‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times’. A Tale of Two Cities, Dickens’s only historical novel, sets personal happiness against the terrors of the French Revolution where the search for social justice sacrifices individual rights. Dr Manette has emerged from eighteen years’ unjust imprisonment in the Bastille: by an ironic twist of fate, his daughter Lucie’s marriage draws the family into a terrifying web of circumstance which, it seems, can only end in death by the guillotin...

In Paradise Regained, Satan again is on the prowl, having successfully tempted Adam and Eve and forced their departure from the Garden of Eden, here he sets out to tempt again this time Jesus himself as he comes to the end of his forty days in the desert. The magisterial poetry of Milton enriches the encounter and, while not matching the greatness achieved in Paradise Lost, provides drama and depth.

King Henry is married to Catherine of Aragon, but he has been smitten by the charms of the queen's maid of honor, Anne Boleyn, and is tempted to divorce his dignified and noble wife.Meanwhile, the lords of England resent the influence of Henry's trusted advisor, Cardinal Wolsey, who is gradually drawing power into his own hands. As Catherine and Wolsey suffer their tragic falls, new figures rise to fill their places, but they, too, will be brought low by the inexorable sweep of tim...

This much-loved novel was, by Dickens’s own admission, his ‘favourite child’. It is easy to see why, with its colourful characters ranging from the repulsive Uriah Heep to the endlessly improvident Micawbers, and dominated throughout by the moving story of David’s search for a family and a home…

One of Dickens’s earlier novels, dating from 1839, Nicholas Nickleby charts the fortunes of an honourable young man who has set out to make his way in the world. Dickens presents his remarkably vivid display of Victorian characters and the life they lead, from the generous to the fated to the crushed. Hope springs eternal, however, and righteous persistence brings rewards. Anton Lesser, the outstanding Dickens interpreter, brings all his narrative expression to bear on this exciting tale.

Perry Keenlyside tells the remarkable story of the world’s richest literary resource. The story-telling, the poetry, the growth of the novel and the great histories and essays which have informed the language and the imagination wherever English is spoken. This is the fourth in the Naxos AudioBooks Histories series.

The Dhammapada is the single most important extant Buddhist text. It is unquestionably ‘the voice of the Buddha’ where many of his key ideas are presented in a cogent verse form. It opens ’All that we are is the result of what we have thought’ and each of the twenty-six sections is clearly introduced. Also included on this recording are other key Buddhist concepts illustrated by original texts. A unique concept recording.

Chaucer’s greatest work, written towards the end of the fourteenth century, paints a brilliant picture of medieval life, society, and values. The stories range from the romantic, courtly idealism of The Knight’s Tale to the joyous bawdy of the Miller’s; all are told with a freshness and vigour in this modern verse translation that make them a delight to hear.

This widely-studied play is one of the best sellers of the Shakespeare canon. This production is the sixth Shakespeare play in the series undertaken by Naxos AudioBooks in conjunction with Cambridge University Press.

The Trojan War is over and Odysseus, the cunning King of Ithaca, sets out for home, his wife Penelope and his son Telemachus. It proves a long, ten-year journey, fraught with dangers, from Polyphemus, the one-eyed Cyclops, and the seductive Sirens, to the love of Calypso on her all-too-comfortable isle. When he arrives in Ithaca, he has to contend with a group of suitors who have been pressing his wife to forget about her husband, admit she is a widow, and marry one of them. Anton Lesser, ...

No poet is more closely identified with the First World War than Wilfred Owen. His striking body of work, grim to the point of brutality yet, at the same time, majestic and awe-inspiring, defines the war for us. It is in each of these famous poems that Owen reflects on the four terrible months that he lived through; he conveys the experience of war, the death, the destruction and the filth, through a unique poetic language and a bold artistic vision. This anthology collects 49 of Owen’s ic...

Here are the greatest and best-loved stories from the Old Testament of the Bible, stories which can be read as much for their human, literary and historical appeal as for their religious meaning. The selection ranges from childhood favourites like David and Goliath, to key moments in Jewish history such as the Exodus, and also includes some of the finest poetry in the Old Testament the Song of Solomon, for example. Until the invention of the printing press and the coming of the Reformation...