Winner of the Man Booker Prize 2009 and read by Dan Stevens, star of TV’s Downton Abbey. Lock Cromwell in a deep dungeon in the morning,' says Thomas More, 'and when you come back that night he'll be sitting on a plush cushion eating larks' tongues, and all the gaolers will owe him money.'
Behind the locked doors of the Sistine Chapel, one hundred and eighteen cardinals from all over the globe will cast their votes in the world’s most secretive election. They are holy men. But they have ambition. And they have rivals. Over the next seventy-two hours one of them will become the most...
This audiobook is an anthology of poems by WH Auden, TS Eliot, Philip Larkin, Emily Dickinson, Marianne Moore, Rudyard Kipling, Sylvia Plath and W B Yeats, introduced by Josephine Hart and read by a cast of famous actors: Ralph Fiennes, Edward Fox, Ian McDiarmid, Helen McCrory, Sir Roger Moore, Harold Pinter, Elizabeth McGovern...
An anthology of poetry accompanied by classical music, based on Lord Owen's "Seven Ages: Poetry for a Lifetime".
The CDs feature over 100 poems read by 40 actors.
They include: Michael Caine reading Rudyard Kipling's "If"; Ralph Fiennes reading Thomas Hood's "I Remember, I Remember"; John Cleese reading "The Owl and the Pussycat"; and Pete Postlethwaite reading "Kubla Khan".
Sir John Betjeman's unique relationship with the BBC left a lasting legacy of poetry, readings and performances. "A First Class Collection" features a selection of some of his most memorable and best-loved poetry.
A Genius Performance by David Rintoul! A brilliant selection of great poetry by some of the very best Scottish poets including Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott, James Thomson and Hugh MacDiarmid.
Writer, poet and broadcaster Pam Ayres has been making her fans smile for more than 30 years since her first television appearance on Opportunity Knocks. This audiobook contains a collection of her poetry.
There is in the eminently quotable lines of Kipling's poetry a varying shimmer of greatness. His poems convey strong emotions of bitterness, humanity and sentiment. They are poems of kinship with humankind, of nobility, of reflected glory and the futilities of our own time.
This new edition focuses on the Sonnets as poetry - sometimes strikingly individual poems, but often subtly interlinked in thematic, imagistic and other groupings.
Read by a dazzling cast of actors including Eileen Atkins, Nancy Carroll, Alan Cox, Charles Dance, Joanna David, Lindsay Duncan, Edward Fox, Emilia Fox, Robert Hardy, Tom Hollander, Jeremy Irons, Felicity Kendal, Elizabeth McGovern, Mark Strong, Dominic West, Greg Wise.
Which is the Best Performance of .......
Charles Dickens - A Christmas Carol
As Christmas approaches thoughts turn to what has to be THE audiobook for this time of year.
If the media is a deciding factor, and you don't want to use our Audio Transfer service, then you may well be restricted to what are good performances but not the best. Again if you must have an Unabridged performance then, though the performances are excellent, the very best performance will not be available to you.
We will take a look at each performance and rate them on pace, passion and pizzazz!
Unabridged - CD
The choice here is between an old favourite Anton Lesser and Miriam Margolyes. After listening to both of these recordings I have to say there is little to separate them in terms of Pace. Both these massively experienced actors perform the book at almost exactly the same pace. Even the durations of the performances come in within 3 mins of each other. Anton Lesser is a trifle more staccato in has attack but both show their classical talents wonderfully well.
Passion is a critical factor in audiobook performance. With a story such as this, and an author such as Dickens, passion has to be controlled very precisely. Again there is little to divide the 2 performances in this regard. Though, it should not be forgotten that one's own experience with a performer can play a significant role. We are very aware that with Anton Lesser, current with over 20 performances in stock, we have a long standing admiration of his work. On the other hand we do have 10 titles performed by Miriam Margolyes and have, to this day, never found any of them less than excellent.
Finally we come to Pizzazz. This most subjective of aspects will be deeply influenced by our experience with the performer. With that aspect in mind we have to give Anton Lesser the edge. His characterisations, through changes in voice and pace, appear smoother and less forced that that of Miriam Margolyes.
