British Classics

Take Me to Your President is another brilliant political satire by the author of The Mouse That Roared. After chasing his dog (who was chasing a rabbit), a simple farmer from a small village in England finds himself inexplicably on board a top-secret intergalactic missile. Before he can sort it out, the farmer finds himself touching down in the United States of America where he is mistaken for a Martian. And now it’s up to him to bring world peace. “Once again Leonard Wibberley—author of The Mouse That Roared—has conjured a unique sort of comedy from a blend of fantasy, blandly ...

Nicky Marlow needs a job. He's engaged to be married and the employment market in Britain in 1937 is pretty slim. So when his fiancée points out the position with an English armaments manufacturer in Italy, he jumps at the chance. Soon after he arrives, however, he learns the sinister truth about his predecessor's departure and finds himself courted by two agents with dangerously different agendas. In the process, Marlow realises that it's not so simple just to do the job he's paid for - not in fascist Italy, on the eve of a world war.

‘The perfect murder must be so simple that no one would suspect it to be murder.’ This Way Out Philip Marshall is locked in a long and hellish marriage with his wife Cora, with divorce not an option. Cora delights in tormenting Philip, ready to pour bile in his ear at the slightest provocation; complaining of “his weaknesses…his failure as a money-maker…his deficiencies as a lover” to almost anyone who will listen. Home life is so unpleasant that their son John has moved out, telling his landlady he is an orphan. By chance, Philip meets young Mary Grey and finds the warmth and ...

The Hunters (A Crime Thriller) ‘To follow… the brilliantly inspired tracking of Hill’s two detectives is a joy, apart from the brain-teasing pleasure of accepting the author’s challenge to identify the murderer.’ London Evening News 'Staunton walked out into the field. He stopped about twenty yards in, squatted down on his haunches and stared at the ditch where the girl’s body had been found. Then he was motionless for a while, absorbing the details of the place, picturing it in darkness, the girl, her screams muffled by the murderer’s hand, being dragged along the inside of ...

“Frank Hugh Smallwood was first murdered on the 15th of April, 1927” Bookseller Theodore Terhune investigates an old homicide case after he stumbles on the freshly murdered corpse of seaman Frank Smallwood, a man thought to have been murdered nearly twenty years previously during a houseboat party on the Thames. Smallwood’s alleged killer Charles Cockburn was convicted and served a lengthy prison sentence before being killed in the war. So who wanted Smallwood dead now? And what actually happened between Smallwood and Cockburn all those years ago? A book of poetry found lying near the...

You can’t fight love. Darcy knows he is falling for Elizabeth Bennet, but he doesn’t want to be connected to her ill-bred family, so he struggles to put her out of his mind. Until he receives an anonymous valentine. Caroline Bingley sent the valentine, but Darcy thinks it is from Elizabeth Bennet. Elizabeth thinks Mr. Darcy is an arrogant, disagreeable man, until he shows up on her doorstep, declaring his undying love for her. She is astonished. He is only half as obnoxious as he was before. What could have made the difference? A Valentine for Darcy is a Pride and Prejudice Variation ...

This collection contains 12 of the greatest shows ever broadcast during the Golden Age of Radio – including episodes of The Jack Benny Program, Burns & Allen, Gunsmoke, The Amos ‘n' Andy Show, Richard Diamond, Private Detective, Suspense, Dimension X, The Whistler, Sherlock Holmes and more. Radio’s finest actors perform before the microphones, including: Jack Benny, Tom Conway, Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Nigel Bruce, Chester Morris, Dick Powell, Howard Duff, George Burns, Gracie Allen, William Conrad, John Dehner and many more.

Jane Austen's most famous novel, Pride and Prejudice is brought to sparkling new life in this "wonderful, unforgettable" recording from AudioFile Earphones award-winning narrator Alison Larkin. Always a witty and original voice, Alison Larkin follows her narration of Pride and Prejudice with songs from Regency England, to give the listener a sense of what after dinner family entertainment might have sounded like in Jane Austen's time.

A rich and varied collection of classic short stories by British writers: 'Quality' by John Galsworthy, 'The Mark on the Wall' by Virginia Woolf, 'The Horse Dealer’s Daughter' by D. H. Lawrence, 'The Ticking of the Clock' by Louisa Baldwin, 'The Fiddler of the Reels' by Thomas Hardy, 'The Return' by R. Murray Gilchrist, 'Kew Gardens' by Virginia Woolf, 'Seashore Macabre' by Hugh Walpole, 'Satan’s Circus' by Eleanor Smith, 'The Coffin Merchant' by Richard Middleton....

What’s this Book about? It explains why you can’t buy a British built hatchback car for you and your family from a British owned company anymore. James Ruppert was really worried because in 1974 his Dad did a very strange thing and came home in an Audi 100LS. James wondered whether the rot set in from that point onwards. But his Dad continued to be a fiercely loyal British car buyer which didn’t do him much good when in 1978 he accidentally bought the single worst car British Leyland ever made. So this is personal. Where did it all go wrong and why is the British Car Industry in the ...

