Showing results by narrator "John Telfer" in All Categories

For three decades the Windrush was the maritime Zelig of the 20th century, playing different roles in the most turbulent years in modern times. Designed in 1930 in the Hamburg boatyard of a Jewish shipbuilder to ferry Germans to a new life in South America, it wasn't long before Goebbels requisitioned her as one of his ‘Strength Through Joy’ vessels. However, her duties soon darkened: she became a Nazi troop carrier, a support vessel for the pocket battleship Tirpitz and a prison ship transporting Jews to Auschwitz.

Three Men on a Diet is the very funny and brutally honest story of three mighty men with nothing to gain and so much to lose: a diet book with a difference. Three Men on a Diet is the story of George, Reggie and Sebastian, three middle-aged friends and food- and drink-lovers, learning how to lower their calorie intake without losing their joie de vivre. Determined to improve his looks and health before it's too late (and after being told that he looked like a pregnant bulldog), Reggie persuades the others to join him on a five-month quest to shed three stone.

The October Revolution happened in November 1917. Later Soviet propaganda 'proved' it was 'the will of the people', but few know that the brutal rebellion, which killed millions and raised Lenin's numerically tiny Bolshevik Party to power, was made possible by massive injections of German money laundered through a Swedish bank and a shady arms dealer who had made a fortune in the Balkan wars.

In this colourful history of the wild world of crime reporting since 1700, Duncan Campbell reveals what it's really like to deal with murderers, gangsters, victims, informers and detectives, looking at the 'hacks in the macs' who would go to any lengths to get a story - and serve it up to an ever-eager reading public. Crime is a prism through which we see society and its phobias.

Simon Templar is taking a leisurely drive though the French countryside when he picks up a couple of hitchhikers who are going to work at Chateau Ingare, a small vineyard on the site of a former stronghold of the Knights Templar. At the chateau, the Saint discovers a noble family seemingly plagued by a curse.

Based on a two-part episode of Return of the Saint, starring Ian Ogilvy, the Saint takes part in a powerboat race only for his main competitor's boat to blow up midrace. As Simon comforts the man's widow, he discovers some rather unusual behaviour, which leads to a rather unusual bunch of crooks....

Two more adventures based on episodes from The Saint starring Roger Moore: In 'The Midas Double' the Saint is kidnapped in the Athens airport and taken to the offices of Diogenes Patroclos - a Greek shipping magnate haunted by a bizarre doppelgänger. Reluctantly, Simon accepts the job of locating the double, only to track down the imposter in London and find that his quarry has exactly the same story.

Two adventures based on episodes from Return of the Saint, starring Ian Ogilvy: In 'The Imprudent Professor' the Saint is summoned by pretty Emma Maclett to prevent the kidnapping of her father, an eminent scientist with world-changing ideas on the large-scale provision of solar energy. In 'The Red Sabbath' the Saint tracks down an Arab terrorist on behalf of Israeli intelligence.

On the eve of World War II, the Saint is in Vienna, where his attentions are divided between a sensuous countess and some legendary diamonds - both of which he is trying to keep out of Nazi hands. Leslie Charteris was born in Singapore and moved to England in 1919. He left Cambridge University early when his first novel was accepted for publication. He wrote novels about the Saint throughout his life, becoming one of the 20th century's most prolific and popular authors.

On an errand of mercy for an elderly neighbour, Simon Templar meets a distraught but beautiful damsel in distress. It seems she is missing her brother...and someone else is missing a Rembrandt. Soon the Saint discovers the two are connected, and he’s on the trail of "The Masterpiece Merchant". In Philadelphia, the Saint meets a lovely young heiress at a charity ball only to discover that another member of the party is a leading figure in organised crime.

When a waiter at an Indian restaurant is crucified, and when a customer of that restaurant happens to be the infamous Simon Templar, it spells trouble for one of the more unusual import-export businesses that you’ve ever heard of. Leslie Charteris was born in Singapore and moved to England in 1919. He left Cambridge University early when his first novel was accepted for publication. He wrote novels about the Saint throughout his life, becoming one of the 20th century's most prolific and popular authors.

The Saint is in Portugal on the trail of a young woman whose father was in the US Army and disappeared towards the end of the war. Her father worked as an investigator, tracing large sums of money. Soon the Saint and the Ungodly are on the trail of Nazi gold. Leslie Charteris was born in Singapore and moved to England in 1919. He left Cambridge University early when his first novel was accepted for publication. He wrote novels about the Saint throughout his life.

Two more adventures for the Saint based on episodes from the TV series starring Roger Moore: in 'The Art Collectors' the Saint comes across a collection of Old Masters that have been hidden for many years, but then the art collector herself goes missing.... And in 'The Persistent Patriots', the Saint comes to the aid of the prime minister of Nagawiland when he becomes the target for blackmail and assassination.

The Saint is hired to protect Amos Klein, a secretive author who writes a popular and lucrative series of spy novels. Soon the Saint and Amos Klein are kidnapped by members of SWORD, the evil organisation from Klein’s novels. It seems the world created by the famous author has truly come to life.... Leslie Charteris was born in Singapore and moved to England in 1919. He left Cambridge University early when his first novel was accepted for publication.

When the Saint goes fishing, he catches an unusual specimen in the shape of a young lady claiming to be Adolf Hitler’s daughter. And when the Ungodly also arrive on the scene, it seems clear the fish will just have to wait. Leslie Charteris was born in Singapore and moved to England in 1919. He left Cambridge University early when his first novel was accepted for publication. He wrote novels about the Saint throughout his life, becoming one of the 20th century's most prolific and popular authors.

Two adventures based on episodes of The Saint with Roger Moore: In the first, Simon Templar is gassed by a toy soldier, shot with an arrow, mowed down with a submachine gun, and blown up by a plastic bomb hidden in a light fixture. The Saint has become an unwilling participant in The Death Game. In the second tale, having discovered who was behind Death Game, Saint discovers a blackmailer of evil distinction who just won’t give up.

The Saint is on holiday in Naples when a brawl interrupts his lunch; a tweedy English tourist has casually addressed an Italian as Dino Cartelli - provoking the paunchy individual so named to set his hulking henchman on the bewildered Briton. The Saint intervenes, and soon the disagreement is all but forgotten...until the following morning’s newspaper headlines reveal that the Englishman has been murdered.

In these six stories, the Saint encounters monsters of both the human and the animal variety: unscrupulous fraudsters in Hamburg; a confrontation with a rhino; perfect murders in Paris; a temperance leader deserving to be taken down a peg or two; a thief duping tourists in Sweden; and the hunt for the most famous monster of them all on the shores of Loch Ness. You can trust the Saint to deal with anything life throws at him with charm, imagination and steely determination.

The Saint has become better known - but that just increases the number of people who seek out his help. In these nine short stories, Simon has a chance to show off his skills: he matches his wits against confidence tricksters, objects to a hanging, gets the better of a patent pill millionaire, solves a locked-room murder in a secret laboratory, goes fishing, turns journalist and ends the book with a bang - literally!

The Saint is a traditionalist - he knows what a good pirate story needs. Gold, hidden treasure, smugglers, dastardly villains, and damsels in distress. From Bimini to Nassau via Jamaica and Haiti, the Saint travels the Caribbean - interrupting his holidays to settle disputes, solve murders, overthrow governments, and hunt for treasure. Wherever he lands, you can be sure that the ungodly will get what's coming to them.