Troubles

The recipient of the Lost Man Booker Prize for 1970, J. G. Farrell's tragi-comic masterpiece set against the Irish struggle for independence, read by Jim Norton.

Major Brendan Archer travels to Ireland after the war to visit Angela Spencer - the fianc退e he appears to have accidentally acquired on an afternoon's leave, three years before. Arriving in the town of Kilnalough, he finds himself in the crumbling surroundings of a grand old Irish hotel - the Majestic - with its eccentric owner Edward Spencer (Angela's father), community of gently decaying old ladies and unceasingly proliferating cats.

Despite an unexpected resolution to his engagement and numerous resolutions to leave Ireland, the Major is increasingly unable to detach himself from the Majestic's faded and verging-on-dilapidated charms - not to mention the charms of one Kilnalough resident in particular - while the surrounding countryside becomes ever more unsettled and violent as the gathering storm of the Irish struggle for independence is about to erupt.

J. G. Farrell was born in Liverpool in January 1935. In 1956 he went to study at Brasenose College, Oxford; while there he contracted polio. He drew heavily on his experience for his second novel, The Lung (1965). He spent a good deal of his life abroad, including periods in France, America and the Far East. His novel, Troubles (1970), the first in the Empire Trilogy, won the Faber Memorial Prize in 1971 and was made in to a film for television in 1988. The second in the trilogy, The Siege of Krishnapur won the Booker Prize in 1973. In April 1979, he went to live in County Cork, where, only four months later, he was drowned in a fishing accident.

Troubles is abridged by Doreen Estall and produced by Heather Larmour.

The Major meets some of the residents at the Majestic but his fianc\u00e9e remains elusive.

Readings from modern classics, new works by leading writers and world literature

The recipient of the Lost Man Booker Prize for 1970, J. G. Farrell's tragi-comic masterpiece set against the Irish struggle for independence, read by Jim Norton.

Major Brendan Archer travels to Ireland after the war to visit Angela Spencer - the fianc退e he appears to have accidentally acquired on an afternoon's leave, three years before. Arriving in the town of Kilnalough, he finds himself in the crumbling surroundings of a grand old Irish hotel - the Majestic - with its eccentric owner Edward Spencer (Angela's father), community of gently decaying old ladies and unceasingly proliferating cats.

Despite an unexpected resolution to his engagement and numerous resolutions to leave Ireland, the Major is increasingly unable to detach himself from the Majestic's faded and verging-on-dilapidated charms - not to mention the charms of one Kilnalough resident in particular - while the surrounding countryside becomes ever more unsettled and violent as the gathering storm of the Irish struggle for independence is about to erupt.

J. G. Farrell was born in Liverpool in January 1935. In 1956 he went to study at Brasenose College, Oxford; while there he contracted polio. He drew heavily on his experience for his second novel, The Lung (1965). He spent a good deal of his life abroad, including periods in France, America and the Far East. His novel, Troubles (1970), the first in the Empire Trilogy, won the Faber Memorial Prize in 1971 and was made in to a film for television in 1988. The second in the trilogy, The Siege of Krishnapur won the Booker Prize in 1973. In April 1979, he went to live in County Cork, where, only four months later, he was drowned in a fishing accident.

Troubles is abridged by Doreen Estall and produced by Heather Larmour.

The Major receives shocking news about Angela, and is compelled to travel to London.

Readings from modern classics, new works by leading writers and world literature

The recipient of the Lost Man Booker Prize for 1970, J. G. Farrell's tragi-comic masterpiece set against the Irish struggle for independence, read by Jim Norton.

Major Brendan Archer travels to Ireland after the war to visit Angela Spencer - the fianc退e he appears to have accidentally acquired on an afternoon's leave, three years before. Arriving in the town of Kilnalough, he finds himself in the crumbling surroundings of a grand old Irish hotel - the Majestic - with its eccentric owner Edward Spencer (Angela's father), community of gently decaying old ladies and unceasingly proliferating cats.

Despite an unexpected resolution to his engagement and numerous resolutions to leave Ireland, the Major is increasingly unable to detach himself from the Majestic's faded and verging-on-dilapidated charms - not to mention the charms of one Kilnalough resident in particular - while the surrounding countryside becomes ever more unsettled and violent as the gathering storm of the Irish struggle for independence is about to erupt.

J. G. Farrell was born in Liverpool in January 1935. In 1956 he went to study at Brasenose College, Oxford; while there he contracted polio. He drew heavily on his experience for his second novel, The Lung (1965). He spent a good deal of his life abroad, including periods in France, America and the Far East. His novel, Troubles (1970), the first in the Empire Trilogy, won the Faber Memorial Prize in 1971 and was made in to a film for television in 1988. The second in the trilogy, The Siege of Krishnapur won the Booker Prize in 1973. In April 1979, he went to live in County Cork, where, only four months later, he was drowned in a fishing accident.

Troubles is abridged by Doreen Estall and produced by Heather Larmour.

The Major returns to Kilnalough to find rumblings of disquiet in the Irish countryside.

Readings from modern classics, new works by leading writers and world literature

The recipient of the Lost Man Booker Prize for 1970, J. G. Farrell's tragi-comic masterpiece set against the Irish struggle for independence, read by Jim Norton.

Major Brendan Archer travels to Ireland after the war to visit Angela Spencer - the fianc退e he appears to have accidentally acquired on an afternoon's leave, three years before. Arriving in the town of Kilnalough, he finds himself in the crumbling surroundings of a grand old Irish hotel - the Majestic - with its eccentric owner Edward Spencer (Angela's father), community of gently decaying old ladies and unceasingly proliferating cats.

Despite an unexpected resolution to his engagement and numerous resolutions to leave Ireland, the Major is increasingly unable to detach himself from the Majestic's faded and verging-on-dilapidated charms - not to mention the charms of one Kilnalough resident in particular - while the surrounding countryside becomes ever more unsettled and violent as the gathering storm of the Irish struggle for independence is about to erupt.

J. G. Farrell was born in Liverpool in January 1935. In 1956 he went to study at Brasenose College, Oxford; while there he contracted polio. He drew heavily on his experience for his second novel, The Lung (1965). He spent a good deal of his life abroad, including periods in France, America and the Far East. His novel, Troubles (1970), the first in the Empire Trilogy, won the Faber Memorial Prize in 1971 and was made in to a film for television in 1988. The second in the trilogy, The Siege of Krishnapur won the Booker Prize in 1973. In April 1979, he went to live in County Cork, where, only four months later, he was drowned in a fishing accident.

Troubles is abridged by Doreen Estall and produced by Heather Larmour.

As menace hangs in the air around the Majestic, a dear friend returns to Kilnalough.

Readings from modern classics, new works by leading writers and world literature

The recipient of the Lost Man Booker Prize for 1970, J. G. Farrell's tragi-comic masterpiece set against the Irish struggle for independence, read by Jim Norton.

Major Brendan Archer travels to Ireland after the war to visit Angela Spencer - the fianc退e he appears to have accidentally acquired on an afternoon's leave, three years before. Arriving in the town of Kilnalough, he finds himself in the crumbling surroundings of a grand old Irish hotel - the Majestic - with its eccentric owner Edward Spencer (Angela's father), community of gently decaying old ladies and unceasingly proliferating cats.

Despite an unexpected resolution to his engagement and numerous resolutions to leave Ireland, the Major is increasingly unable to detach himself from the Majestic's faded and verging-on-dilapidated charms - not to mention the charms of one Kilnalough resident in particular - while the surrounding countryside becomes ever more unsettled and violent as the gathering storm of the Irish struggle for independence is about to erupt.

J. G. Farrell was born in Liverpool in January 1935. In 1956 he went to study at Brasenose College, Oxford; while there he contracted polio. He drew heavily on his experience for his second novel, The Lung (1965). He spent a good deal of his life abroad, including periods in France, America and the Far East. His novel, Troubles (1970), the first in the Empire Trilogy, won the Faber Memorial Prize in 1971 and was made in to a film for television in 1988. The second in the trilogy, The Siege of Krishnapur won the Booker Prize in 1973. In April 1979, he went to live in County Cork, where, only four months later, he was drowned in a fishing accident.

Troubles is abridged by Doreen Estall and produced by Heather Larmour.

The Major is thrown into confusion when his affection for Sarah encounters rival.

