- Shakespeare (564)
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Best Sellers
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Hamlet
- A BBC Radio Production
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Michael Sheen, Kenneth Cranham, Juliet Stevenson, and others
- Length: 3 hrs and 28 mins
- Original Recording
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BBC Radio has a unique heritage when it comes to Shakespeare....
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Gripping Version
- By Wordwatcher7 on 09-12-13
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Shakespeare: The Complete Works
- Argo Classics
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Ian McKellen, Derek Jacobi, Diana Rigg, and others
- Length: 98 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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For the first time, the complete works of Shakespeare are available to download as one. This collection includes all 37 plays, four narrative poems and the sonnets....
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Listing for 9 Part Download
- By indigodreamer on 30-01-21
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An Inspector Calls (Classic Radio Theatre)
- By: J. B. Priestley
- Narrated by: Toby Jones, David Calder, Morven Christie
- Length: 1 hr and 27 mins
- Original Recording
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The Birling family are spending a happy evening celebrating the engagement of Sheila Birling to Gerald Croft. But then they receive a surprise visit from an Inspector Goole....
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GCSE text
- By Susan on 24-12-12
By: J. B. Priestley
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The Jane Austen BBC Radio Drama Collection
- Six BBC Radio Full-Cast Dramatisations
- By: Jane Austen
- Narrated by: Julia McKenzie, Benedict Cumberbatch, Juliet Stevenson, and others
- Length: 14 hrs and 27 mins
- Original Recording
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A collection of BBC radio full-cast dramatisations of Jane Austen's six major novels....
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Really good
- By Helen on 24-03-16
By: Jane Austen
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Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, The Secondary Phase Special
- By: Douglas Adams
- Narrated by: Peter Jones, Simon Jones, Geoffrey McGivern, and others
- Length: 3 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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Story
Stranded on Prehistoric Earth since the end of the first series, Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect are once again trying to hitch their way off the planet....
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Science meets philosophy - and laughs
- By Alexander Macallister on 02-02-14
By: Douglas Adams
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Under Milk Wood
- A BBC Radio Full-Cast Production
- By: Dylan Thomas
- Narrated by: Richard Burton
- Length: 1 hr and 41 mins
- Original Recording
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A classic BBC Radio full-cast production of Dylan Thomas' poetic play for voices starring Richard Burton as the narrator....
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Hasn't aged a bit!
- By Stephanie Jane (Literary Flits) on 01-12-13
By: Dylan Thomas
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Hamlet
- A BBC Radio Production
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Michael Sheen, Kenneth Cranham, Juliet Stevenson, and others
- Length: 3 hrs and 28 mins
- Original Recording
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
BBC Radio has a unique heritage when it comes to Shakespeare....
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Gripping Version
- By Wordwatcher7 on 09-12-13
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Shakespeare: The Complete Works
- Argo Classics
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Ian McKellen, Derek Jacobi, Diana Rigg, and others
- Length: 98 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For the first time, the complete works of Shakespeare are available to download as one. This collection includes all 37 plays, four narrative poems and the sonnets....
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Listing for 9 Part Download
- By indigodreamer on 30-01-21
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An Inspector Calls (Classic Radio Theatre)
- By: J. B. Priestley
- Narrated by: Toby Jones, David Calder, Morven Christie
- Length: 1 hr and 27 mins
- Original Recording
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Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Birling family are spending a happy evening celebrating the engagement of Sheila Birling to Gerald Croft. But then they receive a surprise visit from an Inspector Goole....
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GCSE text
- By Susan on 24-12-12
By: J. B. Priestley
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The Jane Austen BBC Radio Drama Collection
- Six BBC Radio Full-Cast Dramatisations
- By: Jane Austen
- Narrated by: Julia McKenzie, Benedict Cumberbatch, Juliet Stevenson, and others
- Length: 14 hrs and 27 mins
- Original Recording
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
A collection of BBC radio full-cast dramatisations of Jane Austen's six major novels....
