Episodes
| Series | Episode | Title | First Broadcast | Repeated | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| & Other Stories: Daphne Du Maurier, Episode 1 | 20240303 | In 1971, Daphne du Maurier published Don't Look Now and it was to become a landmark in the development of the psychological thriller. Du Maurier was an extraordinarily prolific writer producing a string of bestselling novels such as Rebecca and Jamaica Inn, but it's in her short stories that we find her darkest and most disturbing work. In Don't Look Now, a couple visit Venice trying to come to terms with the grief of losing their daughter. A blind psychic tells them she can see their daughter and she is trying to warn them of danger. Their fragility and the psychic's premonitions become entangled with real life events on the Venetian backstreets. Du Maurier's writing was ground-breaking not only in her brilliant handling of suspense and plot, but because her real interest lay in the internal journey of the characters and what was going on under the surface. John Yorke looks at why Don't Look Now is such a brilliant example of this. Don't Look Now also gained a huge international following because it was adapted for cinema by the film director Nicholas Roeg. This is the first of two Opening Lines that explore the short stories of Daphne du Maurier. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for thirty years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatized in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. From EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book ‘Into the Woods'. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters - his students have had 17 green-lights in the last two years alone. Contributors: Sarah Dunant – best selling author of thriller and historical novels, and broadcaster Peter Bradshaw – film critic Credits: Don't Look Now and other stories by Daphne du Maurier, Penguin Classics 2006. Archive clip from 2001 BBC Radio dramatisation with Michael Feast playing the part of John. Venice sound bed from BBC Radio 3's Slow Radio: Venice Between the Bells. Readings: Julian Wilkinson Researcher: Nina Semple Production Manager: Sarah Wright Producer: Julian Wilkinson Executive Producer: Sara Davies Sound: Sean Kerwin A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke explores a ground-breaking short story - Don't Look Now by Daphne du Maurier. The series that explores books, plays and stories and how they work. John Yorke looks at a short story that defined thriller writing – Don't Look Now by Daphne du Maurier. | |||
| A Grain Of Wheat | 20231217 | John Yorke takes a look at A Grain of Wheat, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o's groundbreaking book about the lead up to Kenyan Independence. Published in 1966 as part of the Heineman African Writers Series, A Grain of Wheat offers an authentic insight into Kenya's Land and Freedom Army rebellion (better known in Britain as the Mau Mau) and its brutal suppression by British colonial authorities. Told from the perspective of various Kikuyu characters living in Kenya's central highlands, it is set in the four days leading up to the hard-won Uhuru, or Independence celebrations. But through flashbacks, we also learn of what has happened in the decade prior to that; how characters have been sent to detention centres, or held in concentration camps, resisted British authorities, or collaborated with them. Now, on the eve of change, it is time for reflections and recriminations. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for nearly 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised on BBC Radio 4. From EastEnders to the Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters - his students have had 17 green-lights in the last two years alone. Contributors: Njambi McGrath, author of Through the Leopard's Gaze, award-winning comedian and political commentator. Credits: Abridged readings from A Grain of Wheat by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, published by Penguin Modern Classics in Association with Heinemann African Writers Series. Archive recordings from World Book Club, 9th March 2019, BBC World Service Readings: Patrick Gatua Researcher: Nina Semple Production Manager: Sarah Wright Sound: Sean Kerwin Producer: Redzi Bernard Executive Producer: Sara Davies A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke looks at A Grain of Wheat, Ng\u0169g\u0129 wa Thiong'o's groundbreaking Kenyan novel. The series that takes a look at books, plays and stories and how they work. John Yorke explores A Grain of Wheat, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o's book set in the lead up to Kenyan Independence | |||
| A Many-splendoured Thing, Episode 1 | 20231126 | The novel A Many-Splendoured Thing, by the Eurasian author and doctor Han Suyin, was an instant hit in Britain and the States on its publication in 1952. Set in Hong Kong between 1949 and 1950, it's a lightly fictionalised account of the author's own passionate and transformative love affair. The protagonist mirrors Han Suyin, herself – a Eurasian doctor originally from mainland China, born to a Chinese father and a Belgian mother. In real life Han Suyin fell in love with an Australian war correspondent who, in the novel, becomes an Englishman, Mark Elliott. The book was quickly snapped up by Hollywood and released as Love is A Many Splendoured Thing in 1955. In the first of two episodes, John Yorke urges us to read the book as, in his opinion, the film misses the nuance, subtlety and interest of the novel. This, he says, is because the book, through a huge and complex array of secondary characters and vivid descriptions, reveals so much about a pivotal point in history – a time when scores of refugees were making their home in Hong Kong, leaving mainland China to escape the inevitable defeat of the national government by the communists. John also explores the way Han Suyin's honest revelations about her contradictory feelings within the love affair give the novel a huge emotional charge and offer a window into her own journey towards self-determination. Credits: A Many-Splendoured Thing by Han Suyin, published by Jonathan Cape, 1952 (currently out of print) Contributors: Ming Ho, writer, who adapted the book for BBC Radio 4 Alex Tickell, Professor of Global literatures in English at the Open University Reader: Chipo Chung Producer: Penny Boreham Executive Producer: Sara Davies Researcher: Nina Semple Production Manager: Sarah Wright Sound Engineer: Iain Hunter A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke delves into Han Suyin's fascinating love story A Many-Splendoured Thing. John Yorke explores the way this classic love story, set in Hong Kong between 1949 and 1950, gives us an insight into a pivotal period in history. | |||
| A Many-splendoured Thing, Episode 2 | 20231203 | A Many-Splendoured Thin', by the Eurasian author and doctor Han Suyin, was an instant hit in Britain and the States on its publication in 1952. Set in Hong Kong between 1949 and 1950, it's a lightly fictionalised account of the author's own passionate and transformative love affair. The protagonist mirrors Han Suyin, herself – a Eurasian doctor originally from mainland China, born to a Chinese father and a Belgian mother. In real life, Han Suyin fell in love with an Australian war correspondent who, in the novel, becomes an Englishman, Mark Elliott. In the second of two episodes, John explores Han's other love affair, with China itself. He explains that A Many-Splendoured Thing is no longer in print and that this can be seen in the light of Han Suyin having been, for a long time, a passionate advocate of communism in China, which she saw as an improvement on the brutalities she had witnessed in feudal China. This resulted in her and her books falling out of favour as the horrors of the Cultural Revolution became fully apparent . However, John believes it's well worth tracking down a copy, as the novel tackles both the complexities of a cross cultural affair in 1949, and offers us a personal and nuanced portrait of a period of extreme political upheaval. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for nearly 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised on BBC Radio 4. From EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe, and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy, John has trained a generation of screenwriters. Credits: A Many-Splendoured Thing by Han Suyin, published by Jonathan Cape, 1952 (currently out of print) Contributors: Ming Ho, writer, who adapted the book for BBC Radio 4 Alex Tickell, Professor of Global literatures in English at the Open University Reader: Chipo Chung Producer: Penny Boreham Executive Producer: Sara Davies Researcher: Nina Semple Production Manager: Sarah Wright Sound Engineer: Iain Hunter A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke delves into Han Suyin's fascinating love story A Many-Splendoured Thing. John Yorke explores the way this classic love story, set in Hong Kong between 1949 and 1950, gives us an insight into a pivotal period in history. | |||
| A Room With A View, Episode 1 | 20230521 | John Yorke examines E M Forster's best-loved novel A Room with a View, first published in 1908. Set in Florence and Surrey, A Room with a View is both a coming-of-age story and an intoxicating love story, as teenage Lucy Honeychurch has to choose between two very different men, and between following convention or following her heart. It's a book full of muddle and misunderstanding, as well as comedy and joy, as Lucy tries to make sense of her feelings and to work out how to be true to herself. The book opens at the Pensione Bertolini, a guest house for respectable English tourists in Florence. Lucy has just arrived with her much older cousin, Charlotte Bartlett, who is a martyr and a fusspot, and one of Forster's greatest comic creations. They are disappointed not to have the rooms with views of the River Arno they had been promised by the landlady. In this first programme of two, John is keen to find out how Forster's own experiences of travelling in Italy are reflected in the book, why his writing makes the novel such a pleasure to read, and why, nearly 120 years after it was first published, it still resonates with modern audiences. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for thirty years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatized in BBC Radio 4's Sunday/Saturday Drama series. From EastEnders to the Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters - his students have had 17 green-lights in the last two years alone. Contributors: Alison Hennegan, former Director of Studies in English, Trinity Hall Cambridge Sarah Winman, novelist Reading by Sarah Winman Credits: A Room with a View by E M Forster, first published by Edward Arnold 1908 Produced by Jane Greenwood Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael Sound by Sean Kerwin Researcher Nina Semple Production Manager Sarah Wright A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke explores EM Forster's 1908 novel A Room with a View. | |||
| A Room With A View, Episode 2 | 20230528 | John Yorke continues his examination of E M Forster's best-loved novel A Room with a View, first published in 1908. Set in Florence and Surrey, A Room with a View is both a coming-of-age story and an intoxicating love story, as teenage Lucy Honeychurch has to choose between two very different men, and between following convention or following her heart. It is a book full of muddle and misunderstanding, as well as comedy and joy, as Lucy tries to make sense of her feelings and to work out how to be true to herself. In this second programme, John is keen to find out how Forster's own life ties in with A Room with a View. As a gay man in Edwardian England he was all too aware of the painful dilemma of loving someone you were not supposed to love. John also wants to know how the book reflects women's lives in the early 20th century and why, nearly 120 years after it was first published, readers still enjoy this book so much. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for thirty years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday/Saturday Drama series. From EastEnders to the Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters - his students have had 17 green-lights in the last two years alone. Contributors: Alison Hennegan, former Director of Studies in English, Trinity Hall Cambridge Sarah Winman, novelist Reading by Sarah Winman Credits: A Room with a View by E M Forster, first published by Edward Arnold 1908 Produced by Jane Greenwood Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael Sound by Sean Kerwin Researcher: Nina Semple Production Manager: Sarah Wright A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke explores EM Forster's 1908 novel A Room with a View. | |||
| A Short History Of Tractors In Ukrainian | 20250928 |  John Yorke looks at the background to A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian and assesses the appeal of this worldwide best seller by Marina Lewycka. Two feuding sisters unite to thwart their newly widowed father's impending marriage to Valentina - a voluptuous gold-digger from Ukraine who loves green satin underwear and boil-in-the-bag cuisine and who'll stop at nothing in her single-minded pursuit of the luxurious Western lifestyle she dreams of. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years and shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless.  As creator of the BBC Writers Academy, he's trained a generation of screenwriters - now with over 70 green lights and thousands of hours of television to their names.  He is the author of Into the Woods, the bestselling book on narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of narrative - including many podcasts for R4. Contributor: Professor Andrew Wilson, Professor of Ukrainian studies at University College London and author of ‘The Ukrainians Archive: Radio 4 – Marina Lewycka on 'Book Club', 8th January 2015 Readings from A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian: Marina Lewycka (Penguin Essentials, 71), 2017 Reader: Janet Ellis Producer: Alison Vernon-Smith Sound: Sean Kerwin Researcher Henry Tydeman Production Hub Coordinator: Nina Semple Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke looks at the worldwide bestseller A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian. | |||
| A Vindication Of The Rights Of Woman | 20240609 | 20240707 (R4) | John Yorke takes a look at Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. Mary Wollstonecraft was a trailblazer, a human rights champion whose personal life defied convention and whose ideas changed the world. Born at a time when girls were encouraged to do needlework and prepare for marriage rather than being sent to school like their brothers, Mary rebelled against the notion and educated herself. As her ideas developed and she found her place among radical Dissenters, she fought for women to be treated as human beings rather than objects for men to admire and own – ideas viewed as outrageous at the time. She travelled to Paris at the height of the Revolution and took her baby around Norway in search of lost treasure. Unlike most 18th century women, Mary's life reads like the script of a blockbusting Hollywood movie. She left an enduring legacy, not least in the shape of her daughter, the subject of our next episode, Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatized in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. From EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe, and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy, John has trained a generation of screenwriters. Contributor: Bee Rowlatt, author of 'In Search of Mary' a travelogue about following in Mary Wollstonecraft's footsteps and founding Trustee of the human rights education charity in her name, The Wollstonecraft Society. Researcher: Nina Semple Production Manager: Sarah Wright Sound: Sean Kerwin Producer: Kate McAll Executive Producer: Sara Davies A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 The series that takes a look at books, plays and stories and how they work. John Yorke examines Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. | ||
| Anna Karenina, Episode 1 | 20230430 | The series that takes a look at books, plays and stories and how they work. John Yorke examines what lies at the heart of Tolstoy's great novel Anna Karenina. ‘All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.' It's one of the most famous opening lines in world literature, and the book has been called the greatest novel ever written. First published in 1878, and translated into English in 1901, it's been credited with perfecting the art of 19th century realism while foreshadowing the modernist novel. In this first of three episodes, John Yorke examines the central tragic love story at the heart of the novel. Anna Karenina is an unhappily married aristocrat who falls in love with dashing young army officer Count Vronsky. But under the eyes of the hypocritical St Petersburg elite, their love is strained to breaking point. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatized in BBC Radio 4's Sunday/Saturday Drama series. From EastEnders to the Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy, John has trained a generation of screenwriters - his students have had 17 green-lights in the last two years alone. Contributors: Rosamund Bartlett, Tolstoy biographer and translator of new Oxford World Classics edition of Anna Karenina. Dr Sarah Hudspith, Associate Professor in Russian at the University of Leeds Linda Marshall-Griffiths, writer and adapter of new radio drama of Anna Karenina Readings by Jules Wilkinson Credits: Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, trans. Constance Garnet 1901, William Heinemann Produced by Lore Windemuth Executive Producer: Sara Davies Researcher: Nina Semple Production Manager: Sarah Wright Sound by Iain Hunter A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke looks at the themes at the heart of Leo Tolstoy's classic novel Anna Karenina. | |||
| Anna Karenina, Episode 2 | 20230507 | The series that takes a look at books, plays and stories and how they work. John Yorke explores the themes at the heart of Leo Tolstoy's great nineteenth century novel, Anna Karenina. In the second of three episodes, John looks at the secondary great love story in the novel, that of Kitty and Levin, and how it is built into and reflects the structure of the story. As Anna and Vronksy's affair plays out under the disapproving gaze of St Petersburg society, Levin and Kitty take a different path to happiness, seeking meaning and fulfilment within the boundaries of convention. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatized in BBC Radio 4's Sunday/Saturday Drama series. From EastEnders to the Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy, John has trained a generation of screenwriters - his students have had 17 green-lights in the last two years alone. Contributors: Rosamund Bartlett, Tolstoy biographer and translator of new Oxford World Classics edition of Anna Karenina. Dr. Sarah Hudspith, Associate Professor in Russian at the University of Leeds Linda Marshall-Griffiths, writer and adapter of new radio drama of Anna Karenina Readings by Jules Wilkinson Credits: Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, trans. Constance Garnet, 1901 William Heinemann Produced by Lore Windemuth Executive Producer: Sara Davies Researcher: Nina Semple Production Manager: Sarah Wright Sound by Ian Hunter A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke looks at the themes and structure of Tolstoy's great novel Anna Karenina. | |||
| Anna Karenina, Episode 3 | 20230514 | The series that takes a look at books, plays and stories and how they work. John Yorke explores Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, one of the world's greatest novels. In this third and final part on Anna Karenina, John focuses on Tolstoy and his world, in order to come to an understanding of the true sense of his achievement in writing a novel that has been at the forefront of world literature since its publication nearly 150 years ago. The 1870s were a time of seismic social change in Russia and, in Anna Karenina, Tolstoy's meticulous and subtle descriptions of the daily lives and concerns of his characters reflect his own turmoil in the face of a world that was in upheaval. ‘How does one live well?' is the profound question at the heart of the novel. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatized in BBC Radio 4's Sunday/Saturday Drama series. From EastEnders to the Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy, John has trained a generation of screenwriters - his students have had 17 green-lights in the last two years alone. Contributors: Rosamund Bartlett, Tolstoy biographer and translator of new Oxford World Classics edition of Anna Karenina. Dr. Sarah Hudspith, Associate Professor in Russian at the University of Leeds Linda Marshall-Griffiths, writer and adapter of new radio drama of Anna Karenina Readings by Jules Wilkinson Credits: Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, trans. Constance Garnet, 1901 William Heinemann Produced by Lore Windemuth Executive Producer: Sara Davies Researcher: Nina Semple Production Manager: Sarah Wright Sound by Ian Hunter A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke explores the world of Leo Tolstoy's great novel Anna Karenina. | |||
| Antic Hay | 20230326 | John Yorke takes a look at Aldous Huxley's 1923 satirical novel, Antic Hay. It's a comic novel, set in post-war London and a wicked satire on the glittering hedonism of the 1920s. It tells the story of a collection of upper middle-class characters desperately trying to find meaning in their lives after the catastrophe of the First World War. Aldous Huxley is most famous for his classic dystopian story Brave New World. To some he's the inspiration for the cult of hallucinogenics, through his book The Doors Of Perception. But a million miles from both, among the 40-odd other books he wrote, sits Antic Hay - a sardonic snapshot of 1920s English society. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for nearly 30 years, and he shares his experience as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that have made a mark.?? From EastEnders to the Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters - his students have had 17 green-lights in the last two years alone. Contributors: Emily Pithon, actor, starred as Myra Viveash in Mike Harris' Radio 4 adaptation of Antic Hay. Dr Jake Poller, School of English and Drama at Queen Mary, University of London is the author of a 2021 biography of Aldous Huxley Credits: Antic Hay by Aldous Huxley, 1923 III. Accidie, On The Margin Collected Notes and Essays by Aldous Huxley, 1923 Produced by Laura Grimshaw Executive Producer: Sara Davies Readings by Emily Pithon Sound by Sean Kerwin Researcher: Nina Semple Production Manager: Sarah Wright A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 | |||
| Behind The Scenes At The Museum - 1 | 20250105 | John Yorke examines Kate Atkinson's 1995 Whitbread award-winning debut Behind the Scenes at the Museum. An epic tragi-comedy, the novel tells the story of protagonist Ruby Lennox, who is born above a family pet shop in York in the early 1950s and grows up in post-war Britain. Through Ruby, the reader is transported back and forth through the centuries as she recounts the stories of four generations of her family from the 1800s to the mid-1990s. In this episode, John looks at how a debut novel from a then-unknown author triumphed over literary giants like Salman Rushdie for the Whitbread accolade. Thirty years on, it remains a contemporary classic. So why, and how, does it work? John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production, he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. As creator of the BBC Writers Academy, he's trained a generation of screenwriters - now with over 70 green lights and thousands of hours of television to their names. He is the author of Into the Woods, the bestselling book on narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of narrative - including many podcasts for R4. Contributors: Alex Clark, Literary Journalist and Broadcaster Armelle Parey, Professor of Contemporary British Fiction at the University of Caen-Normandie Lee Randall, Writer, editor and book festival programmer Credits: Audio archive clips from Book Club (BBC Sounds), A Good Read (BBC Sounds) Producer: Lucy Hough Executive Producer: Sara Davies Readings: Clare Corbett Sound: Sean Kerwin Production Hub Coordinator: Nina Semple A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke looks at Kate Atkinson's debut novel, Behind the Scenes at the Museum. The series that looks at books, plays and stories and how they work. John Yorke examines Kate Atkinson's 1995 Whitbread award-winning debut, Behind the Scenes at the Museum. | |||
| Behind The Scenes At The Museum - 2 | 20250106 | 20250112 (R4) | John Yorke examines Kate Atkinson's 1995 Whitbread award-winning debut Behind the Scenes at the Museum. An epic tragi-comedy, the novel tells the story of protagonist Ruby Lennox, who is born above a family pet shop in York in the early 1950s and grows up in post-war Britain. Through Ruby, the reader is transported back and forth through the centuries as she recounts the stories of four generations of her family from the 1800s to the mid-1990s. Behind the Scenes at the Museum was the first in a series of novels by Kate Atkinson to explore the war and its fall-out. In this episode, John explores the themes and structure of a novel praised for its inventiveness, ambition and wit. Thirty years on, it remains a contemporary classic. So why, and how, does it work? John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years and shares his experience as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. As creator of the BBC Writers Academy, he's trained a generation of screenwriters - now with over 70 green lights and thousands of hours of television to their names. He is the author of Into the Woods, the bestselling book on narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of narrative - including many podcasts for R4. Contributors: Alex Clark, Literary Journalist and Broadcaster Armelle Parey, Professor of Contemporary British Fiction at the University of Caen-Normandie Lee Randall, Writer, editor and book festival programmer Credits: Audio archive clips from Book Club (BBC Sounds), A Good Read (BBC Sounds) Producer: Lucy Hough Executive Producer: Sara Davies Readings: Clare Corbett Sound: Sean Kerwin Production Hub Coordinator: Nina Semple A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke looks at Kate Atkinson's debut novel, Behind the Scenes at the Museum. The series that looks at books, plays and stories and how they work. John Yorke examines Kate Atkinson's 1995 Whitbread award-winning debut, Behind the Scenes at the Museum. | ||
| Berlin Alexanderplatz | 20241117 | As we approach its hundredth anniversary, John Yorke explores the long-vanished world of German writer Alfred Döblin's Expressionist masterpiece, Berlin Alexanderplatz. Set in 1928 at the height of the Weimar Republic, the novel centres around Franz Biberkopf - ‘transport worker, housebreaker, pimp, manslaughterer' - who is determined to go straight following his release from prison. Weather reports, tales from scripture, popular songs, death tolls, recipes and advertising slogans continuously interrupt Biberkopf's dizzying journey through a collage-like depiction of Berlin. Doblin's novel was a huge bestseller when it was first published and is said to have defined city literature. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years and shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless.  As creator of the BBC Writers Academy, he's trained a generation of screenwriters - now with over 70 green lights and thousands of hours of television to their names.  He is the author of Into the Woods, the bestselling book on narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of narrative - including many podcasts for R4. Contributor: Michael Hofmann, translator of Berlin Alexanderplatz. Researcher/Broadcast Assistant: Nina Semple Sound: Iain Hunter Producer: Kate McAll Executive Producer: Sara Davies A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke takes a look at Alfred D\u00f6blin's Berlin Alexanderplatz. The series that takes a look at books, plays and stories and how they work. John Yorke explores the influences behind Alfred Döblin's Berlin Alexanderplatz. | |||
| Borstal Boy | 20230416 | Somewhere between autobiography, memoir and novel, the Irish writer and poet Brendan Behan's Borstal Boy was published in 1958. It's the story of the teenaged Behan's three years in an English Borstal - the youth detention centres of their day. As an Irish Republican, Behan's views of the English are challenged, relationships are formed, and his journey to becoming one of the most celebrated writers of his generation begins. Hearing from the bestselling Irish novelist Colm T　ib퀀n, John Yorke explains the delight of this tender, funny, sometimes sad, sometimes violent book, and unpicks Behan's ability to capture detail and dialogue in rich, yet somehow sparse descriptions of life in Borstal. John shares a lifetime of experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the secrets behind the books, plays and stories that are being dramatized in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. He has been working in television and radio for nearly 30 years. From East Enders to the Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book ‘Into the Woods'. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters. Contributors: Colm T　ib퀀n, bestselling writer of novels such as Nora Webster and The Blackwater Lightship. His book Brooklyn was adapted into an Oscar-nominated film starring Saoirse Ronan, and his writing has been translated into over 30 languages. Credits: Borstal Boy by Brendan Behan, 1958. Excerpts from a 1971 BBC Television adaption of Borstal Boy, featuring Donal Neligan as Brendan Behan, Sheila Fay as the landlady, Wilfred Carter as the sergeant, Gavin Morrrison as Vereker. Omnibus, 1971. Brendan Behan interviewed by Derek Hart, Tonight, BBC Television, 1959. CA Joyce, governor of the Borstal, interviewed for BBC Television in 1971. Researcher: Nina Semple Sound: Sean Kerwin Producer: Jack Soper Executive Producer: Sara Davies Production Manager: Sarah Wright John Yorke looks at Borstal Boy by Brendan Behan. | |||
| Brat Farrar | 20250309 | Patrick Ashby died nine years ago. Now, out of the blue, he returns home to claim his inheritance. Except, of course, it's not Patrick but an imposter, Brat Farrar. In this episode of Opening Lines John Yorke examines Josephine Tey's classic 1949 novel that set the standard for so many crime writers to come. He examines the themes of the book and Tey's life, itself a story of multiple identities and hidden lives. The programme features writer Nicola Upson, a member of the prestigious elite Detection Club, whose own crime novels feature Josephine Tey as detective. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years and shares his experience as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. As creator of the BBC Writers Academy, he's trained a generation of screenwriters - now with over 70 green lights and thousands of hours of television to their names. He is the author of Into the Woods, the bestselling book on narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of narrative - including many podcasts for R4. Interview with Val McDermid, BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour, 20th August 2015 Producer: Caroline Raphael Reader: Janet Ellis Executive Producer: Sara Davies Production Hub Coordinator: Nina Semple Sound: Sean Kerwin A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke investigates Josephine Tey's classic story about an imposter, Brat Farrar. Brat Farrar is an imposter. He's returned to his ‘family' to claim his inheritance. Will he get away with it? John Yorke looks at Tey's classic novel and asks what makes it work. | |||
| Cane | 20240224 | In the series that takes a look at books, plays and stories and how they work, John Yorke looks at Jean Toomer's Cane about African American life in 1920s America. Jean Toomer, born and raised in Washington DC, wrote Cane after a three month trip south to Georgia in 1921. Cane has a unique structure. Divided into three sections, the book is a series of vignettes, poems and short stories and concerns the lives of African Americans in the deep South and those that made the journey up to the northern states. John hears how the book was written at a critical period in American history – during the ‘Great Migration'. He also hears how the work was critically acclaimed when it was published and claimed as a part of the Harlem Renaissance, but how Toomer, of mixed racial heritage himself, eschewed all labels and wanted just to be known as an ‘American' writer. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for nearly 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. From EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters - his students have had 17 green-lights in the last two years alone. Contributor: Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts, Assistant Professor of Writing at the Pratt Institute in New York and author of Harlem Is Nowhere: A Journey to the Mecca of Black America. Credits: Cane by Jean Toomer Publisher (Penguin Classics) (8 Jan. 2019) Kindle Edition Archive of Toni Morrison from Roots Of Cane, Broadcast on Radio 3 on the 2nd April 1993 Readings by Eric Stroud Producer: Alison Vernon-Smith Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael Sound: Iain Hunter Researcher: Nina Semple Production Manager: Sarah Wright | |||
