Showing results by narrator "Simon Callow" in All Categories

It’s 2014 and retired professor Daniel Sale, 77, is the wealthy descendent of a New England family, living on Round Hill, Connecticut, following the death of his wife and the devastation of Hurricane Sandy. All of his life he has harbored the guilt of being responsible for the murder of his lover, 50 years before. And now he is alone he fears the approach of dementia. Until one day, he is introduced to New York lawyer Chester Bowery and his two young daughters.

A brand-new collection from the internationally best-selling author of Letters of Note.

To mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Dickens, a select group of his family and most ardent admirers from the worlds of literature and entertainment, including Joanna Lumley and Simon Callow, gathered in Highgate Cemetery, burial place of many of the Dickens family, to hear readings from his work introduced by his great-great-grandson Mark Dickens and to discuss his life.

Claude is no ordinary dog - he leads an extraordinary life! Sir Bobblysock and Claude go on holiday for the very first time. They build sandcastles, eat ice cream and sunbathe. It is all very normal until...Claude meets pirates and discovers treasure!

Claude discovers a film set on the other side of the fence! When the two lead actors are injured, Claude and Sir Bobblysock are asked to take their places. Can they become movie stars with just the simple addition of a wig? Of course they can!

A quiet walk in the country turns into a busy day on the farm when Claude ends up mucking out the pigs, feeding the chickens, and lassoing a fearsome bull!

Claude is no ordinary dog.... When Claude and Sir Bobblysock discover a Very Exciting Sports Competition at their local sports centre, they are very excited. They are even more excited when they are asked to take part. But Claude's doggy paddle isn't quite fast enough, and he's not quite as good at gymnastics as he thought he might be. Then some robbers steal the Gold Cup, and Claude chases them - can he run fast enough to catch them?

Claude is no ordinary dog - he leads an extraordinary life! When Mr and Mrs Shinyshoes set off for work, Claude decides what adventure he wants to have that day. Today he and Sir Bobblysock go to the city for the very first time. They have tea in a cafe, go shopping and visit a museum. It is all very normal until...Claude accidentally foils a robbery and becomes the local hero!

Claude is no ordinary dog.... Claude and Sir Bobblysock think they've caught a burglar coming down the chimney on Christmas Eve. They clap on the handcuffs and turn on the lights. Oh no! It isn't a burglar - it's none other than Santa Claus! Now the key for the handcuffs is lost, and it's up to our two heroes to deliver all the presents before midnight....

Claude in the Spotlight is the fifth title in this adorable new young fiction series from the talented Alex T. Smith. Claude was selected for the Waterstone's Children's Book Prize 2012 and the Richard and Judy Book Club 2011. A gentle stroll through town leads to leg kicking and bottom shaking as Claude dances his way into the theatre and straight into the spotlight!

David Copperfield was Dickens' favorite novel. Strikingly autobiographical in its childhood scenes, it relates David's history from birth to manhood, and the classic Dickensian characters he meets on his journey of self-knowledge: Mr. Micawber, the Peggottys, Betsey Trotwood, Steerforth and Uriah Heep among many.

Charles Dickens was a prolific writer of letters throughout his life. There are extant more than 13,000 letters that he wrote to friends, family, fellow authors, and actors as well as many letters written to people involved in good causes he espoused. In the hands of actor and writer Simon Callow, one of the most prominent Dickens interpreters of our time, this informative and entertaining selection shows Dickens in his many guises. We know Charles Dickens the author, but these letters offer a fascinating glimpse into Charles Dickens the man.

Victory was the last of Conrad's novels to be set in the Malay Archipelago. It tells the story of Axel Heyst, who has retreated from the world of commerce to live alone on the island of Samburan. But his solitary existence ends when he rescues an English girl and brings her back to the island. She recalls him to love and to life, until the world breaks in on them once more with tragic consequences.

Condemned as immoral when it was first published in 1890, Oscar Wilde's tale of the beautiful young man who "sold himself to the devil for a pretty face" follows the fortunes of Dorian Gray when his prayer for eternal youth as he contemplates his newly finished portrait is answered.

Jacques and His Master is a deliciously witty and entertaining 'variation' on Diderot's novel Jacques le Fataliste, written for Milan Kundera's 'private pleasure' in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Czechoslovakia. When the 'heavy Russian irrationality' fell on Czechoslovakia he felt drawn to the spirit of the eighteenth century - 'and it seemed to me that nowhere was it to be found more densely concentrated than in that banquet of intelligence, humour and fantasy, Jacques le Fataliste'.

Thin, Brittle, Mile is the story of brothers Luke and Tyler Dearlove who travel to the remote, sparsely populated Skidaway Island searching for their third missing sibling. The brothers soon garner the sense that something is terribly wrong on the island, and their inquiries, which stir up the most insidious of hornets nests, are greeted at first with shrouded suspicion, then with open hostility, followed by blunt threats, harassment, and escalating violence.