Showing results by narrator "Michael Fenton Stevens" in All Categories

Roundworld is in trouble again, and this time it looks fatal. Having created it in the first place, the wizards of Unseen University feel vaguely responsible for its safety. They know the creatures who lived there escaped the impending Big Freeze by inventing the space elevator - they even intervened to rid the planet of a plague of elves, who attempted to divert humanity onto a different time track. But now it's all gone wrong - Victorian England has stagnated and the pace of progress would embarrass a limping snail.

Lottie is tired of long-term boyfriends who don’t want to commit to marriage. When her old boyfriend Ben reappears and reminds her of their pact to get married if they were both still single at 30, she jumps at the chance. There will be no dates and no engagement - just a straight wedding march to the altar! Next comes the honeymoon on the Greek island where they first met. But not everyone is thrilled with Lottie and Ben’s rushed marriage, and family and friends are determined to intervene. Will Lottie and Ben have a wedding night to remember…or one to forget?

Over the summer of 2013 Egypt witnessed its worst anti-Christian violence in centuries, with dozens of churches burned down by supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood. In Syria Islamist gunmen occupy the faith’s holiest site, while the Civil War has given Sunni extremists the chance to empty Christian villages through ‘religious cleansing’. And 10 years after the fall of Saddam, Iraq’s pre-war Christian population has fallen from a million to 200,000 and now barely clings on.

Frank Warren has spent 40 years working with boxing's most colourful and controversial characters. In his long-awaited autobiography, he reflects on the battles he had to win to reach the top and remain there, not least the battle to stay alive after he was shot at point-blank range in an attempted assassination in 1989. In Frank and Fearless, Warren pulls no punches, taking us behind the scenes into a world of blood and sweat, and intense relationships that all too often end in tears.

In celebration of Sir David Jason’s 80th year, A Del of a Life: Lessons I've Learned relives Jason’s extraordinary life and career from more than 50 years in entertainment. From a trainee electrician to one of Britain’s most revered and loved actors, Jason shares heartfelt and hilarious wisdom with listeners on subjects ranging from family to work, resilience to ebullience. Told with his characteristic warmth and wit, Jason shines a wonderful new light on the characters and shows that fans have come to love him for, from Del Boy to Granville, Larkin to Frost.

With a foreword by Neil Gaiman Terry Pratchett has earned a place in the hearts of readers the world over with his bestselling Discworld series – but in recent years he has become equally well-known and respected as an outspoken campaigner for causes including Alzheimer’s research and animal rights.

In his first book, David Jason told us about himself from his early years training as an electrician through to making it as one of Britain's actors. This autumn, in a follow-up autobiography, he tells us about the many other lives he has lived - his characters. From Del Boy to Granville, Pop Larkin to Frost, he takes us behind the scenes and under the skins of some of the best loved acts of his career. And in the process he reflects on how those characters changed his life, too.

Paperback Hell takes a wry look at well-known genres riding high in the publishing charts and mercilessly lampoons them to hilarious effect. Featuring choice chapters culled from titles that bear a striking resemblance to something you've read before, it's the book show that seems determined to destroy the good name of literature.

Forged passports, secret maps, ingenious disguises, underground networks - in times of war, tales of escape and evasion can be even more spectacular and heroic than those of victory in battle. Many of the most famous escapes in history took place during World War II. These daring flights from Nazi-occupied Europe would never have been possible but for the assistance of a hitherto secret British service: MI9. This small, dedicated and endlessly inventive team gave hope to the men who had fallen into enemy hands and aid to resistance fighters in occupied territory.

There's chaos in the clothes shop when the animals go on a glorious shopping spree. Zebra's zip is stuck and Toad's tracksuit is far too big, but Flamingo finds a stylish bag and Caterpillar's shoes are really cool. Even the smallest toddler will enjoy the wonderfully silly animal antics in this story, so join in the fun - you've never seen a fashion show like it!

