Showing results by narrator "Miriam Margolyes" in All Categories

Sisters Alison and Maud are joint landladies of the Abbeyfield Guest House, dispensing hospitality to a variety of demanding clients while also looking after their irascible, bedridden father downstairs in the granny flat. Dreamy ornithologist Alison has just moved back from Bloomsbury, while Maud ran a 3,000-acre farm in Africa - but neither sibling is really up to the task of managing a B&B, and chaos generally ensues.

Rosalind Franklin was a gifted research scientist who was part of the race to uncover the secrets of DNA in the 1950’s. Her more famous contemporaries Watson and Krick took all the kudos for the discovery of the molecule’s double helix structure – yet it was Franklin’s skill with X-ray diffraction that first uncovered what’s called “the secret of life”.

Includes an interview with Brenda Maddox, the world's foremost biographer of Rosalind Franklin and author of Rosalind Franklin: The Dark Lady of DNA.

You have heard, no doubt, the tale of Master Oliver Twist - that rags-to-riches boy; the parish orphan who became heir to the Brownlow fortune. But what few know is that there was a second Twist - a girl, brought into this world moments ahead of her brother. This is the story of Twill Twist - and her journey through the gambling dens and workhouses of London, as she attempts to make a life for herself, rescue her friends and uncover the mystery of her past - while meeting some familiar faces along the way....

Joining us at Audible Studios is award winning actress and national treasure, Miriam Margolyes. Though she might be remembered for her occasional profanity on air, or crude outburst, Miriam is also loved for her theatrical skill. We'll be asking Miriam Margolyes about her new book, and second memoir, Oh Miriam! We will find out what her most important life lessons are, what she thinks of being called a national treasure, and things will get a little lewd as we discuss how she loves to see people’s reactions.

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.

A fascinating new volume of messages about motherhood, from the author of the best-selling Letters of Note collections. In Letters of Note: Mothers, Shaun Usher gathers together exceptional missives by and about mothers, celebrating the joy and grief, humor and frustration, wisdom and sacrifice the role brings to both parent and child.

An everyday story of towering genius, set in and around the Lakeland retreat of William and Dorothy Wordsmith. The Wordsmiths have not long settled in their sublime cottage when they are visited by the inebriate Samuel Tailor Cholericke and the lascivious Lord Biro, followed by numerous other romantically inclined writers and leech-pedlars who arrive at the door of Vole Cottage. Dorothy must manage the increasingly chaotic household (assisted by Stinking Iris) while William focuses on his latest masterpiece, 'The Withered Turnip'.

Ted Willis began his creative life in amateur theatre and journalism before moving into writing for films, TV and radio, and was listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the world's most prolific writer for television. His best-known creation was the hit police procedural Dixon of Dock Green which he based on the stories told to him by a policeman friend. This radio anthology includes five of his best-loved crime tales from the 1960s, '70s and '80s.

The way we communicate has changed. Today many of our interactions are digital, but until recently writing letters was the norm. Drawing from over 100 miles of records held at the UK's official government archive, The National Archives at Kew, this collection of letters, postcards and telegrams will shine a spotlight on a range of significant historical moments and occurrences, recapturing a lost world in which correspondence was king.

After a troubled childhood, Ann St Clair achieves independence by earning her living as an author of cheap Gothic novels. Within a group of male writers, she meets and is enthralled by the supposed poetic genius, Robert James. They become uneasy lovers. Ann and Robert James travel from London through a Europe exhausted by the long Napoleonic wars.

In Dirty Beasts we meet a ghastly menagerie of wonderfully comic animals that can only have been invented by Roald Dahl. There is the toad that jumps to France - at his own peril; the pig who ponders the meaning of life; the anteater who gets the wrong end of the stick; and many more. Snigger, titter and laugh at their antics in this collection of irreverent and absurdly comic verse!

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast drama by Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran. Originally broadcast in the ‘Saturday Play’ slot on 8 November 2008. Wine shop owner Gerald desperately needs money: his business is failing and the landlord has raised the cost of the lease. When he inherits a watch that used to belong to wartime Nazi Joachim Von Ribbentrop he believes that his financial troubles are over. But it sparks conflict with his wife and brother, who question the ethics of the potential sale.

Autumn, 1646. The English Civil War is raging and there’s trouble ahead for Sir John and Lady Anne Firebasket. There’s a Roundhead platoon camping out in the barn, a perplexed priest hiding behind the panelling and, unbeknown to the Firebaskets, their scullery maid Mercy is actually a disguised aristocrat (and Royalist spy) named Melissa Fortescue-Bottomley.

Once Upon a Timeless Tale Collection is a contemporary retelling of the most well-known and best-loved fairy tales of all time. Traditional stories from Hans Christian Anderson and Charles Perrault are brought alive for a fresh generation of listeners, giving these timeless classics a new lease on life. Once Upon a Timeless Tale Collection belongs in every child's audiobook collection.

The first fascinating part of Joanna Toye's delightful trilogy about life in Ambridge. Covering the years 1951-1967, Family Ties introduces the main characters: Dan, Doris, Phil, Christine, Jack and Peggy and their children, Walter Gabriel, the Fairbrothers and Tom Forrest. The early years are action-packed: Phil's courtship and marriage to Grace and her tragic death; his subsequent marriage to Jill and the birth of their children; Jack's drinking problem and later, the birth of Jennifer's illegitimate baby.

When her 13-year-old twins head off to boarding school, Felicity Willow decides it's time to reconnect with her husband, Paul. The years of childcare have taken their toll on the marriage and Felicity dives headfirst into trying to re-ignite that spark of love. Paul, somewhat bewildered by his wife's endeavours, gamely plays along with her efforts. Hilarity ensues as Felicity devotes all her energies into the new project but as it turns out, recapturing romantic bliss isn't as easy as it sounds, and poor Felicity feels thwarted at every turn.

'If I had my way, every idiot who goes around with Merry Christmas on his lips, would be boiled with his own pudding, and buried with a stake of holly through his heart. Merry Christmas? Bah humbug!' Charles Dickens’ ghostly tale of sour and stingy miser Ebenezer Scrooge has captivated readers, listeners and audiences for over 150 years. This Christmas, Audible Studios brings this story to life in an audio drama featuring an all-star cast.

Follow the uproarious antics of the Edwardian Fosdyke family as they work their way out of the mining pits of Lancashire to become rulers of a global tripe empire. An empire that the villainous Roger Ditchely will stop at nothing to try and bring down... A classic tale of struggle, power, personalities, and offal. Based on Bill Tidy's hugely popular Daily Mirror cartoon strip, this full-cast production is a laugh-out-loud parody of John Galsworthy's classic, 'The Forsyte Saga'.

Arch enemies Mapp and Lucia return in the next instalment of E.F. Benson’s classic series of rural snobbery. Lucia is now a permanent resident of Tilling and continues her way up the social ladder with gusto, making attempts through the Town Council, finance, a platonic marriage and even the cricket club.

Mapp and Lucia is the centrepiece of E.F. Benson's series of Lucia novels - bringing together for the first time the eponymous middle-aged doyennes of polite 1930s society Miss Elizabeth Mapp and Emmeline Luca (Lucia to her friends). Lucia, recently widowed, is the newcomer to the village of Tilling and eager to wrest the reins of social supremacy from the incumbant Miss Mapp and install herself as its benevolent dictator.