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"This is not a political book, but simple a somewhat impressionistic study of the moods and atmospheres of Cyprus during the troubled years 1953-6." So wrote Lawrence Durrell in the preface to Bitter Lemons. Durrell, who lived abroad for much of his life, brilliantly captures the romance, beauty, excitement and sadness of the island, and the lives of the people of Bellapaix where he bought a house. In a compelling and atmospheric account beautifully suited to the Spoken Word medium, Durrell charts affectionately the romances and relationships of the many characters he befriended there.

Bitter Lemons of Cyprus is both an evocative and memorable picture of village life and a social and historical document of a lost community. Written during the gradual uprising of the Greek Cypriots who wanted union with Greece, Durrell observes the people's struggles on an intimate and personal level. Sadly some fifty years later the Cypriot situation remains unresolved.
The reader Andrew Sachs is one of Britain's best-loved actors, famous for playing the role of Manuel in Fawlty Towers.

Another excellent installment in the Jeeves and Wooster canon and a bestselling audio. The seven unabridged short stories included here begin with Jeeves' arrival to look after Bertie Wooster, and many take place in the big world of New York City. Enjoy the usual blend of chaos and hilarity read by the superb Martin Jarvis.

Martin Jarvis, winner of the first ever Talkies 'Best reader' award, is thoroughly at home with Carry On, Jeeves adding that extra sparkle to Wodehouse's witty words and extracting every nuance of humour from the characters' dialogue and the hilarious narrative.

Born in 1725 to Italian and Spanish parentage, Giacomo Casanova lived a long and exciting life. A scholar and an adventurer Casanova travelled widely throughout Europe and Russia associating with rulers and Kings. For a time he was in the service of the army and he became a great political stirrer. But he vacillated between fortune and misfortune and often resorted to gaming and fiddling too. Of course Casanova is most well-known for his womanizing and he reveals time after time how he just couldn't help falling in love! His eloquence and charm will not be lost on the listener either: the writing is remarkably modern, accessible and funny too. It took Casanova eighteen years to write his memoirs and a further one hundred for them to be classified as genuine. Available now for the first time on audio and brilliantly brought to life by the effervescent Benedict Cumberbatch, in this first volume of his memoirs Casanova charts his childhood and life as a young man in Venice and Italy.

Benedict Cumberbatch is one of Britain's brightest young actors. He starred as Stephen Hawking in the BBC's celebrated Hawking and plays the lead role in Michael Apted's 2006 film Amazing Grace. As well as his screen credits, Benedict has worked extensively in theatre and radio drama and recently as Sherlock Holmes in the popular TV series.

The greatest ever selection of fictional detectives, all together in one superb CD collection. Find Sherlock Holmes with his long suffering colleague, Dr. Watson in The Dying Detective, Father Brown as a witness in court in The Man in the Passage, and J.G. Reeder in The Poetical Policeman and The Green Mamba. In Chimes, a very clever story by Dam Muriel Spark, her hitherto undiscovered detective will keep you guessing right up to the surprise ending. Popular favourite Inspector Morse features in The Burglar by Colin Dexter. Discover Nicholas Blake's intellectual young toff sleuth Nigel Strangeways in The Assassin's Club, and the very eccentric antique dealer and psychic Morris Klaw in Sax Rohmer's unusual and memorable story set in a museum.
There's something for everybody in this brilliantly baffling collection to keep listeners of all ages in suspense.
Narrator Edward Hardwicke was a British actor most famous for his role as Dr Watson opposite Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes in the popular 1980s television series.

Read in the style of a secret diary, this famous sequel to I, Claudius gives a wry and human view of the Roman world, bringing to life some of the most scandalous and violent times in history.
Claudius has survived the murderous intrigues of his predecessors to become, reluctantly, Emperor of Rome. He recounts his surprisingly successful rule; how he cultivates loyalty of the army to repair the damage caused by his nephew Caligula; his friendship with the Jewish King Herod Agrippa; and his invasion of Britain. Yet beneath the surface Claudius' good fortune is under threat. With the growing paranoia of absolute power, and his young wife Messalina causing trouble, how long can Claudius survive?

Sir Derek Jacobi narrates; the only true voice of Claudius, having played him in the 1976 BBC series. Jacobi is a beloved stage and screen actor.

George Mallory's collected writings on his mountaineering - and his motivations. Famously impelled to climb Mount Everest simply because it was there, Mallory made three attempts to be the first to reach its summit, and perished on the third. His writing reveals the emotional life of the mountaineer. With eloquence, Mallory captures the struggles and the rewards involved, the climber's sense of triumph, and experiences of staggering beauty.
The reader is Tim Pigott Smith.

Although it can be listened to or read as a stand alone novel, In Chancery forms the second part of John Galsworthy's Forsyte Saga, chronicling the downfall of an upper middle class family in the turbulent period of social change at the end of the 19th and start of the 20th centuries. It tells of the struggle between Soames and his beautiful wife Irene, who leaves him but cannot persuade him to grant a divorce.
Reader Martin Jarvis is a well-respected British actor, whose acclaimed audiobook narration is always a delight to hear.

Goodbye to All That is Robert Graves' searing autobiography and an emotional first-hand account of life in the Great War trenches. A graphic storyteller, Graves begins with the petty cruelties of his public school upbringing. Then, almost in 'fly-on-the-wall' documentary style, he paints devastating portraits of war: of a young man's hell, of meaningless sacrifice, of everyday heroism, and of the idiocy of the military command. Even accomplishing some moments of humour, Goodbye to All That is an enthralling listen, bringing the listener into the midst of the battle. It is widely recognised as one of the most powerful insights into the trauma of war.
Read by award-winning British stage, television and voice actor, Martin Jarvis

Set in the north of England during the 19th century, 'Hard Times' is the story of Thomas Gradgrind, a schoolmaster, who has strong and overbearing views on how his children, Louisa and Tom, should behave in order to become 'models in society'. As the children get older their father's teachings start to impact significantly on their lives, Grandgrind starts to question his own resolve and begins to wonder whether he has been misguided and blind to their needs Set against a background of wealth and poverty where the rich rule and the poor are left to suffer, 'Hard Times' is more than a vehicle highlighting social injustice, it is also full of drama, romance, comedy, pathos and a tantalisingly elusive, but none-the-less compelling, sliver of 'hope'.
Read by the accomplished actress and narrator Dame Harriet Walter.

In this story, an engagingly vague Lord Emsworth battles to prevent a pig-napping, Lord Tillbury lurks, desperate to filch Gally Threepwood's sensational memoirs, and those formidable sisters, Julia and Constance, will do anything to sabotage the nuptials of Ronnie Fish and chorus girl Sue. Also thrown into the proverbial mix are: Parsloe-Parsloe, Monty Bodkin and Percy Pilbeam. Confused? So is Beach the butler, drawn into events by a heady cocktail of loyalty and self-interest. But surely, the storm will conk out and the thunder will grumble away...This is Wodehouse's comic genius at its most magical, so expect sunshine - and even a bally rainbow - when the weather lightens and all the confusions of the castle are finally resolved. Pip, pip!

Martin Jarvis inhabits this masterpiece of cross-purposes with dazzling vocal dexterity, adding another laugh-out-loud performance to his many Wodehouse readings.

I, Claudius is Robert Graves' riveting account of Ancient Rome in all its madness and debauchery. First published in 1934, and written in the form of Claudius' autobiography, it endures as one of literature's most celebrated and compelling historical novels.
Abhorred by his weakness and viewed by his family as little more than a stammering fool, the nobleman Claudius quietly survives the cruelties, bloody purges and intrigues of the imperial Roman dynasties. From the sidelines he observes the reigns of its emperors: from the wise Augustus and his wicked wife Livia to the sadistic Tiberius and the excellent Caligula. I, Claudius paints a vivid, sometimes funny, picture of the ancient world, highlighting the complexities and politics inherent in Empire-building.

Read by Derek Jacobi, one of Britain's best-loved stage and screen actors who famously appeared in the BBC series of I, Claudius.

Jeeves and Wooster are a case-in-point of chalk and cheese coexisting to make an enduring partnership of sublime comedy. Hapless, though always engaging, Bertie Wooster would be lost without his 'man' Jeeves, to advise him, not only on sartorial good taste but, crucially, to be on hand to rescue the young master from a variety of social and romantic entanglements. Immortalised on-screen by Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie - and on the Broadway stage by Martin Jarvis himself - the duo have won the hearts, minds and laughter of generations since the first Jeeves story was published in 1916.
STORY LISTINGS: 1. Jeeves Exerts the Old Cerebellum 2. No Wedding Bells for Bingo
3. Aunt Agatha Speaks Her Mind 4. Pearls Mean Tears 5. The Pride of the Woosters is Wounded
6. The Hero's Reward 7. Introducing Claude and Eustace 8. Sir Roderick Comes to Lunch
9. A Letter of Introduction 10. Startling Dressiness of a Lift Attendant 11. Comrade Bingo
12. Bingo Has a Bad Goodwood

Martin Jarvis is an award-winning actor renowned for his readings of P.G. Wodehouse.

The second instalment of Jeeves and Wooster's bally spiffing adventures is chock-full of unabridged stories of sparkling brilliance. Martin Jarvis is on top form, voicing a whole range of colourful characters, including the hapless incurable romantic Bingo Little, superbly.

From money-making schemes involving placing wagers on the lengths of vicars' sermons to poor Bingo producing the village school Christmas entertainments, every one of Wodehouse's celebrated short stories is guaranteed to raise chortles from even the most stony-faced listener!

Martin Jarvis is a leading British actor, whose acclaimed audiobook reading is always a delight to hear.

Orwell's darkly comic novel centres around the life of Gordon Comstock, onetime advertising copywriter turned bookshop employee and struggling poet. Gordon's disdain for money and artistic compromise preclude his earning enough of a living to escape constant public embarrassment. On top of this, it gives him terrible trouble holding on to his girlfriend. Unwilling to dilute his stubborn stance on capitalistic pursuits, he constantly obsesses "money, money, money, all is money". Gordon's problems mount while his only published volume, "Mice", gathers dust on a shelf, and his attempts at a new collection stagnate.
Written during Orwell's time living in Notting Hill and set in London during "the year of blight, 1934", the novel is a fine example of Orwell's wit, and a masterpiece of fiction. It also hints towards themes about power and relationships that would colour his later works Nineteen Eighty-Four and Animal Farm.
Reader Richard E. Grant is one Britain's best-loved actors, and best remembered for his role in Withnail & I. In 1997. Grant also appeared as Gordon Comstock in a film version of Orwell's novel.

Journalist Mike Watson and his wife, Phylis, trace it back to the strange showering lights they noticed on the final day of their honeymoon cruise: lights which appeared to land and disappear into the water. Reports mount of similar sightings all over the world. Governments embark on missions to investigate the sea, but ships disappear and diving crews never return to the surface. Something deep in the ocean does not want to be disturbed.The Kraken Wakes is a tale of humanity's efforts to resist alien invasion, narrated by Mike, who unfolds the story as experienced by the couple - from the earliest signs of trouble, to the conflict between the sea-dwelling creatures and the human world. John Wyndham's classic science-fiction masterpiece is powerfully brought to life in this unabridged production.
Reader Alex Jennings is an acclaimed British stage, television and radio actor.

The novel was first published in 1862 in serial form. This production read by Juliet Stevenson marks the first audio release of one of Victorian England's most sensational reads. Dealing with bigamy, murder and madness it begs the question: can women and men ever really depend on one another, even within marriage...?

When young Lucy Graham marries Sir Michael Audley all seems well and good. Sir Michael is thoroughly devoted to his new bride and Lady Audley takes great pleasure in her privileged position at Audley Court. But Sir Michael's daughter Alicia is frustrated and uncomfortable with her stepmother's girlish ways.
Shortly afterwards, Sir Michael's nephew, the attractive but lazy barrister Robert Audley, welcomes back to England an old friend of his, George Talboys. The pair visit the Court for some sport, where George disappears in mysterious circumstances. Robert Audley is spurred into action, taking up the case with a newfound passion and energy. Like the best detective novels, and with some wonderful melodrama thrown in for good measure, the plot unravels at a pace until the truth is revealed about Lady Audley's Secret.

My Family and Other Animals is the story of the adventurous time Durrell and his family spent on the island of Corfu during his childhood. Worn down by the miserable English weather, Gerry's family takes the unusual step - for a 1930s British family - of moving somewhere hotter. Treated to the sunshine of Greece with its array of flora and fauna, young Gerald is in a budding naturalist's utopia, with the added bonus of being able to observe the unusual creatures known as his relatives. His placid mother, gun-obsessed brother Leslie, angst and acne-plagued sister Margo, and eldest brother the irascible author Larry put on a dazzling display of human quirk, and combine with strays such as Spiro the local taxi-driver to brilliant comic effect. Animal and human life combine in this beautiful, timelessly entertaining memoir.

Hugh Bonneville is an acclaimed British stage, television, film and radio actor.

A collection of humourous stories about unscrupulous film writer Pat Hobby, a relic from the early days of Hollywood, looking for success in the changing world of the movies. F. Scott Fitzgerald's collection paints a comic portrait of a man unwilling to accept his fate as a thing of the past, an artless, insensitive writer suffering as the decades leave silent film behind. Hobby is stuck in a world which doesn't respect its elders, particularly not those as lazy and scheming as he.

Kerry Shale is a Canadian actor with an extensive career in radio, TV and theatre. He injects much wit and atmosphere into his reading and interpretation of Fitzgerald's famous stories.

Jimmy Crocket, a.k.a. Piccadilly Jim is a lively young American ex-newspaper man who meets Ann Chester, the girl of his dreams, in London. Problem is Jim once wrote a bad review of her first book of poetry. They set sail for New York together with Ann still not knowing he's the dastardly critic! Add a brilliantly colourful Manhattan setting, an unlikely butler, odd spies, eccentric 'tecs, scientific secrets, plus an odious boy called Ogden, and the ingredients are here for one of P.G. Wodehouse's most dazzlingly comic feasts.

Wonderfully funny listening that keeps up a swift pace, thanks to the classic combination of Martin Jarvis, award-winning voice actor, reading Britain's finest comic writer, P.G. Wodehouse (1881-1975).

Right Ho, Jeeves sees Bertie Wooster blithely attempting to assume the role of Jeeves himself as a matters-of-the-heart adviser. Very unwise: from Gussie Fink-Nottle's romance with Madeline Bassett, to Tuppy Glossop and his stop/go engagement to Angela Travers, the young master succeeds only in making a bally mess of everyone's love-lives.Toss into the mixing-bowl hot-headed chef Anatole, perpetually resigning from, returning to and re-resigning from the employ of Bertie's long-suffering Aunt Dahlia; and, shimmering over all, the lateral-thinking genius that is Jeeves. Here is more from the wonderously engaging world of Wodehouse, where laughter and inspired idiocy whirl together in warm-hearted celebration of great comic writing. Enjoy? Right ho!

Narrator Martin Jarvis is an award-winning actor and Wodehouse reader.

Lucy Honeychurch, accompanied by her vigilant cousin Charlotte Bartlett, makes her first foray into the world, touring Italy. Thrown into new and exhilarating situations, Lucy experiences a very different life to her usual existence in the countryside of southern England.

As her horizons widen and many of her Italian connections follow her homeward, Lucy, a talented pianist with a good brain, finds herself in a surprising emotional struggle. Caught between two men - the unconventional and spirited George Emerson, and sophisticated Cecil Vyse - Lucy is pulled between the social and sexual proprieties of her upbringing and the spontaneous promptings of her heart. But can she make the right choice?

This audio version of the classic novel is read by Juliet Stevenson, one of Britain's best-loved actresses.

The debonair Uncle Fred makes a welcome return to Blandings, where plotting and confusion is rife. Blackmail, sabotage, jilted lovers and pigs under threat of kidnap all feature largely, making this hilarious instalment in the Blandings series irresistible to fans and newcomers alike.The story sees lovely debutante Myra Schoonmaker unhappily ensconced in Blandings at the insistence of Lady Constance Keeble, who objects to Myra's entanglement with down-at-heel curate Bill Bailey. But Blandings never has been a place to stifle the wants of the heart for long. Soon, all kinds of subterfuge and shifty goings-on are afoot to reunite the lovebirds, with the help of an unbeatable cast of misfits and society schmoozers including Pongo Twistleton, Lord Tilbury, Lavender Briggs and of course, amiably vague Lord Emsworth and his trusty 'man-mountain' butler Beach.

