82ASK

A A Gill

Andrew Swanston read law at Cambridge, but was inspired to write by his lifelong interest in early modern history. His Thomas Hill novels – The King’s Spy, The King’s Exile and The King’s Return – are set against the backdrops of the English Civil War, Cromwell’s Commonwealth and the early Restoration respectively. He is also the author of Waterloo: The Bravest Man and Beautiful Star and Other Stories. His first historical thriller set during the reign of Elizabeth I – Incendium (published in paperback as The Incendium Plot) – introduced readers to the academic, lawyer and intelligencer Dr Christopher Radcliff, whose adventures continue in Chaos. Andrew Swanston lives in Surrey.

A D Swanston

A E Langsford

A G Hopkins

A. J. BAIME is the New York Times best-selling author of The Arsenal of Democracy: FDR, Detroit, and an Epic Quest to Arm an America at War and Go Like Hell: Ford, Ferrari, and Their Battle for Speed and Glory at Le Mans. Both books are in development for major motion pictures. Baime is a longtime regular contributor to the Wall Street Journal, and his articles have also appeared in the New York Times, Popular Science, and Men’s Journal. He lives in Granite Bay, California. Visit him at facebook.com/ajbaime and trumanbook.com.

A J Baime

A J Jacobs

A J P Taylor

Anthony James Pollard is a British medieval historian, specialising in the fifteenth century and in particular the Wars of the Roses. A leading authority in the field, he is profesor emeritus of Teesside University. His books include North-Eastern England during the Wars of the Roses, Richard III and the Princes in theTower, Imagining Robin Hood: the Late Medieval Stories in Historical Context and Warwick the kingmaker: Politics, Power and Fame.

A J Pollard

A J Rochester

A K Benjamin is a clinical neuropsychologist and the author of Let Me Not Be Mad: A Story of Unravelling Minds.

A K Benjamin

A. L. Berridge read English at Oxford, and taught for ten years before moving into television, where her production credits range from period drama and thrillers to long-running soaps. She has written two previous novels, Top Ten besteller Honour and the Sword and In the Name of the King. Into the Valley of Death is her third novel.

A L Berridge

Alison Gaylin's first job was as a reporter for a celebrity tabloid, which sparked a lifelong interest in writing about people committing despicable acts. More than a decade later, she wrote and published her Edgar-nominated first novel, HIDE YOUR EYES. 
 
She's since published nine more books, including the USA Today and international bestselling Brenna Spector suspense series, which has been nominated for the Edgar, Anthony and Thriller awards and won the Shamus award. 
 
She lives in upstate New York with her husband, daughter, cat and dog.

A L Gaylin

A Maxwell-Hyslop

A McArthur

A P Wavell

A.S. Webb is the Sunday Times bestselling author of Daughter of Chaos, the first instalment of The Dark Pantheon Trilogy. She is inspired by stories rooted in history and mythology, that push the boundaries of imagination and urge us to reflect on what it means to be human.

A S Webb

A. A. Dhand is the author of six previous novels, and has been shortlisted for the CWA Steel Dagger Award. His DI Harry Virdee novels are currently being adapted for TV by the BBC. He was raised in Bradford and spent his youth observing the city from behind the counter of a small convenience store. After qualifying as a pharmacist, he worked in London and travelled extensively before returning to Bradford to start his own business and begin writing. The history, diversity and darkness of the city have inspired all his novels. For more information about A. A. Dhand and his books, follow him on X @aadhand, and on Instagram @aa_dhand.

A. A. Dhand

A. A. Gill

A. A. Milne

A. Anatoli

A. B. Poranek grew up sharing her time between Ontario, Canada and rural Poland, and eventually completed a veterinary degree at the Warsaw University of Life Sciences. A lover of mythology and history, she enjoys exploring both in her writing. Her debut novel, Where the Dark Stands Still, an instant New York Times bestseller, is an ode to Poland's folktales, while A Treachery of Swans transports readers to a world inspired by 17th century France.

A. B. Poranek

A. Bradley

Professor A. C. Grayling is Principal of the New College of the Humanities at Northeastern University, London, and a Supernumerary Fellow of St Anne's College, Oxford. He has written and edited over thirty books on philosophy, history, science and current affairs. For several years he wrote columns for the Guardian newspaper and The Times and was the chairman of the 2014 Man Booker Prize.

A. C. Grayling

A.D. Miller is the author of Snowdrops, The Earl of Petticoat Lane and The Faithful Couple. Snowdrops was a bestseller and was shortlisted for many prizes including the Man Booker and the CWA Gold Dagger. It was translated into 25 languages. As Moscow Correspondent of The Economist A.D. Miller has travelled across the former Soviet Union and covered the Orange Revolution in Ukraine; he is now the magazine’s Culture Editor based in London. 
 
admillerbooks.com

A. D. Miller

A. E. Ellis

A. E. W. Mason

A. Humphreys

A. Igoni Barrett was born in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, in 1979 and lives in Lagos. He is a winner of the 2005 BBC World Service short story competition, the recipient of a Chinua Achebe Center Fellowship, a Norman Mailer Center Fellowship, and a Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center Residency. His short story collection, Love is Power, or Something Like That, was published in 2013. In 2014 he was named on the Africa39 list of sub-Saharan African writers under 40. Blackass is his first novel.

A. Igoni Barrett

The short life of A.J.A. Symons (1900-41) was described by his biographer as an intricate and largely harmless confidence trick. His many interests included the collection of musical boxes and rare books as well as the study and practice of forgery; they left him time to edit an anthology of Edwardian verse and compose studies of H.M. Stanley and other notable figures. He is remembered for The Quest for Corvo, one of the most remarkable biographies ever written, and for co-founding the Wine and Food Society.

A. J. A. Symons

PublicationStatus

Brand

Format

AgeRange

Series

Imprint

CategoryLabel

Mary Shelley

Jules Verne

Samuel Butler

H. G. Wells

Arthur Conan Doyle

John Wyndham

Full-cast dramatisations of six seminal sci-fi novels that have shaped the genre 
 
Thrilling and thought-provoking, shocking and satirical; science fiction has long captivated us with its surprising scenarios and subversion of the familiar. Included here are six classics from the past 250 years, each offering a unique exploration of the genre's foundational themes. From monsters, Martians and fantastical machines to rip-roaring adventures, utopian tales and ‘cosy catastrophes’, these stunning dramas introduce us to other worlds – and make us see our own world differently... 
 
Brought to life by an incredible cast, including Bill Nighy, Brigit Forsyth, Jamie Parker, Shaun Dooley, Stephen Critchlow, Blake Ritson, Bill Paterson and more. 
 
Frankenstein – First published in 1818, Mary Shelley’s famous horror story about a scientist who reanimates a living creature in a horrific experiment is widely considered the first science fiction novel. 
Journey to the Centre of the Earth – Scientific curiosity sparks an epic quest in Jules Verne’s 1864 novel, as three intrepid explorers venture into the heart of a dormant Icelandic volcano. 
Erewhon – Samuel Butler’s 1872 classic centres on the explorer Higgs, who discovers a remote land where the use of machines is forbidden, having a cold is a crime, and the greatest scholarly achievement is the study of unreason. 
The War of the Worlds – Following sightings of strange explosions on the surface of Mars, Martian ships begin to arrive on Earth. But scientific excitement quickly turns to horror... 
The Disintegration Machine – Indomitable academic Professor Challenger sets out to investigate dastardly Latvian scientist Theodore Nemor, who has invented a startling device capable of disassembling and reforming objects.... 
The Midwich Cuckoos – The rural idyll of 1950s Midwich is overturned by a mysterious alien force that causes all the fertile women in the area to simultaneously become pregnant... 
 
First published 1818 (Frankenstein), 1864 (JttCotE), 1872 (Erewhon), 1895 (TWotW), 1929 (TDM), 1957 (TMC) 
 
Cast and credits 
Frankenstein 
Cast: Jamie Parker, Shaun Dooley, Susie Riddell, Alun Raglan, Robert Blythe, Sam Alexander, Christine Absalom, Patrick Brennan, Emma Hook, Joe Sims, Don Gilet, Bruce Alexander 
Written by Mary Shelley 
Dramatised by Lucy Catherine 
Directed by Marc Beeby 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 28 Oct-4 Nov 2012 
 
Journey to the Centre of the Earth 
Cast: Joel MacCormack, Stephen Critchlow, Gudmundur Thorvaldsson, Nicola Ferguson, Elizabeth Bennett, Nick Underwood, Sam Rix, Tom Forrister, Scarlett Brookes 
Written by Jules Verne 
Dramatised by Moya O’Shea 
Directed by Tracey Neale 
Composer: Neil Brand 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 19-26 Mar 2017 
 
Erewhon 
Cast: Graeme Hawley, Jasmine Hyde, Jonathan Taller, Sue Ryding, Brigit Forsyth, Leigh Symonds, David Fleeshman, Stuart Richman 
Written by Samuel Butler 
Dramatised by Eamonn O'Neill, Martin Shea and James O'Neill 
Produced and directed by Gary Brown 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 20-27 Aug 2006 
 
The War of the Worlds 
Cast: Blake Ritson, Samuel James, John Dougall, Sanchia McCormack, Carl Prekopp, David Sterne, Maeve Bluebell Wells, Finlay Robertson, Nick Murchie, Sarah Ridgeway, Georgie Glen, John Bowler, David Sturzaker 
Written by HG Wells 
Dramatised by Melissa Murray 
Directed by Marc Beeby 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 4-11 Mar 2017 
 
The Disintegration Machine 
Cast: Bill Paterson, Gunnar Cauthery, Nick Ball, Robert Lloyd Parry, Joanna Monro, Alexandria Everett 
Written by Arthur Conan Doyle 
Dramatised by Robert Lloyd Parry 
Directed by Fiona Kelcher 
First broadcast BBC Radio 7, 26 Mar 2011 
 
The Midwich Cuckoos 
Cast: Bill Nighy, Sarah Parish, Clive Merrison, Nicholas R Bailey, Katherine Tozer, Mark Chatterton, Barbara Marten, Malcolm Raeburn, Christine Brennan, Rebecca Bridle 
Written by John Wyndham 
Dramatised by Dan Rebellato 
Produced and directed by Polly Thomas 
Original music composed and performed by Chris Madin 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 30 Nov-7 Dec 2003 
 
(P) 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. © 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Classic Science Fiction: A BBC Radio Drama Collection

Six Full-Cast Dramatisations

Maxim Gorky

Full-cast productions of five plays by the celebrated Russian author, plus a reading of one of his most famous short stories 
 
Alexei Maximovich Peshkov, known under his pseudonym Maxim Gorky, was one of Russia's greatest Soviet writers and the founder of the ‘socialist realism’ literary movement. Nominated for the Nobel Prize five times, his best-known works include the short story ‘Twenty-Six Men and a Girl’ and his seminal play The Lower Depths. Both are included in this collection, as well as four more acclaimed dramas. 
 
The Lower Depths – The arrival of the vagrant Luka has unexpected consequences for the down and out denizens of a Moscow dosshouse... First performed in 1902, Gorky’s pioneering play was the first to introduce Russian audiences to characters who were on the fringes of society, and was an instant success. This 1997 production, adapted by Alan Plater, stars Glyn Houston, with John Woodvine, Malcolm Storry, Laurence Allan and Joe Caffrey. 
 
Summerfolk – Spending the summer at their forest dachas, a group of middle-class holidaymakers embark on affairs, intrigues and amateur dramatics, but cannot escape the hollowness of their lives. Written as a response to Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard, Gorky’s 1904 play depicts the Russian bourgeoisie on the brink of tremendous social change. Initially performed at the National Theatre, this adaptation stars Christine Pritchard, Simon Armstrong, Kelly Hunter and Ruth Jones. 
 
