Audiobooks Narrated by Zia Mohyeddin

The Murder of the Maharajah & The Governess: Two Full-Cast BBC Radio Crime Dramatisations

"BBC Radio adaptations of two historical crime novels by H. R. F. Keating, plus bonus extract from Bookshelf British detective writer H. R. F. Keating was best known as the creator of Inspector Ghote of the Mumbai CID. He won two Crime Writers’ Association Gold Daggers, and in 1996 was awarded the Diamond Dagger for lifetime achievement. Included here are dramatisations of two of his most popular murder mysteries, set in 1930s India and Victorian London, plus a short clip from Radio 4’s Bookshelf featuring the award-winning author. The Murder of the Maharajah – His Highness the Maharajah of Bhopore delights in playing April Fool’s Day tricks on his guests – but the joke turns sour when one of his pranks inadvertently leads to his own murder. Five people apparently had the means and motive to kill him, but as District Superintendent of Police Howard investigates, he realises that the circle of suspects is wider than it seems. Zia Mohyeddin, Renu Setna and Sam Dastor star in this entertaining, Christie-esque drama, adapted from H. R. F. Keating’s Gold Dagger Award-winning novel. The Governess – When Harriet Unwin is hired as a governess in a wealthy London household, it seems that luck is on her side. That is, until the master of the house, William Thackerton, is found stabbed to death – and all the evidence points to her. Desperate to prove her innocence, she turns detective, uncovering the dark secrets hidden behind the family’s respectable Victorian facade.... Based on H. R. F. Keating’s novel written under the pseudonym Evelyn Hervey, this atmospheric adaptation stars Angela Pleasance and James Bolam. Bookshelf – Talking to fellow thriller writer Susan Hill, H. R. F. Keating holds up a magnifying glass to the art of crime fiction as he discusses his work and ideas. Please note: this collection contains language that reflects the attitudes of the era The Murder of the Maharajah text copyright © H. R. F. Keating 1980 The Governess text copyright © Evelyn Hervey 1983 Production credits Written by H. R. F. Keating The Murder of the Maharajah Maharajah – Zia Mohyeddin Dewan – Renu Setna Porgy – Lyndam Gregory D S P Howard – Sam Dastor Ram Singh – Amerjit Deu Sir Arthur – Philip Anthony Michael – Luke Beeson Schoolmaster – Bhasker Dolly – Rachel Atkins Judy – Oona Beeson Elaine – Sheila Mitchell Frere – Dominic Letts Joe – Steve Hodson Morton – Barry Gordon The Governess Harriet Unwin – Angela Pleasance Sergeant Drewd – James Bolam Pelham – James Holland Mrs Arthur Thackerton – Susan Jameson William Thackerton – Jack May Arthur Thackerton – Tony Mathews Joseph – Steve Hodson Vilkins – Emily Richard Grandmother Thackerton – Joan Matheson Hopkinson – David Sinclair Hannah – Victoria Carling Mrs Breakspear – Eva Stuart Newspaper voice – John Rye Miss Bond – Marian Diamond John – Stephen Tompkinson PC Wilson – Anthony Jackson Surgeon – Alan Dudley Mr Brattle – Kim Wall PC Smithers – Michael Troughton Superintendent – Stephen Thorne © 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd"

H. R. F. Keating (Author), Angela Pleasence, Full Cast, James Bolam, Sam Dastor, Stephen Thorne, Stephen Tompkinson, Susan Hill, Zia Mohyeddin (Narrator)

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Rabindranath Tagore: A BBC Radio Collection: Including The Home and the World & The Red Oleander

