Audiobooks narrated by Simon Russell Beale

1940: The Spanish Civil War is over, and Madrid lies ruined, its people starving, while the Germans continue their relentless march through Europe. Britain now stands alone while General Franco considers whether to abandon neutrality and enter the war. Into this uncertain world comes Harry Brett: a traumatised veteran of Dunkirk turned reluctant spy for the British Secret Service. Sent to gain the confidence of old schoolfriend Sandy Forsyth, now a shady Madrid businessman, Harry finds himself involved in a dangerous game - and surrounded by memories. Meanwhile Sandy's girlfriend, ex-Red Cross nurse Barbara Clare, is engaged on a secret mission of her own - to find her former lover Bernie Piper, a passionate Communist in the International Brigades, who vanished on the bloody battlefields of the Jarama. In a vivid and haunting depiction of wartime Spain, Winter in Madrid by C. J. Sansom is an intimate and compelling tale which offers a remarkable sense of history unfolding, and the profound impact of impossible choices. 'Sansom adroitly draws the disparate strands of his ambitious saga together. His non-pareil evocations of time and place anchor his characters with satisfying precision' Independent 'Few authors have the ability, or capacity for research, which allows them to capture the mood and atmosphere of a period in history, so when one does, and does it as well as CJ Sansom in Winter in Madrid, then they deserve not only praise but success.' Tony Galvin, Dublin Evening Herald

C. J. Sansom (Author), Simon Russell Beale (Narrator)

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War And Peace

A thirty-five strong cast including Leo McKern as Kutuzov, Simon Russell Beale as Pierre Bezuhov, Emily Mortimer as Natasha Rostov and Gerard Murphy as Andrei Bolkonsky, brings all the passion and turbulence of Tolstoy’s epic masterpiece to the airwaves in this unique BBC Radio 4 dramatisation. 'Nine hours of blood-and-thunder period drama on a single disc has to be the best bargain around' - Guardian ‘Excellent special effects and a haunting theme tune make it compulsive listening.’ - Independent

Leo Tolstoy (Author), Full Cast, Leo Mckern, Nicola Pagett, Simon Russell Beale (Narrator)

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Unmade Movies: Harold Pinter's Victory: A BBC Radio 4 adaptation of the unproduced screenplay

Harold Pinter's unproduced screenplay of Joseph Conrad's last great novel, specially adapted for radio by Sir Richard Eyre 'All radio drama should be at this level' Spectator The annals of movie history are full of lost treasures - spectacular scripts from world-renowned writers that could have been classics, had they only been made. Now, for the first time, some of these forgotten gems have been brought to life, fully realised as vivid, cinematic radio productions. Scripted by major 20th Century writers, including Harold Pinter, Arthur Miller, Alfred Hitchcock and Dennis Potter, they star a host of A-list actors and feature richly evocative, atmospheric soundtracks. One of seven of these 'unmade movies' available on audio, Victory is a dark, morally complex drama set in the Dutch East Indies in 1900. It tells the story of Baron Heyst, a mysterious Swedish recluse living alone on a deserted island whose life is changed forever when he visits a neighbouring island, and falls in love with young English violinist Lena. Pursued by predatory older men, Lena is drawn to Heyst, and escapes with him to his island retreat... The foremost playwright of his generation, Harold Pinter was also a celebrated screenwriter, who wrote the scripts for hit movies including The Servant, The Go-Between and The French Lieutenant's Woman. Victory, however, was judged too expensive for Hollywood - but, courtesy of this special adaptation by award-winning director Sir Richard Eyre, it has finally seen the light of day. Bjarne Henriksen (The Killing) stars as Heyst, with Vanessa Kirby (The Crown) as Lena and Mark Strong (Cruella) as Ricardo, while narrator Simon Russell Beale sets the scene with directions and descriptions from Pinter's screenplay, some taken directly from Conrad's original novel. So sit back, grab some popcorn and let this epic production play out on the biggest screen of all - that of your imagination. Production credits Written by Harold Pinter Based on Victory: An Island Tale by Joseph Conrad Directed by Richard Eyre Produced by Laurence Bowen Sound Design: John Leonard and Wilfredo Acosta A Feelgood Fiction production for BBC Radio 4 Cast Narrator - Simon Russell Beale Heyst - Bjarne Henriksen Lena - Vanessa Kirby Davidson - Matthew Marsh Ricardo - Mark Strong Jones - Robert Portal Schomberg - Patrick O'Kane Mrs Schomberg - Helen Schlesinger Pedro - Martin Marquez Chang - Paul Chan Mrs Zangiacomo - Flaminia Cinque First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 28 February 2015 © 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (p) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Harold Pinter, Joseph Conrad (Author), Bjarne Henriksen, Full Cast, Mark Strong, Simon Russell Beale, Vanessa Kirby (Narrator)

