BBC Radio has a unique heritage when it comes to Shakespeare. Since 1923, when the newly formed company broadcast its first full-length play, generations of actors and producers have honed and perfected the craft of making Shakespeare to be heard. In the acclaimed BBC Radio Shakespeare series, each play is introduced by Richard Eyre, former Director of the Royal National Theatre. Revitalised, original and comprehensive, this is Shakespeare for the...

It is July 1962. Edward and Florence, young innocents married that morning, arrive at a hotel on the Dorset coast. At dinner in their rooms they struggle to suppress their private fears of the wedding night to come...

Now. When Helen fell for the charming Hamish, she was also enchanted by romantic Ballintyre. Now, seeking refuge from a scandal that has cost Hamish his job, they are living with his older brother Charlie at the house. Struggling with her own problems, Helen is surprised to find that Charlie's wife has vanished ... Then. In 1968, sixteen-year-old Tigs is madly in love with James Ballintyre, her childhood friend and hero. When he marries Josephine,...

Howard and Kitty have recently moved to Lodeshill after a life spent in London; now, their marriage is wordlessly falling apart. Custom car enthusiast Jamie has lived in the village for all of his nineteen years and dreams of leaving it behind, while Jack, a vagrant farm-worker and mystic in flight from a bail hostel, arrives in the village on foot one spring morning, bringing change. All four of them are struggling to find a life in the modern countryside;...

Libby and James Hall can't believe their luck when the leaflet comes through the door. Swapping their tiny city flat for a beautiful house by the sea? Who would say no? But once they arrive at The Hideaway Libby starts to get jittery and increasingly paranoid. She is sure that someone is watching them. Something here isn't right and when their dog digs up an unnerving object they swiftly decide to return the Bath But they can't pick up their old life...

Are you still married if you haven't seen your husband for months? Polly's life is great. Her children are away at uni, her glamorous mother - still modelling at 85 - is happily settled in a retirement village, and her perfume blog is taking off. Then her husband announces he needs some space and promptly vanishes. As Polly grapples with her bewildering situation, she clings to a few new friends to keep her going - Shirlee, the loudmouthed yoga student;...

One sunny August afternoon, the residents of Cedar Close throw their annual summer barbecue. Children play in the cherry-tree lined street, tables are laden with food and the wine is flowing. For Laurie Mills, it's her first time meeting the neighbours. And it's the first time she discovers her husband Robert is having an affair. Cedar Close has always been a nice place to live - a quiet suburban street where everyone looks out for one another and...

A retired couple, Gerry and Stella, travel to Amsterdam for a holiday to refresh the senses, do some sightseeing and generally take stock of their lives. Their relationship seems easy, familiar - but over its course we discover the deep uncertainties between them. Gerry, once an architect, is forgetful and set in his ways. Stella is tired of his lifestyle and angry at his constant undermining of her religious faith. Things are not helped by memories...

'Gripping, moving and elegantly written'Marian Keyes?Completely addictive? Ruth Jones?Taut and thrilling? Veronica HenryDaisy and Simon?s marriage is great, isn?t it?After years together, the arrival of longed-for daughter Millie sealed everything in place. A happy little family of three.And so what if Simon drinks a bit too much sometimes - Daisy?s used to it, she knows he?s letting off steam. Until one night at a party things spiral horribly...

A whirlwind romance. A perfect marriage. Hannah Reilly has seized her chance at happiness. Until the day her husband fails to come home . . . The more questions Hannah asks, the fewer answers she finds. But are the secrets that Mark has been keeping designed to protect him or protect her? And can you ever really know what happened before you met? Before we Met is a psychological thriller that will keep readers guessing right up until the last page....