Showing results by narrator "Martin Jarvis" in All Categories

It's the beginning of the summer holidays and William and the Outlaws see an endless expanse of gloriously carefree days stretching ahead - but how to fill them? The six classic adventures contained in this unabridged reading are: 'William and the Holiday Centre', 'William's Treasure Trove', 'William and the Cottage', 'William Tackles the Job', 'William and Detective Journalism', and 'William and the Parsons' Guy'.

Fourteen adventures featuring the incorrigible William, read by Martin Jarvis. Martin Jarvis has made the voices of William and his gang of outlaws his own in these marvellous readings. Roar with laughter as the lovable rogue wreaks havoc in this ever-popular series of stories.

Dick Dunster and Philip Progmire have been friends from their schooldays. They have also been adversaries. Progmire’s thespian longings, nurtured since he was a university actor, are now submerged in his work as an accountant with Megapolis Television. Dunster is also at Megapolis, engaged on an exposé of war criminals, focussing on a blown-up church and the massacre of the whole population of a small town during the Italian campaign.

The third “battle” of Ayckbourn’s celebrated trilogy The Norman Conquests, returns us to the same weekend in the country, but this time to the setting of Mother’s overgrown English country garden. Something more troublesome than brambles is lurking among the roses. Havoc ensues among the flora and fauna, as this cynical masterpiece makes its way to a hilarious conclusion.

In the second “battle” of Ayckbourn’s celebrated triology The Norman Conquests, we rejoin the family weekend, this time hearing the events in the living room, where Norman gets drunk on homemade dandelion wine – and all hell breaks loose. Norman unleashes his merry brand of manipulative charm on the hapless guests and even his most formidable opponents go down in defeat on the drawing room rug.

The Trick of It is a comical look at an odd couple. Original and witty, Frayn tells a complete story through one-sided letters. Compact, light and entertaining, The Trick of It is a clever tale. A nameless college professor writes letters to an esteemed friend living in Australia. The professor is a critic who has dedicated his life to teaching and explaining the writings of a profound female writer. He knows her books inside and out.

Nicholas Nickleby is at once a moving and funny novel following the fortunes and misfortunes of an impetuous and high-spirited hero. Left penniless by his father's death, and protector of his sister Kate, Nicholas Nickleby becomes a true champion of the weak. Always equal to the wild adventures thrust upon him, young Nicholas has to constantly pit himself against Ralph, his devious and unscrupulous uncle, in order to survive. Includes music extracts from Mozart's 'Clarinet Quartet in E Flat'.

Frustrated copy man Ken Handley cannot help but conceive of the world in advert form. Over three series witness Ken coping with a drunken boss, straight-laced colleagues and an overactive mind, as we follow his exploits and moral dilemmas in this advertising satire. Martin Jarvis stars as Ken, alongside a cast that includes Miriam Margolyes, Imelda Staunton, Christopher Godwin and Joss Ackland.

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.

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

Jeff Hinkley, a British Horseracing Authority investigator, has been seconded to the US Federal Anti-Corruption in Sports Agency (FACSA), where he has been asked to find a mole in their organisation, an informant who is passing on confidential information to fix races. Jeff goes in search of answers, taking on an undercover role as a groom on the backstretch at Belmont Park racetrack in New York. But he discovers far more than he was bargaining for.

The second book in the classic Just William series, read by Martin Jarvis. It was on Christmas Day that the centipede appeared on Aunt Evangeline's plate, the library clock was found mysteriously dismantled, and the conjuring trick with the egg went disastrously wrong. But as William's Aunt Lucy told him, 'A Busy Day is a Happy Day' - and William is always eager to please adults. The terror of the Brown family is back, leaving a trail of havoc behind him - with the very best of intentions.

Six years ago, investigator Sid Halley retired for good. He’d been harassed, beaten, shot, even lost a hand to his investigating business, and enough was enough. For the sake of his wife and new daughter he gave up that life of danger and uncertainty, and he thought nothing would ever lure him back into the game. He thought wrong. Sir Richard Stewart, chairman of the racing authority, begs Sid to investigate a series of dodgy races. Sid adamantly refuses, but the following day, Sir Richard is found dead under suspicious circumstances.

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

The fictional story, relocated to the Vietnam War, opens many years after Lieutenant's death, with the publication of a photograph of the POW Camp Commandant responsible, now a US citizen and successful businessman named Donald Quang. Hershey is commissioned by a fellow Vietnam veteran to carry out a 'routine check' into Quang's background, ostensibly for business reasons. Complications multiply quickly as it emerges that the Lieutenant's senior NCO is already on his way to the US.

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.

Nobody likes a sticky monkey... As self-appointed Guardian of Otherhand Castle, Edgar's alarmed when a nasty looking black tail slinks off under the rhubarb plants, kitchen maids go missing and the castle begins to flood. There's never a dull moment for the strange Otherhand family; Lord Valevine, Minty his wife, 10 year old Cudweed, his pet, Fellah (the sticky monkey), and his big sister, black-haired, gothic-ly gorgeous Solstice, as they come face to face with the owner of the black tail.

‘An unknown place.’ This was what Michael Frayn’s children called the shadowy landscape of the past from which their family had emerged. In this book he sets out to rediscover that lost land before all trace of it finally disappears beyond recall. As he tries to see it through the eyes his parents and the others who shaped his life, he comes to realise how little he ever knew or understood about them. This is a charming, moving and witty childhood memoir from one of Britain’s best-loved writers.

No more chocolate! It's a new century and the government in power is called the "Good For You Party". They close down all the burger bars and chip shops and they even ban chocolate - a step too far for Huntley and his chum, Smudger. They devise a plan to beat the chocolate plan with amazing results.

A man calls unexpectedly on his mistress and sees another man leaving her flat. Accusing her of being unfaithful, he quarrels with her, strikes her. She dies. Leaving unseen, he tips off the police so that the other man is arrested and charged. Has he achieved "The Perfect Murder"? A tantalising opening to A Twist in the Tale, a fast-moving, entertaining set of stories.