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Really good
- By Helen on 24-03-16
By: Jane Austen
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Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, The Secondary Phase Special
- By: Douglas Adams
- Narrated by: Peter Jones, Simon Jones, Geoffrey McGivern, and others
- Length: 3 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
-
Story
Stranded on Prehistoric Earth since the end of the first series, Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect are once again trying to hitch their way off the planet....
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Science meets philosophy - and laughs
- By Alexander Macallister on 02-02-14
By: Douglas Adams
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Under Milk Wood
- A BBC Radio Full-Cast Production
- By: Dylan Thomas
- Narrated by: Richard Burton
- Length: 1 hr and 41 mins
- Original Recording
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
A classic BBC Radio full-cast production of Dylan Thomas' poetic play for voices starring Richard Burton as the narrator....
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Hasn't aged a bit!
- By Stephanie Jane (Literary Flits) on 01-12-13
By: Dylan Thomas
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Bel Canto
- By: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Anna Fields
- Length: 11 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Ann Patchett’s award winning, New York Times best-selling Bel Canto balances themes of love and crisis as disparate characters learn that music is their only common language. The author’s lyrical prose and lucid imagination make Bel Canto a captivating story of strength and frailty, love and imprisonment, and an inspiring tale of transcendent romance....
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Incredible. The story, the performance, the characters...
- By Rose on 10-01-21
By: Ann Patchett
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SmartPass Plus Audio Education Study Guide to Macbeth (Unabridged, Dramatised, Commentary Options)
- By: William Shakespeare, Simon Potter
- Narrated by: Full-Cast featuring Joan Walker, Nick Murchie, Coralyn Sheldon
- Length: 7 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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The multi-award-winning SmartPass study guide with and without commentary options....
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Sure Pass with Smartpass
- By JesKimSea on 18-01-13
By: William Shakespeare, and others
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Macbeth
- A BBC Radio Shakespeare Production
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Ken Stott, Phyllis Logan, Full Cast
- Length: 1 hr and 49 mins
- Original Recording
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In this BBC full-cast production, a trio of witches predicts Macbeth's early demise....
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Compelling performances
- By Wordwatcher7 on 07-04-13
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A View from the Bridge
- By: Arthur Miller
- Narrated by: Mary McDonnell, Harry Hamlin, Amy Pietz, and others
- Length: 1 hr and 33 mins
- Original Recording
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Italian-American immigrant life in the 1950’s textures this searing drama of love and revenge. Longshoreman Eddie Carbone is devoted to his wife, Beatrice and to his niece, Catherine....
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Very well acted play, gripping
- By Happy and Smiling on 25-11-16
By: Arthur Miller
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All the Sonnets of Shakespeare
- By: William Shakespeare, Paul Edmondson - editor, Stanley Wells - editor
- Narrated by: Kenneth Branagh, Lolita Chakrabarti
- Length: 4 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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How can we look afresh at Shakespeare as a writer of sonnets? What new light might they shed on his career, personality, and sexuality? Shakespeare wrote sonnets for at least 30 years, not only for himself, for professional reasons, and for those he loved, but also in his plays....
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Supreme narration!
- By Audiophile on 21-09-22
By: William Shakespeare, and others
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The Noel Coward BBC Radio Drama Collection
- Seven BBC Radio Full-cast Productions
- By: Noel Coward
- Narrated by: Alex Jennings, Bill Nighy, Celia Imrie, and others
- Length: 11 hrs and 55 mins
- Original Recording
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Seven BBC radio full-cast productions of Noël Coward’s classic plays – plus bonus material including a profile of Coward and extracts from his diaries....
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No chapter titles!
- By Catherine A. Miller on 26-04-20
By: Noel Coward
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Tom Stoppard: A BBC Radio Collection
- 14 full-cast productions including Arcadia, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead & others
- By: Tom Stoppard
- Narrated by: Rufus Sewell, Bill Nighy, Harriet Walters, and others
- Length: 16 hrs and 45 mins
- Original Recording
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This is the collected BBC radio productions of the internationally renowned playwright Tom Stoppard....
