Robert Powell has narrated 11 audiobooks on Listento.it by 9 authors, with an average listener rating of 4.1★ across 24 ratings. The most-rated is The Adventure of English.
The Adventure of English
Summary
This is the remarkable story of the English language; from its beginnings as a minor guttural Germanic dialect to its position today as a truly established global language. The Adventure of English is not only an enthralling story of power, religion, and trade, but also the story of people, and how their lives continue to change the extraordinary language that is English.
©2003 Melvyn Bragg (P)2014 Audible, Inc.
The Thirty-Nine Steps
Summary
Exclusively from Audible An espionage thriller that has been called the first great spy novel, it has sustained its popularity, being embraced by each new generation. The first in a series of five audiobooks it features the spy Richard Hannay, an action hero with a stiff upper lip who gets caught up in a dangerous race against a plot by German spies to destroy the British war effort. When Richard Hannay offers sanctuary to an American agent seeking his help in stopping a political assassination, he takes the first step on a trail of peril, murder, and espionage. Days later the agent's murdered body turns up in Hannay's flat, making him the prime suspect. Knowing he's next he goes into hiding in Scotland, but in his possession is the American agent's little black book that holds the key to the conspiracy. On the run from both the police and members of a mysterious organisation that will stop at nothing to keep their secrets hidden, the book has become one of the most influential chase books, adopted by many, including Hollywood, but with an unrivalled tension. The novel has been the basis for many adaptations although most have departed from the text. Most famous is Alfred Hitchcock's classic film The 39 Steps released in 1935. Narrator Biography Robert Powell received his first starring role in The Italian Job (1969) and is best known for the title role in the television series Jesus of Nazareth (1977). He received Best Actor awards for his performances in Imperativ (1982) and Harlequin (1980). His television career has included appearing in BBC One's Holby City (2005-2011) and the "science-fact" drama Doomwatch (1970) as well as starring alongside Jasper Carrott in the sitcom The Detectives (1993-1997). He has a distinctive voice that has narrated documentaries including World War II in HD Colour, Hitler's Bodyguard, The Story of the Third Reich and Secrets of World War II. In 2013 he narrated the dramatic television series The Bible. He has narrated many fictional and historical audiobooks including Rebecca's Tale, The Well-Beloved and The Thirty-Nine Steps.
Public Domain (P)2014 Audible, Inc.
The Afghan
Summary
A chilling story of modern terrorism from the grandmaster of international intrigue. The Day of the Jackal, The Dogs of War, The Odessa File: the books of Frederick Forsyth have helped define the international thriller as we know it today. Combining meticulous research with crisp narratives and plots as current as the headlines, Forsyth shows us the world as it is in a way that few have ever been able to equal. And the world as it is today is a very scary place. When British and American intelligence catch wind of a major Al Qaeda operation in the works, they instantly galvanize, but to do what? They know nothing about it: the what, where, or when. They have no sources in Al Qaeda, and it's impossible to plant someone. Or is it? The Afghan is Izmat Khan, a five-year prisoner of Guantanamo Bay and a former senior commander of the Taliban. The Afghan is also Colonel Mike Martin, a 25-year-old veteran of war zones around the world; a dark, lean man born and raised in Iraq. In an attempt to stave off disaster, the intelligence agencies will try to do what no one has ever done before, pass off a Westerner as an Arab among Arabs, and pass off Martin as the trusted Khan. It will require extraordinary preparation, and then extraordinary luck, for nothing can truly prepare Martin for the dark and shifting world into which he is about to enter. Or for the terrible things he will find there. Filled with remarkable detail and compulsive drama, The Afghan is further proof that Forsyth is truly master of suspense.
©2006 Frederick Forsyth (P)2006 Penguin Audio, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., and Recorded Books, LLC. All rights reserved.
The History of Classical Music
Summary
From Gregorian Chant to Henryk Gorecki, the first living classical composer to get into the pop album charts, here is the fascinating story of over a thousand years of Western classical music and the composers who have sought to express in music the deepest of human feelings and emotions. Polyphony, sonata form, serial music - many musical expressions are also explained - with the text illustrated by performances from some of the most highly praised recordings of recent years.
©1997 NAXOS AudioBooks Ltd. (P)1997 NAXOS AudioBooks Ltd.
