Author:Jeffrey Archer,Jeffrey Archer,Full Cast,Stratford Johns,Michael York,Edward de Souza,Francis Matthews
Two full-cast dramatisations of Jeffrey Archer's thrillers with narration by Jeffrey Archer himself
Jeffery Archer is a New York Times bestselling author, published in over 37 languages across 97 countries. Jeffrey Archer's debut novel Not A Penny More, Not A Penny Less from 1976 is dramatised here in seven parts by Betty Davis; as well as his later work A Matter of Honour, which was recently rediscovered in the collection of an amateur archivist after the recording was lost on delivery to the BBC archives. The sound quality of A Matter of Honour may be affected as a result.
Not A Penny More, Not A Penny Less
The conned: an Oxford don, a revered society physician, a chic French art dealer, and a charming English lord. They have one thing in common. Overnight, each novice investor lost his life's fortune to one man.
The con: Harvey Metcalfe. A brilliant, self-made guru of deceit. A very dangerous individual. And now, a hunted man. With nothing left to lose, four strangers are about to come together - each experts in their own field.
Their plan: find Harvey, shadow him, trap him, and destroy him - penny-for-penny. From the luxurious casinos of Monte Carlo to the high-stakes windows at Ascot; from the bustle of Wall Street to fashionable London galleries, their own ingenious game has begun.
It's called revenge - and they were taught by a master.
Narrated by Jeffrey Archer
Harvey Metcalfe - Stratford Johns
Stephen Bradley - Paul Darrow
Adrian Tryner - Francis Matthews
Jean Pierre Lamanns - Edward de Souza
Lord James Brigsley - Jeremy Clyde
Anne Summerton - Lesley-Anne Down
David Stein - Leonard Fenton
Jorg Birrer - Sion Probert
Miss Melkie - Sonia Fraser
Giovanni - Sean Arnold
Adapted by Betty Davies
Directed by Glyn Dearman
First Broadcast on BBC Radio 4 October and November 1980
A Matter of Honour
10th May 1966: The Tsar's Icon is a fake. It is imperative that the original be found - and by 20th June. Finding it will change the course of human history.
It seems innocent enough. A disgraced British colonel bequeaths a mysterious letter to his only son. But the moment Adam Scott opens the yellowing envelope, he sets into motion a deadly chain of events that threatens to shake the very foundations of the free world.
When at last he comes to understand what he is in possession of, he's even more determined to protect it, for it's more than a matter of life and death - it's a matter of honour.
Narrated by Jeffrey Archer
Adam Scott - Michael York
Alexander Romanov - Simon Ward
Lawrence Pemberton - Tom Chadbon
Brezhnev - Czeslaw Grocholski
Zaborski - John Church
Petrova - Jill Lidstone
Heidi - Helena Breck
Konstantinov - George Roubicek
Goering - Garard Green
Gerard Scott - Manning Wilson
Mrs Scott - Pauline Letts
Wainwright - Eric Stovell
Other parts played by Sheila Grant, Ronald Herdman, Gordon Reid and Jill Simcox
Dramatised by Brian Sibley
Directed by Glyn Dearman
First Broadcast on BBC Radio 4 November and December 1986
©2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd
'Taut and gripping, with a pace that never slows, From The Ashes is a master-class in police procedurals.'
—— Andrea Mara, Sunday Times bestselling author of All Her Fault'Pacy, intelligent and so so satisfying. Another brilliant outing for Eve Hunter who is fast becoming my favourite detective. I can't get enough of Deborah Masson's writing.'
—— Marion Todd'Unmissable and addictive, Masson delivers beautifully crafted punches and red hot twists. Neatly plotted with some stunning characterisations, this is belter of a book.'
—— Helen Fields'If you're a fan of Val McDermid or Stuart MacBride then you're going to love this new thriller ... This page-turning thriller sure won't let crime fans down.'
—— Chat'A well-plotted police procedural.'
—— The Herald'It's clear that DI Eve Hunter in now one of Scotland's premier fictional detectives. Harrowing, absorbing - you won't put this down until the secret of the book's magic is revealed. A triumph for Deborah Masson.'
