£16.49 / $25.72

1564 - 1616

Shakespeare was born in the country town of Stratford-upon-Avon.He was educated at the local grammar school. He went to London in 1588 to begin a life in the theatre. He was immensely successful and he is now recognised as the greatest dramatist of all time. The DVD covers his life and background and ends with an overview of his work.

Running time: approx 35 minutes

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£16.49 / $25.72

1899 - 1961

Ernest Hemingway was born in Oak Park, a wealthy suburb of Chicago. He became a reporter on the Kansas City Star at the age of 18, then went to Italy to serve for a few months in the war. His first novel was published in 1926 and he achieved tremendous popularity almost at once. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1954. The DVD covers his life and background and ends with an overview of his work.

Running time: approx 35 minutes

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£16.49 / $25.72

1812 - 1870

Charles Dickens was born in Portsmouth. His father worked in the naval dockyard. The family later moved to Chatham and London but slowly slid into poverty. Dickens ended up working in a factory. He took up journalism, then at 24 had great success as a novelist. The DVD covers his life and background and ends with an overview of his work.

Running time: approx 35 minutes

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£16.49 / $25.72

1775 - 1817

Like most women of her time, Jane Austen lived out her life on home ground. Her adventurous brothers meant however that she was very much in touch with her age. Coupling this with her own remarkable personality she produced some of the finest novels in English literature. The DVD covers her life and background and ends with an overview of her work.

Running time: approx 35 minutes

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£16.49 / $25.72

1882 - 1941

Virginia Woolf was born in London in 1882. Her father was Leslie Stephen, a writer and literary editor. She was educated privately and in 1912 married Leonard Woolf. He encouraged her to write and they began their own publishing house called the Hogarth Press. She took her own life in 1941.The DVD covers her life and background.

Running time: approx 30 minutes

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£16.49 / $25.72

1854 - 1900

Oscar Wilde was certainly one of the most brilliant writers of comedy for the English stage. The tale of his tragic downfall, caused by the society of his time condemning his private sexual life, has generally overshadowed the importance of his work. The film follows his early career and attempts to regain the balance between tragic figure and artist. The DVD covers his life and background and ends with an overview of his work.

Running time: approx 35 minutes

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£16.49 / $25.72

The three Brönte sisters Charlotte (b.1816), Emily (b.1818) and Anne (b.1810) were all born in the village of Thornton in Yorkshire. They spent most of their lives not far away at Haworth where their father was vicar. They were largely educated at home. All three achieved their goal of becoming successful novelists. The programme follows their lives and their development as writers and ends with an overview of their work.

Running time: approx 35 minutes

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£16.49 / $25.72

George Orwell 1903 - 1950

Orwell was born in India. He was educated at Eton College and in 1922 went out to Burma as a police officer. He returned to England in 1927 and determined to be a writer. In 1936 he went to join the civil war in Spain. He later worked for the BBC and The Observer. Just as he was becoming successful he died of tuberculosis. The DVD covers his life and background and ends with an overview of his work.

Running time: approx 35 minutes

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£10.20 / $15.91

A collection of nursery rhymes and songs read and sung by Malcolm Hossick.

Nursery rhymes in english and any other language work with children for a number of simple reasons; they tend to go for the heart of the matter without too much explanation; they delight in repetitive patterns of sounds which may not make much sense but are good on the ear; the good don't always win; death and destruction are meted out pretty ruthlessly, deserved or not; and finally for a mind opening onto the world they present a challenge in understanding and mimicry which is all a part of how kids develop.

Literary analysis aside, pouring all this stuff out to Hugo, 3 years old, is pretty agreeable to grandfather Malcolm Hossick; so here they all are; no accompaniment, no pattern or order to it all, no flannel, no cartoons or schmalzy music but just the age old stuff that might keep the kids imagination held for a time while weary mum gets on with the cooking.

unabridged
mp3 format ; dur: 70 mins
1 audio CD

When they're a bit older they might enjoy Malcolm Hossick's
reading of Dickens' A Christmas Carol'; or the ever-popular
‘Alice in Wonderland’ all from Academy Media


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£16.49 / $25.72

1809 - 1849

Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston the son of actors David and Elizabeth Poe. His father disappeared when he was three and his mother died a year later. He was adopted by a Richmond, Virginia family called Allan. When he was 17 he was disowned by his foster parents. He was determined to be a writer and through many difficulties he succeeded in becoming one of the first great imaginative writers in the United States. The DVD covers his life and background and ends with an overview of his work.

Running time: approx 35 minutes

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