This Sceptred Isle: Collection 3: The 20th Century
Summary
All five volumes from the landmark BBC radio series This Sceptred Isle: The 20th Century. Christopher Lee’s vivid, compelling history tells the story of Britain from the death of Queen Victoria to the dawning of a new millennium. This collection includes the original volumes 1-5: 1901-1919: the Victorian era comes to an end, Suffragettes demand ‘Votes for Women’, the Titanic sinks and the Great War casts a long shadow. 1919-1939: Ramsay MacDonald becomes the first Labour PM, millions of workers take industrial action during the General Strike, Wall Street crashes and Hitler rises to power. 1939-1959: the horrors of the Second World War and the onset of the Cold War, Indian independence, the founding of the NHS, the beginning of a new Elizabethan age and the Space Race. 1959-1979: war in Vietnam, Profumo causes a scandal, the Beatles generate worldwide hysteria, Britain joins Europe and Thatcherism is born. 1979-1999: the nation celebrates a fairytale royal wedding, Argentine troops invade the Falklands, disaster strikes at Chernobyl, the Berlin Wall falls - and as the year 2000 approaches, construction begins on London’s Millennium Dome. Narrated by Anna Massey, with additional readings by Robert Powell, this is the definitive radio account of one of the most exciting and fast-moving periods in the history of the United Kingdom. Credits Published by Penguin Random House Ltd Licensed by BBC Studios Distribution Ltd P 2020 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd © 2020 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd MCPS NB: Due to the age of these recordings, sound quality may vary. Production credits Written by Christopher Lee Narrated by Anna Massey, with additional readings by Robert Powell Produced by Pete Atkin First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 30 August-31 December 1999
©2020 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2020 BBC Worldwide Ltd
The History of Opera
Summary
Opera, said Moliére, is the most expensive noise known to man. From its beginnings in the 16th Century, through to today when there are as many musical styles as there are composers, opera has fascinated, infuriated, delighted, been censored, been banned, excited riots, even won a nation its freedom. Here is the colorful story of sometimes temperamental composers and even more temperamental singers working in an art form which has produced some of man's noblest artistic creations. This absorbing history is illustrated by over 100 musical examples by Naxos artists as well as some of the greatest singers of the 20th century including Enrico Caruso and Fyodor Chaliapin.
©1999 NAXOS AudioBooks Ltd. (P)1999 NAXOS AudioBooks Ltd.
Boneland
Summary
Boneland is Alan Garner’s continuation of the story thread which began in his first and enduringly popular fantasy children’s novel, The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, published in 1960, it has never been out of print. The Moon of Gomrath followed in 1963 taking the story further with the same two children, Colin and Susan. But Boneland is particularly fascinating because it takes the story into adulthood, with Colin again the main proponent. Boneland is read by the experienced actor Robert Powell, at the request of Alan Garner himself.
©2012 Alan Garner (P)2012 Naxos AudioBooks
The Secret History of the World
Summary
Here, for the first time, is a complete history of the world based on the beliefs and writings of secret societies, researched with the help of an initiate of more than one secret society. From the occult roots of science to the esoteric motives behind American foreign policy, this fascinating history shows that the basic facts of human existence on this planet can be viewed from many very different angles. And once our viewpoint has been altered, we will see that secret philosophies are encoded everywhere around us - in great art and literature, in the arrangement of the pips in an apple, in the names of the days of the week, even in the very stories we tell our children.
©2007 Quercus Publishing (P)2007 Quercus Publishing
The Survivor
Summary
The living dead. It had been one of the worst crashes in airline history, killing over 300 people and leaving only one survivor. Now the dead were buried and the town of Eton tried to forget. But one man could not rest. Keller had walked from the flames of the wreck, driven on by unseen forces, seeking the answer to his own survival. Until the town was forced to face the shocking, dreadful truth about what was buried in the old graveyard. And a truth Keller did not want to believe. James Herbert was one of Britain’s greatest popular novelists and our #1 best-selling writer of chiller fiction. Widely imitated and hugely influential, he wrote 23 novels which have collectively sold over 54 million copies worldwide and been translated into 34 languages. Born in London in the forties, James Herbert was art director of an advertising agency before turning to writing fiction in 1975. His first novel, The Rats, was an instant best-seller and is now recognised as a classic of popular contemporary fiction. Herbert went on to publish a new top ten best-seller every year until 1988. He wrote six more bestselling novels in the 1990s and three more since: Once, Nobody True and The Secret of Crickley Hall. Herbert died in March 2013 at the age of 69.
©1976 James Herbert (P)2013 Audible Ltd
Twelve Books That Changed the World
Summary
When we think of great events in the history of the world, we tend to think of war, revolution, political upheaval, or natural catastrophe. But throughout history there have been moments of vital importance that have taken place not on the battlefield, or in the palaces of power, or even in the violence of nature, but between the pages of a book. In this audiobook, Melvyn Bragg presents a vivid reminder of the book as agent of social, political, and personal revolution. Here are famous books by Darwin, Newton, and Shakespeare, but we also discover the stories behind some less well-known works, such as Marie Stopes? Married Love, the original radical feminist Mary Wollstonecraft?s A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, and even the rules to an obscure ball game that became the most popular sport in the world.
©2006 Hodder & Stoughton (P)2006 Hodder & Stoughton
The Blood Doctor
Summary
The First Lord Nanther, expert in blood diseases, particularly the royal disease of Heamophilia, and favoured physician to Queen Victoria, clearly hoped to be the subject of an admiring posthumous biography. But when his great-grandson, Martin Nanther begins to research his life for a biography, the Martin comes to suspect that his great-grandfather’s old records conceal more than they reveal. Henry had been obsessed with blood, to him, blood was a thing of beauty and he could not fathom how anyone could flinch or faint at the sight of it. As Martin’s research deepens, he begins to wonder whether the mysterious deaths of a number of friends and relatives of his great-grandfather really were mere coincidence or did Henry’s fascination with blood have a much darker side?
©2002 Kingsmarkham Enterprises Ltd (P)2014 Audible, Inc.