Showing results by narrator "Robert Hardy" in All Categories

Dark secrets, blackmail and murder: it’s another classic case for the world’s most famous detective. When a young woman must be rescued from a ruthless blackmailer, Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson find themselves pulled dangerously close to being on the wrong side of the law.... Based on real events, this lively short is brought vividly to life by Robert Hardy, known to many for playing Cornelius Fudge in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

William Collins Books and Decca Records are proud to present Argo Classics, a historic catalogue of classic fiction read by some of the world’s most renowned voices. Originally released as vinyl records, these expertly abridged and remastered stories are now available to download for the first time. The basis of modern science fiction and fantasy dinosaur adventures, The Lost World is Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's journey into the lost prehistoric world.

Is the world’s most famous detective on his deathbed? When Dr Watson finds Sherlock Holmes wasting away from a rare tropical disease, he must act fast if he is to save the life of his best friend. Sherlock Holmes, of course, may well have one more trick up his sleeve....

Whilst the retired Art Supplier Josiah Amberley was at the theatre, his wife ran away with a young man and a good deal of their money. Amberley wants Holmes to track her down, but the latter is too busy and sends Watson in his stead. But it soon turns out that Holmes is not the only one who has been asked to solve this case. Arthur Conan Doyle’s atmospheric short story is brought vividly to life by Robert Hardy.

Reginald Musgrave, a school friend of Holmes, saw his butler searching through private family papers. Then, Butler Brunton got caught red-handed with an ancestral ritual of the Musgraves as well. The ritual seemed worthless to the family but Brunton was determined to decipher it. A few days after Brunton disappeared. Arthur Conan Doyle’s gripping short story is brought vividly to life by Robert Hardy.

An army colonel is found dead in a pool of blood, his wife out cold beside him. The room is locked; the key missing. It’s another classic case for Sherlock Holmes to crack, with secrets to untangle and dark pasts to unearth. Robert Hardy, known to many for playing Cornelius Fudge in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, is the expert reader bringing this thrilling story to vivid life.

A horse trainer fears his master, Sir Robert Nortberton, has gone mad, and comes to Sherlock Holmes for help. Holmes and Watson swiftly discover that a horrible secret lurks in the shadows of Shoscombe. The last of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes short stories is brought vividly to life by Robert Hardy, known to many for playing Cornelius Fudge in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

When the elderly Nathaniel Garridebs asks for the assistance of Holmes and Watson in tracking down a man with the same unusual surname in order to secure a great inheritance, what looks to be a simple case quickly descends into a web of mystery and deceit. Robert Hardy, known to many for playing Cornelius Fudge in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, is the expert reader bringing this thrilling story to vivid life.

A clerk named Hall Pycroft approaches Holmes and Watson to voice his suspicions over a company that has offered him a strangely well-paid job. The pair must leave their normal London surroundings and travel North to investigate the strange hardware company in Birmingham. Robert Hardy, known to many for playing Cornelius Fudge in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, brings to life one of Sherlock Holmes’ most popular adventures.

This story is perhaps best known as the first time we meet Mycroft, Inspector Holmes’ older brother. Mycroft’s neighbour, Mr Meles, has sought his help, after being asked to act as interpreter for a sinister series of events. It is up to Sherlock to solve the case for Mycroft and the mysterious Mr Meles. Robert Hardy, known to many for playing Cornelius Fudge in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, is the expert reader bringing this thrilling story to vivid life.

Frédéric François Chopin, in Polish Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin was a Polish composer, virtuoso pianist, and music teacher, of French-Polish parentage. Here is the story of Chopin, one of the world's greatest composers, in words and music.

This incisive satire has never lost its sting, whether the work of an embittered mind or a profound comment on the Age of Reason and Nature, there is all the fascination of distorting mirrors in Swift's accounts of Lilliput and Brogdingnag, and far more than mere spleen in the way he lashes human passions and institutions.

Blenheim Palace was built to reward and celebrate the achievements of John Churchill, the first Duke of Marlborough, who won a hugely significant victory against the armies of France and Bavaria on 13 August, 1704. The battle took place near Blindheim, or Blenheim, a little village on the north bank of the Danube, in Bavaria.

A ruthlessly ambitious Scottish lord siezes the throne with the help of his scheming wife - and a trio of witches. Anthony Quayle, Robert Hardy, Ian Holm, Stanley Holloway, and Jill Balcon star in an unabridged performance of Shakespeare's Macbeth.

Beasts Royal is the second book written by Patrick O'Brian - made available, at last, for the first time since the 1930s. Published when Patrick O'Brian was just 19, this is the enchanting, often bloodthirsty collection of 12 tales of animal adventure that would be published in 1934 as the author's second book. His first, Caesar, had been published in 1930 and was an instant success, seeing O'Brian hailed as the ‘boy-Thoreau'.

Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, known as Colette, was a French author and woman of letters. She was also a mime, actress, and journalist. Colette is best known in the English-speaking world for her 1944 novella Gigi, which was the basis for the 1958 film and the 1973 stage production of the same name. Gigi became a celebrated stage musical and film; the stage production made a star of Audrey Hepburn, who was personally chosen by Colette for the role, and a dramatized adaptation is the centrepiece of this collection.