Audiobooks by Gyles Brandreth

Prose & Cons: The English Language in Just A Minute

Brought to you by Penguin. As fans of Just a Minute know, the key to the game is knowing your way around the English language: how it works, how it’s evolved, and how words connect, often in surprising ways. When it comes to the English language (and Just a Minute), Gyles Brandreth has seen it all – and now he’s ready to put you through your linguistic paces, to become a Just a Minute expert yourself. In this wildly entertaining A to Z of verbal acrobatics, Gyles takes you on a whirlwind tour of our mother tongue – from the origins of words and correct grammar and punctuation, to similes, euphemisms and record breaking tongue twisters (try getting your mouth around floccinaucinihilipification!). An idiosyncratic blend of history, word play, anecdote, and hyperbole, all in 60-second instalments, this is Gyles Brandreth at his word-perfect, Just-a-Minute best. You’ll never mix your metaphors again... 'A whirlwind tour of the joys of English, by the master of concision and wit.’ – Susie Dent ‘Gyles is very funny – and never lost for words!’ – Dame Judi Dench © Gyles Brandreth 2024 (P) Penguin Audio 2024

Gyles Brandreth (Author), Gyles Brandreth, TBD (Narrator)

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Whispers: The Complete Series 1-3: A BBC Radio 4 Comedy Panel Game

Gyles Brandreth presents the quiz show with scandal on its mind Hosted by the least discreet man in Britain, broadcaster and national treasure Gyles Brandreth, Whispers is the panel game that celebrates all things scurrilous and salacious. Running the gauntlet of gossip are two teams of two guests, who test their wits and wit as they try to tell the difference between fact, fiction and outlandish speculation. In the opening round, they are challenged to work out whether a given allegation is true, false or a 'whisper' (a rumour that was widely circulated, but never proven). Subsequent rounds include 'Scandal of the Week', in which they must flesh out the bare bones of a celebrity biography by buzzing in with the missing information; and 'Loose Connections', where their task is to pinpoint the sensational or bizarre link between two well-known personalities. At the end of each show, five bonus points are allocated to anyone who can identify a fib told by Gyles earlier in the game. Team captains Anthony Holden, Stella Duffy and Lucy Moore are joined by panellists including Lynne Truss, Jennie Bond, Julian Fellowes, Richard Herring, Louise Doughty and John O'Farrell to probe the follies and foibles of the famous and infamous. Did Queen Victoria take cannabis? What's the connection between Salman Rushdie and The Beatles? And was Bonaparte really attacked on his wedding night by Josephine's dog? Find out in the quiz that puts naughty before nice and dishes the dirt on the bad boys and girls of history. Production credits Devised and presented by Gyles Brandreth Written by Nick Hildred and Hugh Rycroft Produced by Elizabeth Freestone and Victoria Lloyd Series 1 featuring: Anthony Holden, Stella Duffy, Rosie Millard, Jenny Colgan, Lynne Truss, Rowan Pelling, Jennie Bond, Geoffrey Durham Series 2 featuring: Anthony Holden, Lucy Moore, Geoffrey Durham, Valerie Grove, Lynne Truss, Michèle Brown, Simon Fanshawe, Charles Collingwood Series 3 featuring: Anthony Holden, Lucy Moore, Penny Junor, Julian Fellowes, Richard Herring, Louise Doughty, Dan Tetsell, John O'Farrell First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 29 October-10 December 2003 (Series 1), 15 September-20 October 2004 (Series 2), 5 October-9 November 2005 (Series 3) © 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd.

Gyles Brandreth (Author), Anthony Holden, Charles Collingwood, Dan Tetsell, Geoffrey Durham, Gyles Brandreth, Jennie Bond, Jenny Colgan, John O’farrell, Julian Fellowes, Louise Doughty, Lucy Moore, Lynne Truss, Penny Junor, Richard Herring, Stella Duffy (Narrator)

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The Personality Test: The complete BBC Radio 4 comedy quiz series

The comedy panel game where all the questions are about the guest host Welcome to The Personality Test, the panel show in which a brand new host takes the chair for every episode to present a quiz entirely themed around themselves. Each gets to run the show by their own rules, devising topics and queries based on their life, whims, fancies and past glories. Among the showbiz celebrities in the hot seat are Gyles Brandreth, Jennie Bond, Antony Worrall Thompson, Esther Rantzen, Janet Street-Porter and Edwina Currie, while the rounds include Love It Or Hate It, True or False, That Special Day and Life's a Pitch. Is John Sergeant a fan of Julia Roberts? Would Greg Dyke give Radio 4 just a minute, or leave it on a desert island? And does Claire Rayner have a penchant for jelly babies? Having spent a week swotting up on their host, the contestants must tackle these questions and more, as they do their best to amuse, entertain, charm, flatter - and occasionally, flirt outrageously - in a bid to chalk up the points and win the game. Battling it out are regular panellists and comedy heavyweights Alan Carr, Sue Perkins, Robert Ince, Lucy Porter, Will Smith and Carrie Quinlan. Intriguing and challenging, riotous and revealing, this unique panel show shines a fascinating spotlight on the interests and enthusiasms of your favourite personalities - and keeps you laughing along the way. Production credits Written by Richard Turner, Simon Littlefield and Kieron Quirke Devised and produced by Aled Evans Series 1 presented by: John Sergeant, Greg Dyke, Gyles Brandreth and Jennie Bond With Sue Perkins, Alan Carr, Lucy Porter, Will Smith, Robin Ince and Natalie Haynes Series 2 presented by: Roy Hattersley, Rick Wakeman, Adam Hart-Davis, Antony Worrall Thompson, Claire Rayner and Esther Rantzen With Sue Perkins, Lucy Porter, Robin Ince, Mark Dolan and Will Smith Series 3 presented by: Janet Street-Porter, Lorraine Kelly, Andrew Neill, Edwina Currie, Toyah Willcox and Eve Pollard With Sue Perkins, Will Smith, Nick Doody, Lucy Porter, Robin Ince, Carrie Quinlan and Dan Tetsell First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 12 July-2 August 2006 (Series 1), 7 December 2006-11 January 2007 (Series 2), 5 July-9 August 2007 (Series 3) © 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd.

