
Toksvig's Almanac 2021
An Eclectic Meander Through the Historical Year by Sandi Toksvig
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $14.52
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Sandi Toksvig
-
By:
-
Sandi Toksvig
About this listen
Let Sandi Toksvig guide you on an eclectic meander through the calendar, illuminating neglected corners of history to tell tales of the fascinating figures you didn't learn about at school. From popes who gave birth during papal processions, to the inventor of Scrabble, to pioneering civil rights activist Ida B. Wells, who refused to give up her seat on a train decades before Rosa Parks was born. As witty and entertaining as it is instructive, this is an essential companion to each day of the year.
©2020 Sandi Toksvig (P)2020 Orion Publishing GroupListeners also enjoyed...
-
Between the Stops
- The View of My Life from the Top of the Number 12 Bus
- By: Sandi Toksvig
- Narrated by: Sandi Toksvig
- Length: 9 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
'Between the Stops is a sort of a memoir, my sort. It's about a bus trip really, because it's my view from the Number 12 bus (mostly top deck, the seat at the front on the right), a double-decker that plies its way from Dulwich, in South East London, where I was living, to where I sometimes work - at the BBC, in the heart of the capital. It's not a sensible way to write a memoir at all, probably, but it's the way things pop into your head as you travel, so it's my way'.
-
-
Funny, interesting and enlightening. A must listen.
- By Steve Killingback on 01-05-20
By: Sandi Toksvig
-
Melted into Air
- By: Sandi Toksvig
- Narrated by: Sandi Toksvig
- Length: 3 hrs and 9 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Frances Angel, drunk and disgruntled, arrives in Italy to attend the I Zingari Art School, leaving behind her dazzling career as a successful theatrical impresario and returning to a distant and painful past. She falls into an eclectic group of performance artists, ex-soldiers and a housewife who really just wants to paint something to match her settee.
-
-
Enthusiastic Applause!
- By Amazon Customer on 06-04-11
By: Sandi Toksvig
-
Just Ignore Him
- A BBC Two Between the Covers book club pick
- By: Alan Davies
- Narrated by: Alan Davies
- Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Through even the joyous and innocent memories, the pain of Davies' lifelong grief and profound betrayal is unfiltered, searing and beautifully articulated. Just Ignore Him is not only an autobiography, it is a testament to a survivor's resilience and courage.
-
-
This is my five-star this year
- By Kristofer Jarl on 11-18-20
By: Alan Davies
-
Unruly
- The Ridiculous History of England's Kings and Queens
- By: David Mitchell
- Narrated by: David Mitchell
- Length: 11 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Unruly, David Mitchell explores how early England’s monarchs, while acting as feared rulers firmly guiding their subjects’ destinies, were in reality a bunch of lucky bastards who were mostly as silly and weird in real life as they appear today in their portraits.
-
-
Hugely Entertaining (If You Like English History)
- By Jean Ogg on 10-09-23
By: David Mitchell
-
Ghost Stories: Stephen Fry's Definitive Collection
- By: Stephen Fry, Washington Irving, M.R. James, and others
- Narrated by: Stephen Fry
- Length: 8 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As the days grow shorter and the temperature drops, Halloween approaches. Come, brave listener, pull up a chair, and spend some time with master storyteller Stephen Fry as he tells us some of his favourite ghost stories of all time, in truly terrifying spatial audio. From the headless horseman of Sleepy Hollow to the tortured spirits of M.R. James, from Edgar Allan Poe’s terrifying tale of a doppelganger to Charlotte Riddell’s Open Door that should definitely stay shut, join Stephen as he tells you some truly terrifying tales.
-
-
Wonderful narration. Mediocre stories.
- By Michael Fuchs on 11-07-23
By: Stephen Fry, and others
-
This Much Is True
- By: Miriam Margolyes
- Narrated by: Miriam Margolyes
- Length: 15 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Award-winning actor, creator of a myriad of memorable characters from Lady Whiteadder to Professor Sprout, Miriam Margolyes is a national treasure. Now, at last, at the age of 80, she has finally decided to tell her extraordinary life story. And it's far richer and stranger than any part she's played.