Audiobook

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Smiley, wrestling with retirement and disillusionment, is summoned to a secret meeting with a member of the Cabinet Office. Evidence has emerged that the Circus has been infiltrated at the highest level by a Russian agent. Find the mole, George. Clean the stables. Do whatever is necessary. Reluctantly Smiley agrees, and so embarks on a dark journey into his past - a past filled with love, duplicity and betrayal. Starring the award-winning Simon Russell Beale as Smiley, and with a star cast including Anna Chancellor, Alex Jennings, Kenneth Cranham and Bill Paterson, this epic dramatisation brilliantly depicts the complicated moral dilemmas of those who practise post-war espionage, and illuminates the murky corners of le Carré’s classic spy thriller - the first in the Karla trilogy. '... a worthy audio version of the seminal spy drama, brilliantly depicting the complicated moral dilemmas of post-war espionage, and allowing Beale room to shine as the character of Smiley really comes into his own' - Herts Advertiser 'beautifully paced in a dramatisation which captures the essence of the book whilst working supremely well in its own right in the radio medium' - Chichester Observer 'This period dramatisation could not be bettered' - Observer

John Le Carré (Author), Simon Russell Beale (Narrator)

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Three Pickled Herrings

At the Wings & Co. Fairy Detective Agency, Emily Vole and her friends are beginning to worry. It's five months since their official opening and they still haven't had one case. Then local landowner Sir Walter Cross dies suddenly and mysteriously. The detectives suspect fairy meddling. And when Mr Rollo the tailor mysteriously loses everything and Pan Smith's wedding plans are ruined the night before her big day, they're convinced there must be magic at play. Now they have not one, but three pickled herrings to deal with! Can they solve the mystery of who is stealing people's luck before the meddling fairy goes too far? Read by Simon Russell Beale. Simon Russell Beale has starred on stage, screen and TV and has been described as one of the greatest stage actors of his generation. He has been in numerous roles for The Royal Shakespeare Company and has won the Lawrence Olivier Theatre Award 3 times. In 2003 he was appointed a CBE. In 2008 Simon made his début as a television presenter, fronting the BBC Four series Sacred Music with Harry Christophers. He has read numerous audiobooks including Orion's Don't Cook Cinderella by Francesca Simon.

Sally Gardner (Author), Simon Russell Beale (Narrator)

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The Two Noble Kinsmen

Palamon and Arcite, cousins and bosom friends, are taken prisoner by Duke Theseus of Athens. While in captivity, they spy the beautiful Emilia. Both fall instantly in love with her, and their attachment to each other turns to hate. This dark-edged tragicomedy is now widely regarded as having been written by Shakespeare in collaboration with John Fletcher. Composed sometime in 1613–14, The Two Noble Kinsmen is the final play in Shakespeare’s dramatic career. Jonathan Firth plays Palamon, Nigel Cooke is Arcite, and Emilia is played by Helen Schlesinger. “A late tragicomedy by Shakespeare…concerns the rivalry between two chivalrous knights, Palamon and Arcite, for the love of a woman. The play is a rarely staged, somewhat ceremonial work, so this balanced and effective performance, which may be the first unabridged recording of it, is particularly appreciated…The subplot of the jailer's daughter (Sarah-Jane Holm) and her hopeless love for Palamon (Jonathan Firth) is handled well and gives personality to [the] play.”—AudioFile

