Showing results by narrator "Martin Jarvis" in All Categories

Captain Thomas Forsyth’s second tour of Afghanistan is cut brutally short when he’s badly wounded by a roadside bomb. Tom’s world is torn apart by the injury – the Army is his life. The thought of never rejoining his regiment is a terrifying prospect and one that he is not willing to entertain. Tom returns to Lambourn, to his childhood home, where his mother is a racehorse trainer and the ‘First Lady’ of racing.

Despite the title, Dickens's portrayal of early industrial society is less relentlessly grim than that in novels by contemporaries such as Elizabeth Gaskell or Charles Kingsley. Hard Times weaves the tale of Thomas Gradgrind, a hard-headed politician who raises his children Louisa and Tom without love and to have no empathy, their lives completely devoid of beauty, culture, or imagination. Only after a series of crises does their father realise that the manner in which he raised his children has ruined their lives.

"That actor bloke Martin Javis has helped me rekord this audio. He thinks he can tork like me, but he can't. I sound better. So pay no attenshun to him. Jus' listen to me tellin' you 'bout the most important things in life!"

In this full-length Just William novel, William and the Outlaws decide to form the Knights of the Square Table, 'rightin' wrongs' for a minor fee ('Small wrongs: sixpence. Big wrongs: one shillin'.) In their quest to earn enough money to become tramps, they stop at no amount of do-gooding...

The second book in the classic Just William series, read by Martin Jarvis. It was on Christmas Day that the centipede appeared on Aunt Evangeline's plate, the library clock was found mysteriously dismantled, and the conjuring trick with the egg went disastrously wrong. But as William's Aunt Lucy told him, 'A Busy Day is a Happy Day' - and William is always eager to please adults. The terror of the Brown family is back, leaving a trail of havoc behind him - with the very best of intentions.

A workhouse orphan, Oliver experiences the terror and brutality of the criminal underworld. His companions, a thief, a whore, a pickpocket, and a fence, are destined for gruesome ends, but Oliver emerges unscathed from the darkness of the underworld.

A bumper collection of vintage episodes of the award-winning panel game Just a Minute is BBC Radio 4's longest-running panel show, and a national treasure. Since 1967, it has welcomed an array of stellar guest players to demonstrate their verbal dexterity, wicked wit and brilliant banter, as...

Nobody believes Barney when he says he's discovered a boy living wild in the dump. But for Barney, Stig is totally real. They become great friends, learn each other's ways and embark on a series of exciting adventures.

An all-star cast attend a mysterious private club in this hilarious parody of classic horror tales. Membership of the exclusive Mausoleum Club isn't for the faint of heart. The Honorable Clarence Green wants in, but to join he must first hear the spine-chilling stories of the existing members, before enthralling them with one of his own. But are their stories fact or fiction? And will Green still want to join after hearing the horrors they have to tell?

The second instalment of this wonderful collection of short stories sees Bertie Wooster in the proverbial soup as usual and Jeeves invariably shimmering to the rescue. Love, comic reunions and errant Uncles are all on the agenda, plus bucket loads of laughter. Where would Wooster be without his infinitely brainy valet? Where would audio listeners be without Wodehouse's sparkling comic invention?

We find ourselves in the austerity of the 1950s, when England's aristocracy was feeling the pinch. Bertie Wooster has gone to a residential self-help school to learn how to darn his socks. Until he re-emerges, Jeeves has signed up with Bill Rowcester (pronounced Roaster), an earl who is failing to make ends meet in trade, and yearning to sell his stately home, which has charm and damp in equal measure. In his new environment Jeeves is required to exert his mammoth brain to what would be breaking point for any normal intellect.

Here is one of the greatest English comic novels read by incontrovertible king of English comic audiobook readers, Martin Jarvis. Three men, worried about their health and in search of different experiences, set off 'up the river' in a boat. Jerome's delightful novel, dating from 1900, paints a vivid picture of innocent fun.

J. B. Priestley was one of Britain's most significant writers. His output was prodigious: in his lifetime, he penned 26 novels, 39 plays and hundreds of essays. He enjoyed great success on stage, notably with Dangerous Corner, Time and the Conways and An Inspector Calls, which experimented with narrative structure and unorthodox theories of time. Included here are some of his most esteemed works, adapted for radio and brought together in one statement collection.

A collection of stories in which Jimmy could almost be younger brother to William Brown (of Just William fame). Like William, Jimmy has a big heart and all of his efforts go towards trying to make his family and friends happy. Unfortunately, and again like William, his plans always take a turn for the worst, or don't turn out in the way that he intended. Fortunately for a listener, this makes for a myriad of classic comedy moments.

Sid Halley, a private investigator, has a new left hand, having had a transplant since his last appearance in Refusal. After receiving death threats, an ex-jockey trainer friend calls Sid to ask for his help, but Sid has his own problems to deal with, like recovering from surgery and saving his crumbling marriage. When his friend’s stable yard is torched, horses killed and the friend is found dead, Sid can only blame himself for not helping sooner. The police think it’s suicide, but Sid is not convinced after his friend’s terrified phone calls.

The usual suspects, including Lord Emsworth and his prize pig, the Empress, line up at Blandings Castle for a Wodehousian caper that sees members of the upper-classes getting hot and bothered over a nude painting they all want to get their hands on. This is wit at its very finest, read by one of our superlative actors, who reads Wodehouse with the requisite style and panache.

No longer in master Bertie Wooster’s employ, Jeeves is engaged with a new employer, Lord "Chuffy" Chuffnell, an old friend of Bertie’s. True to form, thus follows a supreme comedy of errors which is guaranteed to raise many a chortle, as Wooster travels to one of Chuffy’s cottages in Dorset to carry on his banjolele practice in (dubious) peace.

Listen to hilarious unabridged stories starring the ever-popular Jeeves and Wooster from the master of great British comedy: P. G. Wodehouse. Stories featured: "Jeeves Takes Charge", "Jeeves and The Unbidden Guest", "The Artistic Career of Corky", "The Aunt and the Sluggard", "Clustering Round Young Bingo", "Jeeves and the Hard-boiled Egg", and "The Rummy Affair of Old Biffy".

The abridged, downloadable audiobook edition of Dick and Felix Francis's searing and intrue-fillied thriller, Dead Heat. Read by Martin Jarvis. 'I wondered if I was dying. I wasn't afraid to die but, such was the pain in my gut, I wished it would happen soon.' The night before the Two Thousand...

A collection of BBC Radio 3's iconic Shakespeare productions: eight comedies with all-star casts including David Tennant, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne-Marie Duff, Martin Jarvis, Siân Phillips and Miriam Margolyes. The plays included in this collection are: Much Ado About Nothing, As You Like It, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Merchant of Venice, Twelfth Night, The Tempest, The Taming of the Shrew, and All's Well That Ends Well.