Audiobooks narrated by Michelle Fairley

A BBC Christmas Collection: 30 Festive Dramas and Stories

"A sparkling seasonal anthology of BBC dramas and readings Christmas is the perfect time to curl up with a good story, and this cracking collection brings you 30 wonderfully diverse tales inspired by this most special of seasons. From Santa Claus, gift-giving and family gatherings, to an unexpected encounter in a snowstorm and an alternative take on the Nativity, they're sure to get you in the festive mood. Here are modern readings of classics such as Charles Dickens' 'A Christmas Tree', Anton Chekhov's 'At Christmas Time', Hans Christian Andersen's 'The Fir Tree', O Henry's 'The Gift of the Magi', Elizabeth Gaskell's 'Christmas Storms and Sunshine' and Leo Tolstoy's 'Papa Panov's Special Christmas'. Alongside them is some superb short fiction by contemporary authors, including Stella Duffy ('South'), Paul McVeigh ('Daddy Christmas'), Laura Barnett ('Survivors'), and nine delightful stories by Alexander McCall Smith. Among the stellar narrators are Don Gilet, Nina Sosanya, Hannah Gordon, Stephanie Cole and Meera Syal. Interspersed with these are a range of spellbinding plays, including Rachel Joyce's poignant Christmas by the Lake; festive action comedy Lena Marsh, Live and Schticking! by Jeremy Front; a very unusual and very dangerous Santa in The Morpeth Carol by Timothy X Atack; and Robert Hudson and Marie Phillips' epistolary animal tale, Some Hay in a Manger, introduced by Stephen Fry. All feature star casts including Niamh Cusack, Robert Lindsay, Sam Troughton, Clare Corbett, Tamsin Greig and Joel Fry. Heartwarming and heartfelt, comic and bittersweet, moving and magical, these fantastic, evocative stories are a real Christmas treat. Note: Chapter metadata updated in January 2023. Contents Christmas by the Lake by Rachel Joyce Christmas Short Stories by Alexander McCall Smith: · 'Motordrome' · 'The Revenge, or Otherwise, of Herbie Bontemps' · 'How to Escape in Gaelic' · 'The Colourful Life of Cousin Grace' · 'Good President Wenceslas' The Christmas Present by Ben Crompton Christmas Compass: Series 1: · 'North' by Malachy Tallack · 'South' by Stella Duffy · 'East' by Ruth Thomas · 'West' by Mike McCormack A Time to Dance by Lucy Gannon Christmas Compass: Series 2 by Alexander McCall Smith · 'Winter Journey' · 'In the DRC' · 'Primatologist' · 'On The Island' Midnight at Christmas by Elliott Kerrigan 'The Fir Tree' by Hans Christian Andersen 'At Christmas Time'by Anton Chekhov 'Papa Panov's Special Christmas' by Leo Tolstoy Some Hay in a Manger by Robert Hudson and Marie Phillips 'Daddy Christmas' by Paul McVeigh 'Christmas Storms and Sunshine'by Elizabeth Gaskell The Morpeth Carol by Timothy X Atack 'Survivors' by Laura Barnett Lena Marsh, Live and Shticking!by Jeremy Front 'A Christmas Tree' by Charles Dickens 'The Gift of the Magi' by O Henry Get Santa by Peter Gibbs 'Home' by Christine Dwyer Hickey © 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd"

Alexander McCall Smith, Anton Chekhov, Charles Dickens, Elizabeth Gaskell, Jeremy Front, Leo Tolstoy, Rachel Joyce (Author), Full Cast, James Fleet, Meera Syal, Michelle Fairley, Niamh Cusack, Nikesh Patel, Nina Sosanya, Rebecca Front, Robert Lindsay, Stephanie Cole, Stephen Fry, Tamsin Grieg (Narrator)

Audiobook

High Table, Lower Orders: The Complete Series 1 and 2: The BBC Radio 4 comedy drama

"The complete first and second series of Mark Tavener’s BBC Radio 4 comedy thriller set in a crisis-ridden Cambridge college When prominent don and celebrity TV historian Peter Devanti dies after dining at High Table, his colleague Gilbert suspects foul play and invites his former student Simon Harrison, a disillusioned health and safety officer, to investigate. Meanwhile, Simon’s former girlfriend Zoe, a freelance journalist, arrives to write an article about Devanti’s death: reopening old wounds for Simon. After another college member dies, more skullduggery is uncovered, and Simon must find out which of the many suspects is a murderer – while also trying to get back with Zoe and keep his day job... A year later, the college is recovering from the Devanti affair, but struggling for cash and riven by arguments between traditionalists and modernisers. Simon, now bereft of a job, jumps at the chance to become a don – but soon finds himself embarking on another murder investigation after a student is caught cheating and his accuser is found hanged. Can Simon unmask the killer before they strike again? Written by Mark Tavener (In the Red, Absolute Power), this brilliant black comedy stars Geoffrey Palmer as Gilbert, Samuel West as Simon and Sharon Small as Zoe, with Rebecca Front as Patricia, Michelle Fairley as Roisin, Michael Maloney as the Dean and Jonathan Coy as Bernard. Produced by Dawn Ellis"

Mark Tavener (Author), Full Cast, Geoffrey Palmer, Jonathan Coy, Michael Maloney, Michelle Fairley, Samuel West, Sharon Small (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Shootist: A Classic Western: A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation

"A BBC Radio full-cast dramatisation of this landmark Western, starring Brian Cox and Michelle Fairley. ‘The Shootist’ is John Bernard Books, the last surviving top gunfighter in a vanishing American West. He rides into El Paso in the year 1901, to be told by a doctor that he has a terminal illness. As word spreads that the famous assassin has reached the end, an assortment of vultures gather to feast upon his corpse. Most men would end their days quietly, but Books outwits them all by selecting the where, the when, and the manner of his death. The Shootist is a classic Western novel written by Glendon Swarthout in 1975. It won the Spur Award for Best Western Novel of 1975, and was chosen in the Western Writers of America’s members’ poll in 2000 as one of the 10 greatest Western novels of the 20th century. It was made into a 1976 film starring John Wayne and Lauren Bacall, which was John Wayne’s final film role. Brian Cox (X-Men 2, The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy) stars as John Bernard Books, with Michelle Fairley (Game of Thrones, 24: Live Another Day) as the widow Bond Rogers, with whom he finds affection in his final days. Cast: John Bernard Books…Brian Cox Bond Rogers…Michelle Fairley Gillom Rodgers…Joe Jameson Marshal Thibido…Craige Els Charles Hostetler…Michael Bertenshaw Shoup…Joe Sims Norton…Ashley Kumar Mrs Woodling…Heather Craney Bartender…Clive Hayward Adapted by Nick Perry Directed by Sasha Yevtushenko"

Glendan Swarthout (Author), Brian Cox, Full Cast, Joe Jameson, Michelle Fairley (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Grapes Of Wrath

"Set against the backdrop of America's Great Depression and Dust Bowl, a family of farmers from Oklahoma head west in search of work, only to discover thousands like them are also on the move. Following a violent altercation with some locals, they head back on the road with their dream of a promised land in tatters. And life is set to get much worse for the Joads... John Steinbeck's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about economic migration and the endurance of the human spirit is dramatized by Donna Franceschild and directed by Kirsty Williams."

John Steinbeck (Author), Michelle Fairley, Robert Sheehan, Zubin Varla (Narrator)

Audiobook

Delorean: A BBC Radio 4 dramatisation

"Northern Ireland was a very dark place in the 1980s. A hunger strike was looming, street violence and tit for tat murders were an everyday occurrence, but in a small corner of West Belfast something extraordinary was happening. In a factory in Dunmurry a unique new sports car was being built, a DMC 12, a style icon for the late 20th century. For 2 years John DeLorean brought hope to communities flattened by the Troubles in Northern Ireland. This is the story of that two year dream as seen through the eyes of key employees - including a union representative, an assembly line worker and a supervisor. Over 9,000 DMCs were produced during this period, cars which today still retain their cult status. The workforce put their heart and souls into this car plant believing that this was going to be the start of a better future, and that they too could 'live the dream.'"

Glenn Patterson (Author), Anton Lesser, Michelle Fairley, Patrick Fitzsymons, Richard Dormer, Stuart Milligan (Narrator)

Audiobook

Audiobooks Narrated by Michelle Fairley