E.A. Copen, Pierre Arthur Laure, Robert T. Kiyosaki, Tom Wheelwright, William Shakespeare (Author), A Full Cast, Jonathan Firth, Simon Russell Beale (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Spy Who Came in from the Cold

George Smiley is one of the most brilliantly realised characters in British fiction. Bespectacled, tubby, eternally middle-aged and deceptively ordinary, he has a mind like a steel trap and is said to possess ‘the cunning of Satan and the conscience of a virgin’. It is 1962: the height of the Cold War and only months after the building of the Berlin Wall. Alec Leamas is a hard-working, hard-drinking British intelligence officer whose East Berlin network is in tatters. His agents are either on the run or dead, victims of the ruthlessly efficient East German counter-intelligence officer Hans-Dieter Mundt. Leamas is recalled to London where, to his surprise, instead of being washed up and consigned to a desk he's offered a chance to have his revenge by becoming a pawn in a brilliantly-conceived plot to destroy Mundt. But in order to do so he has to stay out in the cold a little longer... Starring the award-winning Simon Russell Beale as Smiley, and with a distinguished cast including Brian Cox as Alec Leamas, this tense, compelling dramatisation perfectly captures the atmosphere of le Carré's taut, intricate thriller.

John Le Carré, Robert Forest (Author), Brian Cox, Ruth Gemmell, Simon Russell Beale (Narrator)

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The Secret Pilgrim

George Smiley is one of the most brilliantly realised characters in British fiction. Bespectacled, tubby, eternally middle-aged and deceptively ordinary, he has a mind like a steel trap and is said to possess ‘the cunning of Satan and the conscience of a virgin’. The Berlin Wall is down, the Cold War is over, but the world’s second oldest profession is very much alive. Smiley accepts an invitation to dine with the eager young men and women of the Circus’ latest intake; and over coffee and brandy, by flickering firelight, he beguilingly offers them his personal thoughts on espionage past, present and future. In doing so, he prompts one of his former Circus colleagues into a searching examination of his own eventful secret life. Starring the award-winning Simon Russell Beale as Smiley, and with a distinguished cast including Patrick Malahide as Ned, this engrossing dramatisation brings le Carré’s masterful novel vividly to life. 'A radio triumph... Simon Russell Beale’s pitch-perfect master spy' - Financial Times.

John Le Carré (Author), Anna Chancellor, Patrick Malahide, Simon Russell Beale (Narrator)

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The Romanovs

The Romanovs were the most successful dynasty of modern times, ruling a sixth of the world's surface for three centuries. How did one family turn a war-ruined principality into the world's greatest empire? And how did they lose it all? This is the intimate story of twenty tsars and tsarinas, some touched by genius, some by madness, but all inspired by holy autocracy and imperial ambition. Simon Sebag Montefiore's gripping chronicle reveals their secret world of unlimited power and ruthless empire-building, overshadowed by palace conspiracy, family rivalries, sexual decadence and wild extravagance, with a global cast of adventurers, courtesans, revolutionaries and poets, from Ivan the Terrible to Tolstoy and Pushkin, to Bismarck, Lincoln, Queen Victoria and Lenin. To rule Russia was both imperial-sacred mission and poisoned chalice: six of the last twelve tsars were murdered. Peter the Great tortured his own son to death while making Russia an empire, and dominated his court with a dining club notable for compulsory drunkenness, naked dwarfs and fancy dress. Catherine the Great overthrew her own husband (who was murdered soon afterward), enjoyed affairs with a series of young male favorites, conquered Ukraine and fascinated Europe. Paul I was strangled by courtiers backed by his own son, Alexander I, who in turn faced Napoleon's invasion and the burning of Moscow, then went on to take Paris. Alexander II liberated the serfs, survived five assassination attempts and wrote perhaps the most explicit love letters ever composed by a ruler. The Romanovs climaxes with a fresh, unforgettable portrayal of Nicholas II and Alexandra, the rise and murder of Rasputin, war and revolution-and the harrowing massacre of the entire family.

