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Woman's Hour Drama – The Far Pavilions

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Woman's Hour Drama broadcasts book dramatisations and classic and contemporary drama on weekdays at 10.45am.

At the end of January, ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Radio 4 presents MM Kaye's epic story of love and war The Far Pavilions, dramatised by Rukhsana Ahmad.

Following the 1857 Mutiny, Ashton, a young English orphan, is disguised by his ayah (maid) as her Indian son, Ashok. And so, as he forgets his true identity, his destiny is set.

Kaye's masterwork is a vast, rich and vibrant tapestry that moves from the foothills of the Himalayas, through the burning plains, to the besieged British Mission in Kabul, filling them with immediacy, meticulous historical accuracy and a rare insight into the human heart.

A story of divided loyalties and fierce friendship; of true love made impossible by class and race; a critique of the imperialist adventure; and an examination of the cultural and spiritual clash between East and West, The Far Pavilions is peopled by a wonderful cast of characters.

In 20 episodes, it spans the years between the Indian Mutiny in 1857 and the Siege of the British Mission in Kabul in 1879.

³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Productions

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Classic Serial – The Moonstone

³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ RADIO 4

Eleanor Bron plays Lady Verinder and Kenneth Cranham plays Sergeant Cuff in Doug Lucie's four-part dramatisation of Wilkie Collins's detective masterpiece from 1868.

Described by TS Eliot as the first and best of English Detective novels, The Moonstone, involves a huge diamond stolen from the forehead of an Indian deity, plundered in a siege and finally given to Rachel Verinder on her 18th birthday. It is said to carry a curse and mysteriously disappears on the night of the celebrations.

Are the Indian jugglers who were at the house earlier to blame? Why are they hanging around the property with a little boy they seem able to hypnotise? When the local police get nowhere, one of the new detective police is called for from London, and quickly finds a clue, but what does it tell him?

Has the curse of the Moonstone brought with it suspicion and superstition to poison the happy Verinder household on the Yorkshire coast?

A Goldhawk Essential production

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Classic Serial – The History Of Titus Groan

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This major six-part Classic Serial tells the story of the life and times of Titus Groan, the 77th Earl of Gormenghast.

Based on three novels by Mervyn Peake – Titus Groan, Gormenghast and Titus Alone – the story remained unresolved due to the premature death of the author, until the recent discovery of a fourth volume completed by Peake's widow, Maeve.

Titus Awakes is published in July 2011, the 100th anniversary of the birth of Mervyn Peake.

Adapted by Brian Sibley and series produced by Jeremy Mortimer for the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳, The History Of Titus Groan chronicles Titus's life from birth, through childhood and adolescence, to his decision to renounce his ancestral title and explore the alien world beyond the confines of his familial home.

It is a journey in search of identity that eventually takes him to a distant island where he encounters the man who is none other than his creator.

Peake's Gormenghast is a powerful fantasy world conceived by a unique and vivid imagination, and a satirical allegory on the foibles and phobias of the world.

Literature On ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Radio 4

As part of the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳'s Year of Books, ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Radio 4 presents three literary landmark series for 2011 – Classic Chandler, The History Of Titus Groan and Life And Fate.

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Dickens Season

³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ RADIO 4

At the end of this year, to mark the 200th anniversary of Charles Dickens's birth in 2012, ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Radio 4 presents two new Dickens adaptations – A Tale Of Two Cities, produced by Jeremy Mortimer for the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳, and Martin Chuzzlewit recorded in Bombay and produced by John Dryden/Goldhawk Essential.

The network also presents a Woman's Hour drama, Dickens' London, written by Michael Eaton.

³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Productions and Goldhawk Essential Limited

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Saturday Play – Classic Chandler

³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ RADIO 4

In 1939 Raymond Chandler created a different kind of detective, the fast-talking, trouble-seeking Philip Marlowe, for his great novel, The Big Sleep. This story of Marlowe's entanglement with the Sternwood family kicks off a major series of dramatic adaptations for ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Radio 4 this spring.

Radio 4 is set to broadcast all of Chandler's ground-breaking Philip Marlowe novels, starring Toby Stephens as the Californian private eye, Marlowe.

The other plays in this series include Farewell My Lovely (1940); The High Window (1942); The Lady In The Lake (1943); The Little Sister (1949); The Long Goodbye (1953); and two lesser-known novels, Playback (1958) and Poodle Springs, which was unfinished at the time of Chandler's death in 1959.

The Classic Chandler series follows Radio 4's Complete Smiley broadcast in 2009/10 with Simon Russell Beale as John le Carré's spymaster.

Dramatised by Robin Brooks and produced by Claire Grove for the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳, the second half of the Chandler series continues in the autumn.

³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Productions

Literature On ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Radio 4

As part of the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳'s Year of Books, ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Radio 4 presents three literary landmark series for 2011 – Classic Chandler, The History Of Titus Groan and Life And Fate.

³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Radio 4 Publicity

Life And Fate

³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ RADIO 4

This autumn ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Radio 4 presents the much-anticipated eight-hour dramatisation of Life And Fate by Vasily Grossman.

For the first time on Radio 4, a single title will take over every drama slot (apart from The Archers) across a week in September, reflecting the epic span of this 20th-century Russian masterpiece.

Set against the background of the Battle of Stalingrad, the turning-point in the defeat of the Nazis in the Second World War, Life And Fate follows the stories of an extended family separated by the German invasion. Flung to the four corners of the Soviet Union and beyond, they experience hardships, grief and the value of human kindness.

Recording mainly in 2011, the extensive cast includes Samuel West, Sara Kestelman, John Sessions, Kenneth Cranham and Matthew Marsh. The producer/director is Alison Hindell for the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳

³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Productions

Literature On ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Radio 4

As part of the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳'s Year of Books, ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Radio 4 presents three literary landmark series for 2011 – Classic Chandler, The History Of Titus Groan and Life And Fate.

³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Radio 4 Publicity