| Casino Royale | 20250420 | John Yorke looks at Casino Royale, the novel by Ian Fleming that introduced James Bond to the world. First published in 1953, Fleming's thrilling novel plunges us immediately into the murky underworld of high stakes gambling. Today we may be more familiar with Bond as portrayed in the movies, but here we discover a more nuanced character. James Bond is vulnerable and at times filled with self-doubt, a far cry from the confident hero on the screen. Bond is on a mission to confront a private banker called Le Chiffre in a baccarat game at the Casino Royale and it doesn't all go to plan. John Yorke first read Casino Royale at the age of twelve and credits it with a lifetime of enthusiasm for reading novels. In this Opening Lines he explains why. John has worked in television and radio for 30 years and shares his experience as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless.  As creator of the BBC Writers Academy, he's trained a generation of screenwriters - now with over 70 green lights and thousands of hours of television to their names.  He is the author of Into the Woods, the bestselling book on narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of narrative - including many podcasts for R4. Contributor: Kim Sherwood, author and creative writing lecturer, University of Edinburgh Reader: Matthew Gravelle Sound: Sean Kerwin Researcher: Henry Tydeman Production Hub Coordinator: Nina Semple Producer: Mark Rickards Executive Producer: Sara Davies A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke looks at Casino Royale by Ian Fleming. Published in 1953 and set in the murky world of espionage and gambling, it launched the career of James Bond, secret agent 007. | |||
| Celebrating Stoppard | 20260404 | 20260405 (R4) | Tom Stoppard was of course best known for his work writing for stage and screen - but the dramas he created for radio were also an extremely important part of his career and his development as a writer. Across five decades he continued to return to a medium that suited him so well; without the constraints of visuals, his deft structural turns, linguistic pyrotechnics and imaginative leaps could flourish. In this special episode of Opening Lines for Radio 4's Celebrating Stoppard season, John Yorke examines how Stoppard benefitted from and contributed to a golden age in BBC Radio drama. The programme features extracts from ‘The Dissolution of Dominic Boot', ‘Albert's Bridge' and ‘The Dog It Was That Died', as well as contributions from Stoppard's biographer Professor Hermione Lee and archive of Stoppard himself. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for over 30 years and shares his experience as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. He created the BBC Writers Academy and trained a generation of screenwriters - now with thousands of hours of television to their names. His acclaimed books Into the Woods and Trip to the Moon explore the structure and power of narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of storytelling, including many podcasts for R4. Producer: Geoff Bird Contributor: Professor Hermione Lee Sound: Sean Kerwin Researcher: Henry Tydeman Production Hub Coordinator: Dawn Williams Reader: Daniel Weyman Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael A Pier production for BBC Radio 4. John Yorke celebrates the radio dramas of Tom Stoppard. John Yorke unpacks the themes behind the stories in Radio 4's weekend afternoon dramas. Tom Stoppard wrote numerous radio dramas over the course of his career - John Yorke asks why he loved the medium so much and why it served him so well. | ||
| Christmas Pudding | 20241222 | John Yorke looks at Nancy Mitford's depiction of the lives and loves of the English upper classes as a group of friends and acquaintances gather in the Cotswolds for Christmas. It's a sharply observed, mostly gentle, satire of the aristocratic type that Mitford herself knew so well. This was her second novel, written in 1932. She became, and remains, famous for her subsequent bestsellers The Pursuit of Love in 1945 and Love in a Cold Climate in 1949 but Christmas Pudding shows very clearly the direction in which she was heading as the witty chronicler of a vanishing world. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years and shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless.  As creator of the BBC Writers Academy, he's trained a generation of screenwriters - now with over 70 green lights and thousands of hours of television to their names.  He is the author of Into the Woods, the bestselling book on narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of narrative - including many podcasts for R4. Contributor: Laura Thompson, author of ‘The Six: The Lives of the Mitford Sisters' and ‘Life in a Cold Climate - Nancy Mitford: A Biography Archive from BBC Television, The World of Nancy Mitford 1970 Reader: Esme Scarborough Producer: Alison Vernon-Smith Production Hub Coordinator: Nina Semple Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael A Pier Production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke on the aristocratic festive foibles of Nancy Mitford's Christmas Pudding. John Yorke on the aristocratic festive foibles so wittily depicted in Nancy Mitford's Christmas Pudding. With author Laura Thompson and rare archive of Mitford herself. | |||
| Clear Light Of Day - 1 | 20240630 | 20240818 (R4) | Set in the turbulent years of 20th century India, Anita Desai's novel Clear Light of Day brings us a story of family and political upheaval in the blistering heat of Old Delhi. John Yorke unpicks the threads that hold both family and community together until they fray and fall apart. From an opening in the 1980s, we are taken backwards and forwards in time to find loyalties and tensions amongst siblings set against the backdrop of India's turbulent history. The most significant event for India was Partition, when India became an independent country and Pakistan was created as a homeland for the Muslim communities. The divisions and ethnic violence unleashed run through the country and the Das family. Clear Light of Day presents us with two sisters, Tara and Bim, meeting back at home after Tara has returned from Washington DC. One has chosen a path abroad, the other to stay at home and look after her brother who needs constant care. The family is Hindu, but another brother has left to live hundreds of miles away having married into a Muslim family. It's when we are taken back to their childhood lives that we come to really understand who they are and what binds them together. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatized in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. From EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters. Includes archive clips of Anita Desai from The View from Here, BBC Radio 4, 18.02.95 Contributor : Kamila Shamsie, author Researcher: Nina Semple Production Manager: Sarah Wright Sound: Sean Kerwin Reader: Aarushi Ganju Producer: Mark Rickards Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke explores Anita Desai's novel Clear Light of Day. The series that takes a look at books, plays and stories and how they work. John Yorke explores Anita Desai's novel set in the upheaval of 20th century India, Clear Light of Day. | ||
| Clear Light Of Day - 1 | 20240818 | 20241103 (R4) | Set in the turbulent years of 20th century India, Anita Desai's novel Clear Light of Day brings us a story of family and political upheaval in the blistering heat of Old Delhi. John Yorke unpicks the threads that hold both family and community together until they fray and fall apart. From an opening in the 1980s, we are taken backwards and forwards in time to find loyalties and tensions amongst siblings set against the backdrop of India's turbulent history. The most significant event for India was Partition, when India became an independent country and Pakistan was created as a homeland for the Muslim communities. The divisions and ethnic violence unleashed run through the country and the Das family. Clear Light of Day presents us with two sisters, Tara and Bim, meeting back at home after Tara has returned from Washington DC. One has chosen a path abroad, the other to stay at home and look after her brother who needs constant care. The family is Hindu, but another brother has left to live hundreds of miles away having married into a Muslim family. It's when we are taken back to their childhood lives that we come to really understand who they are and what binds them together. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatized in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. From EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters. Includes archive clips of Anita Desai from The View from Here, BBC Radio 4, 18.02.95 Contributor : Kamila Shamsie, author Researcher: Nina Semple Production Manager: Sarah Wright Sound: Sean Kerwin Reader: Aarushi Ganju Producer: Mark Rickards Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke explores Anita Desai's novel Clear Light of Day. The series that takes a look at books, plays and stories and how they work. John Yorke explores Anita Desai's novel set in the upheaval of 20th century India, Clear Light of Day. John Yorke unpacks the themes behind the stories in this weekend's afternoon Drama on 4. Our Mutual Friend was the last novel that Charles Dickens completed, and was written at a point of significant turmoil in the author's personal life. It's a hugely ambitious and sophisticated novel, drawing the wild complexities of 1860s London life into its purview and marrying realism with mythic symbolism to great effect. Identities shift, deception battles unceasingly with the truth, while the great River Thames continues to flow. John Yorke attempts to bring shape and light to this disparate, dark and enormously powerful piece of work, with the help of Dickens' own great-great-great grand-daughter Lucinda Hawksley, novelist and critic Philip Hensher and Professor Phil Davis from the University of Liverpool. John has worked in television and radio for 30 years and shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. As creator of the BBC Writers Academy, he's trained a generation of screenwriters - now with over 70 green lights and thousands of hours of television to their names. He is the author of Into the Woods, the bestselling book on narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of narrative - including many podcasts for R4. Contributors: Philip Hensher, novelist and critic Lucinda Hawksley, author Reader: Paul Dodgson Researcher/Broadcast Assistant: Nina Semple | ||
| Clear Light Of Day - 2 | 20240825 | Set in the turbulent years of 20th century India, Anita Desai's novel Clear Light of Day brings us a story of family and political upheaval in the blistering heat of Old Delhi. John Yorke unpicks the threads that hold both family and community together until they fray and fall apart. From an opening in the 1980s we are taken backwards and forwards in time to find loyalties and tensions amongst siblings set against the backdrop of India's turbulent history. The most significant event for India was Partition, when India became an independent country and Pakistan was created as a homeland for the Muslim communities. The divisions and ethnic violence unleashed run through the country and the Das family. In the second of two episodes, John Yorke reveals the importance of the historical and political background to the novel. He introduces us to a significant character, Aunt Mira, who symbolises all that has gone wrong as we see the contrast between her strength and resilience in youth to a state of alcohol-induced confusion and despair. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatized in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. From EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters. Includes archive clips of Anita Desai from The View from Here, BBC Radio 4 - 18.02.95 Contributor : Kamila Shamsie, author Researcher: Nina Semple Production Manager: Sarah Wright Sound: Sean Kerwin Reader: Aarushi Ganju Producer: Mark Rickards Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke explores Anita Desai's novel Clear Light of Day. The series that takes a look at books, plays and stories and how they work. John Yorke explores Anita Desai's novel set in the upheaval of 20th century India, Clear Light of Day. | |||
| Cloudstreet, Episode 1 | 20230611 | John Yorke delves into Tim Winton's beloved novel, Cloudstreet, published in 1991. Set in a suburb of Perth in Western Australia, the novel spans the period from the end of the second world war until the mid 1960s and made the young Winton, who wrote the book in his 20s, both a literary and popular phenomenon in his own country. It tells the story of two large white working class families - the Pickles and the Lambs - who experience separate catastrophes, and end up moving to the city to share a great, breathing, ramshackle house, No.1 Cloudstreet. In this first episode about Cloudstreet, John Yorke asks why this prize winning book, iconic in Australia, is so beloved. As the book charts the lives, loves, griefs, struggles and entanglements of the Pickles and Lamb families, he notices that the divine aspect of everyday experience is always present. There is a sacred framing to the novel, as Winton poignantly depicts human beings trying to survive tragedy and continue thriving, by keeping on loving. John also examines how Winton's own background, rooted as he is in the same area his characters emerge from, shines through and gives an added depth to the language and sense of place in the novel. Ultimately John reflects that the novel is both a hymn to and a critique of the country itself, suggesting that Winton is beginning to ask questions about what it means to live in a country where the indigenous people were largely invisible to their white Australian counterparts. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for thirty years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatized in BBC Radio 4's Sunday/Saturday Drama series. From EastEnders to the Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe, and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters - his students have had 17 green-lights in the last two years alone. Contributors: Lyn McCredden, Professor Emerita, Deakin University, Victoria, Australia Kathryn Heyman, Australian novelist and writer Peter Straus, literary agent and Managing Director RCW agency, also first British publisher of Cloudstreet. Cloudstreet by Tim Winton, 1991, Penguin Books, Australia. Produced by Penny Boreham Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael Sound by Martyn Harries Researcher: Nina Semple Readings: James Frecheville Production Manager: Sarah Wright A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 | |||
| Cloudstreet, Episode 2 | 20230618 | John Yorke delves into Tim Winton's beloved novel, Cloudstreet, published in 1991. Set in a suburb of Perth in Western Australia, the novel spans the period from the end of the Second World War until the mid 1960s and made the young Winton, who wrote the book in his 20s, both a literary and popular phenomenon in his own country. It tells the story of two large white working class families - the Pickles and the Lambs - who experience separate catastrophes, and end up moving to the city to share a great, breathing, ramshackle house, No.1 Cloudstreet. The novel was, and still is, one of the most beloved and popular Australian novels ever written but, in this second episode about Cloudstreet, John Yorke explores some of the controversy that has arisen in more recent years. Many of those who love and admire the book for its true and loving depiction of white working class life - warts and all - do now also have reservations about the sheer absence of well-rounded indigenous characters in the book. Aboriginal characters are depicted as ‘no nation' and solely ‘noble', never more than angels and ghosts. There is one recurring aboriginal figure in Cloudstreet who Winton has since described as being ‘the conscience of the nation'. In this episode, we hear Winton himself remarking that the way he depicts aboriginality in the book was ‘nave' and that he has since learned much more about indigenous culture. One of Australia's most celebrated writers Kim Scott, who is the first indigenous writer to have won the prestigious Australian prize, the Miles Franklin award, shares his thoughts about Cloudstreet in this episode. He says 'I do remember being struck by the (recurring) aboriginal character as a lamppost... and one can slam novelists for that, but I think it's within the infrastructure of what literature and Australia allowed Tim, so perhaps it's a tribute to him that here is an absence, here's something that (Winton is saying) I can't articulate but needs to be in the mix`. John concludes that perhaps, in Cloudstreet , Tim Winton found a way - at a time when dialogues about the relationship between indigenous nations and white Australia were in their infancy - to show us how white Australians lived their lives alongside indigenous people but pretended they, and the underlying reality of pain and violence done to them, were invisible. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for thirty years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatized in BBC Radio 4's Sunday/Saturday Drama series. From EastEnders to the Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters - his students have had 17 green- lights in the last two years alone. Contributors: Lyn McCredden, Professor Emerita, Deakin University, Victoria, Australia Kathryn Heyman, Australian novelist and writer Kim Scott, author and Professor of Writing, Curtin University, Perth. Excerpt of Tim Winton from BBC World Book Club, 6th July 2017 Cloudstreet by Tim Winton, 1991, Penguin Books, Australia. Produced by Penny Boreham Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael Sound by Martyn Harries Readings: James Frecheville Researcher: Nina Semple Production Manager: Sarah Wright A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 | |||
| Comet In Moominland | 20231223 | 20250622 (R4) | John Yorke takes a look at Tove Jansson's magical 1946 novel Comet In Moominland. Comet In Moominland is the second Moomin book and it's a classic children's tale. A comet is heading straight for earth, indeed to Moomin valley - so Moomintroll and his best friend Sniff head off on an adventure to try and do something about it. Their journey is eventful; they meet lots of new people and make lots of new friends but remain focussed on their mission to find out more about these faceless dangers, and get back home to Moominmama and Moominpapa and the warmth, safety and cake they offer. Tove Jansson was an acclaimed author, artist and illustrator. She was prolific in all these forms, writing 12 adult novels, many short stories, and producing illustrations throughout her life, but it is the Moomin characters and stories that endure. They are one of Finland's biggest literary exports - translated into over 50 languages. In this episode, John Yorke asks where these fantastical characters come from, what is it about them that struck such a chord, and why do they remain so popular today. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for nearly 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised on BBC Radio 4. From EastEnders to the Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy, John has trained a generation of screenwriters - his students have had 17 green-lights in the last two years alone. Contributors: John Finnemore, British writer and actor who pays Moomintroll in Radio 4's dramatisation of Comet In Moominland. Tuula Karjalainen, Finnish art historian and writer, the author of Work and Love, A Biography of Tove Jansson. Producer: Laura Grimshaw Executive Producer: Sara Davies Readings: John Finnemore Researcher: Nina Semple Production Manager: Sarah Wright Sound: Sean Kerwin A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke takes a look at Tove Jansson's 1946 novel Comet in Moominland. The series that takes a look at books, plays and stories and how they work. John Yorke discusses Tove Jansson's Comet in Moominland. | ||
| Comet In Moominland | 20250622 | John Yorke takes a look at Tove Jansson's magical 1946 novel Comet In Moominland. Comet In Moominland is the second Moomin book and it's a classic children's tale. A comet is heading straight for earth, indeed to Moomin valley - so Moomintroll and his best friend Sniff head off on an adventure to try and do something about it. Their journey is eventful; they meet lots of new people and make lots of new friends but remain focussed on their mission to find out more about these faceless dangers, and get back home to Moominmama and Moominpapa and the warmth, safety and cake they offer. Tove Jansson was an acclaimed author, artist and illustrator. She was prolific in all these forms, writing 12 adult novels, many short stories, and producing illustrations throughout her life, but it is the Moomin characters and stories that endure. They are one of Finland's biggest literary exports - translated into over 50 languages. In this episode, John Yorke asks where these fantastical characters come from, what is it about them that struck such a chord, and why do they remain so popular today. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for nearly 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised on BBC Radio 4. From EastEnders to the Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy, John has trained a generation of screenwriters - his students have had 17 green-lights in the last two years alone. Contributors: John Finnemore, British writer and actor who pays Moomintroll in Radio 4's dramatisation of Comet In Moominland. Tuula Karjalainen, Finnish art historian and writer, the author of Work and Love, A Biography of Tove Jansson. Producer: Laura Grimshaw Executive Producer: Sara Davies Readings: John Finnemore Researcher: Nina Semple Production Manager: Sarah Wright Sound: Sean Kerwin A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke takes a look at Tove Jansson's 1946 novel Comet in Moominland. The series that takes a look at books, plays and stories and how they work. John Yorke discusses Tove Jansson's Comet in Moominland. | |||
| Confessions Of A Justified Sinner | 20230319 | John Yorke delves into James Hogg's masterpiece of Gothic horror, The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner. Presented as a ‘found document', the confessions give a chilling insight into the mind of a murderer. This novel is a horror story, a mystery thriller, a psychological study of religious extremism, and at its heart lurks a serial killer. Despite being first published in 1824 it still has all the contemporary resonance, in the view of renowned crime writer Ian Rankin, to make a 21st century blockbuster movie. John shares a lifetime of experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the secrets behind the books, plays and stories that are being dramatized in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. He has been working in television and radio for nearly 30 years. From East Enders to the Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book ‘Into the Woods'. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters. Contributors Professor Kirsteen McCue Professor of Scottish Literature and Song Culture (Scottish Literature), Glasgow University James Robertson Author of The Testament of Gideon Mack among other novels Reader: David Rankine Researcher: Nina Semple Sound: Sean Kerwin Production Manager: Sarah Wright Producer: Mark Rickards Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke considers Confessions of a Justified Sinner. | |||
| Death At La Fenice | 20240804 | 20241013 (R4) 20250727 (R4) | John Yorke looks at the first in Donna Leon's hugely successful Venetian police series. Death at La Fenice introduces Leon's likeable Commissario Guido Brunetti, and establishes the recipe that has made Leon one of the world's best-loved crime writers, and Brunetti one of the most popular fictional detectives. Death at La Fenice was published in 1992, and opens with a dramatic interruption to a performance of La Traviata at Venice's famous opera house. The death of a world-renowned conductor is an embarrassment for the Venetian police department, and the city's politicians are anxious for a speedy result. As Brunetti embarks on his investigation, he navigates his way around Venice's high society and its murky alleyways with intelligence and integrity, asking searching questions about the much-romanticised city and its inhabitants. Brunetti struck an immediate chord with readers, who warmed to his basic sympathy and decency, as well as his successful detective work, all set against an atmospheric Venetian canvas. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatized in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. From EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe, and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy, John has trained a generation of screenwriters. Producer: Laura Grimshaw Executive Producer: Sara Davies Readings: Jenny Coverack Contributor: Fi Glover, broadcaster Archive: Donna Leon on This Cultural Life with John Wilson 24/04/2023 Donna Leon on World Book Club with Harriet Gilbert 05/05/2019 Researcher: Nina Semple Production Manager: Sarah Wright Sound: Sean Kerwin A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke looks at Death at La Fenice, Donna Leon's first Commissario Brunetti novel. The series that explores books, plays and stories and how they work. John Yorke looks at Death at La Fenice, the first of Donna Leon's popular Commissario Brunetti novels. John Yorke unpacks the themes behind the stories in this weekend's afternoon Drama on 4. | ||
| Death At La Fenice | 20250727 | John Yorke looks at the first in Donna Leon's hugely successful Venetian police series. Death at La Fenice introduces Leon's likeable Commissario Guido Brunetti, and establishes the recipe that has made Leon one of the world's best-loved crime writers, and Brunetti one of the most popular fictional detectives. Death at La Fenice was published in 1992, and opens with a dramatic interruption to a performance of La Traviata at Venice's famous opera house. The death of a world-renowned conductor is an embarrassment for the Venetian police department, and the city's politicians are anxious for a speedy result. As Brunetti embarks on his investigation, he navigates his way around Venice's high society and its murky alleyways with intelligence and integrity, asking searching questions about the much-romanticised city and its inhabitants. Brunetti struck an immediate chord with readers, who warmed to his basic sympathy and decency, as well as his successful detective work, all set against an atmospheric Venetian canvas. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatized in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. From EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe, and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy, John has trained a generation of screenwriters. Producer: Laura Grimshaw Executive Producer: Sara Davies Readings: Jenny Coverack Contributor: Fi Glover, broadcaster Archive: Donna Leon on This Cultural Life with John Wilson 24/04/2023 Donna Leon on World Book Club with Harriet Gilbert 05/05/2019 Researcher: Nina Semple Production Manager: Sarah Wright Sound: Sean Kerwin A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke looks at Death at La Fenice, Donna Leon's first Commissario Brunetti novel. The series that explores books, plays and stories and how they work. John Yorke looks at Death at La Fenice, the first of Donna Leon's popular Commissario Brunetti novels. | |||
| Democracy In America | 20230917 | John Yorke takes a look at Alexis de Tocqueville's seminal work, Democracy in America. First published in 1835, it is arguably one of the most influential books ever to pervade American public discourse, quoted by almost every political leader - both from the red side and the blue. It's a two-volume work (the second volume was published in 1840) that explores American society through the eyes of a young aristocrat from revolutionary France. He was convinced that democratic rule was as inevitable as the march of time, and looking to the American democratic project - then still in its infancy - for lessons to take home. De Tocqueville explores the notion of equality - its advantages and potential pitfalls - through the lenses of philosophy, of literature, of religion, of politics, wringing ideas out of them as he holds them up to the light. And what he finds holds relevance for those of us trying to understand America today. Its praise and its criticisms help remind us that, for all its fault-lines at its worst, at its best America is still a shining ideal. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for nearly 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised on BBC Radio 4. From EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy, John has trained a generation of screenwriters - his students have had 17 green-lights in the last two years alone. Contributors: Sarah Woods, award-winning playwright of a drama inspired by Democracy in America for BBC Radio 4 Nell Irvin Painter, leading historian of the United States, and the author of The History of White People. Credits: Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville, with an introduction by Isaac Kramnick. English translation by Gerald E Bevan published in 2003 by Penguin Classics. George W Bush Presidential Remarks, 21st May 2005 - C-Span.org Bill Clinton, Between Hope and History - C-Span.org President Obama & President Hollande of France - The Obama White House, Youtube Hillary Clinton at New American Foundation, May 2014 - C-Span.org Readings: Tom Glenister Researcher: Nina Semple Production Manager: Sarah Wright Sound: Sean Kerwin Producer: Redzi Bernard Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 | |||
| Enduring Love | 20230409 | John Yorke takes a look at Ian McEwan's 1997 complex thriller Enduring Love. It's a bold novel, set in the aftermath of a tragic accident, but the substance of the story is formed from a beautifully simple yet complex premise - everyone sees that accident in a totally different way. The central character, Joe Rose, is stalked by a stranger, Jed Parry, whom he meets purely by chance at the scene of the accident. As Joe continues to reject Jed, their confrontation spirals from fear into violence. We hear the events described by different characters throughout the book which makes it very hard to understand the world they are describing. Whose version is right? Who should we believe? This is a novel about the perception of reality itself. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for nearly 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised on BBC Radio 4. From EastEnders to the Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters - his students have had 17 green-lights in the last two years alone. Contributors: Dr Emma Short, Psychologist at London Metropolitan University, specialising in stalking and its impact. Ian McEwan, author, discussing writing in archive interviews. Credits: Enduring Love, Ian McEwan, 1997 Book Club - Ian McEwan's Enduring Love, Radio 4, 2000 Open Book - Ian McEwan, Radio 4, 2022 Producer: Laura Grimshaw Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael Readings: Sam Dale Researcher: Nina Semple Production Manager: Sarah Wright Sound: Sean Kerwin A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 | |||
| Flight - 1 | 20260322 | 20260323 (R4) | Flight was the second novel by one of twentieth century's America's most influential figures, Walter White. Published in 1926, it asks questions about race and identity when its central character chooses to ‘pass' as a white woman. A prime mover in the Harlem Renaissance, White was a celebrated writer and activist but his book has largely been forgotten. John Yorke looks at the man and his work. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for over 30 years and shares his experience as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. He created the BBC Writers Academy and trained a generation of screenwriters - now with thousands of hours of television to their names. His acclaimed books Into the Woods and Trip to the Moon explore the structure and power of narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of storytelling, including many podcasts for R4. Written and presented by John Yorke. Contributors: Kenneth Janken, Professsor of African American history at the University of North Carolina and author of White: The Biography of Walter White, Mr. Naacp. Gayle Wald, Professor of English and American studies at George Washington University and author of Crossing the Line; Racial Passing in TwentiethCentury U.S Literature and Culture. . Reading by Eric Stroud Producer: Alison Vernon-Smith Production Coordinator: Dawn Williams Researcher: Henry Tydeman Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael A Pier Production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke on a fascinating insight into Black American history: Flight, by Walter White. John Yorke unpacks the themes behind the stories in Radio 4's weekend afternoon dramas. John Yorke on Flight, by Walter White, the fascinating but largely forgotten work by one of the most important figures in 20th century American history. | ||
