Arts General

ALL IN THE DOWNS: REFLECTIONS ON LIFE, LANDSCAPE AND SONG

by Shirley Collins

read by Grace Dives

running time 9hrs 30mins

A legendary singer, folklorist, and music historian, Shirley Collins has been an integral figure in the English folk music scene for more than sixty years. In this memoir, she tells the story of that lifelong relationship with English folksong - a dedication to artistic integrity that has guided her through the triumphs and tragedies of her life.

BEETHOVEN

by Laura Tunbridge

read by Laura Tunbridge

running time 7hrs 25mins

Ludwig van Beethoven: to some, simply the greatest ever composer of Western classical music. Yet his life remains shrouded in myths. Oxford professor Laura Tunbridge cuts through the noise. With each chapter focusing on a period of his life, a piece of music and a revealing theme, she provides a rich insight into the man and his works. With a wealth of new material, this is a compelling, accessible portrayal of one of the world's most creative minds and it will transform how you listen for ever.

CATHEDRALS IN A NUTSHELL

by Jonathan Gregson

read by Roy McMillan

running time 1hr 15mins

Cathedrals are among the most imposing, astonishing, and inspiring buildings in Europe. Regardless of faith, their architectural daring has never ceased to spark wonder. This guide traces the development of the cathedral from its earliest beginnings as a Bishop's house, up to the most extravagant contemporary designs around the world. In doing so, it sheds light on social, religious, and architectural history, as well as bringing the story of these extraordinary buildings to life.

DEAR DODIE

by Valerie Grove

read by Jill Hetherington

running time 16hrs 30mins

From an Edwardian childhood in Manchester, Dodie Smith became one of the most successful female dramatists of her generation with her play 'Dear Octopus' in 1938, and then her children's book 'The 101 Dalmations' made her a household name when Disney filmed it. This biography conjures up not only England in the 20s and 30s, and a Golden Age of British theatre, but also the life of an ambitious, talented, yet vulnerable woman.

ELDERS AND BETTERS

by Quentin Bell

read by Steve Race

running time 9hrs

Quentin Bell provides a remarkable collection of pen portraits - of his parents Vanessa and Clive; of his aunt and uncle, Virginia and Leonard Woolf; of Roger Fry, E M Forster, Ottoline Morrell, Maynard Keynes, Lytton Strachey and many more. In writing about them he also tells the story of his own work: his employment as agricultural labourer, his career as artist and teacher of art, critic, writer, and as reluctant spokesman of Bloomsbury.

FOOTNOTES: A JOURNEY AROUND BRITAIN IN THE COMPANY OF GREAT WRITERS

by Peter Fiennes

read by Peter Fiennes

running time 8hrs 50mins

Every journey has its stories. Beginning with Enid Blyton and childhood in the Isle of Purbeck, Peter Fiennes embarks on a unique exploration of Britain. He follows in the footsteps of some our greatest writers, tracing the paths recorded in their books, journals and diaries. How much has time changed us? And has it been for better, or worse? Are we trapped in the past? Footnotes is a lyrical foray into our past and present, and a mesmerising quest to picture these isles anew.

THE GENIUS OF JANE AUSTEN

by Paula Byrne

read by Antonia Beamish

running time 11hrs 45mins

A radical look at Jane Austen as you've never seen her - as a lover of farce, comic theatre and juvenilia. Paula Byrne celebrates Britain's favourite novelist 200 years after her death and explores why her books make such awesome movies time after time.

HAYDN

by Neil Butterworth

read by Steve Race

running time 2hrs 30mins

An interesting account of the life and work of the composer Haydn.

INDIAN SUN: THE LIFE AND MUSIC OF RAVI SHANKAR

by Oliver Craske

read by John Hobday

running time 26hrs 30mins

Over eight decades, Ravi Shankar was India's greatest cultural ambassador who took Indian classical music to the world's leading concert halls and festivals, charting the map for those who followed. Oliver Craske paints a vivid picture of a captivating, restless workaholic, who lived a passionate and extraordinary life with a pioneering, international career that ultimately made his name synonymous with India.

JANE AUSTEN, THE SECRET RADICAL

by Helena Kelly

read by Ann Clark

running time 14hrs 45mins

Almost everything we think we know about Jane Austen is wrong. Her novels were not written just for readers’ enjoyment. She writes about serious subjects and her books are deeply subversive. Austen expert Helena Kelly introduces the reader to a passionate woman living in an age of revolution.

LEONARDO AND THE LAST SUPPER

by Ross King

read by Mark Meadows

running time 11hrs 20mins

For more than five centuries the Last Supper has been an artistic, religious and cultural icon. Ross King's book is both a record of Leonardo da Vinci's last five years in Milan and a 'biography' of one of the most famous works of art ever painted.

