Audiobooks Narrated by Robert Lang

Elizabeth Taylor: A BBC Radio Collection: 20 dramas and short stories from the acclaimed 20th Century novelist

"Full-cast dramatisations of three acclaimed novels by Elizabeth Taylor – including Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont – plus 17 readings of her short fiction Described by Antonia Fraser as ‘one of the most underrated novelists of the 20th century’, Elizabeth Taylor was much admired for her witty, acutely observed stories of middle-class life. She never achieved widespread recognition during her lifetime – perhaps due to the fame of her Hollywood namesake – but since her death in 1975, her work has been rediscovered. This collection showcases the very best of her oeuvre, as heard on BBC Radio. Shortlisted for the Booker Prize, Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont is the poignant tale of an elderly lady who moves into a genteel London hotel and strikes up an unlikely friendship with a young writer. Jean Anderson stars as Mrs Palfrey in this 1974 adaptation, with Tony Robinson as Ludo. In A Wreath of Roses, starring Angela Pleasence, a violent and disturbing incident at the start of her holiday proves to be a memory Camilla cannot escape, while In a Summer Season sees wealthy widow Kate marrying a younger man, provoking gossip among her conventional 1950s community. Kate Buffery stars in this moving drama about love and the transience of happiness. Taylor’s short stories, a number of which appeared in The New Yorker and Harper’s Bazaar, are regarded by many as her crowning achievement. Included here are 15 of them, beginning with three tales read by Joanna Tope – ‘The Idea of Age’, ‘Plenty Good Fiesta’ and ‘The Blush’. The rest of the stories are read by David Troughton, Joanna David, Sarah Badel, Sheila Mitchell, Fiona Walker, Ann Windsor, Rosemary Leach, Shireen Shah and Cécile Chevreau respectively. Two 13-part Woman’s Hour serials conclude our compilation. In The Wedding Group, read by June Barrie, two rebellious young people, each escaping their families, make an unhappy marriage. And in The Sleeping Beauty, read by Nigel Anthony, a 50-year-old bachelor becomes smitten with an enigmatic recluse – but both of them are nursing secrets... Contents Dramatisations: Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont A Wreath of Roses In a Summer Season Short Stories: The Idea of Age Plenty Good Fiesta The Blush The Letter Writers The Benefactress Hotel du Commerce Spry Old Character A Dedicated Man The Devastating Boys Sisters Swan Moving Simone Flesh Gravement Endommage In and Out the Houses The Wedding Group The Sleeping Beauty © 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P) 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd"

Elizabeth Taylor (Author), Angela Pleasence, Chris Garner, Full Cast, Helen Weaver, Jean Anderson, Kate Buffery, Marian Diamond, Michael Fenton Stevens, Peter Acre, Robert Lang, Rosalie Crutchley, Sir Tony Robinson (Narrator)

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Peter Lovesey: A BBC Radio Crime Collection: Three Full-Cast Dramatisations

