Showing results by narrator "Julian Rhind-Tutt" in All Categories

This dramatisation of Jonathan Franzen's acclaimed, epic, award-winning novel revolves around the troubles of an elderly Midwestern couple and their three adult children, tracing their lives from the mid-20th century to 'one last Christmas' together near the turn of the millennium. A family saga, that sits against the backdrop of this century's changing face of America, the novel was published 10 days before 9/11 but is widely considered an observation of what happened to the American psyche after 9/11.

It seemed a simple enough idea at the outset: to assemble a team of 11 men to play cricket on each of the seven continents of the globe - except that's not a simple idea at all. And when you throw in incompetent airline officials, cunning Bajan drug dealers, overzealous American anti-terrorist police, idiotic Welshmen dressed as Santa Claus, and whole armies of pitch-invading penguins, you quickly arrive at a lot more than you bargained for.

London, 1905: The city is alight with change, and the Stephen siblings are at the forefront. Vanessa, Virginia, Thoby, and Adrian are leaving behind their childhood home and taking a house in the leafy heart of avant-garde Bloomsbury. There they bring together a glittering circle of bright, outrageous artistic friends who will grow into legend and come to be known as the Bloomsbury Group. And at the center of this charmed circle are the devoted, gifted sisters: Vanessa, the painter, and Virginia, the writer.

England's 'Glorious Revolution' of 1688 and the reign of new monarchs William and Mary signified a turning point for Restoration comedy with laws being passed to restrict playwrights' freedoms. The latter years are marked by a shift towards more moral storylines, mixing humour with social and political issues, alongside the lighthearted 'comedy of manners'. The works in this collection bring together these complementary styles, full of humour while also focusing on hard hitting themes.

Weaving together hints of Snow White and Sleeping Beauty with a shimmering thread of dark magic, this twist on classic fairy tales will hold readers spellbound from start to finish. On the eve of her wedding, a young queen sets out to rescue a princess from an enchantment. She casts aside her fine wedding clothes, takes her chain mail and her sword and ventures into the tunnels under the mountain towards the sleeping kingdom. This queen will decide her own future – and the princess who needs rescuing is not quite what she seems.

The darkest secrets of World War II… finally revealed. Europe is ablaze. America is undecided about joining the fight against Nazism. And James Zennor, a brilliant, troubled, young Oxford don is horrified. He returns one morning from rowing to discover that his wife has disappeared with their young son, leaving only a note declaring her continuing love.

Here's an irreverent and hilarious reference guide to all the people, ideas, and institutions that pollute our lives. Because you don't have to be old to be grumpy. Read by the stars of Channel 4's Green Wing.

Kirsty is having an affair with a married man, Adrian. When his wife, Lucy, returns unexpectedly from a business conference, Kirsty hides in the attic. In a panic, she falls down the back of the attic into the cavity wall. A story then unfolds which combines the domestically mundane with the utterly bizarre.

Three children have been kidnapped by some mysterious, mad aunts and panic is spreading. But Myrtle, Coral and Etta are far from killers - they need the children to help them in a very caring mission. The secret island where they live is a sanctuary for strange and wonderful creatures - mermaids, selkies, the amazing boobrie bird, and even the great Kraken himself.

It's 1972 and Vince Cosmos is all the rage. He's the enigmatic Glam Rock star who sings about being an alien and whose followers worship him. Poppy Munday is the secretary of his fan club - Sunderland chapter - and all her dreams are about to come truewhen she finds herself drwan into the strange orbit of the Seventies' most fabulous star. But what if Vince Cosmos really is an alien? One engaged in a secret battle with aliens already on Earth?

The unabridged, digital audiobook edition of "Someone Like You", a short, sharp, chilling story from Roald Dahl, the master of the shocking tale, read by the actor Julian Rhind-Tutt. In "Someone Like You", Roald Dahl, one of the world's favourite authors, tells of two wartime pilots arguing over the fickle hand of fate (and the airman).... "Someone Like You" is taken from the short story collection Over to You, which includes nine other dramatic and terrifying tales of life as a wartime fighter pilot.

Theo is determined to seek happiness with her husband's business rival, Vincent. Having fled London for Paris, however, she soon learns of Richard's financial collapse - and discovers that rather more than just his job is at stake.

Recorded in front of a live audience, these wry, funny tales introduce us to the varied creatures who make their homes on the shoreline, in garden ponds and in our attics. In 18 comic monologues, they reveal the truth about what life is really like in their respective habitats - and it's much more eventful than you might think.

One of the first words we learn. Perhaps the best friend we'll have. An animal so much part of our lives that we speak to it like a child and spend small fortunes on its well-being and wardrobe. Dogs and humans: in the last 200 years no inter-species relationship has developed so fast nor come so far. Dogs accompany us in every walk of life, usually three times a day. How and why did this relationship begin? How has it changed over the centuries? And who's getting the upper hand?

One day a fakir leaves his small village in India and lands in Paris. A professional con artist, the fakir is on a pilgrimage to IKEA, where he intends to obtain an object he covets above all others: a brand new bed of nails. Without adequate Euros in the pockets of his silk trousers, the fakir is all the same confident that his counterfeit 100-Euro note (printed on one side only) and his usual bag of tricks will suffice. But when a swindled cab driver seeks his murderous revenge, the fakir accidentally embarks on a European tour.

In Search of Elvis sees Charlie Connelly set off on a journey to discover what makes Elvis so significant today, more than half a century after he changed popular culture forever. Charlie's odyssey takes him to Finland to meet an academic who performs Elvis songs in long-dead languages while wearing a kilt, and to Canada to find Schmelvis, an Orthodox Jewish Elvis tribute artist. It culminates in Memphis, where Charlie stays at the Heartbreak Hotel and records a song in Sun Studio.

Tom and Rosie are solo parents living 250 miles apart. Both recently divorced, bruised and lonely, they're looking for a cyber pal who understands what they're going through. So when they log on to a parenting advice website, they make an instant, sparky connection. Gradually, their online friendship becomes something more, and a 'will they/won't they' relationship develops via emails, text, phone calls and the SPP forum.

The unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition of A Piece of Cake, a short, gripping story of life in wartime from Roald Dahl, the master of the shocking tale. Read by the actor Julian Rhind-Tutt. In this short story, Roald Dahl tells the horrific tale of a pilot whose plane crashes in the desert. A Piece of Cake is taken from the short story collection Over to You, which includes nine other dramatic and terrifying tales of life as a wartime fighter pilot, and is drawn from Dahl’s own experiences during the Second World War.

In "Death of an Old Old Man", Roald Dahl, one of the world’s favourite authors, tells a brutal story of pilots and the terror of aerial combat. "Death of an Old Old Man" is taken from the short story collection Over to You, which includes nine other dramatic and terrifying tales of life as a wartime fighter pilot, and is drawn from Dahl’s own experiences during the Second World War.

The unabridged, digital audiobook edition of "Neck", a short, sharp, frightening story from Roald Dahl, the master of the shocking tale, read by the actor Julian Rhind-Tutt. In "Neck", Roald Dahl, one of the world’s favourite authors, tells a sinister story about the darker side of human nature. Here, a sculpture comes between a scheming wife and her put-upon husband.... "Neck" is taken from the short story collection Someone Like You, which includes 17 other devious and shocking stories.