Showing results by narrator "Nigel Anthony" in All Categories

In Mountolive, the third volume in Durrell's The Alexandria Quartet, the events surrounding the interwoven community of Nessim, Justine, Narouz, Pursewarden, and the other major characters are given a very different perspective. The intrigues and complex relationships are seen through the political prism of a world plunging toward war.

The memo landed on Kim Philby's desk in Washington, DC, in July 1950. Three months later Bruno Pontecorvo, a physicist at Harwell, Britain's atomic energy lab, disappeared without a trace. When he resurfaced six years later, he was on the other side of the Iron Curtain.

The Judds, formerly of London N1, but now scattered, are about to be thrown together again by the shockwaves of their eldest child Juliet's release from prison in New York State. The family is devastated by Juliet's conviction and imprisonment for an art theft, and the nature of this theft and the reasons for it plague all the protagonists.

No great composer’s story is more predominantly happy than Haydn’s, though even his has its share of clouds. A classic rags-to-riches tale, it sees him move from humble beginnings through decades as a liveried servant to his emergence as the most popular and successful composer of his time. One of the healthiest and least neurotic artists in musical history, he did more than any other single figure to pioneer the symphony, the piano sonata and the string quartet - and he was the first truly great practitioner of each.

Roger is a writer of children's books, and all he wants is a quiet life. But when his wife, Julia, has to stay in hospital, Roger has to deal with his own complications: his difficult mother-in-law, her companion, Otto, and pressures from the publisher about the work he may or may not be about to hand in. It should be easy enough for a grown man to cope at home alone, but no one wants to make it simple for him, whether it's battles to get into Julia's visiting hours or temptations Roger never expected to face at his age.

Kitty decides as she gets older that she knows certain things. The trouble is, grown-ups keep treating her like a baby and she is sick of it. So Kitty sets out to prove how much she knows - and gets one or two surprises. This is the sixth book about Kitty from the popular author Bel Mooney.

Raskolnikov, a student in St. Petersburg, murders an old woman, a money-lender, to prove his theory that violence purifies the strong. But no sooner is the deed done than Raskolnikov begins to feel remorse. What follows is one of the greatest psychological studies in world literature.

Antarctica, the ice kingdom hosting the South Pole, looms large in the human imagination. The secrets of this vast frozen desert have long tempted explorers, but its brutal climate and glacial shores notoriously resist human intrusion. Land of Wondrous Cold tells a gripping story of the pioneering 19th-century voyages, when British, French, and American commanders raced to penetrate Antarctica’s glacial rim for unknown lands beyond. These intrepid Victorian explorers laid the foundation for our current understanding of Terra Australis Incognita.

Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts. A descendant of judge John Hathorne, who oversaw the 1692 Salem Witch Trials, he wrote several works inspired by Puritan New England, with themes of guilt, sin and retribution. This collection contains his classic novel, The Scarlet Letter, as well as four other stories.

Novelist, poet and critic Kingsley Amis was one of Britain’s greatest postwar writers. A master of comic fiction, he came to fame in 1954, and won the 1986 Booker Prize for The Old Devils. Included in this collection are dramatisations of seven of his short stories and two novels, all imbued with his characteristic wit and social satire. These are complemented by readings of selected correspondence and an interview with Amis himself.

The only thing Kitty's friends want to do is to watch TV. Dad's busy and Mum has a new baby. What can Kitty do to stop everyone being so boring? Mooney takes this common childhood complaint and creates a touching, warm and insightful story from it.

Easter, as the last snows melt on the Swedish island of Öland, Per Morner is preparing for his children’s visit. But his plans are soon disrupted when he receives a phone call from his estranged father, Jerry, begging him for help. In his blazing woodland studio, Per finds Jerry close to death. He’s been stabbed and two dead bodies have been discovered alongside him in the burnt-out building. The only suspect, Jerry’s work partner, is confirmed dead in the fire. But why does Jerry insist his colleague is still alive?

This exciting adventure gives fascinating insight into the workings of the Roman legal system in a page-turning court room drama. As always, Caroline Lawrence springs new surprises for all the characters and provides motives, means and opportunity for one determined felon. And, as ever, it's up...

William had got a new bike for his birthday, and Kitty wanted one more than anything in the world. 'I wish it was mine - oh, I wish it was mine,' she said to herself, over and over again. In this eighth great book about Kitty, she wishes that her friend's bike was hers, that her brother would go away, that she was pretty and grown up ... and, above all, that wishes come true!

Do you ever say, 'so what!'? Sometimes Kitty doesn't seem to care about anything. Sometimes she is just pretending she doesn't care. Is she bothered about her homework, her baby brother, or her teddy, Mr. Tubs? What do you think? Kitty doesn't like a fuss, but the truth is, she does care about a lot of things and making her friends happy is just one of them.

The 12th Kitty story from best-selling author Bel Mooney.

Julian Barnes's Man Booker Prize-shortlisted novel is based on Arthur Conan Doyle's extraordinary real-life fight for justice. Arthur and George grow up worlds and miles apart in late nineteenth-century Britain: Arthur in shabby-genteel Edinburgh, George in the vicarage of a small Staffordshire village. Arthur becomes a doctor, and then a writer; George a solicitor in Birmingham. Arthur is to become one of the most famous men of his age, George remains in hardworking obscurity.

Nothing could stop Kitty feeling miserable. So miserable, that when Mum went downstairs to make her some hot blackcurrant juice, Kitty turned to cuddle Mr. Tubs and made him all wet with her tears. 'Why me? Why me?' she sobbed. Kitty learns that things do go wrong for her, her family, and her friends, but that it's at times like these that what really matters is having each other and, for Kitty, still being able to make others laugh.

The wonderful history-cum-guide answers these and many other questions about the irreplaceable world of Radio 4. Released to mark the station's 40th anniversary it's essential listening for every devotee.

It's not Kitty's fault when she's late for school and Dad crashed into the gatepost! It's not Kitty's fault that baby Tom crawls into trouble or that she's getting too old to sit on Dad's knee! And it's certainly not Kitty's fault that her boring cousin Melissa can't make friends at school! But for some reason Kitty feels that it is.

A collection of dramas set in South and Central America by acclaimed dramatist Mike Walker. An award-winning dramatist, author and feature writer, Mike Walker has written numerous original dramas for BBC Radio 4, including his epic chronicles Tsar, Caesar!, The Stuarts and Castle of the Hawk. Collected here are five of his gripping dramas from the 1980s and '90s, set around the Amazon rainforest and Nicaragua.