Enemies – Summer 1905, and as Russia stands on the edge of revolution, landowner and textile factory owner Zakhar Bardin and his intransigent managing director are at odds over the sacking of a foreman. The situation quickly spins out of control – with tragic consequences… Allan McClelland and Timothy Bateson star in this powerful dramatisation of Gorky’s 1906 play, which was censored by both Russia’s Tsarist regime and by Stalin. 
 
Vassa Zhelyeznova – Iron-willed Vassa has always done whatever it takes to build up the family business. Now, as her husband lies dying, she is engaged in a life-and-death struggle over its future. This 1986 radio production stars Billie Whitelaw, who won a Sony Radio Award for Best Actress for her performance as Vassa. 
 
The Old Man – Set in provincial Russia at the turn of the century, Maxim Gorky’s philosophical drama centres around a successful building contractor whose life is shattered by the intrusion of an old man he knew in the past. This classic radio production from 1974 stars Freddie Jones, Maxine Audley and Alan Webb. 
 
Twenty-Six Men and a Girl – Working day and night making pretzels in an airless basement, a group of bakers have only one solace: Tanya, the young seamstress who visits every day to enjoy their wares. But then the soldier arrives, determined to seduce her… Read by Joe Melia. 
 
First published 1899 (‘Twenty-Six Men and a Girl’), 1902 (The Lower Depths), 1902 (Summerfolk), 1906 (Enemies), 1910, revised 1935 (Vassa Zhelyeznova), 1915, revised 1922 and 1924 (The Old Man). 
All rights reserved 
 
© 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Maxim Gorky: A BBC Radio Drama Collection

Five Full-Cast Productions

Jeffery Farnol

A vintage 13-part dramatisation of Jeffery Farnol’s historical romance 
 
When 22-year-old Barnabas Barty, the son of a landlord and ex-prize fighter, unexpectedly inherits £700,000 from his uncle in Jamaica, he decides to fulfil his dream of becoming a gentleman. Leaving his father’s country inn in Kent, he sets off to London determined to enter the beau monde. 
 
En route, he meets and falls in love with a beautiful woman, and engages in fisticuffs with an arrogant aristocrat in a green coat. Though the lady vanishes before Barnabas can ask for her name, he later learns that she is Lady Cleone Meredith… and that he has several rivals for her affections. He also learns that he has made a powerful enemy – for the man he knocked down was Sir Mortimer Carnaby, a member of the Ton and a close friend of the Prince Regent… 
 
Has Barnabas blighted his chances of becoming a person of quality? Can he ever win the heart of the fair Cleone? And what will fashionable London make of this amateur gentleman? 
 
Alongside Georgette Heyer, Jeffery Farnol largely originated the ‘Regency romance’ genre, and in his 50-year career he wrote over 40 bestselling tales of love and adventure. The Amateur Gentleman was among his most popular novels, and was adapted as a film three times in the 1920s and 1930s. First broadcast in 1966, this classic BBC Radio dramatisation stars Brian Hewlett as Barnabas, with Anthony Jackson as the Storyteller and Eva Haddon as Cleone. 
 
Cast 
Barnabas Barty – Brian Hewlett 
Storyteller – Anthony Jackson 
John Barty/Captain Slingsby – John Dearth 
Mr Crabtree – Stephen Jack 
Nathaniel Bell/Jack Truelove/Jaspar Gaunt – Wilfred Babbage 
A Chapman/Pufton, a Gentleman-in-Powder/Quinly – Michael McClain 
Sir Mortimer Carnaby/Jerry Tucker, the Bosun/Coachman/Waiter//Mr Tressider/Bow Street Runner – Ronald Herdman 
Cleone – Eva Haddon 
John Chumley/Gamekeeper/Jaspar Shrig – Basil Jones 
Viscount Devenham – Henry Stamper 
Milo – Nigel Anthony 
Mr Chichester/Guard – Anthony Hall 
John Peterby/A landlord – Kevin McHugh 
Clemency Dare – Carol Marsh 
Billy Button/Corporal Richard Roe/Nick, the Cobbler – Michael Kilgarriff 
A Fussy Gentleman/Sir George Annersley/Mr Bimby – Walter Fitzgerald 
Gabriel Martin/Major Piper – Alan Dudley 
Digby Smivvle – Harold Kasket 
The Marquis of Jerningham – John Justin 
Ronald Barrymaine – Allan McClelland 
A woman debtor/Mrs Smummitt – Anna Burden 
Duchess of Camberhurst – Noel Hood 
Countess of Orme – Joan Matheson 
Marquis of Jerningham – John Justin 
Ralph Darville – Noel Howlett 
 
Adapted by Felix Felton and Susan Ashman 
Produced by John Powell 
First broadcast BBC Home Service, 29 July-21 October 1966 
 
Episode list 
1. The Road to London 
2. The Lace Handkerchief 
3. At Oakshott’s Barn 
4. The Duties of a Valet 
5. The Misfortunes of Ronald Barrymaine 
6. Annersley Revisited 
7. Barnaby Bright 
8. Wagers and Warnings 
9. The Great Steeplechase 
10. The Gathering Shadows 
11. Account Settled 
12. The Harder Way 
13. The Duchess Decides 
 
© 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

The Amateur Gentleman

A Full-Cast BBC Radio Dramatisation

Rudyard Kipling

Dramatisations of some of Kipling’s finest fiction for adults, including ‘The Man Who Would Be King’ and The Light That Failed 
 
Well-known for his poems and stories set in India during British Imperial rule, Rudyard Kipling was the first English author to win the Nobel Prize for Literature. He was also offered a knighthood and the Poet Laureateship, but turned down both. His books remain immensely popular today, and this collection showcases a selection of his best adult works. 
 
Set deep in the Hindu Kush mountains, the chilling cautionary tale ‘The Man Who Would Be King’ tells the story of two conmen with an insane and dangerous plan to conquer a remote region of Afghanistan. Blake Ritson, Richard Ridings and Samuel James star in this thrilling drama about friendship and the folly and glory of imperial ambition. 
 
First broadcast in 1994 to mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of Rudyard Kipling, Kipling in Love comprises eight half-hour dramas based on his short stories – ‘His Wedded Wife’, ‘Lispeth’, ‘Venus Annodomini’, ‘The Courting of Dinah Shadd’, ‘In the Pride of His Youth’, ‘Love O’Women’, ‘Beyond the Pale’ and ‘On Greenhow Hill’. Among the star casts are Jack Klaff, Mamta Kaash, Alex Jennings, Steve Hodson, Frances Jeater, Terry John, Samuel West, Meera Syal, Michael Troughton and Nina Wadia. 
 
Adapted from Kipling’s debut novel, The Light That Failed revolves around war illustrator Dick Heldar, his struggles to become a successful artist and his unrequited love for his childhood sweetheart, Maisie. It stars Steve Hodson, Stuart Organ and Natasha Pyne. Wrapping up this collection is ‘They’, a haunting supernatural tale of a motorist’s mysterious encounters with a group of elusive children. Narrated by Tony Britton, this 1982 World Service production stars Annette Crosbie and Douglas Blackwell. 
 
First published 1888 (‘The Man Who Would Be King’, ‘His Wedded Wife’, ‘Lispeth’, ‘Venus Annodomini’, ‘In the Pride of His Youth’, ‘Beyond the Pale’), 1891 (‘The Courting of Dinah Shadd’, ‘On Greenhow Hill’, The Light That Failed), 1893 (‘Love-o’-Women’), 1904 (‘They’) 
 
Cast and credits 
Written by Rudyard Kipling 
 
The Man Who Would Be King 
 
Kipling in Love 
<ul><li>His Wedded Wife</li><li>Lispeth</li><li>Venus Annodomini</li><li>The Courting of Dinah Shadd</li><li>In the Pride of His Youth</li><li>Love O’Women</li><li>Beyond the Pale</li><li>On Greenhow Hill</li></ul> 
 
The Light That Failed 
They 
 
Copyright © 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Selected works of Rudyard Kipling

11 Full-Cast BBC Radio Dramas

Margaret Mitchell

A brand new adaptation of Margaret Mitchell’s iconic novel, set against the turbulent backdrop of the American Civil WarMargaret Mitchell only had one book published in her lifetime, but it was a blockbuster. The epic, 1000-page, 1936 Pulitzer Prize-winning Gone With The Wind?has been hailed as the Great American Novel, sold over 30 million copies worldwide and is one of America’s most cherished books. Epic and sweeping in scale, it tells the story of a passionate, headstrong young woman whose destiny is forged by love and war.Sixteen-year-old Southern belle Scarlett O’Hara lives a life of ease and privilege at her wealthy family’s Georgia plantation home, Tara. But her carefree world is about to be turned upside down. When the man she adores, Ashley Wilkes, marries another woman, she is heartbroken – but worse is in store for her and her family. As the Civil War rips through the South and Atlanta burns, she finds herself fighting for survival. Determined to save her beloved Tara, Scarlett enlists the help of cynical opportunist Rhett Butler, and they embark on a tempestuous romance – yet she cannot let go of her dreams of Ashley...With its unforgettable anti-heroine and vivid depiction of a nation mortally divided and a people forever changed, this classic tale has entranced readers and movie audiences for 90 years. Both seminal and controversial, it has attracted criticism for its racist attitudes, sympathetic stance towards the Confederate South and failure to address the evils of slavery. This major radio retelling skilfully navigates these problematic issues, while never losing sight of the novel’s heart: its compelling characters and stirring, irresistible narrative.Production creditsWritten by Margaret MitchellProduced by Tracey NealeFirst broadcast BBC Radio 4, 8-22 February 2026© 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Gone With The Wind

A BBC Radio Full-Cast Dramatisation

Leo Tolstoy

Charlotte Brönte

Gustave Flaubert

William Shakespeare

Colette

Jane Austen

Alessandro Manzoni

Radclyffe Hall

Emily Brontë

Elizabeth Gaskell

Edith Wharton

Thomas Hardy

Twelve dramatisations of the best love stories ever written, performed by star casts 
 
Treat yourself to this stunning collection of classic stories of love, loss, obstacles overcome and desperate attraction. This is a beautiful, moving and at times thrilling listen which takes you on a journey through the greatest tales of romance ever told. These unmissable, dramatised novels feature stellar performances from fantastic casts including Vanessa Kirby, Hiftu Quasem, Kate Philips, Rory Kinnear, Toby Jones, John Hurt and David Tennant. 
 
Anna Karenina is Leo Tolstoy's powerful drama of desire, transgression and heartache. Starring Kate Philips (Wolf Hall), Alfred Enoch (Harry Potter) and Rory Kinnear (James Bond films). 
 
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë is a fantastic mix of injustice, romance, passion and danger wrapped up in a glorious love story. Starring Amanda Hale (Catastrophe) and Tom Burke (Strike). 
 
Gustave Flaubert’s Madame Bovary is a masterpiece of betrayal and wantonness - the first great novel of adultery. Starring Sarah Smart (Wallander), Jude Akuwudike (Gangs of London) and James D’Arcy (Broadchurch) with John Hurt (Harry Potter) as the Narrator. 
 
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. In a town full of hatred, where the streets ring with the Capulet-Montague feud and swords are too easily drawn, Romeo and Juliet find each other, fall in love, and never let go. Starring Trystan Gravelle (Mr Selfridge), Vanessa Kirby (Mission Impossible), David Tennant (Broadchurch) and Paul Ready (Motherland). 
 
Chéri by Colette is the story of a love affair between a courtesan and a man half her age, set in Paris before the First World War. Starring Frances Barber (Silk) and Joseph Millson (The Last Kingdom) with Lindsay Duncan (Birdman) as the Narrator. 
 
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen remains one of the world’s favourite novels, dealing with the timeless issues of love, social class and money with a witty, clever - though flawed - heroine at its heart. Starring Pippa Nixon (Unforgotten), Jamie Parker (The Crown) and Toby Jones (The Detectorists). 
 
