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Babblewick Hall
Babblewick Hall
Sep 21, 2024 1:07 PM

Author:Scott Cherry,Gillian Bevan,Forbes Mason,Full Cast,Sam Kelly,Nicholas Le Provost,David Antrobus,Philip Jackson,Sophie Thompson

Babblewick Hall

The complete Series 1 & 2 of the historical sitcom about well-meaning but gullible 18th Century squire Fenton Babblewick and his clever manservant Augustus

When idealistic Fenton Babblewick inherits his uncle's Yorkshire estate, it's the perfect opportunity to realise his Utopian dreams. But for his valet, Augustus Snipe, moving to Babblewick Hall is a nightmare. The servants are surly, the house is freezing cold and full of farm animals, and worst of all, it's in the North - a world away from the cosy coffeehouses and gentlemen's clubs of London.

In these ten episodes, Fenton tries his hand as an agricultural reformer and radical grower of beetroots, falls in love with the charming Miss Lucinda Bluntstone, and embarks on a glamorous political career. An escape to London beckons - but Augustus' hopes are dashed when his master chooses to stay in the village, where he tries to convert a workhouse into a school and investigates a case of witchcraft...

Fans of Blackadder will love this light-hearted comedy drama, full of japes, jokes and amusing sound effects and soundtracked with brilliant Baroque-style music. Olivier Award-winning actor Nicholas Le Prevost stars as Fenton Babblewick, with Forbes Masson as Augustus Snipe and Sam Kelly and Dave Hill as Jack. Among the stellar guest cast are Sophie Thompson, Maurice Denham, Tracie Bennett and John Moffatt.

Production credits

Written by Scott Cherry

Produced by Paul Schlesinger (Series 1) and Jon Rolph (Series 2)

Music composed by Paul Mottram

Violin: Paul Mottram

Cast

Fenton Babblewick - Nicholas Le Prevost

Augustus Snipe - Forbes Masson

Barney - David Antrobus

Jack - Sam Kelly/Dave Hill

Molly - Gillian Bevan

Bob Scotcher - Philip Jackson

Peck - Alex Lowe

Pickett - Christian Rodska

Grunter - Geoffrey McGivern

Flinch - Maurice Denham

Mrs Bluntstone - ElizabethSpriggs

Lucinda - Tracie Bennett

Smellie - David Timson

Hartson - Geoffrey Whitehead

Berridge - Jeremy Clyde

Dribb/Maddison - John Baddeley

Mrs Maddison - Sara Coward

Highwayman - Stephen Critchlow

William Babblewick - Benjamin Whitrow

Elizabeth Babblewick - Pauline Yates

Harriet - Courtney King

Septimus Hickey - John Moffatt

With Maggie McCarthy, Benedict Sandiford, Michael Troughton, Pat Coombs, Kim Wall, Lynda Barron, Phil Nice, Peter Gunn, Sophie Thompson, Rosemary Leach

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 27 December 1995-31 January 1996 (Series 1), 4-25 September 1998 (Series 2)

Reviews

One of the best biographies in pop history. A phenomenal piece of observational journalism. Heath's books offers unprecedented access.

—— Mark Savage , BBC News

Candid, hilarious and revealing...gloriously gossipy. [They set] a benchmark for music biographies. Engrossing stuff.

—— Classic Pop Magazine

Candid, insightful and frequently hilarious dispatches from the front line of pop stardom. An astonishingly intimate and honest portrait of the maverick duo. Page turners of the highest order, saying more about their subjects than any “straight” biographies could ever hope to achieve.

—— Record Collector Magazine

A magical marriage of the lyrical and practical: a book that makes us want to seek out the nightingale and then reveals how we can.

—— Tristan Gooley

A beautiful, lyrical, heartfelt book ... Certainly my appreciation of however many nightingalers are left to me will be for ever heightened by the time I've spent with this generous, sensitive book about our most glorious songbird

—— Alex Preston , Observer

Truly enchanting. Sam Lee takes the reader by an emotional hand and leads them through the labyrinth of poetry and song to elucidate humans' everlasting attachment to the nightingale.

—— Roger Phillips

Sam Lee has brought the poetic magic that has long enchanted so many of his musical fans into the written word. Allow yourself to glimpse the world Sam sees, to be part of his love affair with the nightingale, and you will no doubt be delighted.

—— Lily Cole

Enchanting. Full of piercing joy and love-fuelled lament and urgency. A beautiful book for a beautiful bird.

—— Anna Hope, author of EXPECTATION

Beautiful. A book to treasure which I'll keep on returning to.

—— Sue Stuart-Smith, author of THE WELL GARDENED MIND

This is nature writing at its most romantic

—— Geographic

This captivating miscellany, richly illustrated with paintings, photographs, maps and line drawings, is a scintillating celebration of the nightingale by a Mercury Prize-nominated folk musician, environmental activist and conservationist.

—— Caroline Sanderson , Bookseller, Editor's Choice

A marvellous miscellany of the nightingale, the sweet-singing bird which is now, alas, on of the "endlings" - the last of a species facing extinction

—— Independent

Lee's book is not just a lyrically crafted biography, but a moving rebellion against political inaction and lost connections. It is a bell to toll you out into a forest of re-enchantment.

—— New Statesman

A really beautiful book . . . Lovely.

—— Mark Radcliffe

A vivid and often moving account of a bird that has inspired everyone from the ancients to John Keats and Oliver Messiaen

—— Herald

Heaven to hold in the hand, mind and heart.

—— Dr Amy-Jane Beer

Lyrical, sweet and loving, this account of one bird's link to human culture and history through the evocative presence of its voice was impossible to put down.

—— Bernie Krause, founder of Wild Sanctuary

Lee delves into the intricacies of the song, habitat and migration of this mysterious, enchanting creature in a tale that's as lyrical as the bird itself

—— Radio Times

A composer who can write as eloquently as he sings. A rare bird, indeed!

—— Leah Borromeo

With our new-found love of wildlife, this book promises to lift the spirits of not just bird enthusiasts, but nature lovers, too.

—— People's Friend

The exuberance of folk-singer Sam Lee's The Nightingale is irresistible

—— Bird Watching

A master storyteller

—— Guardian praise for Sam Lee's Singing with Nightingales
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