Elizabeth Bennet has taken to walking near Hunsford to avoid any more chance encounters with Mr. Darcy while he visits his aunt at Rosings. When that very man comes to aid her during a rainstorm, Mr. Collins catches them unawares. Certain Elizabeth's virtue has been compromised, Mr. Collins insists on their immediate marriage. Darcy claims he intended to marry Elizabeth all along. Lady Catherine is furious. Mr. Collins is adamant. The rest of their friends and family hardly know what to say. Can our dear couple overcome the challenges of such a precipitous wedding? Compromised is a clean ...

Mark Kermode’s compelling study of this horror classic was originally published in 1997, and then extensively updated and expanded in 2003 to incorporate the discovery of new material. This revised edition documents the deletion and reinstatement of key scenes that have now been integrated into the film to create The Exorcist: The Version You’ve Never Seen. Candid interviews with director William Friedkin and writer/producer William Peter Blatty reveal the behind the-scenes battles which took place during the production.

Patrick O’Brian is acclaimed as one of the greatest historical novelists of the twentieth century, celebrated throughout the world for his masterful roman fleuve, the Aubrey‒Maturin series. But he was also a prolific writer of short stories, and it is in this form that he first made his mark. Encompassing stories written in his unvarnished youth to tales told by a seasoned traveller, this is the most comprehensive collection of O’Brian’s short fiction ever published. It is a treasure chest, containing more than sixty tales, including rarities, uncollected works, and forgotten jewels.

‘Is it wise to evoke these memories—to raise these ghosts—after all these years?’ After attending a burial in an old country churchyard, Superintendent Mallett and his friends are struck by the sight of two elderly ladies, regally dressed in black and accompanied by their uniformed chauffeur, placing an elaborate wreath on the graveyard’s most imposing monument. The vicar confirms that the Misses de Boulter of Chetwode Lodge have placed fresh flowers on the tomb of their father and brother every week for the last fifty years. In the opposite corner of the churchyard lies the small...

This anthology looks back over some of the great love affairs of literary history. It includes readings of poetry, letters and scenes from fiction written by British poets and authors from Shakespearian times to the twentieth century. Here are real-life romantic couples, such as Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley and Percy Bysshe Shelley, John Keats and Fanny Brawne, Lord Byron and Lady Caroline Lamb, Oscar Wilde and Lord Alfred Douglas, and Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Robert Browning.

Elizabeth Bennet is a pickpocket, and she first meets Mr. Darcy when she tries to steal his watch. Mr. Darcy has never met a young woman like Elizabeth Bennet. She is intelligent and pretty, and she has her own opinions. Against his better judgement, he finds himself falling madly in love with her. Mr. Darcy and the Pickpocket is based on Jane Austen’s iconic lovers, with a fun twist – Elizabeth comes from a crime family and considers herself like Robin Hood. Yes, she is a thief, but she wants to help the poor. She thinks most wealthy men are arrogant and selfish, so how can she fall in...

Emma, by Jane Austen, is a novel about youthful hubris and the perils of misconstrued romance. The story takes place in the fictional village of Highbury and the surrounding estates of Hartfield, Randalls, and Donwell Abbey and involves the relationships among individuals in those locations consisting of "3 or 4 families in a country village". The novel was first published in December 1815 while the author was alive, with its title page listing a publication date of 1816.

This collection contains three previously published short stories featuring Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet. To Tempt Me When Elizabeth Bennet is slighted by the wealthy Mr. Darcy at the Meryton assembly, she laughs at his scorn. But when she later dances with his closest friend, Mr. Darcy suddenly finds himself in a most precarious position. A Recontre At long last, Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet are engaged to be married... but a long walk and a pouring rain tempts our dear couple to anticipate their vows. The Arrival of Letters Mr. Darcy and his wife are approaching their first wedding ...

"So you know House-on-the-Hill, Mr Terhune?" Bookseller Theodore Terhune is asked to research the history of a decaying Elizabethan mansion for its new owner, Dr. Vicente Salvaterra. Long abandoned and shunned by the locals, the house has beautiful views but is rumoured to be cursed. Digging through the past, Terhune uncovers strange occurrences and disappearances that span several centuries.. But the bigger mystery is the motivation of the wealthy Salvaterra to relocate his family - his vivacious sister, reserved wife, and highly strung stepson, Andres - from Panama to live in rural Kent. ...

Some of the cast and production team are interviewed about their roles and the making of the 1997 hit film The Full Monty. Interviews with Hugo Speer, Simon Beaufoy, Petter Cattaneo, Ulberto Pasolini and Jill Taylor. Listen to find out about the cast's first reaction to the script, first auditions, how the script developed before filming and where the idea for the film actually came from. Includes many more fascinating facts and insights from such a funny, successful and widely known film!