The Betrothed by Alessandro Manzoni is an icon of Italian literature: the story of two lovers who want nothing more than to marry but are beset by the hazards of war, bread riots and the machinations of a nameless crime lord. Starring Hiftu Quasem (Killing Eve) and Ian Dunnett Jnr (Masters of the Air). 
 
The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall, written in 1928, is a pioneering novel about love and attraction between women. Starring Valerie Edmond as the enigmatic Stephen. 
 
Wuthering Heights is Emily Brontë's iconic love story. Heathcliff and Cathy's love is the beating heart of the story, set against the backdrop of the bleak Yorkshire moors. Starring Chloe Pirrie (Temple) and Ben Batt (Shameless). 
 
North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell explores social conscience, ideological difference and love in a mill town in the 1800s. Starring Emily Mortimer (The Pursuit of Love) and David Threlfall (Shameless). 
 
The Age of Innocence is Edith Wharton’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about a passionate life-long love affair which breaks all the rules of the restrictive high society of 1870's New York. Starring Susan Lynch (Happy Valley) and Kellie Bright (Eastenders). 
 
Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy is a story of the belief in true romance and the power of money and love. Starring Alex Tregear (Silk: The Clerk’s Room), Toby Jones (The Detectorists) and Patrick Kennedy (Boardwalk Empire). 
 
This stunning collection is packed with the best romance stories written in the last 500 years – a fully dramatised, unmissable listen featuring some of the biggest names of stage and screen. 
 
©2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Classic Love Stories: A BBC Radio Drama Collection

12 Full-Cast Dramatisations

Christopher Isherwood

Full-cast dramatisations of three insightful novels by Christopher Isherwood, plus a bonus interview 
 
Novelist and playwright Christopher Isherwood is best known for The Berlin Stories of pre-Hitler Germany, which inspired the musical Cabaret. Many of his works have been adapted for stage and screen. This BBC Radio collection comprises full-cast adaptations of three of the Anglo-American’s acclaimed works, together with a riveting interview with Isherwood himself. 
 
Mr Norris Changes Trains – The Berlin Stories Part One. 1930. Travelling by train to Berlin, impressionable young English teacher William Bradshaw asks his fellow passenger for a light. This chance meeting leads to a bizarre friendship, as William is caught up in the strange world of the mysterious, disreputable Mr Norris… Michael Maloney and David March star in this evocative portrait of the last, decadent years of the Weimar Republic and the rise of Nazism. 
 
Christopher Himself – Charting the young Isherwood’s creative coming of age in the movie world of the 1930s, and his relationship with his Austrian mentor, the autocratic director Friedrich Bergmann, this piece was written by Philip Glassborow inspired by Isherwood's Prater Violet. Starring David Suchet and Adam Godley, and featuring interviews with Isherwood’s partner Don Bachardy and biographer Kate Bucknell. 
 
A Single Man – Following the death of his young lover, Jim, middle-aged English college professor George must deal with his feelings of grief, loneliness and alienation. Alec McCowen stars in this radio dramatisation of Isherwood’s 1964 novel, which was adapted as an Oscar-nominated film (starring Colin Firth and Julianne Moore) in 2009. 
 
Christopher and His Kind – Recorded in 1977, soon after Isherwood published his autobiography ‘Christopher and His Kind’, the author chats to novelist and critic Paul Bailey about the formative experiences of his life, and how he used them in his novels. 
 
 
Cast and credits 
Written by Christopher Isherwood 
 
Mr Norris Changes Trains 
Mr Norris – David March 
William Bradshaw – Michael Maloney 
Helen Pratt – Sheila Grant 
Fraulein Schroeder – Hilda Schroder 
Friedrich/Otto – Haydn Wood 
Waiter – Spencer Banks 
Schmidt – Adrian Egan 
Baron von Pregnitz – Sean Arnold 
Whore/Portress – Denica Fairman 
Anni – Deborah Paige 
Bayer – Wolf Kahler 
German Official/Policeman/Waiter – Danny Schiller 
 
Dramatised by Eric Ewens 
Directed by David Spenser 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 16-23 Sep 1984 
 
Christopher Himself 
Isherwood – Adam Godley 
Bergmann – David Suchet 
Brian – Bernard Cribbins 
Mother – Sylvestra Le Touzel 
Waitress – Polly March 
Meadwell – Robert Meadwell 
 
Written by Philip Glassborow 
With scenes based on the novel Prater Violet by Christopher Isherwood 
Directed by Beaty Rubens 
Music: Guy Meredith 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 20 Aug 2004 
 
A Single Man 
George – Alec McCowen 
Charley – Rosemary Martin 
Jim – William Gaminara 
Kenny – Neil Roberts 
Doris – Liza Ross 
Mrs Strunk – Valerie Colgan 
Andy – Angelo Gibson 
Cynthia – Bonnie Hurren 
Rick – Michael Morris 
Nurse – Jane Whittenshaw 
 
Adapted for radio by Michael Michaelian from his own stage play 
Directed by Glyn Dearman 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 3, 10 Nov 1991 
 
Christopher and his Kind 
Presented by Paul Bailey 
With Christopher Isherwood 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 3, 28 Mar 1977 
 
© 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd 
???????

Christopher Isherwood: A BBC Radio Collection

Three Full-Cast BBC Radio Adaptations including Mr Norris Changes Trains

Guy de Maupassant

Francis King

Alexander Pushkin

Friedrich Dürrenmatt

Julian Symonds

Wilkie Collins

Honoré De Balzac

W. Somerset Maugham

Stacy Aumonier

Ten vintage dramas on the theme of murder, written by internationally recognised authors and set across the globe 
 
‘Murder is murder, anywhere in the world. The taking of life, the most terrible crime a human being can commit, is the same in any language, whether it springs from vengeance, greed, hate, love or whatever...’ 
 
Conceived by BBC World Service producer Derek Hoddinott, the 1976 anthology series Murder International comprised half-hour adaptations of famous murder mysteries by world-renowned writers past and present, set in locations ranging from Corsica to St Petersburg, Malaysia, France and Spain. Collected here are ten of those thrilling dramas, each with a different theme, ranging from ‘murder by the supernatural’ to ‘murder by duel’. Bringing them to life are a host of leading actors including Denis Quilley, Maureen O'Brien, George Cole, Christopher Cazenove, Joss Ackland, Michael Denison and George Baker. 
 
In The Hand by Guy Maupassant, an English aristocrat awaits his nemesis – alongside a gruesome trophy from his days in Africa. 
 
Mess, by Francis King, sees an adolescent boy taking extreme measures to escape his chaotic home life. 
 
The Queen of Spades by Alexander Pushkin finds a high-stakes gambler risking his life and his sanity when he discovers the secret of how to win at cards. 
 
Face to face with the state assassin, a dissident writer defends his right to free speech in Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s Conversation at Night. 
 
Three men, maddened by greed for gold, turn on each other in The Treasure in the Forest by H.G. Wells. 
 
Serial wife-killer Clayton Allenby meets his match with bride number four in Julian Symons’ The Accident. 
 
The youngest son of the Monkton family seems afflicted with hereditary madness in Wilkie Collins’ Mad Monkton – but is he insane, or cursed? 
 
The Executioner, by Honoré de Balzac, centres on a young Captain in the Napoleonic wars, who is ordered to carry out a terrible crime. 
 
Somerset Maugham’s Footprints in the Jungle concerns a charming married couple with a shocking skeleton in their closet. 
 
In Stacy Aumonier’s The Fall, when a petty crook turns murderer, Inspector Tolozan uses the man’s greatest fear to extract a confession... 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio, 4 21 July - 29 September 1976 
 
With warm thanks to Keith Wickham and the Radio Circle 
 
NB: Some of the language on these vintage recordings reflects the era in which it was first broadcast, and due to the age of the source material, the sound quality may vary 
 
Conversation at Night © 1986 by Diogenes Verlag AG, Zurich 
© 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Murder International

Ten Classic Full-Cast BBC Radio Crime Dramas

Thomas More

Michael Symmons Roberts

Michael Symmons Roberts’ full-cast dramatisation of Thomas More’s classic work, plus an accompanying documentary exploring its legacy 
 
Thomas More's classic work of speculative fiction, Utopia, was published over 500 years ago, yet has entered the culture so deeply that the name of his fictional island is still how we refer to our hopes and dreams of a better society. This immersive dramatisation is adapted by the award-winning poet and author Michael Symmons Roberts, and is paired with a documentary programme that further explores More’s iconic book. 
 
In Utopia, a full cast brings to life More's strange and enchanting island. More travels to Antwerp, to sort out a dispute in the commercial wool trade. While he is there, he meets an old man who is clearly widely travelled. When More complains about the petty politics of the trade dispute, the stranger says he has seen another way of living. He introduces himself as the adventurer Raphael Hythloday, and describes a thrilling journey exploring an unmapped part of the ocean, discovering an island society unlike any seen before. The island is called ‘Utopia’... Starring Raad Rawi as Raphael Hythloday, Nacho Aldeguer as the young Raphael, and Michael Peavoy as Thomas More. 
 
In the accompanying documentary, Utopias, Michael Symmons Roberts examines the book’s intellectual legacy. It generated an idea that has been hotly contested throughout the hundreds of years since its release; a slippery tale that blurs fact and fiction and which has left readers trying to fathom whether More was presenting the island of Utopia as a model society or as a salutary tale. He also eavesdrops on figures from the BBC archives describing what their personal Utopias might look like – including Tony Benn, Jeanette Winterson, Aldous Huxley, Nawal El Saadawi and Iain Banks. 
 
Michael Symmons Roberts is an award-winning poet, author and dramatist. His poetry book Corpus won the 2004 Whitbread Poetry Award and was shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot Prize, the Forward Prize and the Griffin Poetry Prize. In 2007 he received the Arts Council Writers Award. He was elected a Fellow of the English Association in 2012 and in 2014 was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. He has worked with composer James MacMillan for the BBC Proms and won awards for his radio adaptations of His Fearful Symmetry and Soldiers in the Sun. 
 
Cast and credits 
 
Utopia 
Written by Thomas More 
Adapted by Michael Symmons Roberts 
Directed by Susan Roberts 
Raphael Hythloday - Raad Rawi 
Young Raphael - Nacho Aldeguer 
Thomas More / Achorian - Michael Peavoy 
Peter Giles - Cameron Blakeley 
Abraxa - Emily Pithon 
Barzanes - Jonathan Keeble 
Macaria - Fiona Clarke 
First Broadcast BBC Radio 4, 24 January 2016 
 
Utopias 
Presented by Michael Symmons Roberts 
Produced by Geoff Bird 
First Broadcast BBC Radio 4, 23 January 2016 
 
©2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Utopia

A Full-Cast BBC Radio Dramatisation & more

Thomas Mann

Dramatisations of Thomas Mann’s three bestselling novels 
 
One of Germany’s greatest and most revered writers, Thomas Mann won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1929. A vocal critic of Nazism, he had to leave his homeland when Hitler came to power, and lived in exile in Europe and America for the rest of his life. Collected here are full-cast adaptations of his three most famous novels. 
 
Buddenbrooks – Drawing on Mann’s own experience as the son of a wealthy merchant in 19th-century Lübeck, his debut novel follows four generations of Buddenbrooks as they struggle to maintain the family business in the face of change. Powerful, humorous and heartbreaking, this epic drama traces the decline of a civilisation as well as a family. Starring Terence Edmonds, Harriet Walter, James Laurenson and Timothy Spall. 
 
Death in Venice – Seeking inspiration, a famous German writer travels to Venice, but finds only decay and disease behind the city’s gorgeous facades. Then he notices a beautiful young Polish boy, and is consumed by a fatal obsession... Clive Francis stars as Aschenbach, with Peter England as Tadzio. 
 
