British actor Rufus Sewell stars as the head of the vampires in the new 3D horror 'Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter', co-starring with Benjamin Walker and Dominic Cooper.

Rufus said, 'It was tremendous fun. I'm surprised I've never played one before; it feels like I have; people assume that I have, but it's the first time. So it's nice to become the president of the vampires, which I feel I'm playing in this. I had a whale of a time.'

However, The Holiday star admitted he did sometimes gets a bit bored of being cast as the villain on the big screen.

Hear a different side of Rufus where he reads Henry Fielding's novel, The History of the Adventures of Joseph Andrews and of his Friend Mr. Abraham Adams. Rufus Sewell's voice lends itself perfectly to this audiobook download... we're sure you'll agree!

All of here at Silksoundbooks would like to wish a big Happy Birthday to our star audio book reader and hugely talented actress Jane Horrocks.

Jane was the youngest of three children in the Horrocks family and was born on January 18th in Rawtenstall in Lancashire. She trained at Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and began her career with the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Her award winning performance in the West End play The Rise and Fall of Little Voice and the movie that followed have made her one of the countries favouritre actresses.

We have really enjoyed her performances in Absolutely Fabulous and my favourite The Amazing Mrs Pritchard.

Jane's two audiobooks - available to download from Silksoundbooks - show two very different sides to her talents.

Sonnets from the Portuguese is a collection of forty-four love sonnets written by Elizabeth Barrett Browning in the period leading up to her 1846 marriage to Robert Browning.

Nursery Rhymes is a collection of your favourite childhood nursery rhymes read with all the original words and verses.

Two great downloadable audio books from Jane Horrocks and a big Happy Birthday from all of us at Silksoundbooks!!

Today, the 16th December, is the anniversary of the birth of one of the most widely read and beloved writers in English literature, Jane Austen .
Born in 1775 in a small village in Hampshire, England, her father was a clergyman and her mother came from a family fairly remotely connected to the aristocracy. She had five brothers and one sister.

It's hard to imagine, but during her lifetime she gained little personal fame as her novels were published anonymously. Today she is admired all around the world with movies and TV adaptations of all her works.

At Silksoundbooks we have recorded audiobooks two of her novels that were published posthumously in 1818. Persuasion - a very funny exploration of the eighteenth century sport of trying to find a decent husband - is read beautifully by Olivia Williams.

Lynn Redgrave brings her incredible talent to the gothic horror of Northanger Abbey where we follow the story's heroine, seventeen year old Catherine Morland.

These two unabridged classic Jane Austen audio books are available to download from silksoundbooks.com

Today is the birthday of star audio book reader Natascha McElhone and all of us here at Silksoundbooks would like to send her all our very best wishes.

Natascha Taylor was born in Walton-on-Thames in Surrey, England and after training at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, made her acting debut as Natascha McElhone having taken her mother's maiden name as her stage name.

After many stage appearances, Natascha's first TV role was in the BBC series Bergerac followed by an appearance in Absolutely Fabulous. Her film debut was in Surviving Picasso with Anthony Hopkins and she followed this with The Truman Show, The Devil's Own, Ronin and Solaris.

Most recently Natascha has been attracting a huge following and some great reviews, in the award winning television series Californication.

Natascha's Silksoundbooks audio book Goblin Market and Selected Poems - a collection of the writings of Christina Rossetti has also garnered some great reviews - 'What a voice. If they gave audios X certificates, this would get one !' wrote Sue Arnold in the Guardian.

Check it out - it's well worth a listen. And have a very Happy Birthday, Natascha.

Happy Birthday Bill ! Silksoundbooks Ambassador and founder audiobook reader, Bill Nighy celebrates his birthday on December 12th.

With such an amazing career it's hard to know where to begin, so lets start in 1949 when Bill was born in Caterham, Surrey in England. After leaving school he spent some time as a messenger boy with a magazine publisher but then went on to train at The Guildford School of Dance and Drama.

Bill's theatre career started in Liverpool and was followed by many appearances in London's National Theatre productions. Radio and television dramas have also given him many starring roles, but lately the Movies have been where we've seen and heard Bill the most.

Love Actually, Shaun of the Dead, The Hitchhikers Guide, Pirates of the Caribbean, Valkyrie and The Boat That Rocked.. are just a few of our favourites here at Silksoundbooks.

Bill was the brilliant founder reader at Silksoundbooks and it was his enthusiasm for the project that really made it a reality. And that's not just my opinion! Sue Arnold, writing in the Guardian, said of his unabridged audiobook The Dupin Mysteries written by Edgar Allan Poe :

'Whoever chose to combine Poe's ghoulishly gory and violent script with Nighy's famously low-key, deadpan delivery knew what they were doing - it's a powerful brew.'

Exactly!

Happy Birthday Bill - from all of us here at Silksoundbooks.

