Audio books

 

Dr Crippen

Author : Not Known

Performed By : Full Cast Production

Publisher : True Crime Audio

Runtime : 34 minutes

Categories : Dramatizations
True Crime
Social & Economic

Our Price : $1.00

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The tale of Dr. Crippen bears all the trademarks of the classic English whodunit. It is a thrilling tale of death, love, sin and virtue. While stereotypical in nature, it is set apart from the ordinary by the motive of its crime, Freudian in nature and, in fact, reminiscent of the Jekyll and Hyde syndrome that fascinated period writers.

"There are two sides of the story - the physical, which is sordid, dreadful and revolting, and the spiritual, which is good and heroic," writes Filson Young, editor for the "Notable British Trial Series," which published the Trial of Hawley Harvey Crippen a decade after the sensational murder and subsequent trial occurred. "Such a story can only be understood by the aid
of the imagination; and it should remind us, in the judgments we pass on our fellow men, never to forget the dual nature of the human character and the mystery in virtue of which acts of great moral obliquity may march with conduct above the ordinary standards."

This recording is, in essence, a melodrama tracing the events leading up to and after one of Edwardian London's most publicized crimes - and, definitely, one of the most colorful of the Twentieth Century.

Its cast of characters includes a lovelorn murderer, his wicked wife, a demure heroine, a sharp-as-a-tack Scotland Yard detective and a sleuth-playing sea captain.

Certain histrionics have been very slightly altered, for effect, but the nature of the crime - its mechanics, its motive, its chronology and its results remain intact. Certain patches of dialogue have been constructed to explain a character's inner thoughts and devices. But, the personalities involved, in all their societal and anti-societal form, are as they were.

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John Betjeman: A First Class Collection

Author : Sir John Betjeman

Performed By : Various

Publisher : BBC Audiobooks Ltd

Runtime : 2 hours 30 minutes

Categories : Autobiography
Biographical
Poetry
Biographical
British

Our Price : $18.49

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Sir John Betjeman's unique relationship with the BBC left a lasting legacy of poetry, readings and performances. To celebrate the centenary of his birth A First Class Collection features a selection of some of his most memorable and best-loved poetry.

 

Sir John Betjeman was one of the best-known and loved Poet Laureates and even a hundred years after his birth he continues to attract acclaim and admiration.

Some of his fascinating BBC Archive recordings can be enjoyed again in this specially selected collection of poetry. A First Class Collection features the poet's own readings of some of his most popular works, as well as readings specially commissioned for BBC Radio 4's Poetry Please , and new exclusive readings, from actors Derek Jacobi, Miriam Margolyes, Stephen Fry, Susan Jameson and Samuel West .

As an additional tribute, the present Poet Laureate, Andrew Motion , reads his own introduction to John Murray's new edition of the Collected Poems .

This compilation will bring to a new generation of admirers the remarkable poetic voice of one of the twentieth-century's best-loved personalities.

Due to the age and the off-air source of some recordings, the sound quality may at times vary