
Émile Zola: A BBC Radio Drama Collection
Nine Full-Cast Dramatisations
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $23.24
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
By:
-
Emile Zola
About this listen
BBC radio adaptations of novels and short stories by Émile Zola, plus a fascinating short documentary and an original drama
Novelist, journalist and literature’s greatest whistleblower, Émile Zola was one of the 19th century’s pre-eminent authors. He is renowned for his philosophy of naturalism, which informed his 20-volume Rougon-Macquart cycle, an epic family saga set during France’s Second Empire, and for his controversial intervention in the Dreyfus affair through his infamous protest letter, J’Accuse.
Here are some of his superlative works, adapted for radio with stellar casts and beginning with his breakthrough novel, Thérèse Raquin. A cautionary tale of lust, murder and madness, it stars Charlotte Riley, Andrew Buchan and Toby Hadoke. It is followed by five of the most famous novels in the Rougon-Macquart series – L’Assommoir, The Ladies’ Delight, Germinal, His Masterpiece and La Bête Humaine. With settings ranging from Paris to the far north of France, they portray 1860s French society at its most brutal, corrupt and duplicitous. Featuring a host of unforgettable characters, from slum laundress Gervaise to idealistic miner Etienne, impoverished painter Claude and tortured train driver Jacques, these poignant, powerful and provocative dramas star David Bradley, Claire Goose, Georgia King, Joe Absalom, Rob Edwards, Michael Maloney and Imogen Stubbs.
Based on short stories by Zola, Kelvin Segger’s Dead Men Tell No Tales and Trooping with Crows introduce us to a dead man observing his funeral preparations, another killed by advertising, a dreamer who delays for too long and a devious entrepreneur with an extraordinary marketing idea. Michael Maloney, Norman Bird, Struan Rodger, Terry Molloy and Trevor Peacock star in these dark, inventive plays.
To conclude, two captivating bonus programmes explore Zola’s involvement in the exoneration of the falsely accused and convicted army officer Alfred Dreyfus. Zola and the Dreyfus Affair charts the course of the scandal that rocked a nation; while Hattie Naylor’s original drama J’Accuse looks at events through the eyes of the right-wing, nationalistic Louis Grigori, who comes to believe that the persecution of the guiltless Dreyfus was the correct and only action.
Contents
Thérèse Raquin
L’Assommoir
The Ladies’ Delight
Germinal
His Masterpiece
La Bête Humaine
Dead Men Tell No Tales
Trooping with Crows
Zola and the Dreyfus Affair
J’Accuse
First published 1867 (Thérèse Raquin), 1876 (L’Assommoir), 1882-83 (Au Bonheur du Dames), 1884-85 (Germinal), 1885-86 (L’Œuvre), 1890 (La Bête Humaine)
Copyright © Kelvin Segger 1999 (Dead Men Tell No Tales), 2000 (Trooping with Crows)
J’Accuse copyright © Hattie Naylor 2009
Related to this topic
-
The Honeymoon
- By: Jane E. James
- Narrated by: Rose Robinson, Sean Burke, Leena Makoff, and others
- Length: 7 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Timothy and Jonah, wealthy entrepreneurs with a spoiled son, hide sins from their past—one involving a death on a cruise, the other a crime in Bali. Nathan and Samantha, the hot ex-nanny turned trophy wife, grapple with infertility and a shocking paternity secret. Bartosz and Angelika (he’s a chef, she’s a former sex worker) carry debts to the other couples they don’t even realize they owe. Over fourteen days, the couples bond—but their pasts are too deeply intertwined to stay hidden. The sly concierge, Putu, knows more than he lets on.
-
-
Great storytelling!
- By Ashley R on 03-31-25
By: Jane E. James
-
Hitchhikers
- By: Ben H. Winters
- Narrated by: Therese Plummer
- Length: 3 hrs and 27 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Annie has always had high hopes for her future. But the reality of her life just isn’t measuring up. She loves her fiancé, Greg–doesn’t she? She’s going to get her degree and open her own business–won’t she? Then, a strange old woman shows up outside her house, and she seems to know a lot about Annie. An awful lot. Annie could tell the old woman to get lost. Yet there’s something about her Annie just can’t shake. And what she learns could change her life forever–but is it the life she envisioned?
