British Classics

With his partner away on a honeymoon, Yorkshire detective Andrew Dalziel tries to beat the blues by taking a vacation of his own. But after getting caught in a torrential rain and running into a funeral procession, he winds up accompanying a crowd of upper-class mourners to a crumbling country house. Dalziel isn't known for his elegant manners, but he has bigger problems than not fitting in: The owner of the home has died under unusual circumstances, and soon more bodies are turning up.

THIRD EDITION! This bestselling guide attempts to encapsulate the historical details, cultural impact, influences and legacy of Nigel Kneale's 1953 BBC TV serial The Quatermass Experiment. This revised Third Edition contains bonus material looking at Quatermass 2, Quatermass and the Pit and The Quatermass Conclusion as well as a character profile of Professor Quatermass and a Top Ten Countdown of the scariest horror moments of the series and more. There are comparisons and commentary on the subsequent Hammer films and 2005 BBC Four version as well as looks at other TV shows which were ...

Patrick O’Brian is acclaimed as one of the greatest historical novelists of the twentieth century, celebrated throughout the world for his masterful roman fleuve, the Aubrey‒Maturin series. But he was also a prolific writer of short stories, and it is in this form that he first made his mark. Encompassing stories written in his unvarnished youth to tales told by a seasoned traveller, this is the most comprehensive collection of O’Brian’s short fiction ever published. It is a treasure chest, containing more than sixty tales, including rarities, uncollected works, and forgotten jewels.

You can’t fight love. Darcy knows he is falling for Elizabeth Bennet, but he doesn’t want to be connected to her ill-bred family, so he struggles to put her out of his mind. Until he receives an anonymous valentine. Caroline Bingley sent the valentine, but Darcy thinks it is from Elizabeth Bennet. Elizabeth thinks Mr. Darcy is an arrogant, disagreeable man, until he shows up on her doorstep, declaring his undying love for her. She is astonished. He is only half as obnoxious as he was before. What could have made the difference? A Valentine for Darcy is a Pride and Prejudice Variation ...

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens and The Night Before Christmas by Clement Clarke Moore are as different as England and America themselves, and yet almost two centuries later these two iconic tales remain an important part of Christmas tradition all over the world. Now they are brought together in this very special holiday recording.

Stanley Featherstonehough Ukridge is positively convinced that his complete ignorance of chicken farming gives him a particular advantage in the subject. A bombastic blowhard, he persuades his wife and his mild-mannered chum to start a chicken farm with him. What could go wrong?

“Frank Hugh Smallwood was first murdered on the 15th of April, 1927” Bookseller Theodore Terhune investigates an old homicide case after he stumbles on the freshly murdered corpse of seaman Frank Smallwood, a man thought to have been murdered nearly twenty years previously during a houseboat party on the Thames. Smallwood’s alleged killer Charles Cockburn was convicted and served a lengthy prison sentence before being killed in the war. So who wanted Smallwood dead now? And what actually happened between Smallwood and Cockburn all those years ago? A book of poetry found lying near the...

Josef Vadassy, a Hungarian refugee and language teacher living in France, is enjoying his first break for years in a small hotel on the Riviera. But when he takes his holiday photographs to be developed at a local chemists, he suddenly finds himself mistaken for a Gestapo agent, and a charge of espionage is levelled at him. To prove himself innocent to the French police, he must discover which one of his fellow guests at his pension is the real spy. As he desperately tries to uncover the true culprit's identity, Vadassy must risk his job, his safety and everything he holds dear.

Emma, by Jane Austen, is a novel about youthful hubris and the perils of misconstrued romance. The story takes place in the fictional village of Highbury and the surrounding estates of Hartfield, Randalls, and Donwell Abbey and involves the relationships among individuals in those locations consisting of "3 or 4 families in a country village". The novel was first published in December 1815 while the author was alive, with its title page listing a publication date of 1816.

Spike Milligan, Harry Secombe and Peter Sellers star in 10 rare episodes of The Goon Show, plus a plethora of bonus features.

‘This is the voice of the Mysterons. We know that you can hear us Earth men. We have not forgotten your act of aggression.’ EXPANDED SECOND EDITION. Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons was created by TV legends Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and produced by their iconic and prolific production company, Century 21 Productions. Made as a follow up to the phenomenon of Thunderbirds, this was a much darker and more grown up show. The series story line commences in the year 2068, where in the first episode, the team aboard the Zero-X spacecraft embarks on a mission to explore Mars following the ...