| Flight - 2 | 20260329 | 20260330 (R4) | Flight by Walter White, published in 1926, asks questions about race and identity when its central character chooses to ‘pass' as a white woman. In this second episode about the book, John Yorke asks if this is why the book has largely been forgotten even though it was written by one of the most influential figures in 20th century America. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for over 30 years and shares his experience as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. He created the BBC Writers Academy and trained a generation of screenwriters - now with thousands of hours of television to their names. His acclaimed books Into the Woods and Trip to the Moon explore the structure and power of narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of storytelling, including many podcasts for R4. Written and presented by John Yorke. Contributors: Kenneth Janken, Professsor of African American history at the University of North Carolina and author of White: The Biography of Walter White, Mr. Naacp. Gayle Wald, Professor of English and American studies at George Washington University and author of Crossing the Line; Racial Passing in TwentiethCentury U.S Literature and Culture. . Reading by Eric Stroud Producer: Alison Vernon-Smith Production Coordinator: Dawn Williams Researcher: Henry Tydeman Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 Flight by Walter White concerns the complex issue of 'passing'. John Yorke investigates. John Yorke unpacks the themes behind the stories in Radio 4's weekend afternoon dramas. Flight by Walter White concerns the complex issue of ‘passing'. John Yorke investigates and asks if this is why the book as largely been forgotten. | ||
| Frankenstein | 20240616 | 20240714 (R4) | John Yorke takes a look at Mary Shelley's Frankenstein or, The Modern Prometheus. Mary Shelley began the short story that would develop into her Gothic novel in 1816 while she was still a teenager. It was published two years later when she was twenty. Despite her young age the book has mature themes: the perils of unregulated scientific experiment, the responsibilities that come with parenting, how society treats the vulnerable and outcast, and man's role in the universe. Written at a time when women were largely denied an education, this was an extraordinary feat. At the time the fashion was for novels with prescriptive moral lessons; yet Mary created complex characters and storylines that allowed readers to draw their own conclusions. The daughter of Mary Wollstonecraft and William Godwin, both literary celebrities, Mary should have had the best start possible for a writer. But her mother died a few days after giving birth to her and soon afterwards her father remarried, leaving the education of his daughter neglected. That Mary had the resourcefulness to educate herself, and then to go on to write such a groundbreaking novel was a testament both to her talent and determination. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatized in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. From EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe, and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy, John has trained a generation of screenwriters. Contributor: Dr Anna Mercer, Cardiff University Researcher: Nina Semple Production Manager: Sarah Wright Sound: Sean Kerwin Reader: Paul Dodgson Producer: Kate McAll Executive Producer: Sara Davies A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke explores the themes and background to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. The series that takes a look at books, plays and stories and how they work. John Yorke explores the themes and enduring appeal of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. | ||
| Gaslight | 20230218 | John Yorke looks at Patrick Hamilton's 1938 stage play Gaslight.? A big hit on London's Shaftesbury Avenue and an even bigger success on Broadway, Patrick Hamilton's drama of the mental abuse of Bella Manningham by her husband Jack lives on, sometimes unacknowledged, as the source of the term Gaslighting - one person's attempt to make another doubt their sanity.?? Best known for his novels such as Hangover Square and The Slaves of Solitude, Hamilton drew on his own miserable childhood memories of being terrified of his own abusive father for this taut, chilling thriller.? John Yorke has worked in television and radio for nearly 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised on BBC Radio 4. From EastEnders to the Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters (his students have had 17 green-lights in the last two years alone). Contributors: Brigid Larmour, Artistic Director and Chief Executive, Watford Palace Theatre Sean French, author of Patrick Hamilton: A Life and one half of the writing duo Nicci French Readings by Sam Dale Credits: Gaslight by Patrick Hamilton. Acting Edition published by Constable, 1970 Angel Street by Patrick Hamilton, Acting Edition published by Samuel French, 1942 Clip from Angel Street (1952), The NBC Presents Best Plays radio adaptation starring Vincent Price and Judith Evelyn Produced by Caroline Raphael Executive Producer: Sara Davies Sound by Matt Bainbridge, Redlight Studios and Sean Kerwin A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke takes a look at Patrick Hamilton's 1938 play Gaslight. | |||
| Georges, Episode 1 | 20230226 | In the series that takes a look at books, plays and stories and how they work, John Yorke examines Alexander Dumas' forgotten classic; Georges. Georges was one of Dumas' earliest novels and in this first of two episodes about the book, John shows us how it set the template for many of those that followed. It's a swashbuckling, page-turner full of plot twists, cliff hangers and larger-than-life characters. Dumas was a mixed race man and Georges is unique in that it's the only one of his novels that directly addresses race. The book is set in one of France's colonies, ΀le de France, where slavery is still flourishing and where racial hierarchies are strictly observed. The main theme of the book is revenge for a racially motivated insult. Immensely famous around the world, Dumas' life echoed the drama of his novels and John hears about the lifestyle and politics of this great writer. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for nearly 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. From EastEnders to the Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters - his students have had 17 green-lights in the last two years alone. Contributors: David Coward, Emeritus Professor of Literature at Leeds University Tina Kover, Translator of the first English translation of Georges for more than a century Reading by Sam Dale Credits: Georges by Alexandre Dumas Publisher Modern Library Inc; Reprint edition (1 Sept. 2008) Translator - Tina Kover Produced by Alison Vernon-Smith Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael Sound by Sean Kerwin Researcher: Nina Semple Production Manager: Sarah Wright A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke looks into a forgotten swashbuckler, Georges by Alexander Dumas. | |||
| Georges, Episode 2 | 20230305 | In the second of two episodes about Georges by Alexander Dumas, John Yorke looks at the central theme of the book - race. Although a mixed race man, Alexandre Dumas very seldom addressed the issue of race in his work. Georges is the only novel in which it plays any part. Published after the abolition of slavery in France but before France banned slavery in its colonies, the central themes of Georges are revenge, for a racial insult, and race. John Yorke looks at how the book approaches these issues and Dumas' attitude towards his own heritage. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for nearly 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatized in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. From EastEnders to the Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters - his students have had 17 green-lights in the last two years alone. Contributors: David Coward, Emeritus Professor of Literature at Leeds University Tina Kover, Translator of the first English translation of Georges for more than a century Dr Mike Phillips, Writer Reading by Sam Dale Credits: Georges by Alexandre Dumas. Publisher Modern Library Inc; Reprint edition (1 Sept. 2008) Translator: Tina Kover Produced by Alison Vernon-Smith Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael Sound by Sean Kerwin Researcher: Nina Semple Production Manager: Sarah Wright A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke on Alexander Dumas and race in his forgotten classic; Georges. | |||
| Gone With The Wind - 1 | 20260208 | 20260209 (R4) | In the series that takes a look at books, plays and stories and how they work, John Yorke explores Margaret Mitchell's epic Civil War romance, Gone with the Wind. It was the bestselling American novel of the 20th century, it has sold 30 million copies and counting, it won the Pulitzer Prize, and the 1939 film of the book remains among the highest grossing of all time. Gone with the Wind is a coming-of-age story, a love triangle, and an epic wartime romance. And it is a rollicking read, a hugely entertaining book, but one with considerable problems for today's readers – problems that John Yorke explores and analyses over three episodes. In this first episode John considers how Margaret Mitchell tells this huge sweeping story and asks what made it such a phenomenal hit. John is joined by the writer Rachel Joyce who has adapted Gone with the Wind for BBC Radio 4, and Sarah Churchwell, Professor of American Literature at the University of London and the author of The Wrath to Come: Gone with the Wind and the Lies America Tells. Together they explore what makes the book such a captivating read and how it is driven by the central character, Scarlett O'Hara, one of the most compelling and infuriating heroines ever written. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years and shares his experience as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. As creator of the BBC Writers Academy, he's trained a generation of screenwriters - now with over 70 green lights and thousands of hours of television to their names. He is the author of Into the Woods, the bestselling book on narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of narrative - including many podcasts for Radio 4. Contributors: Rachel Joyce, adapter of Gone with the Wind for BBC Radio 4 Readings by Samantha Dakin Credits: Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell, published by Vintage Books Produced by Jane Greenwood Executive Producer Sara Davies Sound by Sean Kerwin Researcher Henry Tydeman Production hub coordinator Dawn Williams A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds John Yorke explores Margaret Mitchell's epic novel Gone with the Wind. John Yorke unpacks the themes behind the stories in Radio 4's weekend afternoon dramas. | ||
| Gone With The Wind - 2 | 20260215 | 20260216 (R4) | In the series that takes a look at books, plays and stories and how they work, John Yorke continues his exploration of Margaret Mitchell's epic Civil War romance, Gone with the Wind. In the 90 years since it was published it has sold more than 30 million copies – it was the bestselling American novel of the 20th century - but the book has become increasingly problematic for modern readers. In this second episode, John considers how the history of the American Civil War and its aftermath inform the way the story is told. And he asks how we should address Margaret Mitchell's shockingly complacent attitude to slaveholding and the racist language in the book. John is joined by Sarah Churchwell, Professor of American Literature at the University of London and the author of The Wrath to Come: Gone with the Wind and the Lies America Tells; Dr Nicole King, Associate Professor of American Literature and Fellow of Exeter College Oxford; and Rachel Joyce, who has adapted Gone with the Wind for BBC Radio 4. Together they explore the racism that underlies the story and the difficulties of navigating Mitchell's attitude to her black characters. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years and shares his experience as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. As creator of the BBC Writers Academy, he's trained a generation of screenwriters - now with over 70 green lights and thousands of hours of television to their names. He is the author of Into the Woods, the bestselling book on narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of narrative - including many podcasts for Radio 4. Contributors: Rachel Joyce, adapter of Gone with the Wind for BBC Radio 4 Reading by Samantha Dakin Credits: Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell, published by Vintage Books Produced by Jane Greenwood Executive Producer: Sara Davies Sound by Sean Kerwin Researcher: Henry Tydeman Production hub coordinator: Dawn Williams A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds John Yorke explores Margaret Mitchell's epic novel Gone with the Wind. John Yorke unpacks the themes behind the stories in Radio 4's weekend afternoon dramas. John Yorke continues his exploration of Margaret Mitchell's epic Civil War romance, Gone with the Wind, and considers the racism that lies at the heart of the story. | ||
| Gone With The Wind - Episode Three | 20260222 | 20260223 (R4) | In the series that takes a look at books, plays and stories and how they work, John Yorke concludes his exploration of Margaret Mitchell's epic Civil War romance, Gone with the Wind. In the 90 years since it was published it has sold more than 30 million copies – it was the bestselling American novel of the 20th century - but the book has become increasingly problematic for modern readers. In this third and final episode, John considers the themes of nostalgia and survival that made Gone with the Wind such a phenomenal hit when it was published at the height of the Great Depression in 1936. And he explores the complexity of the book's legacy today. John is joined by Sarah Churchwell, Professor of American Literature at the University of London and the author of The Wrath to Come: Gone with the Wind and the Lies America Tells; Dr Nicole King, Associate Professor of American Literature and Fellow of Exeter College Oxford; and Rachel Joyce, who has adapted Gone with the Wind for BBC Radio 4. Together they explore what the book offers readers today. Is it a classic of American fiction or an extremely uncomfortable, racist period piece? And they ask if we should even read it at all. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years and shares his experience as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. As creator of the BBC Writers Academy, he's trained a generation of screenwriters - now with over 70 green lights and thousands of hours of television to their names. He is the author of Into the Woods, the bestselling book on narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of narrative - including many podcasts for Radio 4. Contributors: Rachel Joyce, adapter of Gone with the Wind for BBC Radio 4 Reading by Samantha Dakin Credits: Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell, published by Vintage Books Produced by Jane Greenwood Executive Producer Sara Davies Sound by Sean Kerwin Researcher Henry Tydeman Production hub coordinator Dawn Williams A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds John Yorke explores Margaret Mitchell's epic novel Gone with the Wind. John Yorke unpacks the themes behind the stories in Radio 4's weekend afternoon dramas. John Yorke concludes his exploration of Margaret Mitchell's epic Civil War romance, Gone with the Wind, and considers the book's complex legacy in today's world. | ||
| Hard Times - 1 | 20240929 | Charles Dickens' novel Hard Times is set in a northern factory town at the height of the industrial revolution, far away from the writer's normal stamping ground of London - but it certainly doesn't lack the overlapping plots, the wide array of characters and the incorporation of melodrama, humour and tragedy that we associate so closely with the author. Dickens had travelled north himself as a journalist to cover a cotton strike in Preston and seen first hand the various ways in which the factory system was oppressing the people living and working within it. In the first of two episodes looking at the book, John Yorke considers how Dickens transformed that eye-witness experience into the fictional world of Coketown, with its soot-blackened bricks and serpents of smoke. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. From EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe, and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy, John has trained a generation of screenwriters. Contributors: Frank Cottrell-Boyce, screenwriter and current Children's Laureate Dr Emily Bell, University of Leeds Deborah McAndrew, writer, director and actor Researcher/Broadcast Assistant: Nina Semple Sound: Sean Kerwin Producer: Geoff Bird Executive Producer: Sara Davies A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke takes a look at Charles Dickens' classic novel Hard Times. In the first of two episodes, John Yorke offers an introduction to Charles Dickens' 1854 novel Hard Times. | |||
| Hard Times - 2 | 20241006 | Charles Dickens' novel Hard Times is perhaps best known for its portrayal of school inspector Thomas Gradgrind, who states clearly and repeatedly at the outset that it's facts that matter, and education should be all about filling children up with these facts as if they were vessels rather than human beings. In this, the second of two episodes introducing Hard Times, John Yorke looks at how Dickens demonstrates the damage that Gradgrind's utilitarian approach can have on real people, and offers in opposition to it the colourful spectacle of the circus and the sense of wonder it represents. Children's Laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce points out the ways in which traces of Gradgrind's approach are still evident in the school room, and how counter-productive that might prove in the modern moment. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. From EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe, and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy, John has trained a generation of screenwriters. Contributors: Frank Cottrell-Boyce, screenwriter and current Children's Laureate Dr Emily Bell, University of Leeds Deborah McAndrew, writer, director and actor Researcher/Broadcast Assistant: Nina Semple Sound: Sean Kerwin Producer: Geoff Bird Executive Producer: Sara Davies A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke takes a look at Charles Dickens' classic novel Hard Times. In the second of two episodes introducing Charles Dickens' 1854 novel Hard Times, John Yorke takes a look at his opposing themes of the classroom and the circus. | |||
| Hard Times, Episode 1 | 20240929 | Charles Dickens' novel Hard Times is set in a northern factory town at the height of the industrial revolution, far away from the writer's normal stamping ground of London - but it certainly doesn't lack the overlapping plots, the wide array of characters and the incorporation of melodrama, humour and tragedy that we associate so closely with the author. Dickens had travelled north himself as a journalist to cover a cotton strike in Preston and seen first hand the various ways in which the factory system was oppressing the people living and working within it. In the first of two episodes looking at the book, John Yorke considers how Dickens transformed that eye-witness experience into the fictional world of Coketown, with its soot-blackened bricks and serpents of smoke. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. From EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe, and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy, John has trained a generation of screenwriters. Contributors: Frank Cottrell-Boyce, screenwriter and current Children's Laureate Dr Emily Bell, University of Leeds Deborah McAndrew, writer, director and actor Researcher/Broadcast Assistant: Nina Semple Sound: Sean Kerwin Producer: Geoff Bird Executive Producer: Sara Davies A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke takes a look at Charles Dickens' classic novel Hard Times. In the first of two episodes, John Yorke offers an introduction to Charles Dickens' 1854 novel Hard Times. | |||
| Heart Of Darkness | 20240317 | 20260119 (R4) | Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness remains one of the most enigmatic works of 19th Century literature, charting as it does the story of Marlow, the captain of a steamboat heading up an unnamed river in the employ of an unnamed organisation described simply ‘the Company'. He becomes fixated on tracking down the figure of Kurtz, a company agent in charge of a trading post - but this is no action adventure so typical of the time. John asks what the phrase Heart of Darkness - and Kurtz's famous epigram ‘The horror. The horror' might actually represent, and also attempts to reconcile the racism many critics have accused the book of containing with its staunch attack on imperial barbarity; Conrad himself had previously worked on a boat going up the Congo river where he witnessed for himself the atrocities carried out by the Belgian colonisers on the local people. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for thirty years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatized in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. From EastEnders to the Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book ‘Into the Woods'. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters (his students have had 17 green-lights in the last two years alone). Contributors: Anita Sullivan - writer and adapter of ‘Heart of Darkness Maya Jasanoff, Professor of History at Harvard University - and author of the much acclaimed book ‘The Dawn Watch: Joseph Conrad in a Global World Credits: Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad, 1899 Reader: Paul Dodgson Researcher: Nina Semple Production Manager: Sarah Wright Producer: Geoff Bird Executive Producer: Sara Davies A Pier Production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke explores Conrad's controversial and deeply enigmatic novella Heart of Darkness. In the series that explores books, plays and stories and how they work, John Yorke looks at Joseph Conrad's 1899 novella Heart of Darkness. | ||
| Hiroshima | 20250810 | In the months that followed the end of the Second World War, very few people in the West knew the true power of the atomic weaponry that had forced the Japanese surrender. John Hersey's article Hiroshima would change that. Released a year after the bombs were dropped, the New Yorker piece was journalistic dynamite and sold out in hours. Published in one instalment - taking up the whole edition of the magazine - Hersey's meticulous and unflinching account of what happened after the atom bomb detonated brought home the horror of atomic weaponry to the world and changed journalism in the process. John Yorke speaks to Janine di Giovanni, award winning war reporter and founder of The Reckoning Project (a war crimes unit that operates in Ukraine and the Middle East) about how pivotal the article was and how it impacts her work today. John has worked in television and radio for 30 years, and shares his experience with listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. As creator of the BBC Writers Academy he's trained a generation of screenwriters - now with over 70 green lights and thousands of hours of television to their names. He is the author of Into the Woods, the bestselling book on narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of narrative, including many podcasts for R4. Contributors: Janine di Giovanni, war reporter and founder of The Reckoning Project. David Remnick, editor of the New Yorker John Hersey, author Archive: The David Remnick audio, and the John Hersey interview (taken from the American Audio Prose Library interview conducted by Kay Bonetti Callison, 1988) were both originally broadcast as part of Hersey's Hiroshima produced by Dora Productions Ltd, BBC Radio 4 2016. Reader: Riley Neldam Sound: Sean Kerwin Researcher: Henry Tydeman Production Hub Coordinator: Nina Semple Producer: Tolly Robinson Executive Producer: Sara Davies A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke looks at how Hiroshima, the book by John Hersey, changed journalism. The series that looks at books, plays and stories and how they work. John Yorke examines John Hersey's book Hiroshima - a piece that brought home the horrors of nuclear war. | |||
| If On A Winter's Night A Traveller | 20230924 | John Yorke takes a look at If On A Winter's Night A Traveller, a novel by one of the most translated Italian writers of the 20th century, Italo Calvino. Published in 1979, this dizzying work of metafiction takes you on a journey into the very nature of reading. The novel begins with you, the Reader, going into a bookshop to buy a copy of If on a Winter's Night a Traveller by Italo Calvino. You start reading, and you're just getting gripped by the story when there seems to be a printer's error. You take the book back to the shop for a replacement, but the replacement seems to be a totally different story. In fact, every time you try to find the story you started reading, you end up with a completely different one, in a completely different genre - from noirish detective story, to romance, adventure, political intrigue and Gothic horror. The one thing that all these stories have in common is that they end at a cliffhanger moment. It's a literary puzzle, which challenges conventions at every turn, and constantly seeks to engage the reader's imagination. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for nearly 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised on BBC Radio 4. From EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe, and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy, John has trained a generation of screenwriters - his students have had 17 green-lights in the last two years alone. Contributors: Tim Crouch, Writer and Theatre Maker Merve Emre, Shapiro Silverberg Professor of Creative Writing and Criticism at Wesleyan University, and contributing writer at The New Yorker Magazine. Readings: Paul Dodgson Researcher: Nina Semple Production Manager: Sarah Wright Sound: Martyn Harries Producer: Kate McAll Executive Producer: Sara Davies A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke takes a look at Italo Calvino's novel If On A Winter's Night A Traveller. | |||
| In Patagonia | 20230806 | In December 1974, Bruce Chatwin headed south from Buenos Aires to write an account of his journey through Patagonia. On the surface it was based on a series of encounters with the dispossessed - exiles, refugees and outlaws and those who had made their home on the southernmost tip of South America - but Chatwin's real interest lay in the internal journey behind their stories and the nature of human restlessness. John Yorke looks at why his vivid prose and highly original style both startled and excited readers when it was published in 1977. It was to catapult Bruce Chatwin from a journalist to a much-feted writer and he went on to author a series of critically acclaimed books, including The Songlines and On the Black Hill. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatized on BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. From EastEnders to the Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters - his students have had 17 green-lights in the last two years alone. Contributors: Susannah Clapp - Theatre critic and Chatwin's editor and author of With Chatwin. Dr Jonathan Chatwin - travel writer and academic (no relation). Credits: In Patagonia by Bruce Chatwin by Faber ,3rd revised edition 1993 Archive clips of Bruce Chatwin interview and reading from the text taken from BBC TV In the Footsteps of Bruce Chatwin: Episode One. Reader: Tom Glenister Researcher: Nina Semple Production Manager: Sarah Wright Producer: Julian Wilkinson Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael Sound by Iain Hunter John Yorke explores groundbreaking travel writing classic In Patagonia by Bruce Chatwin. | |||
| Joy In The Morning | 20251223 | Ian Sansom, sitting in for John Yorke, takes a look at Joy In the Morning, the 44th Jeeves and Wooster novel by PG Wodehouse. Published in 1946, it revolves around Bertie Wooster's attempts to avoid a series of social and romantic calamities. The omniscient Jeeves, of course, remains the great calm at the centre of the novel's storm, devising ingenious solutions just when disaster seems inevitable. Readings from the book are by Stephen Fry, who also describes why he's such an enthusiast for Wodehouse so much, and what it is he loves about this adventure in the Jeeves and Wooster canon. Ian Sansom is a novelist, journalist and broadcaster. He is the author of more than 20 books, including the Mobile Library and the County Guides series of detective novels and his work has been translated into more than a dozen languages. He has worked as a columnist for The Guardian and The Spectator and currently writes for the TLS, The Irish Times and The Dublin Review. He is a regular broadcaster on BBC Radio 4 and Radio 3. He was formerly the Director of the Oscar Wilde Centre at Trinity College Dublin and a Professor and Head of English at Queen's University Belfast. With readings and contributions from Sir Stephen Fry Archive: Archive 1961 BBC Interview – Alistair Cooke speaks to P.G. Wodehouse Archive 1972 BBC Interview – Keith Dewhurst speaks to P.G. Wodehouse Reader: Sir Stephen Fry Producer: Laura Grimshaw Executive Producer: Sara Davies Programme Hub Co-ordinator: Nina Semple Researcher: Henry Tydeman Sound: Sean Kerwin A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 Ian Sansom takes a look at Joy In the Morning by PG Wodehouse. Ian Sansom takes a look at Joy In the Morning, the 44th Jeeves and Wooster novel by PG Wodehouse. | |||
| Kafka's The Trial | 20240609 | 20250907 (R4) | John Yorke explores the enduring mystery and power of Franz Kafka's novel The Trial. All Joseph K was expecting when he awoke was breakfast. Instead he is arrested for a nameless crime and finds his life gradually, utterly consumed by the process. Set in a nameless city very like the twisting alleyways and cramped confines of Kafka's Prague, the book was only published after the writer's death. Since then, it has become a world famous tale of unending, indefinable bureaucratic unease. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. From EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters Contributors: Professor Carolin Duttlinger-Co-director of the Oxford Kafka Research Centre Ed Harris - Playwright who has adapted Kafka's work for a major season on BBC Radio 4 Readings from The Trial by Franz Kafka trans. Mike Mitchell (Oxford World's Classic 2009) Reader: Jack Klaff Researcher: Nina Semple Production Manager: Sarah Wright Sound Designer: Sean Kerwin Producer: Mark Burman Executive Producer: Sara Davies A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke interrogates Franz Kafka's classic novel The Trial. The series that looks at books, plays and stories and how they work. John Yorke explores the enduring mystery and power of Franz Kafka's novel The Trial. | ||
| King Lear - 1 | 20250608 | John Yorke looks at King Lear, the brutal tragedy that some claim is Shakespeare's greatest achievement. When Lear, the 80 year old king of ancient Britain, decides that the time has come to divide his kingdom among his three daughters, he unwittingly sets in motion a catastrophic chain of events that will tear apart both his family and his realm. In this first of two episodes, the focus is on the fractured relationship between Lear and his daughters – Goneril, Regan and Cordelia – and on the subplot that involves the breakdown of another family. This comprises the Duke of Gloucester and his two sons Edmund and Edgar. In both cases the fathers are incapable of seeing which child is deceiving them and which child is loyal and truly loves them. John has worked in television and radio for 30 years, and shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatized in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. As creator of the BBC Writers Academy he's trained a generation of screenwriters - now with over 70 green lights and thousands of hours of television to their names. He is the author of Into the Woods, the bestselling book on narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of narrative, including many podcasts for Radio 4. Contributors: Sir Richard Eyre, directed an award-winning production of King Lear, starring Ian Holm, at the National Theatre in 1997 and another production for BBC television, with Anthony Hopkins in the lead role, in 2018. Dr Genevieve von Lob, clinical psychologist who specialises in family therapy. Emma Smith, Professor of Shakespeare Studies and Tutorial Fellow at Hertford College, Oxford. She is the author of books including This Is Shakespeare: How to Read the World's Greatest Playwright. Excerpt taken from the BBC Radio 3/Renaissance Theatre Company production of King Lear, directed by Glyn Dearman and first broadcast on Radio 3 on 10th April 1994. Sound: Sean Kerwin Music: Torquil MacLeod Researcher: Henry Tydeman Production Coordinator: Nina Semple Producer: Torquil MacLeod Executive Producer: Sara Davies A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke takes a look at King Lear, Shakespeare's most brutal tragedy. The series that looks at books, plays and stories and how they work. John Yorke asks if King Lear really is Shakespeare's greatest achievement and, if so, why? | |||
