Audio Books

This slipcase contains the soundtracks of three television adventures in which the Doctor and friends travel back in Time and get caught up in events in history.The three stories - "The Myth Makers", "The Massacre" and "The Highlanders" - find the TARDIS in Ancient Greece, 16th Century France and 18th Century Scotland. William Hartnell stars as the "Doctor in The Myth Makers" and "The Massacre", whilst Patrick Troughton steps into the role for "The Highlanders". Linking narration is provided by Peter Purves and Frazer Hines. These ... read more

This two CD set is drawn from the BBC Radio broadcasts of Ted Hughes and features live and studio recordings of the poet introducing and reading his own work. The recordings include his earliest surviving poetry broadcast and extensive selections from "Remains of Elmet" and "Moortown Diary", plus selections from his "Crow" poems and two complete short stories, "The Harvesting" and "Snow". Hughes was Poet Laureate from 1984 till his death in 1998 and is widely regarded as one of the most accomplished British poets of the post-war pe... read more

Jenny Bornholdt has written seven books of poetry, including a selected poems Miss New Zealand (VUW,1997). Jenny Bornholdt was Poet Laureate in in 2005/06 during which she produced Mrs Winter's Jump (Godwit,2007). Her previous book Summer (VUW,2003) was written in Menton, France when she held the Katherine Mansfield Memorial Scholarship. The 34 poems on this CD can be found in Miss New Zealand (tracks 1-17), Summer (tracks 18-29) and Mrs Winter's Jump (tracks 30-34)The Poems are: In The Garden, Rodnie And Her Bicycles, Instructi... read more

This title features four TV soundtrack episodes from the second award-winning BBC TV series starring Paul Eddington, Nigel Hawthorne and Derek Fowlds. "Man Overboard" - Jim Hacker is in favour of moving army regiments to the north to create jobs, until Sir Humphrey hints that the PM's job is under threat. "Official Secrets" - The former PM's memoirs have to be scrutinized for security reasons. But Jim realises that they will make him look bad and he tries to suppress their publication. "A Diplomatic Incident" - The death of the for... read more

The 48 poems on this CD come from his books Collected Poems (VUP,2001) and Lifted VUP,2005). Lifted won the prestigious 2006 Montana NZ Book Award. The poems are recorded in approximately chronological order ... Love Poem, The Voyage, The Wind, The Elaboration, The Prayer, Vidyapati's Song, Wulf, The Spell, The God Who Watches Over All Perhaps, On Originality, The Song, The Incision, Last Sonnet, Contemplation Of The Heavens, Summer, The Collaboration, A Song About The Moon, Party Going, Night Windows Carey's Bay, Zoetropes, Water:... read more

Alan Bennett's gentle, wry observations of life have made him one of the country's best-loved and most famous authors. He reads extracts from his bestselling diaries which offer a fascinating insight into his life - the work on location, life in Camden and fond, poignant memories of his childhood and home life.

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Her frank, confessional style of writing won her many fans around the world, and she remains very popular over forty years after her death. This new CD from British Library Publishing brings together BBC recordings from the British Library Sound Archive, and includes Plath discussing and reading from her work. A particular highlight is a 1961 recording of a BBC programme Plath recorded with her husband, Ted Hughes, where they talk about their marriage and what it means to live with your muse. Many of these recordings are published ... read more

This selection of thirty-four of McQueen's best-loved poems brings together work from twenty years of performance and publication. Cilla McQueen's readings of her work are unforgettable. In this recording, her readings are accompanied by three Dunedin musicians. Many of the poems on this CD are from a time when Cilla was the partner of leading New Zealand artist Ralph Hotere; echoes bounce between the works of the two. A must for all poetry and art lovers. Designed as a companion to Fire-Penny. Homing In Wild Sweets ... read more

In this much-loved Dahl story, the giraffe, the pelican and the agile monkey set out to prove that they are the best window-cleaning company around. Read by Richard E. Grant. Unabridged on 1 CD.

