Showing results by narrator "Simon Alison" in All Categories

The Decameron is one of the greatest literary works of the Middle Ages. Ten young people have fled the terrible effects of the Black Death in Florence and, in an idyllic setting, tell a series of brilliant stories, by turns humorous, bawdy, tragic and provocative. This celebration of physical and sexual vitality is Boccaccio's answer to the sublime other-worldliness of Dante's Divine Comedy.

Thomas More is an enduringly fascinating and profoundly controversial figure. A brilliant scholar, his Utopia of 1516 dared to imagine how society might be completely reordered. At the same time, his hatred of the Reformation caused him to advocate, and seek to implement, the death penalty for...

One of Russia's most iconic poets, Alexander Pushkin is often described as the 'father of Russian literature'. A gambler, playboy and social reformer, he was exiled by the Tsar for his controversial poetry and died aged 37 in a duel defending his wife's honour. This BBC Radio anthology includes dramatisations and readings of Pushkin's most famous works - plus biographical programmes and an original play based on his life.

David Edgar is among the UK’s leading contemporary dramatists, well known for his powerful plays chronicling Britain's changing political landscape over the past 50 years. More than 60 of his original plays, adaptations and translations have been performed around the world, and in 2023 he was honoured with a Writers’ Guild Outstanding Contribution award for his service to British playwriting. This radio anthology contains some of his most notable work.

Barney Snapp looks ordinary. But behind his smile lies something broken. Home-schooled and raised in isolation, Barney grew up role-playing with china dolls while other children played in the real world. Now an adult, he still struggles to understand human emotions, or to control his own. When...

When duty collides with desire, can love rewrite their fate?  Mr. Evander Addington had his life carefully mapped out—a quiet, predictable future as a Fellow at Oxford. But everything changed when his older brother unexpectedly passed away, making Evander the reluctant heir to an earldom...

London, 1789. After a fire consumes the Theatre Royal, master showman Joseph Eliot is desperate to rebuild. His answer comes in the form of a strange, silent boy—his skin marked with tiger–like stripes—and a plan to turn curiosity into spectacle.

The 7 Deadly Myths traces antisemitism from its earliest origins to the present day and uncovers the dangerous conspiracy theories that have corrupted reasoning and led people and nations to diabolical acts. Exploring some of the most significant events in history and uncovering little-known villains, this book answers the questions of how antisemitism takes hold, how it is transmitted, and how it inspires violence to the present day.