British Art

Frankie Howerd was one of Britain’s most popular entertainers, with a career spanning over 30 years. Starting his career during WW2, he went on to widespread fame in the 1960’s, 70’s and 80’s with films and extensive TV work.

Very seldom in London can a major show of modern and contemporary art at a highly respected national institution have received such universally negative reviews. As I write this, not all the verdicts on the Royal Academy’s exhibition of Modern British Sculpture have been delivered. However, it is already clear that the majority will be hostile. Paradoxically, it is this, more than any other factor, which makes it seem like an important event - a turning point if you like.

Born and bred in Dundee, Servant sees himself as a people's champion. His extraordinary self-belief stems largely from his dominant position in Dundee's notorious Cheeseburger Wars of the early 1980s - a period of riotous appreciation for the traditional American snack that caused madness on the streets and lined Servant's pockets. He continued his Midas touch in the 1990s by running what he often claims to have been the 'largest window cleaning round in Western Europe'.

More highlights from the BBC Radio series featuring Brian Johnston, selected by his son Barry Johnston. Down Your Way was one of the most popular programmes on BBC Radio from 1946 until 1992. Every week the presenter would visit a different city, town or village in the UK and interview six local people about its history, traditions and customs.Brian Johnston presented the series for fifteen years and for this recording, his son Barry has selected more of the fascinating people and places that his father visited....

Laura Solon won the Perrier Award at the Edinburgh Festival in 2005 with her sensational debut show. She now returns to Radio 4 with a new series of her bittersweet comedy show packed with characters, monologues and sketches from this extraordinary writer and performer. There will be talking, not talking, some stories, and a lion made out of china. Aided by Rosie Cavaliero, Ben Moor and Ben Willbond, Laura Solon is a remarkable talent with an astonishing eye for detail and ear for voice.

Mark Kermode’s compelling study of this horror classic was originally published in 1997, and then extensively updated and expanded in 2003 to incorporate the discovery of new material. This revised edition documents the deletion and reinstatement of key scenes that have now been integrated into the film to create The Exorcist: The Version You’ve Never Seen. Candid interviews with director William Friedkin and writer/producer William Peter Blatty reveal the behind the-scenes battles which took place during the production.

Alice Liddell, sweetly dignified, the inspiration for the heroine of Alice in Wonderland, is posed and identified as Pomona, goddess of abundance, in a marvelous 1872 photograph by the irrepressible Julia Margaret Cameron; appropriately she is the cover girl for this lavish standalone publication, which also acted as the catalogue accompanying the recent exhibition of the same title at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, (October 31 2010-January 30 2011), and the Museé d'Orsay Paris, March 6 - May 29, 2011).

From working in a shoe-blacking factory as a 12-year-old to help his family while his father was in debtor’s prison, Charles Dickens rose to become one of the best-known novelists of all time. In this book, you’ll meet the author who not only wrote famous novels like Great Expectations and David Copperfield, but whose work also helped to develop and popularize the genre of the novel.

George Orwell, the son of a British civil servant, spent his life promoting social justice and equality, while fighting against totalitarianism and elitism. His two best-known novels 1984 and Animal Farm depict the ultimate horror of a totalitarian government. Orwell wrote with passion about what he believed. Eighty years after their publication, his novels are as relevant as ever. Citizens are spied on by CCTV cameras. Smartphones track people’s movements and activities.

George Eliot was born Mary Ann Evans in the same year as Queen Victoria. Mary Ann might have lived a traditional Victorian-era life had she been pretty and ornamental. When she didn’t attract attention with her looks, however, she made use of her remarkable intelligence. By her early 20s, she translated articles from Latin and French into English and wrote her own reviews for a radical magazine. Discover a plethora of topics such as her life as a young radical, her journey to Switzerland, meeting George Henry Lewes, becoming George Eliot, and more.

When the Cowley sisters employ a carer to look after the ailing Carmela, Morag appears to suit their needs perfectly. But after a spectacular jewel theft on the night of the Hunt Ball, it appears that the perfect carer might be implicated.

Fifty years ago a dashing, ultra-talented motorbike racer planned to escape from Communist East Germany at the height of the Cold War. Award-winning presenter Stephen Evans tells how Degner, a hero in his homeland, risked everything, including the life of his young family, to flee to the west, taking with him groundbreaking technology developed deep behind the Iron Curtain. All that stood in his way was an increasingly repressive regime, the notorious Stasi, and the building of a certain wall that changed the course of European history.

Mock the Week regularly produces the sharpest and funniest comedy on TV. With Dara O Briain, Hugh Dennis, Frankie Boyle, and Andy Parsons, it's no surprise. Here is the material that didn't make it to our screens!

Britannia Rules the Stage: The 1980s British Invasion of Musical Theater is a comprehensive exploration of one of the most transformative moments in the history of musical theater. This book delves into the influence of British musicals, such as "Cats," "Phantom of the Opera," and "Les Misérables," in reshaping the landscape of musical theater on Broadway and beyond.

Agatha Christie, born in upper-middle-class British society during the late Victorian era, turned into one of the most prolific and popular mystery writers of all time. Her novels have been translated into 44 languages and have sold over two billion copies worldwide. Her mysteries continue to sell as new generations of readers discover the delights of her main characters, Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. In addition, Christie’s plays have been a tremendous success, with The Mousetrap running in London for the past 70 years.

J. R. R. Tolkien, an orphan in love with words, spent most of his life as an unassuming Professor of Literature at Oxford studying and teaching old languages. During his time there, he created his very own languages and a mythological world, Middle-earth. Middle-earth was inhabited by Hobbits, Dwarves, Elves, and other fascinating creatures. It was a world that became almost more real to Tolkien than the one he lived in. Tolkien’s two masterpieces, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, have set the standard in mythological literature.

Did you know that when some of Jane Austen’s lesser-known work was sent to publishers in 2007 under a pseudonym it was rejected? Do you know in which radio sitcom she was once portrayed as a foul-mouthed and violent inhabitant of hell who even the devil was scared of? And exactly what have zombies got to do with Pride and Prejudice? This fascinating audiobook contains more than 100 facts about Jane Austen, with each chapter exploring a different part of her life and work.

This side-splitting collection of 101 of the best food jokes you have ever heard pasta be Jack Goldstein's funniest audiobook yet! The master of comedy has prepared a sumptuous banquet of hilarity that will have the whole family laughing. Organised into categories so you have a food joke for every course, this is an ideal addition to any budding comedian's bookshelf. Bon appetit!

This book will focus on the activity of two leading artists of their generations: Anthony Caro and Alison Wilding, both of international standing and influential figures for succeeding artists. The book also considers their relationship to their immediate contemporaries, and touches on the diverse forces at play in shaping the art and culture of our time.

Are you a budding comedian who wants to have a joke ready for every occasion? If so, this is the perfect audiobook for you! Master of comedy Jack Goldstein has loaded over one hundred of his most powerful laugh grenades into his ultimate humour launcher and has handed it over to his English counterpart Stephen Harris to take aim, press the button and unleash hilarity mayhem!