"A comprehensive anthology of dramatisations and readings of Tagore's finest works, plus bonus documentaries Bengali polymath Rabindranath Tagore was the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize for Literature. A novelist, poet, playwright, composer, artist and philosopher, he wrote both the Indian and Bangladeshi national anthems; exchanged ideas with Yeats, Einstein and Gandhi, and was hugely influential in promoting Indian culture to the West. This collection includes some of Tagore's key novels, plays and short stories, as well as his best-known poem and four fascinating biographical programmes. We begin with two adaptations by award-winning dramatist Tanika Gupta. The Home and the World, starring Indira Varma and Sacha Dhawan, relocates Tagore's classic 1916 novel of love, power and political awakening to a contemporary British Muslim setting. Often acclaimed as Tagore's best play, The Red Oleander stars Saeed Jaffrey and Aileen Gonsalves, and tells the story of a beautiful girl who comes to a gold mining community and foments a revolution against its tyrannical king. Next up is a dramatisation of the novelette Farewell, My Friend, a romantic, delightful tale of two young lovers starring Sam Dastor and Shireen Shah. It is followed by three short stories: 'The Postmaster' and 'The Kabuliwalah', read by Ronny Jhutti, and 'Wealth Surrendered', read by Renu Setna. Tagore bared his musical soul in the poem 'Broken Song', read here by Peter Barker, and in Centurions: Rabindranath Tagore, poet William Radice and theatre director Jatinder Verma explain why it ranks as one of the 100 greatest art works of the 20th Century. Tanika Gupta joins presenter Matthew Parris and translator Ketaki Kushari Dyson to share her love of Tagore's writing in Great Lives: Tanika Gupta on Rabindranath Tagore, and Zia Mohyeddin reads a selection of his epistolary observations on English society and customs in Letters from Europe. Concluding the collection, Rabindranath Tagore: The Bard of Bengal explores the life and legacy of South Asia's Shakespeare. First published 1891 ('The Postmaster'), 1891-2 ('Wealth Surrendered'), 1892 ('The Kabuliwalah'), 1910 ('Broken Song'), 1916 (The Home and the World), 1925 (The Red Oleander), 1929 (Farewell, My Friend) Contents The Home and the World The Red Oleander Farewell, My Friend 'The Postmaster' 'The Kabuliwalah' 'Wealth Surrendered' 'Broken Song' Centurions: Rabindranath Tagore Great Lives: Tanika Gupta on Rabindranath Tagore Letters from Europe Rabindranath Tagore: The Bard of Bengal © 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd"

Rabindranath Tagore (Author), Aileen Gonsalves, Full Cast, Indira Varma, Peter Barker, Renu Setna, Ronny Jhutti, Sacha Dhawan, Saeed Jaffrey, Sam Dastor, Shireen Shah, Zia Mohyeddin (Narrator)

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[Urdu] - Andaz-e-Bayaan: Beloved Urdu classics brought to life by the inimitable Zia Mohyeddin

"This audio compilation has been made with love for anyone wanting to immerse themselves in the world of Urdu stories but may find it difficult to read the script. Featured authors include legends like Ismat Chughtai of the ‘Taraqqii Pasand Tehreek’ (Progressive Writer’s Movement), one of the first Muslim women to write boldly about subjects such as sexuality in the 1940’s; Munshi Premchand, a Hindu writer born in 1880, who was a pioneering figure in both Hindi and Urdu short fiction and wrote on topics such as caste, which were marked by sociopolitical and religious sensitivities; Sa’adat Hassan Manto, who belonged to both Bombay & Lahore and wrote about the partition that resulted in the nations of India and Pakistan, known for stories that showed a mirror to society regardless of the discomfort caused by stark reflections; Rajinder Singh Bedi, a versatile short fiction, novel, and film writer who also amplified the social issues of rurality as they dovetailed with national and metropolitan life; Ghulam Abbas, a novelist and short fiction writer interested in bringing to light the many ironies of modernity; Noon Meem (“NM”) Rashid, a groundbreaking modernist poet who wrote primarily in free verse, exploring contrasting relationships such as those between language & meaning and self & society; Asad Muhammad Khan, whose short fiction weaves his rich life experiences into commentaries on topics such as family life and class relations; and Intizar Hussain, who was arguably the most significant Urdu literary prose writer of the contemporary era, painting epics of migration and nostalgia on an intergenerational canvas. Our narrator, Mr. Zia Mohyeddin, perhaps more than any other single figure in modern times, has shaped an appreciation for Urdu literature by making it accessible in masterfully emotive and lucid audio performances to generations of listeners who may have otherwise remained deprived of such learning and aesthetic pleasure."

Asad Muhammad Khan, Ghulam Abbas, Intizar Hussain, Ismat Chughtai, Munshi Premchand, Nm Rashid, Rajinder Singh Bedi, Sa’adat Hassan Manto (Author), Zia Mohyeddin (Narrator)

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