Listen free for 30 days
-
The Cazalets
- The Epic Full-Cast BBC Radio Dramatisation
- Narrated by: Penelope Wilton, Full Cast
- Length: 12 hrs and 29 mins
- Radio/TV Programme
- Categories: Literature & Fiction
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Listen with a free trial
Buy Now for £23.99
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Forsytes: The Complete Series
- BBC Radio 4 Full-Cast Dramatisation
- By: John Galsworthy
- Narrated by: full cast, Jessica Raine, Joseph Millson, and others
- Length: 15 hrs
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jessica Raine stars in all four BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisations of John Galsworthy's Forsyte novels. An irresistible family saga of love, money and betrayal, The Forsytes: The Complete Series encompasses four acclaimed BBC Radio 4 productions of Galsworthy's perennially popular epic, spanning 50 years from 1886 to 1936.
-
-
Fantastic
- By Miss Monica Rygh on 29-03-18
-
The Light Years
- Cazalet Chronicle, Volume 1
- By: Elizabeth Jane Howard
- Narrated by: Jill Balcon
- Length: 16 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The tangled lives of three generations evoke a vanished world in this, the first volume of the Cazalet Chronicle. Home Place, Sussex, 1937. The English family at home.... For two unforgettable summers they gathered together, safe from the advancing storm clouds of war. In the heart of the Sussex countryside these were still sunlit days of childish games, lavish family meals and picnics on the beach.
-
-
A snapshot of pre-WW2 upper middle class life
- By Knucklebones on 09-01-12
-
Barbara Pym: A BBC Radio Drama Collection
- Some Tame Gazelle, No Fond Return of Love, Crampton Hodnet & More
- By: Barbara Pym
- Narrated by: Miriam Margolyes, Hannah Gordon, Samantha Bond, and others
- Length: 16 hrs and 33 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Barbara Pym is one of the 20th-century's wittiest, and most underrated, novelists. Her perceptive comedies of manners, centred around the domestic lives and loves of unassuming middle-class Englishwomen, won her many devoted readers and saw her hailed as a modern-day Jane Austen. Yet she spent 15 years out of print in the 1960s and '70s, until Philip Larkin championed her work in the Times Literary Supplement. Her seventh novel was subsequently shortlisted for the Booker Prize, and writers from Jilly Cooper to Alexander McCall Smith continue to laud her talent today.
-
-
Hilarious!
- By Giles on 24-04-22
-
The Pallisers
- 12 BBC Radio 4 Full Cast Dramatisations
- By: Anthony Trollope
- Narrated by: Ben Miles, David Troughton, full cast, and others
- Length: 11 hrs and 21 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A sweeping radio saga of political intrigue, love affairs, financial wrangles and murder, based on the books by Anthony Trollope, creator of The Barchester Chronicles. This epic drama follows several generations of the Palliser dynasty as they navigate the twists and turns of political and high society in Victorian England. Starring Ben Miles as Plantagenet, Sophie Thompson as Glencora, Conleth Hill as Phineas and David Troughton as the Narrator, with a star cast including Bertie Carvel, Juliet Stevenson, Greg Wise and Rachael Stirling.
-
-
delightfully told tale
- By Kazasid on 19-11-19
-
Fortunes of War
- A BBC Radio 4 Full Cast Dramatisation of the Complete Balkan Trilogy
- By: Olivia Manning
- Narrated by: Joanna Lumley, Honeysuckle Weeks, James Fleet, and others
- Length: 5 hrs and 38 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
1939, and naïve young newlywed Harriet Pringle arrives in Bucharest with her husband, Guy - just as Europe is about to rip itself apart. She believes she knows everything about the man she has married, but soon realises she knows nothing. Guy is oblivious to her needs and desires, seeming only to care about his job as a university lecturer, his friends and the beautiful, voluptuous Sophie. Struggling to build a life in a strange city, in the face of imminent invasion, Harriet feels bereft - and increasingly isolated.
-
-
Waste of money
- By Christineb on 25-04-22
-
The Raj Quartet: The Jewel in the Crown, The Day of the Scorpion, The Towers of Silence & A Division of the Spoils
- A BBC Radio 4 Full-Cast Dramatisation
- By: Paul Scott
- Narrated by: Mark Bazeley, Anna Maxwell Martin, Benedict Cumberbatch, and others
- Length: 8 hrs and 32 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As The Jewel in the Crown opens, World War II is at its height, and Gandhi is calling for the British to leave. When Daphne Manners arrives in Mayapore, she meets two men who will change her life: Hari Kumar and Ronald Merrick. She begins to fall for Hari, but Ronald Merrick - the local police superintendent - becomes infatuated with her and seethes with hatred for Hari. The Day of the Scorpion finds Merrick worming his way into the Layton family, and his treatment of Hari Kumar is revealed.
