Audiobooks narrated by Ian Richardson

The Susan Hill BBC Radio Drama Collection: 14 Full-Cast Dramas

"An extensive collection of full-cast dramatisations and long-lost original radio plays by Dame Susan Hill Award-winning author Dame Susan Hill is best known for her hit ghost story The Woman in Black and her popular ‘Simon Serailler’ detective series, but she has also written extensively for radio. This audio anthology includes full-cast adaptations of two of her early novels, plus an additional 12 BBC Radio plays, many of them available for the very first time since their original broadcasts. Gentlemen and Ladies tells of the friendship and loneliness of a family living in a small Midland village, while Strange Meeting explores the relationship between two young subalterns in the First World War. These moving dramatisations star Patricia Hayes, Stephanie Cole, Martin Jarvis and David Timson. Themes of interdependence and isolation run through all Hill’s radio plays, which she describes as dealing with ‘human beings in confrontation’. In Taking Leave, a nephew visits the family he barely knows; in Lizard in the Grass, an orphan living in a clifftop convent is persecuted by one of the nuns, in The Cold Country, tempers fray when four explorers become snowbound in Antarctica and in Consider the Lilies, an ageing bachelor who sees angels finds himself drawn to a dying girl. Richard Hurndall, Helen Worth, Terry Scully, John Rollason and Tony Britton are among the star casts. A Window on the World focuses on students Nell (Patricia Gallimore) and Jess (Julie Hallam), who are mere observers of life – until one of them acts to alter the situation. Strip Jack Naked finds sick recluse James (Ian Richardson) shaken out of his austere existence by a visit from his estranged wife, but in The Sound that Time Makes, wife and mother Fay (Patricia Gallimore) is obsessively haunted by her schooldays. And with her wedding approaching, Helena (Carole Hayman) struggles to let go of her childhood in Here Comes the Bride. Chances features two interlinked monologues, read by Dames Judi Dench and Peggy Ashcroft, in which an Irish maid at a seaside hotel ponders her life, and a guest remembers better days and higher standards. A dying Frenchwoman summons her estranged daughter in Out in the Cold, starring Pauline Letts and Fiona Walker. Finally, Winter and Autumn focus on two couples, one elderly and resident in an old folks’ home, the other middle-aged and attempting to escape the past by moving house. Doreen Mantle, Cyril Luckham, June Brown and Bernard Hepton star as the spouses searching for meaning and connection. Copyright © Susan Hill 1968 (Gentlemen and Ladies), 1971 (Strange Meeting, Taking Leave, Lizard in the Grass), 1972 (The Cold Country), 1973 (Consider the Lilies), 1975 (A Window on the World, Strip Jack Naked), 1980 (The Sound that Time Makes, Here Comes the Bride), 1981 (Chances), 1982 (Out in the Cold), 1985 (Winter), 1986 (Autumn) Contents: Gentlemen and Ladies Strange Meeting Taking Leave Lizard in the Grass The Cold Country Consider the Lilies A Window on the World Strip Jack Naked The Sound that Time Makes Here Comes the Bride Chances Out in the Cold Winter Autumn Copyright © 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd"

Susan Hill (Author), David Timson, Full Cast, Ian Richardson, Judi Dench, June Brown, Martin Jarvis, Patricia Gallimore, Patricia Hayes, Peggy Ashcroft, Sian Philips, Stephanie Cole (Narrator)

Audiobook

Daphne du Maurier: The BBC Radio Collection: Including Rebecca, Jamaica Inn, Frenchman’s Creek & mor