A glorious collection of some of the finest British short stories ever written. The Dog – Arnold Bennet, Not On The Passenger List – Barry Pain, The Old Man’s Tale About The Queer Client – Charles Dickens, The Half Brothers – Elizabeth Gaskell, The Veiled Portrait – James McGovan, Markheim – Robert Louis Stevenson, The Bottle Imp – Robert Louis Stevenson, The Adventures Of The Kind Mr. Smith – William J. Locke, The Man Of Mystery – Barry Pain, The Brazilian Cat – Sir. Arthur Conan Doyle.

Graf Fönix - Acharat - Joseph Balsamo - hinter all diesen Namen verbirgt sich der selbe Mann; ein Magier, Goldmacher, Umstürzler, der seine Verbindung zu höchsten Kreisen des Hofes nutzen will, um diesen zu stürzen. Doch der Preis für dieses Streben ist nicht nur der Verlust seines persönliches Glückes - er zieht auch die Familie Taverney in einen Strudel von Gier, Leiden und Verbrechen. Der Entstehungszeit des Romans geschuldet, sind heute einige Elemente mit der Ethik nicht mehr vereinbar, wurden aber nicht gestrichen, um den ungekürzten Text mitsamt seinem Kontext zu erhalten.

‘Is it wise to evoke these memories—to raise these ghosts—after all these years?’ After attending a burial in an old country churchyard, Superintendent Mallett and his friends are struck by the sight of two elderly ladies, regally dressed in black and accompanied by their uniformed chauffeur, placing an elaborate wreath on the graveyard’s most imposing monument. The vicar confirms that the Misses de Boulter of Chetwode Lodge have placed fresh flowers on the tomb of their father and brother every week for the last fifty years. In the opposite corner of the churchyard lies the small...

‘Eric is dead……and I am certain his death was murder.’ Stories of Crime & Detection Volume Eleven contains a novel and a novella. The Sealed Room Murder Eric Winter is murdered by his Uncle Godfrey, who has made it look like natural causes. The victim’s sister Patricia suspects foul play and writes a letter to her brother’s friend Alan. Godfrey learns of his niece’s prying and tries to kill her, but Alan and reporter Larry Milner arrive in the nick of time. Milner is then determined to prove that Eric Winters death is murder and get the scoop of a lifetime. He turns amateur ...

Some of the cast and production team are interviewed about their roles and the making of the 1997 hit film The Full Monty. Interviews with Hugo Speer, Simon Beaufoy, Petter Cattaneo, Ulberto Pasolini and Jill Taylor. Listen to find out about the cast's first reaction to the script, first auditions, how the script developed before filming and where the idea for the film actually came from. Includes many more fascinating facts and insights from such a funny, successful and widely known film!

When a beautiful guest arrives at the hotel, she has clearly arrived under a cloud of pretense, but what motive does she have for deception? To Samuel, the maitre d' of the Balfour Hotel, it is obvious that the newly arrived guest, Miss Lorna Hastings, is not who she claims. Samuel finds himself in a precarious position—torn between his loyalty to his employers, the Balfours, and the comely young woman who awakens every protective instinct he possesses. Why he feels the need to chivalrously come to the aid of Miss Hastings, he's uncertain. Perhaps he feels a kinship towards her because he...

"You can’t expect a murderer to be able to have everything his own way “ Scientist James Hardwicke is invited to progressive co-educational Scrope House School to investigate a case of apparent pyromania among the student body. Although inclined to ignore this odd invitation, he is persuaded to accept by his friend Caroline, who wants a job at the school. It is May 1939, German refugees are streaming into England to escape the horrors of the Hitler regime, and the headmaster is worried about the ramifications of a refugee child being the culprit. Soon enough, James’ rather desultory (...

A forced betrothal, a missing chambermaid, and two unlikely allies whose lives merge in a forbidden entanglement of the heart. Emmeline is to be married to a heartless brute of a man—sold off like a pig at auction, nothing more than a pawn to secure her father’s business dealings. When the handsome Elias Compton arrives at the hotel under the guise of seeking employment, she is instantly smitten. Elias has come to The Balfour Hotel undercover. His real mission is to search for a missing woman who was last seen working as a chambermaid at the hotel. Has she met with foul play? Does the ...

The story that inspired the famous Twilight Zone episode! "People Are Alike All Over" (which starred Roddy McDowall) became one of the most famous episodes of that classic television series. That memorable script was adapted from veteran science fiction author Paul W. Fairman's story for Fantastic Adventures magazine, where it was published under it's original title "Brothers Beyond the Void".