Adam Hart-Davis, Alan Carr, Antony Worrall-Thompson, Edwina Currie, Esther Rantzen, Greg Dyke, Gyles Brandreth, Janet Street-Porter, Jennie Bond, John Sergeant, Lorraine Kelly, Lucy Porter, Robin Ince, Roy Hattersley, Sue Perkins (Author), Alan Carr, Caroline Quinlan, Dan Tetsell, Lucy Porter, Natalie Haynes, Robin Ince, Sue Perkins, Various, Will Smith (Narrator)

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Elizabeth: The No 1 Sunday Times bestseller from the writer who knew her and her family for over fif

Brought to you by Penguin. A personal account of the life and character of Britain's longest-reigning monarch This intimate, personal biography of Queen Elizabeth II tells the story of her remarkable life, reign and times, from a perspective unlike any other. Gyles Brandreth writes the Queen's tale candidly with grace and sensitivity from the view of someone who met her, talked with her and kept a record of those conversations. Brandreth knew the Queen's husband well and knows the new King and Queen Consort. Told with authority, a refreshing dose of humour and moving honesty from a totally unique viewpoint, Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait is the must-have biography of the longest-serving monarch in English history, of a woman who represented not only her people but stood as an emblem of fortitude and resilience worldwide throughout her long life. Elizabeth II - what was she really like? What made her the person she was? 'The writer who got closest to the human truth about our long-serving senior royals.' Libby Purves, THE TIMES ©2022 Gyles Brandreth (P)2022 Penguin Audio

Gyles Brandreth (Author), Gyles Brandreth (Narrator)

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Dancing By The Light of The Moon: Over 250 poems to read, relish and recite

Brought to you by Penguin. Dancing by the Light of the Moon, a collection of poetry to last you a lifetime - poems that will bring you joy, solace, celebration and love for every occasion Includes an updated chapter of poems to bring you hope and happiness this year A POEM CAN . . . Comfort · Challenge · Be a friend Stretch your vocabulary Help you sleep · Break the ice Find you a lover · Be utter nonsense Console · Make you laugh - or cry For every moment in your life there is a poem. In Dancing by the Light of the Moon we have a remarkable collection of over 250 best-loved poems in the English-speaking world. Allow Gyles Brandreth to be your guide to not only the wonders of poetry - and there are many - but also its practical uses in everyday life. Whether seeking some words to reflect your mood, wanting to celebrate or mark an occasion or simply looking for lines of comfort and joy in difficult times, this collection has everything for readers of poetry both young and old, novices and old hands alike, will love and return to again and again. 'Gyles has discovered the secret of finding happiness' DAME JUDI DENCH 'Over 400 pages of top-notch poems by everyone from Shakespeare to Simon Armitage' Daily Mail 'A collection of poems that will transform your memory and change your life' Dr Max Pemberton © Gyles Brandreth 2021 (P) Penguin Audio 2021

Gyles Brandreth (Author), Gyles Brandreth (Narrator)

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Odd Boy Out: The ‘hilarious, eye-popping, unforgettable’ Sunday Times bestseller

Brought to you by Penguin. The long-awaited autobiography from beloved star of Just a Minute, QI, Have I Got News For You and Celebrity Gogglebox. There are few people Gyles Brandreth doesn't know or hasn't met - from the Queen to the Sex Pistols, Mandela and Marlene Dietrich to TS Eliot, he's the celebrities' celebrity, as familiar and welcome to us on radio and screens as biscuits are to a cup of tea. Now a grandparent, looking back on his remarkable life, he traces his steps back to being a three-year-old tearing around 1950s London on his tricycle, to boarding school where he had an appendix removed simply to get out of football, to Bedales, where he met Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall (and became intimate with a matron), to balancing his growing love of theatre with his love for educating, the 'woolly jumper years', the stint as an MP, the years of close friendship with the Queen, to becoming a septuagenarian Twitter star and stalwart fixture in British entertainment. Throughout it all, there are lessons to be learned as Gyles derives wisdom and wit from his extraordinary encounters. Full of stories and full of heart, this is Gyles as you don't yet know him. © Gyles Brandreth 2021 (P) Penguin Audio 2021

