Product Description
“Magnificent” (The Sunday Times)—a fascinating portrait of one of the great love affairs of show business and a compelling account of a woman coming into her own

Siân Phillips and Peter O’Toole were one of the theater’s most fabulous couples—a marriage perhaps rivaled only by that of Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor in terms of glamour, power, and public fascination. In her exceptional memoir, Phillips reveals in thoughtful detail their tumultuous life together. She describes the mad and impulsive times with the infamous hellraiser alongside the tempestuous, insecure, and often lonely periods in their marriage. When O’Toole’s career took off with Lawrence of Arabia, Siân found life increasingly difficult in her parallel roles as wife, mother, and actress, and watched as her own career became progressively sidelined. Against all expectations, though, their union endured for twenty years. When it ended, incredibly, even to herself, Siân plunged straight into another marriage, to a much younger man. Ultimately she emerges alone—triumphant and unrepentant—and the story she recounts here ranks alongside the very best in show business.
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Customer Reviews (7)

My favorite celebrity bio
Sian Phillips is a great actress who managed to shine on stage, at the Old Vic or on one stage or another in London's West End but off-stage lived for years in the shadow of Peter O'Toole.

This is a fast read but a cautionary tale. Phillips always accepted second position to the more flamboyant personality of O'Toole and he wouldn't have it any other way. Phillip's finally comes to understand the error of her ways...as O'Toole's wife she was too accommodating, too forgiving and ultimately received none of those considerations in return.

Better than commented on
Having seen her perform in Pal Joey in London and again in My Old Lady in Hollywood, I was quite interested to read her story. I was not disappointed. The book tells HER story, not the story of O'Toole and others. For the lady who wanted gossip, I suggest getting the scandal sheets at your local super market when you check out.

The book covers not only her stage career and O'Toole relationship, but her thoughts and feelings about both and many other aspects over about a 40 year period.It is an intimate commentary on what she was going through from day, week, month and year onward.

For the comment that O'Toole wrote a good book... that is rubbish. He can't hold a candle to her as a writer. His "style" is awful. A poor man's James Joyce! And Joyce was bad enough himself.

I wanted more dirt
If you want to hear droning stories about British theatre life, then this is your baby. However, if you're hoping for some juicy revelations about Peter O'Toole, look someplace else. What a crushing disappointment this is. Sian was married to O'Toole for 20 years and during the height of his world-wide fame. She was with him during his breakthrough role as Lawrence of Arabia, in Becket, Goodbye Mr. Chips, and all his other stellar 60's roles. I expected gobs of gossip on Taylor and Burton, but Sian merely relates Peter's drinking binges with Burton and the fact Kate Hepburn referred to Liz and Richard as "fat pigs."

And what about O'Toole's drinking? As one of the most famous drunk actors of all time, in the league of Lee Marvin, Burton, Oliver Reed and Richard Harris, I expected some fireworks in this area. Forget it. Sian clinically describes Peter's addictions, his out of control lifestyle and racing cars, but it's all told in a desperately dry manner. All very disappointing.

Fascinating!
I loved this book!First of all because I think that Sian Phillips is an amazing actress who is terribly underappreciated -at least in this country. (I can't help but wonder what she would have achieved had Peter O'Toole allowed her to work more often.) I think her book is an honest, insightful picture of what her life was like - being married to a superstar, trying to juggle a career and a family, with less than no support from a husband who felt her only place was in the home - or at his beck and call - all pretty standard views at that time. Certainly the frustration she felt comes through very clearly, as does the turmoil she felt when she had to make the choice whether to stay in the marriage and go on the way they had been, or leave and find her own life.Obviously the success she has had (in Britain, anyway) since the marriage ended would indicate she made the right choice.But the stories of their life and adventures make for a fascinating and enjoyable read.

As for the reviewer who complained that there was nothing about her childhood in Wales - the reason is simple.This is the second part of her autobiography.Her life in Wales and her early days in London - up to the time she met Peter O'Toole - was beautifully told in the first book - "Private Faces" which was never released in this country, but which you can get through amazon.co.uk.It too is a fascinating story, since I doubt very many of us can even imagine what it would be like growing up in a very rural part of Wales.

I can't recommend this book highly enough - if only for more people to discover this amazinglybeautiful and talented woman.

Delicious Stories of an Adventurous Life
I loved reading this book.Sian Phillips took me places I wouldn't dream of venturing.One ride with O'Toole as driver and I would have said, "Enough already!"But she seems to adore a daring life -- and it takes her places.I was thrilled to go along, sinking ever deeper into my armchair.I'm reading to others at a Christmas party for booklovers the sequence that starts with her arrival in Cambodia in a "little girl" Mary Quant outfit that enrages her husband through the Hong Kong roaming in a neighborhood too dangerous for the police to enter. ... Read more

Product Description
Sian Phillips' acting career began at the age of 11 and she has worked with such greats as Dylan Thomas and Richard Burton. This is the story of her early life from childhood in the Welsh countryside to the end of her first marriage, her arrival in London, and falling in love with Peter O'Toole. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Needlepoint fan
This is a wonderful book for the fans of Sian Phillips.She offers some beautiful ideas though no patterns.The book is a great wander through the mind of a great actress and her love of needlepoint. ... Read more

Product Description
A vivid picture of wartime London and Cornwall through the eyes of five cousins.

Behind the large house, the fragrant camomile lawn stretches down to the Cornish cliffs. Here, in the dizzying heat of August 1939, five cousins have gathered at their aunt’s house for their annual ritual of a holiday. For most of them it is the last summer of their youth, with the heady exhilarations and freedoms of lost innocence, as well as the fears of the coming war.

The Camomile Lawn moves from Cornwall to London and back again, over the years, telling the stories of the cousins, their family and their friends, united by shared losses and lovers, by family ties and the absurd conditions imposed by war as their paths cross and recross over the years.
It is an extraordinarily vivid and lively picture of wartime London: the rationing, imaginatively circumvented; the fallen houses; the parties; the new-found comforts of sex; the desperate humour of survival — all of it evoked with warmth, clarity and stunning wit. And through it all, the cousins and their friends try to hold onto the part of themselves that laughed and played dangerous games on that camomile lawn. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Credible portrayal of human relationships impacted by war
My grand aunt recommended Mary Wesley's books to me and I have generally found them to be engaging reads. In "The Camomile Lawn", thestory begins just before the onset of WW II in 1939 England. A middle-aged couple, Helena and Richard are making preparations for their nieces and nephews' arrival at their country estate in Cornwall, the scene of family reunions since summers past. Five cousins gather here - Calypso, Polly, Oliver, Walter, and young Sophie. Oliver, fresh from the Spanish Civil War, finds himself haunted by his experiences, whilst lusting after his cousin Calypso. Calypso declares from the very beginning that she will only marry for money. Polly and Walter are siblings, but very different in character - Walter is unassuming whereas Polly is bold and knows exactly what she wants. She also develops a close relationship with a pair of twin brothers who happen to be next door neighbors.

When war breaks out, the older cousins take off to London - Walter enlists in the Navy, Polly works for the State Department, Oliver enlists in the army, and Calypso finds herself a rich and much older husband. Young Sophie finds herself confused and aimless, and has a number of troubling experiences that affects her emotionally. There are many themes here - adultery, pedophilia, grief, women's lib, and many more that are credibly dealt with. There is also another timeline set in the mid 80s which centers on a funeral, where the surviving members of this family get together and reflect upon the past, filling in the gaps between the two time periods.

This should appeal to those interested in stories focusing on human drama, relationships, and how war affected the way people behaved and wrought significant changes in social mores.

The intensity of life in war-time
The book opens on the very eve of the Second World War, with five cousins on holiday at the Cornish home of their Aunt Helena and Uncle Richard (all upper middle class).Four of them (two young women, two young men) are aged 19 or 20, the fifth is Sophy who is just ten.There are also the twin sons of the local rector, who has also taken in a Jewish refugee couple, Max and Monika, from Austria.The novel traces the lives principally of these eleven characters during the war, much of it set in London.Under the intensity of life in war-time, the young people lose any conventional inhibitions they might possibly have had under other circumstances. (I say `possibly', because uninhibited behaviour had been the mark of certain young socialites in the 1920s). One can hardly keep track of the sexual permutations and combinations between them.Even middle-aged Uncle Richard and Aunt Helena have unorthodox liaisons.It is all rather rackety, and in the first half of the novel one feels the characters are driven more by sensuality than by anything deeper, with emotions only superficially engaged.But in the end they do become more deeply involved emotionally; some psychological complexities then emerge (especially for Helena and Calypso) and the reader's sympathies slowly becomeengaged with them.Most of the story is told as a war-time narrative;but at the end of some chapters we move on forty years or so, when those who are then still alive are converging for Max's funeral and look back on those years; so we learn something about what has happened to them since.

Some of the characters come more alive than others in the book.Especially successful, I think, is the portrait of Uncle Richard, for the most part justavoiding caricature.Calypso, the eldest of the cousins, and Sophy, the youngest, have some personality, as do Max and Monika;several other characters are not rounded out at all.All of them talk in short laconic sentences (the greater part of the book consists of dialogue), and only Richard, Max and Monika have a way of speaking which is in any way distinctive.

There is humour in this book and pathos; it shows that the intensity of war-time life brought its pleasures as well as its sorrows.It is a good read,but I think it lacks the subtlety ofa great novel.

"War makes people fearfully randy!"
Five cousins gather at their Aunt Helena's and Uncle Richard's home on the Cornish coast as they have almost every summer in their relatively short, innocent lives. It is August, 1939, and while war looms, they are very much aware they may never meet again like this, all together, on their aunt's sweet-smelling camomile lawn.

Author Mary Wesley uses the device of two intertwining narratives to tell her tale. The last summer days before WWII merge into life in war torn London and Cornwall, and the plot reflects the changes that take place in all the characters as the conflict and violence impact their lives. This storyline is intertwined with another, set in the mid-1980's, over a period of two days as the surviving members of the group gather for a funeral. The reminiscences of those gathered fill in the interval between the beginning of the war and the present.

"The Camomile Lawn" is a well written, intricate soap opera, of sorts, which illustrates how the uncertainty of war and the heightened sense of one's mortality allow for unconventional behavior and impact the social mores of the times...sort of a "live each day as if it were the last" philosophy. I enjoyed the novel, especially the well drawn characters and highly recommend it.
JANA

Enjoyable
My very first Mary Wesley and I enjoyed it very much. The characters are somewhat unorthodox but I feel that it adds to the flavour of the book.It was a fun read and I certainly plan to read more of Mary Wesley.Highly recommended.

An Underdeveloped Novel
In August 1939, shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War, five cousins come to spend the summer holidays with their uncle and aunt in Cornwall. (The title refers to the lawn in front of the house, which later becomes a symbol of their carefree pre-war youth). The novel then follows the changing fortunes of these five, of their Uncle Richard and Aunt Helena, of Max and Monika, an Austrian Jewish refugee couple, of the local Rector and his wife and of their twin sons, through the war. Intercut with the wartime scenes are scenes set in the 1980s, at Max's funeral, when his surviving friends and acquaintances meet to reveal what has happened to them during the intervening years.

The above synopsis might suggest that this is a lengthy novel; in fact, it is quite a short one (in my edition only 330 pages), and in my view it is the shortness of the novel which is its major problem. Miss Wesley has set herself the task of telling the stories of a large group of people, but has not allowed herself adequate space in which to perform that task. As a result, the complex story is told in insufficient detail, which means that the characters fail to come alive.

The major theme of the novel is the challenge posed to conventional ideas of morality by the changed conditions of wartime. (Most of the characters either form adulterous liaisons or indulge in casual promiscuity). This theme could have been an interesting one, but unfortunately the characters are under-developed and lack any sense of an inner life. It is therefore difficult to understand their motivation or the reasons for their behaviour, and the oportunity to develop this major theme is lost. Most of the main characters, in fact, simply come across as self-centred and lacking in feeling. Even those described as being in love are frequently unfaithful to each other. This would not matter if Miss Wesley's aim had been to create a portrait of a cold, selfish group of people, but I was left with the strong impression that she wanted to make many of them sympathetic or attractively unconventional and failed to do so. This is not a book I could recommend.