-
-
EXCELLENT PRODUCTION
- By Highlight on 18-05-19
-
The Forsytes: The Complete Series
- BBC Radio 4 Full-Cast Dramatisation
- By: John Galsworthy
- Narrated by: full cast, Jessica Raine, Joseph Millson, and others
- Length: 15 hrs
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jessica Raine stars in all four BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisations of John Galsworthy's Forsyte novels. An irresistible family saga of love, money and betrayal, The Forsytes: The Complete Series encompasses four acclaimed BBC Radio 4 productions of Galsworthy's perennially popular epic, spanning 50 years from 1886 to 1936.
-
-
Fantastic
- By Miss Monica Rygh on 29-03-18
-
The Light Years
- Cazalet Chronicle, Volume 1
- By: Elizabeth Jane Howard
- Narrated by: Jill Balcon
- Length: 16 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The tangled lives of three generations evoke a vanished world in this, the first volume of the Cazalet Chronicle. Home Place, Sussex, 1937. The English family at home.... For two unforgettable summers they gathered together, safe from the advancing storm clouds of war. In the heart of the Sussex countryside these were still sunlit days of childish games, lavish family meals and picnics on the beach.
-
-
A snapshot of pre-WW2 upper middle class life
- By Knucklebones on 09-01-12
-
Barbara Pym: A BBC Radio Drama Collection
- Some Tame Gazelle, No Fond Return of Love, Crampton Hodnet & More
- By: Barbara Pym
- Narrated by: Miriam Margolyes, Hannah Gordon, Samantha Bond, and others
- Length: 16 hrs and 33 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Barbara Pym is one of the 20th-century's wittiest, and most underrated, novelists. Her perceptive comedies of manners, centred around the domestic lives and loves of unassuming middle-class Englishwomen, won her many devoted readers and saw her hailed as a modern-day Jane Austen. Yet she spent 15 years out of print in the 1960s and '70s, until Philip Larkin championed her work in the Times Literary Supplement. Her seventh novel was subsequently shortlisted for the Booker Prize, and writers from Jilly Cooper to Alexander McCall Smith continue to laud her talent today.
-
-
Hilarious!
- By Giles on 24-04-22
-
The Pallisers
- 12 BBC Radio 4 Full Cast Dramatisations
- By: Anthony Trollope
- Narrated by: Ben Miles, David Troughton, full cast, and others
- Length: 11 hrs and 21 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A sweeping radio saga of political intrigue, love affairs, financial wrangles and murder, based on the books by Anthony Trollope, creator of The Barchester Chronicles. This epic drama follows several generations of the Palliser dynasty as they navigate the twists and turns of political and high society in Victorian England. Starring Ben Miles as Plantagenet, Sophie Thompson as Glencora, Conleth Hill as Phineas and David Troughton as the Narrator, with a star cast including Bertie Carvel, Juliet Stevenson, Greg Wise and Rachael Stirling.
-
-
delightfully told tale
- By Kazasid on 19-11-19
-
Fortunes of War
- A BBC Radio 4 Full Cast Dramatisation of the Complete Balkan Trilogy
- By: Olivia Manning
- Narrated by: Joanna Lumley, Honeysuckle Weeks, James Fleet, and others
- Length: 5 hrs and 38 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
1939, and naïve young newlywed Harriet Pringle arrives in Bucharest with her husband, Guy - just as Europe is about to rip itself apart. She believes she knows everything about the man she has married, but soon realises she knows nothing. Guy is oblivious to her needs and desires, seeming only to care about his job as a university lecturer, his friends and the beautiful, voluptuous Sophie. Struggling to build a life in a strange city, in the face of imminent invasion, Harriet feels bereft - and increasingly isolated.
-
-
Waste of money
- By Christineb on 25-04-22
-
The Raj Quartet: The Jewel in the Crown, The Day of the Scorpion, The Towers of Silence & A Division of the Spoils
- A BBC Radio 4 Full-Cast Dramatisation
- By: Paul Scott
- Narrated by: Mark Bazeley, Anna Maxwell Martin, Benedict Cumberbatch, and others
- Length: 8 hrs and 32 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As The Jewel in the Crown opens, World War II is at its height, and Gandhi is calling for the British to leave. When Daphne Manners arrives in Mayapore, she meets two men who will change her life: Hari Kumar and Ronald Merrick. She begins to fall for Hari, but Ronald Merrick - the local police superintendent - becomes infatuated with her and seethes with hatred for Hari. The Day of the Scorpion finds Merrick worming his way into the Layton family, and his treatment of Hari Kumar is revealed.
-
-
EXCELLENT PRODUCTION
- By Highlight on 18-05-19
-
The Camomile Lawn
- By: Mary Wesley
- Narrated by: Carole Boyd
- Length: 9 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Summer 1939 and five cousins gather at the house with the camomile lawn for what, for many of them, will be the last summer of their youth.
-
-
WTF
- By Jennifer Chennell on 30-06-20
-
The Whalebone Theatre
- By: Joanna Quinn
- Narrated by: Olivia Vinall
- Length: 18 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Cristabel Seagrave has always wanted her life to be a story, but there are no girls in the books in her dusty family library. For an unwanted orphan who grows into an unmarriageable young woman, there is no place at all for her in a traditional English manor. But from the day that a whale washes up on the beach at the Chilcombe estate in Dorset, and 12-year-old Cristabel plants her flag and claims it as her own, she is determined to do things differently.
-
-
So glad i took a chance on this one!
- By joanna on 10-06-22
-
Will She Do?
- Act One of a Life on Stage
- By: Eileen Atkins
- Narrated by: Eileen Atkins
- Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Will She Do? is the story of a girl from a council estate in Tottenham, born in 1934 to an electric-meter reader and a seamstress, who was determined to be an actress. Candid and witty, this memoir takes her from her awkward performances in working-men's clubs at six years of age as dancing 'Baby Eileen', through the war years in London, to her breakthrough at 32 on Broadway with The Killing of Sister George, for which she received the first of five Tony Award nominations.
-
-
Amazing
- By D. Baker on 11-10-21
-
Shardlake: The Complete BBC Radio Collection
- Six BBC Radio 4 Full-Cast Dramatisations
- By: CJ Sansom
- Narrated by: full cast, Jason Watkins, Justin Salinger, and others
- Length: 13 hrs and 32 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The complete collected dramatisations of C. J. Sansom's historical mystery series: Set during the reign of Henry VIII, these six stunning dramas follow the adventures of hunchbacked lawyer-detective Matthew Shardlake as he navigates the dangerous world of Tudor England, solving crimes and seeking out murderers.
-
-
Shardlake
- By Lee on 20-03-22
-
French Braid
- By: Anne Tyler
- Narrated by: Kimberly Farr
- Length: 9 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When the kids are grown and Mercy Garrett gradually moves herself out of the family home, everyone determines not to notice. Over at her studio, she wants space and silence. She won't allow any family clutter. Not even their cat, Desmond. Yet it is a clutter of untidy moments that forms the Garretts' family life over the decades, from giving a child a ride to a painstaking Easter lunch, a fateful train journey to an unexpected homecoming. And it all begins in 1959, with a family holiday to a cabin by a lake.
-
-
Wonderful!
- By Nina S Bailey on 27-03-22
-
Lessons in Chemistry
- By: Bonnie Garmus
- Narrated by: Miranda Raison
- Length: 11 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing. But it's the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute take a very unscientific view of equality. Except for one: Calvin Evans; the lonely, brilliant Nobel-prize-nominated grudge-holder who falls in love with—of all things—her mind. True chemistry results.
-
-
I laughed and cried. A masterpiece.
- By Nicola on 21-04-22
-
All Change
- By: Elizabeth Jane Howard
- Narrated by: Penelope Wilton
- Length: 15 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The final book in the landmark Cazalet Chronicles, recently broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It is the 1950s and as the Cazalets' beloved matriarch, the Duchy, passes away, she takes with her the last remnants of a world - of great houses and servants, of class and tradition - in which the Cazalets have thrived. Louise, now divorced, becomes entangled in a painful affair; while Polly and Clary must balance marriage and motherhood with their own ideas and ambitions.
