A sparkling collection of nine witty full-cast comedies from the early Restoration eraRaunchy, risqué and rebellious, early Restoration comedies were a breath of fresh air for 17th century theatregoers. With Charles II restored to the throne in 1660, Oliver Cromwell's ban on stage performances was rescinded, and for the first time, women were invited to tread the boards as actresses. Playwrights developed a new style of social comedy, packed with amorous escapades,...

Penguin presents the unabridged, downloadable, audiobook edition of Over the Top and Back by Tom Jones, read by Jonathan Pryce.In a career that has spanned six decades, Sir Tom Jones has performed with almost every major recording artist, from Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis and Sinatra, to Robbie Williams, Van Morrison and Jessie J, across every imaginable genre, from rock and pop to country, blues and soul. The one constant throughout has been his unique musical gift and unmistakable voic...

40 of Aesop's tales, specially adapted for young children. Read by Richard Briers, Jane Horrocks, Jonathan Pryce, Alison Steadman, Richard E. Grant, Lindsay Duncan and Brenda Blethyn. Stories include: The Hare & the Tortoise/The Frogs & the Ox/The Fox & the Crow/The Monkey as King/The Bundle of Sticks/The Gnat & the Lion/The North Wind & the Sun/The Fox & the Grapes/The Dog, the Cockerel & the Fox/The Miller, His Son & the Donkey/The Wolf & the Heron/The Donkey in the Lion's Skin/The Ant &...

Jonathan Pryce and Nicholas le Provost deliver first-class performances in this comedy drama series, which charts the misfortunes of a middle-aged HR officer and his trouble-making colleague.Lazy HR officer Sam (Nicholas le Provost) and his equally useless workmate Peter (Jonathan Pryce) realise they are in trouble: Peter for lateness and abusive phone calls to clients, and Sam for his over-relaxed attitude to errant staff members like Peter. Soon their worst fears are realised whe...

Considered too obscene to be staged in its original form for nearly 200 years, William Wycherley’s bawdy comedy tells the tale of Mr Horner - a notorious rake who spreads the false rumour that he is impotent in order to gain free access to other men’s wives. When he meets the young, innocent Margery Pinchwife, the ‘country wife’ of the title, the scene is set for scandal... This sparkling 1985 BBC Radio production stars Maggie Smith as Margery Pinchwife, with an all-star cast including Jon...

This extraordinary true story introduces audiences to the unforgettable Waterhouse Hawkins: Victorian artist and visionary who built the world's first life-size models of dinosaurs!Can you fathom a time when almost no one in the world knew what a dinosaur looked like? That was true in the mid-nineteenth century, until Victorian artist Waterhouse Hawkins built the first life-size models of dinosaurs, first in his native England and later in New York City, and dazzled the world with ...

Five decades in the music industry, 100 albums, 10 Grammys, the Kennedy Center Honors, and the Country Music Hall of Fame. Add high-profile activism for the legalisation of marijuana, the foundation of a ground-breaking philanthropic organisation, and a much-publicised personal life - Willie Nelson's is a story like no other.Born during the great depression in 1933 and raised by his grandparents, he began singing in dance halls and Honky Tonks at the age of 13, as an escape from wo...

Written and read by the Hairy BikersThe Hairy Bikers are known for their many best-selling cookbooks, including the HAIRY DIETERS, HAIRY BIKERS' PERFECT PIES, GREAT CURRIES and MUMS KNOW BEST, and now they are here to tell you how it all started.Si King and Dave Myers, aka The Hairy Bikers, have lived life to the fullest. They had fantastically rich northern childhoods, laced with food and fun, but of course, with some tragedy too. But we also get to know the early Bikers -...

The reigning queen of Albert Square, Laila Morse shares her incredible story for the first time. This is a book that will shock, humble and inspire.

As England's cricket team compete for the Ashes in Australia, ex-England spinner Phil Tufnell is enjoying life as a retired cricketer and national treasure. When the sporting legend hung up his cricket boots back in 2003, little did he know the dramatic direction his professional life would take next.Yet since being crowned 'King of the Jungle', the ex-England spin bowler has never looked back and has become a much loved television and radio presenter. Cricket's dr...

By the time she was 14, Chrissie Hynde knew she had to get out of Akron, Ohio. Her perfect ’50s American childhood upturned by a newly acquired taste for rock ’n’ roll, motorbikes and the ‘get down boys’ seen at gigs in and around Cleveland – Mitch Ryder, the Jeff Beck Group, the Velvet Underground and David Bowie among the many.Wrapped up in the Kent State University riots and getting dangerously involved in the local biker and drug scenes, she escaped - to Mexico, Canada, Paris a...

Phil Collins gained fame as both the drummer and lead singer for Genesis and continues to enjoy worldwide success today.He’s one of only three recording artists who have sold over 100 million albums both as solo artists and separately as principal members of a band - the other two being Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson. Revered as a drummer, he’s the only performer of distinction to have appeared at both the UK and US original Live Aid concerts, the creator of numerous worldwide ...