Showing results by narrator "Daniel Philpott" in All Categories

To Fred Archer, born in the village of Ashton-under-Hill in 1915 and growing up in the 1920s, nothing seemed to change except the seasons. This was the age of paraffin lamps, earth closets, and the last train from Evesham at 7 o’clock in the evening. The village was a self-sufficient community with its own hierarchy, strong Church and Chapel, fierce politics and home-made entertainment.

When scientist Victor Frankenstein forms a creature from the body parts of corpses, thus shattering the perceived limits of scientific understanding, the consequences are devastating. As Frankenstein becomes disgusted with his experiment, he thwarts the creature’s desire for a companion, and what ensues is singularly chilling.

1920. The Great War has been over for two years, and it has left a very different world from the Edwardian certainties of 1914. Following the death of his wife and baby and his experiences on the Western Front, Laurence Bartram has become something of a recluse.

Connor Tempest may only be 14, but he's taken to the life of a pirate like a duck to water. But his loyalties are divided between his shipmates and his sister. Grace Tempest isn't finding the pirate life so appealing. She cannot shake the feeling that all is not well on the Vampirate ship she left behind. Dare she try to return to it? Sidorio may have been expelled from the Vampirate ship, but his dark deeds are just beginning.

James Dearsley’s wife thought he had lost his mind when he announced his intention to become a beekeeper. But like many interested in the self-sufficient lifestyle, he loved gardening and growing vegetables on his allotment and the old romantic in him had idealistic notions of teaching his little boy where honey came from, so he set himself what seemed a reasonable goal: to get, in a year’s time, just one jar of honey.

Summer 1914: Europe is on the brink. As Britain’s enemies grow stronger, the Comptroller- General must confront the man with whom he has struggled for a generation - a man he knows only as the Spider. In a desperate gamble, he sends four agents out across the continent, on a mission they do not understand ... The future of British intelligence - of the British Empire.

Here are 16 tales from one of the great works of the Middle Ages. Ten young people have fled for a while the terrible effects of the Black Death in Florence and, in an idyllic setting, tell a series of brilliant stories, by turns humorous, bawdy, tragic and provocative. This celebration of physical and sexual vitality is Boccaccio’s answer to the sublime other-worldliness of Dante’s Divine Comedy.

The brightest mind meets the darkest killer...1887. When James Murray, a young Scottish doctor fascinated by the workings of the criminal mind, travels to the vibrant city of Turin, it is to study with Cesare Lombroso, the world-renowned criminologist. But just hours after his introduction to Lombroso, the discovery of a horrifically mutilated body in the nearby Piazza Statuto, and a note that appears to implicate the celebrated criminologist himself, changes everything.

When Connor Tempest and his swashbuckling pirate buddies get a rare break in their duties, they're in the mood for fun, sun and adventure. A chance meeting with the crew of The Lorelei seems to offer all that and more. Soon, Connor and co are learning to freedive into the amazing world far beneath the ocean's surface. But the pirates are further out of their depth than they realise.

A stranger arrives in a small English town, wreathed in a hat, coat, goggles and bandages. It's not just his identity he's hiding, though; he has discovered the secret of invisibility, and believes it will lead him to ultimate power. But he needs to be able to control the process, and when the terrified villagers refuse to help him, he decides on bloody revenge.

The gothic tale of Frankenstein and his construction of a human being who runs amok has, with the help of numerous films, become one of the most vivid horror stories. But Mary Shelley's original novel, written in 1816, dealt more sympathetically with "the daemon," showing how an initially beneficent creature is hammered into a daemon by the way he is treated. Her ideas, and her dramatic but poignant story, is brought to life in this sound dramatization.

This is the story of a Worcestershire farm from the 1930s to the 1970s, highlighting the great changes in farming practices and the people who found themselves part of the agricultural and country life. Alongside the story of the owners, Fred Archer provides the listener with rich anecdotes of village life - the pea-picker and his gypsy wife, the excitement caused by the arrival of the land girls and the terrible effects of myxomatosis.

Our Island Story by H. E. Marshall is an Edwardian history book for younger listeners (aged six–twelve) which tells the story of England, concluding with the reign of Queen Victoria. Antonia Fraser and many other current historians declare that it was this book that opened the delights of history for them. It fell from fashion in the 1960s, but its recent re-release in hardback has seen it become a publishing surprise in the UK, with sales of some 75,000 copies in a few months.

It's 1888. When young Scottish scientist James Murray receives a letter from Sofia Esposito, a woman he once loved and lost, he cannot refuse her cry for help. Sofia's 15-year-old cousin has vanished, but, because of her lower-class status, the police are unwilling to investigate. Accompanied by his younger sister, Lucy, Murray returns to the city of Turin, where he was once apprenticed to the world-famous criminologist, Cesare Lombroso.

Our Island Story by H. E. Marshall is an Edwardian history book for younger listeners (age six to 12) which tells the story of England, concluding with the reign of Queen Victoria. Antonia Fraser and many other current historians declare that it was this book that opened the delights of history for them. It fell from fashion in the 1960s, but its recent re-release in hardback has seen it become a publishing surprise in the UK, with sales of some 75,000 copies in a few months.

Here are the remarkable life stories of nine famous people who have left their mark upon the world: Alexander the Great, Joan of Arc, Leonardo da Vinci, Isaac Newton, George Washington, Ludwig van Beethoven, Louis Pasteur, Marie Curie, and Mahatma Gandhi.

It’s a HUGE surprise when Farmer Palmer chooses Lewie the llama to guard his new lambs. It’s the most important job on the farm and everyone thought he’d pick the biggest strongest, loudest llama. Lewie is the best at singing and dancing but is he a match for a cunning coyote?

Tom and Sophie join their mum in a dash to Whipsnade Zoo to help an elephant deliver its calf, and another exciting adventure begins. At first the elephant calf, Dirshani, struggles to survive as it doesn’t eat well. With expert help and lots of care, the calf grows stronger. During the next year the young elephant is encouraged to take its place in the herd. Tom and Sophie dream that one day Dirshani will take part in the elephant demonstration.

The Ghastly McNastys are the meanest pirates ever to sail the seven seas and are completely obsessed with treasure! They are closing in on Captain Syd’s legendary hoard, but a film crew has come to Little Snoring and is right in their way. But there’s a stroke of luck – they are making a pirate movie, and the McNastys think they can work as extras and steal the treasure! Youngsters Tat and Hetty have outwitted them before and can see what the dastardly duo is really up to – but will anyone believe them?

This is a story from the Famous People in History II collection.