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Ideas and Language
- By Nicolas Dawson on 09-04-21
By: Tom Stoppard
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Harry Clarke
- With Bonus Performance: Lillian
- By: David Cale
- Narrated by: Billy Crudup, David Cale
- Length: 3 hrs and 12 mins
- Original Recording
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A sexually charged and wickedly funny thriller starring Tony Award-winning actor Billy Crudup, Harry Clarke is the story of a shy Midwestern man leading an outrageous double life....
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Won't be everyone's cup of tea
- By Nigel on 25-01-18
By: David Cale
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Romeo and Juliet
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Michael Sheen, Kate Beckinsale, full cast
- Length: 2 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Here is the full-cast production of Shakespeare's classic love story, fully dramatized from the complete text....
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The best so far...
- By Philip on 21-01-08
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SmartPass Plus Audio Education Study Guide to An Inspector Calls (Unabridged, Dramatised, Commentary Options)
- By: Gil Maine, J. B. Priestley
- Narrated by: Full-Cast Drama
- Length: 6 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Combined for great value! The multi award-winning SmartPass study guide with and without commentary options....
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Brilliant study tool
- By Karen Zea on 03-04-15
By: Gil Maine, and others
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BBC Radio Shakespeare: A Collection of Eight Comedies
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Anne-Marie Duff, David Tennant, Full Cast, and others
- Length: 16 hrs and 28 mins
- Original Recording
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A collection of BBC Radio 3's iconic Shakespeare productions: eight comedies with all-star casts including David Tennant, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne-Marie Duff, Martin Jarvis, Siân Phillips and Miriam Margolyes....
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Terence Rattigan: A BBC Radio Drama Collection
- 13 Full-Cast Productions: The Winslow Boy, The Browning Version, The Deep Blue Sea, Separate Tables & More
- By: Terence Rattigan
- Narrated by: Michael Aldridge, John Gielgud, Angela Baddeley, and others
- Length: 20 hrs and 14 mins
- Original Recording
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Presenting 13 of the finest works by the world-renowned playwright, as heard on BBC radio....
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A fine collection
- By Tulayev on 23-04-23
By: Terence Rattigan
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Goethe: A BBC Radio Drama Collection
- Six Full-Cast Dramatisations Including Faust, The Sorrows of Young Werther and More
- By: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
- Narrated by: Simon Callow, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Jack Farthing, and others
- Length: 17 hrs and 5 mins
- Original Recording
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Johann Wolfgang Goethe was a colossus of German literature and a true Renaissance man. A novelist, dramatist, poet, humanist, scientist and philosopher, he wrote the first international bestseller, The Sorrows of Young Werther....
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outstanding
- By Tobi on 07-10-23
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Evelina
- By: Frances Burney
- Narrated by: Dame Judi Dench, Finty Williams, Geoffrey Palmer
- Length: 16 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Fanny Burney’s wickedly funny satire follows the trials and romantic adventures of the young and beautiful Evelina as she tries to make her way through 18th-century Britain....
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stunning
- By Ms. E. K. Hazlewood on 07-04-21
By: Frances Burney
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Between Riverside and Crazy
- By: Stephen Adly Guirgis
- Narrated by: Elisa Bocanegra, John Cothran, Seamus Dever, and others
- Length: 1 hr and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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After his wife’s death, retired cop Walter "Pops" Washington has made a home for his ex-felon son in his sprawling, rent-controlled, Riverside Drive apartment....
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Pressure
- By: David Haig
- Narrated by: Jonathan Cake, Josh Cole, Sarah Drew, and others
- Length: 1 hr and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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A Scottish meteorologist locks horns with his American counterpart as both men try to convince General Dwight D. Eisenhower that they can accurately predict the atmospheric conditions needed to launch the greatest amphibious assault in the history of mankind - the D-Day invasion....
