AuthorHenry James
NarratorSamuel West
Duration1h 35m
CategoriesAdult Non-Fiction, History
PublisherAudio Go Ltd
VersionAbridged
A BBC Radio 4 "Book at Bedtime" recording of Samuel West reading from the novella The Aspern Papers by Henry James, set against the decaying grandeur of Venice. Originally broadcast 26 April - 4 May 2010. Henry James took as inspiration for his tale The Aspern Papers the story of a mistress of Byron's who outlived the poet into lonely old age. He transposed the setting to Venice and cast the city he loved as a character in a taut narrative of literary theft and deception. The lure of previously unseen papers relating to the long-dead poet Jeffrey Aspern brings one of his literary editors to Venice in the grip of an obsession. He broaches the palazzo of Aspern's ancient and discarded lover, Miss Juliana Bordereau, and deceives the fluttering middle-aged niece, Miss Tina, into believing he wants to lodge with them in order to cultivate the garden in his quest to secure the elusive letters and papers. Read by Samuel West. Abridged and produced by Christine Hall.
Summary of Grant By Ron Chernow
Author: Abbey Beathan
Author Abbey Beathan
Narrator Peter Prova
Duration 2h 55m
Disclaimer: This is NOT the original book. The life and work of the magnificent general and President Ulysses Grant. Ulysses Grant must be one of the most misunderstood characters of United States' history. The majority of people have a polarized but incorrect impression of him as a loser and a bad businessman or as the triumphant but vicious gener...
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Author: Walter Isaacson
Author Walter Isaacson
Narrator Alfred Molina
Duration 17h 1m
Read by acclaimed actor Alfred Molina, star of The Da Vinci Code, An Education and Chocolat, this is the definitive biography of Leonardo Da Vinci. Based on thousands of pages from Leonardo's astonishing notebooks and new discoveries about his life and work, Walter Isaacson weaves a narrative that connects his art to his science. He shows how Leona...
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Author: Catherine Bailey
Author Catherine Bailey
Narrator Laura Kirman
Duration 15h 27m
Brought to you by Penguin. Berlin, September 1944. Ulrich von Hassell, former ambassador to Italy and a key member of the German Resistance, is executed for his part in an assassination plot against Hitler. In response to the attack, Himmler, leader of the SS, orders the arrest of all the families of the plotters. In a remote castle in Italy, von H...
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Author: Henry James
Author Henry James
Narrator Carole Boyd
Duration 2h 23m
More than just a simple tale of the supernatural, James poses questions about childhood innocence, corruption and hysteria. The story focuses on a na‹ve governess who takes charge of two children at the lonely house of Bly. When she begins to see ghosts, she believes that the children do too, with devastating consequences.
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Author: Henry James
Author Henry James
Narrator Terry Diab
Duration 13h 25m
After her parents' bitter divorce, young Maisie Farange finds herself shuttled between her selfish mother and vain father, who value her only as a means for provoking each other. And when both take lovers and remarry, Maisie - solitary, observant and wise beyond her years - is drawn into an increasingly entangled adult world of intrigue and sexual...
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Author: Lee Child
Author Lee Child
Narrator Jeff Harding
Duration 1h 18m
In his first work of nonfiction, the creator of the multimillion-selling Jack Reacher series explores the endurance of heroes from Achilles to Bond, showing us how this age-old myth is a fundamental part of what makes us human. He demonstrates how hero stories continue to shape our world - arguing that we need them now more than ever. From the Ston...
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Author: Henry James
Author Henry James
Narrator Penelope Rawlins
Duration 4h 51m
Perhaps the most brilliantly successful ghost story ever written, The Turn of the Screw creates a terrifyingly believable impression of innocent children so corrupted by evil that they remain deceptive pictures of innocent beauty. Their governess must struggle alone to confront and exorcise the demons which she believes possess their souls...
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Author: Henry James
Author Henry James
Narrator William Hootkins
Duration 2h 24m
A biting satire on American life which turned convention on its head. This story explores the obsessive affections of the radical Olive Chancellor for Verena Tarrant, a gifted young speaker in the feminist movement. When Olive's cousin Basil becomes equally besotted, the scene is set for a bitter tug of war.
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Theodore Roosevelt For the Defense
Author: Dan Abrams
Author Dan Abrams
Narrator Dan Abrams
Duration 12h 4m
"No more dramatic courtroom scene has ever been enacted," reported the Syracuse Herald on May 22, 1915 as it covered "the greatest libel suit in history," a battle fought between former President Theodore Roosevelt and the leader of the Republican party. Roosevelt , the boisterous and mostly beloved legendary American hero, had accused his former f...
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Author: Henry James
Author Henry James
Narrator William Roberts
Duration 2h 23m
The young and innocent Isabel Archer has a choice to make when she comes to England from America: dignity and duty or her happiness? A familiar theme in James' writing is the meeting of Europe and America. Isabel Archer is determined to make the most of her new-found freedom when she arrives in England, but other expatriate Americans manipulate he...
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