-
-
Simply Brilliant
- By Stuart Huddart on 09-21-21
By: Miriam Margolyes
-
Between the Stops
- The View of My Life from the Top of the Number 12 Bus
- By: Sandi Toksvig
- Narrated by: Sandi Toksvig
- Length: 9 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
'Between the Stops is a sort of a memoir, my sort. It's about a bus trip really, because it's my view from the Number 12 bus (mostly top deck, the seat at the front on the right), a double-decker that plies its way from Dulwich, in South East London, where I was living, to where I sometimes work - at the BBC, in the heart of the capital. It's not a sensible way to write a memoir at all, probably, but it's the way things pop into your head as you travel, so it's my way'.
-
-
Funny, interesting and enlightening. A must listen.
- By Steve Killingback on 01-05-20
By: Sandi Toksvig
-
Melted into Air
- By: Sandi Toksvig
- Narrated by: Sandi Toksvig
- Length: 3 hrs and 9 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Frances Angel, drunk and disgruntled, arrives in Italy to attend the I Zingari Art School, leaving behind her dazzling career as a successful theatrical impresario and returning to a distant and painful past. She falls into an eclectic group of performance artists, ex-soldiers and a housewife who really just wants to paint something to match her settee.
-
-
Enthusiastic Applause!
- By Amazon Customer on 06-04-11
By: Sandi Toksvig
-
Just Ignore Him
- A BBC Two Between the Covers book club pick
- By: Alan Davies
- Narrated by: Alan Davies
- Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Through even the joyous and innocent memories, the pain of Davies' lifelong grief and profound betrayal is unfiltered, searing and beautifully articulated. Just Ignore Him is not only an autobiography, it is a testament to a survivor's resilience and courage.
-
-
This is my five-star this year
- By Kristofer Jarl on 11-18-20
By: Alan Davies
-
Unruly
- The Ridiculous History of England's Kings and Queens
- By: David Mitchell
- Narrated by: David Mitchell
- Length: 11 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Unruly, David Mitchell explores how early England’s monarchs, while acting as feared rulers firmly guiding their subjects’ destinies, were in reality a bunch of lucky bastards who were mostly as silly and weird in real life as they appear today in their portraits.
-
-
Hugely Entertaining (If You Like English History)
- By Jean Ogg on 10-09-23
By: David Mitchell
-
Ghost Stories: Stephen Fry's Definitive Collection
- By: Stephen Fry, Washington Irving, M.R. James, and others
- Narrated by: Stephen Fry
- Length: 8 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As the days grow shorter and the temperature drops, Halloween approaches. Come, brave listener, pull up a chair, and spend some time with master storyteller Stephen Fry as he tells us some of his favourite ghost stories of all time, in truly terrifying spatial audio. From the headless horseman of Sleepy Hollow to the tortured spirits of M.R. James, from Edgar Allan Poe’s terrifying tale of a doppelganger to Charlotte Riddell’s Open Door that should definitely stay shut, join Stephen as he tells you some truly terrifying tales.
-
-
Wonderful narration. Mediocre stories.
- By Michael Fuchs on 11-07-23
By: Stephen Fry, and others
-
This Much Is True
- By: Miriam Margolyes
- Narrated by: Miriam Margolyes
- Length: 15 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Award-winning actor, creator of a myriad of memorable characters from Lady Whiteadder to Professor Sprout, Miriam Margolyes is a national treasure. Now, at last, at the age of 80, she has finally decided to tell her extraordinary life story. And it's far richer and stranger than any part she's played.
-
-
Simply Brilliant
- By Stuart Huddart on 09-21-21
By: Miriam Margolyes
-
How to be Champion
- An Autobiography
- By: Sarah Millican
- Narrated by: Sarah Millican
- Length: 6 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Part autobiography, part self-help, part confession, part celebration of being a common-or-garden woman, part collection of synonyms for nunny, Sarah Millican's debut audiobook delves into her super normal life with daft stories, funny tales and proper advice on how to get past life's blips - like being good at school but not good at friends, the excitement of IBS and how to blossom postdivorce.