The Magic Mountain – When Hans Castorp pays a social visit to a Swiss sanatorium, he is himself diagnosed with TB and ends up staying for seven years. Trapped on the mountain, he becomes acquainted with his fellow inmates – including the humanist, the radical, the dionysiac and the inamorata – who represent a microcosm of European society and culture in the run-up to World War One. Paul Scofield stars in this radio version of Thomas Mann’s masterpiece. 
 
First published 1901 (Buddenbrooks), 1912 (Death in Venice), 1924 (The Magic Mountain) 
 
© 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Thomas Mann: Buddenbrooks, Death in Venice, The Magic Mountain

Three BBC Radio full-cast dramas

A female-centred collection of four dramatisations celebrating Jane Austen’s classic novels - plus bonus series When I Met Jane Austen 
 
On 16 December 1775, a literary icon was born. Jane Austen’s groundbreaking novels pioneered the romantic comedy genre and put women front and centre, depicting their innermost thoughts and feelings. To celebrate her 250th anniversary, here are four new dramas, focusing on the fabulous, flawed, funny and fascinating women who blaze out from her books. Full of her characteristic wit and biting comedy, they feature star-studded casts including Tamsin Greig, Isabella Laughland, Luke Thompson, Miles Jupp, Adjoa Andoh, and Ben Hardy. 
 
Pride and Prejudice – Featuring one of the best-loved heroines in literature – lively, quick-witted Elizabeth Bennet – this dramatisation tells the story of the five Bennet sisters’ romantic escapades, as they endeavour to fulfil their mother’s dreams and marry well. 
 
Sense and Sensibility – When their father’s death turns their world upside down, rational, reserved Elinor Dashwood and her impulsive, emotional sister Marianne leave their old lives behind and embark on a voyage of romantic discovery. 
 
Northanger Abbey – Seventeen-year-old Catherine Morland is a kind, honest and unworldly young woman with a head full of Gothic novels and little experience of the real world. So when wealthy, handsome Henry Tilney invites her to Northanger Abbey, she is determined to discover its dark secrets... 
 
Mansfield Park – Aged just nine, Fanny Price is sent away from her impoverished parents to live with her rich relatives at Mansfield Park. Shaped by family and adversity, this displaced child becomes a fiercely moral young woman with an unshakable conscience – and as she navigates the complexities of love and jealousy, her true strength of character is revealed. 
 
When I Met Jane Austen – Ten of the world’s most prominent authors and thinkers talk to Jane Austen biographer Paula Byrne about when they first encountered the great writer. Featuring contributions from David Baddiel, Andrew Davies, Amy Heckerling, Marlon James, Philippa Perry, Gurinder Chadha, Val McDermid, Colm Toibin, Katherine Rundell and Kate Atkinson. 
 
 
Cast and credits 
Written by Jane Austen 
 
Pride and Prejudice 
Starring Tamsin Greig, Isabella Laughland, Luke Thompson, Miles Jupp, Rosie Cavaliero, Lucy Doyle, Kitty O’Sullivan, Gaia Wise, Imogen Front, Louis Landau, Toby Regbo, Adjoa Andoh, Catherine Bailey, Josh Bryant-Jones, Sasha McCabe, Jasmine Hyde, Clive Haywood, and Sarah Thom 
 
Dramatised by award winning writer Rachel Joyce 
Produced by Tracey Neale 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 6 Dec 2025 
 
Sense and Sensibility 
Starring Tamsin Greig, Madeleine Mantock, Rose Basista, Ben Hardy, Enyi Okoronkwo, Richard Goulding, Ava Talbot, Jasmine Hyde, Carolyn Pickles, Clive Hayward, Django Bevan, Sasha McCabe, and Bethan Rose Young 
 
Dramatised by Claudine Toutoungi 
Produced by Anne Isger 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 6 Dec 2025 
 
Northanger Abbey 
Starring Madeleine Gray, Will Howard, Cecilia Appiah, Ella Smith, John Heffernan, Scarlett Courtney, Jasmine Hyde, Josh Bryant-Jones, and Django Bevan 
 
Dramatised by Clara Glynn 
Produced by Gaynor Macfarlane 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 2-9 Nov 2025 
 
Mansfield Park 
Starring Lydia Wilson, Bryan Dick, Tala Gouveia, Tom Mothersdale, Janice Acquah, Madeleine Worrall, Joshua Riley, John Hollingworth, Samuel Valentine, Faith Alabi, and Hollie Burgess 
 
Dramatised by Clara Glynn 
Directed by Gaynor Macfarlane 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 10-17 Jul 2022When I Met Jane Austen 
Presented by Paula Byrne 
With David Baddiel, Andrew Davies, Amy Heckerling, Marlon James, Philippa Perry, Gurinder Chadha, Val McDermid, Colm Toibin, Katherine Rundell and Kate AtkinsonProduced by Maggie Ayre 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 8-19 Dec 2025 
© 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Jane Austen: The 250th Anniversary Collection

Four Full-Cast BBC Radio Dramatisations

William Harrison Ainsworth

An epic 13-part dramatisation of William Harrison Ainsworth’s historical romance, centring around the rise and fall of Lady Jane GreyWilliam Harrison Ainsworth was lauded by his contemporaries as a successor to Sir Walter Scott, and was named in 1847 as one of the three most popular writers in England (alongside Edward Bulwer-Lytton and Charles Dickens). His first three historical novels were inspired by the lives of Dick Turpin, ‘Honest Jack’ Sheppard and ‘the Admirable Crichton’, but with The Tower of London, he decided to base his book around a place rather than a person. Depicting the ancient citadel ‘in its triple light of a palace, a prison and a fortress’, he went on to weave a thrilling tale of power struggles, romance and political intrigue – featuring two coronations, a wedding, several executions and a siege...It begins in July 1553, as the newly-crowned Queen Jane makes her way by barge to the Tower, where she will spend the first days of her reign. Following the death of Edward VI, she has been installed on the throne by her father-in-law, the Duke of Northumberland, who has married her to his son Lord Guildford Dudley with hopes of making him King.But danger lurks within the Tower’s high walls, for there are many who plot against Jane: not least Simon Renard, the Spanish Ambassador, who is determined to make Catherine of Aragon’s Catholic daughter, Mary, Queen in Jane’s place. Surrounded by enemies and betrayed by those she trusted most, Jane is led step by step to her tragic fate... Meanwhile, the beautiful Cicely, the ‘Rose of the Tower’, has fallen in love with Dudley’s squire, Cuthbert Cholmondeley, only for their budding romance to be thwarted by the villainous, jealous head jailer Nightgall. As history plays out around her, is she destined for happiness or heartbreak?Dramatised by actor and writer Tony Van den Bergh, this riveting 1968 drama dates from the glory days of the BBC Repertory Company, and features an ensemble cast including Gudrun Ure, Peter Baldwin, Francis de Wolff, Rosalind Shanks, Garard Green and Marjorie Westbury.With thanks to Keith Wickham and the Radio CircleNB: This recording contains dated language and attitudesProduction creditsWritten by William Harrison AinsworthFirst published 1840Dramatised by Tony Van den BerghProduced and directed by R D SmithCastJane, the Queen – Gudrun UreNightgall, head jailer – Peter BaldwinMagog, a giant warder – Francis de WolffRibald, his crony – Leigh CrutchleyArchbishop Cranmer/Arundel – John WyseBishop Ridley – Ralph Trumande Noailles, French Ambassador – David MarchSimon Renard, Spanish Ambassador – Malcolm HayesSuffolk – Peter WilliamsLord Guilford Dudley – Michael HarbourCuthbert, his squire – Christopher BidmeadCicely – Beth BoydGunnora, an old nurse – Phyllis MontefioreDame Potentia, a cook’s wife – Lynn CarsonXit, a dwarf – Nigel AnthonyNorthumberland, Lord Protector – Denis McCarthyPrincess Elizabeth – Rosalind ShanksQueen Mary – Alexa RomanesLord Gardiner – Duncan McIntyreLord Courtenay – Douglas HankinAlexia, a crazed prisoner – Margaret FordWinchester – Rolf LefebvreDean Feckenham – Geoffrey WincottSir Thomas Wyatt – Garard GreenMistress Ellen – Marjorie WestburyUnderhill – Haydn JonesMauger – John Holus Other parts played by Diana Robson, Jan Edwards, Norma Griffin, Joyce Latham, Henry Webb, Norman Wynne and members of the BBC Drama Repertory CompanyFirst broadcast BBC Radio 4, 13 March-5 June 1968© 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Tower of London

A Vintage BBC Radio Full-Cast Dramatisation

Benjamin Disraeli

Benjamin Disraeli’s powerful, polemical story of love across the class divideChosen by The Guardian as one of the best 100 novels of all time, Disraeli’s classic 1845 ‘condition-of-England’ novel exposes the inequality and exploitation endemic in 19th century Britain, and the vast gulf between the haves and the have-nots.It centres on Charles Egremont, a member of the landed gentry and newly elected MP. With a glittering future ahead of him, he is in need of a suitable wife, and his brother, the Earl of Marney, is keen that he should marry Lady Joan Fitz-Warene. The heiress to Mowbray Castle, she brings with her a considerable fortune: but from the moment Charles sets eyes on Sybil Gerard in the ruins of Marney Abbey, he can think of no-one else.Sybil is beautiful, graceful and ethereal – and the daughter of a Yorkshire millworker. When her father, a militant Chartist, shares with Charles his theory of the ‘two nations’ of rich and poor, Charles’ eyes are opened, and he disguises himself as a reporter to investigate the plight of the working classes. As he falls deeper in love with Sybil, and discovers what life is really like for the less fortunate, he determines to use his position to effect change. But those in power are not easily swayed, nor is Sybil’s heart easily won...Starring Richard Derrington as Charles, with Sorcha Cusack as Sybil, this absorbing historical drama vividly evokes both the luxurious life of the aristocracy and the grinding poverty of the farm labourers, miners and factory workers struggling for existence on the other side of the social divide.Production creditsWritten by Benjamin DisraeliDramatised by Frederick BradnumDirected by Vanessa Whitburn 
Episode List: 
1: Marney Town and Marney Abbey 
2: Mowbray Town and Mowbray Castle 
3: Mowedale and Hellhouse 
4: The Chartists and the Aristocracy 
5: Love and Conspiracy 
6: Of Destruction and Reconciliation 
CastCharles Egremont – Richard DerringtonWalter Gerard – Alan DobleLord Marney – Michael N HarbourStephen Morley – Terry MolloyBenjamin Disraeli – Richard PascoLady Marney/Lady Deloraine – Patricia GallimoreArabella Marney – Kathryn HurlbuttSir Vavasour Firebrace – Robert DorningMother Superior – Penelope LeeTaper/Bingley/Sinister man – David VannTadpole – David PeartMr Pugh – Bill BellamyLord Milford/Brewer – Kim DurhamCaptain Grouse/Lawyer – Scott CherryMountchesney/Constable/Tanner/Field – Peter HarloweBerneers/Peer/Youth – Jonathan OwenLord Mowbray/Juggins – Stephen HancockLady Joan/Caroline – Elizabeth ProudLady Maud/Harriet – Hedli NiklausLady Mowbray – Eileen BarryAubrey St Lys – Clive MarloweDandy Mick/Youth – Paul CopleyDevilsdust – Alan DevereuxChaffing Jack/Police Inspector – William EedleWidow Carey – Mary WimbushMrs Warner – Pauline SiddleMaria/Dame – Carole BoydBishop Hatton – Roger HumeMrs Hatton – Joyce LathamNixon/Jermyn/Diggs – James KerryMr Trafford/Waghorne/Sergeant – Michael BiltonMrs Trafford – Shirley StelfoxScrubbynose – David ConnerBaptist Hatton – Peter TuddenhamJulia – Anna LindupGirls and boys of Mowedale and Hellhouse – Members of the Forest Youth Theatre, WalsallFirst broadcast BBC Radio 4, 13 November-18 December 1983© 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Sybil, or The Two Nations

Matthew Lewis

Ann Radcliffe

Horace Walpole

Four full-cast dramatisations of classic Gothic novels, plus documentaries exploring the genre’s rise and enduring appeal 
 
Dark deeds, dastardly villains, innocent victims and supernatural happenings – these are the terrifying tropes that make up Gothic fiction, a genre that has captured our imagination for over 250 years. Blending both classic and modern dramatisations, this specially curated anthology couples thrilling masterpieces with insightful documentaries… 
 
We begin with A Gothic Quest, in which Louise Welsh examines what ‘gothic’ really means, and takes a look at its many appearances in poetry, fiction, art, architecture and film. In A Guided Tour of the Castle of Otranto, Rory McGrath explores the origins of gothic horror, first manifested in Horace Walpole’s 1764 novel. It is followed by a dramatisation of The Castle of Otranto itself, a dark supernatural tale of duplicity and dynastic rivalry. Treading warily into the book’s strange world in Kaleidoscope Feature: A Little Gothic Castle, Peggy Reynolds draws parallels between Walpole’s vision for his London villa, Strawberry Hill, and the haunted mansion in the novel. 
 