| King Lear - 2 | 20250615 | John Yorke looks at King Lear, the brutal tragedy that some claim is Shakespeare's greatest achievement. When Lear, the 80 year old king of ancient Britain, decides that the time has come to divide his kingdom among his three daughters, he unwittingly sets in motion a catastrophic chain of events that will tear apart both his family and his realm. He banishes his faithful youngest daughter, Cordelia, while his two elder daughters, Goneril and Regan, who declared their undying love for their father, bar their doors to him. Driven mad by fury, Lear wanders a barren heath in the midst of a storm with only his Fool for company. In this second of two episodes, John looks at the loyal but provocative character of the Fool. He also discovers that, since the 17th century, critics including Samuel Johnson have struggled with the play's remorseless cruelty and the bleakness of its ending. John has worked in television and radio for 30 years, and shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatized in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. As creator of the BBC Writers Academy he's trained a generation of screenwriters - now with over 70 green lights and thousands of hours of television to their names. He is the author of Into the Woods, the bestselling book on narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of narrative, including many podcasts for R4. Contributors: Sir Richard Eyre, directed an award-winning production of King Lear, starring Ian Holm, at the National Theatre in 1997 and another production for BBC television, with Anthony Hopkins in the lead role, in 2018. Dr Genevieve von Lob, clinical psychologist who specialises in family therapy. Emma Smith, Professor of Shakespeare Studies and Tutorial Fellow at Hertford College, Oxford. She is the author of books including This Is Shakespeare: How to Read the World's Greatest Playwright. Excerpt taken from the BBC Radio 3/Renaissance Theatre Company production of King Lear, directed by Glyn Dearman and first broadcast on Radio 3 on 10th April 1994. Sound: Sean Kerwin Music: Torquil MacLeod Researcher: Henry Tydeman Production Coordinator: Nina Semple Producer: Torquil MacLeod Executive Producer: Sara Davies A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke takes a look at King Lear, Shakespeare's most brutal tragedy. The series that looks at books, plays and stories and how they work. John Yorke asks if King Lear really is Shakespeare's greatest achievement and, if so, why? | |||
| Kira Georgievna | 20230402 | John Yorke examines Victor Nekrasov's novel Kira Georgievna, a bestseller in 1960s Russia. Set in Moscow, Kyiv and rural Ukraine, the eponymous Kira Georgievna is a successful middle-aged sculptor, originally from Kyiv, who must choose between three different lovers. She's married to a much older painter while also enjoying a casual affair with a young man who's working for her as a model. But Kira's comfortable life is about to be turned upside down when her first love - Vadim - returns from two decades as a political prisoner in the Siberian gulags. As John digs deeper into the novel, he discovers that it is a powerful critique of the Soviet regime, and the choices made by the people who played the Soviet system, and those who stood up to it. Viktor Nekrasov was born into a middle-class Russian family in Kyiv, and the tensions between Russian and Ukraine in Kira Georgievna foreshadow the terrible situation today. He was seriously injured twice fighting for the Soviet army against the Nazis, and his first novel was a vivid description of the misery of the life he had experienced first-hand in the trenches at Stalingrad. His early books were approved of and promoted by the Soviets but Kira Georgievna, published in 1961, marked the turning point when Nekrasov started to break away from the regime. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for thirty years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatized in BBC Radio 4's Sunday/Saturday Drama series. From EastEnders to the Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book ‘Into the Woods'. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters - his students have had 17 green-lights in the last two years alone. Contributors: Ming Ho, writer and adapter of Kira Georgievna for BBC Radio 4 Dr Uilleam Blacker, Associate Professor of Ukrainian and East European Culture at University College London Reading by Ming Ho Kira Georgievna by Victor Nekrasov, Pantheon Books, New York 1962, translated from the Russian by Walter N. Vickery Produced by Jane Greenwood Executive Producer: Sara Davies Sound by Sean Kerwin Research by Nina Semple Production Manager: Sarah Wright A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds John Yorke explores Victor Nekrasov's 1961 novel Kira Georgievna. | |||
| Kiss Of The Spider Woman | 20231210 | John Yorke shines a light on the dark, claustrophobic pages of Manuel Puig's classic 1976 novel Kiss of the Spiderwoman, that went on to become a play, a musical and an Oscar-winning film. Puig wrote the novel, which focuses on the relationship between a gay window dresser and a revolutionary political prisoner, having fled the ruling military dictatorship in Argentina. John shows how the book celebrates the power not only of human connection but also the imagination, as the two central characters - stripped of so much by way of physical comfort - escape the gloom of their cell through lengthy retellings of classic Hollywood films. The novel itself couldn't escape censure, and was banned in Argentina until 1983. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatized in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. From EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters - his students have had 17 green-lights in the last two years alone. Contributors: Laurie Sansom – Theatre director Suzanne Jay Levine - Puig's biographer and translator Credits: Kiss of the Spiderwoman Pub 1976 (Spanish edition) Vintage 1991 translated by Thomas Colchie (English Edition) Reader: Luciano Dodero Researcher: Nina Semple Production Manager: Sarah Wright Producer: Geoff Bird Executive Producer: Sara Davies Sound by Sean Kerwin A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke explores the classic of modern Argentinian literature, Kiss of the Spiderwoman. The series that explores books, plays and stories and how they work, John Yorke looks at Manuel Puig's pioneering prison novel Kiss of the Spiderwoman. | |||
| Kramer Versus Kramer | 20250323 | The novel Kramer Versus Kramer was published in the US in 1977 and was an instant bestseller. Its story of a marriage, a divorce and a fierce custody battle tapped into the highly charged debates of the time about changing sex roles, marriage and parenting. It was immediately optioned by Hollywood, and the film came out in 1979 starring Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep. Attitudes to custody at the time - which were still rooted in the idea of a wife as a homemaker and carer - were at odds with the sweeping demands for change made by the women's movement, and it's this tension that lies at the heart of the story. John hears from Sue Moss, top New York divorce and custody attorney, about how the legal landscape has changed, and from dramatist Sarah Wooley about what drew her to the story. John has worked in television and radio for 30 years, and shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. As creator of the BBC Writers Academy he's trained a generation of screenwriters - now with over 70 green lights and thousands of hours of television to their names. He is the author of Into the Woods, the bestselling book on narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of narrative, including many podcasts for Radio 4. Contributors: Sue Moss, partner at Chemtob Moss & Forman LLP, New York Sarah Wooley, dramatist of BBC Radio 4's production of Kramer vs Kramer Reader: Riley Neldam Producers: Tolly Robinson, Sara Davies Sound: Sean Kerwin Production Hub Coordinator: Nina Semple Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke looks at Avery Corman's 1977 bestselling novel Kramer Versus Kramer. The series that looks at books, plays and stories and how they work. John Yorke unpicks the themes and impact of Avery Corman's 1977 bestselling novel Kramer Versus Kramer. | |||
| Lady Chatterley's Lover, Episode 1 | 20230129 | John Yorke looks into Lady Chatterley's Lover by DH Lawrence. In this first of two episodes about the book, he outlines the simple story at the heart of this most controversial of novels. Although it's chiefly known for its graphic descriptions of sex and its liberal use of four letter words, John asks if the book is actually much more than a titillating tale about a passion that crosses the class divide. He looks at how the horrors of the Great War affected Lawrence and drove him to write what was for him a manifesto that would allow a traumatised nation to heal. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for nearly 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. From EastEnders to the Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters (his students have had 17 green-lights in the last two years alone). Contributors: Alison MacLeod, author of Tenderness Geoff Dyer author of Out of Sheer Rage: In the Shadow of DH Lawrence. Reading by Ian Hogg Credits: Lady Chatterley's Lover by D H Lawrence, BBC Radio 4 January 1990 Abridged for radio by Alan England Read by Ian Hogg Producer Philip Martin, BBC Pebble Mill. Sons and Lovers, BBC Radio on the Third Programme 1955 Produced by Christopher Sykes Produced by Alison Vernon-Smith Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael Sound by Sean Kerwin A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke takes a look at Lady Chatterley's Lover by DH Lawrence. | |||
| Lady Chatterley's Lover, Episode 2 | 20230205 | John Yorke looks into Lady Chatterley's Lover by D H Lawrence. In this second of two episodes about the book, he looks at what drove Lawrence to use the language that got him into so much trouble and made the novel infamous. He outlines the book's other transgressions and what happened at that famous, ground-breaking trial in 1960. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for nearly 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatized in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. From EastEnders to the Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters (his students have had 17 green-lights in the last two years alone). Contributors: Alison MacLeod, author of Tenderness Geoff Dyer author of Out of Sheer Rage: In the Shadow of DH Lawrence Bill Goldstein author of The World Broke in Two Reading by Ian Hogg Credits: Lady Chatterley's Lover by D H Lawrence, BBC Radio 4 January 1990 Abridged for radio by Alan England Read by Ian Hogg Producer: Philip Martin, BBC Pebble Mill. Produced by Alison Vernon-Smith Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael Sound by Sean Kerwin A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke takes a look at Lady Chatterley's Lover by D H Lawrence. | |||
| Lark Rise To Candleford, Episode 1 | 20231001 | John Yorke explores Lark Rise to Candleford, Flora Thompson's much-loved account of rural life. Lark Rise to Candleford is one of our best loved evocations of rural England, but it's also an evocation of rural poverty, and of the emerging opportunities for young women as a new century dawned. It tells the story of a girl growing up in a poor rural hamlet in rural Oxfordshire in the 1880s. Eventually she moves to the village of Candleford Green to begin her adult life working in a post office, and her story frames the larger one of Britain at the end of the 19th century, facing seismic social change. In this first of two episodes, John is keen to explore the puzzle of what sort of book Lark Rise to Candleford is. It appears to be an autobiographical social history of rural England at the close of the 19th century, but at the heart of it is a fictional character, Laura Timmins. And he wants to find out more about how Flora Thompson, a woman who left school at 14 after a rudimentary education, went on to write an instant bestseller which has become one of the 20th century's most enduring classics. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for thirty years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatized on BBC Radio 4. From EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters - his students have had 17 green-lights in the last two years alone. Contributors: Emma Griffin, Professor of History at Queen Mary, University of London Richard Mabey, nature writer Reading by Emma Griffin Credits: Lark Rise to Candleford by Flora Thompson, Oxford University Press, 1945 Produced by Jane Greenwood Executive Producer: Sara Davies Sound by Sean Kerwin Researcher Nina Semple Production Manager: Sarah Wright A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke explores Flora Thompson's much-loved book Lark Rise to Candleford. | |||
| Lark Rise To Candleford, Episode 2 | 20231008 | John Yorke continues his exploration of Lark Rise to Candleford, Flora Thompson's much-loved account of rural life. Lark Rise to Candleford is one of our best loved evocations of rural England, but it is also an evocation of rural poverty, and of the emerging opportunities for young women as a new century dawned. It tells the story of a girl growing up in a poor rural hamlet in rural Oxfordshire in the 1880s. Eventually she moves to the village of Candleford Green to begin her adult life working in a post office, and her story frames the larger one of Britain at the end of the 19th century, facing seismic social change. In this second episode, John explores how the journey made by the central character in the book, Laura Timmins, reflects Flora Thompson's own journey from a country childhood to the world of work and wider society. He wants to know how Lark Rise to Candleford echoes the rapid social changes taking place at the end of the 19th century, specifically the growth of towns and the opportunities they offered for new forms of employment and leisure. Flora Thompson's book is unusual because it gives a female perspective to life at the turn of the 20th century; John is keen to find out how poor women's horizons broadened as they started to glimpse the possibility of lives beyond marriage, motherhood or a job in domestic service. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for thirty years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatized on BBC Radio 4. From EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters - his students have had 17 green-lights in the last two years alone. Contributors: Emma Griffin, Professor of History at Queen Mary, University of London Richard Mabey, nature writer Reading by Emma Griffin Credits: Lark Rise to Candleford by Flora Thompson, Oxford University Press, 1945 Produced by Jane Greenwood Executive Producer: Sara Davies Sound by Sean Kerwin Researcher: Nina Semple Production Manager Sarah Wright A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke explores Flora Thompson's much-loved book Lark Rise to Candleford. | |||
| Little Dorrit - 1 | 20241013 | Little Dorrit, written by Charles Dickens in the 1850s, is among the author's most ambitious novels containing a massive sweep of themes, characters and locations. At its heart though is the confined space of the Marshalsea Debtors Prison, where the blameless Amy Dorrit chooses to live with her incarcerated father William, who takes pride in being the longest serving prisoner in the place. In the first of two episodes focusing on the novel, John Yorke describes how the deeply personal events from Dickens' own childhood, relating to his own father's time at the Marshalsea, made the book such an important and personal project for him. Helping John in his analysis of one of Dickens' truly great books is writer and producer Armando Iannucci, Professor Phil Davis from the University of Liverpool, and Dickens' own great-great-great-granddaughter Lucinda Hawksley. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. From EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe, and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy, John has trained a generation of screenwriters. Contributors: Armando Iannucci, writer and producer Professor Phil Davis, University of Liverpool Lucinda Hawksley, author Reader: Chipo Chung Researcher/Broadcast Assistant: Nina Semple Sound: Sean Kerwin | |||
| Little Dorrit - 2 | 20241020 | Little Dorrit, written by Charles Dickens in the 1850s, is among the author's most ambitious novels containing a massive sweep of themes, characters and locations. It may be set 30 years before its creation, but the book feels in many ways ahead of its time, exploring themes of freedom and entrapment – both physical and psychological – in ways that would appeal enormously to later figures including Kafka and Tchaikovsky, who regarded it as such a work of genius that he forgave Dickens for being an Englishman. Little Dorrit is, too, a savage critique of mid-19th Century Britain, more seditious than Marx's Capital according to George Bernard Shaw, with its brilliant embodiment of overarching bureaucracy in the shape of the Circumlocution Office. In the second of two episodes concerning the novel, John Yorke is joined by writer and producer Armando Iannucci, Professor Phil Davis from the University of Liverpool, and Dr Emily Bell, who is currently writing a biography of Dickens. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. From EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe, and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy, John has trained a generation of screenwriters. Contributors: Armando Iannucci, writer and producer Professor Phil Davis, University of Liverpool Dr Emily Bell, University of Leeds Reader: Chipo Chung Researcher/Broadcast Assistant: Nina Semple Sound: Sean Kerwin | |||
| Little Dorrit, Episode 2 | 20241020 | Little Dorrit, written by Charles Dickens in the 1850s, is among the author's most ambitious novels containing a massive sweep of themes, characters and locations. It may be set 30 years before its creation, but the book feels in many ways ahead of its time, exploring themes of freedom and entrapment – both physical and psychological – in ways that would appeal enormously to later figures including Kafka and Tchaikovsky, who regarded it as such a work of genius that he forgave Dickens for being an Englishman. Little Dorrit is, too, a savage critique of mid-19th Century Britain, more seditious than Marx's Capital according to George Bernard Shaw, with its brilliant embodiment of overarching bureaucracy in the shape of the Circumlocution Office. In the second of two episodes concerning the novel, John Yorke is joined by writer and producer Armando Iannucci, Professor Phil Davis from the University of Liverpool, and Dr Emily Bell, who is currently writing a biography of Dickens. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. From EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe, and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy, John has trained a generation of screenwriters. Contributors: Armando Iannucci, writer and producer Professor Phil Davis, University of Liverpool Dr Emily Bell, University of Leeds Reader: Chipo Chung Researcher/Broadcast Assistant: Nina Semple Sound: Sean Kerwin | |||
| London Belongs To Me | 20250406 | Ian Sansom celebrates the evocative portrait of London on the brink of war that Norman Collins paints in his 1945 novel London Belongs to Me. The book centres around the lives of the inhabitants of 10 Dulcimer Street, a down-at-heel south London boarding house, and spans the two years from December 1938 to December 1940. Deftly mixing comedy and tragedy, Collins invites us into the lives of these disparate characters, a handful of seemingly unremarkable people whose minor triumphs and bruising setbacks combine to provide a poignant and compelling account of the human face of history, away from the headlines and the corridors of power. Ian Sansom is a novelist, journalist and broadcaster. He is the author of more than 20 books, including the Mobile Library and the County Guides series of detective novels and his work has been translated into more than a dozen languages. He has worked as a columnist for The Guardian and The Spectator and currently writes for the TLS, The Irish Times and The Dublin Review. He is a regular broadcaster on BBC Radio 4 and Radio 3. He was formerly the Director of the Oscar Wilde Centre at Trinity College Dublin and a professor and Head of English at Queen's University Belfast. Contributors: Ed Glinert, writer, lecturer and historical tour guide Katherine Cooper, writer, academic and broadcaster Readings from London Belongs to Me by Norman Collins (Penguin Books, 2008) Reader: Ewan Bailey Sound: Sean Kerwin Researcher: Henry Tydeman Production Coordinator: Nina Semple Producer: Torquil MacLeod Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 Ian Sansom takes a look at Norman Collins's novel London Belongs to Me. The series that looks at books, plays and stories and how they work. Ian Sansom celebrates Norman Collins's evocative portrait of London on the brink of war. | |||
| Miss Happiness And Miss Flower | 20241229 | In the series that takes a look at books, plays and stories and how they work, John Yorke takes a look at Rumer Godden's children's book Miss Happiness and Miss Flower, with the help of Dame Jacqueline Wilson. We meet two tiny Japanese dolls - Miss Happiness and Miss Flower – delivered as a Christmas present. They are strangers in a strange land, subject to social forces and customs they don't recognise, desperately trying to find a way to fit in. The same is true of Nona – the eight-year-old protagonist who receives the dolls and takes them into her care. For all of them it's a tale of not belonging, of wishing and hoping, and working out just how to fit in. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years and shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless.  As creator of the BBC Writers Academy, he's trained a generation of screenwriters - now with over 70 green lights and thousands of hours of television to their names.  He is the author of Into the Woods, the bestselling book on narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of narrative - including many podcasts for R4. Contributors: Dame Jacqueline Wilson, legendary children's author and former Children's Laureate. Rumer Godden, author, discussing her work and writing process in an archive interview Credits: Miss Happiness and Miss Flower by Rumer Godden, 1961 Desert Island Discs, 1996. Desert Island Discs was presented by Sue Lawley and created by Roy Plomley. Rumer Godden: International and Intermodern Storyteller, 2010 Producer: Laura Grimshaw Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael Readings: Ruth Sillers Production Hub Coordinator: Nina Semple Sound: Sean Kerwin A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 | |||
| Mother Courage And Her Children, Episode 1 | 20230716 | John Yorke takes a look at Mother Courage and her Children, Bertolt Brecht's play written in 1939 on the eve of World War Two. Set in an earlier time when the Thirty Years War was raging across Europe, Mother Courage and her Children deals with some of the great themes of conflict and capitalism, looking at the way that one mother tries to survive with her family intact. Brecht grew up in Germany in the years after the First World War when the country was struggling with inflation running out of control. This difficult situation informed Brecht's political views, and he supported the Communist ideals, although never actually joined the Communist Party. His work reflects his concerns about the nature of capitalism and war. Mother Courage focusses on a woman who wants to make a living selling goods to anyone who will buy them, regardless of allegiance. She has three children, and the play shows how one-by-one she loses each of her them to war. We see how her decisions contribute to her deaths of her children. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for nearly 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised on BBC Radio 4. From EastEnders to the Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters - his students have had 17 green-lights in the last two years alone. Contributors: Professor Laura Bradley Dean of Postgraduate Research, College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. Personal Chair of German and Theatre, University of Edinburgh Mark Ravenhill, Playwright Julie Hesmondhalgh, Actor Credits: Helene Weigel in 'Brecht on Stage', (BBC / Open University, 1989) Producer: Mark Rickards Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael Sound: Sean Kerwin Researcher: Nina Semple Production Manager: Sarah Wright A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke takes a look at Bertolt Brecht's Mother Courage and her Children. | |||
| Mother Courage And Her Children, Episode 2 | 20230723 | John Yorke takes a look at Mother Courage and her Children, Bertolt Brecht's play written in 1939 on the eve of World War Two. Set in an earlier time when the Thirty Years War was raging across Europe, Mother Courage and her Children deals with some of the great themes of conflict and capitalism, looking at the way that one mother tries to survive with her family intact. Brecht grew up in Germany in the years after the First World War when the country was struggling with inflation running out of control. This difficult situation informed Brecht's political views, and he supported the Communist ideals, although never actually joined the Communist Party. Brecht also had a number of theories about theatre which John explores. The way he structured his plays meant that the audience would be told what was about to happen with the use of placards. So in Mother Courage, scene captions explain the action in advance at the start of each scene. He didn't want us to identify too closely with the characters on stage believing that, if we do, we would be surrendering our own viewpoint. John Yorke looks at the emotional detachment that Brecht sought and asks if it really worked. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for nearly 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised on BBC Radio 4. From EastEnders to the Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters - his students have had 17 green-lights in the last two years alone. Contributors: Professor Laura Bradley, Dean of Postgraduate Research, College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. Personal Chair of German and Theatre, University of Edinburgh Mark Ravenhill, Playwright Julie Hesmondhalgh, Actor Credits: Mother Courage is played by Sheila Hancock in the production directed by Jeremy Mortimer, first broadcast on Radio 3 in 1990 Helene Weigel in 'Brecht on Stage', (BBC / Open University, 1989) Acting in the Sixties: extract from episode with Richard Burton conducted by film critic Kenneth Tynan, on the BBC in 1967 Producer: Mark Rickards Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael Sound: Sean Kerwin Researcher: Nina Semple Production Manager: Sarah Wright A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke takes a look at Bertolt Brecht's Mother Courage and her Children. | |||
| My Antonia | 20260315 | 20260316 (R4) | John Yorke explores themes of loss, longing and the founding of America, in Willa Cather's innovative novel, My �ntonia. A milestone in American literature, the novel's heroine is - unusually for the time - a Czech immigrant, �ntonia Shimerda, seen through the eyes of her childhood friend, lawyer Jim Burden. �ntonia survives poverty, tragedy and betrayal through her hard work, energy and optimism. The novel shows ‘the other side of the rug, the pattern that is not supposed to count in a story. There is no love affair, no courtship, no marriage, no broken heart, no struggle for success'. Deceptively easy to read, Cather communicates feeling in a strikingly modern, cinematic way, with a mastery of visual storytelling, using language to capture the soul of a nation. With contributions from Melissa Homestead, Professor of English and Director of the Cather Project at the University of Lincoln-Nebraska. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for over 30 years and shares his experience as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain, from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. He created the BBC Writers Academy and trained a generation of screenwriters, now with thousands of hours of television to their names. His acclaimed books Into the Woods and Trip to the Moon explore the structure and power of narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of storytelling, including many podcasts for Radio 4. Producer: Mary Ward-Lowery Reader: Riley Neldam Executive Producer: Sara Davies Production Hub Coordinator: Dawn Williams Sound: Iain Hunter A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke explores Willa Cather's novel of frontier life, My \u00c1ntonia. John Yorke unpacks the themes behind the stories in Radio 4's weekend afternoon dramas. John Yorke explores Willa Cather's innovative novel about loss and longing on the American frontier. With readings by Riley Neldam. | ||
| My Mother Said I Never Should | 20240421 | 20240428 (R4) | John Yorke looks at Charlotte Keatley's play My Mother Said I Never Should, written aged just 25 and first premiered at the Contact Theatre in Manchester in 1987. The story explores the lives and relationships of four generations of mothers and daughters born over the course of the 20th Century. Their very different lives reflect the sweeping societal changes of that period, and how each new generation is able to push further than their parents when it comes to pregnancy, careers and romantic love. At the time of its early staging, the work was pioneering for its use of an all-female cast and a non-chronological narrative structure. The play is now one of the National Theatre's Significant Plays of the 20th Century and is translated in 33 languages. So what makes it so enduring? John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years, and he shares his experience as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that have made a mark. From EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters - his students have had 17 green-lights in the last two years alone. Contributors: Charlotte Keatley, playwright Brigid Larmour, theatre director and Associate Artistic Director of the Patsy Rodenburg Academy My Mother Said I Never Should, BBC Studios Audio Director: Nadia Molinari Actors: Lesley Nicol, Siobhan Finneran, Matilda Kent, Isla Pritchard, Mimi-Raie Mhlanga Produced by Lucy Hough Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael Production Manager: Sarah Wright Sound: Sean Kerwin Research: Nina Semple A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke looks at Charlotte Keatley's 1987 play My Mother Said I Never Should. The series that takes a look at books, plays and stories and how they work. John Yorke examines the groundbreaking 1987 play by Charlotte Keatley, My Mother Said I Never Should. | ||
| Next Season | 20250525 | The series that examines books, plays and stories and how they work. John Yorke looks at the 1968 theatre novel Next Season by Australian writer and director Michael Blakemore. Based on Blakemore's lived experience as an actor in English repertory theatre in the late 1950s in Stratford-upon-Avon, the novel has been described as one of the true great theatre novels. The novel follows young Australian actor Sam Beresford as he joins a six-month repertory season in the fictional town of Braddington, where he brushes up with the company's great stars and battles with its powerful and aloof director. That the novel's characters were based on real-life theatre greats that Blakemore knew and worked with meant it caused a stir at the time of publication. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years and shares his experience as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. As creator of the BBC Writers Academy, he's trained a generation of screenwriters - now with over 70 green lights and thousands of hours of television to their names. He is the author of Into the Woods, the bestselling book on narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of narrative - including many podcasts for R4. Contributors: Simon Callow, actor Greta Scacchi, actor Michael Billington, author and arts critic Readings from Next Season by Michael Blakemore (Faber & Faber, 1968) Reader: Ciaran Owens Sound: Sean Kerwin Researcher: Henry Tydeman Production Hub Coordinator: Nina Semple Producer: Lucy Hough Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke looks at the theatre novel Next Season by Michael Blakemore. John Yorke looks at the 1968 theatre novel Next Season by writer and director Michael Blakemore, based on his experiences of English repertory theatre in the 1950s. | |||