-
-
Disappointing but probably my fault
- By David on 03-02-18
By: Sarah Millican
-
A Load of Old Balls
- The QI History of Sport
- By: James Harkin, Anna Ptaszynski
- Narrated by: Anna Ptaszynski, James Harkin
- Length: 8 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From sport's weirdest rules to its most unlikely heroes, via comically large cricket bats, pole-vaulting priests, creative football chants and exploding billiard balls, each chapter of Everything to Play For is brimming with surprising facts and intriguing stories. Even if you've never asked yourself what David Attenborough has to do with yellow tennis balls, why Victorian doctors feared the outbreak of 'bicycle face' or what led ancient Egyptian athletes to have their spleens removed, this book will give you the astonishing answers - and plenty more besides.
-
-
A great listen but why was the title changed ?
- By Amanda on 01-02-25
By: James Harkin, and others
-
David Mitchell: Back Story
- By: David Mitchell
- Narrated by: David Mitchell
- Length: 9 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
David Mitchell, who you may know for his inappropriate anger on every TV panel show except Never Mind the Buzzcocks, his look of permanent discomfort on C4 sex comedy Peep Show, his online commenter-baiting in The Observer or just for wearing a stick-on moustache in That Mitchell and Webb Look, has written a book about his life.
-
-
One of the Funniest, Clever Brits around
- By Delia on 08-30-13
By: David Mitchell
-
Funny You Should Ask...Again
- More of Your Questions Answered by the QI Elves
- By: The QI Elves
- Narrated by: The QI Elves
- Length: 5 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Every Wednesday on The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show, BBC Radio 2's most inquisitive listeners get to put their questions to the QI Elves. The questions are wonderfully original, often silly and sometimes quirky, and the QI Elves' answers are always fascinating and frequently hilarious. From spiders to stinging nettles, bees to boy bands and twins to thermal undies, you'll wonder why these questions hadn't occurred to you before - but you'll never forget the answers and will want to share them will all your friends.
By: The QI Elves
-
222 QI Answers to Your Quite Ingenious Questions
- By: The QI Elves
- Narrated by: Anne Miller, James Harkin, John Lloyd, and others
- Length: 6 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Which lottery numbers should I pick? Is it true that we are made entirely of stardust? Can dogs tell the time? Why do songs get stuck in my head? If Rome wasn't built in a day, how long did it take? Do plants make noises? Where is last Wednesday? This audiobook is a collection of their cracking, unexpected and frequently hilarious answers. Chock full with extra facts from the Elves, 222 QI Answers to Your Quite Ingenious Questions will spark wonder and joy.
-
-
Another qi fact book
- By Peter Gerdes on 03-23-25
By: The QI Elves
-
And Away...
- By: Bob Mortimer
- Narrated by: Bob Mortimer
- Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bob Mortimer’s life was trundling along happily until suddenly in 2015 he was diagnosed with a heart condition that required immediate surgery and forced him to cancel an upcoming tour. The episode unnerved him but forced him to reflect on his life so far. This is the framework for his hilarious and moving memoir, And Away....
-
-
Why censor an autobiography? Please don’t do that.
- By Paul B on 02-07-22
By: Bob Mortimer
-
That Mitchell and Webb Sound: The Complete Series 1-5
- The BBC Radio 4 Comedy Show
- By: David Mitchell, Robert Webb
- Narrated by: David Mitchell, Robert Webb, Olivia Colman, and others
- Length: 13 hrs and 56 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Welcome to the inside-out world of Mitchell and Webb, a strange and surreal place populated by misfits, eccentrics, talking animals and a few stray Radio 4 arts programme presenters. Included here are all five series of their fantastically skewed comedy show, packed with offbeat sketches and peculiar characters. Meet seedy snooker commentators Ted and Peter; poorly matched crime-fighting duo Angel Summoner and BMX Bandit; a cop who doesn't get results but, by God, he does things by the book; and some nervous Nazis who've just noticed their caps have skulls on them.
-
-
Better Than Fry and Laurie?
- By John on 10-29-24
By: David Mitchell, and others
-
Oh Miriam!
- Stories from an Extraordinary Life
- By: Miriam Margolyes
- Narrated by: Miriam Margolyes
- Length: 10 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From being escorted off the Today programme (for saying what we were all thinking) to declaring her love to Vanessa Redgrave; from Tales of the Unexpected to Graham Norton's sofa, she is our most loved and most outspoken national treasure. Oh Miriam! takes you inside both her head and her heart. Buckle up for the most irrepressible, hilarious and moving listen of 2023.