Read by the fantastic, critically-acclaimed Martin Jarvis.

With this rich range of unabridged stories we celebrate the very best of contemporary writers and writing.
Among others the collections features thriller writer Ruth Rendell, witty William Boyd, the Japanese literary sensation Haruki Murakami, ever-inventive Helen Simpson, and Patrick O'Brien, world-famous for his nautical series.

Readers include top British actors Martin Jarvis, Rosalind Ayres and Janet McTeer.

Short Stories: The Timeless Collection features 20 well-loved and unabridged tales from the best-loved authors in the history of English literature, including the deliciously sardonic Saki and a brilliant semi-autobiographical tale by Charles Dickens, inspired by the railway. An array of well-known readers including Nigel Hawthorne, Martin Jarvis, Brian Cox, Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie.
LISTINGS: The Windmill as I First Knew It by Alphonse Daudet, Boil Some Water Lots of It by F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Disappearance of Crispina Umberleigh by Saki, Idle Thoughts on Babies by Jerome K. Jerome, The Schartz-Metterklume Method by Saki, A Photographer's Day Out by Lewis Carroll, Gentlemen and Players by E. W. Hornung, Mrs Amworth by E. F. Benson, Timber by John Galsworthy, Into the Sun by Robert Duncan Milne, No 1 Branch Line The Signalman by Charles Dickens, The Squaw by Bram Stoker, The Loathly Opposite by John Buchan, The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe, The Mezzotint by M. R. James, Angela by W. S. Gilbert, The Barrister's Story by Sapper, Jeff Peters as a Personal Magnet by O. Henry, Oh Whistle & I'll Come to You My Lad by M. R. James, The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County by Mark Twain.

When a valuable scarab belonging to an American millionaire is absent-mindedly stolen by Lord Emsworth, young writers Ashe Marson and Joan Valentine are tasked with infiltrating Blandings Castle to retrieve it. Meanwhile, vacuous Freddie Threepwood worries that some compromising letters may scupper his engagement to the millionaire's daughter. Wodehouse's comic masterpiece combines above and below stairs pretensions with all the fun of a romantic thriller.

Martin Jarvis is an award-winning British actor and the 'Olivier of audiobooks'.

Another laugh-aloud story of Blandings Castle, from one of the greatest humorists ever, P.G. Wodehouse. Read with masterly wit and style by highly-acclaimed British actor Martin Jarvis.

Clarence, the amiable dotty ninth Earl of Emsworth, dotes on his prize-winning pig, Empress of Blandings. His old rou� brother, Galahad, fears that Clarence's rival, Sir Gregory Parsloe-Parsloe, is planning to nobble the Empress to prevent her taking the County prize once again. Parsloe lives in equal fear of Gally publishing scandalous tales of their wild younger days in his memoirs. Lady Constance, Clarence's formidable sister, is determined to stop publication. The castle is soon overrun with manuscript thieves! Romance also pervades the balmy air: Clarence's feisty niece Millicent loves handsome but penniless Hugo; gorgeous chorus girl Sue adores vapid Ronnie Fish. Thus, with the additional excitement of pig-napping, private detection and public absurdity - all overseen by Beach, the mountainous butler - the scene is set. Will love find a way? Of course; but so will sublime comedy, in this dazzling work of genius.

Sherlock Holmes is the eternally likeable detective figure and never fails to be wise to the machinations of the criminal mind. Accompanied by his trusty sidekick Dr. Watson, the pair will delight a listener with their inimitable sleuthing style and ever-charismatic idiosyncrasies. This first volume contains six complete and unabridged stories as follows:
The Adventure of the Empty House, The Adventure of the Devil's Foot, The Adventure of the Abbey Grange, The Adventure of the Cardboard Box, The Man With the Twisted Lip, The Adventure of the the Bruce-Partington Plans.

The reader is Edward Hardwicke who played Dr. Watson to Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes in the enduringly popular television series.

Abridged novel depicting the sinister affair of the eighteenth century cow-creamer and the small, brown, leather-covered notebook tests the Wooster soul as it has never been tested before. Friends and relations, in urgent need, queue up to beg for assistance in a variety of troublesome situations, and ruthless enemies stop at nothing in their determination to bring Bertie down.

