Results for 'virginia woolf'

1. Henry Green

Loving, Doting & Party Going

Pauline Quirke (Reader) Pauline Quirke began her career in television at just eight years old, appearing in Dixon of Dock Green. She went on to host children's TV series in the 1970s, before taking a role in The Elephant Man. In 1989 Pauline was cast as loveable loudmouth Sharon Theodopolopodous in Birds of a Feather, which turned her into a household name. She remained with the series until its conclusion in 1998 after over 100 episodes, before gaining critical acclaim for performances in Down to Earth and The Sculptress. After recent roles in Skins, The Bill and Casualty, Pauline joined the cast of Emmerdale where she played the part of chirpy chatterbox Hazel Rhodes.

1. Winifred Holtby

Winifred Holtby: A BBC Radio Collection

Full-cast adaptations of three of Winifred Holtby’s best-known novels, plus short stories and bonus programmes about the authorWinifred Holtby was an acclaimed novelist, journalist, feminist and social reformer. Her work encompasses six novels, two short story collections, a play and the first critical study of Virginia Woolf, but she is best known for her posthumously published masterpiece South Riding, which won the James Tait Black Memorial Award. She died in 1935, aged just 37.Born into a Yorkshire farming family, Holtby set much of her fiction in the landscape of her youth, including the three novels in this collection.Adapted as a 15-part radio drama, South Riding follows the lives and loves of fiery young headmistress Sarah Burton, landowner and school governor Robert Carne, and alderwoman Mrs Beddowes. Sarah Lancashire, Philip Glenister and Carole Boyd star in this rich, memorable evocation of a community in flux.Anderby Wold tells the tale of a farmer’s wife, a radical young writer and a village rocked by social change. Dramatised from Holtby’s 1923 debut novel, it stars Joanna Mackie, Derek Smith and Joseph Peters.The Crowded Street, set in the years leading up to World War I, centres around a woman's journey from introspective teenager to self-fulfilled adult. Claire Goose stars as heroine Muriel Hammond in this poignant coming-of-age drama.Wry, witty and irreverent, Holtby’s short stories reflect the diversity of her writing. 'The Celebrity Who Failed', read by Alice Arnold, features a girl who learns to walk on water – but is unprepared for the public attention that follows. 'Why Herbert Killed His Mother' is the story of a beautiful baby who turns out to be very different as an adult. A searing condemnation of ‘mother love’, it is read by Anna Massey. And in 'The Voice of God', read by Hugh Dickson, a radio-like machine enables people to listen in on the conversations of historical figures – but what will happen once the newspapers get to hear of it?Finally, Holtby’s life, legacy and significance are explored in a Woman’s Hour biographical segment and in a revealing radio portrait, The Divided State, written by Valerie Windsor and featuring Alison Fiske as Winifred Holtby.Text copyright © Winifred Holtby 1923 (Anderby Wold), 1924 (The Crowded Street), 1934 (‘The Celebrity Who Failed’, ‘Why Herbert Killed His Mother’, ‘The Voice of God’), 1936 (South Riding)ContentsSouth RidingAnderby WoldThe Crowded Street‘The Celebrity Who Failed’‘Why Herbert Killed His Mother’‘The Voice of God’Woman’s Hour extractThe Divided State© 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

1. Dylan Thomas

The Dylan Thomas BBC Radio Collection

This title is sure to satisfy every admirer of Dylan Thomas’ works from the most ardent aficionados to casual poetry lovers ... Matthew Rhys ably cements together the collection, uniting phases of Thomas’ career with insights and commentary ... Dylan Thomas: The BBC Radio Collection is essential listening for the poet’s fans, and will enthral listeners who want to seek out more from the imagination that gave us Under Milk Wood.

1. Nancy Mitford

Nancy Mitford: Pursuit of Love, Love in a Cold Climate & More

Nancy Mitford (1904-1973) was born in London, the eldest child of the second Baron Redesdale. She had written four novels, including Wigs on the Green (1935), before the success of The Pursuit of Love in 1945, which she followed with Love in a Cold Climate (1949), The Blessing (1951) and Don't Tell Alfred (1960). She also wrote four works of biography. Nancy Mitford was awarded the CBE in 1972. Timothy West (1934 - 2024) was a British actor and television presenter. His acting career spanned across various mediums, from theatre stages to radio and television. Timothy was known for his roles in Brass, as well as for his appearances in Coronation Street and Eastenders, and from his travel show Great Canal Journeys, where he shared the screen with his wife, Prunella Scales (1932-). Prunella is an English actress, who received accolades for her performances in Fawlty Towers and A Question of Attribution. The couple were married for sixty years.

