Audio Book Club For You

Thursday, March 5, 2009

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.

Jane Eyre

Author : Charlotte Bronte

Performed By : Claire Bloom, Sir Anthony Quayle & cast

Publisher : Harper Collins UK

Runtime : 3 hours

Categories : Dramatizations
Classics

Our Price : $12.75

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Jane Eyre is the story of an unloved and penniless orphan who triumphs over harsh treatment to become a spirited and independent young woman.

She secures employment as a governess at Thornfield Hall where she transforms the life of morose and lonely Edward Rochester.

They fall in love, but Thornfield holds a dark secret that blights their happiness.

This dramatised reading captures all the passionate intensity of Charlotte Brontë's great romantic novel.

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Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Volume 1, The

Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Volume 1, The

Author : Arthur Conan Doyle

Performed By : Various

Publisher : BBC Audiobooks Ltd

Runtime : 2 hours 55 minutes

Categories : Detective
Classics
Dramatizations
Drama
British

Our Price : $18.49

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Clive Merrison and Michael Williams star as Holmes and Watson in the first collection of stories from the unique fully dramatised BBC Radio 4 canon

A Scandal in Bohemia - The King of Bohemia seeks the return of a compromising photograph but the woman who has it proves more than a match for the great detective.

The Red-Headed League - Holmes and Doyle move into top gear in one of the finest stories in the canon. Why should a pawnbroker have to copy out the Encyclopaedia Britannica and what bearing can the knees of a man's trousers have on the case?

A Case of Identity - A squalid little story of greed, and a solid piece of professional work on Holmes' part in finding out why a City cashier should ditch his love on their wedding day.

The Boscombe Valley Mystery - Another dazzler with Holmes needing all his powers to solve a splendid murder case with Australian connections.

James Stewart: A Biography

Author : Donald Dewey

Performed By : Tom Parker

Publisher : Blackstone Audio Inc

Runtime : 19 hours

Categories : Rich & Famous
TV & Film
Arts & Drama
Biographical

Our Price : $49.95 $36.95

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"Going beyond biography, Donald Dewey captures the wistful America of the 1940s
and '50s and the screen icon who symbolized it.With polished ease and impeccable pacing,
Parker brings listeners into each chapter and onto each movie set to glimpse Hollywood's inner
workings. Parker narrates with the same casual yet focused flair that characterized Stewart's
acting style. In this way, Parker lends an instant comfort and intimacy to the text and its subject,
while giving Dewey's writing center stage to engage and captivate the listener."AudioFile

"[A] voluminous, highly intelligent look at one of the richest and most complex of Hollywood star
personas, not incidentally, one of the industry's most beloved actors.very astute is the analysis
of Stewart's career choices, and the detailed recounting of his distinguished record as a bomber
pilot and squad commander during WW II is downright moving.A model of how to do a serious
but entertaining Hollywood biography."Kirkus Reviews

In the most penetrating and in-depth biography yet written about the beloved screen icon,
award-winning author Donald Dewey delves beneath the persona into the usually unremarked turmoil of
the actor's private life and behind the earnest Capraesque image so often accepted as the Stewart identity.
He draws upon extensive research and nearly two hundred interviews to follow Stewart from his hometown
of Indiana, Pennsylvania, and a childhood shaped by a strong-willed father, to the fateful encounter at
Princeton University with actress Margaret Sullavan, to his first professional theatrical experiences on
Cape Cod and the forging of a remarkable life-long friendship with Henry Fonda in New York, to his
unexpected stardom at MGM.

Tom Parker, recipient of the Golden Voice award, records a remarkable variety of books while pursuing his love of theater by directing two or three professional stage productions a year in the Washington, D.C., area.

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

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John Peel Remembered: Home Truths Special

John Peel Remembered: Home Truths Special

Author : Various

Performed By : Various

Publisher : BBC Audiobooks Ltd

Runtime : 1 hour

Categories : Biographical
Music Related
Radio Shows
Biographical
British

Our Price : $7.25

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Not many people manage to achieve the status of legend in their own lifetime, and even fewer deserve that status. John Peel was one such, whose contribution to British culture is undeniable. His 40-year career on Radio I and Radio 4 reached a huge and diverse audience, and he influenced the musical tastes of millions.

On the first anniversary of his death the BBC broadcast a tribute programme of HomeTruths, hosted by Tom Robinson. Among the items featured are a visit to John Peel's family at the ironically-named 'Peel Acres', the launch of the John Peel Train, and the story of the Gomersall family, three generations of Salvation Army members.

Guaranteed to appeal to all John Peel's many devoted fans, this download is a perfect reminder of the genius of a man many regarded as the best ever DJ.

John Peel was BBC Radio I's longest-serving DJ, with a radio career spanning 40 years.

He was born in Heswall, near Liverpool, and educated at Shrewsbury School. After completing his military service, he went to the United States where he worked for a cotton producer and an insurance company before getting a job with Dallas radio station WRR. When the Beatles became popular in the States, his Liverpool accent led to him becoming the official Beatles correspondent for rival Dallas station KLIF. He stayed in America for five years, returning to Britain in 1967.

Back in the UK, he worked for the pirate station Radio London, where he hosted a programme called The Perfumed Garden in the midnight to 2am slot. There, he used his extensive knowledge of the American underground scene to play an eclectic mix of classic blues, folk music and his favourite West Coast bands such as The Doors and Jefferson Airplane. His personal, confessional style of presentation was a huge hit with the listeners, who sent him letters, poems and even records from their own collections.

He joined Radio I at its launch in 1967, and again hosted a late-night programme called Top Gear until 1975. Subsequently, his programmes were simply known as the John Peel shows. Continuing the tradition he established at Radio London, he built his reputation on playing unusual, obscure and avant-garde music, and was one of the first DJs to expose punk, reggae and hip-hop to a mainstream audience. His enthusiasm for new music led to him playing the entirety of Tubular Bells, an entire side of a Cocteau Twins album, and putting Teenage Kicks by The Undertones on twice. In addition, he was the first DJ to play The Sex Pistols' God Save the Queen and Bob Dylan's Desire. Many bands credit John Peel with launching their career, including The Undertones, The Cure, Pulp and The White Stripes. His Radio I shows were also notable for The John Peel Sessions, usually four tracks pre-recorded in the studio. Many of these have been released on record, largely by the Strange Fruit label.

John Peel married Sheila in 1974, and they had four children. Married life mellowed him somewhat, so when BBC Radio 4 launched a programme about family life called HomeTruths in 1998, John Peel was chosen to present it. An idiosyncratic, charming, magazine-style show, based around listeners' phone-ins, letters and interviews, it quickly became an institution and won Peel a whole new fan base.

As well as radio broadcasting, John Peel also appeared on television, regularly presenting Top of the Pops, voicing documentaries such as Life of Grime and contributing to Grumpy Old Men. In 1998 he was awarded an QBE, and in 2003 was inducted into the Radio Academy's Hall of Fame.

He died of a heart attack in 2004, while on holiday with Sheila in Cuzco, Peru.

Jack Rosenthal's Last Act

Author : Various

Performed By : Full Cast Production

Publisher : BBC Audiobooks Ltd

Runtime : 2 hours

Categories : Autobiography
TV & Film
Biographical

Our Price : $18.49

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Jack Rosenthal had always resisted writing an autobiography, until he hit on an original way of writing it: it would be as a screenplay, with himself as the central character, the storyline that of his own life, the supporting cast drawn from the many wonderful and sometimes eccentric people who touched, shaped and shared that life.

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