-
-
The ever present battle between past and future.
- By Kindle Customer on 03-14-25
By: Ben H. Winters
-
George Orwell’s 1984
- An Audible Original adaptation
- By: George Orwell, Joe White - adaptation
- Narrated by: Andrew Garfield, Cynthia Erivo, Andrew Scott, and others
- Length: 3 hrs and 27 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It’s 1984, and life has changed beyond recognition. Airstrip One, formerly known as Great Britain, is a place where Big Brother is always watching, and nobody can hide. Except, perhaps, for Winston Smith. Whilst working at the Ministry of Truth, rewriting history, he secretly dreams of freedom. And in a world where love and sex are forbidden, where it’s hard to distinguish between friend and foe, he meets Julia and O’Brien and vows to rebel.
-
-
A Revelation!
- By wotsallthisthen on 04-07-24
By: George Orwell, and others
-
The Art of War
- By: Sun Tzu
- Narrated by: Aidan Gillen
- Length: 1 hr and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The 13 chapters of The Art of War, each devoted to one aspect of warfare, were compiled by the high-ranking Chinese military general, strategist, and philosopher Sun-Tzu. In spite of its battlefield specificity, The Art of War has found new life in the modern age, with leaders in fields as wide and far-reaching as world politics, human psychology, and corporate strategy finding valuable insight in its timeworn words.
-
-
The actual book The Art of War, not a commentary
- By Nemo71 on 12-31-19
By: Sun Tzu
-
The Answer Is No
- A Short Story
- By: Fredrik Backman, Elizabeth DeNoma - translator
- Narrated by: Stacy Gonzalez
- Length: 1 hr and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lucas knows the perfect night entails just three things: video games, wine, and pad thai. Peanuts are a must! Other people? Not so much. Why complicate things when he’s happy alone? Then one day the apartment board, a vexing trio of authority, rings his doorbell. And Lucas’s solitude takes a startling hike. They demand to see his frying pan. Someone left one next to the recycling room overnight, and instead of removing the errant object, as Lucas suggests, they insist on finding the guilty party. But their plan backfires. Colossally.
-
-
Narrator doesn’t get Backman’s satire or rhythm
- By joey1603 on 12-01-24
By: Fredrik Backman, and others
-
Say No More
- By: Caroline Overington
- Narrated by: Anna Skellern
- Length: 5 hrs and 47 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Who is Audrey Hoedemaker? It's a question her sister Maureen has heard more times than she can count, and she doesn't know what the short answer would be. Little sister, troubled teen, backpacker, musical theatre coach, con artist, childcare worker. Murderer. A tragic, traumatic childhood casts a long shadow on the Hoedemaker sisters. Maureen has worked hard to move beyond the violence of the past and build a good, honest life for herself. Audrey, however, just can't seem to do the same, careening from one state of chaos to another.
-
-
Seriously, that was the ending?
- By alicia in athens on 02-13-25
-
The Honeymoon
- By: Jane E. James
- Narrated by: Rose Robinson, Sean Burke, Leena Makoff, and others
- Length: 7 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Timothy and Jonah, wealthy entrepreneurs with a spoiled son, hide sins from their past—one involving a death on a cruise, the other a crime in Bali. Nathan and Samantha, the hot ex-nanny turned trophy wife, grapple with infertility and a shocking paternity secret. Bartosz and Angelika (he’s a chef, she’s a former sex worker) carry debts to the other couples they don’t even realize they owe. Over fourteen days, the couples bond—but their pasts are too deeply intertwined to stay hidden. The sly concierge, Putu, knows more than he lets on.
-
-
Great storytelling!
