In a dingy apartment on the Passage du Pont Neuf in Paris, Therese Raquin is trapped in a loveless marriage to her sickly cousin Camille. The tedium of her life is suddenly shattered when she embarks on an affair with her husband's friend Laurent, and their passion for each other soon causes the lovers to commit a shocking crime that will haunt the...

The human voices of the story are those of the BBC in the first years of the Second World War when the Concert Hall was turned into a dormitory for both sexes. The whole building became a target for enemy bombers, and in the BBC as elsewhere, some had to fail and some had to die.

Set in Russia 1913, Frank Reid arrives home from work on a day just like any other to find that his wife has left him. How should he cope? 'The Beginning of Spring' tells the story of how the family copes with this unexpected event, set against a turbulent political backdrop.

Harry Silver has it all. A successful job in TV, a gorgeous wife, a lovely child. And in one moment of madness, he chucks it all away. This is the story of how he comes to terms with his mistakes and achieves a degree of self-respect whilst bringing up his son alone. CONTAINS STRONG LANGUAGE.

Set in the summer of 1939 on the day of the annual village pageant at Pointz Hall, the novel weaves together the musings of several disparate characters and their reactions to the imminence of the Second World War, which provides the novel with its dark undercurrent. Before the book was published in the spring of 1941, Virginia Woolf had taken her...

Jacob's Room is Virginia Woolf's first truly experimental novel. It is a portrait of a young man, who is both representative and victim of the social values which led Edwardian society into war. Jacob Flanders first appears as a child playing by the seaside. The novel follows his progress to school, Cambridge, London, Paris, Italy, Greece and to hi...

A retelling of John Bunyan's classic story that is filled with drama, excitement and adventure. On his journey of a life-time to the City of Gold, Christian meets an extraordinary cast of characters, such as the terrible Giant Despair and the monster Apollyon. Together with Hopeful, his steadfast companion, he survives the snipers and mantraps, the...

'The Waves', more than any of Virginia Woolf's other novels, conveys the complexities of human experience. Tracing the lives of a group of friends, 'The Waves' follows their development from childhood to youth and middle age. The novel is most remarkable for the rich poetic language that conveys the aspirations, triumphs and regrets of her characte...

Colin is in many ways an ideal citizen. A responsible job for the council, visits to his aged mother Norah, and cooking and shopping for her. But no-one knows about his other - much more secret - life that involves a garden shed, a circus acrobat, and a much-adored three-year-old charmer.

When the murdered body of a local boy is found in the woods, suspicions transform young Marsha's once-secure neighbourhood. Marsha begins to watch her neighbours and when Mr Green, the shy bachelor from next-door, takes an interest in her mother, Marsha is drawn into a cruel chain of events. Winner of the Orange Prize.

In this novelisation of a playscript, the formula for a powerful explosive is stolen. Locking his guests in the library, Sir Claud switches off the lights to let the thief replace it, no questions asked. When the lights come on, Sir Claud is dead and Hercule Poirot must act quickly to prevent a global catastrophe. (Adapted by Charles Osborne).

Adrian Mole is now thirty and three-quarters. An accidental celebrity, with a spreading bald patch, despairing of family values, Mole is still worrying: Is Viagra cheating? Why won't the BBC produce his serial killer comedy 'White Van'? Mole chronicles the closing years of the 20th century with slanderous abandon.

Set in London during and just after the Second World War, the love affair between novelist Maurice Bendix and his married lover, Sarah Miles, ends when she suddenly and without explanation breaks it off. Two years later a chance meeting rekindles his love and jealousy. Maurice hires a private detective to follow Sarah and slowly his love for her tu...

A follow up to 'Ladies of Letters & Ladies of More Letters'. Vera and Irene now communicate daily by e-mail about the the usual domestic mishaps: Irene's daughter Lesley is refusing to marry the worthy but boring Brian; Vera's exhausted daughter Karen has abandoned her third baby at the hospital and eloped with a male nurse; and Vera's gay son...

Nothing escapes the satirical eye of Britain's successful first all-Asian sketch show in the compilation of the best of the first BBC Radio 4 series together with three shows from series two. CONTAINS STRONG LANGUAGE AND ADULT THEMES.

From 1952 to 1960 the Goons ruled the airwaves, the most celebrated and influential clowns in the history of radio. It's the time of goodwill and custard so join the festive fun with Scrooge and Nellie Scratchit in 'A Christmas Carol' and follow the lost chords of 'The Mighty Wurlitzer' hot foot across the Sahara. Also includes: 'Ye Bandit Of Sherw...

An evocative anthology for Christmas. This collection contains complete versions of old favourites such as 'The Little Match Girl', 'The Night Before Christmas', and 'Christmas Day in the Workhouse'. Other extracts include a sermon by Lancelot Andrews, an account of Christmas under the Puritans and a Mummer's Play.

The well-intentioned, wealthy physician Dr Jekyll is fascinated by the duality of human nature. He discovers a drug which can separate the good and evil sides of his character. But can he stop his dark side, the hideous Mr Hyde, from taking control?

'Five Quarters of the Orange' revolves around a recipe book, continuing the theme of culinary intrigue begun in 'Chocolat' and 'Blackberry Wine'. Framboise returns to the village where she grew up during wartime and, with the help of the recipes scribbled in her mother's album, opens up a small restaurant. Whilst immersing herself once again in the...

A new generation has arrived to divide the Forsyte clan with society scandals and conflicting passions. Set in the years following the First World War, the story moves to Soames Forsyte's daughter Fleur. She is now married to Michael Mont, but when her old love Jon returns after seven years, desire is rekindled and loyalties begin to divide.

After the death of his estranged wife, Quoyle's fortunes begin to change when his long lost Aunt Agnes convinces him to head north to his ancestral home on the coast of Newfoundland with his daughter Bunny. In the small coastal village of Killick-Claw Quoyle lands a job as a reporter for the local newspaper. He reports on the shipping news as he si...