Abridged - CD
In this classification there are again only two options. For those of us who want the gist of the story and have only 75 mins to spend, perhaps this is just long enough for younger children, David Jason does en excellent job. Anton Lesser's production is, almost the whole story, coming in at over 2 and a half hours, so a direct comparison is not appropriate. A real comparison with David Jason's performance needs to be with the other abridged performances and unfortunately this one is clearly not the best available. For that we must wait until the cassette versions. But, if time is limited and a packaged CD is required then David Jason's version will suit very well.
Now we come to what may well be the best unabridged performance of this work. Geoffrey Palmer's performance is very good. In terms of his pacing, the duration of the recording comes in at around 3 hours 30 mins and his style is something to be enjoyed. This one is for those of us to want to be entertained for a whole afternoon. Geoffrey Palmer's reading is in equal part characterful, in the best sense, and almost musical in nature. The characters sound very distinctive and he navigates the story like a true maestro. It is only a shame that he performed so few audiobooks. To conclude this is the best recording when an unabridged performance is wanted.
Abridged - Cassette
There is a distinction required between "reading" performances and dramatisation performances. Patrick Stewart's work is rather more a dramatisation than a "reading". This lends the production to being perhaps the most accessible to the youngest of children. This work is less likely to please the adult listener as many of the characters are voiced rather over-emphatically. At just under 2 hours this one will suit the under 10 age group quite well.
Now to the reading performances.
John Gielgud's reading comes in at around 60 mins and would suit those looking for a great reading, with passion and lovely characterisations, all crammed into an hour. There is little time during this production for any pizzazz but it should be remembered that Gielgud's performance is never less than supremely entertaining so this should not be a problem.
Paul Scofield's production is, as always, beautifully rendered. The pace is never slow and time is given to each character. Passion is communicated with exceptional control - a true maestro working at near the top of his game. Pizzazz is not something that this great actor is associated with very often and this is no exception. This work is ideal for those of us who value and enjoy Mr Scofield's brilliant classical tone.
Now we come to a performance that we at Brainfood Audiobooks have come to rate as one of our Stamp of Genius series. After many 1000s of audiobooks there are very few that make it into our top 20 audiobooks ever and this is a long time member of that club.
What is it about this production that makes it so extra-ordinary? Well the pacing is just right. The reading comes in at just under 2 hours and the pacing is never pressured. There is in no way a lull in the performance. Every word is essential. Passion? The deftness of Mr Rossiter's performance is quite sublime. It is a terrible shame that he did so few audio productions as his talent for them is without doubt exceptional. Each character lives from beginning to end. The laughs are there as are the tears in the sadder moments. A great artist at work. Perhaps his comic timing is at the root of why this production is so wonderful? We can only conclude in saying that whenever this performance graces our audio player there is nothing to do but sit back and listen!
If you are interested in an atmospheric thriller of an extraordinary order - this is probably the Best Audiobook you will ever hear. A great book is transformed, by Sean Barrett, into a production of Genius! If you haven't heard it yet then you have an amazing journey before you......
Peregrine Roderick Clyde-Brown is a bumbling, naive and savagely dim-witted teenager, who, as his name reveals, cannot possibly be exposed to the evils of a comprehensive school. However, with his penchant for taking even the most innocent command literally, no reputable school will accept the boy...
This wonderful book is read by 2 of the very best audiobook readers bar none! Sean Barrett's Chapter 1 is pure genius! Writing of this quality combined with the reading of Mr Barrett and Teresa Gallagher is an absolute must! This one is a life-long keeper!! Naxos
A Genius Performance by Ian Holm, Robert Stephens, John Le Mesurier and Peter Woodthorpe! A true breakthrough for Tolkien and the BBC! Brian Sibley's dramatisation of the fantasy epic in 1981 is an essential listen for any audiobook listener.
Our gut is as important as our brain or heart, yet we know very little about how it works and many of us are too embarrassed to ask questions. In Gut, Giulia Enders breaks this taboo, revealing the latest science on how much our digestive system has to offer.
A Genius Performance by Ian Holm, Robert Stephens, Dame Peggy Ashcroft, Jeremy Brett, Michael York, Cyril Cusak and Nigel Davenport! This production of Shakespeare's classic tragedy is the best we have heard! In very short supply and only just in front of the Naxos - Kenneth Branagh production
This is a perfect example of why Brainfood Audiobooks exists! William (Willie) Rushton brings all of his comedic talent to bear on this wonderful tale. This audio set comes with a complimentary Audio CD version of this book.
A misfit at an exclusive New England college, Richard finds kindred spirits in the five eccentric students of his ancient Greek class. But his new friends have a horrific secret. When blackmail and violence threaten to blow their privileged lives apart, they drag Richard into the nightmare that engulfs them.
Whether you listen to this on a dark winter's night of a sunny summer morning Leonard Rossiter's performance will take you on a journey. This is a perfect combination of text and performer. Leonard Rossiter makes this text his own and with such a quality of delivery that, if you close your eyes, you are there!
Includes The Hitch-hiker's Guide, The Resaurant at the End of the Universe, Life, The Universe and Everything, So Long and Thanks for All the Fish and Mostly Harmless! All read by the Master Himself!
This is a perfect example of why Brainfood Audiobooks exists! William (Willie) Rushton brings all of his comedic talent to bear on this wonderful tale. This audio set comes with a complimentary Audio CD version of this book.
This is a selection of readings from Shakespeare. Selected by HRH Prince of Wales, the cast includes Robert Stephens, Richard Briers, John Gielgud, Juliet Stevenson, Glenda Jackson, William Hurt and John Sessions. Brilliant performances by these wonderful actors!
** We currently have 2 of these in stock. They BOTH come with a FREE copy of this wonderful recording on Audio CD. The Acceptable copy has been graded due to a 30 sec dropout after 15 mins of side 1. Rest assured that in the Audio CD copy, that comes FREE with this title, the audio plays perfectly **
These are masterly readings, by renowned thespian Paul Scofield, of two substantial works of poetry by T.S. Eliot. They form the core of Eliot's later work and, with Scofield's wonderful interpretation have been a regular visitor to the Brainfood Audiobooks cassette player over the last 20 years!
Richmal Compton's Williams Stories read by Kenneth Williams on two cassettes. Side 1 The Show, Side 2 William the Invisible, Side 3 A Witch in Time, Side 4 William's Day Off. Sometimes people are made to perform certain works - this combination is exceptional!
One of Our Stamp of Genius audibooks! For years actor and author Brian Blessed had an impossible dream - to follow in the footsteps of his childhood hero, George Leigh Mallory, who disappeared near the summit of Mount Everest in 1924. Finally in 1990, aged 53, Brian Blessed...
Terry Jones, Joan Greenwood, Michael Hordern, Bob Hoskins, Helen Mirren and Tim Rice read of a collection of original fairy tales for 8 to 11-year-olds, written by master storyteller Terry Jones, introducing such bizarre creatures as the fly-by-night, the rainbow cat, and the wonderful cake-horse.
Girls, memory, parenting, millennial fear - all served Coupland-style. Karen, an attractive, popular student, goes into a coma one night in 1979. Whilst in it, she gives birth to a healthy baby daughter; once out of it, a mere eighteen years later, she finds herself .....
An account of the relationship between Simon Callow and the play agent, Peggy Ramsay. Despite an age difference of over 40 years, Peggy and Callow enjoyed an 11-year relationship conducted in meetings and passionately unbridled letters until Peggy's
In clinical trials, it's called the placebo effect. But patients treated with placebos don't just feel better. It's not just 'in their heads'. They can heal their bodies by healing their thoughts. For years, pioneers in the medical community have been extolling the virtues of the mind's power to heal the body.
The award-winning author of A Stone Boat offers a deeply personal look at depression in which he draws on his own battle with the illness and interviews with fellow sufferers, researchers, doctors, and others to assess the vast complexities of the disease, its causes and symptoms, available therapies ..
The first title of the GORMENGHAST trilogy of fantasy novels. Titus groan is born the heir to Gormenghast castle, and finds himself in a world predetermined by complex rituals that have been made obscure by the passage of time. Along the corridors of the castle, the child encounters some of the dark characters who will shape his life.
He says he loves you. So...why does he do that? You've asked yourself this question again and again. Now you have the chance to see inside the minds of angry and controlling men-and to change your life. In this groundbreaking book, a counselor who specializes in working with abusive men shows you...
An exciting historical adventure from War Horse author and former Children's Laureate Michael Morpurgo. Gracie and her friend Daniel have always been warned to stay away from the Birdman and his side of the island. But then they find a message in the sand and discover the Birdman is not who they...
