King Leontes of Sicilia is seized by sudden and terrible jealousy of his wife Hermione, whom he accuses of adultery. He believes the child Hermione is bearing was fathered by his friend Polixenes, and when the baby girl is born he orders her to be taken to some wild place and left to die. Though Hermione's child escapes death, Leontes' cruelty has terrible consequences. Loss paves the way for reunion, and life and hope are born out of desolation and despair.One of the late romances...

Mark Antony, one of the three rulers of the Roman world, has become the thrall of the fascinating Cleopatra.Affairs of state call Mark Antony to Rome, but the attractions of the queen of Egypt prove impossible to resist. From one of history’s greatest love stories Shakespeare builds this magnificent tragedy of the clash between love and duty.Cleopatra is played by Estelle Kohler, Mark Antony by Ciaran Hinds, Ian Hughes is Octavius Caesar, and David Burke is...

A selection of the renowned French philosophers Sartre’s plays.This collection features several dramatisations of Jean-Paul Sartre's works, including The Roads to Freedom, No Way Out (or "Huis Clos"), Assassins and Nekrassov. These productions showcase Sartre's exploration of existentialism, freedom, and political themes. Notable cast members include David Haig, James Fle...

The renowned masterpiece from one of the most influential writers in history, MachiavelliThe Prince, written during the Italian Renaissance by author Niccolò Machiavelli, is an internationally renowned masterpiece about power, greed and strategy in government. Regarded by some as a manual for would-be tyrants on how they should seize and maintain power and by others as a simple reflection of political reality, listen now to this full-cast dramatisa...

42 letters written by Titanic passengers and crew, plus two documentaries relating survivors' stories and bringing the tragedy to life through the voices of the wireless operatorsThe largest, most luxurious liner in the world, the RMS Titanic captured the public's imagination. But four days into her maiden voyage, on 14 April 1912, she hit an iceberg and sank, taking the lives of over 1500 people.This commemorative anthology opens with the...

Dubliners - James Joyce's stories of his native homeland - performed by a cast of 15 different actors originating from Ireland. Unabridged.The fifteen stories that make up this brilliant audio roam over a human landscape that stretches from the bleakest of despair to the most blinding of epiphanies. First published in 1914, the stories are as lucid and accessible as they are memorable poignant.As you listen to the cast of internationally famous stage and screen actors perfo...

Elegant, enigmatic Jay Gatsby yearns for his old love, the beautiful Daisy. But she is married to the insensitive if hugely successful Tom Buchanan, who won’t let her go despite having a mistress himself. In their wealthy haven, these beguiling lives are brought together by the innocent and entranced narrator, Nick until their decadent deceits spill into violence and tragedy. Part morality tale, part fairy tale, The Great Gatsby is the consummate novel of the Jazz Age. Its tenderness and p...

Discover or return to the dystopian series that's captured the hearts of millions of teen and adult readers! This first in Veronica Roth's #1 New York Times bestselling Divergent series of books is the novel the inspired the major motion picture starring Shailene Woodley, Theo James, and Kate Winslet.Perfect for fans of the Hunger Games and Maze Runner series, Divergent and its sequels, Insurgent and ...

Dwarves, elves, goblins, trolls, dragons and wizards - these are the ingredients of J.R.R. Tolkien's wonderful fantasy, the prelude to The Lord of The Rings, now the subject of a major feature film series. The hero of the tale is Bilbo Baggins, a home-loving unambitious hobbit who is suddenly thrust into what turns out to be the biggest adventure of his life. Guided by Gandalf the wizard, Bilbo and a company of dwarves set out to destroy Smaug the Magnificent, a ferocious dragon w...

Most of us remember The Wizard of Oz as the film starring Judy Garland and Bert Lahr. But the film was based on L. Frank Baum's immensely popular Oz series, which was published in the early twentieth century. In these novels, Oz is the utopian land beyond the rainbow where threats are turned back with valor and ingenuity. The books' success lies in the way they induce children to look for the element of wonder in the world around them.Considered the first truly American fa...

The explosive conclusion to Veronica Roth's #1 New York Times bestselling Divergent series of books reveals the secrets of the dystopian world that captivated millions of readers and film fans in Divergent and Insurgent**.**One choice will define you. What if your whole world was a lie? What if a single revelation—like a single choice—changed everything? ...

A gripping collection of fifteen BBC Radio full-cast dramas written by Bert Coules, inspired by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's original stories.In the fifty-six short stories and four novels Arthur Conan Doyle wrote about his great detective, how many times did Dr John Watson tantalise us with references to cases which were never written about in full? These original adventures flesh out those unrecorded cases to wonderful effect.Clive Merrison plays the great sleuth hiimself, wi...