"Three full-cast dramas by popular crime writer Peter Lovesey, plus a selection of short stories recorded for radio Peter Lovesey is well known for his murder mysteries featuring Victorian policeman Sergeant Cribb, Bath detective Peter Diamond and Bertie, Prince of Wales. He has won numerous awards, including the Crime Writers’ Association Silver Dagger, Gold Dagger and Diamond Dagger for Lifetime Achievement. Collected here are adaptations of three of his historical whodunnits, alongside four short stories with a twist in the tale. Keystone – 1916. Arriving in Hollywood looking for a job, British actor Warwick Easton is hired to play a Keystone Cop. But no sooner has filming begun than comedy turns to tragedy… Set among the real stars of the silver screen in the heyday of silent movies, this diverting thriller stars Mark Straker and Jennifer Ehle. Rough Cider – Evacuated to a Somerset farm, nine-year-old Theo is unwittingly involved in a terrible murder. Twenty years later, he is forced to return and relive his childhood memories. Did he contribute to a miscarriage of justice? Rob Edwards stars in this gripping drama set in the 1960s. Bertie and the Crime of Passion – Paris, 1891, and the Prince of Wales turns royal sleuth to investigate a fatal shooting at the fashionable night club Moulin Rouge – aided and abetted by France’s most famous and glamorous actress, Sarah Bernhardt. Starring Robert Lang as Bertie and Jane Lapotaire as Sarah. Vandals – Miss Parmenter takes an instant dislike to the young man on her doorstep. In his leather jacket and jeans, he looks no better than a vandal. But she has been waiting a long time for this opportunity, and she is not going to let it slip away. Read by Auriol Smith. Curl Up and Dye – A captive client finds himself at the mercy of a talkative barber with a hair-raising story to tell. Read by John Baddeley. The Stalker – Months after his resignation from the police, the senior detective in the Sharon Eakins murder investigation sets down the extraordinary truth about the case. Read by James Bryce. Murdering Max – Peter Lovesey is proud to have written the world’s first, and only, ‘youdunnit’. So when he discovers that a rival writer has come up with the same idea, he sets about getting rid of him… Read by James Bryce. Text copyright © Peter Lovesey 1983 (Keystone), 1986 (Rough Cider), 1993 (Bertie and the Crime of Passion, ‘Vandals’), 1996 (‘Curl Up and Dye’), 2002 (‘The Stalker’, ‘Murdering Max’) All rights reserved Cast and credits Written by Peter Lovesey Keystone Cast: Mark Straker, Jennifer Ehle, Roger Gartland, Kerry Shale, Lorelei King, Don Fellows, Ann Windsor, John Church, Gordon Reid Rough Cider Cast: Rob Edwards, Briony Glassco, Neville Jason, Tina Gray, Oona Beeson, Peter Whitman, David Jarvis, Malcolm Ward, Frances Jeater, Don McCorkindale, Lyndam Gregory, Gavin Muir, William Wortley Bertie and the Crime of Passion Cast: Robert Lang, Jane Lapotaire, Olivier Pierre, David Timson, Andrew Branch, Roger May, Paul Jenkins, Tracy Wiles, Geoffrey Whitehead, John Hartley, Zulema Dene, Linda Regan, Tessa Worsley, Diana Payan, Stephen Critchlow, Daniel Philpott ‘Vandals’ Read by Auriol Smith ‘Curl Up and Dye’ Read by John Baddeley. ‘The Stalker’ Read by James Bryce ‘Murdering Max’ Read by James Bryce © 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd"

Peter Lovesey (Author), Auriol Smith, Briony Glassco, Full Cast, James Bryce, Jane Lapotaire, Jennifer Ehle, John Baddeley, Mark Straker, Rob Edwards, Robert Lang (Narrator)

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L.P Hartley: The Go- Between, & More: Four BBC Radio Full-Cast Dramatisations & Readings

"Four of L. P. Hartley's finest novels adapted for BBC radio, plus bonus short stories An acclaimed novelist, short story writer and critic, Leslie Poles Hartley is best known for his 1953 novel The Go-Between, which won the W. H. Heinemann Award and was adapted as a BAFTA-winning film starring Julie Christie and Alan Bates. Included here is a radio dramatisation of that classic tale, alongside adaptations of three further novels and five short stories. The Go-Between - 1901, Norfolk. Twelve-year-old Leo Colston is spending the long, hot summer with his school friend Marcus at his family estate, Brandham Hall. Drawn into an adult world of deception and forbidden desire, he sets in motion a tragedy that will haunt him forever. This moving tale of lost innocence stars Clive Swift, Joe Brothwell, Lisa Kay and Robert Glenister. The Collections - Ambrose and Edwina possess exquisite collections of objets d'art, but need to dispose of them; Barbara owns a stately home, but has had to sell off the contents. Joining forces seems like the ideal solution - until a thief comes along... Starring Richard Pearson, Siân Phillips and Eva Stuart. The Brickfield - Dictating his memoir to his secretary, elderly novelist Richard Mardick finds himself confiding a long-held secret from his youth: his adolescent romance with the beautiful Lucy, and its tragic conclusion... Martin Jarvis and Denys Blakelock star in this tender love story from the past, told against the bright awareness of the present. The Betrayal - In this sequel to The Brickfield, Richard Mardick is forced once more to recall the long-ago days of his boyhood, as he reveals to his biographer-to-be how Lucy's death has blighted his life and disrupted his peace of mind. Starring Martin Jarvis and Denys Blakelock, with Irene Sutcliffe and Gudrun Ure. Short Stories by LP Hartley - Robert Lang reads five creepy tales by the celebrated author: 'Night Fears', 'The Waits', 'W.S.', 'Someone in the Lift' and 'The Price of the Absolute'. Text copyright © The Trustees of the Estate of Annie Norah Hartley, 1953 (The Go-Between), 1954 ('W.S.', 'The Price of the Absolute'), 1961 ('The Waits', 'Someone in the Lift'), 1964 (The Brickfield), 1966 (The Betrayal), 1972 (The Collections) 'Night Fears' first published 1924 Cast and credits Written by L. P. Hartley The Go-Between Cast: Clive Swift, Joe Brothwell, George Greenbury, Eleanor Bron, Lisa Kay, Robert Glenister, Ed Sinclair, Jenny Coverack, Mark Hesketh, Brian Gear, Guy Shotton The Collections Cast: Richard Pearson, Martin Friend, Siân Phillips, Christopher Good, Elizabeth Rider, Eva Stuart, John Bull, Peter Baldwin, Sonia Fraser The Brickfield Cast: Martin Jarvis, Denys Blakelock, Barbara Mitchell, Nigel Anthony, Ann Murray, Noel Hood, Lockwood West, Humphrey Morton, Beth Boyd, Bernard Brown, David Brierley, Sian Davies, Michael Harbour, Leroy Lingwood The Betrayal Cast: Martin Jarvis, Denys Blakelock, Irene Sutcliffe, Alexa Romanes, Shelagh Willcocks, Sian Davies, Bernard Brown, Douglas Hankin, Gudrun Ure, David Brierley, Alexander John, Beth Boyd Short Stories by LP Hartley Read by Robert Lang First broadcast BBC Radio 4 on the following dates: Night Fears 7 November 1988 The Waits 8 November 1988 W.S. 9 November 1988 Someone in the Lift 10 November 1988 The Price of the Absolute 11 November 1988 © 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd"

