AuthorElizabeth Gaskell
NarratorDeborah McAndrew, Emerald O'Hanrahan
Duration2h 15m
CategoriesClassics, Adult Fiction
PublisherBBC Audio
VersionAbridged
A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation of Elizabeth Gaskell's classic novel of everyday provincial life in the 1820s, Wives and Daughters, first broadcast in the Woman's Hour Drama slots from 29 November 2010 - 10 December 2010.
Wives and Daughters was written in the 1860s and serialised in the Cornhill Magazine. It is set in the 1820s and deals to a large extent with the position of women in society. Elizabeth Gaskell left it unfinished, so any dramatiser of the novel is faced with guessing the intended outcome of the story. This BBC Radio 4 adaptation by Theresa Heskins stars Deborah McAndrew as Lily Gaskell, Emerald O'Hanrahan as Molly Gibson and Jamie Newall as Dr. Gibson.
Also included amongst the cast are Julia Hills, Claire Neilson, Marian Kemmer, Susan Jeffrey, Kate Layden and Henry Devas. Produced and directed by Peter Leslie Wild.
Author: Elizabeth Gaskell
Author Elizabeth Gaskell
Narrator Clare Wille
Duration 18h 35m
This is one of the earliest novels of British industrial alienation, tellingly linked to the plight of 19th-century women. It tells of the relationship between Margaret Hale, a girl from the old rural south, and John Thornton, a mill owner from the new industrial north.
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Author: Elizabeth Gaskell
Author Elizabeth Gaskell
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Duration 2h 20m
Margaret Hale moves from the country into the inner-city and starts to learn what life is like for the workers. Elizabeth Gaskell highlights the difference between the middle and working classes in this tale set in the time of the Industrial Revolution. A largely autobiographical story, she also highlights the good that each group can do for each...
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Author: Emile Zola
Author Emile Zola
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Germinal is one of the most striking novels in the French tradition. Widely regarded as Zola's masterpiece, the novel describes the working conditions of French coalminers in the 1860s in harsh and realistic terms it is visceral, graphic and unrelenting. Its strong socialist principles and vivid accounts of the miners' strikes meant that the novel...
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Author: Elizabeth Gaskell
Author Elizabeth Gaskell
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This is a story about two half-brothers. Though raised by the same man, the brothers' formative experiences are far from similar. Gregory, the child born of his mother's first marriage, was treated unfairly by his stepfather who was jealous and envious of the love his wife showed towards the child. His step-ather wanted this love for himself but he...
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Author Kenneth Grahame
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When the Water Rat invites the unassuming Mole to spend his first day ever in a boat on the river, and wise Badger comes along for the ride as well, so begins a marvellous season of adventure for the three friends. Mr Toad (he of Toad Hall) completes a happy foursome, but his tendency to get into hot water leads him into some rather hair-raising sc...
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Author: Jonathan Swift
Author Jonathan Swift
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Author: Albert Camus
Author Albert Camus
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Author: Elizabeth Gaskell
Author Elizabeth Gaskell
Narrator Clare Wille
Duration 7h 2m
In the village of Cranford, decorum is maintained at all times. Despite their poverty, the ladies are never vulgar about money (or their lack of it), and always follow the rules of propriety. But this discretion and gentility does not keep away tragedy; and when the worst happens, the Amazons of Cranford show the true strength of their honest affec...
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Author: Emile Zola
Author Emile Zola
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In a dingy apartment on the Passage du Pont-Neuf in Paris, Th‚rŠse Raquin is trapped in a loveless marriage to her sickly cousin, Camille. The numbing tedium of her life is suddenly shattered when she embarks on a turbulent affair with her husband's earthy friend, Laurent. But their passion for each other soon compels the lovers to commit a crime t...
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Author: Elizabeth Gaskell
Author Elizabeth Gaskell
Narrator Full Cast
Duration 6h 52m
This BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation of Elizabeth Gaskell's tale of Manchester life is set in the 19th century when a series of bad harvests placed a heavy tax burden on workers. Gaskell's powerful drama, adapted here for Woman's Hour, is regarded as one of the most important novels of its time.
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