Audiobooks narrated by Nicholas Boulton

The Adventures of Rouletabille: The Mystery of the Yellow Room & The Perfume of the Lady in Black: T

"Full-cast radio adaptations of two classic mysteries by the writer of The Phantom of the Opera Gaston Leroux was one of the pioneers of the detective story, alongside Arthur Conan Doyle and Edgar Allen Poe. Best known for The Phantom of the Opera, he also wrote a series of crime novels featuring journalist and amateur detective Joseph Rouletabille. Included here are dramatisations of the two best-known books in the series, The Mystery of the Yellow Room and its sequel, The Perfume of the Lady in Black, starring Nicholas Boulton as Rouletabille and Charles Simpson as his friend and assistant Sainclair. The Mystery of the Yellow Room – Described by John Dickson Carr as ‘the finest locked-room tale ever written’, this celebrated mystery finds young reporter Rouletabille investigating an impossible crime. How was Professor Stangerson’s daughter Mathilde knocked unconscious, strangled and left for dead in the Yellow Room, when the door was bolted from the inside and the windows barred? And how did her attacker manage to vanish into thin air? The Perfume of the Lady in Black – France’s most dangerous man is dead, and few people mourn his passing. Of the scattering of people at his funeral, one in particular stands out: a mysterious, heavily-veiled woman, dressed in swathes of black. Rouletabille recognises her perfume – lavender with a hint of jasmine – and is convinced they’ve met before: but where? To solve the puzzle, he must look to his own past, and a secret he has kept hidden for many years... Cast and credits Written by Gaston Leroux First published 1907 (The Mystery of the Yellow Room), 1908 (The Perfume of the Lady in Black) Directed by David Blount The Mystery of the Yellow Room Joseph Rouletabille – Nicholas Boulton Inspector Frédéric Larson – Geoffrey Whitehead Mathilde Stangerson – Becky Hindley Jean Sainclair – Charles Simpson Robert Darzac – Alastair Danson Professor Stangerson – Hugh Dickson Corbeau/Judge – Stephen Thorne Jacques/Innkeeper – Brian Parr Dramatised by Stephen Sheridan First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 20 June 1998 The Perfume of the Lady in Black Rouletabille – Nicholas Boulton Sainclair – Charles Simpson Larson – Geoffrey Whitehead Mathilde – Suzanna Hamilton Rance/Uncle Marius – Stephen Thorne Darzac/Steward – Alastair Danson Beauvais/Captain – David Timson Edith/Postmistress – Alison Pettitt Dramatised by Stephen Sheridan from a translation by Margaret Costa First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 12 August 2000 © 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) © 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd"

Gaston LeRoux (Author), Alastair Danson, Becky Hindley, Charles Simpson, Full Cast, Geoffrey Whitehead, Nicholas Boulton, Stephen Thorne, Suzanna Hamilton (Narrator)

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The Last Prophet: A Novel

"The Last Prophet is a novel based on the extraordinary life of the prophet Muhammad, one-time shepherd and outcast revolutionary. This desert master’s discipline and principles would later become the basis for Islam, which today claims two billion followers. Death comes easily in the seventh-century Arabian desert—from hunger and thirst to the relentless sun to war and raiding tribes who take by force the scarce resources needed to survive. In this harsh land, the powerful city of Mecca is a beacon, famous for its well, which provides abundant life-giving water, and its great temple, where pilgrims come to worship the totems of hundreds of gods. It is here that the prophet Muhammad is born. As an orphan, he is disparaged by society. Brought up by an uncle, he was put to work on the caravan trade, traveling throughout Arabia, and soaking in an array of knowledge and religious views. He is a man of wisdom and faith who is troubled by the world around him. When God speaks to him, he sets out to preach what he has been told. Though every tribe has their own deity, he speaks of just one God. He shuns arrogance and the pursuit of luxury over truth and seeks to abolish slavery. In this patriarchal culture, he insists that smothering infant girls in the sand is murder, a custom to be abolished. As the prophet starts to develop a following, the leaders of the city recognize the threat his radical views have to their lifestyle—one of wealth built in part upon the backs of slaves. The nobles try to turn the people and even his own family against him. They ban him and his tribe, and they torture and kill those who follow him. But no matter what they do to him, his influence continues to grow. The two sides eventually call upon allies throughout Arabia, rallying warriors for an epic battle that will forever change the course of history."

James Becket, Mosab Hassan Yousef (Author), Nicholas Boulton (Narrator)

Audiobook

Barnaby Rudge

"'Time has been lost and opportunity thrown away, but I am yet a young man, and may retrieve it.' First published in 1841, and an insightful exploration of class and society at times of profound upheaval, Barnaby Rudge is Dickens's very first historical novel. Set against the turbulent backdrop of the Gordon Riots in 1780 London, this captivating novel follows the story of Barnaby Rudge: a young, somewhat naïve man with a childlike demeanour, who, despite his struggles, retains a heart of gold. Drawn into an unnerving family secret surrounding his father and a sinister man named Mr. Hugh, Barnaby is thrown into unchartered territory, as he and his peers try their best to survive the chaos of the ongoing riots. With shrewd observations on identity, social unrest and class divides, Barnaby Rudge remains one of Dickens's most rewarding pieces of storytelling. This audiobook edition is compellingly brought to life by Nicholas Boulton. Charles Dickens (1812 – 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. His works enjoyed unprecedented popularity during his lifetime and, by the twentieth century, critics and scholars had recognized him as a literary genius. His novels and short stories are widely read, performed and adapted today."

Charles Dickens (Author), Nicholas Boulton (Narrator)

Audiobook

The History Man

"The very liberal Kirks are throwing a party. For Howard Kirk, liberal sociology lecturer whose deluded sense of heroism has him moving seductively around the university campus, the net must be perfectly cast: ‘if you want to have something that’s genuinely unstructured, you have to plan it carefully’. Kirk embodies the contradictions of the era’s intellectual and political climate. As he navigates complex relationships with his wife, his students and his colleagues, he pursues personal and professional agendas under the guise of progressive thought. Malcolm Bradbury’s disconcerting, provocative and savagely funny satire of academic life lit up the 1970s; intolerance, self-interest, marital fragility, tensions surrounding gender, sex and promiscuity, politics, power and radicalism… It was a book for then and it is one for now. ‘Exhilarating… A book which captures for all time the spirit of an age’ – Margaret Drabble ‘Extremely witty… Bradbury writes brilliantly’ – The New York Times"

Malcolm Bradbury (Author), Nicholas Boulton (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Two Destinies

"First published in 1876, Wilkie Collins’s The Two Destinies follows the lives of childhood friends George and Mary. George is the son of a nobleman, while Mary is the daughter of the nobleman’s bailiff. As the friends grow older and closer, George’s father, determined to end their affair, dismisses the bailiff and moves George to America. Years later, George returns to his native Suffolk to track down his former love. Although she has long gone, he remains determined to find Mary at all costs. But are the two lovers destined to find each other again? In this multi-voice production, we find Collins’s trademark melodrama along with an exploration of the powers of telepathy, reflecting the late Victorian preoccupation with spiritualism."

Wilkie Collins (Author), Glen McCready, Lucy Scott, Nicholas Boulton (Narrator)

Audiobook

Too Close to Home

"In a world of shadows, trust is a deadly game. In a fragile time of peace, a covert team monitors a suspect vehicle, ensuring the safety of a recovering community. Families relax, children play, and a cash-strapped Sam Ireland seeks work abroad. But the tranquility shatters when the operatives witness, in vivid technicolor, the car exploding in real-time. Sam's phone lights up with the devastating news, hitting painfully close to home. The world's best undercover operatives are forced to watch helplessly as their targets are eliminated, one by one, right before their eyes. The mastermind behind the chaos is highly skilled and driven by a powerful motive. The unsettling truth? He might be one of their own."

Finn Óg (Author), Nicholas Boulton (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Sea and the Sand

"A rescue at sea plunges an ex-marine into a deadly people trafficking conspiracy. Sam Ireland wants to raise his daughter in peace, but when he saves a woman and child from drowning, he's drawn into a dangerous web of human trafficking. Joining forces with Waleed, an Egyptian intelligence chief, Sam pursues the mastermind, Habid, who has been sending Gaddafi loyalists to their deaths. As innocent lives hang in the balance, Sam navigates treacherous waters to stop Habid and confront the evil lurking beneath the surface. The Sea and the Sand is a gripping thriller of courage, redemption, and one man's mission to protect the innocent while grappling with his own haunting past."

Finn Óg (Author), Nicholas Boulton (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Rebel

"Like father, like son . . . April 1777 Alexei McKesson is a man caught between two worlds: the son of the disgraced former Duke of McKesson, and an adopted warrior of the Standing Stone. For the past two years, Alexei has been pirating ships on the St. Lawrence, and he’s never been caught until . . . While spying on a meeting between the British and the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, three of Alexei’s men were captured and imprisoned in Fort Niagara to be used in negotiations with the Crown. When he learns about a ship bound for the colonies carrying a wealthy heiress and a cache of weapons, he hatches a plan to steal the cargo and force the British into trading for his men. But Alexei’s about to get more than he bargained for. Beautiful, rebellious Lady Wilhelmina Townsend is searching for her missing brother, and she would do anything to find him—even relinquish her freedom to be with a husband she does not desire. When her ship bound for the colonies is set upon by thieves, Will finds advantage in adversity and joins forces with Alexei. Now they race against time to arrange the trade and find Will’s missing brother as enemies are plotting against them, those with a vested interest in sending her back to her husband and forcing the Confederacy into siding with the Crown. Passion ignites when these two rebellious souls collide on the American frontier, but ghosts of the past threaten to undermine their love, truths yet to be revealed, so dark and dangerous they could tear Will and Alexei apart. Visit The Author's Website for a full list of Trigger Warnings: https://www.revolutionaryauthor.com/the-rebel"

T.J. London (Author), Aaron Shedlock, Adam Gold, Charlie Albers, Chris Tester, Curtis Michael Holland, Dryw McArthur, John Harley, Marnye Young, Nicholas Boulton, Patrick Zeller, Sean Crisden, Shiloh James, Tara Langella (Narrator)

Audiobook

Charlie

"They said there'd be karma, but he thought, why wait? They killed his wife, now he must wrap his daughter in love... but that doesn't mean they'll get away with it. Father, widower, recovering commando - meet Sam Ireland. The blistering opening novel in an international thriller series, enjoyed by fans of Reacher, Milton and Orphan X."

Finn Óg (Author), Nicholas Boulton (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Black Robe

"Lewis Romayne returns to the family home, Vange Abbey, after a fatal duel in France – the memory of which still haunts him. In an attempt to put the experience behind him, he visits London where he meets Stella Eynecourt, who will become his wife. However, Romayne also comes across the cunning Father Benwell, who is determined to convert him to Catholicism and to regain Vange Abbey for the Church. Father Benwell stops at nothing to achieve his end, including the revelation of a dark secret from the past. His scheming and malevolence recalls the better-known villain Count Fosco, from Collins’s The Woman in White. Published in 1881, The Black Robe is one of Collins’s later novels and is here presented in a multi-voice production featuring a host of popular audiobook actors."

Wilkie Collins (Author), David Rintoul, David Timson, Gunnar Cauthery, John Foley, Lucy Scott, Nicholas Boulton, Penelope Rawlins (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Hireling

"Overcome with grief at her husband’s death, Lady Franklin, an eligible young widow, unburdens herself to Leadbitter – a gallant, hard-bitten ex-soldier who has invested his savings in the car he drives for hire – as he takes her on a series of journeys. He in turn beguiles her with stories of his non-existent wife and children, drawing her out of her self-absorption and weaving a dream-life with Lady Franklin at its heart. Half-hoping to make his dream come true, Leadbitter takes a bold, not to say reckless, step which costs him dearly, and brings these characters’ tangled story to a dramatic and unexpected conclusion. With the same quality and beauty of writing found in The Go-Between, The Hireling’s nuanced portrayal of post-war England holds a poignant narrative on loneliness and redemption."

L.P. Hartley (Author), Nicholas Boulton (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Brickfield

"Richard Mardick is an elderly man with a secret that he has kept since his youth. He recounts his memories to his young protégé and secretary so that his story can be preserved. Faced with illness, the teenage Richard was sent to live with different relatives while being trained as a farmer. Lonely and stifled by family life, he then met a girl and his life changed… with shattering significance for his future. Haunting and subtle, L.P. Hartley’s The Brickfield is a beautifully crafted companion to The Go-Between, exploring childhood and adolescence through the eyes of an adult."

L.P. Hartley (Author), Nicholas Boulton (Narrator)

Audiobook

Audiobooks Narrated by Nicholas Boulton

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