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Very good play
- By Amazon Customer on 01-06-23
By: David Haig
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The Grapes of Wrath
- By: John Steinbeck
- Narrated by: Shirley Knight, Jeffrey Donovan, Emily Bergl, and others
- Length: 1 hr and 58 mins
- Original Recording
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Based on the epic novel by Nobel Laureate John Steinbeck....
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Adaptation of the original work
- By Mden on 17-07-21
By: John Steinbeck
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The Archers
- Ambridge Affairs: Heartache at Home Farm
- By: BBC Audiobooks
- Narrated by: Charles Collingwood, Angela Piper, Caroline Lennon
- Length: 2 hrs and 33 mins
- Original Recording
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Wealthy, philandering gentleman farmer Brian Aldridge embarked on a casual fling with freelance translator Siobhan Hathaway....
By: BBC Audiobooks
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Alan Bennett
- Three Plays
- By: Alan Bennett
- Narrated by: full cast
- Length: 4 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Alan Bennett's three classic BBC Radio full-cast dramas: Kafka's Dick, Forty Years On, and An Englishman Abroad....
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Three first class plays
- By Kirstine on 14-11-07
By: Alan Bennett
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Faust: Parts 1 & 2
- By: Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
- Narrated by: Adriel Brandt
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Faust is a tragic play in two parts that reworks the late medieval myth of a brilliant but disillusioned scholar who makes a deal with the devil. Faust is considered by many to be Goethe's masterpiece and the greatest work of German literature....
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Rainbow Valley
- By: L. M. Montgomery
- Narrated by: Susan Iannucci, Amanda Friday, P. J. Morgan, and others
- Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Rainbow Valley was written in 1919 by L. M. Montgomery for the series that began with Anne of Green Gables....
By: L. M. Montgomery
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Brian Friel: A BBC Radio Drama Collection
- Translations, Faith Healer & More
- By: Brian Friel
- Narrated by: Adrian Dunbar, Samuel Barnett, Dermot Crowley, and others
- Length: 7 hrs and 23 mins
- Original Recording
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Dramatisations and short stories by the award-winning playwright—plus bonus programmes....
By: Brian Friel
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My Lady Ludlow
- By: Elizabeth Gaskell
- Narrated by: Susannah York
- Length: 7 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Lady Ludlow's appalling snobbery, prejudice and bred-in-the-bone conviction as to the superiority of the English aristocracy and their feudal way of life are deliciously tested....
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A lost age
- By Anthony Saville on 26-04-19
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A Doll House
- By: Henrik Ibsen
- Narrated by: Calista Flockhart, Tony Abatemarco, Tim Dekay, and others
- Length: 2 hrs and 10 mins
- Original Recording
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Nora Helmer has everything a young housewife could want: Beautiful children, an adoring husband, and a bright future. But when a carelessly buried secret rises from the past, Nora’s well-calibrated domestic ideal starts to crumble....
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Classic!
- By Zehra on 29-09-19
By: Henrik Ibsen
New Releases
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Uncle Vanya
- By: Anton Chekhov
- Narrated by: Mark Bowen
- Length: 2 hrs
- Unabridged
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Uncle Vanya is a play by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. It was first published in 1897. The play portrays the visit of an elderly professor and his glamorous, much younger second wife, Yelena, to the rural estate that supports their urban lifestyle. Two friends—Vanya, brother of the professor's late first wife, who has long managed the estate, and Astrov, the local doctor—both fall under Yelena's spell while bemoaning the ennui of their provincial existence. Sonya, the professor's daughter by his first wife, who has worked with Vanya to keep the estate going, suffers from her unrequited feelings for Astrov.
By: Anton Chekhov
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Still Roaring
- From Vaudeville to Vintage
- By: Jon Koons
- Narrated by: Lane Bradbury, Bella Ferriera, James Rana, and others
- Length: 2 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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STILL ROARING is a full cast audio presentation, fully dramatized with music and sound effects. Full of nostalgia and humor, it follows the story of Rosylyn DeMarco, a dancer and actress in Vaudeville. When the play begins the time is now. Rosylyn is old— very old. She reminisces with Buddy Jr., the Cable Guy, about the Roaring Twenties and her Vaudeville days. The time switches to then, and a fresh-faced young Rosylyn steps off the bus and into a new life in New York City.
