Listen free for 30 days
-
The Stars' Tennis Balls
- Narrated by: Stephen Fry
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Literature & Fiction, Genre Fiction
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Listen with a free trial
Buy Now for £21.99
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Hippopotamus
- By: Stephen Fry
- Narrated by: Stephen Fry
- Length: 9 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ted Wallace is an old, sour, womanising, cantankerous, whisky-sodden beast of a failed poet and drama critic, but he has his faults too. Fired from his newspaper, months behind on his alimony payments and disgusted with a world that undervalues him, Ted seeks a few months repose and free drink at Swafford Hall, the country mansion of his old friend Lord Logan. But strange things have been going on at Swafford....
-
-
Extremely funny
- By Becki on 18-07-11
-
The Liar
- By: Stephen Fry
- Narrated by: Stephen Fry
- Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Stephen Fry's breathtakingly outrageous debut novel, by turns eccentric, shocking, brilliantly comic and achingly romantic. Adrian Healey is magnificently unprepared for the long littleness of life; unprepared too for the afternoon in Salzburg when he will witness the savage murder of a Hungarian violinist; unprepared to learn about the Mendax device; unprepared for more murders and wholly unprepared for the truth.
-
-
Fantastic Listen
- By MrY on 13-09-12
-
Making History
- By: Stephen Fry
- Narrated by: Stephen Fry, Richard E Grant
- Length: 14 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Michael Young is a brilliant young history student whose life is changed when he meets Leo Zuckerman, an ageing physicist with a theory that can change worlds. Together they realise that they have the power to alter history and eradicate a great evil. But tinkering with time lines is more dangerous than they can imagine, and nothing - past, present or future - will ever be the same again.
-
-
I've waited a long time
- By Mercutio on 24-05-21
-
Paperweight, Volume 1
- By: Stephen Fry
- Narrated by: Stephen Fry
- Length: 2 hrs and 55 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A hilarious collection of the many articles written by Stephen Fry for magazines, newspapers, and radio. It includes selected wireless essays of Donald Trefusis, the ageing professor of philology brought to life in Fry's novel The Liar, and the best of Fry's weekly column for the Daily Telegraph.
-
-
Worth its Paperweight in gold!
- By Shakkers on 07-02-16
-
The Thursday Murder Club
- (The Thursday Murder Club 1)
- By: Richard Osman
- Narrated by: Lesley Manville, Richard Osman, Marian Keyes
- Length: 12 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet up once a week to investigate unsolved killings. But when a local property developer shows up dead, 'The Thursday Murder Club' finds themselves in the middle of their first live case. The four friends, Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron, might be octogenarians, but they still have a few tricks up their sleeves. Can our unorthodox but brilliant gang catch the killer, before it's too late?
-
-
Oh WHAT a disappointment!
- By mollyeyre on 03-09-20
-
Moab Is My Washpot
- By: Stephen Fry
- Narrated by: Stephen Fry
- Length: 11 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Few people serve time in prison before studying at Cambridge. You might be surprised to know that Stephen Fry is one of them. Moab is My Washpot, the remarkable story of Stephen Fry's tumultuous early life, is by turns funny, shocking, tender, delicious, sad, lyrical, bruisingly frank and addictively listenable.
-
-
I want to hug Stephen Fry
- By Suzanne on 01-12-13
-
The Hippopotamus
- By: Stephen Fry
- Narrated by: Stephen Fry
- Length: 9 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ted Wallace is an old, sour, womanising, cantankerous, whisky-sodden beast of a failed poet and drama critic, but he has his faults too. Fired from his newspaper, months behind on his alimony payments and disgusted with a world that undervalues him, Ted seeks a few months repose and free drink at Swafford Hall, the country mansion of his old friend Lord Logan. But strange things have been going on at Swafford....
-
-
Extremely funny
- By Becki on 18-07-11
-
The Liar
- By: Stephen Fry
- Narrated by: Stephen Fry
- Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Stephen Fry's breathtakingly outrageous debut novel, by turns eccentric, shocking, brilliantly comic and achingly romantic. Adrian Healey is magnificently unprepared for the long littleness of life; unprepared too for the afternoon in Salzburg when he will witness the savage murder of a Hungarian violinist; unprepared to learn about the Mendax device; unprepared for more murders and wholly unprepared for the truth.
-
-
Fantastic Listen
- By MrY on 13-09-12
-
Making History
- By: Stephen Fry
- Narrated by: Stephen Fry, Richard E Grant
- Length: 14 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Michael Young is a brilliant young history student whose life is changed when he meets Leo Zuckerman, an ageing physicist with a theory that can change worlds. Together they realise that they have the power to alter history and eradicate a great evil. But tinkering with time lines is more dangerous than they can imagine, and nothing - past, present or future - will ever be the same again.
-
-
I've waited a long time
- By Mercutio on 24-05-21
-
Paperweight, Volume 1
- By: Stephen Fry
- Narrated by: Stephen Fry
- Length: 2 hrs and 55 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A hilarious collection of the many articles written by Stephen Fry for magazines, newspapers, and radio. It includes selected wireless essays of Donald Trefusis, the ageing professor of philology brought to life in Fry's novel The Liar, and the best of Fry's weekly column for the Daily Telegraph.
-
-
Worth its Paperweight in gold!
- By Shakkers on 07-02-16
-
The Thursday Murder Club
- (The Thursday Murder Club 1)
- By: Richard Osman
- Narrated by: Lesley Manville, Richard Osman, Marian Keyes
- Length: 12 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet up once a week to investigate unsolved killings. But when a local property developer shows up dead, 'The Thursday Murder Club' finds themselves in the middle of their first live case. The four friends, Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron, might be octogenarians, but they still have a few tricks up their sleeves. Can our unorthodox but brilliant gang catch the killer, before it's too late?
-
-
Oh WHAT a disappointment!
- By mollyeyre on 03-09-20
-
Moab Is My Washpot
- By: Stephen Fry
- Narrated by: Stephen Fry
- Length: 11 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Few people serve time in prison before studying at Cambridge. You might be surprised to know that Stephen Fry is one of them. Moab is My Washpot, the remarkable story of Stephen Fry's tumultuous early life, is by turns funny, shocking, tender, delicious, sad, lyrical, bruisingly frank and addictively listenable.
-
-
I want to hug Stephen Fry
- By Suzanne on 01-12-13
-
More Fool Me
- By: Stephen Fry
- Narrated by: Stephen Fry
- Length: 9 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Following on from his hugely successful books, Moab Is My Washpot and The Fry Chronicles, comes the third chapter in Stephen Fry's life. This unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition of More Fool Me is performed by Stephen Fry himself.
-
-
A defense of More Fool Me
- By Ben Waddams on 10-10-14
-
The Fry Chronicles
- An Autobiography
- By: Stephen Fry
- Narrated by: Stephen Fry
- Length: 12 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This dazzling memoir promises to be a courageously frank, honest and poignant read. It will detail some of Fry's most turbulent and least-well-known years, with writing that will excite you, make you laugh uproariously, move you, inform you, and, above all, surprise you.
-
-
Hours of delighted listening
- By Mary on 21-09-10
-
Fry's Ties
- By: Stephen Fry
- Narrated by: Stephen Fry, Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 4 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Every single one of Stephen Fry's ties - whether floral, fluorescent, football themed; striped or spotty, outrageous or simply debonair - tells an intimate tale about a moment in Stephen's life. Inspired by Stephen's hugely popular Instagram posts, this book will celebrate his expansive collection of man's greatest clothing companion: the tie, in all it's sophisticated glory.
-
-
Strangely fascinating
- By Justin on 26-12-21
-
Troy
- The Siege of Troy Retold
- By: Stephen Fry
- Narrated by: Stephen Fry
- Length: 10 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The story of Troy speaks to all of us - the kidnapping of Helen, a queen celebrated for her beauty, sees the Greeks launch a thousand ships against the city of Troy, to which they will lay siege for 10 whole and very bloody years. It is Zeus, the king of the gods, who triggers the war when he asks the Trojan prince Paris to judge the fairest goddess of them all. Aphrodite bribes Paris with the heart of Helen, wife of King Menelaus of the Greeks, and naturally, nature takes its course.
-
-
Chapters?
- By Jason on 03-11-20
-
The Ode Less Travelled
- Unlocking the Poet Within
- By: Stephen Fry
- Narrated by: Stephen Fry
- Length: 9 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Stephen Fry believes that if you can speak and read English, you can write poetry. But it is no fun if you don't know where to start or have been led to believe that anything goes. Stephen, who has long written poems, and indeed has written long poems, for his own private pleasure, invites you to discover the incomparable delights of metre, rhyme and verse forms.
-
-
Excellent Rendition, Memorable and Simple
- By Angel Grove Studio on 01-10-18
-
Stephen Fry in America
- By: Stephen Fry
- Narrated by: Stephen Fry
- Length: 11 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Britain's best-loved comic genius Stephen Fry turns his celebrated wit and insight to unearthing the real America as he travels across the continent in his black taxicab. Stephen's account of his adventures is filled with his unique humour, insight and warmth in this audiobook that accompanies his journey for the BBC1 series.
