Home
/
Fiction
/
The Goon Show Compendium Volume One: Series 5, Part 1
The Goon Show Compendium Volume One: Series 5, Part 1
Aug 16, 2025 9:55 PM

Author:Spike Milligan,Spike Milligan,Harry Secombe,Peter Sellers

The Goon Show Compendium Volume One: Series 5, Part 1

Immensely popular and hugely influential, legendary series The Goon Show changed the face of British comedy.

This first compendium presents the episodes in chronological order of original broadcast date. This volume includes: 'The Whistling Spy Enigma', 'The Lost Gold Mine (of Charlotte)', 'The Dreaded Batter Pudding Hurler (of Bexhill-on-Sea)', 'The Phantom Head Shaver (of Brighton)', 'The Affair of the Lone Banana', 'The Canal', 'Lurgi Strikes Britain!' (aka 'Lurgi Strikes Again'), 'The Mystery of the Marie Celeste (Solved)', 'The Last Tram (from Clapham)', 'The Booted Gorilla (Found?)', 'The Spanish Suitcase', 'Dishonoured' (aka 'The Fall of Neddie Seagoon'), and 'Forog'.

Also featured are some rare archive bonus items, including out-takes, the program Me and My Shadows: Peter Sellers and a PDF booklet of the bonus content which came with the original CD edition. Remastered using new material and the latest technology to give the best possible sound quality, these recordings are sure to appeal to all collectors of The Goon Show.

The Goons is a classic comedy which reflects the broadcast standards, language and attitudes of its time.

©2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Reviews

A marvellously creepy thrill ride of a book that keeps twisting until the very end

—— Karen M. McManus, internationally bestselling author of One of Us Is Lying

There is nothing creepier than an abandoned amusement park, especially when Kiersten White is writing about it. Each character is astonishingly real and the pacing is spot-on. This book held me captive, I couldn't put it down.

—— Samantha Downing, Internationally Bestselling author of My Lovely Wife

Equal parts hell-ride thriller and American fable, Kiersten White's HIDE runs you through a sinister child's game set in a nightmare amusement park, and it does so with gleeful, fiendish delight. I hung onto this book with bloodless knuckles, and I adored every spine-chilling second

—— Chuck Wendig, Sunday Times bestselling author

Hide is a claustrophobic thriller choked with weeds, rust, and rot. The game here is not what it seems. The hunt is swift and merciless, and the fear is primal and bestial. Don't pick up this book unless you have time to read it all in one anxious sitting.

—— Stephanie Perkins, New York Times bestselling author of There’s Someone Inside Your House

An enthralling, high-energy thriller . . . White proves she has a finger on the pulse of millennial horror.

—— Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

Haunting, startling, unrelenting, and unexpectedly heartbreaking, HIDE draws you inexorably in among the thorns and rust, where the monsters are both intimately familiar and horrifyingly unfathomable.

—— Delilah S. Dawson, New York Times-bestselling author of The Violence

Guaranteed to be THE book of the summer. Cinematic in scope, breathless in suspense, this book is a rollercoaster of pitch-perfect horror.

—— Eliza Jane Brazier, author of If I Disappear and Good Rich People

White holds no punches in this brilliantly executed thrill ride. Every twist and turn horrified and delighted me in equal measure. This book was so damn fun!

—— Erin A. Craig, New York Times bestselling author of House of Salt and Sorrows

Luring us into its maze with hints of wrongness, Hide leads us into a nightmare game that escalates from dread to supernatural terror and breathless suspense - a compulsive read you won't want to put down.