Simon Sebag Montefiore (Author), Simon Russell Beale (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Oscar Wilde BBC Radio Drama Collection: Five full-cast productions

The collected BBC radio productions of the major works of Oscar Wilde, plus bonus play by Neil Bartlett Loved for his flamboyant personality, sparkling wit and brilliant epigrams, Oscar Wilde was a comic genius and a literary icon. This collection reflects the many facets of his dazzling talent. Here are dramatisations of his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, a Gothic tale of a gilded aristocrat who makes a dangerous pact, as well as four scintillating social comedies - Lady Windermere's Fan, A Woman of No Importance, The Importance of Being Earnest and An Ideal Husband. Among the distinguished casts are Ian MacDiarmid, Joely Richardson, Edward Fox, Diana Rigg, Martin Clunes, Michael Hordern and Judi Dench. Moving examples of his correspondence are revealed in The Letters of Oscar Wilde and De Profundis, read by Simon Callow and Simon Russell Beale respectively, and his most famous poem, The Ballad of Reading Gaol, is performed live by stars including Ian McKellen, Neil Tennant and Stephen Fry. In addition, a bonus drama, In Extremis by Neil Bartlett, starring Corin Redgrave and Sheila Hancock, reimagines Oscar Wilde's hastily arranged sitting with a society palm reader, a week before the trial that would cost him so dearly.

Oscar Wilde (Author), , Diana Rigg, Ian Mckellen, Judi Dench, Martin Clunes, Martin Jarvis, Michael Sheen, Miriam Margolyes, Simon Russell Beale, Stephen Fry (Narrator)

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The Matchbox Mysteries

Podgy Bottom is in trouble. All over town cars are being shrunk to the size of a matchbox in the blink of an eye; a giant purple bunny rabbit is running riot and a strange-looking broomstick is causing chaos and calamity... Sounds like a case for Wings & Co, the famous fairy detective agency! Can Emily, Budget and Fidget put a stop to this magical mischief before it's too late? Another fantastic story for younger readers from Sally Gardner, winner of the COSTA BOOK AWARD 2013, and acclaimed artist, David Roberts. If you loved David Walliams's GANGSTA GRANNY, you'll love these hilarious tales of mischief, mayhem, magic and mystery. Read by Simon Russell Beale (P)2004 Orion Publishing Group.Ltd

Sally Gardner (Author), Simon Russell Beale (Narrator)

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The Looking Glass War

George Smiley is one of the most brilliantly realised characters in British fiction. Bespectacled, tubby, eternally middle-aged and deceptively ordinary, he has a mind like a steel trap and is said to possess ‘the cunning of Satan and the conscience of a virgin’. When word reaches 'The Department' - an ailing section of British intelligence - that Soviet missiles are being installed close to the West German border, it seems the perfect opportunity to show Control and Smiley, their rivals over at the Circus, that The Department still has value. Former spy Fred Leiser is lured back from retirement to investigate, and manages to cross the border into East Germany in a dangerous night-time operation. But the world has changed since The Department's glory days during the Second World War. The harsh realities of the Cold War now prevail, and there is no place for heroes... Starring the award-winning Simon Russell Beale as Smiley, and with a distinguished cast including Ian McDiarmid and Philip Jackson, this compelling dramatisation perfectly captures the atmosphere of le Carré's chilling novel of deception and betrayal.

John Le Carré (Author), Ian Mcdiarmid, Philip Jackson, Simon Russell Beale (Narrator)

Audiobook

Audiobooks Narrated by Simon Russell Beale