When Lovejoy witnesses a car crash that turns out to be a murder - with one of his oldest antique-dealer friends the victim - he sets out on a trail of revenge that leaves him pondering several bewildering questions. Why did his friend buy up a load of junk furniture? What did he want with an old doctor's bag? Why was his friend killed? Who was trying to kill Lovejoy and - most perplexing of all - what the hell is he doing potholing through underground tunnels dodging armed hit men?

Whisper Wings of the North Shores Fairies is a brand-new series of short fairy stories by award-winning radio and audio director/writer Neil Gardner, read by the incomparable Michael Fenton Stevens and featuring bespoke composition by James Dunlop. Perfect for children of all ages, but written with four- to eight-year-olds in mind. A series of uplifting and exciting adventures that help youngsters learn about inclusivity, friendship and some important life lessons (sharing, responsibility, paying attention, listening to adults, taking care, etc.).

'Chocolate mousse!' says greedy Goose. 'Don't just grab it,' says angry Rabbit. Good manners aren't on the menu at this meal. Duck won't eat his carrots. Moth's eating the cloth, and Sheep would rather sleep than wash the dishes. Thank goodness some of the animals know how to behave!

All the animals are busy lending a hand in the garden in this lively numbers book! The parrots are pulling up carrots, the bears are picking pears and a swarm of bees are pruning the trees with their miniature shears. One Mole Digging a Hole is a fantastic rhyming counting story from the favourite preschool partnership of Julia Donaldson and Nick Sharratt. With plenty to giggle at, counting - or gardening - has never been so much fun! This brilliant audio edition of the story is read by Michael Fenton Stevens and features a read-along track.

We join them in September - the start of the farming year - as daughter Megan, a brainy 'plain Jane', sets her sights on Mr Bootle - only to find he's really just interested in birdwatching. December brings 'Goose-Feathering Night' - but Megan's determined to save Gudrun from a plucking. February finds her desperate to get into Oxford University but fearing rejection: could the creepy Mr Jenkins offer a solution? 

During the course of the 1950s, England lost confidence in its rulers and convinced itself to modernise. The bankrupt steam-powered railway, run by a retired general, symbolised everything that was wrong with the country; the future lay in motorways and high speed electric - or even atomic - express trains. But plans for a gleaming new railway system ended in failure and on the roads traffic ground to a halt. Along came Dr Beeching, forensically analysing the railways’ problems and delivering an expert’s diagnosis that a third of the nation’s railways must go.

Every antique dealer is a bit of a detective, following clues to find the trophies that pay the rent, but when Lovejoy takes on the job of tracking down a pair of duelling pistols so rare that he's not even sure actually exist, he needs all the instincts of a detective to pick his way through an unsolved crime. Along the way, he becomes convinced that the weapons do exist but that they have fallen into the hands of a vile murderer. Locating the ancient weapons seems like the least of his problems when Lovejoy then finds himself fighting for his life in a duel to the death!

Lovejoy discovers how the lure of gold brings out the worst kind of treasure seeker when, broke as usual and earning a crust as an unlikely babysitter, he stumbles across the diaries of a painter that appear to point to the whereabouts of a fabled hoard of Roman gold coins. Lovejoy is tempted to dismiss the whole thing as a hoax, but vile threats and violent intimidation have a way of changing his mind. He sets out to unravel the clues in the diaries, with some particularly nasty characters dogging his every move.

From rom coms to wrestling and fatherhood to fist fights, Robert Crampton's How to Be a Beta Male is a brilliantly funny and sometimes moving insight into being a modern-day bloke. Robert Crampton has been writing his Beta Male column for The Times since 2001. A much-loved weekly insight into modern masculinity - whatever that might mean - Beta Male strives to unlock the secrets of contemporary relationships in all their frequent glory, occasional frustration and ongoing complexity.

I always think that a genuine friend is like a genuine antique - you'd go a long way to find one and you'd do anything to stop one getting broken. When an Italian gentleman made me an offer I couldn't refuse, stopping my friends from getting broken meant stealing a very valuable antique. 'Somebody else has got my antique and I want it back,' was how he put it. 'Who has it?' I asked. Without a flicker of a smile he replied, 'The Pope'. If you think of the Vatican as a big church where the Pope lives, then think again.