| Northanger Abbey - 1 | 20251102 | Northanger Abbey was Jane Austen's first book, although it wasn't published until after her death. It tells the story of Catherine Morland, an impressionable young woman who is introduced to fashionable society when she's taken by a wealthy neighbour to Bath. There, Catherine's imagination catches fire when she's initiated into the thrills of Gothic fiction by new friend, Isabella Thorpe – a pretty, charming but devious gold digger. Another great reader of Gothic novels is ‘not quite handsome but very near it' Henry Tilney, whom Catherine finds enchanting. When Henry invites Catherine to stay at Northanger Abbey, the home of his father, General Tilney, she imagines secret passages, haunted catacombs and an evil secret. Catherine does indeed find something wicked at the Abbey but not in the way she expects. In this first of two episodes John Yorke explores the dual nature of the book - part satire on Gothic fiction and part celebration of the novel form. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years and shares his experience as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. As creator of the BBC Writers Academy, he's trained a generation of screenwriters - now with over 70 green lights and thousands of hours of television to their names. He is the author of Into the Woods, the bestselling book on narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of narrative - including many podcasts for R4. Contributors: Emma Clery, Literary Critic and Cultural Historian, Professor of English Literature at the Uppsala University, Sweden, and author of Jane Austen: The Banker's Sister. Rebecca Romney, author of Jane Austen's Bookshelf. Reader: Esme Scarborough Production Hub Coordinators: Nina Semple and Dawn Williams Researcher: Henry Tydeman Sound: Iain Hunter Producer: Kate McAll Executive Producer: Sara Davies A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke looks at how Jane Austen became a writer. The series that looks at books, plays and stories and how they work. John Yorke explores how Jane Austen came to write her first book, Northanger Abbey . | |||
| Northanger Abbey - 2 | 20251109 | Jane Austen's novel, Northanger Abbey, was the first full book she wrote. She was in her early 20s at the time and it was accepted by a publisher but the novel wasn't published in her lifetime. In this second episode John Yorke looks at the story behind the genesis of Northanger Abbey - how a young woman with only three years of formal education came to write such an accomplished work, what prompted her to write a satire of Gothic fiction, and why the book is also a hymn of praise to the novel form itself. Jane may not have spent much time in school but her voracious love of reading, her prodigious memory and understanding of other writers' techniques meant that she was entertaining the family with her own stories and plays from an early age. After leaving school at 11, her real education began - self-education. With the encouragement of her father, the availability of subscription libraries which made reading possible for all purses, and a lot of writing practice, she would develop into one of Britain's finest writers. Sadly, her story is also one of disappointment and neglect. Despite the publisher's promise, Jane's novel, finished when she was 24, would have to languish for nearly 20 years before it finally saw the light of day, six months after her death. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years and shares his experience as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. As creator of the BBC Writers Academy, he's trained a generation of screenwriters - now with over 70 green lights and thousands of hours of television to their names. He is the author of Into the Woods, the bestselling book on narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of narrative - including many podcasts for R4. Contributors: Emma Clery, Literary Critic and Cultural Historian, Professor of English Literature at the Uppsala University, Sweden, and author of Jane Austen: The Banker's Sister. Rebecca Romney, author of Jane Austen's Bookshelf. Reader: Esme Scarborough Production Hub Coordinators: Nina Semple, Dawn Williams Researcher: Henry Tydeman Sound: Iain Hunter Producer: Kate McAll Executive Producer: Sara Davies A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke takes a look at Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen. The series that looks at books, plays and stories and how they work. John Yorke explores Jane Austen's satire of Gothic fiction and celebration of the novel, Northanger Abbey. | |||
| On The Origin Of Species | 20250831 | Charles Darwin's ideas changed our understanding of the world perhaps more than those of any other British scholar. His famous voyage on HMS Beagle ended in 1836, and he had developed his findings into his theories on evolution and natural selection within six years. It was not, however, until 1859 that he shared these revolutionary ideas with the public in On The Origin of Species, a book far different to the one he had intended to write. In this episode of Opening Lines, John Yorke examines what finally led Darwin to write this pioneering work of popular science, and the impact it had upon his contemporaries. The programme features evolutionary biologist Dr Tori Herridge of the University of Sheffield. John has worked in television and radio for 30 years, and shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. As creator of the BBC Writers Academy he's trained a generation of screenwriters - now with over 70 green lights and thousands of hours of television to their names. He is the author of Into the Woods, the bestselling book on narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of narrative, including many podcasts for Radio 4. Clip of Andrew Marr from ‘Great Britons: Darwin' BBC2 (2002) Sound: Sean Kerwin Researcher: Henry Tydeman Production Hub Coordinator: Nina Semple Producer: Geoff Bird Reader: Paul Dodgson Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke investigates Charles Darwin's world-changing book On The Origin of Species. Few books have had more impact on our understanding of the world than On The Origin of Species. John Yorke asks how Charles Darwin came to write it and what makes it work. | |||
| One Moonlit Night | 20230604 | John Yorke takes a look at Caradog Prichard's ground-breaking novel, One Moonlit Night. First published in Welsh in 1961, it broke new ground for its portrayal of taboo subjects such as sexuality, suicide and mental illness. Thirty four years later it was translated into English by Philip Mitchell who described his first encounter with the material in the original Welsh as 'a mind-blowing, life-changing, world-shaking experience akin to being allowed for several hours to stare into the face of God. Set in a North Wales slate-mining village at the time of the first world war, the story appears to be simple - it's about a boy and how that boy's life falls apart. But the dreamlike vision of disintegration that Prichard weaves is layered and complex, as we realise that the child, apart from observing the peculiar adult goings-on in the village, is witnessing his mother lose her mind. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for nearly 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised on BBC Radio 4. From EastEnders to the Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters - his students have had 17 green-lights in the last two years alone. Contributors: Rhiannon Boyle, writer and adaptor of One Moonlit Night for Radio 4. Menna Baines, author of Yng Ngolau'r Lleuad - Ffaith a Dychymyg yng Ngwaith Caradog Prichard, a biography of the author. Credits: One Moonlit Night by Caradog Prichard was originally published as Un Nos Ola Leuad in 1961. English translation by Philip Mitchell published in 1995 by Canongate. Desert Island Discs : extract from episode with Maxine Peake, BBC R4 16th October 2022 Readings: Matthew Gravelle Researcher: Nina Semple Production Manager: Sarah Wright Sound: Martyn Harries Producer: Kate McAll Executive Producer: Sara Davies A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 | |||
| Orwell Vs Kafka: The Man Who Disappeared | 20240616 | John Yorke explores Franz Kafka's first and unfinished novel The Man Who Disappeared. Kafka's re-imagining of an innocent's arrival and adventures in New York is, at first glance. the classic tale of rags to riches. Teenage Karl Rossman has been exiled by his parents to a fate unknown across the ocean with just a trunk of mementoes and a slowly smelling sausage. Millions of Kafka's fellow Czechs had also made that journey but Kafka only ever made his voyage of exploration on the page and in his head. It is a strange America he gives us at once both familiar and utterly strange. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatized in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. From EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy, John has trained a generation of screenwriters. Contributors: Professor Carolin Duttlinger - Co-director of the Oxford Kafka Research Centre Ed Harris - Playwright who has adapted Kafka's work for a major new season on BBC Radio 4 Readings from Amerika: The Missing Person by Franz Kafka trans. Mark Harman (Schocken Books, 2008) Reader: Jack Klaff Researcher: Nina Semple Production Manager: Sarah Wright Sound Designer: Sean Kerwin Producer: Mark Burman Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke explores Franz Kafka's first novel, The Man Who Disappeared. The series that looks at books, plays and stories and how they work. John Yorke journeys to the New York of Franz Kafka's imagination in The Man Who Disappeared. | |||
| Orwell Vs. Kafka: The Trial | 20240609 | John Yorke explores the enduring mystery and power of Franz Kafka's novel The Trial. All Joseph K was expecting when he awoke was breakfast. Instead he is arrested for a nameless crime and finds his life gradually, utterly consumed by the process. Set in a nameless city very like the twisting alleyways and cramped confines of Kafka's Prague, the book was only published after the writer's death. Since then, it has become a world famous tale of unending, indefinable bureaucratic unease. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. From EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters Contributors: Professor Carolin Duttlinger-Co-director of the Oxford Kafka Research Centre Ed Harris - Playwright who has adapted Kafka's work for a major season on BBC Radio 4 Readings from The Trial by Franz Kafka trans. Mike Mitchell (Oxford World's Classic 2009) Reader: Jack Klaff Researcher: Nina Semple Production Manager: Sarah Wright Sound Designer: Sean Kerwin Producer: Mark Burman Executive Producer: Sara Davies A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke interrogates Franz Kafka's classic novel The Trial. The series that looks at books, plays and stories and how they work. John Yorke explores the enduring mystery and power of Franz Kafka's novel The Trial. | |||
| Our Man In Havana, Episode 1 | 20240107 | In the series that takes a look at books, plays and stories and how they work, John Yorke explores Graham Greene's classic dark comedy, Our Man in Havana. Greene was already an established and successful novelist and screenwriter by the time he wrote Our Man in Havana and, in this first of two episodes about the book, John looks at the plot of what became a classic comedy thriller and at how deftly Greene outlined his characters. The book is set in pre-revolutionary Havana and John also hears how the political situation coloured his writing and how the target of Greene's work was an organisation that was very familiar to him - British Intelligence. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for nearly 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. From EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters - his students have had 17 green-lights in the last two years alone. Contributors: Christopher Hull, Lecturer in Spanish and Latin American studies at Chester University and author of Our Man Down in Havana Sarah Rainsford, BBC Foreign Correspondent, author of Our Woman in Havana: Reporting Castro's Cuba Reading by Matthew Gravelle Credits: Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene Publisher - Vintage Digital; New Ed edition (2 Oct. 2010) Produced by Alison Vernon-Smith Executive Producer: Sara Davies Sound by Sean Kerwin Researcher Nina Semple Production Manager Sarah Wright A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke looks at Graham Greene's classic dark comedy, Our Man in Havana. The series that takes a look at books, plays and stories and how they work. John Yorke explores Graham Greene's dark comedy, Our Man in Havana. | |||
| Our Man In Havana, Episode 2 | 20240114 | In the series that takes a look at books, plays and stories and how they work, John Yorke explores Graham Greene's dark, comic classic, Our Man in Havana. Set in pre-revolutionary Cuba, Our Man in Havana is a comic spy caper with a dark heart. In this the second episode on the novel, John considers what impact the place had on the work, and how Greene's fictional locations became known as ‘Greeneland'. He also examines how Greene's attitude to the question of loyalty, a recurring theme in his writing, is central to this book. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for nearly 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. From EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters - his students have had 17 green-lights in the last two years alone. Contributors: Christopher Hull, Lecturer in Spanish and Latin American studies at Chester University and author of Our Man Down in Havana Sarah Rainsford, BBC Foreign Correspondent, author of Our Woman in Havana: Reporting Castro's Cuba Reading by Matthew Gravelle Credits: Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene Publisher - Vintage Digital; New Ed edition (2 Oct. 2010) Archive - Radio 4's A Writer At Work on 15/8/1969. Produced by Alison Vernon-Smith Executive Producer: Sara Davies Sound by Sean Kerwin Researcher Nina Semple Production Manager Sarah Wright A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke looks into the dark comedy classic, Our Man in Havana. The series that takes a look at books, plays and stories and how they work. John Yorke explores Graham Greene's classic dark comedy, Our Man in Havana. | |||
| Our Mutual Friend - 1 | 20241103 | Our Mutual Friend was the last novel that Charles Dickens completed, and was written at a point of significant turmoil in the author's personal life. It's a hugely ambitious and sophisticated novel, drawing the wild complexities of 1860s London life into its purview and marrying realism with mythic symbolism to great effect. Identities shift, deception battles unceasingly with the truth, while the great River Thames continues to flow. John Yorke attempts to bring shape and light to this disparate, dark and enormously powerful piece of work, with the help of Dickens' own great-great-great grand-daughter Lucinda Hawksley, novelist and critic Philip Hensher and Professor Phil Davis from the University of Liverpool. John has worked in television and radio for 30 years and shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. As creator of the BBC Writers Academy, he's trained a generation of screenwriters - now with over 70 green lights and thousands of hours of television to their names. He is the author of Into the Woods, the bestselling book on narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of narrative - including many podcasts for R4. Contributors: Philip Hensher, novelist and critic Lucinda Hawksley, author Reader: Paul Dodgson Researcher/Broadcast Assistant: Nina Semple Sound: Sean Kerwin | |||
| Our Mutual Friend - 2 | 20241110 | “I have made up my mind that I must have money, ? says the character Bella Wilfer in Charles Dickens' last completed novel, Our Mutual Friend – and she is one of many characters in the book for whom “money, money, money, and what money can make of life ? is an overriding concern. Dickens was deeply concerned with the increasing levels of inequality he saw around him in 1860s London, a city at the heart of the largest and richest empire in the world. In Our Mutual Friend he presents characters trapped by their pursuit of money, and who reveal just what they are prepared to give up of their better selves in order to achieve financial gain. John Yorke is joined by Dickens' own great-great-great grand-daughter Lucinda Hawksley, novelist and critic Philip Hensher, and Dr Emily Bell from the University of Leeds. John has worked in television and radio for 30 years and shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. As creator of the BBC Writers Academy, he's trained a generation of screenwriters - now with over 70 green lights and thousands of hours of television to their names. He is the author of Into the Woods, the bestselling book on narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of narrative - including many podcasts for R4. Contributors: Philip Hensher, novelist and critic Lucinda Hawksley, author Reader: Paul Dodgson Researcher/Broadcast Assistant: Nina Semple | |||
| Porgy, Episode 1 | 20230311 | The series that takes a look at books, plays and stories and how they work. John Yorke examines Porgy by Edwin DuBose Heyward. Published in 1925, Porgy was an immediate hit and was later adapted both for the stage and the blockbuster musical Porgy and Bess. In this first of two episodes about Porgy, John looks at the story at the heart of the original novel and the background of the remarkable man who wrote it. How and why did Edwin DuBose Heyward, the epitome of the intellectual, Southern, white, gentleman write this best-selling classic about a love story set within a poor, African American community in the deep South? John Yorke has worked in television and radio for nearly 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. From EastEnders to the Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters - his students have had 17 green-lights in the last two years alone. Contributors: Dr Kendra Hamilton, Professor of American Literature at Presbyterian College James M. Hutchisson , biographer of Dubose Heyward. Produced by Alison Vernon-Smith Executive Producer: Sara Davies Sound: Sean Kerwin Researcher: Nina Semple Production Manager: Sarah Wright A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke looks into the novel Porgy and its creator Edwin DuBose Heyward. | |||
| Porgy, Episode 2 | 20230312 | The series that takes a look at books, plays and stories and how they work. John Yorke examines Porgy by Edwin DuBose Heyward. Porgy was published in 1925 and concerns the love affair between Porgy and Bess. Set within the poor black community of Charleston, South Carolina, the book was later adapted into the blockbuster musical Porgy and Bess. The writer Du Bose Heyward was white and, ever since it was published, the book has raised questions about authenticity and cultural appropriation. In this second of two episodes about the book, John Yorke looks at the controversy that has surrounded the book , how it divided the critics and how the success of Porgy and Bess, the musical, complicated matters still further. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for nearly 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatized in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. From EastEnders to the Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters - his students have had 17 green-lights in the last two years alone. Contributors: Dr Kendra Hamilton, Professor of American Literature at Presbyterian College James M. Hutchisson , biographer of Dubose Heyward Michael Buffong, Director. Produced by Alison Vernon-Smith Executive Producer: Sara Davies Sound: Sean Kerwin Researcher: Nina Semple Production Manager: Sarah Wright John Yorke looks into the novel Porgy and the controversy around it. | |||
| Pride And Prejudice - 1 | 20251213 | Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice has not only captured the hearts of generations of readers, it also helped change the way that novels are written. This most beloved tale of Regency romance, featuring the brilliantly quick-witted Elizabeth Bennett and the haughty figure of Fitzwilliam Darcy, allows us into its characters' heads and hearts in newly sophisticated ways that set the template for so much of the fiction that followed. In this, the first of two parts focusing on Austen's most popular novel, John Yorke examines how a book she described as ‘too light, and bright, and sparkling' retains a special place and a special importance in the history of English literature. The programme features leading Austen expert John Mullan, professor of English Literature at UCL, and Dr Lucy Powell, lecturer in English at the University of Oxford. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years, and shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. As creator of the BBC Writers Academy he's trained a generation of screenwriters - now with over 70 green lights and thousands of hours of television to their names. He is the author of Into the Woods, the bestselling book on narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of narrative, including many podcasts for Radio 4. Contributors: John Mullan, professor of English Literature at UCL and Dr Lucy Powell, University of Oxford Sound: Sean Kerwin Researcher: Henry Tydeman Production Hub Coordinator: Dawn Williams Producer: Geoff Bird Reader: Rhiannon Neads Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke explores Jane Austen's most popular novel, Pride and Prejudice. Few books are as beloved or familiar as Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, thanks in part to countless adaptations. John Yorke asks what makes this classic romance work. | |||
| Pride And Prejudice - 2 | 20251214 | The opening lines of Pride and Prejudice are not only among the most famous in all of literature, they also place marriage front and centre as the key theme within the novel. “It is a truth universally acknowledged,� Austen writes, “that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.� So many of the characters and their actions are driven by the search for a good marriage - but their motivations and aspirations are both richly varied and illuminating of Regency society at a time when women could find security and status primarily at the altar. John Yorke asks whether Elizabeth Bennett and Mr Darcy, two of the most illustrious and quick-witted partners in literary history, can find a love that transcends the strictures of the time. The programme features Dr Lucy Powell, lecturer in English at the University of Oxford, and Professor John Mullan from University College London. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years, and shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatized in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. As creator of the BBC Writers Academy he's trained a generation of screenwriters - now with over 70 green lights and thousands of hours of television to their names. He is the author of Into the Woods, the bestselling book on narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of narrative, including many podcasts for Radio 4. Contributor: Dr Lucy Powell, lecturer in English at the University of Oxford, and John Mullan, professor of English Literature at University College London Sound: Sean Kerwin Researcher: Henry Tydeman Production Hub Coordinator: Dawn Williams Producer: Geoff Bird Reader: Rhiannon Neads Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke explores Jane Austen's most popular novel, Pride and Prejudice. Few books are as beloved or familiar as Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. In this second episode, John Yorke examines the significance of the theme of marriage in the book. | |||
| Robinson Crusoe | 20240922 | Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, published in 1719, is one of the most well-known and influential pieces of writing in Western literature. Initially presented as a true account, this tale of adventure, desert island shipwrecking and survival has been re-told and re-packaged for different audiences, different generations and different times - rom The Swiss Family Robinson to Lost In Space, and Lord of the Flies to Tom Hanks in the movie Castaway. The term ‘Robinsonade' was even coined to identify the many books that followed the desert island template. John Yorke examines what makes the story work, unpacks Daniel Defoe's skill as literary pioneer, and asks how we should view the book today. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatized in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. From EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters. Contributor: Bill Bell, Professor of Bibliography at Cardiff University and author of Crusoe's Books: Readers in the Empire of Print, 1800-1918 (2022) Readings by Stephen Bent Excerpts from Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe, 1719 Archive clip from The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, TV adaptation, 1964 Researcher: Nina Semple Sound: Sean Kerwin Producer: Jack Soper Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael Production Manager: Sarah Wright A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke looks at Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe. John Yorke explores Daniel Defoe's 1719 novel Robinson Crusoe, one of the most famous and influential pieces of writing in Western literature. | |||
| Sense And Sensibility - 1 | 20251220 | John Yorke explores the romantic framework of Jane Austen's first published novel, Sense and Sensibility, as well as the reasons for its enduring appeal. It's a novel that explores the cost of love, and in it, Austen develops writing techniques that revolutionised this new form, which are still in use some two hundred years later. With contributions from Professor John Mullan, and poet and dramatist Claudine Toutoungi. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for thirty years and shares his experience as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. As creator of the BBC Writers Academy, he's trained a generation of screenwriters - now with over 70 green lights and thousands of hours of television to their names. He is the author of Into the Woods, the bestselling book on narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of narrative - including many podcasts for R4. Producer: Mary Ward-Lowery Reader: Rhiannon Neads Executive Producer: Sara Davies Production Hub Coordinator: Dawn Williams Sound: Iain Hunter A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke explores Jane Austen's influential novel, Sense and Sensibility. John Yorke explores Jane Austen's innovative, and influential, first published novel, Sense and Sensibility. With readings by Rhiannon Neads. | |||
| Sense And Sensibility - 2 | 20251221 | John Yorke explores the revolutionary techniques developed by Jane Austen in Sense and Sensibility and uncovers why her work is so endlessly adaptable to modern tastes. Austen innovated ‘free indirect style', which blends third person narration with a character's internal thoughts and feelings. Novelists have been using her creation ever since. She also had a gift for dialogue which allows her to reveal character through idiosyncratic speech habits. The novel is shot through with darkness, but it is also extremely funny. Joh discovers that the main characters, Elinor and Marianne, have ‘comedy double act energy'. With contributions from Professor John Mullan and poet and dramatist Claudine Toutoungi. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for thirty years and shares his experience as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. As creator of the BBC Writers Academy, he's trained a generation of screenwriters - now with over 70 green lights and thousands of hours of television to their names. He is the author of Into the Woods, the bestselling book on narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of narrative - including many podcasts for R4. Producer: Mary Ward-Lowery Reader: Rhiannon Neads Executive Producer: Sara Davies Production Hub Coordinator: Dawn Williams Sound: Iain Hunter A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke explores the enduring appeal of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility. John Yorke explores the comedy - and innovations - of Jane Austen's novel, Sense and Sensibility. With readings by Rhiannon Neads. | |||
| She Who Was No More | 20231029 | John Yorke looks at the 1952 psychological suspense novel from French crime-writing team Boileau-Narcejac. The plot centres around travelling salesman Ferdinand Ravinel who conspires a plot with his mistress Lucienne to murder his wife. After the icily dark bathtub murder, Ravinel's wife Lucienne's body strangely disappears- and so begins Ravinel's psychological unravelling. Noted for the ingenuity of their plots and narrative twists, this was the first novella from duo Boileau-Narcejac. The pair are credited with creating an authentically French subgenre of crime fiction and a number of their works were adapted for the screen - She Who Was No More became the 1955 cinematic classic Les Diaboliques, followed by Alfred Hitchcock's adaption of Vertigo in 1958. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years, and he shares his experience as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. From EastEnders to the Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book ‘Into the Woods'. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters - his students have had 17 green-lights in the last two years alone. Contributors: Claire Gorrara, Professor of French & Dean of Research and Innovation at Cardiff University, specialised in post-war French crime fiction Ginette Vincendeau, Professor of Film Studies at King's College London Readings by Matthew Gravelle Credits Les Diaboliques. 1955 film by Henri-Georges Clouzot, produced by Arrow Films Produced by Lucy Hough Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael Sound by Sean Kerwin Researcher: Nina Semple Production Manager: Sarah Wright A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke looks at 1952's She Who Was No More by French duo Boileau-Narcejac. The series that takes a look at books, plays and stories and how they work. John Yorke examines the 1952 psychological suspense novel from French noir duo Boileau-Narcejac. | |||
| Siddhartha | 20230924 | 20240218 (R4) | |||
| Siddhartha | 20240218 | The series that takes a look at books, plays and stories and how they work. John Yorke examines Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha. Hermann Hesse was an established writer by the time he wrote Siddhartha and didn't live to see its lionisation by the 60s counterculture. But even in his own time Hesse's writing appealed to young people, particularly young men, in a way that he found irritating. John looks at why this book so appealed to younger generations, especially to the one that emerged in the 60s and at how Hesse's own background actually had parallels to their experiences. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for nearly 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. From EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters - his students have had 17 green-lights in the last two years alone. Contributors: Nicolas Jackson, Director and Producer of Radio 4's dramatisation of Siddhartha Mick Brown, Journalist, writer and author of The Nirvana Express Readings by Matthew Gravelle Credits: Siddhartha CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2015. Translated by Hilda Rosner Produced by Alison Vernon-Smith Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael Sound by Sean Kerwin Researcher: Nina Semple Production Manager: Sarah Wright A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke explores the book that embodies the soul of the counterculture - Siddhartha. John Yorke on the book embraced by the 60s counterculture but written by a man who would have hated that – Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse. | |||
| Spring Awakening - 1 | 20250223 | John Yorke examines the radical 1891 play Spring Awakening by German dramatist Frank Wedekind. A cautionary, nightmarish portrait of teenage angst and rebellion against oppressive social structures and family pressures, the play's explicit content was so shocking that it was not performed for 15 years after its publication. In the decades since, it has often been cut or censored. Wedekind's original play became the inspiration for a 2006 hit Broadway musical of the same name. In this first of two episodes, John looks at who Frank Wedekind was, and how he contributed to the expressionist movement that swept through Europe in the early 20th century - and how that collision created such an enduring work. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years and shares his experience as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. As creator of the BBC Writers Academy, he's trained a generation of screenwriters - now with over 70 green lights and thousands of hours of television to their names. He is the author of Into the Woods, the bestselling book on narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of narrative - including many podcasts for R4. Contributors: Jonathan Franzen, author and essayist Dr Karen Leeder, Professor of Modern German Literature, University of Oxford Producer: Lucy Hough Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael Sound: Sean Kerwin Production Hub Coordinator: Nina Semple Audio: Spring Awakening (Fruhlings Erwachen), translated by Tom Osborn and adapted for BBC Radio 4 by John Tydeman and first broadcast 26th March 1973 on BBC Radio 4. Actors: Wendla: Helen Worth Mrs Bergmann: Diana Olsson Georg: Brian Hewlett Melchior: Christopher Guard Ernst: Michael Cochrane Lammermeir: Andrew Rivers Hans: Christopher Good Moritz: John Moulder-Brown John Yorke looks at Spring Awakening by German dramatist Frank Wedekind. The series that looks at books, plays and stories and how they work. John Yorke looks at the radical 1891 play Spring Awakening by German dramatist Frank Wedekind. | |||
