Mike Walker has 11 audiobooks on Listento.it, narrated by 51 narrators, with an average listener rating of 5★ across 145 ratings. The most-rated is Empire of Silver.
Empire of Silver
Summary
The eagerly awaited 4th novel in the bestselling Conqueror series, continuing the life and adventures of the mighty Khan dynasty. Genghis Khan is dead, but his legend and his legacy live on. His son Ogedai has built a white city on a great plain and made a capital for the new nation. Now the armies have gathered to see which of Genghis' sons has the strength to be khan. The Mongol empire has been at peace for two years, but whoever survives will face the formidable might of their great enemy, China’s Song dynasty. The great leader Tsubodai sweeps into the west: through Russia, over the Carpathian mountains and into Hungary. The Templar knights have been broken and there is no king or army to stop him reaching France. But at the moment of Tsubodai's greatest triumph, as his furthest scouts reach the northern mountains of Italy, Tsubodai must make a decision that will change the course of history forever.
©2010 Conn Iggulden (P)2010 HarperCollins Publishers Limited
Plantagenet
Summary
Inspired by Holinshed's Chronicles, this series of radio dramas about the Plantagenet dynasty tells the story of the birth of a new Europe after the dark ages. The issues of control, freedom, belief and the temptations of power were new to an age which had no template for domination on this scale. Henry II: What is a Man? - The first of the House of Anjou to be king of England, Henry II's long reign is beset by conflict with his sons. Starring David Warner as King Henry II and Jane Lapotaire as Queen Eleanor. Richard I: Lionheart - Prince Richard has become heir apparent, but in the face of Henry II's refusal to acknowledge his position, he turns to the Crusades. Starring Ed Stoppard as Richard. John, by the Grace of God - The fourth son of Henry II never expected to succeed to the English throne. When he does, he reveals a talent for making enemies. Starring Neil Stuke as King John. Edward I: Old Soldiers - Edward Longshanks - the Hammer of the Scots - was grief-stricken after the death of his first wife. But he finds new love with Margaret, sister of the French King. Philip Jackson as Edward I and Ellie Kendrick as Margaret. Edward II: The Greatest Traitor - While Edward's power is prey to his passions, his queen, Isabella, and his most powerful ally, Roger Mortimer, find a passion of their own. Starring Sam Troughton as Edward II. Richard II: And All Our Dreams Will End in Death - Richard II, having proved his mettle in quelling the Peasants' Revolt, disappoints his courtiers as he pursues peace and culture as an alternative to fighting and swiving. Starring Patrick Kennedy as Richard II. Henry V: True Believers - Young prince Hal will inherit an unstable throne and a kingdom riven with heresy and rebellion. Victory over the rebel Hotspur will bring peace to England and glory to the king - but at what cost to the man? Starring Luke Treadaway as Hal. Henry VI: A Simple Man - The once-great England of Henry V is bankrupt and losing territory in France, but the weak, idealistic Henry VI is incapacitated by bouts of insanity. Queen Margaret is forced to take up arms to protect her royal line. Starring Al Weaver as Henry VI and Aimee Ffion Edwards as Margaret. Richard III: The Three Brothers: Edward IV manages to bring a modicum of stability to the kingdom of England, but discontent erupts into civil war after his death, and his brother, Richard, is forced to take drastic steps to uphold Plantagenet power. Starring Nancy Carroll as Queen Elizabeth, Simon Bubb as Edward IV and Carl Prekopp as Richard III. Directed by Jeremy Mortimer, Jessica Dromgoole and Sasha Yevtushenko.
©2018 BBC Worldwide Limited (P)2018 BBC Worldwide Limited
Caesar!
Summary
Nine BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramas by Mike Walker, chronicling Rome’s greatest rulers.
Drawing on historical sources including Suetonius’ ‘Lives of the Caesars’, Mike Walker’s compelling drama cycle follows the story of the leaders of Rome, from Julius Caesar’s ascension to power to the collapse of the Roman Empire in the West in AD 475.
Meeting at Formiae - Julius Caesar secretly seeks senate leaders Cicero and Cato’s support to shake up the rule of Rome. Stars David Troughton as Caesar, Anton Lesser as Cicero and Stephen Critchlow as Cato.
The Arena - As Julius’ appointed heir, young Octavian uses his legendary political skills to outwit enemies and rule Rome. Starring Adam Levy as Octavian.
