Showing results by narrator "Alex Jennings" in All Categories

In this incredible companion to the second and third seasons of Netflix's acclaimed series The Crown, renowned biographer and the show's historical consultant Robert Lacey takes us through the real history that inspired the drama. Covering two tumultuous decades in the reign of Elizabeth II, Lacey looks at the key social, political and personal moments and the effect they had not only on the royal family but also on the world around them.

Enjoy the best of Lakeland poets Wordsworth, Coleridge, and Southey in this specially selected anthology, including "The Two-Part Prelude", Wordsworth's own shortened version of his great autobiographical work The Prelude, and Coleridge's celebrated Kubla Khan. John Rowe, Alex Jennings, and Stephen Critchlow read these perfect evocations of majestic Cumbrian scenery.

A radio adaptation of Alan Bennett's short autobiographical play, originally directed by Nicholas Hytner for the National Theatre. Alan looks back on his early life with affection and sadness, revisiting some of the themes and conversations of his memoir 'A Life Like other People's'. Both he and his mother are seduced by the idea that other people's lives are much richer and fulfilling than their own.

Harold Larwood is an England cricketing legend. During the MCC’s notorious 1932–3 Ashes tour of Australia, his ‘Bodyline’ bowling left Australia’s batsmen bruised and battered, halved the batting average of the great Don Bradman – and gave England a 4–1 series victory. But the diplomatic row that followed brought Anglo-Australian relations to the brink of collapse. Larwood was used as a scapegoat by the MCC, which demanded he apologise for bowling Bodyline.

This is a classic adventure tale set far down in the briny deep. Captain Nemo hunts the terrifying and mysterious monster that has already wrecked ships which disturbed its slumber. A scary, illuminating, and exciting listen for all ages, this story has achieved almost mythical status, and Jules Verne's great writing style makes the truly unbelievable seem entirely feasible: and utterly absorbing.

Watford Forever is the remarkable story of Elton John's ownership of Watford FC and its transformational journey to the top of the First Division under iconic manager Graham Taylor. Perhaps most remarkably, four of the same players who had been written off as has-beens went with them all the way from the bottom to the top.

What could possibly connect Prince, the great 20th century singer songwriter and Charles Dickens, the great writer of classics usually stuffed into the hands of adolescents too early? What could these two geniuses, one born in 1812 in England, and the other in 1950s Minneapolis, have in common? Tracing their lives, from the early years to their relationships with women, their finances to their inability to stop working, Dickens and Prince is a brilliantly surprising and joyous uncovering of the essence of a very particular and unique type of genius.

Professor Aronnax, his faithful servant, Conseil, and the Canadian harpooner, Ned Land, begin an extremely hazardous voyage to rid the seas of a little-known and terrifying sea monster. However, the "monster" turns out to be a giant submarine, commanded by the mysterious Captain Nemo, by whom they are soon held captive. So begins not only one of the great adventure classics by Jules Verne, the 'Father of Science Fiction', but also a truly fantastic voyage from the lost city of Atlantis to the South Pole.

George Hall doesn't understand the modern obsession with talking about everything. 'The secret of contentment, George felt, lay in ignoring many things completely.' Some things in life, however, cannot be ignored. At 57, George is settling down to a comfortable retirement, building a shed in his garden, reading historical novels, listening to a bit of light jazz.

What if you couldn't remember a single minute of the ten years you'd spent with the love of your life? Joe can remember everything about Ally; Ally remembers nothing about Joe.

This is the story of an ancient religious icon pilfered at the end of WWII and its consequences for a family and a nation. Theft of the Master aims to appeal to the listener seeking more from a novel than a good listen. It weaves an intricate web, speckled with an assortment of finely described characters spanning different historical periods and continents. Theft of the Master has all the ingredients of a top-class thriller.

Keith Mabbut is at a crossroads in his life. A professional writer of some repute, he has reached the age of 56 with nothing resembling the success of his two great literary heroes, George Orwell and Albert Camus. When he is offered the opportunity of a lifetime - to write the biography of the elusive Hamish Melville, a widely respected and highly influential activist and humanitarian - he seizes the chance to write something meaningful.

At his mother’s family house in the south of France, Patrick Melrose has the run of a magical garden. Bravely imaginative and self-sufficient, five-year-old Patrick encounters the volatile lives of adults with care. His father, David, rules with considered cruelty, and Eleanor, his mother, has retreated into drink. They are expecting guests for dinner. But this afternoon is unlike the chain of summer days before, and the shocking events that precede the guests’ arrival tear Patrick's world in two.

Silence is rare in Nature. When we really listen, Nature is conducting symphonies of sound as her world goes about the day and night. Her invisible heartbeat is everywhere, for everyone. Our eyes are constantly bathed in the wonder of her ways, the soft drizzle of rain from soft grey clouds, the bleached harsh desert sand of a noon day, a wave caressing the shore, to the ravenous colours of a departing sunset. Indeed, whenever we look and listen to the vastness of our world Nature’s beauty is always there for us..

Following the defeat of the Spartacus rebellion, Julius Caesar and Marcus Brutus, who have been sent to run the Roman colonies in Spain, return to challenge powerful senators to become one of the Consuls of Rome. Political opposition, family quarrels, armed rebellions and corruption make this a highly contemporary scene, fuelled by the intrigue of the major characters, who are now developing as full adults.

A BBC Radio 4 play about the marriage of George, Prince of Wales, originally broadcast as the 'Afternoon Play' on 11 December 2008 (and repeated on 9 December 2010).Facing financial ruin, George was obliged by his father, George III, to marry his first cousin, Princess Caroline of Brunswick. But if he had been expecting a docile partner with whom he could maintain appearances, George had seriously underestimated his wife-to-be...

Those who guard us speak of us, in whispers as...'the Immortals.'' Nate Quarter is a lowly lamplighter in the phraxmines of the Eastern Woods.Until treachery forces him to flee for his life - to the mighty city of Great Glade. But these are turbulent times. In far-off Hive - the spectacular city founded by the goblin tribes - the clan leaders are preparing for war. And out beyond the dread Nightwoods, in the fabled gardens of Riverrise, a one-eyed waif jealously guards the life-giving waters of the mystical Riverrise spring.

A fascinating foray into British military history revealing the life of the British soldier at war. From the Roman invasion of Britain to the retreat from Dunkirk, from the horrors of Culloden to the courage of Rourke’s Drift, we experience first-hand the stories behind the triumphs and tragedies that make up the history of the British Army. Told entirely in the words of those who were there.

Each of the judges of the Elysian Prize for literature has a reason for accepting the job. For the chairman, MP Malcolm Craig, it is backbench boredom, media personality Jo Cross is on the hunt for a 'relevant' novel, and Oxbridge academic Vanessa Shaw is determined to discover good writing. But for Penny Feathers of the Foreign Office, it's all just getting in the way of writing her own thriller.

Nicolas Creel is a man on a mission. As the head of a major arms vendor, he is plotting a ruthless plan to supercharge his company’s profits by triggering a new cold war – and he won’t let anyone stand in his way. Meet Shaw, a man with no first name: a shadow operative working for a multinational organization that seeks to keep the world safe from men like Creel. Desperate to rebuild her disgraced reputation and rise to the top of her profession, Katie James gets the break of a lifetime when she finds herself on the same path as the mysterious Shaw.