"Now is the winter of our discontent...." Ian Holm delivers King Richard IIIs soliloquy, bringing Shakespeare's wonderful lines, full of pyschological insight, vividly to life.

Stephen looks to the future with some predictions. Will robots be able to read novels? How much will our computers be able to understand us? Will English rule - or change? And then there's a question about a duck...

Tony Hancock stars in two long-lost episodes from the classic BBC Radio series 'Hancock's Half Hour': Sid James's Dad (28 October 1956) & The Diet (7 December 1955). In Sid James's Dad, Sid is expecting a visit from his father. Being ashamed to admit his true profession, he has explained his regular appearances in court by telling the old man h...

First broadcast live in 1959 as part of Tony Hancock's 4th BBC TV Series, these rare recordings are made available for the first time in over fifty years. The Wrong Man sees Hancock and Sid called in to take part in a police identity parade. However, when a witness picks Hancock out for the burglary of a high street tobacconist, he has only days to...

All six episodes of series one of the BBC Radio 4 Comedy drama series by Emmy Award-winning writer Nigel Williams, charting the misfortunes of a middle-aged HR officer and his trouble-making colleague. Includes the following episodes: An Appraisal / An Away-Day / A Commute / A Role Play / A Leaving Party / A Bus Pass Starring Nicholas le Prevost as...

A full-cast dramatisation of Robert Graves' brilliant account of the madness and debauchery of ancient Rome, starring Tom Goodman Hill as Claudius and Derek Jacobi as Augustus. The wickedly entertaining inside story of the lives and deaths of the Imperial dynasty from Augustus to Caligula is told by their obscure relation, Claudius. In public...

Four more shows from the groundbreaking BBC Radio series. Described by Barry Took as 'A kaleidoscope of funny voices, catch phrase and innuendo revolving at breakneck speed and with a complete disregard for logic', I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again pre-dated I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue and showcased the comic talents of Tim Brooke-Taylor, John Cleese,...

Algernon Moncrieff, a bachelor-about-town, has invented an invalid friend called Bunbury in order to get out of tiresome family engagements. At the same time, his friend Jack Worthing has invented a wicked brother called Ernest to disguise his own misdemeanours. When Algernon poses as Ernest to win the heart of Cecily Cardew, confusion reigns, and...

Inspired by the real-life memoirs of a Victorian Inspector in Scotland, James McLevy prowls the dark streets of 1860s Edinburgh bringing criminals to justice, with the assistance of Constable Mulholland. Counterfeiters are at work in the city in The Second Shadow, and McLevy is under pressure to secure rapid convictions. But his mind is more on the...

The first series of Lynne Truss's hugely popular BBC Radio 4 comedy thriller set in 1950s Brighton. A place of knickerbocker glories, end-of-the pier shows...and an enormous amount of unsolved crime. Step forward Inspector Steine. Naive and innocent, he believes that he wiped out all the villains at a single stroke in the Middle Street Massacre whe...

Michael Hordern stars as Jeeves with Richard Briers as Bertie in this BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation. The rural beauty of Steeple Bumpleigh holds no attractions for Bertie, containing (as it does) the appalling Aunt Agatha. But there is man's work to do and, with Jeeves at his side, how can Bertie fail?

Shakespeare classic in which ordinary people are toyed with by jealous and mischievous fairies - Charles and Mary Lamb's wonderful adaptations of Shakespeare translate beautifully to audio.

Lucy Snowe, an English girl, goes to work as a governess in Brussels and finds solace in an unlikely suitor. Largely autobiographical fiction. Based on Charlotte's work as a governess in Brussels, Villette concerns the life of Lucy Snowe, an English girl who obtains a post at a girl's school in Belgium. With few friends and little money, Lucy conc...

The story of Paul Morel, torn between three women. A observant and insightful look at the complexities and dangers surrounding human love and attraction. Sons and Lovers is the moving and explicit account of a young man growing up in a closed mining village. Born into a difficult marriage, Paul Morel is shy and introverted and impressionable. As a...

This story is both shocking and absorbing, a vivid evocation of the dynamics within relationships between husbands and wives, which are not always happy, and can be violent. An apocalyptic masterpiece, Women in Love was originally refused publication for four years after completion due to its strong content. Describing violent relationships, animal...

Moll Flanders is an often humorous and always brazen woman, who, born into poverty in Newgate prison, has to cheek and swindle her way through life to survive. A loveable and chastizable heroine makes for a great listen. Moll Flanders is the epitome of a 'bawdy' woman, who makes few excuses for herself and is unashamed of her shady past. Now conve...

One of the greatest 'castaway novels ever written, 'Robinson Crusoe' sees its namesake struggling on a desert island after a shipwreck. Robinson Crusoe is a sailor who becomes stranded on a desert island for over twenty years when a storm destroys the boat he is travelling on. The ultimate tale of isolation and survival against the odds, Crusoe ha...

The first full-length detective novel to use fingerprinting as a means of detection, its intricate plotting and the double-twist in the final minutes, and not least its engaging hero, painter and amateur sleuth Philip Trent, have assured the book a place in classic fiction of this genre.

Adela Quested travels to India with her chaperone Mrs Moore, on the premise of deciding whether to marry Mrs Moore's son Ronny Heaslop, the city magistrate. Finding her India very disappointingly English, Adela jumps at the chance the two women are given to travel to the distant Marabar caves with Aziz, a charismatic young Indian Doctor. When Adela...

Lucy Honeychurch, accompanied by her vigilant guardian, Charlotte Bartlett, makes her first foray into the world, touring Italy and discovering a country very different to the English countryside she was brought up in. Torn between two lovers, she has to make a decision that will transform her from a girl to a woman. A talented pianist with a good...

This dark, gothic tale is a twisted love-story of sorts which explores the theme of love truly knowing no bounds...even in death! A man's beautiful and erudite wife dies, then he remarries and his second wife tragically dies, also. However, all is not as it seems, and this surprising and perturbing supernatural story will have a listener both on th...