—— Denzil Meyrick'A dark and gripping read.'
—— Heat'Bodies in a basement are always a great attention grabber, and from then on it's twists, turns and tension all the way. Terrific stuff!'
—— Dave Jackson'From The Ashes is a tense and intriguing mystery, expertly delving into the darker side of the Granite City, hooked from from the first page and kept me guessing to the very end!'
—— G. R. Halliday, author of From The Shadows'I couldn't predict the ending of this tense thriller until nearly the last page.'
—— Yours'A very readable page turner. Childhood memories feed the flames of murder.'
—— Allan Martin'Dark, smouldering, tense - great.'
—— Gordon Brown, author of Any Day NowPraise for Deborah Masson:
—— -Hold Your Tongue is a tense debut in which the past and present collide with devastating consequences. I hope to read more of DI Eve Hunter.
—— Mari Hannah, author of HER LAST REQUESTWith a twisty plot and dark, nuanced characters, Hold Your Tongue makes for compulsive reading. Not only is it a fantastic crime novel, but the start of an exciting new series.
—— Jack Jordan, author of DO NO HARMGritty, gruesome and NOT to be missed!! Hold Your Tongue is a shocking and brilliant debut by an author who has the rare talent to drag the reader right into the heart of the story and keep them on the edge of their seat until the very last page. I loved DI Eve Hunter's ability to be both fragile - emotionally and physically broken, and wracked with guilt - and at the same time 100% badass! She was an instantly likeable heroine and one I can't wait to read about again.
—— Lauren North, author of SAFE AT HOMEExpertly paced, intriguing and with a strong emotional kick - this is a great start to a fab new detective series.
—— Susi Holliday, author of THE LAST RESORTIf you like your crime novels blood-curdling, Deborah Masson's debut is terrifying, edge-of-your-seat stuff.
—— Emma Curtis, author of ONE LITTLE MISTAKEDI Eve Hunter is a truly believable cop. This authenticity draws the reader into a plot that not only compels, but is a stinging social comment on those who have and have not in our society. You can smell, taste and feel the dramatic backdrop of Aberdeen. Not to be missed, edge-of-the-seat stuff from a genuine rising star.
—— Denzil Meyrick, author of FOR ANY OTHER TRUTHSkilful plotting, a complex detective and utterly believable characters - this is first-class crime fiction.
—— Marion Todd, author of SEE THEM RUNAn unforgettable story of survival and the power of friendship - nothing short of a science-fiction masterwork.
—— Kirkus Reviews (starred review)The Martian author Andy Weir returns with another space-survival saga, chocka dense with dry scientific debate, but also humour, humanity, a nourish case of memory loss and a credible injection of fantasy.
—— Total FilmScience and fiction in near-perfect harmony . . . Few novels are such a brilliant advert for STEM. Science-ing the shit" out of a problem is what [Weir] is best at.
—— SFXManifest meets Lost in The Anomaly...a puzzle box of a sci-fi thriller
—— PopSugarAn extraordinary, fast-paced, disturbing novel, perfect for these extraordinary, fast-paced, disturbing times. Think Steven Spielberg meets Umberto Eco with a side order of black humour, generously sprinkled with genuine emotion
—— Sam Taylor , author of The Island At The End Of The WorldA uniquely, gloriously, provocatively French contribution to the sci-fi thriller genre - it will keep you guessing, get your heart pounding, and make you feel and wonder and - above all - think
—— Sam J. Miller , Nebula-Award winning author of Blackfish CityIn The Anomaly, Hervé Le Tellier has delivered a volatile and compelling thriller that has you hurtling toward the mystery at the heart of the novel from page one. The Anomaly is a gripping and moving blend of Blake Crouch's Dark Matter, the television show Lost, with a bit of The Philadelphia Experiment thrown in for good measure. I couldn't put it down.
