Showing results by publisher "Divine Art Ltd" in Literature & Fiction

Published in 1842, Nikolai Gogol’s The Overcoat recounts the sad tale of Akavy Akakievich Bashmachkin, played by Michael Redgrave.

First published in 1832, Honore de Balzac's The Purse is a charming account of artistic life in contemporary Paris. Laurence Olivier plays the young painter, Hippolyte Schinner, who falls from a step-ladder in his studio. The sound of his accident brings the beautiful Adelaide Leseigneur into his life.

Written in 1833, Alexander Pushkin’s The Queen of Spades is a tale of avarice and madness.

Laurence Sterne's The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman was first published in 1759. Ralph Richardson plays Tristram's eccentric Uncle Toby.

Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was published in 1886. Laurence Olivier plays the dual role of the worthy Dr. Henry Jekyll and his evil alter ego, Edward Hyde. The very title of this study of split personality has now entered the English language.

Robert Louis Stevenson's "Markheim", a study of good and evil, was published in 1885. Laurence Olivier plays the wicked Markheim who, after killing a pawnbroker who had trusted him, encounters the Devil, who tempts him further. He rejects the malign contract on offer and chooses instead the power of good.

Robert Louis Stevenson's The Suicide Club was first published in 1878 in The London Magazine. Laurence Olivier narrates and stars as the unnamed protagonist.

Jules Romains wrote his drama, Dr. Knock or the Triumph of Medicine in 1923. Robert Morley plays the shrewd doctor who buys a sleepy practice in the remote village of St.-Maurice from honest Dr. Parpalaid.

Set in 1825, Alexandre Dumas' short story, Zoromirski's Duel, tells of a group of Russian officers after the Napoleonic Wars. Laurence Olivier plays Captain Zoromirski, "a little on the impulsive side and quick to pick a quarrel". He is engaged to the beautiful Marianna Ravensky, but she has other admirers. This is one of the episodes of "Theater Royal", the only radio series in which Olivier starred and was first broadcast in 1952.

Robert Louis Stevenson's Sire de Maltroit's Door was published in 1882. Robert Donat plays the French soldier Denis de Beaulieu and his wife Renee Asherson plays Blanche de Maltroit. Set during the Anglo-French war of 1429, Denis de Beaulieu faces a daunting choice – marriage to Blanche, or death.

First published in 1831, Honore de Balzac’s La Grande Breteche is a tale of the Napoleonic Wars in Spain. Laurence Olivier stars as the Count de Merret who finds that his wife has taken a lover, a Spanish prisoner of war, at his house, “La Grande Breteche”.

Written in around 1885, Guy de Maupassant’s Little Louise Roque was one of his first psychological studies.

J.B. Priestley's Private Rooms - A One-Act Comedy in the Viennese Style was first performed in 1953. Ralph Richardson stars as Max Talley, an ageing Austrian actor who invites a lovely young ballerina to dinner in a private room at a Viennese restaurant. His motives are not wholly altruistic.