- By Ashley R on 03-31-25
By: Jane E. James
-
Hitchhikers
- By: Ben H. Winters
- Narrated by: Therese Plummer
- Length: 3 hrs and 27 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Annie has always had high hopes for her future. But the reality of her life just isn’t measuring up. She loves her fiancé, Greg–doesn’t she? She’s going to get her degree and open her own business–won’t she? Then, a strange old woman shows up outside her house, and she seems to know a lot about Annie. An awful lot. Annie could tell the old woman to get lost. Yet there’s something about her Annie just can’t shake. And what she learns could change her life forever–but is it the life she envisioned?
-
-
The ever present battle between past and future.
- By Kindle Customer on 03-14-25
By: Ben H. Winters
-
George Orwell’s 1984
- An Audible Original adaptation
- By: George Orwell, Joe White - adaptation
- Narrated by: Andrew Garfield, Cynthia Erivo, Andrew Scott, and others
- Length: 3 hrs and 27 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It’s 1984, and life has changed beyond recognition. Airstrip One, formerly known as Great Britain, is a place where Big Brother is always watching, and nobody can hide. Except, perhaps, for Winston Smith. Whilst working at the Ministry of Truth, rewriting history, he secretly dreams of freedom. And in a world where love and sex are forbidden, where it’s hard to distinguish between friend and foe, he meets Julia and O’Brien and vows to rebel.
-
-
A Revelation!
- By wotsallthisthen on 04-07-24
By: George Orwell, and others
-
The Art of War
- By: Sun Tzu
- Narrated by: Aidan Gillen
- Length: 1 hr and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The 13 chapters of The Art of War, each devoted to one aspect of warfare, were compiled by the high-ranking Chinese military general, strategist, and philosopher Sun-Tzu. In spite of its battlefield specificity, The Art of War has found new life in the modern age, with leaders in fields as wide and far-reaching as world politics, human psychology, and corporate strategy finding valuable insight in its timeworn words.
-
-
The actual book The Art of War, not a commentary
- By Nemo71 on 12-31-19
By: Sun Tzu
-
The Answer Is No
- A Short Story
- By: Fredrik Backman, Elizabeth DeNoma - translator
- Narrated by: Stacy Gonzalez
- Length: 1 hr and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lucas knows the perfect night entails just three things: video games, wine, and pad thai. Peanuts are a must! Other people? Not so much. Why complicate things when he’s happy alone? Then one day the apartment board, a vexing trio of authority, rings his doorbell. And Lucas’s solitude takes a startling hike. They demand to see his frying pan. Someone left one next to the recycling room overnight, and instead of removing the errant object, as Lucas suggests, they insist on finding the guilty party. But their plan backfires. Colossally.
-
-
Narrator doesn’t get Backman’s satire or rhythm
- By joey1603 on 12-01-24
By: Fredrik Backman, and others
-
Say No More
- By: Caroline Overington
- Narrated by: Anna Skellern
- Length: 5 hrs and 47 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Who is Audrey Hoedemaker? It's a question her sister Maureen has heard more times than she can count, and she doesn't know what the short answer would be. Little sister, troubled teen, backpacker, musical theatre coach, con artist, childcare worker. Murderer. A tragic, traumatic childhood casts a long shadow on the Hoedemaker sisters. Maureen has worked hard to move beyond the violence of the past and build a good, honest life for herself. Audrey, however, just can't seem to do the same, careening from one state of chaos to another.
-
-
Seriously, that was the ending?
- By alicia in athens on 02-13-25
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
Ivan Turgenev: A BBC Radio Full-Cast Drama Collection
- First Love, Father and Sons, A Month in the Country & more
- By: Ivan Turgenev
- Narrated by: Bill Nighy, Hugh Dickson, Patrick Troughton, and others
- Length: 13 hrs and 26 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ivan Turgenev stands alongside Tolstoy and Dostoevsky as one of the three great Russian novelists of the 19th century. He was also a consummate short story writer, poet and playwright, and the first Russian author to become popular in the West. This specially curated collection showcases his key works, from the most celebrated to the undeservedly underrated.