Readings from modern classics, new works by leading writers and world literature

The recipient of the Lost Man Booker Prize for 1970, J. G. Farrell's tragi-comic masterpiece set against the Irish struggle for independence, read by Jim Norton.

Major Brendan Archer travels to Ireland after the war to visit Angela Spencer - the fiancee he appears to have accidentally acquired on an afternoon's leave, three years before. Arriving in the town of Kilnalough, he finds himself in the crumbling surroundings of a grand old Irish hotel - the Majestic - with its eccentric owner Edward Spencer (Angela's father), community of gently decaying old ladies and unceasingly proliferating cats.

Despite an unexpected resolution to his engagement and numerous resolutions to leave Ireland, the Major is increasingly unable to detach himself from the Majestic's faded and verging-on-dilapidated charms - not to mention the charms of one Kilnalough resident in particular - while the surrounding countryside becomes ever more unsettled and violent as the gathering storm of the Irish struggle for independence is about to erupt.

J. G. Farrell was born in Liverpool in January 1935. In 1956 he went to study at Brasenose College, Oxford; while there he contracted polio. He drew heavily on his experience for his second novel, The Lung (1965). He spent a good deal of his life abroad, including periods in France, America and the Far East. His novel, Troubles (1970), the first in the Empire Trilogy, won the Faber Memorial Prize in 1971 and was made in to a film for television in 1988. The second in the trilogy, The Siege of Krishnapur won the Booker Prize in 1973. In April 1979, he went to live in County Cork, where, only four months later, he was drowned in a fishing accident.

Troubles is abridged by Doreen Estall and produced by Heather Larmour.

As Christmas approaches, life at the Majestic becomes increasingly erratic.

Readings from modern classics, new works by leading writers and world literature

The recipient of the Lost Man Booker Prize for 1970, J. G. Farrell's tragi-comic masterpiece set against the Irish struggle for independence, read by Jim Norton.

Major Brendan Archer travels to Ireland after the war to visit Angela Spencer - the fiancÀ(c)e he appears to have accidentally acquired on an afternoon's leave, three years before. Arriving in the town of Kilnalough, he finds himself in the crumbling surroundings of a grand old Irish hotel - the Majestic - with its eccentric owner Edward Spencer (Angela's father), community of gently decaying old ladies and unceasingly proliferating cats.

Despite an unexpected resolution to his engagement and numerous resolutions to leave Ireland, the Major is increasingly unable to detach himself from the Majestic's faded and verging-on-dilapidated charms - not to mention the charms of one Kilnalough resident in particular - while the surrounding countryside becomes ever more unsettled and violent as the gathering storm of the Irish struggle for independence is about to erupt.

J. G. Farrell was born in Liverpool in January 1935. In 1956 he went to study at Brasenose College, Oxford; while there he contracted polio. He drew heavily on his experience for his second novel, The Lung (1965). He spent a good deal of his life abroad, including periods in France, America and the Far East. His novel, Troubles (1970), the first in the Empire Trilogy, won the Faber Memorial Prize in 1971 and was made in to a film for television in 1988. The second in the trilogy, The Siege of Krishnapur won the Booker Prize in 1973. In April 1979, he went to live in County Cork, where, only four months later, he was drowned in a fishing accident.

Troubles is abridged by Doreen Estall and produced by Heather Larmour.

Edward determines to recapture the Majestic's former glory by holding a sumptuous ball.

Readings from modern classics, new works by leading writers and world literature

The recipient of the Lost Man Booker Prize for 1970, J. G. Farrell's tragi-comic masterpiece set against the Irish struggle for independence, read by Jim Norton.

Major Brendan Archer travels to Ireland after the war to visit Angela Spencer - the fiancÀ(c)e he appears to have accidentally acquired on an afternoon's leave, three years before. Arriving in the town of Kilnalough, he finds himself in the crumbling surroundings of a grand old Irish hotel - the Majestic - with its eccentric owner Edward Spencer (Angela's father), community of gently decaying old ladies and unceasingly proliferating cats.

Despite an unexpected resolution to his engagement and numerous resolutions to leave Ireland, the Major is increasingly unable to detach himself from the Majestic's faded and verging-on-dilapidated charms - not to mention the charms of one Kilnalough resident in particular - while the surrounding countryside becomes ever more unsettled and violent as the gathering storm of the Irish struggle for independence is about to erupt.

