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The Children of the New Forest is Captain Marryat’s classic children’s adventure story. The four Beverley children find themselves orphaned when their father is killed by Cromwell’s army at the outset of the English Civil War. The book follows their experiences as they are forced to abandon their aristocratic title and go into hiding in the New Forest. Read superbly by Glen McCready, this new abridgement is aimed at 7–12 year olds.

Two leading English classical actors, Juliet Stevenson and Simon Russell Beale, open the doors to eight important plays, including Much Ado About Nothing, Antony and Cleopatra, The Winter’s Tale, Measure for Measure, and All’s Well That Ends Well. These newly written introductions by David Timson have proved eminently useful for young audiences coming to Shakespeare for the first time. Explained clearly, the introductions also feature numerous excerpts from the plays themselves. F

This abridgement of the first novel in The Once and Future King, the tale of King Arthur and the rise and fall of Camelot, is specifically aimed at 7–12 year olds. It concentrates on the early years of Arthur, leading to his proclamation as king. White elaborated imaginatively on the legend giving strong personalities to the main characters – as well as animals! Neville Jason (who read the unabridged War and Peace for Naxos AudioBooks) gives another strong reading.

When Pollyanna Whittier becomes orphaned, she goes to live with her rather strict Aunt Polly. And Aunt Polly is not at all prepared for Pollyanna! With her infectious energy and her determination to see the best in every situation, Pollyanna brings sunshine into the lives of everyone around her. But not everyone wants it – and she has a lot of work to do to persuade some of them that there is a good side to everything. But will being glad be enough for Pollyanna herself when she faces the biggest struggle of her life? This irrepressible book, first published in 1913, has entertained and absorbed each generation of girls since, and was the subject of a famous 1960 film with Hayley Mills in the title role. But it was also done as a silent film in 1920 starring Mary Pickford, and a TV film in 2003 – further evidence of its continuing popularity.

First published in 1766 and a perennial favourite since then, The Vicar of Wakefield is built around the naïve but loveable figure of Dr Primrose. He and his family live in rural bliss until disaster threatens to destroy their happiness: abduction, impoverishment and betrayal combine to lay them low, but a surprising figure brings hope when all seems lost.

A Christmas Carol is the best-known and best-loved of Dickens’ ‘Christmas Books’, and the story of the miser Scrooge’s redemption has become as much part of the Christmas tradition as plum pudding and carols themselves. Will Tiny Tim live to see another Christmas? Can Scrooge recover his humanity and learn to love the fellow men he seems to despise? Dickens will make you laugh and make you cry as you follow Scrooge’s supernatural adventures on Christmas Eve…

With a star cast including Richard Wilson as Humpty Dumpty, David Shaw Parker as Tweedledum, David Timson as the Dodo, Teresa Gallagher as the Rose and the Fawn, Sean Barrett as The Lion and many more. Alice is back in her room, stroking her cats – but not for long. Slipping through the Looking Glass she meets another wild collection of fantasy characters including the Red and White Kings and Queens, Tweedledum and Tweedledee and is entertained by the poems Jabberwocky and The Walrus and the Carpenter.

To inherit a great fortune. To inherit a great misfortune.’ These words, from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s notebook, neatly encapsulate the theme of The House of the Seven Gables – that of a family whose fortunes are poisoned by its past misdeeds. The sins of the Pyncheon father are visited upon his children over a period of several generations, until such time as one of his descendants unites with a member of the family he has wronged. Love conquers hate, and new blood washes away the original crime. This intriguing and insightful novel truly deserves its significant place in the canon of American literature.

This outstanding historical recording made in 1941 for radio is widely regarded as one of the finest Hamlet performances ever, and one of John Gielgud’s greatest moments. Though he went on to record it for commercial release, nothing matched this recording in the BBC studios, made before the days of editing.

The first volume of David Timson’s series retelling of the stories from Shakespeare’s plays was widely praised by newspapers and educators alike. Here is volume II, with more key plays. Including Julius Caesar, The Merchant of Venice, and Henry IV, all texts which regularly appear on the exam syllabus. As before, the stories are illustrated by numerous examples from the plays themselves. They are read by two leading Shakespearean actors: Juliet Stevenson and Alex Jennings.