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The Chronicle Box Set
- An Epic Historical Pageant
- Narrated by: Charles Dance, Maureen Lipman, David Suchet, Harriet Walter, Timothy West, Eleanor Bron, James Bolam, full cast
- Length: 11 hrs and 24 mins
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The Chronicle Box Set
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Publisher's Summary
Behold The Chronicle: an epic journey through history in four parts.
Join us for an exhilarating and immersive adventure through 500 years of history, told entirely in the words of those who were there. With their artless prose and their polished & witty gossip, these are the men and women who have shaped our past. Brought to life by an award-winning all-star cast of 30 celebrated actors, including Charles Dance, Harriet Walter, David Suchet, Maureen Lipman, Timothy West, Jenny Agutter and many more.
Book One – January to March
One moment Liselotte, the Duchess of Orleans is observing the Prince of Orange consummating his marriage in thick woollen drawers and the next, Harold Nicolson is at the Savoy Grill dining with the Prince of Wales and Mrs Simpson who is, "bejewelled, eyebrow-plucked, virtuous and wise". We also share the past with Joe Orton and the Beatles, Captain Scott and the South Pole, Barbara Castle, Joyce Grenfell, Kenneth Williams and many others.
Book Two – April to June
John Betjeman implores the BBC to engage the impoverished Dylan Thomas, while Jane Austen demands the return of her unpublished novel. Austen Chamberlain
rages at Hitler for sending a wreath emblazoned with the Swastika to be placed at the foot of the Cenotaph in 1933. And did you know that the first F.A. Cup Final took place at the Oval in 1882? You'll also encounter Alan Bennett & Henry VIII and we’ll all join J. Bruce Ismay as he climbs aboard the last lifeboat to leave the Titanic.
Book Three – July to September
At Waterloo, women are stripping the corpses of their valuable shoes and stockings yet the Highlanders are left in mass graves with their coarse tartan socks still on. Roy Strong attending a private dinner notes that Margaret Thatcher in floaty chiffon is "the apotheosis of the boss's wife, with the appeal of cosmeticised putty." Even at the King’s coronation, Queen Caroline, who is denied entry to the Abbey, looks like "a blowsy landlady". As for the nude revue 'Oh Calcutta', "there are some parts of the anatomy over whose movements the choreographer has no control”.
Book Four – October to December
Lord Nelson writes to his beloved Emma on the eve of Trafalgar, hoping to finish his letter after the Battle, while Virginia Woolf hangs about the House of Commons mourning the passing of Edward VIII and the coming of King Albert I. Howard Carter discovers Tutankhamen and on Christmas Day Alan Clark is tickled to discover that Lord Byron rhymes 'intellectual' with 'hen pecked you all'. While George II dies on the lavatory and Anthony Powell has considerable trouble with his waterworks.
Don't miss the chance to experience history like never before with this 'unmissable five-star production'.
Critic Reviews
"It’s wonderful. In fact, I would describe it as one of the all-time audio greats...an unmissable five-star production." (Guardian)
"I recommend the reader to hunt down and buy this series wherever it may be found." (The Spectator)
"The whole endeavour is a beguiling jigsaw that creates a vivid picture of the shaping of our national life." (Sunday Times)