Showing results by narrator "John Rowe" in All Categories

Swann's Way is Marcel Proust's literary masterpiece and the first part of the multivolume audiobook Remembrance of Things Past. In the opening volume, the narrator travels back in time to recall his childhood and to introduce the listener to Charles Swann, a wealthy friend of the family and celebrity in the Parisian social scene. He again travels back, this time to the youth of Charles Swann in the French town of Combray, to tell the story of the love affair that took place before his own birth.

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation of a classic Agatha Christie mystery, starring Lyndsey Marshal, Geoffrey Whitehead and John Rowe. Ten guests travel to an island at the invitation of someone named U. N. Owen. All are strangers, but they have two things in common: they have all been responsible for someone's death, and none will leave the island alive.

In the second volume of Proust's great novel, the narrator emerges as an actor in the drama of his own life. Swann has now dwindled into a husband for his former mistress, Odette, and their daughter, Gilberte, becomes the adolescent narrator's playmate and tantalising love object. We move from Paris to the seaside town of Balbec, from ritualised social performances to midsummer spontaneity and from Gilberte to her successor Albertine.

Poet, novelist, critic and campaigner Walter Scott invented the historical novel and shaped the world’s image of Scotland. His tales of heroism, romance and adventure were hugely successful, outselling Jane Austen and Lord Byron, and are still popular today. Included here are adaptations of five of the best-loved books in his ‘Waverley’ series, as well as two bonus programmes.

Edgar Allan Poe (born Edgar Poe) was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on January 19th, 1809, and was orphaned at an early age. Taken in by the Allan family, his education was cut short by lack of money, and he went to the military academy West Point where he failed to become an officer. His early literary works were poetic, but he quickly turned to prose. He worked for several magazines and journals until in January 1845, The Raven was published and became an instant classic.

Marjorie Steel and Bryce Simpson have finally declared their love for each other, but their chance for happiness is once again yanked out from under them. As Marjorie is forced to confront her demons and find an inner strength to save herself and another, Bryce rushes to solve the puzzles his dead father left behind. An ominous lawyer, twins with a secret, and a premature birth present new obstacles as the two lovers scramble to escape the conundrum and leave their families in peace, all while their desire for each other becomes more and more insatiable.

Marjorie Steel is still healing from the events of the past year, and she’s happy to put her plans to study culinary arts on hold to help her best friend deal with a difficult pregnancy and two recently adopted troubled boys. The fact that Bryce Simpson spends a lot of time at the Steel Ranch is a benefit, and she’s ready to see if her attraction to him might be something more.

Bryce Simpson did the only thing he could. He spurned Marjorie Steel. Even though he’ll be living on her ranch, he is determined to stay away from her. She’s worthy of more than he can even think about giving, especially now that long-buried memories are surfacing and he’s learning that his father’s sins may go even deeper than he imagined. Bryce’s rejection destroys Marjorie, and she descends to a dark place she thought she’d abandoned forever. She emerges stronger, though, and is determined not to let heartbreak rule her life.

Dame Ivy Compton-Burnett (1884-1969) was an English novelist who was a bestseller in the mid-20th century. She published eighteen highly acclaimed works of fiction in her lifetime, inspired by her own tragic experiences of family life. Her works consist mainly of dialogue and focus on family life among the late Victorian or Edwardian upper middle class. They deal with money, power, status, incest, adultery, murder, homosexuality – about which she was years ahead of her time – and all the passions and stresses of family life, described with brilliant wit and perception.

One of the finest storytellers of her time, Joan Aiken wrote over 100 books for both adults and children. Among her best-known works are the 'Wolves Chronicles', a sequence of novels set in an alternate 19th-century England ruled by Stuart kings. Included here are three tales from that magical, wolf-infested world - The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, Black Hearts in Battersea and The Story of Is.

