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Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tennessee Williams is one of the three most important American dramatists of the 20th century, alongside Arthur Miller and Eugene O'Neill. Acclaimed for their lyrical language, dark themes and vivid portrayal of the American South, his works have spawned several Oscar-winning films and been translated and performed worldwide. Collected here are some of the best, beginning with the play that launched Williams' career: The Glass Menagerie. 

Beautiful, sophisticated and endlessly ambitious Lily Bart endeavours to climb the social ladder of New York's elite by securing a good match and living beyond her means. Now nearing 30 years of age and having rejected several proposals, forever in the hope of finding someone better, her future prospects are threatened. A damning commentary of 20th-century social order, Edith Wharton's tale established her as one of the greatest British novelists of the 1900s.

A BBC radio collection of full-cast dramatisations, bringing together Edith Wharton’s most popular and best-loved works. 

Glenda Jackson stars in this compelling drama series inspired by Émile Zola's Rougon-Macquart series, highlighting different aspects of contemporary Britain. In 2015, double Oscar winner Glenda Jackson made a triumphant return to acting in Radio 4's Blood, Sex and Money, a radical reimagining of Émile Zola's Rougon-Macquart cycle. Now, she reprises her role as matriarch/narrator in this eclectic mix of dramas inspired by Zola's novels, but set in modern Britain. 

Written by a host of top radio writers and starring some of Britain's finest actors, these sparkling, beautifully crafted comedy dramas are centred around people with unconscious yearnings. From the serial seducer to the lonely mother's boy, each is looking for love - but will they find it?

Classic plays and ghost stories, as performed by the residents of Ambridge and friends - plus bonus drama Dead Girls Tell No Tales. Borsetshire's queen of amateur theatricals, Lynda Snell, never misses the chance to put on a Christmas show. Her productions are always a big hit with Ambridge audiences - and now, Archers fans can enjoy these top-notch performances alongside them (as well as eavesdropping on the shenanigans backstage). 

When brilliant but penniless pianist Alexei is hired to tutor the 10-year-old daughter of Russian oligarch Mikhail, he is drawn into a world of chance, obsession and violence. Hopelessly infatuated with Mikhail's beautiful stepdaughter, Polina, he vows to do anything to win her love: and so begins his involvement in a dangerous, high-stakes game.

A dying woman confesses a terrible secret to her priest along with a cryptic list of nine names. Before he is able to uncover anything more, the priest is struck dead in the fog and the police discover the list in his shoe. Our hero Mark Easterbrook, a historian, learns of a secretive organisation known as The Pale Horse and of their supernatural connections in the village of Much Deeping. The list of names seems to foretell the deaths of several people and Mark must piece together the clues and unearth the connections between them all.

The Chronicle is one of the most ambitious productions ever commissioned. An epic eye-witness history of the last five hundred years, told entirely in the words of those who were there. Performed by an outstanding cast of actors in a dramatised setting, we take you on a daily journey from January 1st to December 31st to reveal a fascinating and intriguing record of life as witnessed by some of history’s most colourful characters.

The Chronicle is one of the most ambitious productions ever commissioned. An epic eye-witness history of the last five hundred years, told entirely in the words of those who were there. Performed by an outstanding cast of actors in a dramatised setting, we take you on a daily journey from January 1st to December 31st to reveal a fascinating and intriguing record of life as witnessed by some of history’s most colourful characters.

The Chronicle is one of the most ambitious productions ever commissioned. An epic eye-witness history of the last five hundred years, told entirely in the words of those who were there. Performed by an outstanding cast of actors in a dramatised setting, we take you on a daily journey from January 1st to December 31st to reveal a fascinating and intriguing record of life as witnessed by some of history’s most colourful characters.

The Chronicle is one of the most ambitious productions ever commissioned. An epic eye-witness history of the last five hundred years, told entirely in the words of those who were there. Performed by an outstanding cast of actors in a dramatised setting, we take you on a daily journey from January 1st to December 31st to reveal a fascinating and intriguing record of life as witnessed by some of history’s most colourful characters.

The Chronicle is one of the most ambitious productions ever commissioned. An epic eye-witness history of the last five hundred years, told entirely in the words of those who were there. Performed by an outstanding cast of actors in a dramatised setting, we take you on a daily journey from January 1st to December 31st to reveal a fascinating and intriguing record of life as witnessed by some of history’s most colourful characters.

Alone in a new country, wealthy Sara Crewe tries to make friends at boarding school and settle in. But when she learns that she'll never see her beloved father again, her life is turned upside down.

With talented parents comes the burden of continuing the line of accomplishment, as Maria, Niall and Celia know all too well. The siblings subsequently formed a bond so profound that their lives constantly have a tremendous impact on those around them, this includes Maria’s husband, Charles - a gentleman who has been sucked into the parasitic world of the Delaney’s. 

Inspired by an old photograph album to investigate the life of a lost relative, a man finds himself on a journey that traverses the 20th century, leading him from an American asylum to the shores of the Dead Sea. Adapted by Edward Kemp from W G Sebald's acclaimed novel about the experiences of Jewish emigrants.

Simon Russell Beale stars in this BBC Radio 4 dramatisation of John le Carré's first novel, which introduced his most famous character, George Smiley. This dramatisation, set in London in the late 1950s, finds Smiley engaged in the humdrum job of security vetting. But when a Foreign Office civil servant commits suicide after an apparently unproblematic interview, Smiley is baffled. Refusing to believe that Fennan shot himself, Smiley decides to investigate.

For millions of people, both in Britain and across the world, Elizabeth II is the embodiment of monarchy. Her long life spans nearly a century of national and global history, from a time before the Great Depression to the era of COVID-19. Her reign embraces all but seven years of Britain's postwar history; she has been served by 15 UK prime ministers from Churchill to Johnson, and witnessed the administrations of 13 US presidents from Truman to Trump. The vast majority of Britons cannot remember a world without Elizabeth II as head of state and the Commonwealth.

Marie Antoinette's dramatic life-story continues to arouse mixed emotions. To many people, she is still 'la reine mechante', whose extravagance and frivolity helped to bring down the French monarchy; her indifference to popular suffering epitomised by the (apocryphal) words: 'let them eat cake'. Others are equally passionate in her defence: to them, she is a victim of misogyny.

Beatrice considers herself to be delicate and sensitive, idle and confused. Forced into early retirement, she has an unashamed and romantic desire to be rescued by the ideal man. But Beatrice's only family is her orderly sister, Miriam.