Peeling Figs for Julius - His name is now a byword for depravity, but growing up in Tiberius’ court, how evil was Emperor Caligula? Stars David Tennant as Caligula and Neil Dudgeon as Cassius Chaerea.
The Best of Mothers - The murderous tale of Emperor Nero and his interfering mother, Agrippina. Jonathan Forbes stars as Nero, with Frances Barber as Agrippina the Younger.
The Glass Ball Game - The story of Emperor Hadrian and his relationship with Antinous, who died in mysterious circumstances. Starring Jonathan Hyde as Hadrian and Andrew Garfield as Antinous.
Citizens in a Great City - Young Commodus buckles under the expectations put upon him by his father, the philosopher/emperor Marcus Aurelius. And Septimus Severus is called on to save the Empire from anarchy. Jim Sturgess stars as Commodus, with Ronald Pickup as Marcus Aurelius and Ray Fearon as Septimus Severus.
Empress in the West - as the Roman Empire begins to fall apart, Victoria Poppea sees an opportunity to wield the power that her gender has always denied her. Stars Barbara Flynn as Victoria and Sam Troughton as Victorinus.
The Maker of All Things - Constantine and Crispus are father and son - but can this indivisible bond survive politics? Sam Dale stars as Constantine the Great, with Joseph Kloska as Crispus.
Empire Without End - With the Empire in the West under attack from Attila the Hun’s forces, an unlikely coalition of kingmakers selects the last Roman emperor. Starring Tom Hiddleston as Romulus Augustus.
©2020 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2020 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd
Dickens Confidential
Summary
Charles Dickens was, for a time, editor of a daily newspaper. This series takes an imaginative look at how Dickens would have tackled bringing the news to the masses.
We follow Dickens the editor as he contends with railway crashes, gory deaths in the River Thames, having his editorial judgemnt scrutinised, working with tyrannical landowners, entering the murky worlds of opium and prostitution and, most tragically of all, investigating a child's death. He and his newspaper tackle financial plotting, encountering a young - and very secretive - Disraeli, and the prospect of war overseas.
Originally broadcast in 2008, this complete BBC Radio collection stars Jamie Glover as Dickens in series 1 and Dan Stevens as Dickens in series 2. Also starring Jasmine Hyde, Eleanor Howell, Andrew Buchan, John Dougall, John Rowe and Gerard Murphy.
©2019 BBC Worldwide Ltd (P)2019 BBC Worldwide Ltd
The Stuarts
Summary
Eleven BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramas telling the stories of Mary Queen of Scots and the Stuart royals. Under the Stuarts, Britain entered the modern world. But with great change came turmoil, and for 111 years, the Stuart monarchs faced dynastic struggles, religious conflict, the rise of parliamentary democracy - and civil war. These dramas chart that turbulent epoch through its royal family, from Mary, Queen of Scots to the ‘last Stuart’, Bonnie Prince Charlie’s daughter Charlotte. It Came In with a Lass - 1561. Arriving in mist-shrouded Scotland, Queen Mary must quickly distinguish her friends from her enemies. Starring Jeany Spark as Mary. To Make the Plough Go Before the Horse - James I’s life and reign told through his relationships, from his first love, Esme, to his last favourite, George Villiers. Starring Bill Paterson as James I and VI. A World of Fools and Knaves - Henrietta Maria, Charles I's Catholic queen, watches her husband fail to keep hold of the reins of government. Starring Julian Rhind-Tutt as Charles I. This War Without an Enemy - Only on the morning of his execution can Charles I begin to understand the events that brought him to to the scaffold. Starring Julian Rhind-Tutt as Charles I. Charles II, Part One: Through the World in Various Fortune - When news of Oliver Cromwell's death reaches Brussels, the exiled Charles II plots his return. Starring Jamie Parker as Charles II. Charles II, Part Two: The Long Lease of Pleasant Days - Charles II plots to confound parliamentary reformers and secure the throne for his brother. Starring Pip Torrens as Charles II. James II: The Storms of this Deceitful World - 1688. After just four years as King, James II flees England in the Glorious Revolution. How did it all go so wrong? Starring James Fleet as James II. William III and Mary II: To Have and to Hold - Dutch William marries his Stuart cousin for reasons of politics, not passion - but their partnership proves crucial when it comes to ruling England. Starring Mark Edel-Hunt as William III and Elaine Cassidy as Mary. Queen Anne: Myself Alone - Queen Anne must abandon long-held allegiances to command parliament’s loyalty and rule with authority. Starring Fenella Woolgar as Queen Anne. Bonnie Prince Charlie: Who Dares to Be Free - Charles Edward Stuart, the ‘Young Pretender’, risks everything for the Stuart name. Starring Blake Ritson as Charles. Charlotte Stuart: The Last Stuart - Is Charlotte Stuart as driven as her predecessors, or the last victim of the Stuart curse? Starring Kate O’Flynn as Charlotte. Produced and directed by Jessica Dromgoole, Sasha Yevtushenko, Marc Beeby and Gemma Jenkins.