Next, we unveil the male gothic in a gripping drama featuring disguise, abduction, incest and murder. The Monk, based on the 1796 classic by Matthew Lewis, tells the story of Ambrosio (Michael Pennington), who is tempted into breaking his vows of chastity by a beautiful young nun. The dawn of the female gothic is revealed in The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe, centred on a powerless young heroine trapped in an isolated castle and pitted against an evil Italian Count. Showcasing the Gothic satire is Jane Austen’s 1817 novel Northanger Abbey, poking fun at the popular sensation fiction of her day. In this witty drama, Catherine Morland is taken to Bath for the season, and finds that in her fertile imagination, danger and hair-raising horrors lurk around every corner. Georgia Groome, Miriam Margolyes and Bridgerton’s Luke Thompson star in this full-cast dramatisation. 
 
Wrapping up our collection is In Our Time: Gothic, which sees Melvyn Bragg and guest experts considering the origins and significance of the 18th century Gothic movement. 
 
 
First published 1764 (The Castle of Otranto), 1794 (The Mysteries of Udolpho), 1796 (The Monk), 1817 (Northanger Abbey) 
 
 
Content List 
 
Part 1. Gothic Imagination 
 
A Gothic Quest 
Presented by Louise Welsh 
 
Part 2. The First Gothic Novel: The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole 
 
A Guided Tour of the Castle of Otranto 
Presented by Rory McGrath 
 
The Castle of Otranto 
cast and credits to be announced 
 
Kaleidoscope Feature: A Little Gothic Castle 
Presented by Peggy Reynolds 
 
Part 3. Unveiling A Male Gothic: The Monk by Matthew Lewis 
 
The Monk 
Starring Michael Pennington, Sorcha Cusack, Emily Morgan, Christopher Douglas, Brian Smith, Jenny Funnell, Tessa Worsley, Mary Wimbush, Simon Hewitt, Anne Jameson, Alan Thompson, Melinda Walker, Mia Soteriou, Allan McClelland, Garard Green, Graham Blockey, Peter Acre, David Learner and Bernard Brown 
 
 
Part 4. The Dawn of a Female Gothic: The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe 
 
The Mysteries of Udolpho 
Starring Georgia Groome, Tracy Wiles, John Dougall, Finlay Robertson, Luke Thompson, Natasha Cowley, Stephen Wight, John Bowler, Karen Bartke and Alison Belbin 
 
Part 5. Gothic Satire: Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen 
 
Northanger Abbey 
Starring Georgia Groome, Luke Thompson, Tracy Wiles, Kim Wall, Ainsley Howard, Alison Belbin, John Bowler, Karen Bartke, Miriam Margolyes, Stephen Wight, Finlay Robertson, Natasha Cowley, John Dougall, Nick Murchie, Keziah Joseph and Luke MacGregor 
 
 
Part 6. Gothic Legacies 
 
In Our Time: Gothic 
Presented by Melvyn Bragg 
With Chris Baldick, A N Wilson and Emma Clery 
 
© 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Tales of Terror: A BBC Radio Gothic Drama Collection

The Castle of Otranto, The Monk, The Mysteries of Udolpho & Northanger Abbey

Natalie Haynes

Three more series of Natalie Haynes’ BBC Radio 4 show combining comedy with classicism – plus Christmas special ‘Saturnalia’ 
 
‘Rock star mythologist’ and reformed comedian Natalie Haynes is obsessed with the ancient world. Here, she explores key tales from the classical era that still have resonance today. Whether biographical, mythological or epic, they are always hilarious and revelatory – and they tell us more about contemporary humanity than seems possible of stories from several thousand years ago. 
 
Series 9 sees her standing up for Martial, whose satirical epigrams were both perfectly crafted and absolutely filthy; recounting the powerful story of Demeter's fight to get justice for her daughter Persephone; profiling the charismatic and bloodthirsty Athene, goddess of wisdom, war and...handicrafts; and looking at Livia, the first Empress of Rome and faithful wife to Augustus, who has gone down in history as a serial killer. 
 
In Series 10, she discusses Cleopatra, (brilliant and charismatic, but probably not an Elizabeth Taylor lookalike); Hesiod (cataloguer of the gods and author of a flatpack wagon manual); and Aphrodite (the goddess of love and beauty, who is mostly depicted naked and/or wet). Examining Artemis, she discovers that the celebrated huntress was not averse to the odd human sacrifice; and investigating Aesop, she finds that everything we think we know about this famous fable writer is contradicted somewhere. And it’s a similar story with Tacitus, whose fascinating works are long on persuasive prose, but short on evidence… 
 
Two tales of Alexandria open Series 11, as Natalie goes on to tell the stories of the Nine Earthly Muses; Hera, queen of the Olympian gods; the Roman love poet Catullus; and the overlooked ‘domestic goddess’ Hestia. And in a tour de force solo performance, Natalie takes on Virgil's great poem ‘The Aeneid’ in 28 minutes... and wins. 
 
Joining Natalie for some witty conversation and well-informed analysis are guest experts including Robin Ince, Adam Rutherford, Dan Snow and Edith Hall. Also included is a special festive show, ‘Saturnalia’, in which Natalie celebrates the midwinter festival of Ancient Rome, described by Catullus as ‘the best of days’, in the company of André Vincent and Professor Llewelyn Morgan. Expect anarchy, jokes, cross-dressing, sweets, drinking games and the wearing of traditional pointy hats... 
 
Production credits 
Presented by Natalie Haynes 
Music by Sarah Gabriel and Sarah Angliss 
Produced by Mary Ward-Lowery and Beth O’Dea 
 
Special guests: Professor Llewelyn Morgan, Robin Ince, Dr Emma Southon, Jane Draycott, Professor Edith Hall, Alicia Stallings, Dr Adam Rutherford, Dan Snow, André Vincent, Dr Islam Issa, Nikita Gill and Dr Daisy Dunn 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 28 November-19 December 2023 (Series 9), 8 July-12 August 2024 (Series 10), 24 December 2024 (‘Saturnalia’), 22 July-2 September 2025 (Series 11) 
 
© 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics: Series 9-11

Further Comical Tales from Ancient Greece and Rome

Nikos Kazanthzakis

Nikos Kazantzakis’ two most popular novels, adapted for BBC RadioNikos Kazantzakis is widely regarded as the greatest Greek writer and philosopher of the 20th century. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature 14 times, and his works have been translated into over 50 languages. Included here are dramatisations of his two most famous and influential novels, both of which were adapted as hit films and became cultural phenomena.Zorba the Greek – When writer Nikos meets the irrepressible Zorba, his life is transformed. A grizzled, gregarious Greek hero, Zorba embraces every experience and adventure that life has to offer. As he befriends the young, intellectual Nikos, he introduces him to the real meaning of a life well lived… A moving coming-of-age tale and a classic story of heart vs head, this atmospheric adaptation stars Robert Stephens, Michael Maloney and Mary Wimbush.The Last Temptation – Starring John Hurt and Dame Judi Dench, this 1973 archive drama is based on Kazantzakis' controversial 1955 novel, banned by the Vatican but hailed by critics as a masterpiece. A powerful, passionate account of the days preceding Christ’s death, it explores his humanity, his divinity and the roles of Mary Magdalene and Judas Iscariot in fulfilling his destiny.Zorba the Greek © Nikos Kazantzakis 1952, © Helen Kazantzakis 1958The Last Temptation © 1961 Helen N KazantzakisProduction creditsWritten by Nikos KazantzakisZorba the GreekZorba – Robert StephensNikos – Michael MaloneyHortense – Mary WimbushMavrondoni – Terry MolloyMimiko – Dominic TaylorAnagnosti/Zacharias – Roger HumeAndonis – Peter MeakinMad Woman/Mourner – Hedli NiklausVilla Girl/Girl – Judy BennettZacharias – Roger HumeFather Demetrios – Paul WebsterWidow – Marian KemmerDramatised by Nick McCartyProduced by Phillip MartinFirst broadcast BBC Radio 4, 12-19 December 1993The Last TemptationNarrator – Gabriel WoolfRabbi Simeon – John RuddockJesus – John HurtMary – Diana BishopCenturion – Vernon JoynerJudas – David BuckPeter – Walter HallMary Magdalene – Judi DenchBarabbas – John RoweGuestmaster – Timothy BatesonSaul – Peter WilliamsMelchizadek – Rolf LefebvreSimon of Cyrene/Monk – William SleighAbbot – Clive SwiftAndrew – Peter CrazeZebedee/Man in the crowd – Brian HainesThe Baptist/Man in the crowd – Haydn JonesThe Tempter – Heron CarvicWomen in the crowd – Julie Hallam & Betty Huntley-WrightMan in the crowd – David TimsonTranslated and adapted by Andreas Stavrou and Hallam TennysonMusic specially composed by Elizabeth Poston and conducted by Peter MarchbankAdditional singers: Veronica Lucas, Colin Appleton, Richard Bourne, Sandra Clark, Hilda Schroder, William Eedle, Fraser Kerr, David SinclairProduced by Richard WortleyFirst broadcast BBC Radio 4, 16-23 September 1973© 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Zorba the Greek & The Last Temptation

Two BBC Radio Full-Cast Dramatisations

Kate Chopin

A full-cast adaptation of America’s most influential 19th century feminist writer - plus a bonus selection of short stories. 
 
Best known for her narratives about the inner lives of sensitive, daring women, Kate Chopin is a vital American author of short stories and novels. She is considered by scholars to have been a forerunner of American 20th century feminist authors, paving the way for the likes of Zelda Fitzgerald. Best known for her 1899 novel The Awakening, Chopin shocked the readers of her day by showing a woman fulfilled by throwing off the ties of marriage and children. 
 
The Awakening, brought to life by a full cast in this adaptation, is Kate Chopin's seminal tale of one woman's pursuit of moral and sexual freedom in turn-of-the-century New Orleans. Unsatisfied with societal expectations, Edna Pontellier falls in love with the dapper Robert Lebrun. Lebrun's flirtations rejuvenate Edna's sense of freedom and independence. However, Edna also has a taste of the danger that comes from living outside of social convention. Trapped between the life she is expected to live and the one she longs to lead, Edna is propelled on a course that frees, consumes and eventually destroys her. Starring Briony Glassco, William Dufris and Lorelei King. 
 
This stunning collection also contains five of Chopin’s short stories, exquisitely read by Carolyn Pickles and Claire Corbett, and available together here for the first time. 
 
‘Ma'ame Pelagie’ is the portrait of a woman on a plantation adjusting to life after the American Civil War. 
 
In ‘A Respectable Woman’, Mrs Baroda, the wife of a sugar planter, finds herself confused and ambivalent when an old friend of her husband’s comes to stay in this cleverly observed story. 
 
In ‘The Story of an Hour’, some supposedly bad news leaves a woman feeling strangely free. But has there been a mistake? 
 
‘The Kiss’ is the story of a woman scheming to marry a wealthy man and maintain a young lover. 
 
Finally, in 'A Pair of Silk Stockings', a woman spends a windfall on herself, instead of her children – but what are the consequences… 
 
This is the perfect immersive listen for any fan of classic storytelling with a twist. Discover an author whose work has echoed down the centuries and inspired writers for generations. 
 
©2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

The Awakening & more

Ivy Compton-Burnett

A dark domestic comedy by one of English literature’s most distinctive and idiosyncratic authorsLife in the Ponsonby household is an emotional battleground, where tyrannical grandmother Sabine and her equally despotic daughter Hetta struggle to control the fate of the family. Caught in the crossfire are Sabine’s son John, a self-absorbed novelist; his five children, Clare, France, Chilton, Victor and Muriel; and Muriel’s beleagured governesses.When John’s daughter, France, completes her first novel, she is persuaded by her father to publish it under a pseudonym to spare him the embarrassment of being overshadowed by his own flesh and blood. This act of selflessness sparks a series of deceptions, misunderstandings and manipulations: culminating in a family crisis which plays out across the dining-room table over the course of one hair-raising and hilarious dinner party...First published in 1937, Ivy Compton-Burnett’s deft dissection of a dysfunctional Victorian family was acclaimed by contemporary critics and admired by Virginia Woolf for its ‘bitter truth and intense originality’. This sublime adaptation, featuring an ensemble cast including Patricia Lawrence and Ann Mitchell, breathes new life into her brilliant, blackly comic tale.Production creditsWritten by Ivy Compton-BurnettAdapted by John SpurlingDirected by Liane AukinPiano: Martin GoldsteinCastSabine Ponsonby – Patricia LawrenceHetta – Ann MitchellJohn – John RoweClare – Tessa WorsleyFrance – Kathryn HunterVictor – Simon HewittChilton – Graham BlockeyMuriel: – Pamela MoiseiwitschMiss Bunyan – Merelina KendallGertrude – Narissa KnightsCharity Marcon – Anne JamesonStephen – Bernard BrownAlfred – Christopher GoodSir Rowland Seymour – Arnold DiamondJane – Ellen McIntoshEvelyn – Daniel WebbEdith Hallam – Vivian PicklesDr Chaucer – Robert LangMiss Blake – Fidelis MorganMr Russell – John Forbes-RobertsonFirst broadcast BBC Radio 4, 10 May-9 June 1985© 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Daughters and Sons

A BBC radio anthology of the very best short stories by Stacy Aumonier 
 
Stacy Aumonier was an author, stage performer, 'society entertainer', World War One private and draughtsman, who gained an unrivalled reputation for his short fiction in the 1920s. John Galsworthy described him as ‘one of the best short-story writers of all time’, and several of his tales were adapted for television by Alfred Hitchcock. 
 
Full of wit, warmth and empathy, the eleven stories in this collection offer beautifully constructed insights into the various absurdities of human behaviour. 
 
In ‘The Baby Grand’, starring Trevor Peacock and Oona Beeson, a young girl struggles to study the piano amidst her family’s hostility. 
 
Aumonier’s World, first broadcast in 1993, comprises the four dramas: ‘Where Was Wych Street?’, ‘A Source of Irritation’, ‘Freddie Finds Himself’ and ‘Funeral March’. Starring John Baddeley as Aumonier, with Oona Beeson, Colin Pinney, Julian Rhind-Tutt and Fiona Fullerton, they centre around a pub argument that brings the world to a crisis, life in the First World War trenches, a young man’s discovery of his true vocation and the mysterious allure of the rich Mme Vieninoff. 
 
Initially aired on Radio 4 in 2011, Extremely Entertaining Short Stories contains two stories read by Mark Heap and Mathew Horne respectively. ‘The Brown Wallet’ features a man facing financial ruin who discovers a wallet containing £2000 in the back of a taxi, while in ‘The Room’, a bedsit dweller dreams of escape – then his landlady knocks on his door… 
 
Also included are four stories read by John Baddeley – ‘Dark Red Roses’, in which the titular flowers spell doom rather than romance, ‘Miss Bracegirdle Does Her Duty’, about a middle-aged spinster on her first trip abroad, ‘One Sunday Morning’, which sees a peaceful Sunday spoiled, and ‘An Adventure in Bed’, in which George’s lazy life is transformed by the beautiful Maisie... 
 
First published 1918 (‘A Source of Irritation’), 1921 (‘Where Was Wych Street?’, ‘An Adventure in Bed’), 1923 (‘The Brown Wallet’, ‘Miss Bracegirdle Does Her Duty’), 1924 (‘Freddie Finds Himself’), 1926 (‘The Baby Grand’, ‘Funeral March’, ‘The Room’), 1929 (‘Dark Red Roses’, ‘One Sunday Morning’) 
 
© 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Stacy Aumonier: A BBC Radio Collection

Eleven Dramatisations and Readings

A full-cast dramatisation of Italy’s iconic novelThe Betrothed is a sweeping epic, packed with the passion of Les Misérables, the power of War and Peace and the action of Ivanhoe. Set in 17th century Italy, this is the ultimate story of love, faith, justice and power.Engaged couple, Renzo and Lucia must overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles to be together. Lombardy, their region of northern Italy, is under Spanish occupation, and when the Spaniard Don Rodrigo blocks their union, in an attempt to have Lucia for himself, the couple are forced to resist his plots. Their love is thwarted at every turn by the hazards of war, bread riots and the machinations of a nameless crime lord. This gripping listen chronicles their unforgettable romance through tyranny, war, famine and plague. Renzo and Lucia are tested again and again, but can their union endure? Performed by a full cast, this stunning saga is masterfully brought to life and available to download for the first time as a complete listen.First published in 1827 as I Promessi Sposi, this icon of Italian literature as well as the country’s most popular novel, has never been out of print. Groundbreaking in its day, and hugely influential to succeeding generations, Alessandro Manzoni’s masterpiece has long been considered one of Italy’s national treasures. It is so integral to contemporary Italian culture every schoolchild reads it to this day. If you liked Les Misérables, War and Peace or Ivanhoe, then you will love The Betrothed. This is a must listen for any fan of classical literature. The Betrothed is a story that has, thought the centuries, been celebrated by writers, artists and composers such as Verdi, Primo Levi, Natalia Ginzburg, Umberto Eco and Pope Francis.A bona fide canonical classic hiding in plain sight - The Wall Street Journal 
 Cast and creditsWritten by Alessandro ManzoniAdapted by Eileen HorneDirected by Gaynor MacfarlaneLucia - Hiftu Quasem 
Renzo - Ian Dunnett Jnr 
Father Abbondio - Paul Higgins 
Gabriel/Servant Boy - Joel Maccormack 
Griso/Officer - Owen Whitelaw 
Nibbio/Ambrogio - Tunji Kasim 
Agnese - Maureen Beattie 
Brother Cristoforo - Ewan Bailey 
Nameless /Old Friar - Jonathan Forbes 
Rodrigo/Boss/Boatman/Traveller - Sandy Grierson 
Gertrude/Gilda - Chloe PirrieFirst Broadcast BBC Radio 4, 5th - 12th November 2023©2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

The Betrothed

Graham Greene

Alan Bennett, Claire Skinner, Charles Dance and Judi Dench are among the star casts of these superlative BBC Radio productions 
 
Graham Greene was the 20th century’s master of plot, an expert chronicler of Catholic guilt, Cold War intrigue, conflict and crime. A prolific polymath, his work incorporated serious novels, thrillers, short stories, screenplays, stage plays and more. 
 
This wide-ranging box set includes the finest examples of his early work, written between 1932 and 1948, and contains over 15 hours of unmissable drama. It includes captivating adaptations of his classic novels Stamboul Train, Brighton Rock, The Confidential Agent, The Power and the Glory, The Ministry of Fear and The Heart of the Matter, performed by an array of A-list actors including Joseph Millson, Claire Skinner, Kenneth Cranham, Stephen Rea, Charles Dance, Harriet Walter and Tom Hollander. 
 
Also featured are Greene’s only original radio play, The Great Jowett, starring Alan Bennett as the titular Oxford don, and an adaptation of his BAFTA-nominated screenplay The Fallen Idol, starring acclaimed classical actor Richard Pasco and a young Judi Dench. 
 
Concluding this definitive collection are two bonus pieces. Great Lives: Graham Greene sees war reporter Tim Butcher and presenter Matthew Parris exploring the strange world of Graham Greene, and in a fascinating 1971 interview from Radio 4’s Now Read On, the author himself discusses his novels with Magnus Magnusson – and reveals which book he considers to be his best... 
 
Contents 
Stamboul Train 
Brighton Rock 
The Great Jowett 
The Confidential Agent 
The Power and the Glory 
The Ministry of Fear 
The Heart of the Matter 
The Fallen Idol 
Great Lives: Graham Greene 
Now Read On 
 
Text copyright © 1932 (Stamboul Train), 1938 (Brighton Rock), 1939 (The Great Jowett, The Confidential Agent), 1940 (The Power and the Glory), 1943 (The Ministry of Fear), 1948 (The Heart of the Matter, The Fallen Idol) 
 
With thanks to Keith Wickham of the Radio Circle for supplying several of the audio recordings. 
 
© 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

The Graham Greene BBC Radio Drama Collection: The Early Years

Eight full-cast productions including Stamboul Train, Brighton Rock & The Power and the Glory

A definitive collection of eight full-cast BBC Radio productions, featuring stellar talent including Alex Jennings, Michael Kitchen, Ben Miles and Bernard Cribbins 
 
‘Great value for money and a fine celebration of one of the most important English authors of the second half of the Twentieth Century. Greene's stories are brought to life by some of the greatest British actors, and the final documentary giving voice to the writer is truly the icing on the cake.' – Greg Jameson, Entertainment Focus 
 
One of the foremost novelists of the last century, Graham Greene left an indelible mark on the world of fiction. In his many masterpieces, he introduced his fans to ‘Greeneland’ – a shadowy world of sin, redemption, treachery and sexual betrayal, occupied by complex, ambivalent characters. 
 
That world is brought vividly to life in these eight stunning BBC Radio productions. They represent the very best examples of his later work, written between 1951 and 1982, and together comprise nearly 17 hours of riveting drama. Included in this substantial box set are adaptations of his masterly novels The End of the Affair, Our Man in Havana, A Burnt-Out Case, The Comedians, The Honorary Consul and Monsignor Quixote, all starring a wealth of distinguished actors, among them Ben Miles, Adjoa Andoh, Michael Kitchen, Paterson Joseph, Bernard Cribbins and Philip Jackson. 
 
Here, too, are the radio versions of two of his superb stage plays. The Potting Shed, a gripping psychological drama centred around faith and family secrets, stars Dame Sybil Thorndike, who took the lead role in the original Broadway production. And in the ingenious two-hander Yes and No, Clive Francis plays the Director, with Alex Jennings as the Actor, whose only lines are ‘Yes’ and ‘No’. 
 
Plus, a bonus programme, Graham Greene at 80, sees the great author in conversation with writer and broadcaster Nigel Lewis, discussing his life and writing. It includes contributions from his biographer. Norman Sherry, and his brother, Sir Hugh Greene, as well as extracts from Greene’s work read by Ian Holm. 
 
Contents: 
The End of the Affair 
The Potting Shed 
Our Man in Havana 
A Burnt-Out Case 
The Comedians 
The Honorary Consul 
Yes and No 
Monsignor Quixote 
Greene at 80 
 
Text copyright © 1951 (The End of the Affair), 1957 (The Potting Shed), 1958 (Our Man in Havana), 1960 (A Burnt-Out Case), 1966 (The Comedians), 1973 (The Honorary Consul), 1980 (Yes and No), 1982 (Monsignor Quixote) 
 
With thanks to Keith Wickham of the Radio Circle for supplying several of the audio recordings. 
 