By: Ivan Turgenev
-
Blood, Sex and Money
- A BBC Radio 4 Serialisation of Zola's Epic Saga
- By: Émile Zola
- Narrated by: Paul McGann, Alison Steadman, Samuel West, and others
- Length: 23 hrs and 18 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
First published between 1870 and 1893, Émile Zola’s 20-book cycle chronicling four generations of the Rougon-Macquarts was a shocking exposé of the decadence, degradation and moral decay of 19th-century France. It included some of his greatest novels, among them his masterpiece, Germinal. These innovative, ambitious dramas, first broadcast on Radio 4 over 24 hours in 2015-16, are a radical reimagining of Zola’s classic series, introducing us to 104-year-old matriarch, Dide, imprisoned in an asylum in southern France.
-
-
Addictive, Edifying Fun - Truly Outstanding
- By Aaron on 10-12-19
By: Émile Zola
-
The Leo Tolstoy BBC Radio Drama Collection
- Full-Cast Dramatisations of War and Peace, Anna Karenina & More
- By: Leo Tolstoy
- Narrated by: Simon Russell Beale, Amanda Redman, Emily Mortimer, and others
- Length: 18 hrs and 35 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One of the greatest novelists of all time, Leo Tolstoy is famed worldwide for his masterpieces of realist fiction, War and Peace and Anna Karenina. This comprehensive collection contains both those iconic works, as well as his final novel, Resurrection, his autobiographical essay 'A Confession', Stephen Wakelam's dramatic account of his tempestuous marriage, Mrs Tolstoy, and In Our Time: Tolstoy.
-
-
Excellent adaptation..No chapter titles
- By Anna B. on 01-07-22
By: Leo Tolstoy
-
Banned Books: A BBC Radio Drama Collection
- Four Full-Cast Dramatisations of Modern Classics
- By: James Joyce, Radclyffe Hall, Aldous Huxley, and others
- Narrated by: Andrew Scott, Niamh Cusack, Valerie Edmond, and others
- Length: 10 hrs and 50 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Deviant. Depraved. Dangerous. Denounced for their transgressive themes and inflammatory ideas, these 20th-century classics have all been considered so seditious that they had to be suppressed. Find out what made these iconic works so threatening to governments worldwide in these superlative dramatisations, featuring stellar casts and specially composed music.
By: James Joyce, and others
-
Albert Camus: The Plague, The Outsider & more
- A study in drama and documentary
- By: Albert Camus
- Narrated by: Paul Scofield, John Shrapnel, Ronald Pickup, and others
- Length: 7 hrs and 40 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One of postwar France’s most influential writers, Albert Camus was fêted for his masterful exploration of the absurdity of the human condition. Included here are adaptations of his three iconic existential novels – The Plague, The Outsider and The Fall – alongside four bonus pieces shining a light on the man and his work.
-
-
Good but not excellent!
- By A. M. Gad on 01-02-25
By: Albert Camus
-
The Edgar Allan Poe BBC Radio Collection
- The Raven, The Tell-Tale Heart and Other Works
- By: Edgar Allan Poe
- Narrated by: Andrew Scott, Clarke Peters, full cast, and others
- Length: 7 hrs and 2 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The master of the macabre, Edgar Allan Poe has inspired generations of horror writers with his chilling Gothic tales and is also credited with inventing the detective fiction genre in 'The Murders in the Rue Morgue'. This radio collection features five of his classic tales - 'The Pit and the Pendulum', 'The Tell-Tale Heart', 'The Oblong Box', 'The Fall of the House of Usher' and 'The Masque of the Red Death'.
-
-
3 hours of Poe, 4 hours of essays/adaptations
- By Ginevra on 02-14-21
By: Edgar Allan Poe
-
Ivan Turgenev: A BBC Radio Full-Cast Drama Collection
- First Love, Father and Sons, A Month in the Country & more
- By: Ivan Turgenev
- Narrated by: Bill Nighy, Hugh Dickson, Patrick Troughton, and others
- Length: 13 hrs and 26 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ivan Turgenev stands alongside Tolstoy and Dostoevsky as one of the three great Russian novelists of the 19th century. He was also a consummate short story writer, poet and playwright, and the first Russian author to become popular in the West. This specially curated collection showcases his key works, from the most celebrated to the undeservedly underrated.
