Showing results by narrator "Prunella Scales" in All Categories

How do any of us really know who we are? A man arrives in a strange town only to find that everyone knows his name, but thinks he’s someone else. A woman wonders why her husband is not the man he was, but starts to rather like it. Confusion mounts as everyone uncouples from themselves. Will they ever find themselves again? And do they really want to?

Pericles, prince of Tyre, leaves home to escape death only to win a jousting contest and marry a princess. Once he can return home, his family sails with him, but a storm separates them, so Pericles returns alone. Years later, Pericles finds his daughter and reunites with the wife he had thought was dead.

In rural England, a female-dominated community runs on social customs and gossip. At its heart are spinster sisters Miss Matty and Miss Deborah, who must withstand the everyday dramas and hardships of provincial life. Gaskell’s vivid portrayal of 19th century-country folk is reinvigorated by the narration of the inimitable Prunella Scales, star of Fawlty Towers.

From the moment pub landlord and keen amateur entomologist, Arnold Matson, arrives in Blinkington-on-the-Treacle to take over his new hostelry, the listener is guided superbly by one of Britain’s best-loved actresses, Prunella Scales, as she introduces local characters and intimately narrates her way through a colourful collection of vignettes and poignant flashbacks that are both comically funny and disturbingly familiar.

Alex McBuff doesn't want to sell the family castle. An orphan, its ghosts have been like a family to him. But it is falling to pieces through lack of money. A Texan billionaire offers Alex $500,000, but on condition that it is ghost free.

Wickedly acerbic, The Youth of Old Age shows acclaimed British actor Prunella Scales at her dragon-tongued best. As the story's matriarch, she's determined to prevent her heir from marrying "out of sorts".

Shakespeare's comedy is performed by a cast including Derek Godfrey, Patrick Garland, Prunella Scales and Peter Pears.

Kate and George Starling are just beginning their lives as young newlyweds and are already experiencing the frustrations, as well as the joys, of marriage. But although they have their ups and downs, their mutual love and mistrust gets them through.

A comedic romance of mistaken identity, Twelfth Night begins with a shipwreck, splitting up Viola and her twin brother, Sebastian. Alone in a strange land, Viola disguises herself as a male servant, Cesario, in order to work for the Duke Orsino. Orsino is in love with Lady Olivia, but it is Cesario whom Olivia falls for. A farcical tale of misplaced love, confusion, gender-swapping and aspiration, Twelfth Night remains one of Shakespeare’s best-loved and inventive comedies....

Richard III completes the cycle of plays covering the Wars of the Roses. It’s the story of Richard, duke of Gloucester’s villainous plan to take the throne. It is a tale of jealousy, manipulation and deceit based on Sir Thomas More's unfinished - and largely untrue - History of King Richard III....

After vowing to avoid women, the king and three of his friends have to host a princess and her three ladies. The four men fall in love and decide to court the women. In the end, the women must return to their kingdom for a year after which they will marry the king and his friends, providing they remain true to them.

Mark Antony, one of three rulers of Rome, is in love with Cleopatra, queen of Egypt. Antony is summoned back to Rome, where he clashes with another ruler, Octavius, before returning to Cleopatra in Egypt. Now in battle with Octavius, Antony and Cleopatra suffer losses and miscommunication and both eventually commit suicide.

From the rumblings of provincial England in Silas Marner and Cranford to a wild and dangerous journey across the Holy Lands in Ivanhoe, these classic novels of the Georgian and Victorian period are as relevant and important today as they ever have been.

An overlooked middle daughter destined to be a spinster. A handsome rejected naval officer. A family on the brink of financial ruin. Anne Elliot has never forgotten about the man to whom she was persuaded out of an engagement by her family. When he returns to Anne's life eight years later, will she be able to secure a second chance? Reinvigorated by the incredible narration of Prunella Scales, Persuasion is a story of missed opportunities, of family and class systems, love and heartache.

Originally released as vinyl records, these expertly abridged and remastered stories are now available to download. Impressively witty, beautiful and vain, with a penchant for meddling, Emma Woodhouse is a mischievous force to be reckoned with. Though she has convinced herself that she will never marry, she somehow has garnered skills for 'matchmaking'. The formidable Prunella Scales brings the satirical bite to this timeless comedy of manners, reigniting Austen's unfailing exploration of society's obsession with class, its influence on a woman's choices and a woman's right to love.

One of Shakespeare’s earliest comedies, is also one of the most celebrated. Here, two mismatched couples, a wedding gone awry, magic, fairies, a troupe of actors, and a series of elaborate high jinks put on by a mischievous woodland sprite have been keeping audiences enthralled and amused for centuries. Loved for its lighter and lyrical qualities as well as it’s more serious themes, A Midsummer Night’s Dream sparks the imagination, tickles the funny bone, and stimulates the mind.

The Gazette Box Set is a vivid eye-witness portrait of British life, capturing the turbulent and colourful events in British history and re-telling them in the words of those who were there. Presented in six volumes and performed by an outstanding company of award-winning actors including Dame Eileen Atkins, Cheryl Campbell, Nigel Davenport, Alex Jennings, Richard Johnson OBE, Hugh Laurie CBE, Michael Maloney, Geoffrey Palmer OBE, Michael Pennington, Prunella Scales CBE, Samuel West, John Wood CBE and full supporting cast.

We follow in the footsteps of the intrepid British traveller as they explore the world both at home and abroad, told entirely in the words of those who were there. In two volumes: The Traveller at Home Gazette and The Traveller Abroad Gazette. Performed by an outstanding company of award-winning actors including Dame Eileen Atkins, Cheryl Campbell, Nigel Davenport, Alex Jennings, Richard Johnson OBE, Hugh Laurie CBE, Michael Maloney, Geoffrey Palmer OBE, Michael Pennington, Prunella Scales CBE, Samuel West, John Wood CBE and full supporting cast.

We follow in the footsteps of the intrepid British traveller as they explore the far-flung shores of the world in the company of some of the world’s finest chroniclers, including Charles Darwin, Kenneth Williams, James Boswell, Freya Stark, Sir Ernest Shackleton, Fanny Trollope, Mungo Park, Nancy Mitford, Wilfred Thesiger, Horace Walpole, Evelyn Waugh and many others, in this entertaining collection of travellers’ tales.

A fascinating foray into British military history in two volumes, told entirely in the words of those who were there: The Army Gazette and The Navy Gazette.