1. Terence Rattigan

Terence Rattigan: A BBC Radio Drama Collection

13 of the finest works by the world-renowned playwright, as heard on BBC radioSir Terence Rattigan was one of Britain's greatest playwrights, renowned for his well-crafted dramas of upper-class manners and repressed sexuality. He was hugely popular throughout the 1940s and early 50s, and had the rare distinction of having plays running in three West End theatres simultaneously. Having fallen out of fashion in the Sixties, his work is now enjoying a huge revival. Included here are some of his most esteemed plays, adapted for radio and brought together in chronological order in one statement collection.We begin with the sparkling comedy French Without Tears, introduced by the author himself. Next is one of his most famous plays, The Winslow Boy, the moving story of an innocent boy accused of theft. The Browning Version features a teacher overwhelmed by a schoolboy's unexpected gift, Adventure Story tells the dramatic tale of Alexander the Great, and The Final Test, adapted from Rattigan's 1951 television play, tells the comic story of a veteran cricketer's son who prefers music and poetry to cricket.The Deep Blue Sea centres around the troubled relationship of Hester and Freddie, who need each other, but are worlds apart. In Separate Tables, a radio version of the classic stage play set in the 1950s, a small group of residents at a Bournemouth hotel discover one of them harbours a devastating secret. Variation on a Theme is a reworking of Alexander Dumas' classic 19th-century novel La Dame aux Camélias, Ross explores the enigmatic life of T.E. Lawrence and Man and Boy focuses on a fraudulent financier who, with his worldwide empire facing collapse, flees to the New York apartment of his estranged son.Also featured are A Bequest to the Nation, a dramatised account of the Battle of Trafalgar and Lord Nelson's affair with Emma Hamilton, and In Praise of Love, inspired by the relationship between Rattigan's friend, the actor Rex Harrison, and his wife Kay Kendall. Last up is Rattigan's final play, Cause Célèbre, based on the story of Alma Rattenbury, who went on trial with her teenage lover for the murder of her husband. And in two bonus documentaries, Kaleidoscope: Terence Rattigan and Conversations with Terence Rattigan, the great author discusses his life, work and influence.Among the array of stars in these enthralling dramas are John Gielgud, Alan Bates, Diana Dors, Siân Phillips, Anna Massey, Amanda Root, Peter Sallis, Michael Williams, Saeed Jaffrey and Carleton Hobbs.NB: This collection contains language that reflects the attitudes of the era in which the plays were writtenProduction creditsWritten by Terence RattiganFirst published in 1936 (French without Tears), 1942 (While the Sun Shines),1946 (The Winslow Boy), 1948 (The Browning Version), 1949 (Adventure Story), 1951 (The Final Test), 1952 (The Deep Blue Sea), 1954 (Separate Tables), 1958 (Variation on a Theme), 1960 (Ross), 1963 (Man and Boy), 1970 (A Bequest to the Nation), 1973 (In Praise of Love), 1977 (Cause Célèbre)Contents List · French Without TearsIntroduction by Terence Rattigan· The Winslow Boy· The Browning Version· Adventure Story· The Final Test· Deep Blue Sea· Separate Tables· Variation on a Theme· Ross· Man and Boy· A Bequest to the Nation· In Praise of Love· Cause Célèbre· Kaleidoscope: Terence RattiganPresented by Christopher Matthew with Terence Rattigan· Conversations with Terence Rattigan©2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Barbara Pym: A BBC Radio drama collection

Dramatisations and a reading of selected novels by Barbara Pym - plus bonus materialBarbara Pym is one of the 20th Century's wittiest, and most underrated, novelists. Her perceptive comedies of manners, centred around the domestic lives and loves of unassuming middle-class Englishwomen, won her many devoted readers and saw her hailed as a modern-day Jane Austen. Yet she spent 15 years out of print in the 1960s and '70s, until Philip Larkin championed her work in the Times Literary Supplement. Her seventh novel was subsequently shortlisted for the Booker Prize, and writers from Jilly Cooper to Alexander McCall Smith continue to laud her talent today.Included in this collection are the BBC Radio dramatisations of some of her most beloved books, including her debut Some Tame Gazelle; her second novel Crampton Hodnet, published posthumously in 1985; and its sequel Jane and Prudence. Alongside them are her fifth and sixth novels, A Glass of Blessings and No Fond Return of Love; and a comic spy thriller, So Very Secret. Adapted by actress and writer Elizabeth Proud, they feature stellar casts including Miriam Margolyes, Hannah Gordon, Samantha Bond, Rebecca Front, Joanna David, Penny Downie and Amanda Root.Her best-known novel, Excellent Women, about a clergyman's daughter whose life is disturbed by anthropologists and a handsome naval officer, is read by One Foot in the Grave star Annette Crosbie. It is followed by a bonus biographical drama, The Resurrection of Miss Pym, starring Penelope Wilton and Bill Wallis and telling the story of Barbara Pym's warm friendship with Philip Larkin, her years in the publishing wilderness, and her eventual triumphant rediscovery. And in the fascinating radio talk Finding a Voice, we hear from the author in her own words as she analyses her inspiration, influences, literary style and why she kept on writing 'even in the face of discouragement'.Cast and creditsWritten by Barbara PymCopyright © Barbara Pym 1950 (Some Tame Gazelle), 1953 (Jane and Prudence), 1958 (A Glass of Blessings), 1961 (No Fond Return of Love), 1987 (So Very Secret)Crampton Hodnet copyright © Barbara Pym, Hilary Walton 1985, Hazel Holt 2004With thanks to the British Library for the sourcing of Crampton HodnetContentsSome Tame GazelleCrampton HodnetJane and PrudenceA Glass of BlessingsNo Fond Return of LoveSo Very SecretExcellent WomenThe Resurrection of Miss PymFinding a Voice©2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd