Open Endings

Episode

Title

First
Broadcast

Repeated

Comments

Ian Rankin On Lord Of The Flies

20191223

20210802 (R3)

Five leading writers pick a novel they love and then write an original piece of fiction imagining what happened to the characters after the story ends.

In the first essay of the series, the crime writer Ian Rankin picks William Golding's Lord of the Flies. Like many students, Ian first encountered the novel at school but certain scenes and moments have stayed with him for the past 40 years. In this essay, Ian explores his relationship with the work as a teenager of the 1970s and imagines what might have happened to two of the shipwrecked boys, Ralph and Jack, once they reach adulthood.

Producer: Camellia Sinclair

Ian Rankin chooses William Golding's Lord of the Flies.

Bernardine Evaristo On Mrs Dalloway

20191224

20210803 (R3)

Five leading writers pick a novel they love and then write an original piece of fiction imagining what happened to the characters after the story ends.

Man Booker Prize winner Bernardine Evaristo first encountered Virginia Woolf's writing as a teenager, reading To the Lighthouse for her English Literature A Level. She loathed the book.

But a few years ago, she gave Woolf another go, reading Mrs Dalloway. As a writer who experiments with language and form, she marvelled at the inventiveness, how Woolf's characters float in and out of the prose.

In this Christmas Eve edition of Open Endings, Bernardine reveals her admiration for Woolf's work and imagines a different end for Clarissa Dalloway's extravagant party.

Producer: Camellia Sinclair

Man Booker Prize winner Bernardine Evaristo chooses Virginia Woolf's Mrs Dalloway.

Al Kennedy On The Wind In The Willows

20191225

20210804 (R3)

Five leading writers pick a novel they love and then write an original piece of fiction imagining what happened to the characters after the story ends.

For the six-year-old AL Kennedy, Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows provided firelight calm and comfort. She still has her childhood copy, bound up in green cloth with gold lettering, the only hardback she possessed at that age. This Christmas Day, she imagines what might have happened to Mole, Rat and Badger years after the Battle of Toad Hall.

Producer: Camellia Sinclair

AL Kennedy chooses Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows

Elif Shafak On Anna Karenina

20191226

20210805 (R3)

Five leading writers pick a novel they love and then write an original piece of fiction imagining what happened to the characters after the story ends.

Award-winning British-Turkish novelist Elif Shafak first glimpsed Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina on a bookshelf at school. It was only years later that she managed to get her hands on a copy. The experience stirred her soul. The romance was raw, wrong and real. But the book's ending came as a surprise.

For this Boxing Day edition, Elif imagines what would happen if Anna were able to meet her creator, Tolstoy himself, after the novel's final page.

Producer: Camellia Sinclair

Elif Shafak chooses Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina.

05 LAST

Philippa Gregory On Jane Eyre

20191227

20210806 (R3)

Five leading writers pick a novel they love and then write an original piece of fiction imagining what happened to the characters after the story ends.

When she first encountered Jane Eyre in the classroom, Philippa Gregory was looking for a love story - between Jane Eyre and the brooding Mr Rochester. Years later, she reads the book very differently.

Join Philippa as she explores the nuances within Charlotte Bront뀀's classic and writes an original scene, a new ending, for the book.

Producer: Camellia Sinclair

Historical author Philippa Gregory writes a new end for Charlotte Bront\u00eb's Jane Eyre.

Episodes

Episode	Title	First Broadcast	Repeated	Comments
01	Ian Rankin On Lord Of The Flies	20191223	20210802 (R3)	Five leading writers pick a novel they love and then write an original piece of fiction imagining what happened to the characters after the story ends. In the first essay of the series, the crime writer Ian Rankin picks William Golding's Lord of the Flies. Like many students, Ian first encountered the novel at school but certain scenes and moments have stayed with him for the past 40 years. In this essay, Ian explores his relationship with the work as a teenager of the 1970s and imagines what might have happened to two of the shipwrecked boys, Ralph and Jack, once they reach adulthood. Producer: Camellia Sinclair Ian Rankin chooses William Golding's Lord of the Flies.
02	Bernardine Evaristo On Mrs Dalloway	20191224	20210803 (R3)	Five leading writers pick a novel they love and then write an original piece of fiction imagining what happened to the characters after the story ends. Man Booker Prize winner Bernardine Evaristo first encountered Virginia Woolf's writing as a teenager, reading To the Lighthouse for her English Literature A Level. She loathed the book. But a few years ago, she gave Woolf another go, reading Mrs Dalloway. As a writer who experiments with language and form, she marvelled at the inventiveness, how Woolf's characters float in and out of the prose. In this Christmas Eve edition of Open Endings, Bernardine reveals her admiration for Woolf's work and imagines a different end for Clarissa Dalloway's extravagant party. Producer: Camellia Sinclair Man Booker Prize winner Bernardine Evaristo chooses Virginia Woolf's Mrs Dalloway.
03	Al Kennedy On The Wind In The Willows	20191225	20210804 (R3)	Five leading writers pick a novel they love and then write an original piece of fiction imagining what happened to the characters after the story ends. For the six-year-old AL Kennedy, Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows provided firelight calm and comfort. She still has her childhood copy, bound up in green cloth with gold lettering, the only hardback she possessed at that age. This Christmas Day, she imagines what might have happened to Mole, Rat and Badger years after the Battle of Toad Hall. Producer: Camellia Sinclair AL Kennedy chooses Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows
04	Elif Shafak On Anna Karenina	20191226	20210805 (R3)	Five leading writers pick a novel they love and then write an original piece of fiction imagining what happened to the characters after the story ends. Award-winning British-Turkish novelist Elif Shafak first glimpsed Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina on a bookshelf at school. It was only years later that she managed to get her hands on a copy. The experience stirred her soul. The romance was raw, wrong and real. But the book's ending came as a surprise. For this Boxing Day edition, Elif imagines what would happen if Anna were able to meet her creator, Tolstoy himself, after the novel's final page. Producer: Camellia Sinclair Elif Shafak chooses Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina.
05 LAST	Philippa Gregory On Jane Eyre	20191227	20210806 (R3)	Five leading writers pick a novel they love and then write an original piece of fiction imagining what happened to the characters after the story ends. When she first encountered Jane Eyre in the classroom, Philippa Gregory was looking for a love story - between Jane Eyre and the brooding Mr Rochester. Years later, she reads the book very differently. Join Philippa as she explores the nuances within Charlotte Bront뀀's classic and writes an original scene, a new ending, for the book. Producer: Camellia Sinclair Historical author Philippa Gregory writes a new end for Charlotte Bront\u00eb's Jane Eyre.