Art audiobooks

Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance®

By: Robert M. Pirsig & Peter Flannery

Narrated by: James Purefoy & Full Cast

Length: 1 hour 40 minutes

Abridged: No

An odyssey into life’s challenging questions during an unforgettable summer motorcycle trip

Acclaimed as one of the most exciting books in the history of American letters, Robert M. Pirsig’s Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance became an instant bestseller upon its publication in 1974. A powerful examination of how we live, as well as a... Read more

Mailman of the Birdsville Track

By: Kristin Weidenbach

Narrated by: Peter Hosking

Length: 8 hours 49 minutes

Abridged: No

The Birdsville Track is one of the best known – and loneliest – tracks in Australia, and for twenty years Tom Kruse was the mailman, battling the searing heat, floods and mechanical breakdowns. He made the run every fortnight, and was a lifeline to the isolated settlements and stations along the way, delivering everything from letters to... Read more

Her Father's Daughter

By: Alice Pung

Narrated by: Dana Miltins

Length: 6 hours 20 minutes

Abridged: No

At twenty-something, Alice is eager for the milestones of adulthood: leaving home, choosing a career, finding friendship and love on her own terms. But with each step she takes she feels the sharp tug of invisible threads: the love and worry of her parents, who want more than anything to keep her from harm. Her father fears for her safety to an... Read more

Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M.

By: Sam Wasson

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

Length: 5 hours 40 minutes

Abridged: No

Audrey Hepburn is an icon like no other, yet the image many of us have of Audrey—dainty, immaculate—is anything but true to life. Here, for the first time, Sam Wasson presents the woman behind the little black dress that rocked the nation in 1961. The first complete account of the making of Breakfast at Tiffany's, Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M. reveals... Read more

The Beautiful Fall

By: Alicia Drake

Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne

Length: 16 hours 19 minutes

Abridged: No

In the 1970s, Paris fashion exploded like a champagne bottle left out in the sun. Amid sequins and longing, celebrities and aspirants flocked to the heart of chic, and Paris became a hothouse of revelry, intrigue, and searing ambition. At the center of it all were fashion’s most beloved luminaries—Yves Saint Laurent, the reclusive enfant... Read more

I Am Spartacus!

By: Kirk Douglas

Narrated by: Michael Douglas

Length: 5 hours 15 minutes

Abridged: No

From Kirk Douglas, Hollywood royalty and bestselling author of The Ragman’s Son and My Stroke of Luck, comes the candid story of the making of Spartacus, the blockbuster film that broke the blacklistOne of the world’s most iconic movie stars, Kirk Douglas has distinguished himself as a producer, philanthropist, and author of ten works of fiction... Read more

NPR Road Trips: Fairs and Festivals

By: NPR

Length: 1 hour 6 minutes

Abridged: No

Step right up as the gates swing open at fairgrounds across the USA. This delightful collection explores the unique joys of the public gatherings that take place in cities and small towns, when people of all stripes and sizes meet to gawk at cows, ponder seed art, get hypnotized, compete in husband-calling contests, and eat virtually anything on... Read more

Toby Tyler

By: James Otis

Narrated by: Amon Purinton

Length: 4 hours 36 minutes

Abridged: No

Who hasn’t dreamed of running away to a more exciting life? Toby Tyler is one boy who did just that, spending ten weeks working for the circus as it toured New England in the 1870s. But was this great adventure everything he dreamed it would be?Toby Tyler: Or, Ten Weeks with a Circus is a classic story beloved by generation after generation of... Read more

The Nation's Favourite Lakeland Poems

By: Various

Narrated by: Full Cast

Length: 2 hours 9 minutes

Abridged: No

Enjoy the best of Lakeland poets Wordsworth, Coleridge and Southey in this specially selected anthology, including The Two-Part Prelude, Wordsworth's own shortened version of his great autobiographical work The Prelude, and Coleridge's celebrated Kubla Khan. John Rowe, Alex Jennings and Stephen Critchlow read these perfect evocations of majestic... Read more

The Chess Girls

By: Lavinia Greenlaw

Narrated by: Kerry Shale & Sally Orrock

Length: 43 minutes

Abridged: No

The emergence of the Polgar sisters in the 1970s and 80s rocked the chess world. In a heavily male dominated game, the three Hungarian girls broke record after record. The youngest, Judit, was talked of as a potential world champion. The Chess Girls is the story of their parents, Laszlo and Klara Polgar, and how they defied the Communist... Read more

Lyrical Ballads

By: Samuel Taylor Coleridge & William Wordsworth

Narrated by: Full Cast & Mark Meadows

Length: 40 minutes

Abridged: No

A selection of poems from Wordsworth and Coleridge's 1798 collaboration, which marked the beginning of the English Romantic poetry movement. In Episode One, we hear Coleridge's 'Lewti' and Wordsworth's 'The Thorn', while in Episode Two the verses showcased are Coleridge's 'The Nightingale' and Wordsworth's 'Lucy' poems. In the final episode, we... Read more

Renaissance Art

By: Tom Nichols

Narrated by: Paul English

Length: 6 hours 51 minutes

Abridged: No

The fifteenth century saw the evolution of a distinct and powerfully influential European artistic culture. But what does the familiar phrase “Renaissance Art” actually refer to? Through engaging discussion of timeless works by artists such as Jan van Eyck, Leonardo da Vinci, and Michelangelo, Tom Nichols offers a masterpiece of his own as he... Read more

Ditched

By: Doug Lucie

Narrated by: Adrian Lukis, Alison Pettitt, Brendan Patricks,...

Length: 1 hour 27 minutes

Abridged: No

Doug Lucie's satirical sequel to 'Hitched' revisits the bride and groom, Emma and Richard, two years after their big day. The honeymoon is well and truly over and wedded bliss hasn't turned out to be, well, blissful. With their relationship at crisis point, Emma returns from America with her young daughter to discover her life isn't the only one... Read more

Shakespeare

By: Ros King

Narrated by: Robert Meldrum

Length: 7 hours 19 minutes

Abridged: No

Whether the fault of tedious teachers or hammy actors, Shakespeare is often seen as dry and impenetrable. In this fast-paced introduction, Ros King sets out to remind us of the sheer beauty and sophistication that can make Shakespeare’s works a joy for any audience. Exploring his invention and wit, along with his uncanny characterisation, King... Read more

Mark Watson's Live Address To The Nation (Complete)

By: Mark Watson

Narrated by: Mark Watson, Tim Key & Tom Basden

Length: 2 hours 48 minutes

Abridged: No

Following on from his hugely successful show Mark Watson Makes the World Substantially Better, Mark Watson's new series reignites his quest to improve the world, nimbly assisted by Tim Key and Tom Basden and with the additional help of the listening audience. Mark asks the big questions that are crucial to our understanding of ourselves and... Read more

Beasts On The Lawn

By: Saki

Narrated by: Full Cast & Pippa Haywood

Length: 1 hour 7 minutes

Abridged: No

Beasts on the Lawn is a collection of Edwardian short stories by Saki (H. H. Munro) recycled and restaged in a modern day gated community for the far too wealthy for their own good. The tales are woven together by the character of Clovis, a security guard. She recalls the events of strange days and long nights. The five stories are: Tobermory,... Read more

But If You Try Sometimes

By: Sarah Daniels

Narrated by: Alex Tregear, Amy Golden, Jelena Budimir & Lesl...

Length: 44 minutes

Abridged: No

Chloe has cerebral palsy and is certain she will lose her adored carer Rose, when Rose falls for an apparently perfect man. First broadcast in BBC Radio 4's Afternoon Drama slot. Starring Lesley Manville as Rose, Amy Golden as Chloe, Alex Tregear as Chloe's voice and Jelena Budimir as Alex. Written by Sarah Daniels. Director: Sally Avens. Read more

Whenever I Get Blown Up I Think of You

By: Molly Naylor

Narrated by: Bryan Dick, James Lailey, Jonathan Forbes, Sam ...

Length: 43 minutes

Abridged: No

How does it feel to have your world blown apart? Molly moves to London full of naive dreams, high hopes and on a quest to make her life just like the movies. Then on 7/7/2005 she finds herself on a tube train blown up by terrorists and her life is forced to take a different direction. Funny, frank and poetic; this is the true story of what... Read more

Legacy Blood On The Mountains (Woman's Hour Drama)

By: Cath Staincliffe

Narrated by: Claire Keelan, Full Cast & William Ash

Length: 1 hour 8 minutes

Abridged: No

In this drama by Cath Staincliffe, probate researchers Dan and Rachel search backwards through the family line to find the true heir and get a slice of the fortune. But their quest leads them to uncover a broken family with a terrible secret. Henry Gaunt has died leaving a sizeable estate but no will. His step-sister can't inherit and there are... Read more

Dewey Eyed

By: Sarah Naomi Lee

Narrated by: Caroline Guthrie, Olivia Colman, Paul Rider & S...

Length: 43 minutes

Abridged: No

Philippa is a librarian from a long line of librarians. When her father dies and her mother loses her wits, Philippa tries the only language Vera understands, that of the Dewey cataloguing system, to guide her back to sanity. Starring Olivia Colman as Philippa, Sheila Reid as Vera, Caroline Guthrie as Sheila and Paul Rider as Alistair. Written... Read more

Rock Of Eye

By: Anita Sullivan

Narrated by: Allan Corduner, Catrin Stewart, Claire Cage, Li...

Length: 43 minutes

Abridged: No

Three elderly tailors - a trouser-maker, a coat-maker and a waistcoat-maker - have been commissioned to make a bespoke suit for an up-and-coming politician. They have worked together for decades but have only met very rarely, although increasingly, these days, at their colleagues' funerals. The suit has been designed by Mrs White, a mysterious... Read more

Rapture Frequency

By: Abbie Spallen

Narrated by: Full Cast & Richard Dormer

Length: 58 minutes

Abridged: No

The Wire is BBC Radio 3's showcase for works that push the boundaries of drama and narrative. In Rapture Frequency, analyst Michael Shorthall is listening to the black box recording of an ill-fated transatlantic flight when he stumbles across an unexpected sound. Interference, white noise, or could it possibly be proof of something more... Read more

The Admirable Crichton

By: J.M. Barrie

Narrated by: Full Cast & Russell Tovey

Length: 56 minutes

Abridged: No

A BBC Radio adaptation of J. M. Barrie's classic satire about the changing fortunes of Crichton, the perfect butler. Liberal aristocrat Lord Loam favours a return to nature, with masters and servants living together as equals, but Crichton is the perfect butler and the perfect snob who adores the intricacies of the class system. He cannot help... Read more

Liver Birds - Anybody Here Seen Thingy

By: Carla Lane & Myra Taylor

Narrated by: Full Cast, Nerys Hughes & Polly James

Length: 1 hour 46 minutes

Abridged: No

These adaptations of four 1974 episodes of the BBC1 comedy series The Liver Birds feature two incompatible Liverpudlian girls, Beryl and Sandra. What they have in common are a tiny flat, boyfriend problems, and a passion for the latest fashion. In the title episode, it's Beryl's birthday, and Sandra is planning a surprise party for her. Among... Read more