Here are the greatest and best-loved stories from the Old Testament of the Bible, stories which can be read as much for their human, literary and historical appeal as for their religious meaning. The selection ranges from childhood favourites like David and Goliath, to key moments in Jewish history such as the Exodus, and also includes some of the finest poetry in the Old Testament the Song of Solomon, for example. Until the invention of the printing press and the coming of the Reformation...

Chaucer’s greatest work, written towards the end of the fourteenth century, paints a brilliant picture of medieval life, society, and values. The stories range from the romantic, courtly idealism of The Knight’s Tale to the joyous bawdy of the Miller’s; all are told with a freshness and vigour in this modern verse translation that make them a delight to hear.

‘The heart of the magic was sealed with Firefrost, the Weirdstone of Brisingamen … should Nastrond destroy the stone, then the magic will die away.’ When Colin and Susan are pursued by eerie creatures across Alderley Edge, the Wizard Cadellin Silverbrow takes them to safety deep in the caves of Fundindelve. Here he watches over the enchanted sleep of one hundred and forty knights, awaiting the fated hour when they must rise and fight. But the Weirdstone of Brisingamen is lost and the force...

This varied, well-chosen selection brings onto one CD set the best of Dylan Thomas. Here is the legendary recording of Under Milk Wood, with Richard Burton and Richard Bebb as narrators; but here also are two radio productions he wrote before that great classic, and though interesting in their own right, they show how Under Milk Wood grew gradually in his imagination. Thomas was a charismatic if idiosyncratic performer of his own poetry and stories and here is a representative selection. P...

In this BBC full-cast production of The Tempest, a magical storm washes some sailors up on a peculiar island, changing the course of their lives forever...Raging storms and rich beautiful music combine to magical effect in this production of Shakespeare's allegorical last play, where mystical forces work to restore harmony and order to an estranged community.Staring Philip Madoc as Prospero and Nina Wadia as Ariel....

Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, a collection of narratives written between 1387 and 1400, tells of a group of thirty people from all layers of society who pass the time along their pilgrimage to Canterbury by telling stories to one another, their interaction mediated (at times) by the affable host Chaucer himself. Naxos AudioBooks’ third volume presents the tales of six people, here in an unabridged modern verse translation (by Frank Ernest Hill, (1935)). This is an ideal way to appreciate...

The Canterbury Tales are widely read and studied. The Middle English in which they were first written differs sufficiently from modern English, in vocabulary and usage, that most of us require a contemporary translation. On this recording the ‘General Prologue’ and ‘The Physician’s Tale’ are read in Middle English by Richard Bebb, under the direction of a leading Chaucerian scholar, Professor Derek Brewer. It is an authoritative performance that brilliantly evokes the fourteenth-century wo...

Death, innocence, sacrifice and corruption The Old Curiosity Shop is vintage Dickens. Provoking an unprecedented outpouring of public grief when it was first published, it follows the story of Little Nell and her feckless grandfather. Forced to leave their magical shop of curiosities in London, they are pursued across the English countryside by the grotesquely evil dwarf Quilp. They escape but at what cost? Part tragedy, part allegory, this is Dickens at his most intense; drawing on his ow...

Matthew Rhys introduces this collection of plays, poems and prose by the great Welsh writer, featuring Dylan Thomas reading his own work plus bonus biographical plays based on his life'A spellbinding homage' The Guardian'Sure to satisfy every admirer of Dylan Thomas’ works from the most ardent aficionados to casual poetry lovers... Thomas demonstrates his gift for seeing the beauty in the ordinary and affectionately ribbing the...

Four more delightful tales from one of the most entertaining storytellers of all time. Though writing in the thirteenth century, Chaucer’s wit and observation comes down undiminished through the ages, especially in this accessible modern verse translation. The stories vary considerably from the uproarious Wife of Bath’s Tale, promoting the power of women to the sober account of patient Griselda in the Clerk’s Tale.

BBC Radio dramatisations and readings of the great Welsh writer's worksA novelist, playwright, broadcaster and raconteur, Gwyn Thomas was celebrated as one of Wales’s finest writers in the English language. He wrote countless novels, short stories and plays for stage, radio, and television, and he frequently contributed to Punch magazine. This BBC collection features a selection of his finest works, showcasing his engaging storytelling, dark humour and abi...

Romeo and Juliet is the play which, in English literature at least, effectively invented the modern love story. Its charm and its power derive from the romantic setting (Verona, an Italian Renaissance city), the youthful innocence and ardour of the lovers, and (perhaps crucially) the excitement and drama created by the opposition which they have to contend with, an opposition which does not simply stem from the older generation but which is starkly present in the feud between their two fam...