By: Jon Koons
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The Music of Erich Zann
- By: H. P. Lovecraft
- Narrated by: Kenneth Elliot
- Length: 22 mins
- Unabridged
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The Music of Erich Zann is a horror short story by American author H. P. Lovecraft. Written in December 1921, it was first published in National Amateur, March 1922. Due to lack of funds, a university student is forced to take up lodging in an almost empty apartment building on a street named "Rue d'Auseil". One of the few other tenants is an old German man named Erich Zann. The old man is mute and plays the viol[a] with a local theater orchestra. He lives alone on the top floor and at night he plays strange melodies the student has never heard before.
By: H. P. Lovecraft
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The Tragedy of Julius Caesar
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Mark Bowen
- Length: 2 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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The Tragedy of Julius Caesar is a history play and tragedy by William Shakespeare first performed in 1599. It is one of several plays written by Shakespeare based on true events from Roman history, such as Coriolanus and Antony and Cleopatra. Set in Rome in 44 BC, the play depicts the moral dilemma of Brutus as he joins a conspiracy led by Cassius to murder Julius Caesar to prevent him from becoming dictator of Rome. Following Caesar's death, Rome is thrust into a period of civil war, and the republic the conspirators sought to preserve is lost forever.
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Reasons for Waking
- A Novel
- By: Karen Foster
- Narrated by: W. Keith Tims
- Length: 11 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
When reclusive Philip teams with a determined young woman to unravel the tragedy that shattered both their lives, he's forced to confront his estranged family. The lies-and devastating truths-he discovers expose his family's secrets and compel him to face his flawed assumptions. Reasons for Waking is a tale of how secrets and silence can hide the truth that can heal us.
By: Karen Foster
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The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Mark Bowen
- Length: 4 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, often shortened to Hamlet, is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1602. Set in Denmark, the play depicts Prince Hamlet and his revenge against his uncle, Claudius, who has murdered Hamlet's father in order to seize his throne and marry Hamlet's mother.
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Uncle Vanya
- By: Anton Chekhov
- Narrated by: Mark Bowen
- Length: 2 hrs
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Uncle Vanya is a play by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. It was first published in 1897. The play portrays the visit of an elderly professor and his glamorous, much younger second wife, Yelena, to the rural estate that supports their urban lifestyle. Two friends—Vanya, brother of the professor's late first wife, who has long managed the estate, and Astrov, the local doctor—both fall under Yelena's spell while bemoaning the ennui of their provincial existence. Sonya, the professor's daughter by his first wife, who has worked with Vanya to keep the estate going, suffers from her unrequited feelings for Astrov.
By: Anton Chekhov
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Still Roaring
- From Vaudeville to Vintage
- By: Jon Koons
- Narrated by: Lane Bradbury, Bella Ferriera, James Rana, and others
- Length: 2 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
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Performance
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Story
STILL ROARING is a full cast audio presentation, fully dramatized with music and sound effects. Full of nostalgia and humor, it follows the story of Rosylyn DeMarco, a dancer and actress in Vaudeville. When the play begins the time is now. Rosylyn is old— very old. She reminisces with Buddy Jr., the Cable Guy, about the Roaring Twenties and her Vaudeville days. The time switches to then, and a fresh-faced young Rosylyn steps off the bus and into a new life in New York City.
By: Jon Koons
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The Music of Erich Zann
- By: H. P. Lovecraft
- Narrated by: Kenneth Elliot
- Length: 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The Music of Erich Zann is a horror short story by American author H. P. Lovecraft. Written in December 1921, it was first published in National Amateur, March 1922. Due to lack of funds, a university student is forced to take up lodging in an almost empty apartment building on a street named "Rue d'Auseil". One of the few other tenants is an old German man named Erich Zann. The old man is mute and plays the viol[a] with a local theater orchestra. He lives alone on the top floor and at night he plays strange melodies the student has never heard before.
