Showing results by narrator "Martin Jarvis" in All Categories

When a Martian spacecraft lands on Woking Common, mankind is terrorised by aliens in tall, armoured capsules which stalk the countryside on three legs. The machines wreak havoc on London and the Southern Counties, and survivors are driven underground. Scientist John Nicholson (Paul Daneman) tells how he was plunged into a paralysing nightmare of stark terror, savage madness and utter destruction.

An outstanding selection of stories from the classic King James version of the Bible.

One of the very best in the popular Blandings series, set in that idyllic Shropshire countryside, where the sun always shines. Comedy centres around Clarence, the dotty ninth Earl of Emsworth, doting on his prize pig: The Empress. His brother Galahad fears her fate is under threat with Clarence's rival Sir Gregory Parsloe. Parsloe is aiming to prevent her taking the County Prize. He lives in fear of Galahad publishing his memoirs and revealing their wild younger days.

It's the third death that really troubles former champion jump-jockey Sid Halley. He knows the perils of racing all too well, but in his day, jockeys didn't usually reach the finishing line with three .38 rounds in the chest. But this is precisely how he finds Huw Walker, the new winner of the Triumph Hurdle and Halley's friend. Now former friend. Walker was riding one of Lord Enstone's horses in the Hurdle and it was the inimitable owner who invited Halley in the first place.

An outstanding selection of stories from the classic King James version of the Bible.

This volume details the struggle between Soames and his beautiful wife, Irene, who leaves him but cannot persuade him to grant a divorce. While Soames cannot accept Irene's dissent, he insists his sister deal as she must with her own failed marriage. Irene gains independence through her friendship with Soames' Uncle, Old Jolyon, who leaves her a fortune in his will, and she flees the country, but Soames follows her.

Soames Forsyte's great desire to own things even extends to his captivating wife, Irene. Jealous of her friendships with others, he concocts a plan to move her away to the countryside, where he might come to own her completely. Resisting his bitter intentions, she falls for architect Philip Bossiney, who is unfortunately engaged to her best friend (and Soames' cousin), June Forsyte.

The elegant, intelligent amateur sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey is one of detective literature's most popular creations. Ian Carmichael is the personification of Dorothy L. Sayers' charming investigator in this BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation. The dignified calm of the Bellona Club is shattered when Lord Wimsey finds General Fentiman dead in his favourite chair. A straighforward death by natural causes? Perhaps... but why can no one remember seeing the general the day he died?

Shakespeare's classic play explores the eternal themes of love and hate, mercy and justice, with parallel stories centred on the moneylender, Shylock, and the lovers, Portia and Bassanio. Shylock's angry insistence on the repayment of his debt from Bassanio ends in the Venetian courts, where he demands his pound of flesh. Portia meanwhile, a wealthy young Venetian woman, must marry one of her many suitors. Her late father's will has set the challenge by means of three caskets: one gold, one silver and one lead.

Black Beauty is a handsome, sweet-tempered colt with a strong spirit. As a young colt he is free to gallop in the fresh green meadows with his beloved mother, Duchess, and their kind master. But when his owners are forced to sell him, Black Beauty goes from a life of comfort and kindness to one of hard labour and cruelty.

The night before the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket sees the great and the good of the horse-racing community gathered for a prestigious black-tie gala dinner. It is a fitting testament to the glamour of the occasion that celebrity chef and restaurateur Max Moreton is cooking the evening's meal. But the last thing he needs is to hear that his food is suspected of putting 24 of the guests in hospital.

First published in 1908, The Wind in the Willows belongs to a golden age of children’s book. These charming tales of the riverbank, describing the adventures of Ratty, Mole, Badger, and their irrepressible but conceited friend, Toad of Toad Hall, have become classics loved as much, perhaps, by adults as by children.

Things are hotting up in this latest thriller from best-selling author Felix Francis, in his fifth solo novel Front Runner. Jefferson Hinkley is back. In his role as an undercover investigator for the British Horseracing Authority, Jeff is approached by the multi-time champion jockey, Dave Swinton, to discuss the delicate matter of losing races on purpose. Little does Jeff realise that the call would result in an attempt on his life, locked in a sauna with the temperature well above boiling point.

The intense relationships between Robert Schumann, his wife Clara, and Johannes Brahms are brought to vivid life through music and excerpts from their passionate writings. With the arrival of the young, dynamic Brahms into their household, the Schumanns’ fragile marriage is threatened by the deepening bond between Clara and their gifted guest.

Fielding's rollicking comic masterpiece sparkles with life in this BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatization. Abandoned child Tom is raised by the rich and benevolent squire Mr. Allworthy, much to the chagrin of Allworthy's mean-natured nephew Blifil, and develops into a good-natured rake. But Tom's inability to resist a pretty face lands him in hot water when he impregnates Blifil's betrothed. When the lovely Sophia runs away to London, Tom pursues, embarking upon a series of riotous and amorous adventures.

Joseph Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) was an English author and poet born in Bombay, India. Educated in Britain, he later returned to Lahore, India, to work as a journalist. Kipling travelled widely and also lived in Vermont, having married Carrie Balestier, an American.Throughout his life, Kipling never stopped writing. He was greatly revered during his lifetime and received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature. Kidnapped examines Kipling's attitudes towards race, and inter-racial marriage in particular, with the amused observations of societal quirks characteristic of his writing.

The price of accidental fame is hashed out in this comedy about a famous bank robber and the clerk who foiled his biggest heist. Ayckbourn’s 1988 play anticipates the popularity - and absurdity - of reality TV. An L.A. Theatre Works full-cast performance featuring: Rosalind Ayres as Jill Rillington; Jane Carr as Trudy Parks; Kenneth Danziger as Douglas Beechey; Martin Jarvis as Vic Parks; Ian Oglivy as Kenny Collins; and Yeardley Smith as Sharon Giffin. Directed by Robert Robinson. Recorded before a live audience in Santa Monica, California in February 1994.

The dreary aspects of Soviet housing and one family’s attempt to “exchange” its tiny Moscow apartment for a larger one. Adapted from a novella by the respected Russian writer Yuri Trifanov, as translated by playwright Michael Frayn. Translated and adapted by Michael Frayn. Directed by Robert Robinson. Recorded before a live audience in Santa Monica, CA in April, 1992.

From the author of Copenhagen and Noises Off. A comedy-drama about a door manufacturing company and a fateful convention in Frankfurt. An L.A. Theatre Works full-cast performance featuring Rosalind Ayres, Allan Corduner, David Ellenstein, Julian Holloway, Peter A. Jacobs, Martin Jarvis, Robin Goodrin Nordli, James Warwick and Michael York.

Six plays from the Olivier, Tony, and Moliere Award-winning playwright Alan Ayckbourn: The legendary The Norman Conquests trilogy; as well as a brand new recording of his play Henceforward… starring Mad Men's Jarred Harris alongside Anne Heche; Just Between Ourselves starring Alfred Molina; and a remastering of L.A. Theatre Works’ recording of Man of the Moment.