Does our hero blink at the burdens placed on his shoulders by his nearest and dearest? He does not. Does his courage fail him when he faces overwhelming odds? It does not. Aided by the magnificent Jeeves, Bertie Wooster looks after his pals and smites the ungodly in his own inimitable style.

Martin Jarvis is a much respected actor. Feted for his narration skills he also directs radio drama and divides his time between L.A. and London.

Charles Dickens classics read by Martin Jarvis. This master of character voices brings to vivid life so many of Dickens' memorable characters from Fagin to Scrooge, Pip to Magwitch. The six abridged novels combine two previous trilogies in one bumper edition comprising:
David Copperfield
Great Expectations
Oliver Twist
A Tale of Two Cities
A Christmas Carol
Nicholas Nickleby

Over twenty unabridged selections of Rudyard Kipling's stories, poems and letters, including famous works such as "If" and "How The Whale Got his Throat".

1. PRELUDE - "To Departmental Ditties" (1885) read by Rupert Degas
2. TODS' from "Plain Tales from the Hills" read by Martin Jarvis
3. THE BALLAD OF EAST AND WEST (1889) read by Rupert Degas
4. KIDKNAPPED from "Plain Tales from the Hills" read by Martin Jarvis
5. THE SONG OF THE SONS read by Rupert Degas
6. THE SONG OF THE CITIES read by Rupert Degas
7. ENGLAND'S ANSWER read by Rupert Degas
8. THE THREE MUSKETEERS from "Plain Tales from the Hills" read by Martin Jarvis
9. THE ROUT OF THE WHITE HUSSARS from "Plain Tales of the Hills" read by Martin Jarvis
10. RECESSIONAL (1897) read by Rupert Degas
ANIMAL STORIES
1. THE LAW OF THE JUNGLE from the "Second Jungle Book" read by Rupert Degas
2. MOWGLI'S BROTHERS from "The Jungle Book" read by Rupert Degas
3. THE FEMALE OF THE SPECIES (1911) read by Rupert Degas
4. HOW THE WHALE GOT HIS THROAT from the "Just So Stories" read by Rupert Degas
CHILDREN AND FAMILY
1. A SCHOOL SONG - prelude to "Stalky & Co." read by Rupert Degas
2. THE PRODIGAL SON read by Rupert Degas
3. WEE WILLIE WINKIE, AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN read by Rupert Degas
4. THE CAT THAT WALKED BY HIMSELF read by Liza Goddard
5. KIPLING'S LETTERS TO HIS CHILDREN, JOHN AND ELSIE read by Rupert Degas
6. MERROW DOWN read by Rupert Degas
7. IF read by Rupert Degas
WAR AND OTHER
1. LETTERS BETWEEN KIPLING AND HIS SON JOHN Read by Rupert Degas
2. THE GARDENER Read by Rupert Degas
3. EPITAPHS OF THE WAR (1914 - 1918) Read by Rupert Degas
4. JUSTICE (October, 1918) Read by Rupert Degas
5. THE FIRES Read by Rupert Degas
6. THE MARK OF THE BEAST Read by Richard Pasco

Pride and Prejudice - An elegant tableau revolving around the five Bennett daughters, including clever, strong-spirited Elizabeth. Austen's masterpiece is a study of love, loss and snobbery.

Sense and Sensibility - The engaging story of sisters Elinor and Marianne, whose lives are turned upside down when they are left almost penniless following the death of their father. Two men with whom the sisters form attachments present more unforeseen challenges along the way.

Emma - Emma is an exquisitely crafted social portrait of late Eighteenth-century society, widely considered to be Austen's most literarily accomplished work. Emma Woodhouse, self-appointed meddling matchmaker, stands to lose out on love herself if she isn't careful.

Persuasion - In part autobiographical, Persuasion has a quieter sense of humour, and takes a more serious tone, than some of Austen's other novels. Anne Elliot is revisited by her ex-fianc�e, coinciding with a downturn in her family's fortunes, and has some choices to make.

Northanger Abbey - Young and susceptible, Catherine Morland expects dark secrets and many dangers to be lurking in the hidden recesses of Northanger Abbey. In fact, the real obstacles lying in her path are more mundane but just as serious as her imagined horrors.