By: H. P. Lovecraft
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The Tragedy of Julius Caesar
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Mark Bowen
- Length: 2 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar is a history play and tragedy by William Shakespeare first performed in 1599. It is one of several plays written by Shakespeare based on true events from Roman history, such as Coriolanus and Antony and Cleopatra. Set in Rome in 44 BC, the play depicts the moral dilemma of Brutus as he joins a conspiracy led by Cassius to murder Julius Caesar to prevent him from becoming dictator of Rome. Following Caesar's death, Rome is thrust into a period of civil war, and the republic the conspirators sought to preserve is lost forever.
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Reasons for Waking
- A Novel
- By: Karen Foster
- Narrated by: W. Keith Tims
- Length: 11 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
-
Story
When reclusive Philip teams with a determined young woman to unravel the tragedy that shattered both their lives, he's forced to confront his estranged family. The lies-and devastating truths-he discovers expose his family's secrets and compel him to face his flawed assumptions. Reasons for Waking is a tale of how secrets and silence can hide the truth that can heal us.
By: Karen Foster
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The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Mark Bowen
- Length: 4 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, often shortened to Hamlet, is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1602. Set in Denmark, the play depicts Prince Hamlet and his revenge against his uncle, Claudius, who has murdered Hamlet's father in order to seize his throne and marry Hamlet's mother.
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The Comedy of Errors
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Kendra Murray, Gary MacFadden, Claudia Anglade, and others
- Length: 1 hr and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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A merchant of Syracuse has twin sons and buys twin servants for them. His wife, with one twin and one servant, is soon separated from him by a shipwreck, and comes to live in Ephesus. When grown, the other son and his slave start out to find their brothers, and the father, some years later, starts out in turn to find them. Once in Ephesus, an amusing series of errors begins.
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Shakespeare's Sonnets
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: NM Few
- Length: 2 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Shakespeare's sonnets have long been considered some of the greatest poetry ever written. It’s hard to find someone who hasn’t heard the phrase, “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?" Marvel at the use of syllables, or simply sit back and enjoy all Shakespeare’s sonnets in one handy volume.
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Much Ado About Nothing
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Dara Brown, Emma Faye, Linda Barrans, and others
- Length: 2 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Much Ado About Nothing appears to have been written about 1599, shortly before As You Like It and Twelfth Night. The action combines two narrative threads: the spirited comedy of the courtship of Benedick and Beatrice, and the somber tale of confused love between Hero and Claudio. The first is a creation by Shakespeare and the second appears to have been drawn from an Italian source, either by Bandello or Ariosto. The action takes place in Messina. Eponymous lovers Hero and Claudio seem to be ideally matched and nearly everyone is looking forward to their impending marriage.
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The Theogony
- By: Hesiod
- Narrated by: Peter Coates
- Length: 1 hr and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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The Theogony "the genealogy or birth of the gods" is a poem by Hesiod (8th – 7th century BC) describing the origins and genealogies of the Greek gods, composed c. 730–700 BC. It is written in the Epic dialect of Ancient Greek and contains 1022 lines. Hesiod's Theogony is a large-scale synthesis of a vast variety of local Greek traditions concerning the gods, organized as a narrative that tells how they came to be and how they established permanent control over the cosmos. It is the first known Greek mythical cosmogony.
By: Hesiod
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Agamemnon
- By: Aeschylus
- Narrated by: Mark Brown
- Length: 2 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Agamemnon is the first of the three linked tragedies which make up The Oresteia trilogy by the ancient Greek playwright Aeschylus. Trilogy as a whole, originally performed at the annual Dionysia festival in Athens in 458 BCE, where it won first prize, is considered to be Aeschylus' last authenticated, and also his greatest, work. Agamemnon describes the homecoming of Agamemnon, king of Argos, from the Trojan War, and his return to his wife, Clytemnestra, who had been planning his murder (in concert with her lover, Aegisthus) as revenge for Agamemnon's earlier sacrifice of their daughter, Iphigenia.