—— Ramsey Campbell, author of The Hungry Moon

Among Japan's most celebrated post-war authors

—— Little White Lies

Interplanetary, quite extraordinary ... a fusion of sci-fi and social satire with great pathos, awash with dark humour and scenes of intense beauty ... Mishima blends the sublime and ridiculous in provocative and surprising ways ... a fresh and limpid translation

—— Bryan Karetnyk , Financial Times

Moves from vividly described scenes of ordinary human life and the beauties of the natural world to arguments about human nature and whether peace is possible this side of death

—— Lisa Tuttle , Guardian Best Recent Science Fiction

Its humour may be the book's most brilliant trait ... intense and earnest, the novel contains plenty of Mishima's spectacular writing ... an impressive accomplishment by Dodd in conveying a sense of import, sophistication and mastery of prose

—— Eric Margolis , Japan Times

A delightfully strange, absorbing work. Full of humour and insight. Highly recommended

—— Irenosen Okojie

The wunderkind of the Japanese literary world ... an extraordinary literary talent

—— The Times Literary Supplement

Chingonyi is the living writer who inspires and influences me the most

—— Derek Owusu , Big Issue

A beautiful exploration of grief and boyhood... Each poem is delivered with such precision and deftness

—— Evening Standard

Pooley delivers not only acerbic, enchanting Iona but a compelling, tangled cast of quirky, complicated characters so engaging, it's enough to make you miss crowded commuter trains

—— Laurie Frankel, New York Times bestselling author

This feel-good ensemble story will bring joy to readers who loved Anxious People and Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine-not to mention fans of quirky London-set fare such as Ted Lasso...a warm, fun pick-me-up of a book

—— Mary Laura Philpott

Clare Pooley has found a delightful way to bring home the point that we need each other

—— Kelly Corrigan, New York Times bestselling author

Leaving you with that fuzzy feeling you want from a feel-good book

—— Woman & Home

Entertaining and uplifting

—— Good Housekeeping

Filled with delightful characters... this heart-warming book explores relationships and the dilemmas of everyday life

—— Candis

Tackling many relevant issues, it's a heart-warming read

—— Heat

Poignant, totally joyful, this is a great read

—— Fabulous

A feel-good read, with great characters to care about, it takes current issues seriously but adds plenty of humour

—— Choice

[It leaves] the reader with that fuzzy feeling you want from a feel-good book. Fans of her previous hit, The Authenticity Project, will not be disappointed

—— Woman's Weekly

A feel-good tale about the power of real-life connections

—— Sun

You can always rely on Pooley to deliver not just wonderful, lively characters but a story that leaves you feeling uplifted and hopeful

—— CultureFly

Batuman has taken what made The Idiot so brilliant, distilled it, and created an equally brilliant new work. Either/Or is unbridled joy.

—— Big Issue

Funny... Unforgettable... Batuman is particularly good on sex and sexual politics... The star feature is the narration... garrulous, rambunctious... full of baroque riffs and digressions.

—— Claire Lowdown , Spectator

A fresh voice is a rare thing, and Elif Batuman is one such.

—— Times Literary Supplement, *Books of the Year*

Either/Or is extremely funny and delightfully ludic, as it probes the very act of reading from the point of view of confused university student Selin.

—— Anakana Schofield, Irish Times, Books of the Year 2022

I was desperately looking forward to Elif Batuman's Either/Or, and it more than lived up to it.

—— Samir Chadha , White Review, *Books of the Year*

Re-encountering Selin...felt like being reunited with an old friend.

—— Helen Charman , White Review, *Books of the Year*

Hilarious.

—— Alice Hattrick , White Review, *Books of the Year*

I greatly enjoyed the comic zing of Elif Batuman's delightful Either/Or

—— Megan Hunter , White Review, *Books of the Year*

Witty, intelligent and funny... [Selin's] inner monologue is addictive enough to read a thousand more pages of, and I can only cross my fingers that this isn't the last instalment of the series.

—— Crack

Just as funny and self-aware and clever as The Idiot.

—— Jessica Zhan Mei Yu , White Review, *Books of the Year*

Funny, wry and insightful

—— The Times, *Summer Reads of 2023*

Laugh out loud…hilarious and thoughtful

—— Times Literary Supplement, *Books of the Year*
Comments
Welcome to zzdbook comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.zzdbook.com All Rights Reserved