The collection also includes 2 Bonus CDs including The Watsons, an early Austen short story, and a collection of letters. Titles read by highly-acclaimed British actresses including Anna Massey, Harriet Walter and Joanna Lumley.

Machiavellian adj. elaborately cunning; scheming, unscrupulous.
Machiavellianism n. (N. dei Machiavello, Florentine statesman and political writer d. 1527, who advocated resort to morally questionable methods in the interests of the State).

How remarkable that an Italian living in the 15th and 16th centuries should lend his name to a word still in common usage in the English language today.
The Prince has remained a prominent classic ever since its publication in 1513; valued for its shrewd psychological insight, powerful words and prophetic quality. And even today, it has never lost its power to shock and influence.

Ian Richardson played machiavellian Francis Urquhart in the hit TV series The House of Cards, To Play the King and The Final Cut. His formidable reading of this modern unabridged translation is an accessible and entertaining way in to a truly compelling world view.

India, 1857 - the year of the Great Mutiny, when Muslim soldiers turned in bloody rebellion on their British overlords. This time of convulsion is the subject of The Siege of Krishnapur, widely considered to the one of the finest British novels of the last fifty years. A witty and individual take on the many traditions and follies of Empire, it is also a gripping account of survival under siege, illuminating how extreme conditions can influence and affect people's behaviour and the human spirit.

Reader Tim Pigott-Smith is a renowned British film and television actor.

The Third Man is one of the truly great post-war films, starring Orson Welles and Joseph Cotton. A thrilling story of black-marketeering, it is set against a backdrop of Vienna in the immediate post-war era, when the city was divided into four zones amongst the major powers, Russia, Britain, France and America. Graham Greene wrote the novella first and then adapted it for the screenplay. Compelling and moving, it is written from the view of the British Chief of Police who is investigating the death of a certain Harry Lime. When Rollo Martins, a writer of Westerns, arrives in Vienna to visit his old school friend, he also becomes inextricably involved in the mystery surrounding Harry Lime.

Martin Jarvis is a widely acclaimed film, TV and stage actor who has also carved a name for himself in the world of audiobooks as a reader par excellence.

Three Men in a Boat is one of the most amusing and durable books in the English language. Semi-autobiographical, it recounts the adventures and mishaps of George, Harris, J. (the author) and his remarkable dog Montmorency during a boat trip along the River Thames in England from London to Oxford. Jerome K. Jerome originally intended the book to be a guide to the Thames Valley but his publisher thought it so entertaining it was published as a comic novel and has endured as a classic of the genre ever since. Wonderfully light and surprisingly modern in tone, the sense of fun is irrepressible, the enjoyment unstoppable. Real laugh-out-loud stuff.

Hugh Laurie is one of Britain's most successful actors. Having started out with Stephen Fry in Jeeves and Wooster, Blackadder and A Bit of Fry and Laurie, he has become a superstar in America thanks to the success of the television series House, where he plays the eponymous doctor protagonist.

Read by Martin Jarvis, this joyous celebration of spring fever is an undisputed comic masterpiece. Once again we find ourselves at that idyllic country seat, Blandings. This time it's debonair charmer, Frederick Altamont Cornwallis Twistleton, fifth Earl of Ickenham (known to most as 'Uncle Fred') who has been lured to the castle by affable Lord Emsworth. His lordship requires an expert in human behaviour to prevent the egg-throwing Duke of Dunstable from stealing Emsworth's treasured pig, Empress of Blandings. The plot's eccentricities naturally include love and romance and, crucially, three imposters. Add to the cocktail some 'Mickey Finns', a brace of financially embarrassed nephews and a private investigator, 'Mustard Pott'. As the mixture boils there are shot guns in the night time - plus redoubtable Lady Constance, Emsworth's sister, who could halt a cavalry charge merely with her voice. A happy and appropriate ending is of course on the cards. But the joy is to marvel at how Wodehouse weaves the intricate threads in this tapestry of dottiness, and to hear him tie it up (and us) in knots of laugh-aloud hilarity.
Martin Jarvis is the quintessential reader for the 'Blandings' series, with an outstanding range of voices and a true passion for the works of P.G. Wodehouse, Britain's greatest comic writer.