had invented the concept of the universal machine, and in 1945 he turned this into the first design for a digital computer. Turing's far-sighted plans for the digital era forged ahead into a vision for Artificial Intelligence. However, in 1952 his homosexuality rendered him a criminal and he was subjected to humiliating treatment. In 1954, aged 41, Alan Turing took his own life.

Andrew Hodges (Author), Gordon Griffin (Narrator)

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The Swimmer: The Wild Life of Roger Deakin

The definitive biography of beloved author, Roger Deakin Roger Deakin, author of the immortal Waterlog and Wildwood, was a man of unusually many parts. A born writer who nonetheless took decades to write his first book, Roger was also variously - and sometimes simultaneously - maverick ad-man, seller of stripped pine furniture on the Portobello Road, cider-maker, teacher, environmentalist, music promoter, and filmmaker. But above all he was the restorer of ancient Walnut Tree Farm in Suffolk, the heartland which he shared with a host of visitors, both animal and human, and wrote about - as he wrote about all natural life - with rare attention, intimacy, precision and poetry. Roger Deakin was unique, and so too is this joyful work of creative biography, told primarily in the words of the subject himself, with support from a chorus of friends, family, colleagues, lovers and neighbours. Delving deep into Roger Deakin's library of words, Patrick Barkham draws from notebooks, diaries, letters, recordings, published work and early drafts, to conjure his voice back to glorious life in these pages. To read this book is to listen in to a dream conversation between a writer and those who knew him intimately.

Patrick Barkham (Author), Gordon Griffin (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Kings and Queens of Britain

For more than 1,000 years the British monarchy has dramatically shaped national and international history. Kings and queens have conquered territory, imposed religious change and extracted taxation, each with their own motivations and ambitions. This fascinating audiobook delves into the extraordinary history of the British monarchy, from Alfred the Great in the 9th century to the Windsors in the 21st. Key moments are explored, including the signing of the Magna Carta, the Battle of Hastings and the abdication of King Edward VIII, and the part they played in the rich tapestry of British history.

Cath Senker (Author), Gordon Griffin (Narrator)

Audiobook

Bernard Who?: 75 Years of Doing Just About Everything

Seventy-five years in the making and packed with entertaining anecdotes, Bernard Who? tells the wonderful story of one of the longest and most celebrated careers in show business. Bernard Cribbins's life has been an eventful one. In 1943, he left school aged fourteen and joined Oldham Repertory Company where he earned fifteen bob for a seventy-hour week. After being called up for National Service in 1946 he became a paratrooper and spent several months in Palestine being shot at. On returning home, and to the theatre, Bernard was eventually approached by George Martin, then an Aamp;R man for Parlophone Records, who suggested he made a record. Just months away from producing The Beatles, Martin asked Bernard to come to Abbey Road Studios in north London and, after teaching him how to sing into a microphone, they eventually recorded two hit singles - 'The Hole in the Ground' and 'Right Said Fred'. These, together with appearances in now classic films such as Two Way Stretch and The Wrong Arm of the Law (not to mention a certain television programme called Jackanory), catapulted Bernard to stardom and, by the time he started filming The Railway Children in 1970, he was already a national treasure. Since then, Bernard's CV has been an A-Z of the best entertainment that Britain has to offer, and, thanks to programmes such as the aforementioned Jackanory, The Wombles, and, more recently, Old Jack's Boat, he has become the voice of many millions of childhoods. 'A fitting celebration of one of our most versatile and enduring acting talents' Sunday Express 'charming, unassuming and full of amiable, homespun wit' The Oldie

Bernard Cribbins, James Hogg (Author), Gordon Griffin (Narrator)

Audiobook

Sex, Spies and Scandal: The John Vassall Affair

Sex, Spies and Scandal is the story of John Vassall, a civil servant who was unmasked as a Soviet spy in 1962. Having been photographed in compromising positions while working at the British embassy in Moscow in 1954, Vassall was blackmailed into handing over secrets from the British Admiralty to his Soviet handlers, both in Moscow and in London, for more than seven years. There has been a rash of successful recent books and film adaptations on the Profumo, Thorpe and Duchess of Argyll affairs. The story of John Vassall, who was responsible for a far more serious intelligence breach than Profumo, is ripe for retelling. It has got the lot – a honeytrap, spying on an industrial scale, gay affairs with Tory MPs, journalists jailed for not revealing their sources, and the first modern tabloid witch-hunt, which resulted in a ministerial resignation and almost brought down Harold Macmillan's government. With access to newly released MI5 files and interviews with people who knew Vassall from the 1950s until his death in 1996, this book sheds new light on the neglected spy scandal of the early 1960s. Despite having been drugged and then raped by the KGB in Moscow, as a gay man John Vassall was shown no mercy by the British press or the courts. Sentenced to eighteen years in jail, he served ten years despite telling MI5 everything about his spying. Outside, he found that many of his old friends and lovers had been persecuted or dismissed from the civil service in Britain, the US and Australia. Unlike the Cambridge Five, who courted attention, on leaving prison Vassall had to change his name to avoid the press and lived quietly in London. Including atmospheric detail on Dolphin Square in the 1950s and '60s – a hotbed of political intrigue but also a safe haven for members of the LGBT community – this is an explosive tale of sexual violence, betrayal, cover-up, homophobia and hypocrisy that blows open some of the British establishment's darkest secrets.