©2019 BBC Worldwide Ltd (P)2019 BBC Worldwide Ltd
The Real George Orwell
Summary
A series of four BBC Radio full-cast dramas exploring the disjuncture between the man who was Eric Blair and the writer who was George Orwell. George Orwell - the pen name of Eric Blair - was a writer and political commentator who is very hard to pin down. He is a complex mass of confusions - an antiestablishment, pro-English, ex-Etonian, ex-policeman and socialist who was ardently antiauthoritarian. He was as antifascist as he was anticommunist, a former Spanish Civil War soldier who was antiwar but pro the Second World War. Burma: After an undistinguished academic career at Eton, Eric leaves in December 1921. When the girl he hopes to marry rejects him, he sets sail for Burma to join the colonial police. His experiences in Burma will affect him profoundly. When he rejects the Empire and returns to England, Blair begins to spend more and more time with the poor. Dreaming: In September 1938, Eric and Eileen Blair leave London for Marrakech. He is hoping that the climate will be good for his health and that he will be able to complete his novel, Coming Up for Air. But the bruising reception he received following the publication of Homage to Catalonia is troubling Eric. And both Eric and Eileen are still feeling guilty about the fate of one of their Spanish Civil War comrades, Georges Kopp. Loving: Eric Blair's relationship with the opposite sex could be a distraught one; over the course of his lifetime, he made several awkward marriage proposals to different women. But his relationship with Eileen O'Shaugnessy, whom he married in 1935, had a huge influence both on his life and his writing. Jura: In 1947, the year after Eileen's death, Eric leaves London and moves to Jura in the Scottish Hebrides, with his sister Avril and his three-year-old son. He is suffering from tuberculosis but is determined to try to make a go of living off the land. But most of all he is determined to finish Nineteen Eighty-Four, his final book. Cast: Eric Blair . . . Joseph Millson Eileen Blair… Lyndsey Marshall Jacintha Buddicom . . . Sophie Roberts Wilson . . . Joseph Kloska Inspector d'Souza . . . Ernest Ignatius Georges Kopp…Ewan Bailey Avril Blair…Liza Sadovy Ricky Blair…James Foster Other parts played by Armaan Kirmani, Derek Riddell, Alun Raglan, Paul Stonehouse, Ben Crowe, Will Howard, Alun Raglan, Alexandra Guelff, Lizzy Watts. Burma was written by Mike Walker and directed by Kate McAll. Dreaming was written by Mike Walker and directed by Jeremy Mortimer. Loving was written by Jonathan Holloway and directed by Kate McAll. Jura was written by Jonathan Holloway and directed by Jeremy Mortimer.
©2018 BBC Worldwide (P)2018 BBC Worldwide
Tsar
Summary
Eleven compelling BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramas telling the stories of the Russian tsars. Broadcast to mark the centenary of the Russian Revolution, this extraordinary drama cycle by Mike Walker comprises 11 ambitious plays spanning over 400 years, exploring the lives of Russia’s key rulers from Ivan the Terrible to Vladimir Putin. Ivan the Terrible: Absolute Power - the rise and fearsome reign of the first Tsar of All Russia. Starring David Threlfall as Ivan IV. Boris Godunov: Ghosts - did Boris Godunov have Ivan the Terrible's son killed? And what happened when the murdered boy came back from the dead - leading an army? Starring Shaun Dooley as Boris Godunov. Peter the Great: The Gamblers - Moscow, 1682 and two joint tsars rule: one, Ivan, is feeble-minded and the other is Peter, a child of 10 years old. Starring Will Howard as Peter. Peter the Great: Queen of Spades - distracted by his new capital, St Petersburg, and wife Catherine, Peter ignores his opponents: until his own son Alexei declares his colours. Starring Elliot Cowan as Peter. Catherine the Great: Husbands, Lovers and Sons - did Catherine foresee the consequences of staging a coup d'état against her husband the Tsar? Or did she want him dead from the start? Starring Samantha Spiro as Catherine II. Alexander I: Into the Woods - the story of the reluctant Tsar who took on the greatest threat Russia had ever faced - Napoleon Bonaparte - and won. Starring Joel MacCormack as Alexander I. Alexander II: The People’s Will - revolutionary terrorist cell The People’s Will is determined to assassinate the Tsar. But in the struggle between autocracy and socialism, there can be only one winner. Starring Joseph Millson as Alexander. Nikolai II: Three Hundred Years - in 1913, the Romanov dynasty celebrated 300 years on the Russian throne. But a mere four years later, Tsar Nikolai II was forced to abdicate. Starring Raymond Coulthard as Nikolai II. Lenin: Tears - as the Soviet era begins, Lenin joins the provisional government, but soon becomes set on seizing complete power for his Bolsheviks. Starring Paul Ritter as Lenin. Joseph Stalin: The Last Bolshevik - in 1941, the Soviet Union was invaded by the Nazis - and Joseph Stalin retired to his dacha, seemingly defeated.... Starring Brian McCardie as Stalin. The Shield and the Sword - thirteen interconnected stories about the enigmatic Russian President, Vladimir Putin. Starring Nicholas Murchie as VV. Written by Mike Walker. Produced and directed by Sasha Yevtushenko and Alison Hindell.
