Showing results by narrator "Sophie Thompson" in All Categories

A sweeping radio saga of political intrigue, love affairs, financial wrangles and murder, based on the books by Anthony Trollope, creator of The Barchester Chronicles. This epic drama follows several generations of the Palliser dynasty as they navigate the twists and turns of political and high society in Victorian England. Starring Ben Miles as Plantagenet, Sophie Thompson as Glencora, Conleth Hill as Phineas and David Troughton as the Narrator, with a star cast including Bertie Carvel, Juliet Stevenson, Greg Wise and Rachael Stirling.

First broadcast in 1990, this monumental adaptation of John Galsworthy's Nobel Prize-winning novel series was a radio event. It was the most expensive drama serial ever produced, featured one of the biggest, most star-studded casts and dominated the Radio 4 schedules for more than five months, attracting more than a million listeners each week. Comprising all nine books in Galsworthy's Forsyte Chronicles, it spans 50 years - from 1886 to 1936 - and tells the irresistible story of an upper-class dynasty torn apart by a terrible feud.

Jane Austen's enduring tale of romantic entanglement, read by Sophie Thompson. Emma is considered by many to be Jane Austen's finest work. Its heroine is fascinating, selfish, and manipulative, running riot with other people's emotions and relationships. The author employs her greatest skills to bring about Emma's consequent crisis, her awakening, and a happy resolution.

Acclaimed as 'the most thoroughly European of British crime writers' (Guardian), Nicolas Freeling was well known for his novels featuring Dutch sleuth Van der Valk and French policeman Henri Castang. Included in this collection are six stories showcasing both detectives, as well as a bonus programme exploring Van der Valk and his creator.

The youngest child of debtor William Dorrit, Amy is born in Marshalsea prison. She and her father are befriended by Arthur Clennam, whose mother employs "little Dorrit" as a seamstress. The fortunes of the Dorrits undergo an extreme change when William inherits a fortune, and the family move to Italy. Back in England, Arthur Clennam finds himself the victim of a massive fraud and ends up in Marshalsea. There he is found by Little Dorrit, whose fortune has had no effect on her generosity and humility.

Timothy West takes on the role of Rumpole in this collection of cracking court cases. The stories included are: Rumpole and the Primrose Path, Rumpole and the Scales of Justice, Rumpole and the Vanishing Juror, Rumpole Redeemed.

Wilkie Collins was one of Victorian England's best-loved and best-selling authors, and a crime-fiction pioneer. His enthralling 'sensation novels' such as The Woman in White paved the way for today's thrillers and his tour de force The Moonstone is one of the first, and greatest, modern-detective stories. This collection features dramatisations of these two masterpieces, with star casts including Toby Stephens (The Woman in White) and John Sharp (The Moonstone). Also included are adaptations of three of Collins' other major novels.

When Squire Fenton Babblewick inherits his uncle's Yorkshire estate, it's the perfect opportunity to realise his utopian dreams. He attempts to become a member of parliament, reform beetroots, win the love of lovely Lucinda, be a musical composer genius and buy a workhouse to turn it into a school. His ever present manservant - August Snipe, the true brains - watches in dismay as his master makes mistake after mistake. A sit-com set in the 18th century.

Christmas with Princess Mirror-Belle features two festive stories from Julia Donaldson. Ellen gets a big shock when her reflection climbs out of a mirror. But Mirror-Belle is a double with a difference! She is a princess, and a very mischievous one at that. Join Mirror-Belle as she sweeps Ellen into hilarious Christmassy escapades - from joining in with the Christmas ballet show to attending Ellen's friend's fancy-dress party and trying to catch Father Christmas!

Left penniless by the death of his father, nineteen-year-old Nicholas Nickleby seeks help, along with his mother and sister, from Uncle Ralph Nickleby. The hard-hearted money lender takes an instant dislike to his nephew and gets rid of the boy by securing him a teaching position at Dotheboys Hall, where the evil Wackford Squeers presides. Horrified by the barbarity he sees there, Nicholas defies Squeers and is forced to flee.

Joe Orton was among the towering geniuses of 1960s theatre. His life was tragically cut short in 1967, but he left behind him a handful of shocking and scabrous black comedies that will live on in the public imagination for years to come. Featured here are two of his lesser-known works, The Erpingham Camp and The Ruffian on the Stair, collected together as a double bill.

A BBC comedy drama set in the world of a 'pile 'em high university'. Karen Poynter is the new head of the Geography Department - renamed Geographical Tourism - at Hayborough University, which is definitely not part of the elite Russell Group of top universities. Ranked 132nd in the UK academic league table; if you have a pulse, you can have a degree.

Imogen, the daughter of King Cymbeline, is persecuted by her wicked stepmother, the Queen, and by Cloten, the Queen's doltish son. Disguised as a boy, she sets out to find her husband, the banished Posthumus. On her journey, she unwittingly meets her two brothers, stolen from the court as infants. Posthumus, meanwhile, has been convinced by the villainous Iachimo that Imogen is unchaste and agrees to a test of her faithfulness.

Verity adores her cat, Mabel, and is desperately sad when she dies. Remembering her recent school lessons about the Ancient Egyptians, Verity decides to mummify Mabel and keep her hidden. Verity's dad and grandparents can't bear to talk about death, having lost Verity's mum in childbirth, but when they eventually discover what Verity has done with Mabel, the whole family learns that it's time to talk.

Most famous for his Hornblower series, iconic writer C. S. Forester tells tales of adventure like no other. This BBC radio collection features modern adaptations of five of his acclaimed novels, including The African Queen (famously adapted as an Oscar-winning film starring Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn) and The Gun, which was turned into the hit Hollywood movie The Pride and the Passion.

Jeremiah Bourne is a boy with a remarkable gift. He can travel in time. Not by using a time machine, or stepping through a dimensional portal. It just happens to him, as though by accident. One minute he’s in the present day, the next, he’s 100 years in the past, standing in the London of 1910. Jeremiah has two questions: how did he get there - and how can he get back? On his quest for the answers, he enlists the help of Phyllis Stokes of The Society for Theosophical Research and her equally eccentric brother, Roger Allcot Standish, magistrate, spiritualist and dedicated nudist.

Digby the Diggedy Dog goes out into the garden to play. He digs a big, big hole. Dig, dig, diggedy, dig. And plays tag with two little frogs. Written by a speech and language therapist, each story in the Early Soundplay series is packed with multiple repetitions of selected sounds and rhymes. The stories are expertly crafted to support children's developing speech sound awareness and vocabulary knowledge. These are key foundation skills for success with phonics, early reading, and spelling.

Chatty Bat loves to chitter chatter chat with everyone. It's very noisy with constant chatter until it's time to sleep - then no more chatter, not a peep! The Early Soundplay series is stories that are fun to share, with lots of rhythm, rhyme, and repetition. Helping develop children's speech sound awareness, an important building block for success in early spelling.

It's cold on the cliffs. Clarabelle the calf has lost her scarf. She shivers and sniffs, then giggles and laughs when she sees who's taken her scarf! Written by a speech and language therapist, each story in the award-winning Early Soundplay series helps parents and practitioners develop children's spoken and written language.

Erica has three chicks: messy Mick, naughty Nick, and another little rascal, Rick. While Erica snoozes in the sun, the chicks are having lots of fun! Written by a speech and language therapist, each story in the Early Soundplay series is packed with multiple repetitions of selected sounds and rhymes. The stories are expertly crafted to support children's developing speech, sound awareness, and vocabulary knowledge.