© 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

The Graham Greene BBC Radio Drama Collection: The Later Years

Eight full-cast productions including The End of the Affair, Our Man in Havana &  Monsignor Quixote

Frank Wedekind

A brand new production of Spring Awakening, alongside three classic plays from the BBC archive 
 
Frank Wedekind is widely acknowledged as one of the pioneers of modern drama, whose works influenced later writers such as Brecht and Dürrenmatt. His best-known plays were Spring Awakening and Lulu, both of which transgressed the social norms of his time and still have the power to shock and provoke us today. They are included here, alongside his lesser-known tragicomedy The Marquis of Keith. 
 
Spring Awakening – Frank Wedekind’s groundbreaking 1891 play deals with teenagers Wendla, Melchoir and Moritz, who navigate the awakening of desire and their relationships with their parents in a sexually repressive society. This fast, punchy, two-part version is adapted by Theo Toksvig-Stewart 
 
Lulu – The inspiration for numerous reimaginings, including the acclaimed silent film Pandora’s Box, Wedekind’s classic 1890s epic scandalised nineteenth-century audiences. It tells the story of Lulu, an alluring siren who is both innocent victim and amoral seducer. As she uses men, and is used in turn by them, she finds herself set on a path that can only lead to destruction… Starring Anna Calder-Marshall as Lulu, with a full cast including Derek Godfrey, Joe Melia and John Rye. 
 
The Singer – This fin-de-siècle farce satirizes the world of the 19th-century cultural elite, where artistic integrity was often subsumed by the demands of crude materialism. Centring on a revered Wagnerian tenor, his insatiable fans, and the tyrannical composer who is set on bending him to his will, it is adapted here by Peter Barnes and stars Alec McCowen, Kathryn Hurlbutt, Peter Woodthorpe and Dilys Laye. 
 
The Marquis of Keith – Written in 1899, The Marquis of Keith is one of Wedekind’s most significant plays. A tragicomedy, it revolves around the eponymous hero, a deeply flawed Don Quixote-like figure who is determined to follow his dream of creating a palace for the arts, no matter what the cost. This BBC Radio adaptation stars Alan Howard, Robert Eddison, Rosalind Shanks and Margaret Wolfit. 
 
First published 1891 (Spring Awakening), 1895 & 1904 (Lulu), 1899 (The Singer), 1901 (The Marquis of Keith) 
 
Cast and credits 
Written by Frank Wedekind 
 
Spring Awakening 
 
Lulu 
 
The Singer 
 
The Marquis of Keith 
 
 
© 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Frank Wedekind: Spring Awakening & more

Four Full-Cast BBC Radio Productions

Nikolai Gogol

A definitive collection of Gogol’s best-known works, adapted for BBC Radio with star casts including Toby Jones, Michael Palin, Mark Heap, Frances Barber and Russell Tovey 
 
Ukrainian-born humorist, dramatist and novelist Nikolai Gogol is widely believed to have led the realist revolution in Russian literature. His surreal, absurdist satires liberated comedy from its sentimental traditions and influenced writers both within Russia and worldwide, among them Fyodor Dostoevsky, Franz Kafka and Flannery O’Connor. 
 
Generally acknowledged as Gogol’s masterpiece, The Government Inspector caused such uproar when first performed in 1836 that he was driven into exile. With its satirical swipes at political self-serving, sleaze and vice, it remains relevant today, as this dazzling dramatisation, starring Toby Jones, shows. 
 
A comic tour de force about human folly and one of the jewels of Russian literature, Dead Souls sees the charming Chichikov (Mark Heap) arriving in a Russian provincial town with the Narrator (Michael Palin) on a mission to buy up dead serfs – but his quest soon arouses suspicion. 
 
Three Ivans, Two Aunts and an Overcoat comprises six comic plays based on some of Gogol’s greatest short fiction and set in 19th-century Russia: ‘The Two Ivans’, ‘The Overcoat,’ ‘Ivan Fyodorovich Shponka and His Aunt’, ‘The Nose’, ‘The Mysterious Portrait’ and ‘The Diary of a Madman’. Griff Rhys Jones and Stephen Moore star in these colourful, inventive tales. 
 
Also adapted from a short story, Christmas Eve tells of the magic and mayhem that ensues when the Devil (Nickolas Grace) steals the moon on the night before Christmas. 
 
Rounding off this anthology is a bonus documentary, Tim Key and Gogol's Overcoat, in which the acclaimed poet and comedian explores Nikolai Gogol’s classic ‘The Overcoat’, described by Nabokov as ‘the greatest Russian short story ever written’. As he looks into this fantastical fable about a clerk whose desire for a new coat changes his life – and ultimately destroys him – Key spins his own surprising and anarchic tale, with contributions from Russian experts, an East End tailor, Alexei Sayle and John Motson. 
 
First published 1831 (Christmas Eve), 1832 (‘Ivan Fyodorovich Shponka and His Aunt’), 1835 (‘The Two Ivans’, ‘The Mysterious Portrait’, ‘The Diary of a Madman’), 1835-1836 (‘The Nose’), 1836 (The Government Inspector), 1842 (Dead Souls, ‘The Overcoat’) 
 
© 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Nikolai Gogol: A BBC Radio Collection

Nine Full-Cast Dramatisations

Fanny Burney

A BBC radio drama adaptation of Fanny Burney’s best-known novel, plus a dramatisation of her diaries 
 
Before Jane Austen, there was Fanny Burney. In the 1780s, she was England’s most celebrated female author, having achieved extraordinary success with two hit novels. She went on to become a royal servant, marry an exile from the French Revolution and undergo a gruelling mastectomy without the aid of anaesthetic – all events chronicled in her diaries, which were published posthumously to great acclaim. Contained here are dramatisations of her first and most famous novel, and her remarkable journals and letters. 
 
Evelina – Initially published anonymously, Fanny Burney’s witty epistolary account of a young woman’s introduction to the beau monde took Georgian London by storm. Brought up by her guardian since her mother died in childbirth and her father refused to acknowledge her, Evelina has spent her childhood in rural seclusion. But a letter from her grandmother and an invitation to London lead her into the dangerous and unfamiliar world of the Ton, where she meets a collection of fops, dandies and dastardly rakes – as well as the dashing Lord Orville. Can she navigate the traps and challenges of fashionable society to find true love? Laura Doddington stars as Evelina in this 10-part dramatisation of Burney’s satirical comedy of manners. 
 
Dear Little Burney – Beginning in 1778, when Evelina catapulted Fanny Burney to fame, this 15-part adaptation of her letters and diaries vividly portrays the most momentous events of her extraordinary life. From adjusting to her sudden celebrity to becoming wardrobe mistress to Queen Charlotte, witnessing George III’s madness, spending ten years in France during the Napoleonic Wars and enduring an agonising operation, we are swept up in her joys, anxieties and disappointments – and given an intimate glimpse into everyday life in 18th century London and Paris. Starring Juliet Aubrey as Fanny, with Timothy West, Eleanor Bron, Robert Whelan and June Barrie. 
 
Evelina first published in 1778 
Diaries and letters first published 1842-1846 
 
Production credits 
Written by Fanny Burney 
Adapted by Jennifer Howarth 
Produced and directed by Sara Davies 
 
Cast 
Evelina 
Evelina – Laura Doddington 
Mr Villars – Philip Manikum 
Caroline/Mrs Mirvan/Prostitute – Jacqueline Tong 
Lady Howard/Mrs Selwyn – Phyllida Nash 
Mr Lovel/Mr McCartney – John Mackay 
Lord Orville – Ian Kelly 
Sir Clement Willoughby – Andrew Collins 
Captain Mirvan/Sir John Belmont – Mark Buffery 
Madame Duval – Stephanie Cole 
Mr Branghton – Chris Harris 
Tom Branghton – Stuart Crossman 
Polly Esther – Ruth Elliott 
Monsieur du Bois/Officer/Coachman – James Anderson 
 
 
Dear Little Burney 
Fanny – Juliet Aubrey 
George III – Timothy West 
Queen Charlotte – Eleanor Bron 
Susan – Kate Seaward 
Dr Burney – Robert Whelan 
Charles/George – Chris Garner 
MrsThrale – Liz Morgan 
Mr Fairly/Mr Kemble – Andrew Hilton 
Prince of Wales – Andrew Collins 
Mrs De!any/Mrs Siddons – June Barrie 
Lowndes – David Collins 
Gent!eman – Paul Dodgson 
Miss Dewe – Caitlin Hobbs 
Dr Johnson – Bill Wallis 
Mrs Schwellenberg – Kim Hicks 
d'Arblay – Thierry Harcourt 
With Cornelius Garrett, Claire Marchionne, Angela Barlow, Ric Jerrom, Rob Hutchinson and Joshua Boyden 
 
 
© 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Evelina & Dear Little Burney

H. Rider Haggard

BBC adaptations of H. Rider Haggard’s best-known novels, starring Tim McInnerny 
 
Victorian adventure writer Henry Rider Haggard is most famous for his novel King Solomon’s Mines, which launched the ‘Lost World’ genre of SF, featuring the discovery of long-forgotten or legendary civilizations. His follow-up, She, was also hugely successful, and has been hailed as ‘one of the great classics of fantasy fiction’. The radio dramatisations of both tales are collected here, with casts including Tim McInnerny, Adjoa Andoh, Finlay Robertson, Oliver Chris and Mia Soteriou. 
 
King Solomon’s Mines – Desperate to find his brother George, who disappeared a year ago while searching for the fabled diamond mines of King Solomon, Sir Henry Curtis recruits intrepid hunter Allan Quatermain to join him and his friend Captain John Good on a dangerous mission. Believing he will never return, Quatermain keeps a journal for his son recounting their adventures. As the explorers journey into the heart of Africa, they encounter fierce Kukuana warriors, the beautiful Foulata, the bloodthirsty King Twala and his witch-finder Gagool. But will they find the mine and the treasure that is rumoured to lie within it? 
 
She – Ludwig Holly and his ward Leo's quest for the truth behind the legend of Leo's ancestry takes them on an extraordinary adventure to the mysterious African interior. Surviving shipwreck and cannibals, they arrive in the lost city of Kor, where they meet the bewitching White Queen, Ayesha. Over 2000 years old, but still possessing a beauty that enthrals and terrifies all who see her, she rules despotically over her secret kingdom. Ayesha has waited two millennia for her lover to return – and on seeing Leo, she is convinced her wait is over… 
 
Cast and credits 
Written by H Rider Haggard 
First published 1885 (King Solomon’s Mines) and 1887 (She) 
 
King Solomon’s Mines 
Allan Quatermain – Tim McInnerny 
Sir Henry Curtis – David Sturzaker 
Captain John Good – Simon Ludders 
Umbopa – Sope Dirisu 
Infadoos – Maynard Eziashi 
Ventvogel/Scragga – Tonderai Munyevu 
Silvestre – Joe Ferrara 
Officer/George – Finlay Robertson 
Gagool – Adjoa Andoh 
Foulata – Emmanuella Cole 
Twala – Femi Elufowoju 
 
Dramatised by Chris Harrald 
Directed by Liz Webb 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 2-9 April 2017 
 
She 
Ludwig Holly – Tim McInnerny 
Leo – Oliver Chris 
Ayesha – Mia Soteriou 
Job – Howard Coggins 
Billali – Ben Onwukwe 
Amenartas/Ustane – Janice Acquah 
Vincey – Tom Sherman 
Agarah – Damian Lynch 
Young Leo – Oliver Baynham 
 
Adapted by Hattie Naylor 
Produced by Sara Davies 
Music by Elizabeth Purnell 
First broadcast Radio 4, 2-9 July 2006 
 
© 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) © 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

King Solomon’s Mines & She

Louisa May Alcott

Dramatisations of Louisa May Alcott’s evergreen classic and its sequel, plus her Gothic tour de force about an orphan girl and her controlling guardian 
 
Born in 1832 in Pennsylvania, Louisa May Alcott was best known for Little Women, her phenomenal bestseller loosely based on her childhood experiences with her own sisters. Adapted numerous times for stage and screen, it is dramatised here alongside her follow-up novel Good Wives and the thrilling sensation story A Marble Woman. 
 