'And in Edinburgh of all places. I mean, you never think of that sort of thing happening in Edinburgh, do you...?' 'That sort of thing' is the brutal abduction and murder of two young girls. And now a third is missing, presumably gone to the same sad end. Detective Sergeant John Rebus, smoking and drinking too much, his own young daughter spirited away south by his disenchanted wife, is one of many policemen hunting the killer. And then the messages begin to arrive: knotted string and matchstick crosses - taunting Rebus with pieces... read more

These days we feel almost as young at fifty as we did at thirty - give or take the odd twinge. However, we are also becoming increasingly aware that the cradle is a lot further off than the grave. Is this the moment to start shaking things up a bit? The last chance to realize those long-cherished dreams? To chuck in the humdrum job and strike out? To set the pulse racing, perhaps, with a view earthwards from a hang-glider, or over the handlebars of a Harley Davidson? Is this when you make it at last onto the main board? Or become t... read more

A riveting, true-life story of adventure and survival in the Peruvian Andes.

In June 1985, Joe Simpson and Simon Yates, two young but experienced climbers, set out to ascend the unclimbed West Face of the remote 21,000ft Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes. They managed to achieve the summit before disaster struck, leaving Simon Yates with an agonising decision to make - to cut the rope holding Joe or to die with him. A few days later Simon staggered into Base Camp, exhausted and frostbitten, to tell their non-climbing... read more

Alan Bennett, master storyteller, reads four of his highly-acclaimed stories. The Lady in the Van - An eccentric old lady and her van are told to move on by the council, but a kind homeowner invites her to live in his garden. In this bizarre tale, the homeowner is Alan Bennett and the woman stays for fifteen years. As heard on BBC Radio 4, this edition also includes the short story, Uncle Clarence. The Clothes They Stood Up In - The Ransomes have been burgled, robbed, cleaned out. Everything has gone, even the toilet paper.... read more

Alexander McCall Smith, best-selling author of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, has turned his hand to humour. The delightful result is a creation of comic genius. For in the unnaturally tall form of Professor Doctor Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld, we are invited to meet a memorable character whose sublime insouciance is a blend of the cultivated pomposity of Frasier Crane and of Inspecteur Clouseau's hapless gaucherie. Von Igelfeld inhabits the rarefied world of the Institute of Romance Philology at Regensburg, a world he shares wi... read more

Tony Hancock stars in two long-lost episodes from the classic "BBC Radio" series. "Sid James' Dad" (28 October 1956) &"The Diet" (7 December 1955). Broadcast live, these rare recordings are made available for the first time in over fifty years. In "Sid James' Dad", Sid is expecting a visit from his father. Being ashamed to admit his true profession, he has explained his regular appearances in court by telling the old man he is a judge. "The Diet" sees Hancock being offered the lead role in a romantic film. Unfortunately, the Americ... read more

One winter's morning, Lorimer Black - young, good-looking, but with a somewhat troubled expression - goes to keep a perfectly routine business appointment and finds a hanged man. A bad start to the day, by any standards, and an ominous portent. Sure enough, Lorimer's life is duly turned upside down and inside out in ways he could never have foreseen.

2 Cassettes.

Nigel Marsh is a stressed overweight mortgage slave struggling to balance a high pressure career, a marriage and the demands of four small children under eight.
When the unthinkable happens, he loses his job.

His story is a rare gem, a highly entertaining thought provoking and inspiring memoir about falling off a hamster wheel and surviving.
After the initial shock of losing his job, Nigel decides to embrace life outside the office and spend a year taking stock. What follows is a candid and often hilariou... read more

Leading motivational speaker Catherine De Vrye shares her insights on how to make your personal and professional life more meaningful.

The true story of Alan Bennett and his unusual neighbour, an eccentric old lady. Mary Shepherd moves her home-on-wheels into a quiet street until council pressure forces her to move on. Bennett kindly offers his front garden as a temporary site for Mary to park her van. Miss Shepherd ends up staying for the next fifteen years. This is the bizarre and often hilarious account of those years.