A-Level

THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN

by Mark Twain

read by Patrick Fraley

running time 11hrs 20mins

When Huckleberry Finn flees from his brutal father, he meets up with an old friend, the slave Jim, who is also running away. Together they travel by raft down the Mississippi, experiencing amazing adventures, and learning of the strange ways of people in the deep south.

BOY SOLDIERS OF THE GREAT WAR

by Richard van Emden

read by Michael St. John

running time 19hrs

In 1914 boys as young as thirteen were caught up in the tide of patriotism sweeping the country, and enlisted for active service. Many were to serve in some of the bloodiest battles. Here their stories are told using diaries, letters and personal testaments from some of the last survivors.

THE CONE-GATHERERS

by Robin Jenkins

read by Janet Alexander

running time 7hrs

In the shadow of the war in Europe Calum and Neil gather pine cones in the grounds of a Scottish estate. They come into conflict with Duror, the gamekeeper, when Calum releases two rabbits from a snare. In retaliation Duror sets a trap for the cone gatherers.

DE PROFUNDIS, & THE BALLAD OF READING GAOL

by Oscar Wilde

read by Paul Connell

running time 6hrs 50mins

'De Profundis' is a bitter reproach, written from prison to his former love, Lord Alfred Douglas. 'The Ballad of Reading Gaol' is a deeply moving poem about the woes of prison life.

EMILY DICKINSON

by Emily Dickinson

read by Teresa Gallagher

running time 1hr 20mins

Emily Dickinson is one of America's greatest writers. This selection includes 147 of her best-known poems and is a perfect introduction to her unique voice.

A FAREWELL TO ARMS

by Ernest Hemingway

read by Terrence Hardiman

running time 10hrs

Combining a passionate love story with an unforgettable depiction of war, Hemingway recreates the fear , the comradeship and the courage with brutal honesty.

GERARD MANLEY HOPKINS - SELECTION OF POEMS

by Gerard Manley Hopkins

read by Oliver Bernard

running time 1hr

Selected poems by the 19th century English Poet.

HALF OF A YELLOW SUN

by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

read by Adjoa Andoh

running time 18hrs

In 1960s Nigeria, a country blighted by civil war, three lives intersect. When the shocking horror of the war engulfs them, their loyalties are severely tested as they are pulled apart and thrown together in ways that none of them imagined… Orange/Baileys Prize. Richard & Judy Bookclub

I CAPTURE THE CASTLE

by Dodie Smith

read by Jenny Agutter

running time 12hrs 20mins

This is the story of Cassandra Mortmain and her unconventional family, who live in an old English castle. Here she strives, over six months, to hone her writing skills by recording in her three notebooks a journal of the changes that take place within the castle's walls, and her first descent to love.

JANE EYRE

by Charlotte Brontë

read by Maureen O'Brien

running time 19hrs 30mins

Orphaned Jane Eyre, a spirited young woman, obtains the post of governess at Thornfield Hall and falls in love with the enigmatic Mr Rochester. When she learns his dark secret she must choose whether to stay, and live with the consequences, or uphold her principles and leave - both Thornfield and the man she loves.

KING LEAR

by William Shakespeare

read by Miscellaneous

running time 3hrs 6mins

King Lear unwisely decides to divide his Kingdom among his three daughters, but treachery and greed lead to tragedy.

THE LIFE OF CHARLOTTE BRONTË

by Elizabeth Gaskell

read by Grace Dives

running time 21hrs

A sympathetic account of the life at Haworth, and of Charlotte Brontë in particular, as seen by a sensitive contemporary and friend in the form of letters written to and by the author.

MANSFIELD PARK

by Jane Austen

read by Maureen O'Brien

running time 16hrs 30mins

Fanny Price is the poor relation, taken from her home in Portsmouth to live with the wealthy Bertrams at Mansfield Park. From afar she falls in love with her cousin Edmund, but when the Crawfords move into the neighbourhood she finds herself unwittingly competing with a dazzling, clever and lovely rival.

NEW SELECTED POEMS: 1984-2004

by Carol Ann Duffy

read by Grace Dives

running time 5hrs 58mins

This collection spans twenty years of Carol Ann Duffy's poetry. It takes us across continents and into the minds of babies, psychopaths and giggling schoolgirls, amongst others. It is a world that is both strange yet familiar.

THE OFFICERS' WARD

by Marc Dugain

read by Frank Harling

running time 3hrs 45mins

After being horribly disfigured during the First World War and sent to a hospital on the outskirts of Paris, Officer Adrien F. Forms a special bond with the other soldiers dealing with pain and reconstructive surgery.

A PASSAGE TO INDIA

by E M Forster

read by Sam Dastor

running time 11hrs

When Adela Quested and her elderly friend arrive in the Indian town of Chandrapore they feel trapped by its Anglo-Indian community. Under the guidance of Dr. Aziz they start to explore the ‘real’ India but on a visit to the Marabar caves an incident occurs which results in Aziz becoming embroiled in a scandal.

THE RAGGED TROUSERED PHILANTHROPISTS

by Robert Tressell

read by Tony Lister

running time 26hrs 45mins

The story of a group of working men who are joined one day by Owen, a journeyman-prophet with a vision of a just society. Owen's spirited attacks on the greed and dishonesty of the capitalist system rouse his fellow men from their political quietism.

SCARS UPON MY HEART: WOMEN'S POETRY AND VERSE FROM THE FIRST WORLD WAR

by Catherine W. Reilly

read by Gill Wilsher

running time 3hrs 40mins

An anthology of poems written by women during the First World War. Contributors include Rose Macauley, Edith Nesbit and Marie Stopes. Many of the poems arise from experiences of nursing the wounded or the pain of separation and show that women were writing protest poetry before Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon.

TED HUGHES: SELECTED POEMS 1957-67

by Ted Hughes

read by Raymond Mason

running time 3hrs

A collection of poems, selected by the author from his first three books of poetry, 'The Hawk in the Rain' 1957, 'Lupercal' 1960 & 'Wodwo' 1967.

UP THE LINE TO DEATH: WAR POETS, 1914-1918

by Brian Gardner

read by Bob Rollett

running time 5hrs 10mins

An anthology of poetry of the First World War telling of the eager young men joining up to fight, to the maimed returning home and, of course, those who never returned at all. It includes poems by Edmund Blunden, Rupert Brooke, Robert Graves, Wilfred Owen and more.

WIDE SARGASSO SEA

by Jean Rhys

read by Anna Bentinck

running time 5hrs 45mins

A prequel to Charlotte Brontë's 'Jane Eyre' (7377), this is Jean Rhys' story of Antoinette Cosway from the time of her youth in the Caribbean to her unhappy marriage with Mr Rochester and relocation to England. Caught between his demands and her own precarious sense of belonging, Antoinette is inexorably driven towards madness.