The Guy de Maupassant BBC Radio Drama Collection
Full-Cast Dramatisations of Un Vie, Bel Ami & More
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About this listen
BBC Radio adaptations of selected novels and short stories by the great 19th century French writer - plus bonus programmes
Guy de Maupassant is renowned as one of the fathers of the modern short story. A protégé of Flaubert, he was celebrated for his naturalistic fiction, and wrote over 300 short stories, six novels, three travel books and one volume of verse in his short but highly productive lifetime. He died in an asylum aged just 43.
This collection brings together dramatisations of some of his finest works. Adapted by Sony Award-winning dramatist Frances Byrnes, Bel Ami chronicles the corrupt rise of charming, ruthless journalist Georges Duroy (Jonathan Slinger). It is followed by Maupassant's most famous short story, 'The Dumpling', a satirical tale of a group of coach travellers fleeing occupied Rouen during the Franco-Prussian war. Dramatised for the first time on radio, it stars Miriam Margolyes.
Set in Le Havre, Pierre et Jean centres around the jealousy that springs up between two brothers when a family secret is uncovered. Benedict Sandiford stars as Pierre, with Tim Treloar as Jean. Maupassant's tragicomic debut novel, Une Vie, starring Aimee Ffion Edwards, tells the story of Jeanne, a naive convent-educated aristocrat who dreams of romance, but finds marriage and adulthood treacherous and rotten. The haunting wintry tale 'The Inn' is next, in which young mountain guide Ulrich (Robin Laing) finds himself in sole charge of a remote Alpine hotel.
A hidden past is also at the heart of 'Mademoiselle Pearl', a poignant love story starring Claire Neilson and Frank Middlemass. Alongside it is 'The Hand', the macabre supernatural tale of an English aristocrat, his gruesome trophy and his vengeful nemesis. Denis Quilley stars as Sir John Rowell.
Also featured are two bonus dramas and a documentary about the great author. Confessions of a Hedonist is a phantasmagorical journey through five of Maupassant's most personal stories: 'A Strange Night Out', 'Mouche', 'Laid To Rest', 'Cockcrow' and 'Le Horla'. Adapted and translated by Simon Scardifield, it stars Elliot Cowan and Holli Dempsey. How an Umbrella Changed Everything, written by Shirley Cooklin and based on an idea by Maupassant, tells of a childless couple whose obsessive frugality has fateful repercussions. Nigel Lambert and Sheila Grant star as Charles and Clothilde Oreille. Finally, Meridian: Guy de Maupassant - Master of the Short Story explores Maupassant's life, work and lasting legacy.
First published 1880 ('The Dumpling'), 1883 (Une Vie, 'The Hand'), 1885 (Bel-Ami), 1886 ('The Inn', 'Mademoiselle Pearl'), 1887 (Pierre et Jean, 'Le Horla'), c1890 ('Mouche', 'A Queer Night in Paris', 'Laid to Rest', 'Cockcrow')
Production credits
Written by Guy de Maupassant
Contents:
Bel Ami
The Dumpling
Pierre and Jean
Une Vie
The Inn
Mademoiselle Pearl
The Hand
Maupassant's Confessions of a Hedonist
How an Umbrella Changed Everything
Meridian: Guy de Maupassant - Master of the Short Story
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Performance
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A sparkling collection of the major works of the ever-adored Oscar Wilde, with incredible casts including Judi Dench, Martin Clunes, Michael Sheen, Miriam Margolyes, Ian McDiarmid, Joely Richardson, Penelope Keith, Martin Jarvis, Diana Rigg, Simon Russell Beale, Sheila Hancock, Ian McKellen and Stephen Fry.
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No chapter titles?
- By Eric Feigenbaum on 02-24-21
By: Oscar Wilde
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Franz Kafka: The Trial, Metamorphosis, Amerika & more
- A BBC Radio 4 full-cast drama collection
- By: Franz Kafka
- Narrated by: David Tennant, Miriam Margolyes, Tom Basden, and others
- Length: 8 hrs and 6 mins
- Original Recording
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By day Franz Kafka worked as a lawyer for an insurance company, but he spent his nights writing visionary stories and novels exploring bureaucracy, power and alienation – iconic fiction that gave the world the adjective ‘Kafkaesque’. This BBC anthology showcases his most famous works, dealing with ordinary men caught up in impossible situations.
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Best Kafka Collection
- By Nati Yakobovich on 10-31-24
By: Franz Kafka
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Classic Dystopias: A BBC Radio Drama Collection
- The Time Machine, We, The Trial, Brave New World, Nineteen Eighty-Four, The Chrysalids
- By: H. G. Wells, Yevgeni Zamyatin, Franz Kafka, and others
- Narrated by: Robert Glenister, Anton Lesser, Don Warrington, and others
- Length: 10 hrs and 43 mins
- Original Recording
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Full-cast dramatisations of six masterpieces from the founding fathers of dystopian fiction. Dark and disturbing, provocative and prescient, dystopian literature has long captured our imagination with its nightmarish visions of forbidding future worlds. Included here are six classic novels of time-travel, totalitarianism and terror, written by some of the masters of speculative fiction and adapted for radio with all-star casts.
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The BBC DRAMA NEVER FAILS
- By Nati Yakobovich on 10-01-23
By: H. G. Wells, and others
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The Surreal and Supernatural Stories of Walter de la Mare
- A BBC Radio Collection
- By: Walter de la Mare
- Narrated by: Walter de la Mare, Julian Wadham, Anthony Head, and others
- Length: 7 hrs and 34 mins
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An award-wining poet, short story writer and novelist, Walter de la Mare is probably best known for his works for children and his perennially popular poem ‘The Listeners’. His ghost stories were much admired by H. P. Lovecraft and inspired subsequent authors of supernatural horror such as Robert Aickman and Ramsey Campbell. In 1921, his novel Memoirs of a Midget won the James Tait Black Prize for Fiction, and this haunting, surrealistic tale is the opening tale in our anthology.
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The Algernon Blackwood BBC Radio Collection
- 17 Dramas and Supernatural Ghost Stories
- By: Algernon Blackwood
- Narrated by: Philip Madoc, Malcolm Hayes, Christopher Neame, and others
- Length: 12 hrs and 10 mins
- Original Recording
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Described by H P Lovecraft as 'the one absolute and unquestioned master of weird atmosphere', Algernon Blackwood (CBE) was the acclaimed and prolific author of numerous ghost stories and horror tales. Throughout his lifetime, he wrote 14 novels, several children's books, a number of plays, and over 200 short stories. This anthology opens with a selection of stories featuring his most influential character, occult detective Dr John Silence.
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Tennessee Williams: A BBC Radio Drama Collection
- A Streetcar Named Desire, A Glass Menagerie, Spring Storm and More
- By: Tennessee Williams
- Narrated by: Anne-Marie Duff, Pippa Bennett-Warner, Celia Imrie, and others
- Length: 11 hrs and 59 mins
- Original Recording
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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.
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The Charles Dickens BBC Radio Drama Collection: The Later Years
- Eight BBC Radio Full-Cast Dramatisations
- By: Charles Dickens
- Narrated by: Robert Glenister, Robert Lindsay, Ian Holm, and others
- Length: 36 hrs and 35 mins
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Enthralling radio dramatisations of eight of Charles Dickens' much-loved novels. Charles Dickens is one of the most renowned authors of all time, and this second digital volume of the dramatised canon of his work includes eight of his classic novels. This collection includes the epic masterpiece David Copperfield, described by Dickens as his 'favourite child'; suspenseful mystery Bleak House; Dickens' most openly political novel, Hard Times; and Little Dorrit.
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Excellent!
- By Christine on 11-24-18
By: Charles Dickens
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Daphne du Maurier: The BBC Radio Collection
- Including Rebecca, Jamaica Inn, Frenchman’s Creek & more
- By: Daphne du Maurier
- Narrated by: Christopher Cazenove, Cathryn Harrison, Adam Godley, and others
- Length: 21 hrs and 27 mins
- Original Recording
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Daphne du Maurier was one of the 20th century’s most popular writers. Extraordinarily prolific, she produced a string of bestsellers, many of which were adapted as award-winning films. From romance and adventure yarns to psychological thrillers and supernatural tales, the breadth and imaginative variety of her storytelling continues to thrill us today. This bumper collection features her most famous works and some lesser-known gems, beginning with full-cast adaptations of seven of her much-loved novels.
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du Maurier is such a good author
- By Monhegan Monarch on 12-05-24
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Sophocles’ Greek Tragedies: A BBC Radio Drama Collection
- Oedipus, Antigone, Electra and More
- By: Sophocles
- Narrated by: Fiona Shaw, Kristin Scott-Thomas, Kenneth Cranham, and others
- Length: 6 hrs and 27 mins
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One of the three great tragic playwrights of ancient Greece, Sophocles wrote over 120 plays during his 60-year career, though only seven survive today. The most famous of these are the Theban Plays, all three of which are included in this collection alongside adaptations of Electra and Philoctetes, brought to life by celebrated writers, poets, and playwrights.
By: Sophocles
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Anthony Trollope: A BBC Radio Drama Collection
- Seven Full-Cast Dramatisations Including The Pallisers
- By: Anthony Trollope
- Narrated by: Tim Pigott-Smith, Samantha Bond, Dan Starkey, and others
- Length: 24 hrs and 34 mins
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Anthony Trollope was one of Victorian England’s most popular and prolific authors. He worked for the Post Office while establishing himself as a writer, and is credited with introducing the pillar box to Britain. Best known for his ‘Barsetshire’ and ‘Palliser’ novels, he wrote over 50 works in total, including short stories, travel books, biographies and a posthumously published autobiography. Collected here are a selection of superb adaptations of his much-loved novels, as well as a fascinating documentary and an original radio play by Patricia Cumper.
By: Anthony Trollope
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The Entire Original Short Stories by Guy de Maupassant
- By: Guy de Maupassant
- Narrated by: Cate Barratt
- Length: 48 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Guy de Maupassant is widely regarded as the father of the modern short story. As his 13 volumes of short stories attest, he was a prolific writer of this form. He had a simple, efficient style of writing and, like Anton Chekhov, found inspiration for his stories in the day-to-day lives of characters, in which their hidden natures are often revealed. Many of his works also centered on the Franco-Prussian War, in which he served.
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Definitely not "Entire" collection
- By Amazon Customer on 06-09-23
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Tales of London: Hawksmoor and Others
- Four BBC Radio 4 Dramas
- By: Peter Ackroyd
- Narrated by: Philip Jackson, Norman Rodway, Adjoa Andoh, and others
- Length: 6 hrs and 18 mins
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A superb collection of dramas guaranteed to thrill and entertain from best-selling author Peter Ackroyd. Set in the heart of London, these star-studded adaptations feature parallel investigations into killings across two centuries, black magic, haunted houses, holy ghosts and a stunning performance by Simon Callow as the magnificent Charles Dickens. Novelist, biographer and critic Peter Ackroyd has cemented his place at the heart of the culture and history of London. This fantastic collection is full of vitality from a world-class author and stellar cast.
By: Peter Ackroyd
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The Noel Coward BBC Radio Drama Collection
- Seven BBC Radio Full-cast Productions
- By: Noel Coward
- Narrated by: Alex Jennings, Bill Nighy, Celia Imrie, and others
- Length: 11 hrs and 55 mins
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Renowned for his wit, style and sophistication, Noël Coward was one of the greatest playwrights of the 20th century. His plays, set in the glittering world of high society in which he lived, are much admired and have remained in the popular theatre repertoire to this day. This collection brings together the very best radio adaptation
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Some good plays...
- By Charisma on 08-11-18
By: Noel Coward
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The Virginia Woolf BBC Radio Drama Collection
- Seven Full-Cast Dramatisations
- By: Virginia Woolf
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson, Vanessa Redgrave, Robert Glenister, and others
- Length: 13 hrs and 33 mins
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The collected BBC dramatisations of the fiction of Virginia Woolf, with star casts including Kristin Scott-Thomas, Vanessa Redgrave, Juliet Stevenson, Laura Fraser, Robert Glenister and Fenella Woolgar....
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Updated with Chapter Titles!
- By Vickie Wang on 05-16-19
By: Virginia Woolf
What listeners say about The Guy de Maupassant BBC Radio Drama Collection
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Anonymous User
- 10-25-23
First Class
Maupassant is an inspiration to writers worldwide! This BBC production is a wonderful introduction- reading his works is even more delightful!
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