-
-
Buck up, Stephen
- By Hannah on 08-11-20
-
A Bit of Fry & Laurie
- The BBC TV Soundtracks
- By: Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie
- Narrated by: Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry
- Length: 11 hrs and 34 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this classic TV soundtrack, Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie explore a seemingly inexhaustible list of subjects with a delicious turn of phrase and elaborate wordplay. The hilarity includes regular acts such as not so super spy Tony Mercheson and his boss Control, yuppies, John and Peter and the critics. With four brilliant series of great satire, comic genius and hilarious use of language, the show cemented Fry & Laurie as a double act and paved the way for their future stardom.
-
-
So funny!
- By John Venn on 22-04-21
-
Fry's English Delight: Word Games
- By: Stephen Fry
- Narrated by: Stephen Fry
- Length: 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Is English an innately playful language? Are word games good for you? Do we divide into number and word players? And could Scrabble have been invented in any other language?
-
-
Great Topic
- By Stuart A. McIntosh on 01-07-20
-
Stephen Fry Does the 'Knowledge'
- By: Stephen Fry
- Narrated by: Stephen Fry
- Length: 57 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Stephen Fry presents this intriguing programme charting the history of knowledge, how technology changes our relationship with it, and how we know what we knowKnowledge. The Google generation thinks it doesn’t need to carry much of it around in its head any more. Much has already been written about the internet changing the way we think and learn. But is knowledge less valuable than it used to be?
-
-
The Knowledge
- By Bessy on 03-04-19
-
Something Fresh
- By: P. G. Wodehouse
- Narrated by: Jonathan Cecil
- Length: 7 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The one thing that could be expected to disturb the peace of life at Blandings is the incursion of imposters. And Blandings has imposters like other houses have mice. On this occasion, there are two of them: both intent on a dangerous enterprise.
-
-
Breathtaking
- By Seimon on 25-06-09
-
Stephen Fry Presents: Oscar Wilde's Stories For All Ages
- Volume 1
- By: Oscar Wilde
- Narrated by: Stephen Fry
- Length: 2 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
"Oscar Wilde's Fairy Tales continue to exert the same pull over the imagination and emotions as they did when he first read them to his children in the 1880s. Written with inspired poetic intensity and sudden flowerings of the matchless wit for which he is so well remembered, the stories combine the wisdom of parables with the impact of drama."
-
-
More than just kid's stories..
- By Tim on 05-03-11
-
Hunting Unicorns
- By: Bella Pollen
- Narrated by: Alex Jennings, Amber Sealey
- Length: 4 hrs and 55 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
American Maggie Monroe is a journalist for New York's hard-hitting current affairs show Newsline. Independent and fearless, the more cutting-edge the story, the happier she is. But when her next assignment turns out to be an in-depth documentary on the decline of England's ruling classes, she's furious at being sent to cover a bloody tea party.
Summary
For Ned, 1980 seems a blissful year. Handsome, charming, popular and talented, his life is progressing smoothly, effortlessly, happily. And when he meets the lovely Portia Fendeman his personal jigsaw appears complete. But timing is everything in life, and his life is about to change for ever.
Things are going to get very bad indeed for innocent young Ned. A promise made to a dying teacher and a spiteful trick played by fellow pupils will rocket Ned from cricket captain to solitary confinement, from head boy to hell. When Ned emerges he is a man bent on just one thing - revenge; and revenge is a dish he plans to savour and serve to those who conspired against him.
Part love story, part thriller, a gloriously rich mix that only Stephen Fry can dish up to us, The Stars' Tennis Balls will leave you happy and replete.
More from the same
What listeners say about The Stars' Tennis Balls
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
- Linda E
- 13-04-11
Delightful and horrifying
After Stephen Fry's other books I expected a lighthearted look into upper class England but what a suprise. The delightful use of language is there, Fry's smooth narration is there but the story is something different. Great characters in an exciting and disturbing tale that is hard to stop listening to. Mourned its ending and really felt for the characters.
6 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Discruntled
- 07-07-14
Stay with it...its going to get interesting!
Would you listen to The Stars' Tennis Balls again? Why?
Yes. The first time I listened, I was pulled in and swept along by the plot. The second time I was delighted by the plot even though I knew what was coming. The third time I began to wonder about the peripheral characters in the story.....Lovely, yummy layers.
What did you like best about this story?
I like the terrifying way in which a childish prank spirals out into so many lives, and the very real and sinister impact this has on so many people.
Which character – as performed by Stephen Fry – was your favourite?
He never fails, they are all fabulous daahlink!