I noticed a few factual errors in the book. I will not go through them all, but I must say that, contrary to what Miss Wesley states, the conductor Wilhelm Furtwangler was not "very pro-Hitler". ... Read more

Product Description
High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The Other Man is a British television drama written by Giles Cooper and directed by Gordon Flemyng, starring Michael Caine, Siân Phillips and John Thaw. It was made by Granada for the ITV network, and broadcast on 7 September 1964. Prior to transmission, the nature of the storyline was not publicised, the only hint being the cover of that week's TV Times, which showed the image of a British passport, but with the addition of a Swastika and the German phrase "Deutsches Reich." Running in two parts from 20:00 to 20:50 and 21:05 to 22:35, with a news broadcast in between, The Other Man was at the time the longest single drama broadcast by ITV. It had a cast of over 200, including extras and 60 speaking parts. ... Read more

Product Description
Chapters: Richard Burton, Anthony Hopkins, Ivor Novello, Jonathan Pryce, Glynis Johns, Emlyn Williams, Siân Phillips, Lloyd Owen, Michael Sheen, Mark Lewis Jones, Daniel Evans, Rhys Ifans, Shaheen Jafargholi, Rachel Roberts, Eve Myles, Gareth David-Lloyd, Ivor Emmanuel, Stanley Baker, Roger Rees, Matthew Rhys, Hugh Griffith, Ray Smith, Amanda Hale, Gareth Hughes, Joanna Page, Lyn Harding, Keith Baxter, Diana Morgan, Sue Jones-Davies, Clifford Williams, Jynine James, Nia Roberts, Gareth Thomas, Iwan Rheon, Laura Rogers, Mark Donovan, Dyfan Dwyfor, Robert East, Aimee-Ffion Edwards, Tony Adams, Leon Pownall, Ella Smith, Sian Thomas, Kezia Burrows, Ivor Barry, Anthony O'donnell, Peter Penry-Jones. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 221. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Richard Burton, CBE (10 November 1925 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. He was nominated seven times for an Academy Award (without success) and was at one time the highest-paid actor in Hollywood. He remains closely associated in the public consciousness with his second wife, actress Elizabeth Taylor; the couple's turbulent relationship was rarely out of the news. Richard Burton was born Richard Walter Jenkins in the village of Pontrhydyfen, near Port Talbot in Wales. He grew up in a working-class, Welsh-speaking household, the twelfth of thirteen children. His father, Richard Walter Jenkins, was a short, robust coal miner, a twelve-pints a-day man who sometimes went off on drinking and gambling sprees for weeks. Burton later claimed, by family telling, that He looked very much like me...That is, he was pockmarked, devious, and smiled a great deal when he was in trouble. He was, also, a man of extraordinary eloquence, tremendous passion, great violence. Burton was less than two years old in 1927 when his mother, Edith Maude...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=45967 ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document, covering the life and work of Sian Phillips, is an entry from Contemporary Authors, a reference volume published by Thompson Gale. The length of the entry is 3478 words. The page length listed above is based on a typical 300-word page. Although the exact content of each entry from this volume can vary, typical entries include the following information:

• Place and date of birth and death (if deceased)
• Family members
• Education
• Professional associations and honors
• Employment
• Writings, including books and periodicals
• A description of the author's work
• References to further readings about the author

Product Description
A quiet lonely child spending her holidays by the sea is changed by an inexplicable link with people and events of one hundred years ago and also by the very real and lively family next door. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Amusing, wonderfully written
The story is about a girl, Maria, on a summer holiday with her parents. (I don't remember this place she went to, I read this some time ago) At this place she went to for her holiday, she met a boy who is like Maria in a way he enjoys his privacy, but he also is comfortable with his hectic life with his family. The other part of the story is that she finds out about a girl, Harriet, who lived (I'm not sure about this) about 100 years ago, who started an elaborate sampler... but never finished it. And Maria wants to find out why.

I don't know, the humour was kind of that which wasn't immediately seen... the story had beautiful descriptions and interesting thoughts from Maria. Part of the story was how Maria's parents were in response to Maria's friendship with the boy (can't remember his name) and his family, and I thought this was pretty interesting. One review on the back of the book described the story as 'haunting', and in a way it is.

Anyway, I think if you don't mind reading a lot, if you don't mind entering the thoughts of a young girl (11 years old)... you might like this. =) ... Read more

Product Description
Lily-Josephine had a talent for love.Wilful, enchanting and passionate, she was the centre of a charmed universe - until her father married again.Onesummer evening, in 1941, Lily ran from her jealous stepmother.She escaped to find sanctuary but, in Randalls, she discovered a love far greater than any she had ever known. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

romance that keeps you guessing
brought this one on vacation for some light reading and couldn't put it down - just had to know what would happen next. mystery, romance, family & betrayal - a great read.

A true contender for Cinderella's fairytale...
"Lily Josephine" is a dazzling and beautiful piece of work, delicately woven together by the brilliant story teller that Kate Saunders is.