—— Terry Miles , author of RabbitsExhilarating, thought-provoking, funny, and devastating. The Anomaly is unlike anything else I've read this year
—— Laure Van Rensburg , author of Nobody But UsI was completely blown away by this genre-defying masterpiece. Part thriller, part philosophical rumination on what makes us human, and with a dash of theoretical physics; this is an absolute must-read
—— Sarah Bonner , author of Her Perfect TwinThe Anomaly is a brilliant balancing act of a novel, a fantastic rush and ride that works on myriad levels, at various depths, and in a multitude of styles. It's a precise and erudite literary treat, a comedic sociopolitical-religious skewering of these contemporary times, a philosophical-scientific-mathematical dive into the puzzles of possibility, space, and time, and an ingenious thought experiment that lends itself easily to ad infinitum analysis and dissection. It's also entirely grounded in human nature. Le Tellier's pointillistic characters are, like all of us, buffeted by desires, seeking love, striving, aging, making good and bad decisions, choosing the right or wrong paths, believing they know and understand themselves, utterly trusting in free will. Highly intelligent, ironic without cheap cynicism, The Anomaly is an immensely fun novel, an immersive experience that leaves the reader analysing everything anew
—— Cherise Wolas , author of The Resurrection of Joan Ashby and The Family TaborThe year has only just begun but I will be surprised if I read something as astonishing as The Anomaly in the next 12 months
—— ScotsmanIt's dizzying, exhilarating, brilliant!
—— Nicholas Carreau , Europe 1An intoxicating mix of the magical and life's big questions
—— Financial TimesHervé le Tellier's new novel is an exquisite, insane surprise. Quite simply astounding
—— Le Journal du DimancheAn addictive page-turner, The Anomaly flirts with thriller and science fiction, and mirrors the best televisions series in its very effective orchestration of suspense. Filled with fascination existential and metaphysical questions, this is an effective, funny and discreetly melancholy novel
—— Le MondeA brilliant, extremely inventive book. Like an astounding screenplay for an American blockbuster, written by a Frenchman who is having fun with it
—— Olivia de Lamberterie , France 2Hervé le Tellier has written an impossible novel. It's a thriller but also a fantasy. A choral novel, which is also surrealist. An adventure, a page turner, a bestseller, but also an experimental, highly literary work
—— Frederic Beigbeder , Le Figaro MagazineA delight. Intricate, ingenious, propulsive - but also affecting, with numerous moments that are terribly poignant along with its puzzles and winks
—— iHow would society respond to the inexplicable? This is the question the author tries, with intelligence, elegance and humour, to answer. Hervé le Tellier has written a frank and gripping novel with complex, moving characters. You won't be able to put it down!
—— Claire Bitaudeau , Librairie MillepagesEffervescent playfulness . . . Hilariously deadpan
—— GuardianThe novel is a tour de force which both dives into the personal lives of several characters and at the same time gives a group perspective on an international event which verges on science fiction. The taut rhythm of the investigation keeps the reader on tenterhooks
—— Toute La CultureThe situations are mad, but the questions they raise, far less so. Such is the profundity of this astonishing book: it makes light of itself, lending an air of fantasy to the fates of its characters, while Hervé le Tellier holds a mirror up before us
—— Le FigaroA master of one-touch characterisation. Le Tellier's genius is in making the unimaginable feel authentic
—— MetroLe Tellier, throughout this flight, deposits on the tarmac his stunned reader, ready to applaud
—— L'OpinionLe Tellier is a masterful writer and his staggering story verges on thriller and science fiction
—— Version FeminaSomewhere between fable and science fiction, it's a fascinating novel
—— La Depeche du MidiThe novel weaves a surprising story out of several narrative threads which give Hervé le Tellier the opportunity to touch on as many literary genres as he does themes, in a biting and often funny critique of the start of the 21st century
—— En Attendant NadeauExcellent...at once zeitgeisty, intelligent, and entertaining
—— Charlie HebdoFantastic...The Anomaly wears its name well: it's rare in France that a work combines the best of American TV series with an impeccable mastery of the French psychological novel
—— Elle FranceDizzying, compelling
—— RTE GuideMind-bending. Herve Le Tellier's emotional and intellectual rollercoaster is well worth the ride
—— The Times Literary SupplementA delightfully confounding thriller . . . Le Tellier's prose is beautifully efficient and capable of quiet devastation
—— London Review of Books