The culmination of a unique achievement in modern American literature: the six volumes of autobiography that began more than thirty years ago with the appearance of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings A Song Flung Up to Heaven opens as Maya Angelou returns from Africa to the United States to work with Malcolm X. But first she has to journey to California to be reunited with her mother and brother. No sooner...
Two new BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisations of Roald Dahl's gripping autobiographical stories. These two compelling adaptations, based on Roald Dahl's real-life tales of his of his boyhood and youthful overseas adventures, celebrate his remarkable life and commemorate his genius. Boy: Dahl's childhood was one of excitement, wonder, terror and sadness. From his fascination with the local sweetshop to the...
Divine Soul Mind Body Healing and Transmission System offers listeners the soul secrets, wisdom, knowledge, and practices of this divinesoul healing system. In this remarkable and uplifting guide to physical health, emotional wellness, and spiritual fulfillment, Dr. Sha reveals practical techniques to heal listeners, their loved ones, pets, relationships, finances, organizations, Mother Earth, and humanity. This divine...
"I would often wonder about my future husband. A knight? A duke? A stable boy? Of course the last was just a wicked fancy." Eliza Rose Camperdowne is young and headstrong, but she knows her duty well. As the only daughter of a noble family, she must one day marry a man who is very grand and very rich. But Fate has other plans. When Eliza becomes a maid of honour, she's drawn into the thrilling, treacherous court...
George Soros Ends the Speculation "The outcome [of this book] is a summing up of my life's work. . . As I finish the book, I feel I have succeeded."-George Soros from the Preface Critical praise for Soros on Soros "If you have ever wanted to sit down for a candid conversation with a phenomenal financial success, George Soros's book provides the opportunity. You will meet a complex man and a first-rate mind."-Henry A.
VICTIM. SURVIVOR. ABDUCTOR. CRIMINAL. YOU WILL BECOME EACH ONE. Starting THE CHAIN is like climbing aboard a runaway train. You'll miss meals, sleep, and your stop on the bus - guaranteed.' VAL McDERMID Incredibly propulsive and original. You won't shake it for a long time.' STEPHEN KING Scary, plausible, gripping ... If you like compelling storytelling, this taut thriller is going to be your summer holiday...
In the workplace, at school, and in our relationships, the effects of stress can be devastating. Too much stress can cause real physical illness. Using the latest research on neuroplasticity, Dr. Lawlis redefines stress and shows readers how they can retrain their brain to prevent stress from taking its toll. This clear and practical guide includes action plans and recommendations for specific foods, physical exercises, and...
A phenomenal worldwide bestseller since 1977 THE THORN BIRDS is a robust, romantic saga of three generations. It begins in the early years of this century when Paddy Cleary moves his wife and seven children to Drogheda, an Australian sheep station, owned by his autocratic and childless older sister. For more than half a century we follow their fates, particularly those of Meggie, the only Cleary daughter, and the one...
Stephen Fry, Daniel Rigby and Tamsin Greig star in all three series of the poignant BBC Radio 4 comedy drama. Warhorses of Letters is the world's finest and best-loved equine, military, epistolary romance, comprising the newly discovered love letters between two horses united by passion but cruelly divided by conflict. Set against the sweeping backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars, these 12 episodes introduce us...
What would happen if Santa fell to Earth? Christmas through the eyes of Cornelia Funke: quirky, funny, ultimately heartwarming, and packaged in a collectible format. A new holiday classic! Scared by a storm, Twinklestar, the least reliable reindeer, bolts--causing Santa and his sleigh to crash-land. And though Santa has dropped into a friendly neighborhood, he's not safe: Jeremiah Goblynch, the ruthless new leader...
A wonderful variety of excerpts from the works of the Bard with some of the best voices ever. Covering so many incredible performances from Peggy Ashcroft's Juliet to Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh in Anthony and Cleopatra. Bob Peck taming the shrew of Cheryl Campbell. Richard Burton's Henry V and his stirring St Crispian Day speech. Judi Dench's plays Julia from the Two Gentlemen of Verona. John Gielgud...
Single mother Fran returns to her sleepy hometown to care for her dying father when a devastating bush fire breaks out. Fran hates Ash Mountain, and she thought she’d escaped. But her father is ill and needs care. Her relationship is over, and she hates her dead-end job in the city, anyway. She returns to her hometown to nurse her dying father, her distant teenage daughter in tow for the weekends. There, in the...
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