By: Ivan Turgenev
-
Blood, Sex and Money
- A BBC Radio 4 Serialisation of Zola's Epic Saga
- By: Émile Zola
- Narrated by: Paul McGann, Alison Steadman, Samuel West, and others
- Length: 23 hrs and 18 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
First published between 1870 and 1893, Émile Zola’s 20-book cycle chronicling four generations of the Rougon-Macquarts was a shocking exposé of the decadence, degradation and moral decay of 19th-century France. It included some of his greatest novels, among them his masterpiece, Germinal. These innovative, ambitious dramas, first broadcast on Radio 4 over 24 hours in 2015-16, are a radical reimagining of Zola’s classic series, introducing us to 104-year-old matriarch, Dide, imprisoned in an asylum in southern France.
-
-
Addictive, Edifying Fun - Truly Outstanding
- By Aaron on 10-12-19
By: Émile Zola
-
The Leo Tolstoy BBC Radio Drama Collection
- Full-Cast Dramatisations of War and Peace, Anna Karenina & More
- By: Leo Tolstoy
- Narrated by: Simon Russell Beale, Amanda Redman, Emily Mortimer, and others
- Length: 18 hrs and 35 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One of the greatest novelists of all time, Leo Tolstoy is famed worldwide for his masterpieces of realist fiction, War and Peace and Anna Karenina. This comprehensive collection contains both those iconic works, as well as his final novel, Resurrection, his autobiographical essay 'A Confession', Stephen Wakelam's dramatic account of his tempestuous marriage, Mrs Tolstoy, and In Our Time: Tolstoy.
-
-
Excellent adaptation..No chapter titles
- By Anna B. on 01-07-22
By: Leo Tolstoy
-
Banned Books: A BBC Radio Drama Collection
- Four Full-Cast Dramatisations of Modern Classics
- By: James Joyce, Radclyffe Hall, Aldous Huxley, and others
- Narrated by: Andrew Scott, Niamh Cusack, Valerie Edmond, and others
- Length: 10 hrs and 50 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Deviant. Depraved. Dangerous. Denounced for their transgressive themes and inflammatory ideas, these 20th-century classics have all been considered so seditious that they had to be suppressed. Find out what made these iconic works so threatening to governments worldwide in these superlative dramatisations, featuring stellar casts and specially composed music.
By: James Joyce, and others
-
Albert Camus: The Plague, The Outsider & more
- A study in drama and documentary
- By: Albert Camus
- Narrated by: Paul Scofield, John Shrapnel, Ronald Pickup, and others
- Length: 7 hrs and 40 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One of postwar France’s most influential writers, Albert Camus was fêted for his masterful exploration of the absurdity of the human condition. Included here are adaptations of his three iconic existential novels – The Plague, The Outsider and The Fall – alongside four bonus pieces shining a light on the man and his work.
-
-
Good but not excellent!
- By A. M. Gad on 01-02-25
By: Albert Camus
-
The Edgar Allan Poe BBC Radio Collection
- The Raven, The Tell-Tale Heart and Other Works
- By: Edgar Allan Poe
- Narrated by: Andrew Scott, Clarke Peters, full cast, and others
- Length: 7 hrs and 2 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The master of the macabre, Edgar Allan Poe has inspired generations of horror writers with his chilling Gothic tales and is also credited with inventing the detective fiction genre in 'The Murders in the Rue Morgue'. This radio collection features five of his classic tales - 'The Pit and the Pendulum', 'The Tell-Tale Heart', 'The Oblong Box', 'The Fall of the House of Usher' and 'The Masque of the Red Death'.
-
-
3 hours of Poe, 4 hours of essays/adaptations
- By Ginevra on 02-14-21
By: Edgar Allan Poe