A comprehensive and practical guide to the ancient oracle based on the runic alphabet of the Norse• Reveals the symbolism and divinatory significance of the 24 rune "staves"• Provides clear instructions on how to craft your own rune stones• Explains the role of runes in the Norse wisdom tradition and its influence on such works as Tolkien's Lord of the RingsNordic runes are a potent and profoundly transformative magic system that gives contemporary ...

Meet Rhys. The young man who lives in Din Lligwy, Wales, in the time that the expansion of the Roman Empire is extending to the British Isles.Rhys just wants to be a Druid, and happily married to Keyna, the girl he had his eye on for a long time.The Roman invasion of England doesn't pass Wales by, and that's the start of a very strange journey for Rhys. Suddenly he finds himself in places and times he could never have dreamt of, while the big question is: how can he get hom...

Paul Rhys, Miranda Richardson and Carl Prekopp star in this major six-part BBC Radio Classic Serial based on the writings of Mervyn Peake and Maeve Gilmore.The life and times of Titus Groan, 77th Earl of Gormenghast - a vast stronghold of crumbling masonry steeped in immemorial ritual and inhabited by an extraordinary cavalcade of characters including the kitchen boy, Steerpike, who ruthlessly rises to the upper echelons of dynasti...

In 1972, two seconds were added to time. It was in order to balance clock time with the movement of the earth. Byron Hemming knew this because James Lowe had told him and James was the cleverest boy at school. But how could time change? The steady movement of hands around a clock was as certain as their golden futures.Then Byron’s mother, late for the school run, makes a devastating mistake. Byron’s perfect world is shattered. Were those two extra seconds to blame? Can what follows...

Lighthouse keepers Howell and Griffith are posted to 6 weeks on the Smalls - a desolate rock 20 miles off the Pembrokeshire coast. But the two men share a past, and because of what happens next, lighthouses would never again have only a crew of two. Based on a true story. Written by Alan Harris, and starring Paul Rhys as Howell and Ifan Huw Dafydd as Griffith. Directed by James Robinson.

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation by Michael Butt about the death of the poet and playwright Christopher Marlowe, originally broadcast in the ‘Afternoon Play’ slot on 17 August 2010. In May 1593, the playwright Christopher Marlowe was killed. Apparently, it was because of an argument over a bill. Michael Butt's innovative drama dons the cloak of documentary to re-examine the unsolved case. Starring Paul Rhys as the narrator, Blake Ritson as Thomas Walsingham, Harry Lloyd as Thomas Kyd ...

BBC radio productions of Dostoevsky's masterpieces, plus selected shorter fiction and bonus programmes exploring his life and workOne of the most important and influential Russian writers of the 19th Century, Fyodor Dostoevsky is admired worldwide for his great realist novels, exploring questions of morality, philosophy and the nature of existence. This compilation contains the BBC radio productions of his four most famous novels - as well as three lesser-known wor...

This is the poignant and compelling story of perhaps the most naturally gifted musical genius of all time. Copiously illustrated with examples of his music, it tells of Mozart’s extraordinary childhood travelling the courts of Europe, and of how, after a brief period of fame in Vienna, his fortunes declined until his early death and last resting-place in a pauper’s grave. More than 70 excerpts from the symphonies, operas, concertos and chamber music of Mozart.

In a sensational follow-up to Echoes of Sherlock Holmes and In the Company of Sherlock Holmes, a brand-new anthology of stories inspired by the Arthur Conan Doyle canonFor the Sake of the Game is the latest volume in the award-winning series from New York Times bestselling editors Laurie R. King and Leslie S. Klinger, with stories of Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson, and friends in a variety of eras and forms. King and Klinger have a simple formula: a...

Julius Caesar is Shakespeare’s most political play. He examines whether political assassination can ever be justified, and the effect of this act of violence on its perpetrators. The high ideals of Brutus are tested to the full by the consequences of Julius Caesar’s murder; as is the self-interest of Cassius, whilst in the chaos that ensues, the opportunism of Mark Antony and Octavius is served rather than the cause of freedom. A classic study of power, Shakespeare shows the devastating ef...

A BBC Radio collection bringing together much-loved works by Alexandre Dumas and Alexandre Dumas fils, starring Timothy Spall, Anton Lesser, Iain Glen, Ruth Wilson and Dan Stevens.Alexandre Dumas père and fils are among the most popular and widely read authors in French literature, whose works have been adapted numerous times for stage, screen and radio. This BBC radio collection brings together three of their most famous tales of chivalr...

Full-cast dramatisations of seven of Ruth Rendell's tense psychological thrillers.This collection includes:Tracks 1-2 - The Bridesmaid: A beautiful stone statue and her living double lead Philip into a nightmare of obsession and murder.Tracks 3-4 - Going Wrong: Besotted with his childhood sweetheart, Leonora, psychopathic Guy Curran will do anything to make her his.Tracks 5 - 8 King Solomon’s Carpet