Showing results by narrator "Simon Russell-Beale" in All Categories

Dubbed 'the father of the English novel' by Sir Walter Scott, Henry Fielding is well known for his ribald humour and ironic, satirical fiction. Collected here are four of his most famous works, including his comic masterpiece Tom Jones, as well as a fascinating documentary exploring the foundling motif in fiction.

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....  

This is the remarkable and tragic story of Oscar Wilde, legendary wit and conversationalist, author of perhaps the most perfect comedy in the English language, yet seemingly doomed by his own flawed temperament to suffer at the hands of a censorious and hypocritical society...

When Betsy K. Glory, the daughter of a mermaid and an ice cream maker, meets the mysterious Mr Tiger they have a giant challenge: a moon to turn blue, berries to collect and wishable-delicious ice cream to create. The sort that makes wishes come true. With Mr Tiger and his troupe of Gongalong circus acrobats, a toad under a spell, a lonely giant and Mum and Dad, Betsy sets off on her quest.  

Six men have reached a certain age, their 40-something years, and each has a very different – and sometimes surprising – story to tell, from the brother who receives an unexpected letter to a compulsive philanderer, and a news photographer sent on an unusual assignment. All are funny, touching, and as beautifully observed as would be expected from the author of the phenomenal best sellers Eats, Shoots & Leaves and Talk to the Hand.

Crumble cakes! A red rogue wind is blowing, and a wicked pirate captain and his crew are marauding the Seven Seas near the island left off the map of the world. A rare egg has gone missing and a very unhappy sea dragon wants it back. A pirate ship, The Kettle Black, is anchored in a secret cove off the island left off the map of the world. Betsy and her mum, Myrtle the mermaid, must dive deep beneath the waves, while Alfonso Glory and Mr Tiger fly high above the clouds in a hot air balloon. It's time for Mr Tiger, Betsy and the Gongalongs to set off on their second adventure....

What's happening to Charlie Bone? Charlie doesn't want to believe it when he discovers that he can hear the thoughts of people in photographs. But his horrible aunts are delighted – it means that he is one of the chosen and must attend the Bloor's Academy for gifted children. Once there...

Time is running out for Charlie Bone . . . Charlies hopes that the new term at Bloor's Academy will hold no nasty surprises. But then Henry Yewbeam appears, twisted through time from the icy winter of 1916. With the scheming Yewbeam aunts on the prowl, and the Bloors out to catch him, Henry will...

"Shakespeare for Every Day of the Year is not just for Christmas, but for all time." —Helena Bonham Carter A magnificent collection of 365 passages from Shakespeare's works, for the Shakespeare scholar and neophyte alike. Make Shakespeare a part of your daily routine with Shakespeare for Every...

The detectives at Wings and Co are in a bit of a bother. There is a lost leprechaun on the loose, and carpets are flying all over the village of Podgy Bottom as if by magic. Oh, and, worst of all, Fidget the cat has vanished on very urgent business. It looks like a tricky case for our fairy detectives....

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...

Spot on the Fishcake! The famous fairy detective agency, Wings & Co, has a problem. Really quite a big problem. Well, a few of them actually. There's the missing giant, Billy Buckle, who has vanished without a trace, and left his giant daughter with the detectives. There's a surprise visit to...

This semester at Bloor's Academy brings a few changes. There is a new art teacher, Mr. Boldova, and a new student, Belle, who lives with the Yewbeam aunts and seems to have a strange power over them. Emma and Charlie soon discover Mr. Boldova's secret identity: He is the older brother of Ollie...

Crumble cakes! When Betsy joins Myrtle the mermaid in her underwater world, she discovers there may be monsters...shipwrecks, lost treasure and secret cities. A seapig's prize seahorse, Pudding Pie, has been stolen by a cantankerous giant octopus and Betsy and Mr Tiger must go to the rescue in their new submarine. But what happens when a tiger's whiskers and tail are simply too long to squeeze into forgotten dark caverns where even the moon cannot shine, and Betsy has to take the final steps of the adventure on her own? 

‘This captivating series of adventures is ideal for those who love whimsical humour’ Guardian, Best Children’s Books of the Year Written by Carnegie and Costa Award-winning author Sally Gardner and beautifully illustrated throughout by Greenaway-shortlisted artist Chris Mould, Pernickety...

Charlie Bone’s power takes on a new dimension at Bloor’s Academy in Charlie Bone and the Castle of Mirrors. There is a new cast of characters, including Mr. Pilgrim’s replacement, Tantalus Ebony, and the mysterious new student Joshua Tilpin, who appears to be magnetic. Billy has been...

The final book in the Regeneration Trilogy, and winner of the 1995 Booker Prize The Ghost Road is the culminating masterpiece of Pat Barker's towering World War I fiction trilogy. The time of the novel is the closing months of the most senselessly savage of modern conflicts. In France...

Meet the wonderful Avril Crump... Doughnut lover! Maverick scientist! And creator of the clones: Bonaparte, Eddy and Augustus the talking dog. Warning: this is a whizzy, ear-poppingly explosive story!

In this haunting second installment of the Regeneration Trilogy, a World War I officer grapples with the complex realities of PTSD, identity, sexuality, and society’s perceptions of mental illness. It is the spring of 1918, and Britain is faced with the possibility of defeat by Germany. A...

The next installment in the New York Times bestselling series, CHARLIE BONE AND THE HIDDEN KING In Charlie’s most perilous adventure yet, the shadow from the Red King’s portrait has escaped. Strange things start to happen at Bloor’s Academy. But, with the help of a mysterious force...