Gyles Brandreth (Author), Gyles Brandreth (Narrator)

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Living with the Enemy: The Complete BBC Radio comedy

All six episodes of the BBC radio comedy about two chalk-and-cheese flatmates Nick Reynolds is a lefty alternative comedian-turned-holistic therapist. Living on the floor below him is Gyles Brandon, an ex-Tory MP turned media darling. Poles apart, they’d never choose each other as friends, but when Nick accidentally floods Gyles’ apartment, they become reluctant flat-sharers. Joined by Gyles’ goddaughter Sophie Okuyu, the spoilt daughter of a corrupt African politician, the housemates get into various scrapes, including plotting to seek revenge on Gyles’ ex-wife, trying to curry favour (and make some money) at a swanky Mayfair art gallery, and going on a celebratory night out which swiftly turns to disaster... Written by and starring Gyles Brandreth as Gyles and Nick Revell as Nick, this Odd Couple story was inspired by a chance meeting between the pair at the Edinburgh Festival, where they hit it off despite being political opposites. Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Belle, Black Mirror) plays Sophie, and guest stars include Prunella Scales, Timothy West, Martin Jarvis and Neil Pearson. Cast Gyles Brandon – Gyles Brandreth Nick Reynolds – Nick Revell Sophie Okuyu – Gugu Mbatha-Raw George Carstairs – Martin Jarvis Taxi driver/Goon – Nathan Caton Mr Longstaff/ Richard Dowdeswell/Piers/Brian/Barry – Martin Hyder Shop assistant – Alys Torrance Mrs Woodman – Prunella Scales Mr Woodman – Timothy West Charles Danbury – Nickolas Grace Jana – Maria McErlane Immigration officer/Asif – Dan Mersh Olga – Barunka O'Shaughnessy Rick – Neil Pearson Written by Nick Revell and Gyles Brandreth Produced by Ed Morrish BA: Pamela Norris Studio Managers: Alick Hale-Monro & Gary Newman Archive BA: Kevin Gordon Theme music composed and performed by Ben Walker

Gyles Brandreth, Nick Revell (Author), Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Gyles Brandreth, Nick Revell (Narrator)

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Have You Eaten Grandma?

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Have You Eaten Grandma? written and read by Gyles Brandreth. 'Best thing ever, laugh-a-lot, spanning everything. Great book, I'm loving this' Chris Evans, BBC Radio 2 It can be much harder than it seems; commas, colons, semi-colons and even apostrophes can drive us all mad at times, but it riles no one more than the longest-serving resident of Countdown's Dictionary Corner, grammar guru Gyles Brandreth. In this brilliantly funny tirade and guide, Gyles anatomizes the linguistic horrors of our times, tells us where we've been going wrong (and why) and shows us how, in future, we can get it right every time. Is 'alright' all right? You'll find out right here. From dangling clauses to gerunds, you'll also discover why Santa's helpers are subordinate clauses. In Have You Eaten Grandma? he waxes lyrical about the importance of language as, after all, it is what we use to define ourselves and, ultimately, is what makes us human. And why not check out the Have You Eaten Grandma? podcast, starring Gyles and a host of other grammar and linguisitic lovers and experts

Gyles Brandreth (Author), Gyles Brandreth (Narrator)

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Oscar Wilde and a Death of No Importance

London, 1889. Oscar Wilde, celebrated poet, wit, playwright, and raconteur is the literary sensation of his age. All Europe lies at his feet. Yet when he chances across the naked corpse of sixteen-year-old Billy Wood, posed by candlelight in a dark stifling attic room, he cannot ignore the brutal murder. With the help of fellow author Arthur Conan Doyle he sets out to solve the crime—but it is Wilde’s unparalleled access to all degrees of late Victorian life, from society drawing rooms to the underclass, that will prove the decisive factor in the investigation of what turns out to be a series of brutal killings. Oscar Wilde and a Death of No Importance is a classic murder mystery in the tradition of Dorothy L. Sayers and Arthur Conan Doyle. “A first-class stunner…[A] wow of a history-mystery…Fascinating.”--Booklist (starred review)

Gyles Brandreth (Author), Bill Wallis (Narrator)

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The Trials of Oscar Wilde

Born in Dublin in 1854 Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was educated at Oxford where he achieved a double first. His reputation as a dramatist, poet, and novelist was established in only seven years; from his first short story "The Happy Prince" to The Importance of Being Earnest in 1895. He died in Paris in 1900 ruined by a notorious libel case and two years in Reading gaol. On 18th February 1895, the Marquess of Queensberry left a visiting card at the Albemarle Club on which he had written: "To Oscar Wilde posing as a sodomite." The accusation led to a series of three trials and the imprisonment of Wilde. This compelling dramatic recreation has been carefully compiled from the original trial transcripts. Performed almost entirely by Martin Jarvis taking the parts of barristers, witnesses, judge, jury, and, of course, Oscar Wilde. It captures the flavour of the trials exactly.

Gyles Brandreth (Author), Martin Jarvis (Narrator)

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