THE MAKING OF POETRY: COLERIDGE, THE WORDSWORTHS AND THEIR YEAR OF MARVELS

by Adam Nicolson

read by Roger Davis

running time 12hrs 15mins

The year in the late 1790s that Coleridge, Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy spent together in the Quantock Hills, is the most famous year in English poetry. Out of it came 'The Ancient Mariner' and 'Kubla Khan' as well as Wordsworth's 'Lyrical Ballads' and the greatness of 'Tintern Abbey'. The idea that these poems came from this place, and that only by experiencing the physical circumstances of the year, in all weathers and all seasons, can the genesis of the poetry start to be understood.

OPERA EXPLAINED: FALSTAFF

by Thomson Smillie

read by David Timson

running time 1hr 20mins

'A lyric comedy unlike any other,' wrote Verdi about his last opera. That the last work of a composer who was notorious for his preference for tragic and gloomy subjects should be a brilliant human comedy, remains one of the wonders of music. Thomas Smillie's detailed and illuminating musical analysis explains the challenges and risks of the undertaking in this fascinating introduction.

PATCH WORK: A LIFE AMONGST CLOTHES

by Claire Wilcox

read by Pamela Todd

running time 6hrs 30mins

Claire Wilcox has been a curator of fashion at the Victoria and Albert Museum for most of her working life. Here, she turns her curator's eye to the fabric of life itself, tugging at the threads of memory: a cardigan worn by a child, a tin button box, the draping of a curtain, a roll of lace, a pin hidden in a seam. Through these intimate and compelling close-ups, we see how the stories and the secrets of clothes measure out the passage of time, our gains and losses, and the way we use them to unravel and write our histories.

Q'S LEGACY

by Helene Hanff

read by Betsy Drake

running time 7hrs

Helene Hanff was inspired to write after reading 'On the Art of Writing' by Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch. 'Q' taught Helene to love books. She tells how that first encounter with 'Q' altered the course of her life.

REBEL WRITERS: THE ACCIDENTAL FEMINISTS

by Celia Brayfield

read by Ann Clark

running time 10hrs 30mins

Shelagh Delaney, was the first in a succession of young women who wrote with an honesty that dazzled the world. Then came Edna O'Brien, Lynne Reid-Banks, Charlotte Bingham, Nell Dunn, Virginia Ironside and Margaret Forster; a disparate group who were united in their determination to shake the concepts of womanhood. In this biographical study, the acclaimed author, Celia Brayfield, tells their story for the first time.

THE SANEST GUY IN THE ROOM

by Don Black

read by Bob Rollett

running time 7hrs

Don Black is the man behind some of this century's greatest musical numbers. Shirley Bassey, Michael Jackson and Barbra Streisand are just some of the artists Black has worked with over the years. Interwoven with the stories behind songs such as 'Diamonds are Forever' and 'Born Free' are vignettes of Black's life with his beloved wife Shirley, who died in 2018, after almost sixty years of marriage. Black writes movingly about how the enormity of his grief changed his life, and how the dark days are slowly turning into dark moments.

TCHAIKOVSKY

by Anthony Holden

read by Michael St. John

running time 22hrs 30mins

For many years mystery surrounded the death of Tchaikovsky, which occurred just a week after he conducted the first performance of the Pathetique symphony. His family claimed that he contracted cholera after drinking a glass of unboiled water but there is some debate as to whether this was accidental or self-inflicted.

VAN GOGH

by Pierre Cabanne

read by Michael St. John

running time 9hrs

An account of Van Gogh's life and work with insightful excerpts from numerous letters to family and friends. The authors paints a totally honest picture of Van Gogh's life, emphasising his spirit and dedication and his battles with depression which along with his genius led to such amazing works of art.

WALTER GROPIUS: VISIONARY FOUNDER OF THE BAUHAUS

by Fiona MacCarthy

read by Anne Marlow

running time 21hrs 30mins

From 1910 to 1930 the German art school, the Bauhaus was at the very centre of European modern art and design. Walter Gropius, the charismatic founder, had little choice but to leave Germany when Hitler came to power. Here, Fiona MacCarthy argues that his visionary ideas still influence the way we live, work, and think today.

YEAR OF WONDER: CLASSICAL MUSIC FOR EVERY DAY

by Clemency Burton-Hill

read by Grace Dives

running time 13hrs

A unique celebration of classical music by an author who wants to encourage a love for this genre in all readers, whether complete novices or lifetime enthusiasts. Clemency chooses one piece of music for each day of the year, with a short explanation about the composer to put it into context.