-
-
Unfortunately disappointing
- By mcchloe on 06-08-14
-
Something in Disguise
- By: Elizabeth Jane Howard
- Narrated by: Eleanor Bron
- Length: 9 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
May's second marriage to Colonel Herbert Brown-Lacey is turning out to be a terrible mistake. Her children find the Colonel's presence oppressive.
-
-
Not to be missed....
- By SEA, Charente on 05-01-15
-
Marking Time
- By: Elizabeth Jane Howard
- Narrated by: Jill Balcon
- Length: 18 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At Home Place, the windows are blacked out and food is becoming scarce as a new generation of Cazalets takes up the story. Louise dreams of being a great actress, Clary is an aspiring writer, while Polly, is burdened with knowledge and the need to share it. This is the sequel to "The Light Years".
-
-
The Cazalet Chronicles
- By Diana on 09-02-12
-
Odd Girl Out
- By: Elizabeth Jane Howard
- Narrated by: Eleanor Bron
- Length: 9 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Anne and Edmund Cornhill have a happy marriage and a charming house. They are content, complete, absorbed in their private idyll. Arabella, who comes to stay one lazy summer, is rich, rootless and amoral - and, as they find out, beautiful and loving.With her elegant prose the author traces the web of love and desire that entangles these three; but it is Arabella who finally loses out.
-
-
Shallow and dated
- By Trixie on 10-03-17
-
The Long View
- By: Elizabeth Jane Howard
- Narrated by: Mary Wimbush
- Length: 14 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Long View is a portrait of a contemporary marriage which gives a real view of the shifting relationship between two people. The author's other novels include Cazalet Chronicle, The Light Years and The Sea Of Change.
-
-
Fascinating and superb story telling
- By H. F. Warner on 05-04-15
-
The Forsyte Saga
- 4 Full Cast BBC Radio Dramatisations
- By: John Galsworthy
- Narrated by: full cast, Dirk Bogarde, Diana Quick, and others
- Length: 21 hrs and 45 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
First broadcast in 1990, this monumental adaptation of John Galsworthy's Nobel Prize-winning novel series was a radio event. It was the most expensive drama serial ever produced, featured one of the biggest, most star-studded casts and dominated the Radio 4 schedules for more than five months, attracting more than a million listeners each week. Comprising all nine books in Galsworthy's Forsyte Chronicles, it spans 50 years - from 1886 to 1936 - and tells the irresistible story of an upper-class dynasty torn apart by a terrible feud.
-
-
Excellent - Listened Several Times
- By Highlight on 07-04-22
Summary
Penelope Wilton narrates BBC Radio 4’s epic dramatisation of the treasured family saga, Elizabeth Jane Howard’s five book chronicle of the upper-middle class. Cazalet family begins in 1938, as siblings Hugh, Edward, Rupert, and Rachel join together for another family holiday at Home Place, their house in the Sussex countryside.
During the course of The Light Years, Marking Time, Confusion, Casting Off, and All Change, the progress of their lives, and those of their children, will be charted. As their stories unfolds we gain a vivid insight into the lives, hopes, and loves of three generations during the Second Word War and beyond.
Dramatised by Sarah Daniels and Lin Coghlan, and with a large cast of actors across all five books, this remarkable radio event adds a new dimension to Elizabeth Jane Howard’s extraordinary chronicles. The first four Cazalet novels sold over a million copies, with the fifth being published in 2013, shortly before the author’s death.
What listeners say about The Cazalets
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- sarah
- 22-07-15
Lose yourself in this epic family saga
What made the experience of listening to The Cazalets the most enjoyable?
The story, it's always all about the story telling
Who was your favorite character and why?
Rachel, lovable and believable
What does Penelope Wilton and Full Cast bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?
Listening while on holiday so lying on a beach was transported into their world
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
No, too long for that !
14 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- blueannacee
- 06-12-15
Like snuggling up with a duvet and a box of chocs
What made the experience of listening to The Cazalets the most enjoyable?
Penelope Wilton's beautiful narration and the perfect dramatisation.
What was one of the most memorable moments of The Cazalets?
Sid's fight against cancer.
Have you listened to any of Penelope Wilton and Full Cast ’s other performances? How does this one compare?
No not yet but I am looking forward to listening.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
Numerous moments moved me. Although my hanky was used many times for sad bits, there is a lovely sense of hope throughout.
Any additional comments?
The Cazalets books are one of my favourite reads and this dramatisation is just wonderful.
10 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Lucy P
- 30-06-17
I couldn't stop listening!
I bought this after listening to a few chapters on the BBC radio app. It was amazing - it's set in the past but had timeless themes - love, adultery, family loyalty and teenagers trying to find their way. Absorbing, and hugely enjoyable. I wish that the story could carry on.
8 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jordan Dreamcoat
- 08-09-17
Pure Class!
Just wonderful, a great series of novels expertly dramatised by the BBC. Highly recommended! 5 Stars!!
7 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Pamela
- 06-02-17
Brilliant story, so well told.
A woman's book, in my opinion, and I wish there were more like it. This is a many-faceted saga about the Cazalet family which I found totally compelling. The most intimate thoughts of every character are revealed; their reactions to the many problems that arise, their relationships, all are described with understanding and compassion. What obviously concerns this writer is how vulnerable people are exploited and even abused by the ruthless and selfish partners they often attract. This is a keeper!
7 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jamickle
- 17-08-17
Family Saga.
Had not heard of the books before purchase and listened through numerous listenings mostly bedtime. Enjoyable .Narration by Penelope Wilton very much in keeping with the piece. I found it flowed well even with the stops and starts. I am now interested in listening to the individual books .
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- FB
- 18-07-17
FrighTfully wonderful!
I loved listening to this drama. It was stylish and the voices were easily distinguishable from one another. There was a big cast and so it was very professionally done without the same actor taking more than one part which is sometimes the case in lesser dramas.
I'm only sad it's over as I shall miss the characters so much. Really a great listen. Don't hesitate you will love it. Thank you BBC.
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Miss Rose Edwards
- 12-11-16
A joy
I have read the Cazalet Chronicles so many times that the characters are like old friends. The adaptation is so beautifully abridged and acted that I think I will always hear these voices when I next return to the books.
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Karen norman
- 17-04-16
Brilliant
I didn't want this to end. I would like to know what happens next. I felt bereft when it ended. I loved every character played, even if I disliked the portrayed character traits. I wish there was more.
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Highlight
- 14-08-20
Master Piece of Literature Perfectly Acted
A master piece of English old style literature perfectly performed & well acted. A wonderfully produced audible that I can listen to over & over and enjoy as much as the first time around. Well done to all. More like this please.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Adeliese Baumann
- 31-10-14
Return to Home Place
If you've never met the Cazalets, let this be your introduction. And if you have, you'll love returning to Home Place to see them all again. The casting is perfect: every performance was distinctive, powerful, and absolutely top class. It was enjoyable to hear the ever-ladylike Penelope Wilton's narration throughout. It is a bit of a soap opera, of course, and rather melodramatic in parts. (I would have liked deeper characterization in several places). But what a story! It has everything: war, peace, love, desire, denial, regret...all of human life. You won't forget these characters, nor "Home Place" the estate that is, if you will, a character in itself. Highly recommended to those who love a sweeping family saga, and to all who enjoy hearing BBC Radio at its very best.
8 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Amanda
- 05-10-20
Excellent
If you like the books, you will love this. Even if you have not read them, you will enjoy this if you like soap opera take things. Not everyone does. Anyway, this was very well done.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Kindle Customer
- 23-07-18
Exquisite!
What an incredible journey into the minds and hearts of this family! What an amazing exploration of life and the complexities of human emotion! Wonderfully performed by a gifted group of actors whose voices were able to evoke intense emotional responses, while painting a beautiful series of canvasses depicting each scene, or creating full colour snapshots to be displayed montage-style on the giant HDTV screen of my mind's eye. I heartily recommend this collection to everyone. Cautionary note: once you begin, you will find it hard to stop listening until the very end. Any sleep lost will be worth it!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- TashaJRiley
- 01-08-16
amazing family story
so well done. so much family detail in this story, its hard not to be completely hooked.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- WWaller
- 16-07-21
Cazalet world
Excellent with the sole exception of the voice of Zoe's American lover. Terrible American accent detracted from their story.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Utilisateur anonyme
- 21-05-21
Cazslets
Wonderfully performed. A real family saga. I loved this. I wish there was more radio theater.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Shirley M Moulderi
- 24-01-21
Cazalets
It was so enjoyable. The characters were just so good. It was nice to have a relaxing book to listen at bedtime. Thanks
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- agatha christie
- 29-12-20
the cazelelets
enjoyed it immensely. Penelope Winston read beautifully .A family saga at an important time in life.