"A comprehensive collection of dramatisations of Daphne du Maurier’s works 'Containing performances from well-known actors from past and present, Daphne du Maurier: The BBC Radio Collection is a rich feast for all fans of the writer's work.' - Entertainment Focus Daphne du Maurier was one of the 20th century’s most popular writers. Extraordinarily prolific, she produced a string of bestsellers, many of which were adapted as award-winning films. From romance and adventure yarns to psychological thrillers and supernatural tales, the breadth and imaginative variety of her storytelling continues to thrill us today. This bumper collection features her most famous works and some lesser-known gems, beginning with full-cast adaptations of seven of her much-loved novels – Jamaica Inn, Rebecca, Frenchman’s Creek, The King’s General, My Cousin Rachel, The Scapegoat and The House on the Strand. With settings ranging from the 19th century to the English Civil War and the Black Death of 1349, these thrilling tales take us from the wilds of Cornwall to Monte Carlo, Italy and northwestern France. Among the star casts are Susannah Corbett, Christopher Cazenove, Lorna Heilbron, Cathryn Harrison, Adam Godley, Hugh Burden and Ian Richardson. Next up are two of her acclaimed plays, The Years Between, set in the 1940s and telling the story of a woman whose MP husband is reported killed in action, and September Tide, a bittersweet love story centred around a mother, her newly-married daughter and her artist son-in-law. Diana Quick, Roger Allam, Paula Wilcox, Jonathan Firth and Alice Hart star in these twisty, subversive dramas. We conclude with a selection of Daphne du Maurier’s short fiction. Dramatised by Melissa Murray, ‘The Birds’ stars Neil Dudgeon and Nicola Walker. It is followed by ‘The Blue Lenses’ and ‘The Little Photographer’, starring Bethany Muir and Lucy Boynton respectively; and ‘The Apple Tree’, starring Charles Gray. Also included are full-cast adaptations of ‘Panic’ (starring Dinsdale Landen and Maureen O’Brien), ‘The Chamois’ (starring Christopher Cazenove and Anna Cropper), ‘The Alibi’ (starring Tony Britton and Sarah Badel), ‘Ganymede’ (starring John Le Mesurier and Anthony Daniels) and ‘Don’t Look Now’ (starring Jamie Parker and Aisling Loftus). Please note that the pieces in this collection range from vintage 1970s productions to modern adaptations, and the sound quality reflects the age of the recordings. Contents Jamaica Inn Rebecca Frenchman’s Creek The King’s General My Cousin Rachel The Scapegoat The House on the Strand The Years Between September Tide ‘The Birds’ ‘The Blue Lenses’ ‘The Little Photographer’ ‘The Apple Tree’ ‘Panic’ ‘The Chamois’ ‘The Alibi’ ‘Ganymede’ ‘Don’t Look Now’ Text copyright © 1936 (Jamaica Inn), 1938 (Rebecca), 1941 (Frenchman’s Creek), 1943 (The Years Between), 1946 (The King’s General), 1949 (September Tide), 1951 (My Cousin Rachel), 1952 (‘The Birds’, ‘The Little Photographer’, ‘Blue Lenses’, ‘The Apple Tree’), 1954 (‘Panic’), 1957 (The Scapegoat), 1959 (‘The Chamois’, ‘The Alibi’, ‘Ganymede’), 1969 (The House on the Strand), 1971 (‘Don’t Look Now’). © 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd"

Daphne du Maurier (Author), Adam Godley, Aisling Loftus, Alice Hart, Bethany Muir, Cathryn Harrison, Christopher Cazenove, Diana Quick, Full Cast, Hugh Burden, Ian Richardson, Jamie Parker, Jonathan Firth, Lorna Heilbron, Lucy Boynton, Nicola Walker, Paula Wilcox, Roger Allam, Susannah Corbett (Narrator)

Audiobook

Love's Labour's Lost

"This new edition of Shakespeare's Love's Labour's Lost presents a highly readable text of the play based on the first quarto of 1598. A thorough but concise critical commentary and a comprehensive introduction illuminate the significant elements of the play, its remarkable use of language, and its performance history."

William Shakespeare (Author), Full Cast, Ian Richardson (Narrator)

Audiobook

Audiobooks Narrated by Ian Richardson