All of us at Silksoundbooks are delighted to send our best wishes to the celebrated actress and star audio book reader Dame Judi Dench who is celebrating her birthday today - the 9th of December.

Dame Judi was born in Heworth, York in North Yorkshire and after leaviing school trained as a set designer. Her first professional stage appearance was in 1957 with the Old Vic Company, at the Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool and her career from then on has taken her to international acclaim. Both as an actress and as a director, Dame Judi has worked in theatre, television and cinema winning countless awards.

These are not just theatrical awards - she was awarded the OBE in 1970, became a Dame Commander of the British Empire in 1988, and a Companion of Honour in 2005.

With her daughter Finty Williams and long time television co-star Geoffrey Palmer, Dame Judi reads one of Silksoundbooks most popular audio book downloads - Evelina, the wickedly funny eighteenth century best-seller by Frances Burney.

Happy Birthday Dame Judi, from all of us at Silksoundbooks.

Happy Birthday Colin ! Today is Sillksoundbooks star audio book reader Colin Salmon's birthday - he was born on December 6th 1962 in Bethnal Green, London.

At first, it was music that seemed to be Colins career choice. When he left school he became the drummer in a punk rock band and he also plays the trumpet, a talent he put to great use in his role as trumpeter Note Makoti in the TV series The No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. Yes, he did actually play the trumpet himself in the concert scene!

Colin's acting debut came with his appearance in 1992 in the hit British TV series Prime Suspect 2 and he has gone on to appear in many more TV shows and hit movies including the Bond epic Tomorrow Never Dies, Law and Order : UK and Single Ladies to name just a few.

Colin's acting talents are used to the full as the reader of the Silksoundbooks classic audio book Black Beauty, one of the most famous children’s books ever written. Anna Sewell's classic story of the highly spirited and gorgeous black stallion and his transfer from owner to increasingly abusive owner until his final happy rescue has held the world record for sales for children’s literature for one hundred and thirty years.

A wonderful audio book from a great actor - Happy Birthday Colin.

All of us here at Silksoundbooks would like to wish Happy Birthday to star audio book reader Jeremy Northam who was born on December 1st 1961.

Jeremy was born in Cambridge, England the son of John and Rachel, both university professors. His father John Northam is best known for his translations of Ibsen. The family moved to Bristol in 1972 where Jeremy attended Bristol Grammar School followed by Bedford College, University of London where he gained a bachelor of arts degree in English Literature.

After graduation, he attended the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and worked his way through regional theater to the London stage. Jeremy was the recipient of the prestigious Olivier Award - the British equivalent of the Tony - for outstanding newcomer for his 1990 performance as Edward Voysey, in the Royal National Theatre production of 'The Voysey Inheritance.'

In 1994 he made his American film debut in the thriller, The Net, with Sandra Bullock followed by his acclaimed portrayal of Mr. Knightley in Miramax's 'Emma' starring opposite Gwyneth Paltrow. Jeremy has continued to thrill his audiences with his many performances which include big budget productions, independent projects, television and - of course - audio books.

Jeremy has brought his own love and knowledge of author Henry James to two great audiobooks, The Aspern Papers and The Real Thing and Other Short Stories, available only from Silksoundbooks.

Happy Birthday Jeremy.

All of us at Silksoundbooks would like to wish a big Happy Birthday to our star audio book performer Samantha Bond who was born on November the 27th 1961.

Samantha is the daughter of an actor, Philip Bond and television producer Pat Sandys. She trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and became a founder member of Kenneth Branagh’s touring theatre company in the 1980s. She has worked extensively with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre. She will always be remembered for her role as Miss Moneypenny in four James Bond films. Over the last couple of years we've really enjoyed watching Samantha in her many TV appearances - Downton Abbey, Midsomer Murders, and Outnumbered to name just three.

For Silksoundbooks, Samantha reads Lady Chatterley's Lover as an unabridged audio book. The story of Lady Chatterley and her love for her husband’s gamekeeper outraged the sensibilities of Edwardian England. Samantha reads D H Lawrence's novel in a truly engrossing style.

Happy Birthday Samantha.

Happy birthday from all of us here at Silksoundbooks to star audio book performer Nicholas Rowe who was born on November 22nd 1966.

Nick, who was born in Edinburgh in Scotland was educated first at Eton and then Bristol University where he read Hispanic Studies - he is fluent in Spanish French and Portuguese. He first came to public attention with a role in the 1984 film about the English Public School system and its effect on the establishment Another Country.
He then landed the role which took him to youthful stardom in Steven Spielberg’s 1985 movie Young Sherlock Holmes. His film and television appearances since then have been numerous and include, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Enigma, Nicholas Nickleby, Anton Chekhov's The Dual and The Borgias, my favourite TV series this year.

For Silksoundbooks, Nicholas reads Robert Louis Stevenson’s great novel Kidnapped, one of the most famous adventure stories of our time.

Happy birthday Nicholas.