Alex Grant (Author), Gordon Griffin, TBD (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Path of Peace: Walking the Western Front Way

Without a permanent home, a wife or a job, and with no clear sense of where his life was going, Anthony Seldon set out on a 35-day pilgrimage from the French-Swiss border to the English Channel. The route of his 1,000 kilometre journey was inspired by a young British soldier of the First World War, Alexander Douglas Gillespie, who dreamed of creating a 'Via Sacra' that the men, women and children of Europe could walk to honour the fallen. Tragically, Gillespie was killed in action, his vision forgotten for a hundred years, until a chance discovery in the archive of one of England's oldest schools galvanised Anthony into seeing the Via Sacra permanently established. Tracing the historic route of the Western Front, he traversed some of Europe's most beautiful and evocative scenery, from the Vosges, Argonne and Champagne to the haunting trenches of Arras, the Somme and Ypres. Along the way, he wrestled heat exhaustion, dog bites and blisters as well as a deeper search for inner peace and renewed purpose. Touching on grief, loss and the legacy of war, The Path of Peace is the extraordinary story of Anthony's epic walk, an unforgettable act of remembrance and a triumphant rediscovery of what matters most in life. 'A journey of self-discovery and a pilgrimage of peace... A remarkable book by a remarkable man.' Michael Morpurgo 'An incredible journey that will move and inspire.' Bear Grylls 'A timely, eloquent and convincing reminder that to forget the carnage of the past is to open the door to it happening again.' George Alagiah

Anthony Seldon (Author), Gordon Griffin (Narrator)

Audiobook

Tools A History: The Hardware that Built, Measured & Repaired the World

A must-read for makers, tinkerers, fixers and creators, The Repair Shop's Dominic Chinea shares his knowledge and enthusiasm for the history and practical uses of tools. A tool is an object with endless possibilities. Contained within each item is the chance to create, to inspire, to repair and improve. It's no wonder that scientific studies have shown humans are hardwired to appreciate hardware. This book is a celebration of both that potential and our reverence, exploring more than 150 incredible tools, their history, their unique appeal and how they are used by creative people to make just about anything. From the workhorses designed to fuel the industrial revolution to the specialist tools that allow highly skilled artisans to produce ornate creations, this book shines a light on the most interesting tools found in the workshop of expert craftsman Dom Chinea. This book will become a trusted reference for all creators and craftspeople. © 2022 Dominic Chinea © 2022 DK Audio

Dominic Chinea (Author), Dominic Chinea, Gordon Griffin (Narrator)

Audiobook

Serpent's Point

Serpent's Point in South Devon is the focus of local legends. The large house on the headland is shrouded in an ancient tale of evil, and when a woman is found strangled on the coastal path nearby, DI Wesley Peterson is called in to investigate. The woman had been house-sitting at Serpent's Point and Wesley is surprised to discover that she was conducting an investigation of her own into unsolved missing persons cases. Could these enquires have led to her murder? While the case takes Wesley to Yorkshire and the Cotswolds, his friend, archaeologist Neil Watson, is making a dramatic discovery of his own in the fields nearby. Then, when a skeleton is uncovered, the pressure rises to find a killer - and Wesley and Neil find out that Serpent's Point holds more secrets than anyone could have imagined.

Kate Ellis (Author), Gordon Griffin (Narrator)

Audiobook

Orders to Kill

December 1917. Ada Hobbes has cleaned for Dr Tindall for many years and begins this frosty morning like any other day. But it turns out the house is not empty after all. The blood-covered George Tindall is sprawled across the floor. Detective Inspector Harvey Marmion and Sergeant Joe Keedy arrive to a horrific scene. Someone enjoyed killing Tindall, without a doubt. Their investigation takes them out of London, and on the trail of three different women as it emerges that Dr Tindall was not the respectable local GP after all, but a bigamist whose third wife had some very interesting connections in the crime fraternity.

Edward Marston (Author), Gordon Griffin (Narrator)

Audiobook

Speaking Volumes

How did a fishmonger's son from Tyneside, growing up in the 1950s with a Geordie accent, become the person who recorded over 900 audiobooks and received an MBE from the queen in the Birthday Honours of 2017. This 'charming', 'entertaining' and 'heart-warming' memoir answers that question. 'Not simply a reader but an artist of the spoken word' AUDIOFILE MAGAZINE 'Gordon Griffin, an entire acting company in one person' AUDIOFILE MAGAZINE "Witty and moving memoir of how a working-class boy becomes THE voice of the spoken word. Honest and vivid account plus excellent advice for those of us who work with words." MIRIAM MARGOLYES

Gordon Griffin (Author), Gordon Griffin (Narrator)

Audiobook

Bluffer's Guide To Wine: Instant Wit and Wisdom

Never again confuse your vintage with your viticulture, your ullage with your oenology, your sabrage with your cepage. Bask in the admiration of your fellow drinkers, pronounce confidently on the provenance of whatever is in your glass (or your mouth), and hold your own against the most sneering of sommeliers. Written by experts and offering readers the opportunity to pass off appropriated knowledge as their own, the Bluffer's Guides provide hard fact masquerading as frivolous observation in one witty, easy listen.

Harry Eyres, Jonathan Goodall (Author), Gordon Griffin (Narrator)

Audiobook

Slaughter in the Sapperton Tunnel

1862. A goods train is speeding through the Sapperton Tunnel when it hits a makeshift pen of sheep inexplicably set up near the exit. The animals are slaughtered by the impact whilst the train hits a pile of rocks and is derailed, seriously injuring the occupants. Inspector Colbeck discovers that the shepherd and his dog are missing. Stephen Rydall who owned the sheep is shocked by the occurrence which further affects him as he is a major shareholder in the Great Western Railway. Does someone have an axe to grind against Rydall? Or is it the missing shepherd who had made some dangerous enemies? With family grievances, embarrassing secrets and village feuds, it is not going to be an easy case for the Railway Detective.

Edward Marston (Author), Gordon Griffin (Narrator)

Audiobook

Audiobooks Narrated by Gordon Griffin