Five BBC Radio 4 dramatisations of John Buchan's espionage thrillers featuring gentleman spy Richard HannayThe forerunner to James Bond, secret agent Richard Hannay is a thoroughly British action hero, pursuing ruthless villains, foiling deadly plans and risking life and limb for his country. This gripping collection encompasses all five of Hannay's adventures, adapted for radio with superb casts including Tom Baker, Clive Merrison, Stuart Milligan, Jasmine...

"Bluebeard's Bathtub" by Margery Allingham read by Derek Jacobi. Ronald Torbay has his eye set on Edith, a former teacher whose father has recently died leaving her a tidy sum."Who Killed Zebedee?" by Wilkie Collins read by Patrick Malahide. Priscilla, the cook at a Lodging House reports the murder of one of the lodgers, John Zebedee, although the lodger's wife confesses to the murder, all is not quite so straightforward."An Alpine Divorce" by Robert Barr read by Brian Cox....

BBC Radio productions of the first seven books in Patrick O'Brian's hugely popular Napoleonic naval series - plus bonus materialWidely regarded as the most engaging historical novels ever written, the 21 books in Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series have garnered millions of fans since the publication of the first volume over 50 years ago. Included here are BBC radio adaptations of the first seven thrilling stories.Master and Commander

This collection comprises the best of classic horror writing, with the atmospheric genius of Edgar Allan Poe, the invention and eeriness of Bram Stoker, and the suspense of Wilkie Collins amongst the terrifying gems contained. A veritable schooling in the origins of modern-day horror and fantasy, some of the best minds in the history of English literature take on the world of vampires, werewolves and the supernatural.Authors: Edgar Allen Poe / WW Jacobs / Bram Stoker / E.F. Benson ...

A collection of full-cast dramas and readings from the giant of travel writing – plus a bonus documentaryAuthor and adventurer Bruce Chatwin was one of the 20th Century’s most charismatic writers. His first book, In Patagonia, changed the face of travel writing and made him a literary sensation. Collected here are dramatisations and readings of some of his best-known work, as well as a bonus programme shedding light on his relationships an...

Story Listings: The Monkey's Paw by W.W. Jacobs / Timber by John Galsworthy / The Mask Of The Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe / The Squaw by Bram Stoker / Martin's Close by M.R. James / The Man In The Bell by W.E. Aytoun / Caterpillars by E.F. Benson / A Tale Of Terror by Thomas HoodRead by Patrick Malahide

Discover a world of heroes and villains, suspense and intrigue. This riveting and comprehensive collection brings together some of the best crime writing of all time. Ruth Rendell and Frances Hegarty speahead the modern genre, moving through the popular and rarely recorded Graham Greene, to Edgar Wallace and G.K. Chesterton and his master detective Father Brown. A real treat for anyone who enjoys great stories of deceit, revenge and even murder . . .TITLESLoopy by Ruth Rendel...

Two new BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisations of Roald Dahl's gripping autobiographical stories.These two compelling adaptations, based on Roald Dahl’s real-life tales of his of his boyhood and youthful overseas adventures, celebrate his remarkable life and commemorate his genius.Boy Dahl’s childhood was one of excitement, wonder, terror and sadness. From his fascination with the local sweetshop to the Great Mouse Plot, the horrors of boarding school, the obnoxious ...

An original and entertaining selection of crime stories all committed on the railways. Authors include Baroness Orczy (most famous for The Scarlet Pimpernel) and Maurice Leblanc (most famous for Arsene Lupin.)

George Smiley is one of the most brilliantly realised characters in British fiction. Bespectacled, tubby, eternally middle-aged and deceptively ordinary, he has a mind like a steel trap and is said to possess ‘the cunning of Satan and the conscience of a virgin’. The Berlin Wall is down, the Cold War is over, but the world’s second oldest profession is very much alive. Smiley accepts an invitation to dine with the eager young men and women of the Circus’ latest intake; and over coffee and ...

Full of politics, heart, and the sort of suspense that nobody in the world does better, The Mission Song turns John Le Carre's laser eye for the complexity of the modern world on turmoil and conspiracy in Africa.Abandoned by both his Irish father and Congolese mother, Bruno Salvador has long looked for someone to guide his life. He has found it in Mr. Anderson of British Intelligence. Bruno's African upbringing, and fluency in numerous African languages, h...

"Le Carre remains far in front in his field, a startlingly up-to-date storyteller who writes as well about the shadows around the power elite as anyone alive."-Publishers WeeklyLe Carre's Panama is a Casablanca without heroes, a hotbed of drugs, laundered money and corruption. It is also the country which on December 31, 1999, will gain full control of the Panama Canal.Seldom has the weight of politics descended so heavily on such a tiny and unprepared nation. And se...