| Spring Awakening - 2 | 20250223 | 20250302 20250302 (R4) | John Yorke examines the radical 1891 play Spring Awakening by German dramatist Frank Wedekind. A cautionary, nightmarish portrait of teenage angst and rebellion against oppressive social structures and family pressures, the play's explicit content was so shocking that it was not performed for 15 years after its publication. In the decades since, it has often been cut or censored. Wedekind's original play became the inspiration for a 2006 hit Broadway musical of the same name. In this second of two episodes, John looks at how Spring Awakening has been interpreted and performed in the 134 years since its publication and how audiences – and interpreters - react when they are faced with some very uncomfortable truths. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years and shares his experience as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. As creator of the BBC Writers Academy, he's trained a generation of screenwriters - now with over 70 green lights and thousands of hours of television to their names. He is the author of Into the Woods, the bestselling book on narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of narrative - including many podcasts for R4. Contributors: Jonathan Franzen, author and essayist Dr Karen Leeder, Professor of Modern German Literature, University of Oxford Producer: Lucy Hough Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael Sound: Sean Kerwin Production Hub Coordinator: Nina Semple Audio: Spring Awakening (Fruhlings Erwachen), translated by Tom Osborn and adapted for BBC Radio 4 by John Tydeman and first broadcast 26th March 1973 on BBC Radio 4. Actors: Wendla: Helen Worth Mrs Bergmann: Diana Olsson Georg: Brian Hewlett Melchior: Christopher Guard Ernst: Michael Cochrane Lammermeir: Andrew Rivers Hans: Christopher Good Moritz: John Moulder-Brown John Yorke looks at Spring Awakening by German dramatist Frank Wedekind. The series that looks at books, plays and stories and how they work. John Yorke looks at the radical 1891 play Spring Awakening by German dramatist Frank Wedekind. | ||
| Star Of The Sea | 20251005 | In the winter of 1847, the Star of the Sea sets sail from Ireland for New York. Among the refugees are a maidservant, a bankrupt aristocrat, an aspiring novelist and a maker of revolutionary ballads. It reads like a Victorian gothic novel, with murder and intrigue at its heart. Star of the Sea by Joseph O'Connor was published in 2002 and attracted multiple plaudits as well as literary awards. O'Connor talks about the shocked response from his publishers when he proposed writing a novel about the Irish Famine and we learn how real facts are woven skilfully into fiction. Novelist Colm TóibÃn explains how there are elements of pastiche in Star of the Sea and how it's written like a 19th century novel. He also states that, at a time when the Irish narrative was being re-imagined, even the great Irish playwrights such as Sean O'Casey didn't write about the Famine. At the heart of the story is the threatening figure of Pius Mulvey – the balladeer and adventurer. Known as ‘The Monster', Mulvey stalks the decks of the ship like some kind of embodiment of the tragedy that has overtaken the old country. We hear about the tragic and human stories within this novel into which O'Connor is also able weave humour and a propulsive narrative. John Yorke explains that the skill of this novel is that, with the aid of eyewitness accounts, historical documents, letters home, passenger manifests and Captain's logs, O'Connor unravels the extraordinary relationships at the book's heart by re-stitching them into a grander tapestry – that of a terrible horror, long hidden, central to a nation's heart. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years and shares his experience as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless.  As creator of the BBC Writers Academy, he's trained a generation of screenwriters - now with over 70 green lights and thousands of hours of television to their names.  He is the author of Into the Woods, the bestselling book on narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of narrative - including many podcasts for R4. Contributor: Colm TóibÃn, bestselling writer Extracts from: The Arts Show, BBC Radio Ulster with Marie Louise Muir, 16 August 2007 Reading from Star of the Sea by Peter Marinker, from the audiobook of the same title published by W.F. Howes Ltd, 2011 Star of the Sea published in 2002 by Secker and Warburg Sound: Sean Kerwin Researcher: Henry Tydeman Production Hub Coordinator: Nina Semple Producer: Belinda Naylor Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke explores Joseph O'Connor's novel Star of the Sea, about the Irish Famine. Fact, skilfully woven into fiction in a novel of Irish emigration at the time of the Famine, Star of the Sea. John Yorke discusses its significance in Irish literature. | |||
| Tam O'shanter | 20240127 | John Yorke explores Robert Burns's only long form narrative poem, Tam O'Shanter. He discovers Tam's wild ride through a stormy Scottish night where witches and warlocks are at play. Robert Burns was born in 1759, one of the children of a tenant farming father and a mother who was a great singer and storyteller. He found fame with the publication of Poems Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect and it was the Scots language that gave his poetry such energy and vigour. Tam O'Shanter tells the story of a wild ride through a stormy Scottish night where witches and warlocks are at play. Having finishing drinking in the pub, Tam must venture out into the night on his horse Meg and pass the haunted church where the ghouls are out dancing in the graveyard. The poem has a quote at the beginning that comes from a medieval Scots translation of Virgil's epic poem, the Aeneid, where the hero goes into the underworld, into the dark world of spooks and terrifying imaginings. And that's where Tam O'Shanter takes its listeners, along with humour and a tongue-in-cheek attitude to Tam's foibles. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for nearly 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised on BBC Radio 4. From EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters - his students have had 17 green-lights in the last two years alone Contributors Kirsteen McCue Professor of Scottish Literature and Song Culture at the University of Glasgow, home of the centre for Robert Burns Studies. Robert Crawford Poet and author of The Bard, a biography of Robert Burns Readings: Brian Cox, Robert Crawford Researcher: Nina Semple Production Manager: Sarah Wright Sound: Sean Kerwin Producer: Mark Rickards Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 The series that takes a look at books, plays and stories and how they work. John Yorke explores Robert Burns's only long form narrative poem, Tam O'Shanter. | |||
| That Hideous Strength - 1 | 20241013 | 20250209 (R4) | John Yorke looks at CS Lewis's novel That Hideous Strength, the third in a trilogy of science fiction works. Published in the aftermath of the Second World War, it offers a bleak vision of a world where unchecked scientific research is masking much more sinister aims. A couple, Jane and Mark Studdock, are set on different paths, both threatened by external and internal forces on a dark journey into a dystopian future. In this episode, John examines the key themes in That Hideous Strength and finds the unique blend of mythology and science fiction which permeates this complex novel. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years, and he shares his experience with listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production, he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. As creator of the BBC Writers Academy, he's trained a generation of screenwriters - now with over 70 green lights and thousands of hours of television to their names. He is the author of Into the Woods, the bestselling book on narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of narrative - including many podcasts for R4. Contributors: Professor Robert Maslen, University of Glasgow AN Wilson, author of CS Lewis A Biography Readings: Matthew Gravelle Sound: Sean Kerwin Production Hub Coordinator: Nina Semple Producer: Mark Rickards Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke examines the key themes in That Hideous Strength by CS Lewis and finds the unique blend of mythology and science fiction which permeates this complex novel. | ||
| That Hideous Strength - 1 | 20250209 | John Yorke looks at CS Lewis's novel That Hideous Strength, the third in a trilogy of science fiction works. Published in the aftermath of the Second World War, it offers a bleak vision of a world where unchecked scientific research is masking much more sinister aims. A couple, Jane and Mark Studdock, are set on different paths, both threatened by external and internal forces on a dark journey into a dystopian future. In this episode, John examines the key themes in That Hideous Strength and finds the unique blend of mythology and science fiction which permeates this complex novel. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years, and he shares his experience with listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production, he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. As creator of the BBC Writers Academy, he's trained a generation of screenwriters - now with over 70 green lights and thousands of hours of television to their names. He is the author of Into the Woods, the bestselling book on narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of narrative - including many podcasts for R4. Contributors: Professor Robert Maslen, University of Glasgow AN Wilson, author of CS Lewis A Biography Readings: Matthew Gravelle Sound: Sean Kerwin Production Hub Coordinator: Nina Semple Producer: Mark Rickards Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke examines the key themes in That Hideous Strength by CS Lewis and finds the unique blend of mythology and science fiction which permeates this complex novel. | |||
| That Hideous Strength - 2 | 20250216 | John Yorke looks at C.S Lewis's novel That Hideous Strength, the third in a trilogy of science fiction works. Published in the aftermath of World War Two it offers a bleak vision of a world where unchecked scientific research is masking much more sinister aims. A couple, Jane and Mark Studdock, are set on different paths, both threatened by external and internal forces on a dark journey into a dystopian nightmare. In the second of two episodes, John looks at the context in which That Hideous Strength was written and asks how the terrible events of the Second World War coloured CS Lewis's vision of the future. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years, and he shares his experience with listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production, he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. As creator of the BBC Writers Academy, he's trained a generation of screenwriters - now with over 70 green lights and thousands of hours of television to their names. He is the author of Into the Woods, the bestselling book on narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of narrative - including many podcasts for R4. Contributors: Professor Robert Maslen, University of Glasgow AN Wilson, author of CS Lewis A Biography Readings: Matthew Gravelle Sound: Sean Kerwin Production Hub Coordinator: Nina Semple Producer: Mark Rickards Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 In the second of two episodes John looks at the context in which That Hideous Strength was written and asks how the terrible events of WW2 coloured CS Lewis's vision of the future. | |||
| The Betrothed, Episode 1 | 20231105 | John Yorke explores a work that every Italian will know - I Promessi Sposi by Alessandro Manzoni, known in English as The Betrothed. A classic of Italian literature, The Betrothed follows the story of two young lovers, Renzo and Lucia, who plan to marry, only to be thwarted by a Spanish noble, Don Rodrigo, who has his eye on Lucia. Told against a backdrop of 17th century Lombardy, before Italy became a unified country, The Betrothed is a call for national unity as well as a compelling love story. In this first of two episodes, John looks at the rich cast of characters which makes The Betrothed such a powerful read. He meets the local priest, Don Abbondio, who is supposed to wed Renzo and Lucia but is easily dissuaded under pressure from Don Rodrigo, the Nun of Monza whose life in a convent is not the one she would have chosen, and the ‘Nameless One', a thug straight out of a Mafia playbook. It's a novel with many twists and turns, and at times even the author admits that he may be giving his readers too much detail. But as John finds, there's good reason to stick with the story and enjoy a novel which every Italian is likely to have encountered at school. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for thirty years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatized on BBC Radio 4. From EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters - his students have had 17 green-lights in the last two years alone. Contributors: Tim Parks, Author of A Literary Tour of Italy Eileen Horne, Adapter Reader: Marco Gambino The Betrothed by Alessandro Manzoni, translated by Michael F. Moore, The Modern Library New York The Betrothed by Alessandro Manzoni, translated by Bruce Penman, Penguin Classics Produced by Mark Rickards Executive Producer: Sara Davies Sound by Charlie Brandon-KIng Researcher: Nina Semple Production Manager: Sarah Wright A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke explores the Italian 19th century classic novel The Betrothed. The series that takes a look at books, plays and stories and how they work. John Yorke explores the classic Italian novel The Betrothed. | |||
| The Betrothed, Episode 2 | 20231112 | John Yorke explores a work that every Italian will know - I Promessi Sposi by Alessandro Manzoni, known in English as The Betrothed. In this the second of two episodes, John looks at the context for the story told by Manzoni in The Betrothed. Written in the early 19th century, and set in the 17th century, at a time before Italy became a unified country, Manzoni deliberately used a historical period to comment on the political situation of his time. When he was writing, the Italian peninsula was under Austrian rule, and to criticise those in charge meant a likely jail sentence. So he wrote about a time when the rulers were Spanish, with obvious parallels. The novel deals with the issues of war, failures of leadership, conflict between classes, social unrest, religion, and gives a vivid description of a plague which devastated the population. It's a novel which had resonance for readers in the 19th century when it was first published and, as John discovers, also for contemporary readers today. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for thirty years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatized on BBC Radio 4. From EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters - his students have had 17 green-lights in the last two years alone. Contributors: Tim Parks Author of A Literary Tour of Italy Eileen Horne, Adapter Reader: Marco Gambino The Betrothed by Alessandro Manzoni, translated by Michael F. Moore, The Modern Library New York The Betrothed by Alessandro Manzoni, translated by Bruce Penman, Penguin Classics Produced by Mark Rickards Executive Producer: Sara Davies Sound by Charlie Brandon-KIng Researcher: Nina Semple Production Manager: Sarah Wright A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke explores the Italian 19th century classic novel The Betrothed. Dr. Francesca Benatti, Research Fellow in Digital Humanities, Open University The series that takes a look at books, plays and stories and how they work. John Yorke explores the classic Italian novel The Betrothed | |||
| The Bronze Horseman | 20230219 | 20251123 (R4) | John Yorke explores the way the celebrated 19th century writer Alexander Pushkin's 400-line narrative poem, The Bronze Horseman, gives us an astonishing image of the unequal relationship between ruler and ruled. This ground breaking poem, which is one of the great landmarks of Russian literature, shows us how the empire building passion of one ruler, the tsar Peter the Great, with his grand design to create the city of St Petersburg in spite of its situation on marshy and inhospitable land, can be seen to lead to tragic consequences for one particular individual, a hundred years later. We learn how the story becomes mythic when this man, a lowly clerk, descends into madness after losing his beloved to the flood that descends on the city, and then confronts the statue of the tsar. The statue then comes to life and chases the clerk to his death. Pushkin's poem changed literature and narrative forever by introducing the idea of this ‘little man' who embodies us all, and who Is single handedly taking on the legacy of history. It's also clear to see that the poem speaks to us as forcefully now as it did to its contemporary readers. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for nearly thirty years, and shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact behind the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday/Saturday Drama Series. From EastEnders to the Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy, John has trained a generation of screenwriters - his students have had 17 green lights in the last two years alone. Contributors: Masha Karp, translator, author and broadcaster. Alexandra Smith, reader in Russian studies, University of Edinburgh Andrew Kahn, professor of Russian literature, St Edmund Hall, the University of Oxford. Credits: A Poet's Library - Biblioteka Poeta (Set of 3 Volumes) Alexander Pushkin Poems - Volume 2 (Leningrad: Sovetsky Pisatel 1954) Selected Poetry by Alexander Pushkin, Translated by Antony Wood, Penguin Classics, 2020 Producer: Penny Boreham Executive Producer: Sara Davies Researcher: Nina Semple Sound: Iain Hunter from Iain Hunter Sound Design. A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds John Yorke looks at Alexander Pushkin's celebrated narrative poem, The Bronze Horseman. In the series about books, plays and stories and how they work, John Yorke explores the subversive ideas fundamental to Alexander Pushkin's narrative poem, The Bronze Horseman. | ||
| The Castle Of Otranto | 20251026 | When Horace Walpole published The Castle of Otranto in 1764, novels as a form were still in their infancy. Many tended to be long-winded works, instructing readers on how to live a moral life. With this short and fast-paced rollercoaster of a book, Walpole blew that idea out of the water, introducing his audience to a completely new kind of fiction, featuring supernatural happenings, suspense, and a young woman fleeing an evil villain down a dark corridor with a candle that blows out at the vital moment - all the elements of what we now call Gothic fiction. Prompting both a moral panic and a rush on sales, The Castle of Otranto would prove inspirational to many future writers, including Mary Shelley who wrote Frankenstein and Jane Austen who would both parody and celebrate the Gothic in her novel Northanger Abbey. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years and shares his experience as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. As creator of the BBC Writers Academy, he's trained a generation of screenwriters - now with over 70 green lights and thousands of hours of television to their names. He is the author of Into the Woods, the bestselling book on narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of narrative - including many podcasts for R4. Contributor: Emma Clery, Professor of English Literature at the Uppsala University, Sweden. Editor of The Castle of Otranto (1996), and author of The Rise of Supernatural Fiction, 1762 -1800 Reader: Paul Dodgson Production Hub Coordinator: Nina Semple Researcher: Henry Tydeman Sound: Iain Hunter Producer: Kate McAll Executive Producer: Sara Davies A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke takes a look at The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole. The series that looks at books, plays and stories and how they work. John Yorke explores The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole, the novel that popularised Gothic fiction. | |||
| The Cherry Orchard - 1 | 20250914 | John Yorke looks at The Cherry Orchard, Anton Chekhov's final play and a landmark in 20th century theatre. It's 1903 and Liubov Andryeevna Ranyevskaya is returning to the family estate in southern Russia. As the head of this aristocratic household, she faces a crisis. The family is in serious financial difficulty and it seems inevitable that the estate will have to be sold to pay their debts. A local businessman, Lopakhin, offers a solution, but it would mean the loss of their beloved cherry orchard. In this first of two episodes, the focus is on these two main protagonists, who embody the tensions between the old aristocracy and the emerging merchant class, and the student Trofimov whose revolutionary ideas point prophetically towards the path that Russia was soon to take. John has worked in television and radio for 30 years, and shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. As creator of the BBC Writers Academy he's trained a generation of screenwriters - now with over 70 green lights and thousands of hours of television to their names. He is the author of Into the Woods, the bestselling book on narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of narrative, including many podcasts for R4. Contributors: Benedict Andrews, director of an acclaimed production of The Cherry Orchard at the Donmar Warehouse in London in 2024 Rosamund Bartlett, a cultural historian with expertise in Russian literature, music and art. Her books include Chekhov: Scenes from a Life and she has also translated and edited selections of his stories and letters. Excerpt taken from the BBC Radio 3/Palimpsest production of The Cherry Orchard, directed by Toby Swift, with Neil Dudgeon as Lopakhin and Saffron Coomber as Dunyasha. It was first broadcast on Radio 3 on 18th November 2018. Music: Torquil MacLeod Sound: Sean Kerwin Researcher: Henry Tydeman Production Hub Coordinator: Nina Semple Producer: Torquil MacLeod Executive Producer: Sara Davies A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke takes a look at Anton Chekhov's final and most radical play. The series that looks at books, plays and stories and how they work. John Yorke analyses what makes The Cherry Orchard a theatrical landmark. | |||
| The Cherry Orchard - 2 | 20250914 | 20250921 (R4) | John Yorke looks at The Cherry Orchard, Anton Chekhov's final play and a landmark in 20th century theatre. It's 1903 and Liubov Andryeevna Ranyevskaya has returned to the family estate in southern Russia. As the head of this aristocratic household she faces a dilemma. The family is in serious financial difficulty and they have the choice of either selling the entire estate, or accepting the proposal of local businessman, Lopakhin, to cut down their beloved cherry orchard to make way for holiday homes and use the money to pay their debts. In the second of two episodes, John looks at how Chekhov's use of ambiguity, his skilful combination of comic and tragic elements, and his rejection of naturalism represent a departure from his previous work and were to prove so influential in the development of 20th century theatre. John has worked in television and radio for 30 years, and shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. As creator of the BBC Writers Academy he's trained a generation of screenwriters - now with over 70 green lights and thousands of hours of television to their names. He is the author of Into the Woods, the bestselling book on narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of narrative, including many podcasts for Radio 4. Contributors: Simon Russell Beale, whose long and distinguished acting career has seen him play many roles, including his performance as Lopakhin in a 2009 production of The Cherry Orchard at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. He also won an Olivier Award for his performance as Uncle Vanya in 2003. Rosamund Bartlett, a cultural historian with expertise in Russian literature, music, and art. Her books include Chekhov: Scenes from a Life and she has also translated and edited selections of his stories and letters. Benedict Andrews, director of an acclaimed production of The Cherry Orchard at the Donmar Warehouse in London in 2024. Reader: Torquil MacLeod Closing music: Torquil MacLeod Sound: Sean Kerwin Researcher: Henry Tydeman Production Hub Coordinator: Nina Semple Producer: Torquil MacLeod Executive Producer: Sara Davies A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke takes a look at Anton Chekhov's final and most radical play. The series that looks at books, plays and stories and how they work. John Yorke analyses what makes The Cherry Orchard a theatrical landmark. | ||
| The Cherry Orchard - 2 | 20250921 | John Yorke looks at The Cherry Orchard, Anton Chekhov's final play and a landmark in 20th century theatre. It's 1903 and Liubov Andryeevna Ranyevskaya has returned to the family estate in southern Russia. As the head of this aristocratic household she faces a dilemma. The family is in serious financial difficulty and they have the choice of either selling the entire estate, or accepting the proposal of local businessman, Lopakhin, to cut down their beloved cherry orchard to make way for holiday homes and use the money to pay their debts. In the second of two episodes, John looks at how Chekhov's use of ambiguity, his skilful combination of comic and tragic elements, and his rejection of naturalism represent a departure from his previous work and were to prove so influential in the development of 20th century theatre. John has worked in television and radio for 30 years, and shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. As creator of the BBC Writers Academy he's trained a generation of screenwriters - now with over 70 green lights and thousands of hours of television to their names. He is the author of Into the Woods, the bestselling book on narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of narrative, including many podcasts for Radio 4. Contributors: Simon Russell Beale, whose long and distinguished acting career has seen him play many roles, including his performance as Lopakhin in a 2009 production of The Cherry Orchard at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. He also won an Olivier Award for his performance as Uncle Vanya in 2003. Rosamund Bartlett, a cultural historian with expertise in Russian literature, music, and art. Her books include Chekhov: Scenes from a Life and she has also translated and edited selections of his stories and letters. Benedict Andrews, director of an acclaimed production of The Cherry Orchard at the Donmar Warehouse in London in 2024. Reader: Torquil MacLeod Closing music: Torquil MacLeod Sound: Sean Kerwin Researcher: Henry Tydeman Production Hub Coordinator: Nina Semple Producer: Torquil MacLeod Executive Producer: Sara Davies A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke takes a look at Anton Chekhov's final and most radical play. The series that looks at books, plays and stories and how they work. John Yorke analyses what makes The Cherry Orchard a theatrical landmark. | |||
| The Girl Of The Sea Of Cortez | 20241208 | John Yorke looks at Peter Benchley's environmentally themed novel The Girl of the Sea of Cortez. Peter Benchley is best known for his debut novel Jaws which become a huge global bestseller when it was published in 1974 and was further seared into the public consciousness by Steven Spielberg's film adaptation the following year. His next two novels – The Deep and The Island – were also thrillers set at sea. However, Benchley's attitude to the oceans and the creatures that live in them underwent a transformation in this period due to the diving trips he'd started going on. He became acutely aware of the fragility of marine environments and how human activity was endangering them. When The Girl of the Sea of Cortez was published in 1982, it was a significant departure from his previous work, clearly informed by his growing environmental awareness. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years and shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. As creator of the BBC Writers Academy, he's trained a generation of screenwriters - now with over 70 green lights and thousands of hours of television to their names. He is the author of Into the Woods, the bestselling book on narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of narrative - including many podcasts for R4. Contributor: Anita Sullivan, playwright who has adapted The Girl of the Sea of Cortez for Radio 4 Readings from The Girl of the Sea of Cortez by Peter Benchley (Ballantine Books, 2013) Peter Benchley interview from the archives of the LBJ Presidential Library, University of Texas at Austin Reader: Torquil MacLeod Production Hub Coordinator: Nina Semple Sound: Sean Kerwin Producer: Torquil MacLeod Executive Producer: Sara Davies A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke takes a look at Peter Benchley's novel The Girl of the Sea of Cortez. The series that looks at books, plays and stories and how they work. John Yorke dives into the undersea world of Peter Benchley's novel The Girl of the Sea of Cortez. | |||
| The Girls Of Slender Means | 20250629 | John Yorke takes a look at The Girls of Slender Means by Muriel Spark. Published in 1963, two years after the success of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, it's set in the summer of 1945. A group of young women live, love and lodge together in the shabby but respectable May of Teck Club in the months between VE Day and the ending of the war 99 days later with the final victory in Japan. It's a riveting yet disconcerting read - simple, yet knotty and complex, and it's not at all about what it seems. With contributions from the writer AL Kennedy, John explores the pleasures of this short yet wonderfully satisfying novella. John has worked in television and radio for 30 years and shares his experience as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless.  As creator of the BBC Writers Academy, he's trained a generation of screenwriters - now with over 70 green lights and thousands of hours of television to their names.  He is the author of Into the Woods, the bestselling book on narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of narrative - including many podcasts for R4. Contributor: A.L. Kennedy Reader: Ruth Sillers Producer: Laura Grimshaw Executive Producer: Sara Davies Sound: Sean Kerwin Researcher: Henry Tydeman Production Hub Co-ordinator: Nina Semple A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 The series that looks at books, plays and stories and how they work. John Yorke takes a look at The Girls of Slender Means by Muriel Spark, her seventh novel. | |||
| The Greatest Gift | 20231224 | John Yorke looks at the short story The Greatest Gift by Philip Van Doren Stern. It's Christmas Eve and George Pratt is contemplating suicide when a stranger appears almost by magic, and grants George a wish, that he'd never been born. When Stern wrote the story in 1943, he could find no one who wanted to publish it so he sent it out to friends as a Christmas card. One of those cards found its way to Frank Capra, one of the great film directors of the 1940s, and became a film that now defines Christmas for many people. John shares a lifetime of experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the secrets behind the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. He has been working in television and radio for nearly 30 years. From EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters. Contributors: Award winning writer Lucy Caldwell, former winner of the BBC Short Story Award, and winner of the 2023 Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction for her novel, These Days. Readings by Eric Stroud Credits: The Greatest Gift by Philip Van Doren Stern, published by Transworld Digital. The Name Above the Title, An Autobiography by Frank Capra, published by Da Capo Press. It's A Wonderful Life Started as the By-Product of A Shave by Philip Van Doren Stern, New York Herald Tribune, December 15th, 1946. Marguerite Stern Robinson: YouTube Produced by Caroline Raphael Executive Producer: Sara Davies Production Manager: Sarah Wright Researcher: Nina Semple Sound by Shane O'Byrne A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke takes a look at Philip Van Doren Stern's short story, The Greatest Gift. The series that looks at books, plays and stories and how they work. John Yorke explores the extraordinary legacy of Philip Van Doren Stern's short story, The Greatest Gift. | |||
