The Caret Noire Readers on Classic FM

Our Podcasts

Week Eleven - Tom Chambers

Tom Chambers reads from Jane Austen’s last completed novel, a love story tinged with the heartache of missed opportunities, Persuasion.

Week Eleven - Tom Chambers Interview

This week Mark Forrest is joined by Tom Chambers to talk about Jane Austin’s Persuasion a novel he discovered whilst doing his “A” Levels!

Week Ten - Matthew Macfayden

Matthew Macfayden reads from Jane Austen’s sparkling comedy of manners, Pride and Prejudice.

Week Ten - Matthew Macfayden Interview

Fresh from The Cannes Film Festival, Matthew Macfayden joins Mark Forrest to talk about his latest movie Robin Hood, his must read book Jane Austin’s Persuasion along with a confession about Pride and Prejudice!

Week Nine - Kwame Kwei Armah

Actor and playwright, Kwame Kwei-Armah reads from The Woman in White, the first and most influential novel of the Victorian genre that combined Gothic horror with psychological realism.

Week Nine - Kwame Kwei Armah Interview

This week Mark Forrest is joined by actor and playwright, Kwame Kwei-Armah who reads from The Woman in White, a novel that takes him back to his childhood.

Week Eight - Phil Spencer

Property expert Phil Spencer reads from Jane Austen’s most youthful and optimistic novel, Northanger Abbey.

Week Eight - Phil Spencer Interview

This week Mark Forrest chats to property guru Phil Spencer who has chosen to read a chapter from Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen one of his favourite authors.

Week Seven - Laurence Fox

Laurence Fox reads from Dickens’ haunting depiction of Pip’s education and development through adversity, Great Expectations.

Week Seven - Laurence Fox Interview

This week Mark Forrest talks to actor Laurence Fox about his favourite novel, Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations

Week Six - Xander Armstrong

Xander Armstrong reads from Alexandre Dumas’ epic tale of suffering and retribution, The Count of Monte Cristo.

Week Six - Alexander Armstrong Interview

This week Mark Forrest talks to Alexander Armstrong about his chosen novel ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’, which despite being over 1000 pages long, took him just four days to read on holiday!

Week Five - Jack Davenport

Jack Davenport reads from George Eliot’s study of provincial life, Middlemarch.

Week Five - Jack Davenport Interview

This week Mark Forrest to chats to actor Jack Davenport who’s currently working in Los Angeles. Jack tells Mark all about George Eliot’s Middlemarch, a book he remembers well from his “A” level studying days.

Week Four - John Simm

John Simm reads from Dostoyevsky’s epic novel of moral dilemmas and redemption, Crime and Punishment.

Week Four - John Simm Interview

John Simm chats about Dostoyevsky’s epic novel of moral dilemmas and redemption, Crime and Punishment.

Week three - Andrew Lincoln

Andrew Lincoln reads from Anna Karenina, Tolstoy’s first novel of love and self-destruction.

Week Three - Andrew Lincoln Interview

Actor Andrew Lincoln chats about the book he needed to read and did on a recent working trip to South Africa.

Week two - Rupert Everett

This week Rupert Everett reads from Wuthering Heights, Brontë’s gothic novel set on the wild Yorkshire Moors.

Week two - Rupert Everett Interview

Find out why a chart topping song from 1978 was enough for Rupert Everett to revisit a book he hadn’t read since his school days

Week one - Richard E Grant

This week Richard E Grant… reads from his ‘O’ Level prescribed book, Far From the Madding Crowd, Hardy’s novel of swift passion and slow courtship.

Week one - Richard E Grant Interview

Classic FM’s Mark Forrest talks to Richard E Grant about his passion for reading, and why Thomas Hardy’s Far From the Madding Crowd is one of his all-time favourite books.