By: Aeschylus
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The Odes of Anacreon
- By: Anacreon, Thomas Moore - translator
- Narrated by: Mark Bowen
- Length: 1 hr and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Anacreon (582 BCE–485 BCE) was a Greek lyric poet born in Teos, an Ionian city on the coast of Asia Minor. He likely moved to Thrace in 545 BCE with others from his city when it was attacked by Persians. He then moved to Samos, to Athens, and possibly again to Thessaly, seeking a safe place to write his poems as his patrons (including Polycrates, tyrant of Samos, and Hipparchus, brother of Athenian tyrant Hippias) kept being murdered. It is unknown where Anacreon died, though he lived to the unusually advanced age of 85.
By: Anacreon, and others
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The Choephori
- By: Aeschylus
- Narrated by: Mark Bowen
- Length: 1 hr and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Produced in 458 BC, Aeschylus' Choephori is the second play in the Oresteian trilogy. The bloodshed begun in the first play with the murder of Agamemnon by his wife Clytemnestra is here continued when Agamemnon's son Orestes avenges his father's death by killing Clytemnestra. It is not until the third and final play, Eumenides, that peace is restored to the family of the Atreidae. The introduction discusses the pre-Aeschylean 'Orestes' tradition in literature and art, as well as the place of Choephori within the Oresteia.
By: Aeschylus
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A Midsummer Night's Dream
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: David Miles
- Length: 1 hr and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Сomedy A Midsummer's Night Dream is a wonderful piece of work written by a genius English playwright William Shakespeare. Three very amusing stories tightly connected with each other fascinate the reader with a numerous love adventures. The reason for that is a potion of a forest spirit Puck. William Shakespeare is the author of the world famous sonnets and plays Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Macbeth and Othello, as well as comedies Twelfth Night, A Midsummer's Night Dream, Love's Labour's Lost, The Merry Wives of Windsor, The Two Gentlemen of Verona and As You Like It.
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Troilus and Cressida
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Mark Bowen
- Length: 3 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Troilus and Cressida is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1602. It was described by Frederick S. Boas as one of Shakespeare's problem plays. The play ends on a very bleak note with the death of the noble Trojan Hector and destruction of the love between Troilus and Cressida. The work has in recent years "stimulated exceptionally lively critical debate". Throughout the play, the tone lurches wildly between bawdy comedy and tragic gloom, and readers and theatre-goers have frequently found it difficult to understand how one is meant to respond to the characters.
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The Tragedy of King Lear
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Mark Bowen
- Length: 3 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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King Lear is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It tells the tale of a king who bequeaths his power and land to two of his three daughters, after they declare their love for him in an extremely fawning and obsequious manner. His third daughter gets nothing, because she will not flatter him as her sisters had done. When he feels disrespected by the two daughters who now have his wealth and power, he becomes furious to the point of madness. He eventually becomes tenderly reconciled to his third daughter, just before tragedy strikes her and then the king.
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Antigone
- By: Sophocles
- Narrated by: Mark Bowen
- Length: 1 hr and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Antigone by Sophocles, is a classic Greek tragedy that unfolds against the backdrop of Thebes. The play delves into the profound ethical and moral dilemmas faced by its characters, with Antigone at the center of a conflict between personal convictions and civic duty. The narrative begins with the aftermath of a brutal war, where two brothers, Eteocles and Polynices, have fallen on opposing sides. Antigone, their sister, defies the king's decree and buries Polynices, setting the stage for a clash between divine law and human authority.
By: Sophocles
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Romeo and Juliet
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: David Miles
- Length: 2 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately reconcile their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime and along with Hamlet, is one of his most frequently performed plays. Today, the title characters are regarded as archetypal young lovers. Romeo and Juliet had a profound influence on subsequent literature. Before then, romance had not even been viewed as a worthy topic for tragedy.