Showing results by narrator "Derek Jacobi" in All Categories

Mystery, power and malevolence are present in these plays, all of which subvert the happy endings that one would expect in a comedy and the tragic effect one would expect in a tragedy, to pose deeper moral questions that echo modern society. Performed by an incredible array of the 20th century’s greatest actors, Marlowe alumni including Roy Dotrice, Prunella Scales, Ian McKellen, Michael Hordern and Derek Jacobi can be heard in these recordings.

Shakespeare’s darkest psychological thriller. Three witches tell the Scottish General Macbeth that he will be king of Scotland. Encouraged by his wife, Macbeth kills the king, becomes the new king and kills more people out of paranoia. Civil war erupts to overthrow Macbeth, resulting in more death.

Nearly 150 years since his poetry was first published, Lear's nonsense rhymes are still popular today. In this lively and colorful audiobook recording, Derek Jacobi reads Lear's most famous poems and most fantastic creations, including "The Owl and the Pussy-Cat", "The Daddy Long-Legs and the Fly", "The Jumblies", "The Dong with the Luminous Nose", and a collection of assorted limericks.

The place is St Oswald's, an old and long-established boys' grammar school in the north of England. A new year has just begun, and for the staff and boys of the school, a wind of unwelcome change is blowing. Suits, paperwork, and information technology rule the world, and Roy Straitley, Latin master, eccentric, and veteran of St Oswald's, is finally, reluctantly, contemplating retirement. But beneath the little rivalries, petty disputes, and everyday crises of the school, a darker undercurrent stirs.

The Gospel of Matthew: Derek Jacobi reads St Matthew's account of the life and teachings of Jesus. Specially composed music is included. The readings were part of BBC Radio 4's series of 341 daily episodes of the Bible, broadcast in 1991 and 1992. Abridged by Catherine Czerkawska.

60 years ago, as the German army continued its relentless advance across Europe; Britain, a country ill-prepared for war, faced its darkest hour...

The unabridged, digital audiobook edition of "The Visitor", an amusing and chilling story from Roald Dahl, the master of the twist in the tale, read by actors Derek Jacobi and Richard E. Grant. In 'The Visitor', Roald Dahl, one of the world’s favourite authors, tells a funny, fruity story about one of his favourite characters, adventurer and seducer Oswald Hendryks Cornelius. Here, Uncle Oswald gets more than he bargained for in Arabia.... 'The Visitor' is taken from the short story collection Switch Bitch.

"After months of forced labour, a Roman emperor's guards escape from a Persian mine. They meet a mysterious, exiled Chinese Prince, Dan Qing, and agree to safeguard his journey home. Thus begins the adventures of the Romans and the Prince as they journey to China. There the Westerners will discover that they aren't the first of their kind to arrive in China - they were preceded centuries before by the survivors of the ""lost legion""."

Sir Derek Jacobi is an award-winning actor who is famous for his many roles on television, film and on stage. He received a Tony Award for his performance as Benedick in the RSC's production of Much Ado About Nothing and is probably most famous for his TV roles in Cadfael and I, Claudius. In this collection, we hear, in his own words, about his influences, his school years and early acting performances, as well as the many roles he has played.

Wealthy and popular, Timon of Athens helps his friends, gives many gifts and holds a feast. After ignoring his true friends' warnings, Timon runs out of money and none of his 'friends' will help him. He runs away to a cave where he curses humanity, finds gold, funds someone to destroy Athens and dies.

The duke leaves Angelo in charge of Vienna, where he quickly condemns Claudio to death for immoral behaviour. Angelo offers to pardon Claudio if his sister, Isabella, sleeps with him. Isabella agrees but has Angelo's fiancée switch places with her. The duke returns to spare Claudio, punish Angelo and propose to Isabella.

The career of playwright Joy Sinclair comes to an abrupt end on an isolated estate in the Scottish Highlands when someone drives an eighteen-inch dirk through her neck. Called upon to investigate the case in a country where they have virtually no authority, aristocratic Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley and his partner, Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers, grapple for both a motive and a murderer.

A young student at St. Stephen's College, the daughter of a professor up for a prestigious post, is found brutally murdered on an isolated jogging path. Unwilling to turn the killing over to the local police, the university calls in New Scotland Yard. Thus, Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley and his partner, Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers, enter the rarefied world of Cambridge University, where academic gowns often hide murderous intentions. For both officers, the true identity of Elena Weaver proves elusive.

Award-winning author Elizabeth George gives us an early glimpse into the lives of Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley, forensic scientist Simon Allcourt-St. James, and Lady Helen Clyde in a superlative mystery that is also a fascinating inquiry into the crimes of the heart. Lynley, the eighth earl of Asherton, has brought to Howenstow, his family home, the young woman he has asked to be his bride.

"The Perfect Crime" is written in the first person: "I know I committed the perfect crime." Phoebe Wallowes, a well educated American woman, really irritates him. He also has a genuine terror that she will one day marry him. Something therefore has to be done.

William Squire, Corin Redgrave, Derek Jacobi, and Trevor Nunn perform Shakespeare's play about the fortunes of an Athenian named Timon. He loves to give parties and presents to friends, but when he cannot pay his creditors, his 'friends' refuse to help him, and he becomes a misanthropic hermit.

Inspector Thomas Lynley, 8th Earl of Asherton, feels some trepidation as he introduces his bride-to-be to his mother at the ancestral home of Howenstow in Cornwall. But Lynley's private concerns are soon forgotten as the brutal murder of a local journalist requires him to focus on the professional, rather than the personal.

This collection of classic crime short fiction includes: "Bluebeard's Bathtub" by Margery Allingham; "Who Killed Zebedee?" by Wilkie Collins; "An Alpine Divorce" by Robert Barr; and "The Speckled Band" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

A lover's most unlikely jealousy, a mother's patient wait for revenge, a young actress driven to distraction by a cruel husband, a story of jilted love and murder in a London lodging house, and a confrontation that brings a saga of mutual loathing to a terrible conclusion on the other side of the Atlantic - here are stories by five master storytellers.

In her astonishing New York Times best seller, acclaimed author Elizabeth George reveals the even darker truth behind this startling confession. Playing for the Ashes is a rich tale of passion, murder and love in which Inspector Thomas Lynley and Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers once again find themselves embroiled in a case where nothing - and no one - is really what it seems.