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
When the main character "behaves well" and does what he thinks will make his captor happy with him. Rather like a child desperately seeking the approval of disinterested parent. It is a very sad moment.
Any additional comments?
Loved this book, twistier than a twisty turney thing.
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- M
- 24-02-15
Fantastic!
He freely admits he heavily borrows from another famous book but to my mind this modernisation is superior in every respect except being too short!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Patch
- 17-10-13
Enjoyable but not riveting
What made the experience of listening to The Stars' Tennis Balls the most enjoyable?
The narration was excellent but the plot line not as strong as the Hippopotamus
What does Stephen Fry bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?
Nuanced reading
Any additional comments?
This was an excellent and enjoyable read, a good storyline. Usual Fry excellence.
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- Kate
- 13-04-13
Cracking good story!
This was a great listen. Stephen Fry is always a good story teller and an excellent narrator, and this book is no exception. It tells the story of a childish prank which has serious and long-reaching consequences, however there is much more to it than that. The characterisation and story development are deft, and the ending does not disappoint.
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 28-05-20
Dark and disturbing but gripping
Fantastic story, with a true antihero ending. Darkly funny in places. Well worth a listen.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Sara
- 20-04-15
a story you will remember
A kick in the guts. I really felt for it. Fry is an excellent reader
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 24-12-14
intriguingly not like a Fry novel<br />
A deep, disturbing and visceral book, that is difficult to put down or pick up.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 01-11-20
Written and Narrated by SF - fabulous!
The worst part about this story was it's length - I would've preferred it to be a bit longer! I really like Stephen Fry so it was great to get the double pleasure of him narrating a book that he wrote. It wasn't quite the happy ending I imagined from the description but that's better than predictability, I suppose. I would definitely recommend it!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Matt
- 15-10-20
Very bad cover version of a classic.
Nowhere does it say in the info this is a modern version replay of the absolute classic The count of Monte Cristo.
I was horrified as it played out. Like listening to a pop version of a classical masterpiece. Bad Stephen!! You really must of needed the money and had ran out of ideas.
Do yourself a service and listen to the original by Alexandre Dumas, I recommend the Andrew Timothy version. Loved his old school BBC voice and it was the original one done by RIB so pre perfect editing days and endearing to hear him make a mistake, correct it, paper shuffle and carry on, it’s also 50 hours long, so you get much much more for your money/credit. I missed Mr Timothy when the book ended. It was one of those you get attached to, when it’s many, many hours. As much as I love Stephen’s voice, I don’t recommend this drivel..
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Amazon Customer
- 17-01-13
excellent, interesting diversion
If you could sum up The Stars' Tennis Balls in three words, what would they be?
adolescent agonies, contrasted
What did you like best about this story?
Fry's reading - I enjoyed his acting the different characters.
Which scene was your favorite?
the scene on the yacht - this was where I started to get really interested in the book
Who was the most memorable character of The Stars' Tennis Balls and why?
hmmm - hard. I think most of the main characters were really well drawn, and I identified with parts of several of them. Ned and Portia were the two whose stories I was most interested in through the book (though others were almost as memorable).
Any additional comments?
this took a short while (45mins?) to get into, but after that I really looked forward to the next installment & finding out what happened next. I recommend this book
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- David
- 02-07-12
Great Listen
What made the experience of listening to The Stars' Tennis Balls the most enjoyable?
Its a really great story - I was a bit annoyed when I realized it was a re-write of the Count of Monte Christo, but the writing is so good and some of the twists and turns are so well disguised that I soon got over it. As ever, Stephen Fry demonstrates a great imagination in the revenge sequences. Great listen, highly recommended.
What other book might you compare The Stars' Tennis Balls to and why?
The Count of Monte Christo - it's an updated version of one of the greatest novels of all time
Have you listened to any of Stephen Fry???s other performances before? How does this one compare?
Very good rendition - charecterisations probably not as theatrical as (for example) The Liar or The Hippopotamus, but a great performance.
Who was the most memorable character of The Stars' Tennis Balls and why?
The Babe - clearly the most thoughtful of the characters, nice anagram of The Abb?? from The Count of Monte Christo
Any additional comments?
Check out the Wikipedia page, it gives you a great insight into some of the word play that Stephen Fry has hidden through the text. e.g. Mercedes from TCoMC is now called Portia (lol)
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Avishay N.
- 01-05-19
סיפור מעולה
סיפור מרתק שמתפתח באופן מפתיע. קריינות מושלמת סטיבן פריי גם כתב וגם מקריא - גם אם היה מקריא את ספר הטלפונים זה היה מרתק