William Boyd: A BBC Radio Drama Collection
A Good Man in Africa, An Ice Cream War, Restless and More
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By:
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William Boyd
About this listen
A collection of BBC dramatisations and readings of William Boyd's award-winning novels and short stories.
One of Britain's foremost contemporary writers, William Boyd is renowned worldwide for his bestselling novels, which have been translated into over 30 languages. He has won numerous awards, including the Somerset Maugham Award (for A Good Man in Africa), the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize (for An Ice-Cream War) and the Costa Book Award (for Restless).
Collected here are the BBC radio productions of all three acclaimed books. Starring Alan Rickman, Alison Steadman and Bill Patterson, A Good Man in Africa tells the satirical story of a buffoonish diplomat's struggles in a fictional West African country. In the espionage thriller Restless, it is 1976, and Ruth discovers that her very English mother, Sally, is in fact a Russian emigré and former British spy. Eileen Atkins stars as Sally, with Fenella Woolgar as Ruth. And in An Ice-Cream War, as millions face slaughter on the Western Front, British and German colonists in East Africa try to emulate their European counterparts. Nickolas Grace and William Hootkins star in this darkly comic drama.
Also included are dramatisations of three of Boyd's superb short stories. 'On the Yankee Station' is a gripping tale of revenge on an American aircraft carrier; 'The Destiny of Nathalie X' features an African filmmaker's encounter with Hollywood and its grotesque inhabitants; and in the eerie 'A Haunting', a landscape architect finds himself taken over by an unseen presence. Peter Whitman, Keith Edwards, John Sessions and Maynard Eziashi are among the star casts.
We conclude with five further stories, read by Ben Miles, Jonathan Firth, Bill Nighy, Niamh Cusack and Tom Goodman-Hill. 'Adult Video' features an Oxford post-graduate who 'rewinds', 'fast forwards' and 'plays' through his life; 'Varengeville' sees a young boy go exploring and meet a painter - as his mother entertains her 'friend'; 'Lunch' reveals a diner's eventful days through his restaurant receipts and pithy comments; 'Fantasia on a Favourite Waltz' centres around a prostitute's encounter with a talented young pianist; and 'The Pigeon' takes us into the world of a sickly author facing romantic betrayal and family fissures.
Cast and credits:
Written by William Boyd
Text copyright © William Boyd 1981 (A Good Man in Africa, 'On the Yankee Station'), 1982 (An Ice Cream War), 1995 ('The Destiny of Nathalie X'), 1998 ('Varengeville'), 2000 ('A Haunting'), 2004 ('Adult Video', 'Lunch', 'Fantasia on a Favourite Waltz', 'The Pigeon'), 2006 (Restless)
A Good Man in Africa
Dramatised by Stephen Davis
Directed by Richard Wortley
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 18 March 1985
Restless
Dramatised by Melissa Murray
Directed by Marc Beeby
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 6-17 April 2009
An Ice Cream War
Dramatised by John Peacock
Directed by Eoin O'Callaghan
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 19 May-16 June 1994
'On the Yankee Station'
Adapted by William Boyd
Directed by Richard Wortley
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 9 May 1985
'The Destiny of Nathalie X'
Directed by Dave Batchelor
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 20 November 1998
'A Haunting'
Directed by Dave Batchelor
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 28 December 2001
William Boyd - Fascination
Abridged by Neville Teller
Produced by Duncan Minshull
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 15-19 November 2004
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When mystery author D. B. Ziegler is late delivering her book, Abi Schore steps in to help. Surely she can give her favorite author moral support over the holiday break and get the manuscript to her boss at Tea & Sympathy Publishing in time for the new year. When Abi shows up on Ms. Ziegler’s doorstep bearing holiday treats, she’s met by the author’s handsome grandson Dov, who reveals a startling plot twist. His grandmother isn’t able to finish the book and Dov promised he’d complete it so fans won’t be disappointed—a task that’s harder than he ever imagined.
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What a gem!
- By Joanna N. on 11-14-24
By: Liz Maverick
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The Art of War
- By: Sun Tzu
- Narrated by: Aidan Gillen
- Length: 1 hr and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The 13 chapters of The Art of War, each devoted to one aspect of warfare, were compiled by the high-ranking Chinese military general, strategist, and philosopher Sun-Tzu. In spite of its battlefield specificity, The Art of War has found new life in the modern age, with leaders in fields as wide and far-reaching as world politics, human psychology, and corporate strategy finding valuable insight in its timeworn words.
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The actual book The Art of War, not a commentary
- By Nemo71 on 12-31-19
By: Sun Tzu
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He's Gone
- By: Rebecca Collomosse
- Narrated by: Victoria Blunt, Cicely Whitehead, Joe Eyre
- Length: 10 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
My fiancé brought me tea and scrambled eggs in bed that morning, and we snuggled together, talking about buying our rings, and about our perfect wedding next year. Then we headed into town. He held my hand and gazed at the ring I liked best, a smile spreading slowly over his face. Then a glass of bubbly to celebrate. I felt flushed, excited and ready for the rest of my life with the man I loved. We race to get on the train home. It screams to a halt and I run towards its open doors. Made it. I think he’s right behind me — but when I turn around, he’s gone.
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Disappointing plot
- By TerriSweeta on 12-04-24
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Mr. and Mrs. Christmas
- By: Michelle Stimpson
- Narrated by: Marcella Cox, Ian Hackney
- Length: 7 hrs and 28 mins
- Original Recording
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Overall
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Story
There's no place like home for the holidays ... especially for Lesley Carver. Life in the big city just wasn't her jam and now she's back in Hickory Falls, working at the family diner and helping her mom after she took a tumble. Lesley longs to build a life here, working at the cafe, selling her handmade ornaments and ... er, apparently reviving her high school crush on her best friend’s older brother. Only one problem, her mom wants her to leave Hickory Falls far behind.
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Loved the book!
- By Amazon Customer on 11-15-24
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Holiday Hideaway
- A Short Story
- By: Mary Kay Andrews
- Narrated by: Eva Kaminsky
- Length: 1 hr and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Tilly Farriday isn’t feeling very jolly this season. Recently divorced and broke, she’s squatting in one of her rental agency’s properties until her new home is ready. The sprinkles on top of the burnt Christmas cookie that is her life? The new owner shows up early, forcing Tilly to hide in the attic to save her job…and what remains of her dignity.
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I ain’t afraid of no ghosts
- By 🔥 Phx17 🔥 on 10-31-24
By: Mary Kay Andrews
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Dead Med
- By: Freida McFadden
- Narrated by: Patricia Santomasso, Scott Merriman
- Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
When Heather McKinley dreamed of becoming a doctor, she imagined curing sick kids and sporting pink stethoscopes. She never anticipated the sleepless nights, grueling exams, and endless labs. And she certainly never knew that her medical school earned the nickname Dead Med thanks to the tragic history of students overdosing on illegal drugs. But Heather would never consider doing anything like that. That is, until her longtime boyfriend dumps her, she finds herself failing anatomy, and her world starts to crumble.
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Hmm
- By Morgan Meaux on 08-22-24
By: Freida McFadden
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Dracula [Audible Edition]
- By: Bram Stoker
- Narrated by: Alan Cumming, Tim Curry, Simon Vance, and others
- Length: 15 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The modern audience hasn't had a chance to truly appreciate the unknowing dread that readers would have felt when reading Bram Stoker's original 1897 manuscript. Most modern productions employ campiness or sound effects to try to bring back that gothic tension, but we've tried something different. By returning to Stoker's original storytelling structure - a series of letters and journal entries voiced by Jonathan Harker, Dr. Van Helsing, and other characters - with an all-star cast of narrators, we've sought to recapture its originally intended horror and power.
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IS THAT NOT SO?
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 11-05-15
By: Bram Stoker
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Brain Damage
- By: Freida McFadden
- Narrated by: Megan Tusing
- Length: 9 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
As Charly struggles to recover from her brain injury, she begins to realize that the events of that fateful night are trapped in the damaged right side of her brain. Now, she must put the jigsaw pieces together to discover the identity of the man who tried to kill her...before he finishes the job he started.
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Who Else Laughed, Cried, and Shuddered?
- By Jennifer Chichester on 09-16-22
By: Freida McFadden
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Say No More
- By: Caroline Overington
- Narrated by: Anna Skellern
- Length: 5 hrs and 47 mins
- Original Recording
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Who is Audrey Hoedemaker? It's a question her sister Maureen has heard more times than she can count, and she doesn't know what the short answer would be. Little sister, troubled teen, backpacker, musical theatre coach, con artist, childcare worker. Murderer. A tragic, traumatic childhood casts a long shadow on the Hoedemaker sisters. Maureen has worked hard to move beyond the violence of the past and build a good, honest life for herself. Audrey, however, just can't seem to do the same, careening from one state of chaos to another.
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Great Characterization
- By dovermoyer on 12-14-24
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Major Brendan Archer travels to Ireland - to the Majestic Hotel and to the fiancée he acquired on a rash afternoon's leave three years ago. Despite her many letters, the lady herself proves elusive, and the Major's engagement is short-lived. But he is unable to detach himself from the alluring discomforts of the crumbling hotel. Ensconced in the dim and shabby splendour of the Palm Court, surrounded by gently decaying old ladies and proliferating cats, the Major passes the summer.
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Absolutely delightful read
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Patrick Hamilton: Rope, Gaslight, Hangover Square and More
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Patrick Hamilton is renowned for his gritty, slice-of-life tales chronicling the hopes, dreams and obsessions of London's working class in the inter-war years. This collection brings together his key pieces, together with some lesser-known classics and a bonus 2004 documentary exploring his achievements and legacy.
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Alan Rickman
- By Aidan O'Reilly on 08-22-23
By: Patrick Hamilton
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Waiting for Sunrise
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- By: William Boyd
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Lysander Rief, a young English actor in town seeking psychotherapy for a troubling ailment of a sexual nature, becomes caught up in a feverish affair with a beautiful, enigmatic woman. When she goes to the police to press charges of rape, however, he is stunned, and his few months of passion come to an abrupt end. Only a carefully plotted escape - with the help of two mysterious British diplomats - saves him from trial. But the frenzied getaway sets off a chain of events that steadily dismantles Lysander's life as he knows it.
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No need to wait.
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Classic Dystopias: A BBC Radio Drama Collection
- The Time Machine, We, The Trial, Brave New World, Nineteen Eighty-Four, The Chrysalids
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Full-cast dramatisations of six masterpieces from the founding fathers of dystopian fiction. Dark and disturbing, provocative and prescient, dystopian literature has long captured our imagination with its nightmarish visions of forbidding future worlds. Included here are six classic novels of time-travel, totalitarianism and terror, written by some of the masters of speculative fiction and adapted for radio with all-star casts.
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The BBC DRAMA NEVER FAILS
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From the award-winning, internationally best-selling author, a beguiling romp of a novel, at once intimate and panoramic, about the adventures and misadventures of a nineteenth-century everyman.
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Read the Author's Note first, not in the audiobook
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