©2018 BBC Worldwide Ltd (P)2018 BBC Worldwide Ltd
Malicious Intent
Summary
"There is only one 'Guru of Gossip', and that's Mike Walker. He's the dean of celebrity news and a first-rate TV personality." (Geraldo Rivera) "I always assume Mike Walker has scooped anything I write. He surprises everybody by arriving without horns and a tail. He's amazingly rational, down-to-earth, intelligent, and 'with-it'." (Liz Smith) "Mike Walker is the Hemingway of gossip." (Howard Stern) Mike Walker is an industry. And he's booming. He is, as Jeffrey Toobin of The New Yorker says, a "larger-than-life figure". For the last 35 years, Walker has been giving the public what it wants. As the famed gossip writer for the National Enquirer, the newspaper with the largest circulation in the United States, Walker dishes celebrity news in his column "Behind the Screens", reaching 17 million Americans each week. He's also a New York Times best-selling author, having penned his way to the top of the list with Nicole Brown Simpson: Private Diary of a Life Interrupted and Private Diary of an O.J. Juror. He's featured every Friday on The Howard Stern Show, and was a regular guest on television shows like Geraldo, Nightline, and Larry King Live, to name a few. Malicious Intent is Mike Walker's debut novel, a rip-snorting foray into the badlands of Hollywood celebrity, a story about big-time players following their "No Guts, No Glory!" regimen. Charmain Burns is a star with a capital S, a fire-breathing bombshell who doesn't take no for an answer, and always goes to extremes to get her way. Her antics are what legends are made of. Her national notoriety as Miss Hula Girl lands Charmain a shot in Hollywood. Her big break comes when she's offered a chance to read for the mega-producer Larry Buckley, who needs a hot new face for his waning TV series, BevHills High. Buckley decides that she is the ticket BevHills High needs. Charmain Burns is "The Girl You Love to Hate". Suddenly, the show is number-one, and Charmain Burns is a household name, the bad girl of television. Yet only one thing will make her truly happy, and that's landing the lead in the sure-to-be-a-blockbuster film Medusa, a role every A-list star wants. The story is about an actress who would literally kill for a part - it's a role that Charmain knows all too well. With stardom comes media madness. And the media thrives off of stars like Charmain, who have a penchant for trouble. When the National Revealer prints unfavorable photos of Charmain, she relays a message to Steve Bellini, one of the newspapers celebrity-gossip editors, but her scare tactics quickly turn to murder, and Charmain's world begins to unravel. Always suspicious, Cameron Tull, the National Revealer's senior gossip columnist, is on the case, shooting for the story every writer dreams about. While Charmain furiously tries to erase her ties to the accident, Tull is furiously digging into her past. And he finds evidence that not only links Charmain to Bellini's murder, but uncovers her lethal history. The climax is a harrowing, out-of-control roller-coaster ride, one that is sure to keep listeners on the edge of their seats. Packed with rich characters, strong female personalities, real-life stars such as Madonna, Joan Rivers, Sharon Stone, Hugh Grant, and Johnnie Cochran, plus anecdotes only a gossip columnist like Mike Walker could know, Malicious Intent is the book all Hollywood will be gossiping about. And when Hollywood gossips, the world listens.