One of the most prolific playwrights of the Jacobean era, Thomas Middleton achieved great success with his cynically satirical comedies and bloodthirsty tragedies. Considered the only true rival to Shakespeare, Middleton is widely believed to have collaborated with the Bard on several plays, including Timon of Athens. This dazzling collection comprises dramatisations of his most famous works, including his two masterpieces, The Changeling and Women Beware Women.

Acclaimed author JG Farrell came to fame with his Empire Trilogy, exploring the collapse of British colonialism and its repercussions in three different countries. The first book in the series, Troubles, won the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize and the Lost Man Booker Prize, while the second, The Siege of Krishnapur, was awarded the Booker Prize for Fiction. Included here are three BBC Radio adaptations of the trilogy, plus an edition of Witness History exploring Farrell's tragic accidental death.

1939, and naïve young newlywed Harriet Pringle arrives in Bucharest with her husband, Guy - just as Europe is about to rip itself apart. She believes she knows everything about the man she has married, but soon realises she knows nothing. Guy is oblivious to her needs and desires, seeming only to care about his job as a university lecturer, his friends and the beautiful, voluptuous Sophie. Struggling to build a life in a strange city, in the face of imminent invasion, Harriet feels bereft - and increasingly isolated.

Inspector Purbright is a thoroughly English policeman: affable, polite, dogged and decent. Created by award-winning crime writer Colin Watson, he appeared in 12 Flaxborough mysteries, four of which were adapted for BBC TV under the title Murder Most English. These five radio dramatisations star Peter Jeffrey, John Pullen and John Rowe as Purbright.

Dante Gabriel begins to understand the changes occurring in him as the Vampyre Texts release more clues, but can he learn to voluntarily control the power he now wields? Before he can find out for certain, he must truly have faith in his abilities. Others’ lives depend on it. Erin Hamilton has seen things that have changed her life forever, but she refuses to go aboveground when Dante asks her to. She’s in this with him for the long haul, and she’ll stay by his side to make sure he gets the sustenance he needs. Danger or not, her place is with him.

As the enemy’s true plans are revealed, Dante Gabriel finally finds his missing uncle under the most unexpected circumstances. Time is running out, however, and Dante must act quickly to free those imprisoned, especially when he learns what his captor has in mind for all of them. He and Erin Hamilton continue to find new secrets hiding in the Vampyre Texts, and with the help of an unlikely ally, they discover the devastation their sinister opponent has planned.

Erin Hamilton follows Dante Gabriel back into hell - the underground compound where he was held for a decade - to confront the woman who held him captive. Finally unmasked, she seems to hold Dante under her influence. Erin has faith in Dante’s strength and determination, though, especially when the mysterious Vampyre Texts reveal their first secret. Dante struggles to regain his control, even as he grows stronger and the darkness rises within him. He’ll let his captor think she commands him as long as it serves his purpose....

Erin Hamilton follows Dante Gabriel back into hell - the underground compound where he was held for a decade - to confront the woman who held him captive. Finally unmasked, she seems to hold Dante under her influence. Erin has faith in Dante’s strength and determination, though, especially when the mysterious Vampyre Texts reveal their first secret. Dante struggles to regain his control, even as he grows stronger and the darkness rises within him.

Clues are everywhere, but they don’t seem to add up, especially when a contact at the fingerprint lab gives Erin Hamilton and Dante Gabriel news that can’t possibly be accurate. Another visitor arrives with more information…and an unexpected family tie. In the midst of everything, Erin does what she can to comfort Dante, who is changing before her eyes. After an ominous visit with Bea, the voodoo priestess, Dante knows what he must do, and he must do it alone. First, though, he will make Erin truly his and take the sustenance he needs to get him through his next battle.

Vampires can’t levitate. At least that’s what Dante Gabriel always thought, until he finds himself floating above his bed along with his lover, Erin Hamilton. As he continues to exhibit unusual powers, more memories from his time in captivity surface, leaving him fearing what he might have done while imprisoned. When a new and unexpected temptation arises, he finds himself unable to resist. Erin aches for Dante and wants more than anything for him to find peace.