| The History Of Mr Polly | 20250126 | Ian Sansom, sitting in for John Yorke, takes a look at The History of Mr Polly, the satirical novel by H G WELLS. Published in 1910, it tells a story of one man's comic, sometimes poignant, struggle to find his place in the world. Mr Polly is an ordinary man, with an irrepressible longing for the extraordinary; a man caught in a frustratingly mundane world who finally and magnificently rebels against it. The dreamer mired in the mundane world of a draper's shop has become a classic, much-loved figure, and Ian Sansom explores his timeless appeal. Ian is a novelist, journalist and broadcaster. He is the author of more than 20 books, including the Mobile Library and the County Guides series of detective novels and his work has been translated into more than a dozen languages. He has worked as a columnist for the Guardian and the Spectator and currently writes for the TLS, the Irish Times and the Dublin Review. He is a regular broadcaster on BBC Radio 4 and Radio 3. He was formerly the Director of the Oscar Wilde Centre at Trinity College Dublin and a Professor and Head of English at Queen's University Belfast. Contributors: Dr Caroline Sumpter Senior Lecturer in Victorian Literature at Queen's University, Belfast Stephen Mangan, actor, who narrates the Radio 4 adaptation of The History of Mr. Polly Producer: Laura Grimshaw Executive Producer: Sara Davies Reader: Stephen Mangan Programme Hub Co-ordinator: Nina Semple Sound: Sean Kerwin A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 Ian Sansom takes a look at The History of Mr Polly, the satirical novel by H G WELLS. In the series that looks at how stories work, Ian Sansom explores The History of Mr Polly, H G WELLS's comic novel about a man's struggle to find his place in the world. Ian Sansom, sitting in for John Yorke, takes a look at The History of Mr Polly, the satirical novel by H G Wells. Published in 1910, it tells a story of one man's comic, sometimes poignant struggle to find his place in the world. Mr Polly is an ordinary man, with an irrepressible longing for the extraordinary - a man caught in a frustratingly mundane world who finally and magnificently rebels against it. The dreamer mired in the mundane world of a draper's shop has become a classic, much-loved figure, and Ian explores his timeless appeal. Ian Sansom is a novelist, journalist and broadcaster. He is the author of more than 20 books, including the Mobile Library and the County Guides series of detective novels and his work has been translated into more than a dozen languages. He has worked as a columnist for The Guardian and The Spectator and currently writes for the TLS, The Irish Times and The Dublin Review. He is a regular broadcaster on BBC Radio 4 and Radio 3. He was formerly the Director of the Oscar Wilde Centre at Trinity College Dublin and a Professor and Head of English at Queen's University Belfast. Ian Sansom takes a look at The History of Mr Polly, the satirical novel by H G Wells. The series that looks at how stories work. Ian Sansom explores The History of Mr Polly, H G Wells's comic novel about a man's struggle to find his place in the world. | |||
| The Last Of The Mohicans - 1 | 20251228 | 20260105 (R4) | Published in 1826, the American writer James Fenimore Cooper's novel The Last of the Mohicans is set during the French and Indian War, in 1750s North America. The story follows a group of British colonists trying to cross frontier land – and examines the complexity of the relationship that existed between the colonialists and the land they were - in essence stealing – the native American's. The book, which has been adapted widely for film and TV, mixes fiction with real historical events and has received both huge praise, as one of the foundation stones of American literature, and substantial criticism, for perpetrating a false narrative about the fate of indigenous American people. In the first of two episodes, John Yorke asks how Cooper came to write The Last of the Mohicans, why was it successful and what we should we make of it today. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years and shares his experience as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. As creator of the BBC Writers Academy, he's trained a generation of screenwriters - now with over 70 green lights and thousands of hours of television to their names. He is the author of Into the Woods, the bestselling book on narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of narrative - including many podcasts for Radio 4. Contributors: Jordan Abel, Nisga'a writer and academic. Richard Slotkin, American Cultural Historian. Credits: Readings by Eric Stroud Excerpts from The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper, 1826. Researcher: Henry Tydeman Sound: Sean Kerwin Producer: Jack Soper Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael Production Hub Coordinator: Dawn Williams A Pier Production for BBC Radio 4 & BBC Sounds John Yorke looks The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper. The series that looks at books, plays and stories and how they work. John Yorke explores James Fenimore Cooper's 1826 novel The Last of the Mohicans. | ||
| The Last Of The Mohicans - 2 | 20260104 | 20260112 (R4) | In this second episode, John Yorke assesses the criticism levelled against James Fenimore Cooper's 1826 novel The Last of the Mohicans - primarily that it is responsible for the widely held, inaccurate, view that indigenous Americans were inevitably disappearing during the period the novel is set, and that that false narrative was used to justify colonisation. Also, John delves deeper into the author's background to understand his influences, and asks what we should make of The Last of the Mohicans today. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years and shares his experience as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. As creator of the BBC Writers Academy, he's trained a generation of screenwriters - now with over 70 green lights and thousands of hours of television to their names. He is the author of Into the Woods, the bestselling book on narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of narrative - including many podcasts for Radio 4. Contributors: Jordan Abel, Nisga'a writer and academic. Richard Slotkin, American Cultural Historian. Credits: Readings by Eric Stroud Excerpts from The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper, 1826. Excerpt from Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offenses, by Mark Tawain, 1895. Film clip from The Last of the Mohicans, 1992 Morgan Creek Entertainment / Twentieth Century Fox. Excerpt from Empty Spaces by Jordan Abel, 2023, read by the author. Researcher: Henry Tydeman Sound: Sean Kerwin Producer: Jack Soper Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael Production Hub Coordinator: Dawn Williams A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds John Yorke on James Fenimore Cooper's The Last of the Mohicans. The series that looks at books, plays and stories and how they work. John Yorke explores James Fenimore Cooper's 1826 novel The Last of the Mohicans. | ||
| The Lay Of The Land | 20241124 | The Lay of the Land, by the American novelist Richard Ford, is the third of what became a series of five books about Frank Bascombe. Now in his mid-50s, Frank has left sports writing behind and works in real estate in coastal New Jersey. But life is not settled - Frank is in remission from cancer and, previously divorced, his new marriage is facing problems of its own and relations with his grown-up children are under strain. Also, the dispute over the result of the US presidential election, between George W. Bush and Al Gore, lingers in the background. John Yorke asks if Richard Ford achieves what he sets out to in this book - not only to continue Frank's story, but to do something bigger than he's done before, to reflect on America in the early 2000s – a country and culture that was about to change forever. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years and shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless.  As creator of the BBC Writers Academy, he's trained a generation of screenwriters - now with over 70 green lights and thousands of hours of television to their names.  He is the author of Into the Woods, the bestselling book on narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of narrative - including many podcasts for R4. Contributor: Ian McGuire, Professor of American Literature and Creative Writing at the University of Manchester. He is the author of three novels, Incredible Bodies (2006), The North Water (2016) and The Abstainer (2020), and one critical monograph, Richard Ford and the Ends of Realism (2015). Credits: Excerpts from The Lay of the Land by Richard Ford, 2006. Interview clips of Richard Ford from the BBC radio archive. Reader: Eric Stroud Production Hub Coordinator: Nina Semple Sound: Sean Kerwin Producer: Jack Soper Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke looks at The Lay of the Land by Richard Ford. John Yorke considers Richard Ford's The Lay of the Land, the American novelist's third Frank Bascombe book, set over Thanksgiving weekend in the year 2000. | |||
| The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow | 20260125 | 20260126 (R4) | The headless horseman who haunts Sleepy Hollow in Washington Irving's ghost story has become an iconic figure in American popular culture, thanks to many film and TV adaptations, ranging from a 1922 silent movie to an episode of Scooby Doo. John Yorke looks at how this deceptively simple tale made Irving an overnight literary superstar when it was published in an 1820 collection of short stories that also included Rip van Winkle, and why it was so influential on the work of the next generation of American writers including Herman Melville and Mark Twain. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for over 30 years and shares his experience as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. He created the BBC Writers Academy and trained a generation of screenwriters - now with thousands of hours of television to their names. His acclaimed books Into the Woods and Trip to the Moon explore the structure and power of narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of storytelling, including many podcasts for R4. Elizabeth Bradley has edited two Penguin Classic editions of Washington Irving's work and is Vice President of Programs and Engagement at Historic Hudson Valley. Brian Jay Jones is the author of Washington Irving: An American Original and several other best-selling biographies. Reader: Riley Neldam Music: Torquil MacLeod Researcher: Henry Tydeman Production Hub Coordinator: Dawn Williams Sound: Sean Kerwin Producer: Torquil MacLeod Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke takes a look at Washington Irving's classic ghost story. The series that looks at books, plays and stories and how they work. John Yorke reveals how Washington Irving's classic ghost story became a landmark of American culture. | ||
| The Mahabharata - 1 | 20231015 | 20250706 (R4) | Originally composed about 2000 years ago, the Mahabharata is one of the world's greatest pieces of storytelling, as well as a foundational Hindu text. Woven through its central account of a great dynastic family conflict and bloody war is the story of the gods and their relationship to humankind, as well as spiritual, philosophical and practical instruction about how to live one's life in the best possible way. In the first of two episodes about the this epic poem, John looks at how the central story of the conflict between two branches of the great Bharata family gives the work its extraordinary and gripping dramatic impact. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for nearly 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised on BBC Radio 4. From EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters. Credits: The Mahabharata, abridged and translated by John D. Smith (Penguin Classics 2009) Mahabharata, A Modern Retelling by Carole Satyamurti (W.W.Norton & Co. 2015) Contributors: Dr Arti Dhand, Department of Religious Studies, University of Toronto https://www.themahabharatapodcast.com Jatinder Verma, founder of Tara Arts, theatre director and Director of Mahabharata Now, BBC Radio 4 Readers: Nadir Khan: Mumbai-based actor and director, co-producer of Mahabharata Now, BBC Radio 4 Shernaz Patel, Mumbai-based film, TV and theatre actor, Gita in Mahabharata Now, BBC Radio 4 Producers: Sara Davies and Tolly Robinson Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael Researcher: Nina Semple Production Manager: Sarah Wright Sound Engineer: Sean Kerwin A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke looks at the Hindu story that is one of the world's greatest epics. John Yorke explores the great Hindu epic that is one of the world's most significant works of storytelling and religious teaching. | ||
| The Mahabharata - 2 | 20231022 | 20250713 (R4) | Originally composed about 2000 years ago, the Mahabharata is one of the world's greatest pieces of storytelling, as well as a foundational Hindu text. Woven through its central account of a great dynastic family conflict and bloody war is the story of the gods and their relationship to humankind, as well as spiritual, philosophical and practical instruction about how to live one's life in the best possible way. In the second of two episodes about the Mahabharata, John asks why and how this 2000 year-old epic still resonates so strongly, what makes it such rich territory for modern re-tellings, and looks at some of its universal themes. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for nearly 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised on BBC Radio 4. From EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters. Credits: Mahabharata, A Modern Retelling by Carole Satyamurti (W.W.Norton & Co. 2015) The Mahabharata, abridged and translated by John D. Smith (Penguin Classics 2009) Contributors: Dr Arti Dhand, Department of Religious Studies, University of Toronto https://www.themahabharatapodcast.com Jatinder Verma, founder of Tara Arts, theatre director and Director of Mahabharata Now, BBC Radio 4 Readers: Nadir Khan: Mumbai-based actor and director, producer of Mahabharata Now, BBC Radio 4 Shernaz Patel, Mumbai-based film and theatre actor, Gita in Mahabharata Now, BBC Radio 4 Producers: Sara Davies & Tolly Robinson Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael Researcher: Nina Semple Production Manager: Sarah Wright Sound Engineer and designer: Sean Kerwin A Pier production for BBC Radio 4. John Yorke looks at the Hindu story that is one of the world's greatest epics. John Yorke explores the great Hindu epic that is one of the world's most significant works of storytelling and religious teaching. | ||
| The Mahabharata, Episode 1 | 20231015 | Originally composed about 2000 years ago, the Mahabharata is one of the world's greatest pieces of storytelling, as well as a foundational Hindu text. Woven through its central account of a great dynastic family conflict and bloody war is the story of the gods and their relationship to humankind, as well as spiritual, philosophical and practical instruction about how to live one's life in the best possible way. In the first of two episodes about the this epic poem, John looks at how the central story of the conflict between two branches of the great Bharata family gives the work its extraordinary and gripping dramatic impact. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for nearly 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised on BBC Radio 4. From EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters. Credits: The Mahabharata, abridged and translated by John D. Smith (Penguin Classics 2009) Mahabharata, A Modern Retelling by Carole Satyamurti (W.W.Norton & Co. 2015) Contributors: Dr Arti Dhand, Department of Religious Studies, University of Toronto https://www.themahabharatapodcast.com Jatinder Verma, founder of Tara Arts, theatre director and Director of Mahabharata Now, BBC Radio 4 Readers: Nadir Khan: Mumbai-based actor and director, co-producer of Mahabharata Now, BBC Radio 4 Shernaz Patel, Mumbai-based film, TV and theatre actor, Gita in Mahabharata Now, BBC Radio 4 Producers: Sara Davies and Tolly Robinson Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael Researcher: Nina Semple Production Manager: Sarah Wright Sound Engineer: Sean Kerwin A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke looks at the Hindu story that is one of the world's greatest epics. John Yorke explores the great Hindu epic that is one of the world's most significant works of storytelling and religious teaching. | |||
| The Mahabharata, Episode 2 | 20231022 | Originally composed about 2000 years ago, the Mahabharata is one of the world's greatest pieces of storytelling, as well as a foundational Hindu text. Woven through its central account of a great dynastic family conflict and bloody war is the story of the gods and their relationship to humankind, as well as spiritual, philosophical and practical instruction about how to live one's life in the best possible way. In the second of two episodes about the Mahabharata, John asks why and how this 2000 year-old epic still resonates so strongly, what makes it such rich territory for modern re-tellings, and looks at some of its universal themes. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for nearly 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised on BBC Radio 4. From EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters. Credits: Mahabharata, A Modern Retelling by Carole Satyamurti (W.W.Norton & Co. 2015) The Mahabharata, abridged and translated by John D. Smith (Penguin Classics 2009) Contributors: Dr Arti Dhand, Department of Religious Studies, University of Toronto https://www.themahabharatapodcast.com Jatinder Verma, founder of Tara Arts, theatre director and Director of Mahabharata Now, BBC Radio 4 Readers: Nadir Khan: Mumbai-based actor and director, producer of Mahabharata Now, BBC Radio 4 Shernaz Patel, Mumbai-based film and theatre actor, Gita in Mahabharata Now, BBC Radio 4 Producers: Sara Davies & Tolly Robinson Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael Researcher: Nina Semple Production Manager: Sarah Wright Sound Engineer and designer: Sean Kerwin A Pier production for BBC Radio 4. John Yorke looks at the Hindu story that is one of the world's greatest epics. John Yorke explores the great Hindu epic that is one of the world's most significant works of storytelling and religious teaching. | |||
| The Man Who Fell To Earth | 20240512 | The Man Who Fell to Earth by American writer Walter Tevis was published in 1963. Unlike most sci-fi of its time, it's not about space, far-off galaxies or a distant future, but set only a decade or so from the time of writing. When an inhabitant of the planet Anthea comes to Earth in search of the resources to save his world, he uses his knowledge of advanced technology to amass the fortune he needs to save his people from extinction. As Thomas Jerome Newton's secret project takes shape at a site in rural Kentucky, this extra-terrestrial visitor becomes an all-too-human and troubled figure. John looks at how deeply the story is lodged in Walter Tevis' own experience and that of post-war America. He also asks what it is about Tevis' writing that has made this book, along with his others including The Hustler, The Color of Money and The Queen's Gambit, so appealing to the film and television industry. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatized in BBC Radio 4's Sunday/Saturday Drama series. From EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy, John has trained a generation of screenwriters. Contributor: Professor Farah Mendlesohn is the author of several books about science fiction and fantasy literature, including Rhetorics of Fantasy (2008), Children's Fantasy Literature (co-authored, 2016) and The Pleasant Profession of Robert A Heinlein (2019). She has been nominated six times for the Hugo Award for Best Related Work, which she won in 2005 with The Cambridge Companion to Science Fiction (edited with Edward James) Walter Tevis audio from an interview with Don Swaim, Ohio University, 1984 Readings by Riley Neldam from The Man Who Fell to Earth (Gollancz 1963) Producers: Tolly Robinson and Sara Davies Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael Sound: Sean Kerwin Researcher: Nina Semple Production Manager: Sarah Wright A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke explores Walter Tevis's 1963 novel The Man Who Fell to Earth. The series that explores how books and stories work. John Yorke looks at what makes Walter Tevis' The Man Who Fell to Earth stand out from other science fiction of its time. | |||
| The Manxman | 20231119 | John Yorke looks at The Manxman by the Sir Thomas Hall Caine, a love story set on the Isle of Man. The novel broke sales records and changed the book industry forever when it was published in 1894. Hall Caine was globally famous, hugely successful, adored by readers and feted by royalty. The story was adapted for film by Alfred Hitchcock, translated into 12 languages and performed on stage. Yet today, The Manxman and Hall Caine are almost completely forgotten. John looks at this hugely successful Victorian melodrama, to discover a curiously powerful story, set in a location rarely found in literature, that has plenty of resonance for audiences today. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for nearly 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised on BBC Radio 4. From EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters. Contributors: Mary Hammond, professor of English and Book History at the University of Southampton. Catherine Harvey, writer, actor, and broadcaster, who adapted The Manxman for BBC Radio 4. Readings by Stephen Bent. Excerpts from The Manxman by Hall Caine, 1894. Excerpt from My Story by Hall Caine, 1908. Excerpt from The Manxman - Manx Life and Manxland, by T.E. Brown, 1894. Researcher: Nina Semple Sound: Sean Kerwin Producer: Jack Soper Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael Production Manager: Sarah Wright A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke looks at The Manxman by Sir Thomas Hall Caine. John Yorke looks at Sir Thomas Hall Caine's hugely successful 1894 novel The Manxman, a love story set on the Isle of Man, that is now almost completely forgotten. | |||
| The Plague | 20250119 | John Yorke looks at Albert Camus' classic, The Plague. Published in 1947 it's often thought to be an allegory for the Nazi occupation of Paris where Camus was living during the war. But the huge rise in its popularity during the pandemic speaks to the book's enduring appeal. A seemingly simple narrative is actually a complex and layered exploration of how man responds to tragedy and finds meaning in an essentially meaningless world. Professor Andrew Hussey and Dr Raj Persaud contribute their thoughts on how the book inspires them professionally and personally. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years and shares his experience as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless.  As creator of the BBC Writers Academy, he's trained a generation of screenwriters - now with over 70 green lights and thousands of hours of television to their names.  He is the author of Into the Woods, the bestselling book on narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of narrative - including many podcasts for R4. Contributors: Andrew Hussey OBE, Writer and Professor of Cultural History, University of London Dr Raj Persaud, Consultant Psychiatrist, author and broadcaster Producer: Alison Vernon-Smith Executive Producer: Sara Davies Reader: Matthew Gravelle Sound: Sean Kerwin Production Hub Coordinator: Nina Semple A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke on Albert Camus and his exploration of the absurd in The Plague. John Yorke on Albert Camus' absurdist classic The Plague. With writer Andrew Hussey and Dr Raj Persaud. | |||
| The Princess Bride | 20251130 | According to its introduction, The Princess Bride is a long, sprawling book by the great Florinese writer S. Morgenstern that renowned screenwriter and novelist William Goldman has been obliged to abridge so that his son doesn't have to struggle through all the boring bits. But as John Yorke reveals, all is not as it seems in this metafictional novel from 1973 that Goldman himself went on to adapt into a screenplay for a much-loved film. The Princess Bride may ostensibly be a fairy story, but there's a lot more going on beneath the surface. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years and shares his experience as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. As creator of the BBC Writers Academy, he's trained a generation of screenwriters - now with over 70 green lights and thousands of hours of television to their names. He is the author of Into the Woods, the bestselling book on narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of narrative - including many podcasts for R4. Natalie Haynes is a classicist, broadcaster and author of books including A Thousand Ships and Stone Blind. Stephen Keyworth is a writer and director who has adapted two of William Goldman's novels – The Princess Bride and Marathon Man – for Radio 4. Interview with William Goldman, BBC Radio 3 Third Ear, March 1988 Reader: Riley Neldam Music: Torquil MacLeod Researcher: Henry Tydeman Production Hub Coordinator: Dawn Williams Sound: Sean Kerwin Producer: Torquil MacLeod Executive Producer: Sara Davies A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke takes a look at William Goldman's metafictional fairytale. The series that looks at books, plays and stories and how they work. John Yorke unpeels the metafictional layers of William Goldman's fairytale for adults. | |||
| The Raiders - 1 | 20240526 | In the series that takes a look at books, plays and stories and how they work, John Yorke explores S R Crockett's forgotten bestseller, a swashbuckling adventure story set in his native Galloway in south west Scotland. Written in 1894, Crockett's novel is part romance, part action thriller, and part historical fiction. The action takes place in 1715, during the reign of George I, a time when Galloway was awash with pirates, smugglers, cattle rustlers, gypsies and bandits. John suggests it was the Mission Impossible, if not the Fast and Furious, of its day. In this first episode, John considers how Crockett's engaging, humorous, pacy style of writing drives the adventure on, and the appeal of his unusually feisty female characters. John is joined by Cally Phillips, the founder of the Galloway Raiders website, the home of all things Crockett, and Clara Glynn who has adapted The Raiders for BBC Radio 4. Together they discover that, beneath the fast-paced action, Crockett is shining a light on bigger issues - how a young man tests his mettle, the meaning of leadership and how it is possible to life a moral life outside the law. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. From EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters. Contributors: Cally Phillips, founder of The Galloway Raiders website Clara Glynn, adapter of The Raiders for BBC Radio 4 Reading by Kyle Gardiner The Raiders by S R Crockett, from The Galloway Raiders website https://www.gallowayraiders.co.uk/ Produced by Jane Greenwood Executive Producer: Sara Davies Sound by Sean Kerwin Researcher: Nina Semple Production Manager: Sarah Wright A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke explores The Raiders, a forgotten Scottish bestseller. The series that takes a look at books, plays and stories and how they work. John Yorke explores S R Crockett's forgotten bestseller, a swashbuckling Scottish adventure story. | |||
| The Raiders - 2 | 20240602 | In the series that takes a look at books, plays and stories and how they work, John Yorke explores S R Crockett's forgotten bestseller, a swashbuckling adventure story set in his native Galloway in south west Scotland. Written in 1894, The Raiders is part romance, part action thriller, and part historical fiction. The action takes place in 1715, during the reign of George I, a time when Galloway was awash with pirates, smugglers, cattle rustlers, gypsies and bandits. John suggests it was the Mission Impossible, if not the Fast and Furious, of its day. In this second episode, John considers Crockett's writing career, and tries to find out why an author who was on the bestseller lists for a decade at the turn of the 20th Century has almost completely disappeared from view. John is joined by Cally Phillips, the founder of the Galloway Raiders website, the home of all things Crockett, and Clara Glynn who has adapted The Raiders for BBC Radio 4. Together they explore how the history of early 18th Century Scotland informs the novel, and how Crockett fits into the wider tradition of Scottish adventure writing. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. From EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy, John has trained a generation of screenwriters. Contributors: Cally Phillips, founder of The Galloway Raiders website Clara Glynn, adapter of The Raiders for BBC Radio 4 Reading by Kyle Gardiner The Raiders by S R Crockett, from The Galloway Raiders website https://www.gallowayraiders.co.uk/ Produced by Jane Greenwood Executive Producer: Sara Davies Sound by Sean Kerwin Researcher: Nina Semple Production Manager: Sarah Wright A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke explores The Raiders, a forgotten Scottish bestseller. The series that takes a look at books, plays and stories and how they work. John Yorke explores S R Crockett's forgotten bestseller, a swashbuckling Scottish adventure story. | |||
| The Shell Seekers | 20240414 | John Yorke explores Rosamunde Pilcher's sweeping family saga, The Shell Seekers. Published in 1987, this captivating story of life and love is a phenomenon in its own quiet way. It has been named among the best-loved books of all time, selling more than 10 million copies. The novel spans four decades in the life of Penelope Keeling, free-spirited and elegant, a mother of three children that she loves dearly - but does not always like. Penelope navigates relationships, love and loss against a Sunday supplement backdrop of the cosy Cotswolds, an idyllic Cornish childhood, and the terrors of the Blitz. At its heart is the question of family - the one to which you are bound by blood, and the one you construct along the way. It's a lesson in living life well and being true to yourself, no matter the cards you are dealt. But despite its romance and idealism, The Shell Seekers is not a novel to be sneered at - as John discovers. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for nearly 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised on BBC Radio 4. From EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters - his students have had 17 green-lights in the last two years alone. Contributors: Alison Flood, Culture Editor at New Scientist. Harriet Evans, bestselling author of 14 novels, most recently The Stargazers. Credits: The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher, published in Great Britain in 1988. Readings: Jennifer Aries Researcher: Nina Semple Production Manager: Sarah Wright Sound: Sean Kerwin Producer: Redzi Bernard A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke explores Rosamunde Pilcher's 1987 global bestseller, The Shell Seekers. The series that takes a look at books, plays and stories and how they work. John Yorke takes a look at Rosamunde Pilcher's sweeping family saga, The Shell Seekers. | |||
| The Sportswriter | 20240407 | The Sportswriter, by the American novelist Richard Ford, is the first of what became a series of five novels following the life of Frank Bascombe – a failed writer of fiction who turns to writing about sport to make a living. Frank's marriage to a woman only referred to as X is over - although he wishes it wasn't – and Ralph, one of their three children, has died. Published in 1986, The Sportswriter was named one of Time magazine's five best books of the year and was a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. John looks at the reasons for its success. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised on BBC Radio 4. From EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book, Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters - his students have had 17 green-lights in the last two years alone. Contributor: Ian McGuire, Professor of American Literature and Creative Writing at the University of Manchester. He is the author of three novels, Incredible Bodies (2006), The North Water (2016) and The Abstainer (2020), and one critical monograph, Richard Ford and the Ends of Realism (2015). Credits: Excerpts from The Sportswriter by Richard Ford, 1986. Readings and interview clips of Richard Ford from World Book Club, BBC World Service, 12 June 2013. Researcher: Nina Semple Sound: Sean Kerwin Producer: Jack Soper Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael Production Manager: Sarah Wright A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke looks at The Sportswriter by Richard Ford. John Yorke looks at The Sportswriter by the American novelist Richard Ford. Published in 1986, it's the first of what became a series of five books about Frank Bascombe. | |||
| The Three Musketeers, Episode 1 | 20230903 | The series that takes a look at books, plays and stories and how they work. John Yorke examines Alexander Dumas' classic, The Three Musketeers. It's one of Dumas' most famous works and contains one of literature's greatest heroes in D'Artagnan and one its most dastardly villains in Milady De Winter. In the first of two episodes about the book, John shows us how Dumas was able to create such enduring characters that have lived in the public imagination for almost 200 years. The names of the Musketeers themselves - Athos, Porthos, and Aramis - are familiar to people who've never read the actual book but seen one of the many film and TV adaptations. The novel mixes real historical figures with fictional creations, and John explores how closely Dumas remained true to the reality of the world he was portraying. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for nearly 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. From EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters - his students have had 17 green-lights in the last two years alone. Contributors: Dr Edmund Birch - Lecturer in French Literature at Cambridge University. Adrian Hodges - TV and film Director Maimie McCoy - actor and 'Milady' in 'The Musketeers Reading by Matthew Gravelle Produced by Alison Vernon-Smith Executive Producer: Sara Davies Sound by Iain Hunter Researcher: Nina Semple Production Manager: Sarah Wright A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke on the swashbuckler to end all swashbucklers - The Three Musketeers. | |||