As transfixing as she sounds, Lily Josephine was named after thestory of Joseph in the Bible and the faces of the Lilies on the River Nilethat would turn their faces up to Joseph as if he were the sun... Centralising around this intoxicating character forms a story of the livesLily-Jospehine affected when she was alive and the generations shecontinued to influence long after her untimely death.I loved this story;for the passion it stirred in me, the betrayal it cast upon me, the angerit found in me and the wonder it awoke in me.In every quite minute Icould find, I dove into the pages of Kate Saunders masterpiece and lostmyself in Lily's world of love and intrigue.

This book is a rare find...asweeping tale of passion, betrayal, destiny and what becomes of those whotruly do follow their hearts.An enthralling read for a quiet day, a mostloyal companion to your cup of something and a saga that will mostcertainly leave your mind and heart aching for more.

As I said, it reallyis a contender for Cinderella's fairytale...

A true contender for Cinderella's fairytale...
"Lily Josephine" is a dazzling and beautiful piece of work, delicately woven together by the brilliant story teller that Kate Saunders is.

As transfixing as she sounds, Lily Josephine was named after thestory of Joseph in the Bible and the faces of the Lilies on the River Nilethat would turn their faces up to Joseph as if he were the sun... Centralising around this intoxicating character forms a story of the livesLily-Jospehine affected when she was alive and the generations shecontinued to influence long after her untimely death.I loved this story;for the passion it stirred in me, the betrayal it cast upon me, the angerit found in me and the wonder it awoke in me.In every quite minute Icould find, I dove into the pages of Kate Saunders masterpiece and lostmyself in Lily's world of love and intrigue.

This book is a rare find...asweeping tale of passion, betrayal, destiny and what becomes of those whotruly do follow their hearts.An enthralling read for a quiet day, a mostloyal companion to your cup of something and a saga that will mostcertainly leave your mind and heart aching for more.

As I said, it reallyis a contender for Cinderella's fairytale... ... Read more

Product Description
After stating his intention to marry the shy Lady Hester Theale, handsome Sir Gareth Ludlow arrives at the Theale estate with a runaway schoolgirl in tow--a young woman who will show Hester how to win Ludlow's elusive heart. Reprint. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (22)

Gary tries to help a capable but clueless, lying, runaway teenager.Frustrating first half.Very enjoyable last third.
STORY BRIEF:
17 year old Amanda runs away from home because her grandfather won't let her marry Neil.Gary (who is 35) happens to see her at an inn and fears bad things may happen to her traveling alone like that.He is a good Samaritan who wants to keep her safe and return her to her home.She won't tell him her name, but Gary thinks he could locate Neil if they go to London.Amanda then sneaks away from Gary.Gary goes to great lengths, searching for Amanda, again to help her.

Amanda is fearless when she shouldn't be.She has good survival instincts.She is great at making up lies on the spot.Gary is the only one who doesn't believe her lies.Throughout the story Amanda's lies create predicaments for everyone she interacts with.

Gary's fiancé died seven years earlier, and he believes he will never love again.He offered to marry Hester a friend of his who is shy, quiet, and sensible.She rejected his offer.We don't know why.

REVIEWER'S OPINION:
For more than half the book I immensely disliked Amanda.I knew the feeling when I read two other reviewers who said they wanted "to smack Amanda right in the mouth."I did not enjoy her lies.The minute Gary gets her to safety she will just run away again.I had no sympathy for her, and I couldn't believe Gary would spend so much time and money trying to help her.She didn't want his help, and she caused problems for him.Throughout the book Gary's reaction to her was of amusement.I did not feel amusement, but maybe that's my own jadedness problem.So I didn't like the first half (or more).But the last part was very enjoyable, and I didn't want to stop reading/listening.Because of Amanda's lies and other situations, Gary and others went along with her lies and pretended to be something they weren't.Seeing Gary and others act out these parts was entertaining.And the ending was lovely.

I wish that more conversation happened with a particular couple toward the end.They had a friendly and caring relationship, and then all of a sudden he says I love you will you marry me.She says yes.But I didn't get any explanation.It was too sudden.I wanted to see their feelings develop for each other.That was missing.

Because I was doing the audiobook, I found it helpful to print the list of characters from the website heyerlist org under Who's Who.Although, there is a minor spoiler in the Hildebrand Ross description, so don't read that paragraph in advance of the book.

DATA:
Unabridged audiobook length: 10 hours.Narrator: Sian Phillips.Swearing language: none.Sexual content: none.Setting: probably early 1800s England.Copyright: 1956.Genre: historical romance.

Sprig Muslin - Great Book!4.5 Stars!
Warning: Slight Spoiler at the End....

This story was awesome! It was laugh out loud funny, and it has you wondering how it will turn out, but rooting for it to turn out a different way, and then, It does!

Everyone gets who they should; and you are so very happy for everyone involved.

**spoiler alert**

It did leave me wanting more history between Lady Hester and Gareth. How had she come to have such a regard for him? Had she felt this way since his first marriage? How much had she really known him? Her story should be told! I would have loved to have read THAT story. I felt like I had missed something...

It deserves a 4.5 stars!

Heyer does it again
I had read this one some time ago but with Heyer you can read again and again and never grow tired ot it.Her characters are timeless and unique.I wish I could write half as well.

Good, but not Heyer's best.Spoiler alert.
This book was well written enough to make me want to buy another of Heyer's books, but I had a couple of issues with it regardless.
SPOILER ALERT
1.Sir Gareth was a very likable character.However, the character of Amanda I found to be so annoying that by the end of the novel I was seriously wishing it had been Amanda that got accidentally shot in the faux highway hold-up. Too many chapters were wasted on her selfish exploits and not enough paper devoted to Hester's character.

2.Because of so much focus on annoying Amanda, and almost no text devoted to any romance between Sir Gareth and Hester, it made it very unbelievable that they had fallen in love at the end of the novel. I wish Heyer had spent at least a chapter or two developing the romance between these two characters so that the ending could have been more believable instead of feeling like she was just tying up loose ends.

very good!
This is one of my favourite Heyer books.I loved that I didn't have to sit through boring accounts of balls or assemblies etc etc. It was a good story line, always on the move.Not only that but it was funny and entertaining.I would have loved to see a bit more of the romance between the main characters.However, with Heyer I've come to see that she's very subtle where romance is concerned.
Definitely if you're trying to decide which Heyer novel to read first, try this one. ... Read more

Product Description
Having enjoyed good health throughout her career, Miss Read is dismayed when she is taken ill.She had no wish to give up her post yet but is it time to say farewell to Fairacre? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Happy with Farewell
I loved this book it tied everything and everyone in and the feeling that the characters are real never ended.

Farewell to Fairacre
All of Miss Read's books are a pleasure to read.I have collected all of them.In an uncertain and dangerous world, her books give respite and peace for a time.

Excellent series
This is a wonderful, old-fashioned series. She is no longer writing, but the Fairacre and Thrush Green books are well worth checking out and she was a very prolific writer, so you will have a lot of good reading.If you enjoy Jan Karon or Janette Oke, you will enjoy Miss Read's books. ... Read more

Product Description
Collected for the first time in book form, this treasury of forty stories chronicles the life of a village schoolteacher in the Berkshires in England and captures the scenes and nuances of village school life. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Jan Karon fans Rejoyce
"The perfect series for fans of Jan Karon's Mitford books.Miss Read lives in England and even provides a map for the quaint little town where her characters live. If the word charming is a plus, then this series is a must read."

Another 10 star read !
Having a bad day?This is the book for you!Miss Read will take you away from all your cares and woes, into another life, where the characters are charming, eccentric or curmudgeonly in their turn,yet always diverting and entertaining. While Miss Read's world is not without trials and tribulations, as life goes, all comes out right in the end. Treat yourself to a visit to a place where your cares are behind you, along with a cuppa ! !

"Enchanting"!
I abosolutley enjoyed this book as much as I have enjoyed all Miss Read'sbooks. There is a calming and peaceful effect this book has on readers.This book makes you feel good and wish you could live in Thrush Greenforever! ... Read more

Product Description
Miss Marple, Agatha Christie's deceptively mild spinster sleuth, is being treated to a few days' holiday by her niece, staying at Bertram's Hotel, a dignified, unostentatious establishment tucked away in a back street of busy Mayfair. Here is a place where sedate upper class ladies, retired military gentlemen and the higher echelons of the clergy can indulge in the comforts of a bygone age. But Miss Marple begins to feel uneasy. Something sinister lurks beneath the polished veneer. Why are so many major crimes associated in some way with the hotel or somehow implicate eminently respectable people staying there? June Whitfield stars as Miss Marple in this BBC Radio 4 dramatization of a classic brain-teaser from the Queen of Crime. ... Read more

