The story of Tess Durbeyfield, the most tragic of Thomas Hardy's heroines. Adapted by Alan Sharp for BBC Radio 4.John Durbeyfield (Keith Barron) learns that he is descended from the aristocratic Norman family of d'Urbervilles. He encourages his daughter, Tess (Claire Rushbrook), to befriend the family of Stoke d'Urbervilles where she meets Alec d'Urberville (Adam Godley).Tess is ultimately seduced by Alec and the effects of...

Can Roger keep his home and life together while his wife is in hospital?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 i...

In recent years, political discourse about gun control and the Second Amendment has become increasingly volatile and this collection of original essays by top scholars illuminates the various reasons why. Gun lobbies such as the National Rifle Association are more organized and aggressive and their issue agenda has evolved as new and more powerful weapons and militia appear. On the other side of the debate, the critical wounding of James Brady gave gun control advocates a visible martyr wi...

The collected BBC adaptations of Nicolas Freeling's bestselling thrillers - plus bonus documentaryAcclaimed as 'the most thoroughly European of British crime writers' (The Guardian), Nicolas Freeling was well known for his novels featuring Dutch sleuth Van der Valk and French policeman Henri Castang. Included in this collection are six stories showcasing both detectives, as well as a bonus programme exploring Van der Valk and his creator.

Penelope Keith stars in the much-loved sitcom about an aristocrat forced to part with her family homeWhen her husband's death leaves her financially strapped, Audrey fforbes-Hamilton has no choice but to sell her beloved Grantleigh Estate. With butler Brabinger in tow, she decamps to the tiny Old Lodge cottage, where she keeps a close - and disapproving - eye on the new squire: the nouveau riche Richard DeVere, a wholesale food magnate of Czech descent.In t...

A bold new dramatisation of Thomas Hardy's classic, in which his famous heroine evolves from a 'ruined maid' into a doomed but dignified woman in love.When Tess Durbeyfield's father discovers that their family is descended from the aristocratic Stoke-D'Urbervilles, he insists that Tess visits them to 'claim kinship'. Arriving at the great house, she is given a job by the D'Urbervillles' son, Alec, who is attracted by her innocence and beauty and at...

Five BBC Radio 4 full-cast crime dramas featuring DI Charlie Resnick'John Harvey is one of the all-time greats and remains one of my favourite writers.' - Ian RankinJazz-loving policeman Charlie Resnick is one of the most popular characters in contemporary crime fiction. This thrilling collection brings together three dramatisations and two original radio stories starring the Nottingham-based detective, all scripted by his creator,...

From #1 New York Times bestselling, Hugo Award–winning author Brandon Sanderson, and co-author Dan Wells, comes DARK ONE: FORGOTTEN, a true-crime fantasy audio series and the first entry in Brandon Sanderson’s new DARK ONE fantasy saga.Every year in the United States there are fifteen thousand murders, give or take a few hundred. Of those, nearly forty percent go unsolved.In this six-part audio series, Christina Walsh is determined to change that. After struggling with the ...

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast production of one of the earliest plays by Alan BennettThe 1970s are a time of change, but Labour MP George Oliver feels stuck in one place: distrusting the ‘mawkish mentality’ of the young and fearing the encroaching life of the middle-aged, with little to look forward to but the imminent end of a not-very-interesting road.Ten years into his second marriage, he is world-weary and dissatisfied with his social position and the public he deals with on ...

From legendary comedian D.L. Hughley comes a bitingly funny send-up of the Obama years, as “told” by the key political players on both sides of the aisle.What do the Clintons, Republicans, fellow Democrats, and Obama’s own family really think of President Barack Obama? Finally, the truth is revealed in this raucously funny “oral history” parody.There is no more astute—and hilarious—critic of politics, entertainment, and race in America than D. L. Hughley, famed comedian, ra...