| The Three Musketeers, Episode 2 | 20230910 | The series that takes a look at books, plays and stories and how they work. John Yorke considers Alexander Dumas' great swashbuckler, The Three Musketeers, and his creation of a classic hero in D'Artagnan and an unforgettable villain in Milady de Winter. In the second of two episodes about the book, John examines how Dumas created this enduring page-turner. He also looks at aspects of the novel that are sometimes overlooked - its wit and humour as well as some very dark passages. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for nearly 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. From EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters - his students have had 17 green-lights in the last two years alone. Contributors: Dr Edmund Birch - Lecturer in French Literature at Cambridge University. Adrian Hodges - TV and film Director of 'The Musketeers' BBC TV 2014 Maimie McCoy - actor and 'Milady' in 'The Musketeers Reading by Matthew Gravelle Credits: Produced by Alison Vernon-Smith Executive Producer: Sara Davies Sound by Iain Hunter Researcher: Nina Semple Production Manager: Sarah Wright A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke unpicks the sometimes overlooked aspects of The Three Musketeers. | |||
| The Virginian | 20260301 | 20260302 (R4) | Owen Wister's 1902 novel The Virginian did more than any other single piece of art in establishing the parameters of the Western as a genre. Telling the tale of a charismatic tight-lipped cowboy whose actions always speak louder than his words, it was wildly popular with readers and viewers of its many screen adaptations. The book is a celebration of rugged individualism and frontier spirit that spoke profoundly to its audience at the beginning of the twentieth-century - but does it offer any insights into the state of America today? The programme features James Annesley, Professor of American literature at Newcastle University. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years, and shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. As creator of the BBC Writers Academy he's trained a generation of screenwriters - now with over 70 green lights and thousands of hours of television to their names. He is the author of Into the Woods, the bestselling book on narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of narrative, including many podcasts for Radio 4. Contributors: James Annesley, Professor of American literature at Newcastle University. Sound: Sean Kerwin Researcher: Henry Tydeman Production Hub Coordinator: Dawn Williams Producer: Geoff Bird Reader: Eric Stroud Executive Producer: Sara Davies A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke explores Owen Wister's Western novel The Virginian. John Yorke unpacks the themes behind the stories in Radio 4's weekend afternoon dramas. Owen Wister's 1902 The Virginian established the parameters of the Western as a genre. John Yorke asks what it can tell us about America today. | ||
| The Wind In The Willows | 20251116 | John Yorke takes a look at an enduring classic of children's literature, The Wind In The Willows by Kenneth Grahame. Published in 1908, The Wind In The Willows is about nature – both human and animal. It is, on the face of it, a children's book packed with beloved characters. But hidden beneath the bucolic adventures and Grahame's beautiful evocation of the landscape, there is a desperate longing to escape the stresses of wide world into the peace and freedom of the natural world - a longing that ran through Kenneth Grahame's life. His life was claustrophobic, the story – like the countryside - offers space to breathe. Kenneth Grahame said of his own writing, “You must please remember that a theme, a thesis, is in most cases little more than a sort of clothes line on which one pegs a string of ideas, quotations, allusions and so on, one's mental undergarments of all shapes and sizes, some possibly fairly new but most rather old and patched; and they dance and sway in the breeze and flap and flutter, or hang limp and lifeless; and some are ordinary enough, and some are of a private and intimate shape, and rather give the owner away, and show up his or her peculiarities.� John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years and shares his experience as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless.  As creator of the BBC Writers Academy, he's trained a generation of screenwriters - now with over 70 green lights and thousands of hours of television to their names.  He is the author of Into the Woods, the bestselling book on narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of narrative - including many podcasts for R4. Producer: Laura Grimshaw Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael Reader: Toby Hadoke Guests: Elisabeth Galvin and David Gooderson Researcher: Henry Tydeman Programme Hub Co-ordinators: Nina Semple and Dawn Williams Sound: Sean Kerwin A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke takes a look at The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame. | |||
| Transcription | 20260419 | 20260420 (R4) | John Yorke takes a look at Transcription by Kate Atkinson. First published in 2018, Transcription tells the story of three different time periods in the life of our protagonist, Juliet Armstrong. The interweaving timelines take us from 1940 to 1981, telling of her experiences working in wartime for MI5, working in peacetime for BBC Radio, up to the end of her life in the moments between life and death. Transcription is a spy novel but it's the work's thematic depth that raises it above standard fare. There is gripping action but it's a trojan horse for wider, darker themes. Each chapter is an item on a ledger, leading to a final adding up of the full cost of guilt and betrayal. There's one other element that adds to the book's power - It's based on a true story. So while the events in Transcription are very much rooted in real life, reality doesn't lend itself to Atkinson's thematic concerns. It's in the way that she takes the raw material and manipulates it that the real strength of the book lies. In the author's notes at the end of the book, Atkinson says that she became ‘obsessed' with the nature of historical fiction while researching the story in the National Archives. She says that “roughly speaking, for everything that could be considered an historical fact in this book, I made something up.� Transcription is a real moment from history, taken on an extraordinary flight of imagination. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for over 30 years and shares his experience as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. He created the BBC Writers Academy and trained a generation of screenwriters - now with thousands of hours of television to their names. His acclaimed books Into the Woods and Trip to the Moon explore the structure and power of narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of storytelling, including many podcasts for R4. Kate Atkinson discusses Transcription on BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour on Monday 10th September 2018. Kate Atkinson discusses Transcription at a Politics and Prose event at St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Washington D.C. on Wednesday 26th September 2018. Written and presented by John Yorke Produced by Laura Grimshaw Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael Reader: Emily Pithon Sound: Sean Kerwin Researcher: Henry Tydeman Programme Hub Co-ordinator: Dawn Williams A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke unpacks the themes behind the stories in Radio 4's weekend afternoon dramas. John Yorke takes a look at Transcription by Kate Atkinson, a dramatic story of wartime espionage, betrayal, and loyalty. | ||
| Treasure Island | 20250824 | John Yorke looks at Treasure Island, the great swash-buckling adventure by Robert Louis Stevenson that inspired almost every pirate tale to follow. Stevenson wrote the story to amuse his stepson on a wet holiday in the Scottish Highlands, with the original title The Sea Cook. Looking back at his time as a boy, narrator Jim Hawkins recounts his thrilling adventures on land and at sea in the pursuit of buried treasure, and we discover that the sea cook is none other than archetypal pirate Long John Silver, one-legged and with a parrot on his shoulder, one of Stevenson's great literary creations. John Yorke argues that Treasure Island has a profound and lasting impact even in the age of Minecraft, Reality TV and YouTube length dramas, and in this episode of Opening Lines he will explain why. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years and shares his experience as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless.  As creator of the BBC Writers Academy, he's trained a generation of screenwriters - now with over 70 green lights and thousands of hours of television to their names.  He is the author of Into the Woods, the bestselling book on narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of narrative - including many podcasts for R4. Contributor: Louise Welsh, author and Professor of Creative Writing, Glasgow University Extracts from: Michael Morpurgo, Twice Upon a Time podcast produced by Hat Trick Productions Ltd, 2022 Claire Harman, BBC Radio 4's Great Lives, 2005 Reader: Crawford Logan Sound: Sean Kerwin Researcher: Henry Tydeman Production Hub Coordinator: Nina Semple Producer: Mark Rickards Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke looks at Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson. | |||
| Twelfth Night, Episode 1 | 20230422 | John Yorke explores one of Shakespeare's best loved comedies, Twelfth Night. In the first of two episodes, he untangles a complex plot and shows how we can still find it funny. But is it really a comedy? John finds sadness behind the laughter in a play that ends with a melancholic song as the rain begins to fall. We're introduced to characters who fall in love with each other in a confusion of misplaced desire. Viola is shipwrecked in a strange land and has lost her twin brother Sebastian. She disguises herself as a man before she meets the Duke of Illyria, who is himself in love with the Countess Olivia. It's the beginnings of a love triangle rich in comedic moments. Twelfth Night is a play in which desire and disguise lead to confusion and chaos, only to be resolved in a happy ever after love story. Well, almost. John shares a lifetime of experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the secrets behind the books, plays and stories that are being dramatized in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. He has been working in television and radio for nearly 30 years. From East Enders to the Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book ‘Into the Woods'. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters - his students have had 17 green-lights in the last two years alone. Contributors: Emma Smith, Professor of Shakespeare Studies at Hertford College, University of Oxford Dominic Dromgoole, Theatre director Tamsin Greig, who played 'Malvolia' at the National Theatre Credits: Clips from Shakespeare on 3: Twelfth Night (April 2012), BBC Radio 3 starring Naomi Frederick. Directed By Sally Avens. Researcher: Nina Semple Sound Design: Sean Kerwin Production Manager: Sarah Wright Producer: Mark Rickards Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke takes a look at Shakespeare's Twelfth Night and asks what makes it work. | |||
| Twelfth Night, Episode 2 | 20230423 | John Yorke explores one of Shakespeare's best loved comedies, Twelfth Night. In the second of two episodes, he explores the setting of the play and how the whole plot turns on the ambiguities thrown up by a woman dressed as a man. We're introduced to characters who fall in love with each other in a confusion of misplaced desire. Viola is shipwrecked in a strange land and has lost her twin brother Sebastian. She disguises herself as a man before she meets the Duke of Illyria, who is himself in love with the Countess Olivia. It's the beginnings of a love triangle rich in comedic moments. Twelfth Night is a play in which desire and disguise lead to confusion and chaos, only to be resolved in a happy ever after love story. Well, almost. John shares a lifetime of experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the secrets behind the books, plays and stories that are being dramatized in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. He has been working in television and radio for nearly 30 years. From East Enders to the Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book ‘Into the Woods'. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters - his students have had 17 green-lights in the last two years alone. Contributors: Emma Smith, Professor of Shakespeare Studies at Hertford College, University of Oxford Dominic Dromgoole, Theatre director Tamsin Greig, who played 'Malvolia' at the National Theatre Credits: Clips from: Shakespeare on 3: Twelfth Night (April 2012), BBC Radio 3 starring Naomi Frederick. Directed By Sally Avens. Researcher: Nina Semple Sound Design: Sean Kerwin Production Manager: Sarah Wright Producer: Mark Rickards Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke takes a look at Shakespeare's Twelfth Night and asks what makes it work. | |||
| Underfoot In Show Business | 20250518 | The series that examines books, plays and stories and how they work. John Yorke looks at the 1962 theatre memoir Underfoot in Show Business by Helene Hanff. The text is a comic account of Hanff's attempts to break into New York theatre in the early 1940s, which found a new audience after the success of Hanff's later epistolary memoir 84, Charing Cross Road. Underfoot in Show Business is a dispatch from a golden era in New York theatre, in which Eugene O'Neill, Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams were actively producing plays. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years and shares his experience as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. As creator of the BBC Writers Academy, he's trained a generation of screenwriters - now with over 70 green lights and thousands of hours of television to their names. He is the author of Into the Woods, the bestselling book on narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of narrative - including many podcasts for R4. Contributor: Howard Sherman, US writer for The Stage Readings from Underfoot in Show Business by Helene Hanff (Futura Publications, 1980) Audio from Friday Night, Saturday Morning (BBC Television, 1980) and Desert Island Discs (BBC Radio 4, 1981) Reader: Madeleine Paulson Sound: Sean Kerwin Researcher: Henry Tydeman Production Hub Coordinator: Nina Semple Producer: Lucy Hough Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke looks at Underfoot in Show Business by US writer Helene Hanff. John Yorke looks at the 1962 theatre memoir Underfoot in Show Business, by US writer Helene Hanff - best known for her later epistolary memoir 84, Charing Cross Road. | |||
| Venice | 20230730 | Hailed as the best non-fiction account of the city, Venice was published in 1960 and became an international best seller. It was the first in a series of city ‘portraits' by Jan Morris that included Oxford, Hong Kong and Trieste. She went on to publish over 40 books including her monumental account of the British Empire, Pax Brittanica. John Yorke delves into how Jan Morris defied boundaries in Venice and explores why Morris' first impressions of the city in 1945 were so powerful to her. He also listens to other readers of Venice who talk about Morris' vivid description and playful wit. And Jan Morris herself refers to the city of Venice as a touchstone in Conundrum, her account of her gender reassignment in the 1970s. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday/Saturday Drama series. From EastEnders to the Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters - his students have had 17 green-lights in the last two years alone. Contributors: Sara Wheeler - writer and author of a new biography about Jan Morris due out in 2026. Rachel Spence - arts journalist and poet and author of Venice Unclocked. Credits: Venice by Jan Morris, published by Faber, 3rd revised edition 1993 Conundrum by Jan Morris, published by Faber, revised 2001 Archive clips of Jan Morris from Radio 4's Bookclub, originally recorded in June 2008. Archive clip of Michael Palin from Archive on 4 - Jan Morris: Writing a Life, originally recorded in January 2022. Venice sound bed from recordings by producer, BBC Sound FX library and BBC Radio 3's Slow Radio: Venice Between the Bells. Researcher: Nina Semple Production Manager: Sarah Wright Producer: Julian Wilkinson Executive Producer: Sara Davies Sound by Iain Hunter A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke explores the enduring appeal of Venice by Jan Morris. | |||
| Walden | 20260201 | 20260202 (R4) | During the mid-19th century America was undergoing unprecedented change. New railroads and canals allowed people and goods to criss-cross the country, as the old agrarian economy was replaced by a fast-paced industrialised one. This rapid market expansion was driven by profit and underpinned by slavery. As the lives of Americans began to speed up, Henry David Thoreau took time out to ask himself a question - is this the best way to live? In 1845, when he was 27 years old, he built a one-roomed cabin next to Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts, and began an experiment in what he called ‘living deliberately'. During the two years he spent at Walden Pond, Thoreau lived simply. He studied, read widely, went for long walks, and often just sat and contemplated the natural world around him. The journal he kept during the two years he lived in his microhouse would become Walden, a genre-defying mix of memoir, essay, nature diary, philosophical treatise and self-help guide. The book was not an immediate success but steadily grew in popularity after Thoreau's early death at the age of 44. Walden is now regarded as a foundational work of both American literature and Transcendentalist philosophy. It has been continuously in print since 1862. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for over 30 years and shares his experience as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories dramatised in BBC Radio 4's Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. He created the BBC Writers Academy and trained a generation of screenwriters - now with thousands of hours of television to their names. His acclaimed books Into the Woods and Trip to the Moon explore the structure and power of narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of storytelling, including many podcasts for R4. Contributors: Laura Dassow Walls, author of Henry David Thoreau: A Life. Professor Emerita of English at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana. Kristen Case, poet and Thoreau scholar. Editor of the Oxford Handbook of Henry David Thoreau. Editor of essays on Thoreau and author of Thoreau's Kalendar – Charts and Observation of Natural Phenomena. Tracy Fullerton, game designer, educator and writer, best known for Walden, a game. Professor in the USC Interactive Media & Games Division of the USC School of Cinematic Arts and Director of the Game Innovation Lab at USC. Reader: Eric Stroud Production Hub Coordinator: Dawn Williams Researcher: Henry Tydeman Sound: Iain Hunter Producer: Kate McAll Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke takes a look at Walden by Henry David Thoreau. The series that looks at books, plays and stories and how they work. John Yorke explores Walden, Henry David Thoreau's account of an experiment in simple living. | ||
| Yentl The Yeshiva Boy | 20230212 | John Yorke explores the themes and impact of Isaac Bashevis Singer's short story Yentl. Written in the 1950s but set in the orthodox Jewish community of late nineteenth century Poland, the story was made into a successful Hollywood film starring Barbara Streisand. Yentl, a young orthodox woman, rebels against the constraints of a woman's life and disguises herself as a young man in order to be able to study at a Yeshiva, or religious college. In describing the complications and misunderstandings that ensue Singer offers insights into religious, social and gender politics not only of the late nineteenth century but of his own, and our, times. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for nearly 30 years, and shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatized in BBC Radio 4's Sunday/Saturday Drama series. From EastEnders to the Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters (his students have had 17 green-lights in the last two years alone). Contributors: Kerry Shale, actor, broadcaster and writer Evelyn Torton Beck, translator of Singer's work Rebecca Abrams, author, teacher and critic Clip from film: From Isaac Bashevis Singer's Nightmare and Mrs Pupko's Beard, directed by Bruce Davidson for BBC Arena, 1973 Produced by Penny Boreham Executive Producer: Sara Davies Sound by Sean Kerwin A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 John Yorke looks at how Isaac Bashevis Singer's short story Yentl makes its mark. | |||
| 02 | & Other Stories: Daphne Du Maurier | 20240310 | John Yorke digs under the surface of two more of Daphne du Maurier's short stories, both of which once again reveal how deftly she marries psychological understanding with compelling narratives. The Blue Lenses, published in 1959, and The Little Photographer (1952) are both preoccupied with ‘seeing' and how a lens can reveal a truth that might have otherwise been hidden. Du Maurier's characteristic themes of truth, deception, jealousy and obsession thread themselves through these stories and John teases out the experiences in du Maurier's own life that underpinned her writing. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised on BBC Radio 4. From EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book ‘Into the Woods'. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters - his students have had 17 green-lights in the last two years alone. Contributors: Justine Picardie – author and biographer who has written extensively about Daphne du Maurier. Sarah Dunant – best-selling author of thrillers and historical novels. Credits: (The Blue Lenses) The Breaking Point 1959 collection (published by Virago Classics 2009) (The Little Photographer) The Birds and Other Stories first published as The Apple Tree by Victor Gollancz 1952 Archive BBC 7 reading of The Blue Lenses by Emma Fielding, originally recorded in 2007. Archive clip of 2003 BBC Radio dramatisation of The Little Photographer. Sian Thomas plays the Marquise and John McAndrew the photographer. Researcher: Nina Semple Production Manager: Sarah Wright Producer: Julian Wilkinson Executive Producer: Sara Davies Sound by Sean Kerwin John Yorke explores two more of Daphne du Maurier's short stories. The series that explores books, plays and stories and how they work. John Yorke digs under the surface of two more of Daphne du Maurier's short stories. | ||
| 07 | 01 | Classic Recipes For Cauldron Cookery | 20070818 | By Sheila Burns. Shakespeare's sisters take a break from interfering in Scottish history. | |
| 07 | 03 | Lady Play | 20070901 | By Sharon Raizada. Sonia wants to get back with her ex, but a card sharp urges caution. | |
| 07 | 04 | The Train | 20070908 | By Zoran Zivkovic. A bank manager is travelling to an important meeting when he meets God. | |
| 07 | 05 | Tango | 20070915 | By Caroline Sutton. Gerry takes up tango lessons in his retirement. | |
| 08 | 01 | The Italian Is Not My Songbird | 20080323 | By Tara Bergin. An Italian student introduces his landlady to the beauty of birdsong. | |
| 08 | 02 | Tierra Del Fuego | 20080330 | By Ian Dudley. A holiday on the Costa del Sol turns into the narrator's worst nightmare. | |
| 08 | 04 | The Man In The Wilderness | 20080412 | By Michael Martin. An unnerving encounter with a neighbour evokes unhappy memories. | |
| 09 | 01 | The Scientific Approach | 20070723 | By Aidan Courtenay. A young man confesses to being in love with his best friend. | |
| 09 | 02 | The Perfect Fit | 20070724 | 20090125 (R4) | By Julie-Ann Rowell. The purchase of a pair of dance shoes offers hope to a young couple. |
| 09 | 04 | Creating Harmony | 20070726 | By Jake Elliot. A new reality TV show promises its contestants the key to happiness. | |
| 09 | 05 | Rising Laughter | 20070727 | 20090118 (R4) | By Dave Pescod. A woman becomes determined to reintroduce laughter to her own home. |
| 10 | 01 | The Deep | 20080825 | 20130410 (BBC7) 20130411 (BBC7) 20160531 (BBC7) | By Veronica Birch. Miranda and Andy's idyllic holiday exposes rifts in their relationship. |
| 10 | 03 | Put The Radiator On, Get The Coffee Going | 20080827 | 20130411 (BBC7) 20130412 (BBC7) 20160601 (BBC7) | By Anna Britten. A decorator's encounter with a divorcee gives him unexpected inspiration. |
| 10 | 05 | After Oxford | 20080829 | By Phil Robinson. A man revisits the city where he fell in love with his wife to search. | |
| 11 | 01 | Day Tripper | 20090331 | 20121123 (BBC7) 20130708 (BBC7) 20130709 (BBC7) | By Susan Elliot-Wright. A trip to the seaside offers new beginnings for a mother and son. |
| 11 | 03 | Atlantic Flats | 20090402 | 20121127 (BBC7) 20121128 (BBC7) 20130710 (BBC7) 20130711 (BBC7) | By Richard Knight. An old man wonders if he can recapture his relationship with his child. |
| 12 | 01 | Horses | 20100817 | 20121128 (BBC7) 20121129 (BBC7) 20130711 (BBC7) 20130712 (BBC7) | By Emma Greengrass. A glimpse of coal-black horses is life-affirming for an elderly lady. |
| 12 | 02 | The Amazing Arnolfini And His Wife | 20100818 | 20121129 (BBC7) 20121130 (BBC7) 20130712 (BBC7) 20130713 (BBC7) | By Jonathan Pinnock. Husband-and-wife tightrope walkers promise a jaw-dropping finale. |
| 12 | 03 | Kiss | 20100819 | 20121130 (BBC7) 20121201 (BBC7) 20130721 (BBC7) 20130722 (BBC7) | By Heather Reid. The all-important first kiss occupies a teenager's mind as she heads home |
| 13 | 01 | Writing In Chalk | 20110726 | 20150628 (BBC7) 20150629 (BBC7) 20130907 (R4) | A return of the series which gives first-time and emerging short story writers their radio debut. A young girl, struggling with her reading and writing in school, looks to her mother for support in this touching story by Helen Barton Read by Claire Skinner Produced by Robert Howells In 2009, Helen won the Orange Harper's Bazaar short story award and has written a novel and several short stories, as well as a series of literary quiz books. By Helen Barton. A struggling young girl looks to her mother for support. |
| 13 | 02 | Ladies Of The Soil | 20110727 | 20150705 (BBC7) 20150706 (BBC7) 20130914 (R4) | A return of the series which gives first-time and emerging short story writers their radio debut. A meditative tale by Gill Blow about unspoken tensions between a husband and wife as they look to an uncertain future. Read by Philip Jackson Produced by Gemma Jenkins A graduate of the Sheffield Hallam creative writing course, Gill's one-act play was performed as part of the New Writers Drama Festival in Lincoln last year and her story, Pol Creek, was recently published in The New Writer Magazine. By Gill Blow. Meditative tale about unspoken tensions between a husband and wife. |
| 13 | 03 | The Marzipan Husband | 20110728 | 20150712 (BBC7) 20150713 (BBC7) 20130921 (R4) | Sarah Dunnakey's radio debut in the series for emerging short story writers. A charming fable about letting go in which a wife discovers that her husband appears to be turning into marzipan. Read by Melanie Kilburn Produced by Gemma Jenkins Sarah Dunnakey is a quiz question writer and verifier. Her TV and radio credits include Mastermind, University Challenge and Round Britain Quiz. As a short story writer she has been published in Leaf Fiction, bluechrome and Fish Publishing anthologies. By Sarah Dunnakey. A wife discovers that her husband appears to be turning into marzipan. |
| 14 | 01 | The Wild | 20120720 | 20161114 (BBC7) | A return of the series which gives first-time and emerging short story writers their radio debut. Unspoken tensions between a husband and wife escalate during a harsh Alaskan winter in this emotionally charged tale by Gerri Brightwell. Read by Trevor White Produced by Gemma Jenkins Gerri Brightwell received an M.A. in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia. She has two published novels: Cold Country, and The Dark Lantern. She teaches as part of the Creative Writing program at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. By Gerri Brightwell. A harsh Alaskan winter heralds trouble for a young couple. |
| 14 | 02 | Cynthia | 20120727 | 20161115 (BBC7) | A return of the series which gives first-time and emerging short story writers their radio debut. Jay Barnett's quirky story is about a dog you could set your watch to. Read by Alex Lanipekun. Produced by Robert Howells Jay Barnett writes and reads short stories for his spoken word blog theaftermathofmygreatidea.blogspot.com. His short story 'Boy' was published in Jawbreakers, the first National Flash Fiction Day anthology. He is an editor for Hackney based radio station NTS, and every other Monday hosts the 'Down Your Ward' show on Whipps Cross Hospital Radio. By Jay Barnett. Quirky story about a dog you could set your watch to. |
| 14 | 03 | The Cairn | 20120803 | 20161116 (BBC7) | A return of the series which gives first-time and emerging short story writers their radio debut. The ascent of a mountain assumes heightened significance for a climber in this poignant tale by Sophie Hampton. Read by Anthony Calf Produced by Gemma Jenkins Currently studying for an MA in Creative Writing at Sheffield Hallam University, Sophie Hampton's short stories have been published in the Eastern Daily Press, Scribble Magazine and the Best of MA Writing 2011. By Sophie Hampton. The ascent of a mountain assumes heightened significance for a climber. |
| 15 | 01 | The Underwater Cathedral | 20130721 | 20170501 (BBC7) 20151003 (R4) | The series which gives first-time and emerging short story writers their radio debut. In Martin Cathcart Froden's beguiling tale about humankind's desire to conquer the natural world, a young man answers the siren call of the sea and pushes his body to extremes. Read by Stuart McLoughlin Produced by Gemma Jenkins. By Martin Cathcart Froden. A young man pushes his body to extremes. |
| 15 | 02 | Looking Sadly Out Of Windows | 20130728 | 20170502 (BBC7) 20151010 (R4) | By Sarah Courtauld. A precocious young girl adopts John the Baptist as her role model. |
| 15 | 03 | Princess | 20130804 | 20170503 (BBC7) 20151017 (R4) | The series which gives first-time and emerging short story writers their radio debut. Philip Arditti reads Atar Hadari's straight-talking monologue. A young blade working as a hired hand in a kibbutz kitchen offers friendly advice on love but his motives are far from clear cut. Produced by Gemma Jenkins. By Atar Hadari. A young blade working in a kibbutz kitchen offers friendly advice on love. |
| 16 | 01 | Baker, Emily And Me, By Claire Fuller | 20140829 | 20180515 (BBC7) 20170319 (R4) | A chance to hear Claire Fuller's story again in the series which gives emerging short story writers their radio debut. Lizzie Watts reads this post-apocalyptic tale set in a world of never-ending rain. A young girl is thrilled to be part of a plan to steal a chicken from the Snatchers. Produced by Gemma Jenkins. Claire Fuller's first novel, Our Endless Numbered Days, won the 2015 Desmond Elliot Prize. She has written many short stories and several of these have been selected to be read in public performances by White Rabbit Theatre Company, as well as being published in the literary fiction journals, Vintage Script and From the Depths. Her second novel, Swimming Lessons, was published in 2014. A young girl is elated to be part of a plan to steal a chicken from the Snatchers. |
| 16 | 02 | Audiophile, By Ian Green | 20140905 | 20180516 (BBC7) 20170326 (R4) | Another chance to hear Ian Green's story in the series which gives emerging short story writers their radio debut. Bryan Dick reads this off-kilter love story about a young man who falls for the girl next-door when he hears her singing through the adjoining wall of their two flats. Produced by Gemma Jenkins. Previously Ian Green's fiction has been performed and recorded at Liar's League London and published in Open Pen magazine. A piece originally performed at Liar's League was also performed at the inaugural Lit Crawl London in 2013. A young man is transfixed by the voice he hears through his living room wall. |
| 16 | 03 | The Fox, By Fiona Melrose | 20140912 | 20180517 (BBC7) 20170401 (R4) | Another chance to hear Fiona Melrose's story in the series which gives emerging short story writers their radio debut. Philip Jackson reads Fiona Melrose's meditative tale evoking a rural England, largely untouched by the modern world. A dead fox triggers memories and connections for an elderly farmer. Produced by Gemma Jenkins. South African writer, Fiona Melrose was inspired to write this story while living in Suffolk. The story formed the starting point of her first novel, Midwinter, which was published in November of last year. A dead fox triggers memories for an elderly farmer. |