Product Description
A pack of two audio cassettes. The first story features Oliver, a fluffy new owl. His parents are very proud of him but when he is a few weeks old he develops a problem, he begins to snore. The second story is about a cheerful dinosaur who comes knocking at the door, asking for a guided tour. ... Read more

Product Description
This stunning release includes the highly acclaimed re-make of Dylan's definitive play, "Under Milk Wood" with Richard Burton and Sian Phillips as the first and second voices. Dylan Thomas's lyrical masterpiece traces the lives of a group of villagers in a tiny Welsh seaport. With words good enough to eat, "Dylan Thomas" portrays their innermost thoughts from fantastic dreamworlds to waking lives full of a riotous mix of prudery and bawdiness. Also included is "Dylan Thomas at the BBC", the "BBC Archives" contain a wealth of material featuring Dylan Thomas - not only readings of his own work, but also dramatic readings of other work such as Dr Faustus. These, together with interviews with the poet, form a fascinating audio portrait of a brilliant man. Released to coincide with the 50th anniversary since "Under Milk Wood" won the Prix Italia and the 90th anniversary of Dylan Thomas's birth. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Only 2 CDs of 8CDs have Dylan's Voice
It has been very difficult to find details on the contents of this 8 CD set, so here is some information, followed by my comments:

"This eight CD collection features the highly acclaimed re-make of Dylan Thomas's definitive play, Under Milk Wood with Richard Burton and Siân Phillips as the first and second voices. The set also includes Dylan Thomas at the BBC, featuring a wealth of Thomas material from the BBC Archives - reading his own work as well as dramatic interpretations of other writings. Chelsea Dreaming takes a look at the enigmatic poet through the eyes of the eponymous Chelsea Hotel in New York where Dylan died and many other artistic talents raised various kinds of hell.

Two brand-new recordings finish the set: Badgers in my Vest and Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog were originally broadcast in 2003 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Thomas's death and shine very different lights on the author. Badgers in my Vest is new play by John Fletcher based on a true incident in Thomas's life; while Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog features five popular short stories by Thomas, read by celebrated Welsh actors."

In this set, only two CDs include Dylan's voice, and these are separately issued as a 2CD set titled "Dylan Thomas at the BBC".

The 2CDs of Under Milk Wood are also separately issued, and feature Richard Burton's voice (from an earlier recording) "pasted" into a new cast recording, a well done digital recreation. No Dylan here, but Burton is great.

The remaining 4 CDs are only of secondary interest, if it is Dylan's voice that interests you. Both are readily available on separate 2CD sets, and just reissued again in the UK.

The combined price of all four 2CD sets is very reasonable, and there is no sense in paying high prices by dealers who tell you this is out of print. The four 2CD sets actually are identical. The only essential parts are the Dylan Thomas at the BBC and perhaps the recreation of Under Milk Wood

... Read more

Product Description
A new novel from the author of ACROSS THE COMMON,in which a middle-aged divorcee inherits a house in the Welsh village where she grew up and so decides to start afresh and rebuild her life by renewing old friendships, making new ones and re-examining her relationships with her mother and daughter. ... Read more

Product Description
A family divided by a feud gathers to celebrate a child's 10th birthday. As they assemble in London from France and Dorset, the unthinkable occurs, and two older members of the family fall passionately in love. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

not crazy about this book...
over-written with adjectives...and has some preachy paragraphs inserted here and there as if by an all-seeing being that don't quite fit, and also the premise of the two grandparents from opposite sides of family seemingly falling head over in heels in love in an instant, years after initially meeting, is very hard to swallow...and their conversations verge on the sickeningly sweet...sorry, i wanted to like this book as i liked another by same author, but just did not...

A light-hearted,fun & entertaining novel about family tensio
This novel follows the paths of a family full of underlying tension because of marital disharmony, and infidelity. The novel centres around an illicit relationship which evolves between the parents of the quarellingcouple.Fun,humourous but also sensitive,the book leaves you immediatelysearching for other Lambert novels. ... Read more

Product Description
Set in the valleys, towns and coastal villages of Wales, this is a collection of 18 short stories giving an intimate glimpse into Welsh life. ... Read more