©1999 Mike Walker (P)2021 Bancroft Press
The Mystery of Edwin Drood
Summary
A thrilling radio re-imagining telling the story of Charles Dickens' last days and providing a brand-new conclusion to his famous unfinished novel. April, 1870. Bone-weary, sick and struggling with a hidden guilt, Charles Dickens is grappling with what will be his final book - The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Two months later, he is dead and the novel remains unfinished: only six of the 12 planned instalments had been completed. Centring around the title character, whose sudden disappearance throws the town of Cloisterham into a panic, the story introduces us to a host of potential suspects who could have caused him harm. Edwin's fiancée, Rosa Bud, was having second thoughts about their engagement, his uncle, John Jasper, was known to be jealous of him, and orphan twins Neville and Helena Landless had both tangled with Edwin too. Rumours of murder abound, but his fate is left unanswered.... Set in a phantasmagorical, drug-fuelled landscape where nobody is who or what they claim to be, and motives are more tangled than the alleyways of the nightmare city where the action unfolds, this compelling mystery is one of the greatest puzzles of literature. In this new, fast-moving and impressionistic retelling, we track Dickens as he works on the novel in the weeks before his death and follow his daughter Kate as she strives to solve the mystery of who killed Drood - and understand the demon that drove her father to fatal exhaustion. Also included is a bonus documentary, The Mystery of the Mystery of Edwin Drood, in which Frances Fyfield uses her crime writer's insights to try and find out what really happened to Dickens' eponymous hero. Cast and credits: Written by Charles Dickens. Adapted by Mike Walker. Produced and directed by Jeremy Mortimer. Executive producer: James Robinson. Kate Dickens...Pippa Nixon John Jasper...Joel McCormack Edwin Drood...Iwan Davies Rosa Bud...Isabella Inchbald Princess Puffer...Rachel Atkins First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 21st December 2020-1st January 2021. The Mystery of the Mystery of Edwin Drood Presented by Frances Fyfield. With Simon Brett and Professor Jenny Hartley. Produced by Tom Alban. First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 19th January 2021.
©2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd
The Biggest Secret
Summary
In the early hours of 5 June 1944, Captain Rob Collins, played by Benedict Cumberbatch, who is languishing in hospital, receives a call that will take him on a journey through England that will change his life.
Mike Walker's play is an epic journey across England poised on the edge of a historical moment. It is set on June 5th, the day before the invasion. It is a portrait of England waiting for the invasion that will change the course of history, but an invasion only a very few know that is about happen.
Starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Juliet Stevenson and Claudia Harrison.
©2019 BBC Worldwide Ltd (P)2019 BBC Worldwide Ltd
George Orwell: A BBC Radio Collection
Summary
A radio anthology of George Orwell's finest novels, memoirs and essays, plus four biographical dramas and a bonus documentary, The Road to Nineteen Eighty-Four. Visionary author and journalist George Orwell was the man behind two of the best loved and most influential novels of the 20th century, Nineteen Eighty-Four and Animal Farm. This collection celebrating his life and work features dramatisations of both these classic books, with stellar casts including Christopher Eccleston, Pippa Nixon, Tim Pigott-Smith, Tamsin Greig and Nicky Henson. Also included is a drama based on his autobiographical account of the Spanish Civil War, Homage to Catalonia, starring Joseph Millson and Lyndsey Marshal. Four biographical radio plays by Mike Walker and Jonathan Holloway - Burma, Dreaming, Loving and Jura - explore further episodes in Orwell's fascinating life, showing the disconnection between the man who was Eric Blair and the writer who was George Orwell. Timeless examples of his essays and journalism are showcased here, including 'A Hanging', 'Confessions of a Book Reviewer', 'My Country Right or Left', 'Pleasure Spots' and 'As I Please' (all read by Clive Merrison), while Joseph Millson narrates Down and Out in Paris and London, Orwell's vivid memoir of his time living among the poor in Europe's two great cities. Finally, in The Road to Nineteen Eighty-Four, David Aaronovitch examines what led avowed socialist George Orwell to write a book beloved of the Right, revealing how the novel grew from a forgotten political world shaped by the atom bomb. George Orwell worked for BBC Radio from August 1941 to November 1943, and even went on air himself. Sadly, none of the programmes in which he took part survive - in those days, radio was essentially a live medium and broadcasts were not recorded for posterity. But Orwell's connection to the BBC remains a fascinating part of its wartime history.
©2020 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2020 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd