Showing results by narrator "Neil McFarlane" in All Categories

Consequences is a cautionary tale about the evils of hasty judgment, revisiting Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and one of those pivotal moments when Elizabeth Bennet throws away Mr. Darcy's offer of marriage so decisively. What transpires from that point is well-known to Austen's extensive readership, but what if even one element in the chain of events in her novel turns out differently? Does Austen's happy ending eventually come to pass, or is the outcome more bleak?

Modern communications have driven motorways and pylons through the countryside, dwarfed us with TV and telephone masts, and drastically altered the way in which we move around, see, and understand Scotland. Recent politics and logistics have established borders and jurisdictions which now seem permanent and impervious. The Faded Map looks beyond these to remember a land that was once quiet and green. 

With a host of animal and human characters, some of whom will be familiar to listeners of the highly praised collection A Month of Bedtime Stories and some of whom are completely new, these humorous and imaginative tales feature space-faring puppies, Kung Fu Grasshoppers, time-traveling slugs, undersea bee explorers, Viking goats, boogie woogie monkeys, disco-dancing Romans, and tiddlywinking cockroaches, to name a few. Ideal for bedtime listening.

Darcy and Bingley depart Netherfield Park, leaving Elizabeth Bennet acutely aware of the monotony of her life. Seeking a reprieve, she volunteers to serve as temporary companion to Mrs. Gardiner’s elderly aunt who lives in Lambton. Nothing turns out as Elizabeth expects, and she is forced to dig deep into her reserves of common sense, humor, and stubborn persistence to prove herself equal to the dreary circumstances.

Some form of devilry has come over Mr. Darcy. Since his father’s death, Fitzwilliam Darcy has endeavored to be reliable, responsible, and restrained. But upon visiting Netherfield Park in Hertfordshire, he finds himself weary of the struggle to be so damnably well regulated and delights in a revival of the carefree mischief that characterized his younger days. What brings on this sudden reversal? Perhaps it is a shocking incident that takes place upon his first entering the neighborhood when he rescues Miss Elizabeth Bennet from the raging current of a rain-swollen stream.

Children will love being the main character and hearing about the adventures they had earlier in the day. With a whopping 31 stories, this delightful collection is designed to last a whole month.

Fitzwilliam Darcy, standing irritably at the edge of the Meryton assembly, declines to dance with Elizabeth Bennet. In a mood of revulsion, he rejects her without concern of being overheard. Country pretensions are always in need of squashing, and what better way to make clear he would not partner anyone outside his party? However, when he looks over at her, she does not appear humbled at all. She is secretly laughing at him!

In Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Fitzwilliam Darcy’s proposal to Elizabeth Bennet at Hunsford is disastrous. In Jan Hahn’s The Child, Darcy flees England soon afterward, striving to overcome his longing for her. Upon his return two years later, while standing on the steps of St. George’s Church in Hanover Square, he spies the very woman he has vowed to forget. But who is the child holding her hand?

Sequestered in her Aunt and Uncle Gardiner's London home, Elizabeth Bennet tries to recover from a devastating incident that stole her memories during their Derbyshire tour. She continues to suffer from strange, angry voices in her head and to recall events that people tell her never happened. Even those who love her refuse to believe her. Elizabeth can barely endure the confusion.

Composed in the early 1350s, in the wake of the Black Death, The Decameron comprises 100 short stories from all over the world, reset by Boccaccio among the flourishing merchant classes of Renaissance Italy. Their universal themes—love, sex, religion, fate, morality—resonate with us to this day, and their witty, satirical, bawdy voice sounds utterly modern. Monty Python star and medieval historian Terry Jones presents ten BBC Radio dramatisations of tales from Giovanni Boccaccio's humane and comic masterpiece

After his earlier adventure, Hector Dumble is determined to get his dog, Buster, talking again. So he sets up a laboratory in his bedroom and starts mixing, boiling, evaporating, and condensing.... Unfortunately, things don't quite go according to plan. Will Hector's hard work pay off in the end?

"Do you remember when you were a dinosaur...?" This collection of second-person, read-aloud tales sees the listener transformed into various mighty animals such as a lion, a crocodile, a gorilla, and a dinosaur. Ideal bedtime-reading fare, kids are sure to enjoy being the star of these immersive stories while adults, too, will enjoy the humor and fast-paced plot lines.

Another week's worth of second-person, boogietastic, read-aloud bedtime stories, which adults will enjoy as much as [insert the name of your child] will enjoy hearing! And off you went to the woods.

Hector Dumble thinks he's dumb. When his dog, Buster, starts talking to him, Hector begins to think he's crazy too. Things become even stranger when Hector learns that his teacher Mr Weazel has a secret identity. How will Hector handle having a dog that can talk and a teacher who wants to take over the world?

Tom is just an ordinary boy in an ordinary town until one day, he finds a dirty, old teapot. He gives it a rub, and out pops...the genie of the lamp! Hurrah! Huzzah! And hip hip hooray! Only it's not a genie; it's a giant. Tom was hoping for three wishes, but instead, he's lumbered with a hulking great lummox who turns out to be completely useless.

A collection of magical adventures which place the listener at the heart of the action. Told in the second person, these stories involve the listener changing into a creepy crawly for a day. Although the main aim of this book is to entertain, young listeners will also: learn amazing facts about the workings and wonders of the natural world; learn about the behaviour, habits and lives of these amazing creatures; discover a new perspective on life by walking in another animal’s "shoes" for a day; and more!

With the help of Geranium, the next-door neighbor's cat, Hector must once again use his chemistry skills to defeat the evil supervillain Professor Evil. But can Hector develop the new formula in time?

It ranges from the wild waters of the North Atlantic, the ice-filled fjords of Greenland and the remote islands of Faroe to the dining tables of London's middle classes, the bacalao restaurants of Spain and the Jewish shtetls of Eastern Europe. As well as following the historical thread and exploring how very different cultures were drawn together by the salt fish trade, John Goodlad meets those whose lives revolve around the industry in the twenty-first century and addresses today's pressing themes of sustainability, climate change, and food choices.

A follow-up to the highly praised A Month of Bedtime Stories, this collection contains a further seven tales in the series. Each story takes about 10 minutes and places your child at the center of each adventure with heavy doses of wacky humor which can be enjoyed by parent and child alike.

The fourth and final installment in the Me Tawk Funny series. Buster and Hector face a new enemy in their final adventure together.