J. G. Farrell was born in Liverpool in January 1935. In 1956 he went to study at Brasenose College, Oxford; while there he contracted polio. He drew heavily on his experience for his second novel, The Lung (1965). He spent a good deal of his life abroad, including periods in France, America and the Far East. His novel, Troubles (1970), the first in the Empire Trilogy, won the Faber Memorial Prize in 1971 and was made in to a film for television in 1988. The second in the trilogy, The Siege of Krishnapur won the Booker Prize in 1973. In April 1979, he went to live in County Cork, where, only four months later, he was drowned in a fishing accident.

Troubles is abridged by Doreen Estall and produced by Heather Larmour.

The Major deals with the aftermath of the ball while political unrest escalates.

Readings from modern classics, new works by leading writers and world literature

The recipient of the Lost Man Booker Prize for 1970, J. G. Farrell's tragi-comic masterpiece set against the Irish struggle for independence, read by Jim Norton.

Major Brendan Archer travels to Ireland after the war to visit Angela Spencer - the fianc退e he appears to have accidentally acquired on an afternoon's leave, three years before. Arriving in the town of Kilnalough, he finds himself in the crumbling surroundings of a grand old Irish hotel - the Majestic - with its eccentric owner Edward Spencer (Angela's father), community of gently decaying old ladies and unceasingly proliferating cats.

Despite an unexpected resolution to his engagement and numerous resolutions to leave Ireland, the Major is increasingly unable to detach himself from the Majestic's faded and verging-on-dilapidated charms - not to mention the charms of one Kilnalough resident in particular - while the surrounding countryside becomes ever more unsettled and violent as the gathering storm of the Irish struggle for independence is about to erupt.

J. G. Farrell was born in Liverpool in January 1935. In 1956 he went to study at Brasenose College, Oxford; while there he contracted polio. He drew heavily on his experience for his second novel, The Lung (1965). He spent a good deal of his life abroad, including periods in France, America and the Far East. His novel, Troubles (1970), the first in the Empire Trilogy, won the Faber Memorial Prize in 1971 and was made in to a film for television in 1988. The second in the trilogy, The Siege of Krishnapur won the Booker Prize in 1973. In April 1979, he went to live in County Cork, where, only four months later, he was drowned in a fishing accident.

Troubles is abridged by Doreen Estall and produced by Heather Larmour.

As he oversees the hotel's closure the Irish troubles finally engulf the Major.

Readings from modern classics, new works by leading writers and world literature

The recipient of the Lost Man Booker Prize for 1970, J. G. Farrell's tragi-comic masterpiece set against the Irish struggle for independence, read by Jim Norton.

Major Brendan Archer travels to Ireland after the war to visit Angela Spencer - the fianc退e he appears to have accidentally acquired on an afternoon's leave, three years before. Arriving in the town of Kilnalough, he finds himself in the crumbling surroundings of a grand old Irish hotel - the Majestic - with its eccentric owner Edward Spencer (Angela's father), community of gently decaying old ladies and unceasingly proliferating cats.

Despite an unexpected resolution to his engagement and numerous resolutions to leave Ireland, the Major is increasingly unable to detach himself from the Majestic's faded and verging-on-dilapidated charms - not to mention the charms of one Kilnalough resident in particular - while the surrounding countryside becomes ever more unsettled and violent as the gathering storm of the Irish struggle for independence is about to erupt.

J. G. Farrell was born in Liverpool in January 1935. In 1956 he went to study at Brasenose College, Oxford; while there he contracted polio. He drew heavily on his experience for his second novel, The Lung (1965). He spent a good deal of his life abroad, including periods in France, America and the Far East. His novel, Troubles (1970), the first in the Empire Trilogy, won the Faber Memorial Prize in 1971 and was made in to a film for television in 1988. The second in the trilogy, The Siege of Krishnapur won the Booker Prize in 1973. In April 1979, he went to live in County Cork, where, only four months later, he was drowned in a fishing accident.

Troubles is abridged by Doreen Estall and produced by Heather Larmour.

Major Brendan Archer travels to Ireland after the war to visit his accidental fiancee.

Readings from modern classics, new works by leading writers and world literature