A BBC Radio 4 'Book at Bedtime' recording of Samuel West reading from the novella 'The Aspern Papers' by Henry James, set against the decaying grandeur of Venice. Originally broadcast 26 April - 4 May 2010. Henry James took as inspiration for his tale 'The Aspern Papers' the story of a mistress of Byron's who outlived the poet into lonely old age. He transposed the setting to Venice and cast the city he loved as a character in a taut narrative of literary theft and deception. The lure of previously unseen papers relating to the long-dead poet Jeffrey Aspern brings one of his literary editors to Venice in the grip of an obsession. He broaches the palazzo of Aspern's ancient and discarded lover, Miss Juliana Bordereau, and deceives the fluttering middle-aged niece, Miss Tina, into believing he wants to lodge with them in order to cultivate the garden in his quest to secure the elusive letters and papers. Read by Samuel West. Abridged and produced by Christine Hall.
Everyone loves a bedtime story. And here are eight of the best, each with a Christmas theme, written by an array of literature's best-known names: Laurie Lee, Charles Dickens and Hans Christian Andersen are just some of the storytellers included in this collection. Amongst those giving voice to these stories are Patricia Routledge, Joss Ackland, Miriam Margolyes, Dame Judi Dench and Richard Briers. Intriguing, funny, poignant and above all entertaining, these eight Christmas stories are the best of BBC Radio 4's 'Book at Bedtime'.
"Bedtime Stories" is a 'pillow talk' starter for when you have company at bed time, and a 'dream starter' when you're alone. They're told by one of America's most familiar voices, Dick Summer. Some of them are fictionalized versions of listeners' calls to Dick's late night program on NBC radio. And some of them are from Dick's own life.
This sequel to the award-winning Water Beds: Sleeping in the Ocean (2007 Teacher's Choice & 2005 Mom's Choice) takes readers on an around-the-world boat ride to learn how mammals sleep in or around nine major rivers of the world on all continents except Antarctica. Row down the Mississippi and watch two river otters slip into a hollow tree or look to the bank of the Brisbane River as a platypus pops into a hole and disappears into a narrow tunnel. Told in a soothing style, this book serves as a bedtime/naptime story for younger children or an animal geography book for older children. Adults may learn something, too! The "For Creative Minds" education section features a "World Map."
This soothing bedtime story explains how ten different marine mammals-animals that live in water but breathe air-sleep in the ocean. Based on up-to-date scientific research, the brief portraits are explained in simple, poetic language. Water Beds invites children to drift into sleep on gentle waves of imagination. The "For Creative Minds" educational section includes fun facts about marine mammal adaptations, and a "Design Your Own Marine Mammal" craft.