Little Women – With their father away fighting in the American Civil War, the four March sisters and their mother are facing a frugal Christmas in their New England home. But their close bond and determination to make the best of things enables them to find happiness despite their poverty. As they forge their path in the adult world, Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy will encounter adventure, challenges, joys and disappointments – and while marriage and motherhood may beckon, their most enduring love is always for each other. Natasha J Barnes, Julianna Jennings, Bryony Hannah and Samantha Dakin star in this iconic coming-of-age tale. 
 
Good Wives– Now young women, the March girls meet with triumph and tragedy in this classic sequel to Little Women. Following Meg’s wedding, Jo finds success with her writing and Amy heads to Europe – but Beth’s health is failing, and her spirits are low. As the family face their greatest sorrow together and look to the future, Jo writes the story of their life – and finds true love at last… Starring Jemma Redgrave, Buffy Davis, Anne Marie Zola, Kara Zediker and Gayle Hunnicutt. 
 
A Marble Woman – Recently orphaned, Cecilia Stein turns up at the door of genius sculptor Bazil Yorke. Her dying mother had told her that Yorke was an old friend, and to trust his kindness. But the reclusive bachelor has neither forgiven nor forgotten his rejection by Cecilia’s mother, and decides to revenge himself by punishing his new ward. Insisting that she must submit her life to art and restrain all her emotions, he strives to turn her into his own creation – but can he control his own heart? Sexual repression, opium addiction and love collide in this dark Gothic tale, starring Bill Paterson and Amanda Root. 
 
First published 1865 (A Marble Woman), 1868 (Little Women), 1869 (Good Wives) 
 
Cast and credits 
 
Little Women 
Cast: Natasha J Barnes, Julianna Jennings, Bryony Hannah, Samantha Dakin, Tara Ward, John Bowler, Alex Lanipekun, Finlay Robertson, Joanna Monro, Alison Belbin, Karen Bartke, 
Natasha Cowley, Keziah Joseph, Luke MacGregor, Catriona McFarlane, Gunnar Cauthery 
Dramatised by Rhiannon Tise 
Directed by Tracey Neale 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 16-27 January 2017 
 
Good Wives 
Cast: Gayle Hunnicutt, Jemma Redgrave, Buffy Davis, Anne Marie Zola, Kara Zediker, Marcus D'Amico, Don Fellows, John Guerrasio, Margaret Robertson, Alibe Parsons, Adam Henderson, 
Helen Horton, Lorelei King, David Holt, Tamsin Hollo, Faith Brook, Jill Graham, Toni G Barry, 
Melanie Hudson, Jonathan Tafler, Martin Jarvis, John Church, Andrew Wincott 
Dramatised by Marcy Kahan 
Directed by Marilyn Imrie 
First broadcast Radio 4, 11 February-18 March 1993 
 
A Marble Woman 
Cast: Bill Paterson, Amanda Root, John McArdle, Charles De'Ath, Sarah Parkes, Geoffrey Banks, 
Becky Simpson, Robert Pollard 
Dramatised by Lavinia Murray 
Produced by Pauline Harris 
First broadcast Radio 4, 8 April 2000 
 
© 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Little Women, Good Wives & A Marble Woman

Three BBC Radio Full-Cast Dramatisations

Theodore Dreiser

The gripping story of a young woman’s rise to fame and fortune at the end of the 19th centuryAcclaimed as ‘the greatest of all American urban novels’, Theodore Dreiser’s tale of a naive small-town girl determined to make it in the big city sparked considerable controversy on its first publication in 1900. Censured at the time for its perceived immorality, it is now considered a modern classic and one of the most significant works of American naturalism.Adapted for radio by award-winning dramatist Steve Chambers, it follows 18-year-old Carrie as she travels to Chicago to start a new life, only to find her idealistic dreams crushed by grim reality. Destiny takes over when her fresh prettiness attracts the attention of smooth-talking salesman Charlie Drouet. Carrie’s desire for the good life overcomes her misgivings about living in sin, and she allows herself to be seduced by him.But then she meets George Hurstwood, a wealthy older man who becomes obsessed by her. Enthralled by his sophistication, she embarks on an affair with him, unaware that he is already married. The stage is set for disaster – but it is not Carrie who will be ruined...Starring Eve Best as Carrie, with John Guerrasio as Drouet, Liam Cunningham as Hurstwood and Russell Dixon as Theodore Dreiser, this compelling drama paints a fascinating portrait of the glamour and grittiness of 1890s America, and the dark side of the American dream.Cast and creditsWritten by Theodore DreiserDramatised by Steve ChambersDirected by Polly ThomasDreiser – Russell DixonCarrie – Eve BestCharlie Drouet/Ames/Policeman – John GuerrasioMinnie/Julia/Mrs Vance/Mrs Oeslagge – Kate HarperHurstwood – Liam CunninghamBeth/Jessica/Pearl/Maid/Lola – Alison DarlingOther parts played by members of the companyFirst broadcast BBC Radio 4, 6-24 Mar 2000© 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Sister Carrie

RF Delderfield

A stunning full-cast dramatisation of R.F. Delderfield's classic novel of life between the warsListen now to this epic story of tragedy, love and betrayal set during the inter-war period as soldier Davy Powlett-Jones, invalided out of the trenches, must face a new start in life…A coal miner's son, Davy has risen from the ranks of the South Wales Borderers and been commissioned as a Second Lieutenant after serving three years in the front-line trenches in the First World War. The story begins in 1918, when injured and shell-shocked Davy leaves the war behind him to face new challenges and begin a new life teaching history at Bamfylde School in North Devon. Over the following decade Davy’s life reflects the turmoil, tragedy and hope of the men and women who fought in the Great War and how they come to terms with peaceful life in Britain which inexorably ruptures as the Second World War looms.In this beautiful full-cast BBC Radio adaptation, the General Strike, socialism, the development of the Labour Party and the formation of the National Government all play out through the story of a humble teacher.To Serve Them All My Days was first published in 1972 and swiftly became a modern classic. The book was adapted into a hugely popular TV show and continues to be loved by fans of J.L. Carr and L.P. Hartley. Listen now to this stunning adaptation that takes a microscope to the lives of ordinary people during extraordinary times and brings to life a bygone era of British existence facing the moral perplexities and harsh economic realities of emerging modern times.Cast and creditsWritten by R.F. DeldefieldAdapted by Shaun McKennaDirected by Marc BeebyDavy Powlett-Jones - Oliver Milburn Algy Herries - John Wood Howarth - John RoweCarter - Anthony Calf Beth/Grace - Alison PettitThe Guard/Stratton/Gage - Delroy Brown"Nipper" Shawe/Skidmore/Featherstone - Josh Freeborn"Chad" Boyer/Dobson/Stoker Monk - Steven WilliamsBriarley/Lowther - Steven RobertsJulia - Juliet AubreyKeith/Alderman Blunt/McNaughton - John CumminsSpats/Hislop - Anthony GlennonBrigadier Cooper/Barnaby/Rigby - Gerard McDermottBristow - Harry FrancisAlcock - Clive MerrisonChristine - Kate BufferyEwart - Nick SayceFirst Broadcast BBC Radio 4, 23rd - 27th Jan 2006©2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

To Serve Them All My Days

A BBC Radio Dramatisation

Mary Renault

An epic eleven-part adaptation of Mary Renault’s ‘Theseus’ novelsWidely considered as one of the finest historical novelists of the 20th century, Mary Renault brought the ancient world alive, turning age-old myths of gods and monsters into compelling human stories. In The King Must Die and its sequel, The Bull from the Sea, she retells the legend of Theseus, one of the greatest heroes of Ancient Greece.This enthralling radio adaptation comprises both classic books, charting Theseus’ journey as he leaves the city of his birth and travels through mainland Greece in a quest to discover his true identity and destiny. Brought up in Trolzen, where his grandfather is king, he believes he was fathered by the god Poseidon. But on his 17th birthday, the secret of his parentage is revealed, and his adventures begin.Crowned year-king of Eleusis, he escapes certain death and voyages to Athens to meet his father, King Aegeus, and claim his heritage. Instead, he becomes a slave and bull-dancer in Minoan Crete – and finds himself facing the malignant Minotaurus in the Labyrinth deep beneath the Palace of Knossos. Returning to Greece, Theseus becomes High King of Attica, but the Fates are not done with him yet. Ahead of him lie dangerous escapades, life-changing encounters, a treacherous betrayal and the fulfilment of a tragic prophecy...Gary Bond stars as Theseus, with an ensemble cast including Carole Boyd, Frances Jeater, Petra Markham, David March, Clifford Rose, Maureen O’Brien and Sarah Badel.Text copyright © Mary Renault 1958 (The King Must Die), 1962 (The Bull from the Sea)Production creditsWritten by Mary RenaultDramatised by Michael BakewellDirected by David SpenserMusic by Christos PittasCastTheseus – Gary BondPittheus – John WestbrookAithra/Old priestess – Carole BoydTheseus (as a boy) – Ian BuraPeiros I/Man/Telemon – John WebbQueen of Eleusis – Frances JeaterBias/Baron – Steve HodsonKannadls – Nigel GrahamAegeus/Pholilos – Eric AllanPriestess/Woman/Medea – Jean TrendSimo – Stewart WrightAmyntor – Alex JenningsPallans/Kentaur – Spencer BanksKerkyon – David PeartHypsenor/Page – Richard BatesXanthos – John LiveseyPylas – Philip SullyPriestess/Nephele – Fiona WalkerAntiklaea/Chryse/Girl – Pauline SiddleMenesthes – Stuart OrganSkopas/Sirios – David BanksLukos – David GoodersonAriadne – Petra MarkhamAsterion – David MarchPhormion – John BullHippon/Messenger/Page – Richard HuwMelantho – Jane KnowlesAktor – William EedleThebe/Macaria – Sarah FinchHelike – Jill LidstoneRhene/Girl – Pip MayoPylia/Naxian girl/Molpadia/Girl – Moir LeslieThe Corinthian/Pyilenor – Clive PantoThalestris – Elizabeth LindsayMinos – Clifford RoseIros/Page/Charioteer – Trevor BrohierPhaedra – Maureen O’BrienPirithoos – James Kerry/Malcolm StoddardHippolyta – Sarah BadelHippolytos – Susan Sheridan/Christopher GuardAkamas – Piers MaximWith Rosalind Adams, Peter Baldwin, Sean Barrett, James Bryce, Adrian Egan, Vanessa Forsyth, Kerry Francis, Madi Hedd, Richard Hum, Michael Jenner, Esmond Knight, Trevor Martin, David Peart, Margaret Robertson, Howard Samuels, Danny Schiller, Hilda Schroder, Michael Spice, David Timson, Stephen Thorne, Michael Tudor Barnes and Jane WenhamFirst broadcast BBC Radio 4, 5 June-14 August 1983© 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

The King Must Die

The year is 1Q84. This is the real world, there is no doubt about that. But in this world, there are two moons in the sky. Discover the 1Q84 Trilogy by Haruki Murakami.

1Q84

365 Days of Art

A BBC Christmas

A Black Book Thriller

A Box Full of Murders

A Cal Leandros Novel

A Christmas Mystery

The intelligent and capable police commissioner Guido Brunetti confronts crime in and around his home town of Venice.

A Commissario Brunetti Mystery

A DC Smith / Kings Lake Investigation Series

A Daisy Story

Chronicling the lives of over three hundred characters, unrivalled for its scope and humour, this is a unique evocation of life in twentieth-century England.

Filters

Category

Age

Publication Date

Format

Series

Imprint

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter