Showing results by narrator "Charles Armstrong" in All Categories

Comedy and romance, history, and tragedy, Shakespeare's canon has it all. Some 400 years after they were written and first performed, his works still remain fresh and relevant today. Shakespeare: His life and Works is an accessible and lavish celebration of the Bard himself and his 39 plays, great sonnets and narrative poems. Themes, plots, characters and language are brought to life with act-by-act plot summaries, resumes of main characters and in-depth analysis of Shakespeare's use of, and influence on, the English language.

Before he is called to bless the body of a woman at the nearby asylum, Father Gabriel receives a strange, troubling confession: hidden under the woman's dress, he will find the notebooks in which she confided the abuses she suffered and the twisted motivations behind them. And so Rose's terrible story comes to light: sold as a teenage girl to a rich man, hidden away in an old manor house deep in the woods and caught in a perverse web, manipulated by those society considers her betters.

Sharks are one of the most dangerous sea animals on the planet. With fearsome jaws and an insatiable appetite, they are often feared by humans and animals alike. However, sharks are also completely fascinating! Learn all about the different types of shark and their habitats and what makes them such deadly predators! Amazing facts and awesome stories bring the world of sharks to life wherever you are.

Life can change in a heartbeat. Lucy has everything she could wish for: a beautiful home high on the clifftops above the Devonshire coast, her own thriving business, a devoted husband and two beloved children. Then one morning, time stops.

This stunning guide explores and explains the defining eras, key moments and outstanding people that have made history. History, a children's encyclopaedia, is a way in to understanding the diversity of world history, from the African kingdoms that pre-dated colonialism and the cultures of the pre-Colombian Americas to the dynasties that have ruled China for thousands of years and the many empires that have come and gone over the centuries in Asia and Europe.

No one has a better perspective on life on both sides of the channel than Julian Barnes. In these exquisitely crafted stories spanning several centuries, he takes as his universal theme the British in France: from the last days of a reclusive English composer, the beef consuming 'navvies' labouring on the Paris-Rouen railway to a lonely woman mourning the death of her brother on the battlefields of the Somme.

Appealing to a range of audiences, it covers more than 650 years of momentous history through the use of both famous and lesser known events which shaped Britain. Using original documents and detailed research undertaken by The National Archives' record specialists, it will cover moments in history which led to fundamental changes in eras. It will also include unique discoveries from these archives, uncovering mysteries and stories of how dealing with treason have brought about the changes which have influenced and shaped Britain throughout the centuries.

From the medieval cobbles, through Dickensian iron and fog, to the neon lights and bustle of the twenty-first century, the ever-changing streets of London map out the vibrant stories, triumphs and struggles of everyone who ever called London home. From the Roman and Celts marching along the ancient Old Kent Road, to the rattling newspaper presses of Fleet Street, the game of Monopoly has painted London's story across cheerful coloured tiles. But those Monopoly streets live and breathe—they don't just illuminate our history.

From Brexit to Covid, parties to pig culling, the Conservative government has lurched from crisis to crisis. With a front-row seat on the, erm, backbenches, the Secret Tory has picked up on all the petty rivalries, bad decision-making and scandalous affairs that Whitehall has to offer. And he’s got no qualms about sharing it. All. Join the mystery MP as he drunk-texts Liz Truss after a crate of WKD, accompanies Jacob Rees-Mogg (and his kids) to picket a foodbank, takes on the French in the ‘Trawler Wars’, and euthanises Rishi Sunak’s dog—and that’s just October.

Discover the stories behind the most shocking and infamous books ever published. Censorship of one form or another has existed almost as long as the written word, while definitions of what is 'acceptable' in published works have shifted over the centuries and from culture to culture. Packed with eye-opening insights into the history of the written word and the political and social climate during the period of suppression or censorship, this is a must-listen for anyone interested in literature, creative writing, politics, history or law.

In Agatha Christie’s short story, “The Million Dollar Bond Robbery,” Poirot must prove the innocence of a young bank manager who has had a million dollars in bonds stolen from him while on a boat voyage to New York. Could it be one of his superiors? And why were the bonds being sold in New York before his ship arrived? This short story originally appeared in the May 2, 1923 issue of The Sketch magazine.

In 1841, the 'peasant poet' John Clare escapes from an asylum in Epping Forest, where he had been kept for four years, and walks over 80 miles home to Northamptonshire. Suffering from poor mental health, Clare was attempting to return to his idealized first love, Mary, unaware that she had died three years earlier. In 1995, with his life in crisis and his own mental health fragile, Robert decides to retrace Clare's route along the Great North Road over a punishing four-day walk.

In little more than a century of cinema - Birth of a Nation was 100 years old in 2015 - our sense of what a film director is, or should be, has shifted in fascinating ways. A director was once a functionary; then an important but not decisive part of an industrial process; then accepted as the person who was and should be in charge, because he was an artist and a hero. But the world has changed.

From the pennies in our pocket to the global financial boom, Heads Up: Money puts theory into practice and explains the important issues surrounding all areas of economics including the market, supply and demand, currencies, spending and saving. Using big ideas and economic and personal finance, Heads Up: Money will help young adults understand the financial world around them. 

Immerse yourself in more than 400 years of the world's most celebrated operas and discover the fascinating stories behind them. Explore the lives of singers such as Maria Callas, Luciano Pavarotti, and Jonas Kaufmann. Meet composers like Mozart, Wagner, and Britten, and the librettists with whom they collaborated to create the magical blend of words and music that make up opera.