When Mississippi John Hurt (1892-1966) was "rediscovered" by blues revivalists in 1963, his musicianship and recordings transformed popular notions of prewar country blues. At seventy-one he moved to Washington, D.C., from Avalon, Mississippi, and became a live-wire connection to a powerful, authentic past. His intricate and lively style made him the most sought after musician among the many talents the revival brought to light.Mississippi John Hurt provides this legendary...

Winner, Best History, 2012 Association for Recorded Sound Collections Award for Excellence in Historical Recorded Sound ResearchWhen Mississippi John Hurt (1892-1966) was "rediscovered" by blues revivalists in 1963, his musicianship and recordings transformed popular notions of prewar country blues. At seventy-one he moved to Washington, D.C., from Avalon, Mississippi, and became a live-wire connection to a powerful, authentic past. His intricate and lively style m...

Arguably one of Britain's greatest and most versatile actors of the past 50 years, John Hurt was unique in so many ways. His body of work, both eclectic and often brilliant, saw him play characters that few others would attempt, let alone portray on a regular basis.From Quentin Crisp in the groundbreaking The Naked Civil Servant, to John Merrick in The Elephant Man, Hurt also gave stunning performances in classic films such as Midnight Express, Alien

Blake Ritson, David Warner, Hattie Morahan and John Hurt star in this BBC Radio 4 dramatisation of Dante's epic poem.Inferno: Thirty-five year old Dante finds himself in the middle of a dark wood, in extreme personal and spiritual crisis. Hope of rescue appears in the form of the venerable poet Virgil, now a shade himself, who offers to lead Dante on an odyssey through the afterlife, beginning in the terrifying depths of Hell.Purgatorio: Dante is led up Mo...

Paterson Joseph, John Hurt, Lesley Manville and Harriet Walter are among the stellar cast of this landmark BBC Radio 4 dramatisation of Leo Tolstoy’s epic saga.‘Tolstoy’s imagined world is recreated on air brilliantly by the extraordinary cast’ The SpectatorOne of the greatest novels of all time, War and Peace explores historical, social, ethical and religious issues on a scale never before attempted in fiction, and reflects the panorama of life at every level of Russian so...

John Hurt stars in this BBC radio dramatisation of Gustave Flaubert’s infamous tale of adultery and tragedyBeautiful Emma meets and marries Doctor Charles Bovary. He's happy for the first time in his life – but Emma is distraught that her marriage lacks the passion and romance of her fantasies.Dazzled by the splendour of a Marquis’ ball, she longs for excitement and soon becomes infatuated with a young solicitor, Léon Dupuis. But when Dupuis moves away, her...

Twelve dramatisations of the best love stories ever written, performed by star castsTreat 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 Qu...

Full-cast dramatisations of John Fowles' three best-known novels, with star castsJohn Fowles won international acclaim for his innovative, allusive novels The Collector, The Magus and The French Lieutenant's Woman. All were critical and commercial successes, translated into several languages and adapted as feature films. This collection brings together the BBC Radio adaptations of these three modern classics, with stellar casts including J...

Across eons our ancestors evolved to behave in one way. But through recent millennia we humans have been trained to behave in a different way. The disconnect between how we evolved to behave and how we are now trained to behave creates a break within us, a rift. When we feel empty or vulnerable, or just somehow wrong inside, we are feeling that rift. This short book describes how this rift came to humans as a species, how it continues to inform our modern individual lives and emotional sta...

Gripping crime dramas featuring Scotland Yard’s Detective Inspector John ApplebyA double bill of Scottish crime writer Michael Innes’ DI John Appleby novels adapted with a full cast. Written during the golden age of detective fiction, these two gems from the archive are a thrilling listen for any fan of quality detective crime drama.In Appleby**’**s End Appleby of the Yard is played by veteran star of stage and screen,

With more than 450,000 copies in print, When Helping Hurts is a paradigm-forming contemporary classic on the subject of poverty alleviation.Poverty is much more than simply a lack of material resources, and it takes much more than donations and handouts to solve it. When Helping Hurts shows how some alleviation efforts, failing to consider the complexities of poverty, have actually (and unintentionally) done more harm than good.But it look...

A case of mistaken identity gives St. Louis Private Investigator Nudger lumps and bruises. A female doctor about the size of an average linebacker leads him to a crooked alcohol rehabilitation clinic.