Audiobooks Narrated by Timothy Bentinck

The Archers: The Ambridge Players: Six BBC full-cast drama productions including Blithe Spirit, Cale

Classic plays and ghost stories, as performed by the residents of Ambridge and friends - plus bonus drama Dead Girls Tell No Tales Borsetshire's queen of amateur theatricals, Lynda Snell, never misses the chance to put on a Christmas show. Her productions are always a big hit with Ambridge audiences - and now, Archers fans can enjoy these top-notch performances alongside them (as well as eavesdropping on the shenanigans backstage). In Blithe Spirit, the Ambridge Am-Dram Society and guest star Julian Rhind-Tutt recreate Noël Coward's ghostly masterpiece, and Lynda finds herself in sympathy with eccentric medium Madame Arcati as she attempts to conjure some festive high spirits. Calendar Girls sees the group taking on Tim Firth's comedy of jam and Jerusalem, along with honorary resident Siân Phillips (who starred in the original West End show). Will the intrepid cast really bare all? And in the 2-parter The Canterbury Tales, the company present barnstorming adaptations of Chaucer's classic stories of courtly love, deadly rivalry and boisterous sex - with a little bit of magic thrown in. In Ambridge Ghost Stories, it's a cold December night, in the darkened attic of Lower Loxley. Then Jim Llloyd (John Rowe) takes to the stage to recount three spine-chilling supernatural tales from the turn of the last century - 'The Room in the Tower' by E. F. Benson, 'Lost Hearts' by M. R. James and 'The Monkey's Paw' by W. W. Jacobs. Prepare to be enthralled - and terrified... Also included are two special seasonal pageants, The Ambridge Mystery Plays- The Nativity and The Passion and a stunning original drama by Joanna Toye. Starring Eleanor Tomlinson and Ysette Churchman and Miles Jupp Dead Girls Tell No Tales explores the real story behind the death of Grace Archer: a watershed moment in the history of broadcasting and one of the defining cultural events of the 1950s. Production credits Blithe Spirit Written by Noël Coward Adapted and directed by Sean O'Connor First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 26 December 2014 Calendar Girls The accompanying pianist was Simon Taranczuk Written by Tim Firth and based on the motion picture Calendar Girls written by Tim Firth and Juliette Towhidi. Adapted and directed by Sean O'Connor First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 27 December 2015 The Canterbury Tales, Parts 1 & 2 Tellers of the Tales The Knights Tale The Miller's Tale The Wife of Bath's Tale The Sailor's Tale The Pardoner's Tale The Friar's Tale The Franklin's Tale The Bailiff's Tale Written by Geoffrey Chaucer Dramatised by Nick Warburton. Directed by Kim Greengrass. Produced by Alison Hindell First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 29 December 2018-5 January 2019 The Ambridge Mystery Plays The Nativity The Passion First Broadcast BBC Radio 4, 26th December 2021 & 2nd January 2022 Ambridge Ghost Stories Abridged by Jeremy Osborne 'The Room in the Tower' written by E F Benson Produced and directed by Charlotte Davey 'Lost Hearts' written by M. R. James Produced and directed by Mel Ward 'The Monkey's Paw' written by W. W. Jacobs Produced and directed by Charlotte Davey First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 30 December 2019-1 January 2020 Dead Girls Tell No Tales Cast: Jon Culshaw, Pam Ferris, Lex Shrapnel, Eleanor Tomlinson, Georgie Fuller, Geoffrey Streatfeild, Sally Bretton, Simon Russell Beale, John Hopkins, Claudie Blakley, David Reed, Miles Jupp, Zeb Soanes, Paddy O'Connell, Ysanne Churchman - Herself, David Hounslow, Sam Dale, Chris Pavlo, Jessica Turner and Alex Tregear Written by Joanna Toye. Directed by Sean O'Connor First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 19 September 2015 ©2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

E.F.Benson, M.R.James, Noel Coward, Tim Firth, W.W.Jacobs, William Chaucer (Author), Eleanor Bron, Felicity Finch, Full Cast, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Miles Jupp, Pam Ferris, Sian Philips, Timothy Bentinck, Trevor Harrison (Narrator)

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Developing China: The Remarkable Impact of Foreign Direct Investment

'One of the most important features of China's economic emergence has been the role of foreign investment and foreign companies. The importance goes well beyond the USD 1.6 trillion in foreign direct investment that China has received since it started opening its economy. Using the tools of economic impact analysis, the author estimates that around one-third of China's GDP in recent years has been generated by the investments, operations, and supply chains of foreign invested companies. In addition, foreign companies have developed industries, created suppliers and distributors, introduced modern technologies, improved business practices, modernized management training, improved sustainability performance, and helped shape China's legal and regulatory systems. These impacts have helped China become the world's second largest economy, its leading exporter, and one of its leading destinations for inward investment. The book provides a powerful analysis of China's policies toward foreign investment that can inform policy makers around the world, while giving foreign companies tools to demonstrate their contributions to host countries and showing the tremendous power of foreign investment to help transform economies.'

Michael J. Enright (Author), Timothy Bentinck (Narrator)

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The Melody

FROM THE MAN BOOKER SHORTLISTED AUTHOR OF HARVEST 'The Melody takes its place among his finest [novels] . . . an ecological fable for modern times' Guardian 'Seductively atmospheric . . . deeply moving' Daily Mail 'Brilliant' Observer Alfred Busi, famed in his town for his music and songs, is mourning the recent death of his wife and quietly living out his days in the large villa he has always called home. Then one night Busi is attacked by a creature he disturbs as it raids the contents of his larder. Busi is convinced that what assaulted him was no animal, but a child, 'innocent and wild', and his words fan the flames of old rumour - of an ancient race of people living in the bosk surrounding the town - and new controversy: the town's paupers, the feral wastrels at its edges, must be dealt with. Once and for all. Lyrical and warm, intimate and epic, The Melody by Jim Crace tracks the few days that will see Busi and the town he loves altered irrevocably. This is a story about grief and ageing, about reputation and the loss of it, about love and music and the peculiar way myth seeps into real life. And it is a political novel too - a rallying cry to protect those we persecute.

Jim Crace (Author), Timothy Bentinck (Narrator)

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