L. P. Hartley (Author), Clive Swift, Denys Blakelock, Eleanor Bron, Full Cast, Lockwood West, Martin Jarvis, Richard Pearson, Robert Glenister, Robert Lang, Sian Phillips (Narrator)

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Mellors and Sellers: A Full-Cast BBC Radio Classic Comedy Thriller

"Edward Hardwicke and Robert Lang star in this four-part comedy thriller With the House of Commons in recess, it's a chance for all hard-working politicians to take a holiday. So when Conservative MP Vincent Mellors and Labour MP Arnold Sellers discover that they're staying at the same golf hotel in Lytham St Annes, they agree to put affairs of state on the back burner. But they're soon handed a political hot potato in the shape of Sir Bertram Oliphant's parliamentary memoirs. Full of red-hot revelations, the manuscript is diplomatic dynamite - and someone will go to any lengths to get their hands on it... Then Sir Bertram is found murdered, buried head-first in a bunker and wearing someone else's shoes. Deciding to investigate, Mellors and Sellers find themselves faced with a slew of suspects, including a suspiciously inquisitive Welsh receptionist, a mysterious Baltic businessman with size eleven feet, and an Italian mafioso named Marinello... Created by playwright, broadcaster and Golden Age crime writer Alan Melville, this light-hearted comic crime drama stars Edward Hardwicke as Mellors and Robert Lang as Sellers. This programme was made in 1977, and contains language and attitudes from the time in which it was first broadcast. Production credits Written by Alan Melville Produced and directed by John Tydeman Cast Vincent Mellors - Edward Hardwicke Arnold Sellers - Robert Lang Steward - Geoffrey Collins Mordecai - Anthony Daniels Stranger/Zhednev - Peter Woodthorpe Woman - Shirley Dixon Inspector - James Thomason Maid/Ruth - Terri Lang Golf professional - Fraser Kerr Miss Parker - Gudrun Ure Sir Reginald Deane - John Humphry Lady Heston - Fabia Drake P - Sean Barrett Steward/Marinello - Neville Jason Woman - Anne Rosenfeld Barman - Leslie Heritage Mrs Oliphant - Mary Wimbush O - Alan Barry Police sergeant - Timothy Bateson Morris - John Rowe With Michael Tudor Barnes, Malcolm Reid, Michael Harbour, Jonathan Scott, Peter Craze and Valerie Murray First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 5-26 January 1977 © 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd"

Alan Melville (Author), Edward Hardwicke, Full Cast, Robert Lang (Narrator)

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