Author:Ray Galton & Alan Simpson,Susy Kane,Kevin Eldon,Kevin McNally,Robin Sebastian,Andy Secombe,Margaret Cabourn-Smith

Eight brand new recordings of original Hancock's Half Hour scripts
Hancock's Half Hour was one of the most popular radio comedies of the 1950s, and the first modern sitcom. Over 100 episodes of the show were broadcast between 1954 and 1959, but 22 went missing from the BBC archives. Lovingly recreated by Radio 4 in front of a live audience at the BBC Radio Theatre, they can now be heard for the first time since their initial transmission. Collected here are the final eight episodes from the fourth series - including a special premiere of The Counterfeiter, which was never recorded by the original team.
The episodes are: The Winter Holiday, Department Store Santa, The Diamond Ring, Prime Minister Hancock, Christmas at Aldershot, The Counterfeiter, The Christmas Eve Party and The New Year Resolutions.
Written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson
Produced by Neil Pearson, Paul Sheehan and Hayley Sterling
Music composed by Wally Stott, and performed by the BBC Concert Orchestra conducted by Levon Parikian
Thanks to Tessa Le Bars
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 6 December 2018-31 December 2020
Written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, and with the classic score re-recorded by the BBC Concert Orchestra, these hilarious episodes star Kevin McNally as The Lad Himself, with Kevin Eldon, Simon Greenall, Robin Sebastian, Susy Kane and Margaret Cabourn-Smith.
A tale of young love and disenchantment, of missed opportunities and passion's elusive, flickering flame . . . reminiscent of Turgenev's First Love, with a hero every bit as gauche, and a twist every bit as bitter
—— Toby Lichtig , Financial TimesThe magical novel about a Turkish man who falls in love with an artist in 1920s Berlin ... recreates a vanished era and dramatises a doomed relationship, and does so with verve, depth and poignancy. The result is a miniature masterpiece.
—— Malcolm Forbes , The NationalA heart-breaker . . . it has the kind of indefinably powerful impact of The Great Gatsby
—— Salley Vickers , ObserverA poignant coming-of-age tale, drenched in disillusionment. The gap between hope and reality, art and ordinary life, has been explored in many other novels, but rarely with the unaffected simplicity of Madonna in a Fur Coat.
—— William Armstrong , Times Literary SupplementMoving and memorable, full of yearning and melancholy ... reading it is like taking a literary minibreak
—— Fiona Wilson , The TimesA gorgeously melancholic romance . . . a cautionary tale certain to beguile
—— Eileen Battersby , Irish TimesThe surprise bestseller ... read, loved and wept over by men and women of all ages
—— Guardianbizarre and often surreal, these stories act as an intriguing exploration into Murakami’s wacky mind and thought processes
—— HeraldWind/Pinball makes a great introduction to Murakami for new readers, and is a real treat for long-time fans
—— Brendan Wright , NudgeFrom the very beginning, it seems, Murakami has had the ability to make a story in which nothing happens seem completely irresistible. And to make almost any degree of bizarreness seem completely natural
—— SkinnyBoth are honest and witty novels, colourfully written as ever, and come highly recommended to Murakami fans.
—— Luke Owain Boult , BuzzThe introduction alone makes Wind Pinball worth reading… Two perfectly shaped novellas, as experimental and pleasantly offbeat as they are easy to enjoy in Ted Goosen’s crystalline translation… Both tales showcase the loneliness and erotic pull that paint the sets of so many of Murakami’s surreal stages.
—— Nora Mahony , Irish TimesWhich other author can remind you simultaneously of Fyodor Dostoyevsky and JK Rowling, not merely within the same chapter but on the same page?
—— IndependentThis was such an emotional read and the perfect mix of humour and heartache
—— GOOD HOUSEKEEPINGBoth joyful and heartbreaking
—— HEATDeftly drawn... a warm debut about loss, healing and making new connections
—— MAIL ON SUNDAYWe loved this heartwarming story
—— CLOSERWeaves together tales of man's best friend helping in the darkest days
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—— SAGAA charming novel that focuses on the healing properties of man and woman's best friend
—— Choice MagazineWaller has a lyrical way of weaving words that perfectly encapsulates a feeling or thought ... Funny, sad and reassuringly sage, Dog Days is a story of humanity, family and life.
—— CultureflyA glorious read full of love and humour
—— THE IRISH EXAMINERCombines two total opposites - sorrow and joy. The way Waller makes the two work together is outstanding
—— FEMALE FIRST magazineA charming novel that focusses on the healing powers of man and woman's best friend
—— CHOICE MagazineWith its tightly plotted twists Dog Days is an exhilarating, at times even vertiginous ride... The mix of human passion and canine good sense works triumphantly..
—— Ed Stourton, author of Diary of a Dog Walker'A tender, complicated novel of love, loss and self-discovery.'
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—— Annie England Noblin, author of Sit, Stay, Speak and PupcakesWhere better to get lost than a mighty, make-believe kingdom reminiscent of Swift
—— iEnchanting . . . Knox hits the mark
—— HeraldA devastating stripping back of the gendered and politicised conditions that shape desire, a revelation of the unnerving ways we are made vulnerable to others in unequal systems. Its crisp, knowing prose is unparalleled, its anger remarkable.
—— Anahit Behrooz , Skinny, *Books of the Year*Nolan's intelligent, elegant first novel, a gripping portrait of love turned toxic.
—— Daily TelegraphThe star feature of Nolan's narration is her ability to cut through received ideas about women, relationships and even rape. Her headlong, fearless prose, feels like salt wind on cracked lips. You wince and you thrill.
—— Claire Lowdon , Sunday TimesA raw read of vulnerability, desperation, and most definitely a new voice in fiction
—— Chloe Brown , CosmopolitanA thrilling read...if you want a visceral, honest, unputdownable summer read then this is it. You'll devour it in a day.
—— Stylist, *Summer Reads of 2022*A very elegant novel, with coercive control at the core. She has such a strong voice and not a sentence is extraneous
—— Emma Frost, author of BUSY BEING FREE , iI read this in one go... I found it raw, honest, brutal and real.
—— Lykke Li , ObserverWritten with acerbic style and wit, this is an intoxicatingly good look at romantic obsession, delusion and desire.
—— iBeautifully written…and the short chapters keep things moving at an addictively fast pace. Most importantly, it’s shamelessly real
—— Crack