-
-
Borrow rather than Buy
- By OaklandBookworm on 11-10-23
By: Miriam Margolyes
-
Mobituaries
- By: Mo Rocca
- Narrated by: Mo Rocca
- Length: 11 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Mo Rocca has always loved obituaries - reading about the remarkable lives of global leaders, Hollywood heavyweights, and innovators who changed the world. But not every notable life has gotten the send-off it deserves. His quest to right that wrong inspired Mobituaries, his number one hit podcast. Now with Mobituaries, the audiobook, he has gone much further, with all new essays on artists, entertainers, sports stars, political pioneers, founding fathers, and more. Even if you know the names, you’ve never understood why they matter...until now.
-
-
Very good, but.....
- By Christopher on 11-15-19
By: Mo Rocca
-
Funny You Should Ask...
- Your Questions Answered by the QI Elves
- By: The QI Elves, James Harkin, Anne Miller, and others
- Narrated by: John Lloyd, The QI Elves, James Rawson, and others
- Length: 4 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Funny You Should Ask... features the QI Elves' answers to 200 questions on topics ranging from goosebumps to gherkins and everything in-between. Generously sprinkled with mind-boggling extra facts from the Elves, this is essential listening for the incurably curious.
-
-
Short and chewing noises
- By JustMe on 01-21-23
By: The QI Elves, and others
-
The Museum of Curiosity: Series 13-16
- By: John Lloyd
- Narrated by: John Lloyd, Lee Mack, Bridget Christie, and others
- Length: 11 hrs and 59 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Join eminent Professor of Ignorance John Lloyd and distinguished curators Lee Mack, Bridget Christie, Alice Levine and Holly Walsh, as they source more strange and wondrous objects to fill Galleries 13 to 16 of the ever-expanding comedy edifice.
By: John Lloyd
-
Elephant in the Room: Series 1 and 2
- The BBC Radio Comedy Panel Show
- By: Sarah Millican
- Narrated by: Sarah Millican, Various
- Length: 5 hrs and 59 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sarah Millican picks through her guests' minds and secret routines—using simple surveys from the Great British Public on childhood habits, daily rituals, and preferred cheeses—to discover which of them fits the pattern of the average person on the street, and which is so far from the norm we really ought to be worried.
-
-
I love her so much that she makes me feel normal
- By Christi on 04-20-23
By: Sarah Millican
What listeners say about Toksvig's Almanac 2021
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 05-07-21
Gripping, fascinating and brilliantly performed!
Treat yourself to this wonderful book. Sandi steers you through the year, and on the way you will encounter women who each in their own way have made the world a better place. Some of them you might have heard of, but most of them not. We are the stories that we tell, and history is the stories that have been told. This book inspires to change history by telling everywomans story. Thank you Sandi ❤️
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Mcconn 318
- 12-19-21
Brilliantly researched; lovingly delivered
Wonderful learning experience. Was encouraged that someone was working to uncover the untold contributions of so many women. It is also saddening that so many talents were stolen, obscured or just omitted.
Here’s to a future where women are no longer marginalized. Thank you Sandy.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Phillip Pio
- 02-17-24
Superb
We need more people like Sandy. The is the second of her books I have loved. Just wonderful.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Rae
- 06-05-22
simply one of my favorite people
Sandi is so witty and wonderful in everything she appears on and I was thrilled to find she'd written books. Even more chuffed to hear her narrating! Feminist fun for every day of the year plus some!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 04-04-23
Absolutely brilliant
Fascinating and by far the most interesting and real account of hidden history, an absolute must read
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Katie J
- 01-22-22
Perfection! 10 stars ✨
I love everything Sandi has written and recommend her books including this one to EVERYONE. She is hilarious and incredibly intelligent. 100% entertaining.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- SEA Noga
- 09-30-23
Please read or listen to this book!
As Sandy says: Please be active and right the wrongs of history. A lovely pick up and set downable eclectic overview of some of the most fascinating and many of the most nearly forgotten historical figures, who happen to be women. I loved listening to this book so much that I am ordering the print copy so that I might reference those women that I truly want to know more about. (The audible trouble here being I don’t know how to spell many of the names to look their stories up online)
Thank you Sandy! I really only had picked this book because I missed seeing you host the British Baking show but I am truly glad for the sweeter gift you have given.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful