The Bronte BBC Radio Drama Collection [14 CD Set]

Description

Running Time 15hrs 40mins

This collection brings together seven BBC radio dramatisations of the Bronte’s novels, all adapted by
bestselling author Rachel Joyce

THE BOOK
The complete canon of the Brontë sisters’ classic novels, dramatised by bestselling author Rachel Joyce

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
Orphan Jane falls in love with the enigmatic Rochester, but he is concealing a dark secret.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
On the bleak Yorkshire moors, Heathcliff and Cathy’s elemental passion runs wild – but their obsession has devastating consequences.

Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë
Determined to make her way in the world, penniless young Agnes Grey becomes a governess.

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë
Gentleman farmer Gilbert Markham is powerfully drawn to Helen Graham, the mysterious resident of Wildfell Hall.

Shirley by Charlotte Brontë
A poignant tale of friendship, romantic entanglements and turbulent times, set in Yorkshire in 1811.

Villette by Charlotte Brontë
Leaving England to teach in Villette, Lucy Snowe experiences the pangs of unrequited love.

The Professor by Charlotte Brontë
As a teacher at a boarding-school in Belgium, William Crimsworth encounters trouble and true love.

Adapted by Rachel Joyce, these radio dramas boast star casts including Ellie Kendrick, Amanda Hale, Tom Burke, Lesley Sharp, Paul Venables, Robert Lonsdale, Anna Maxwell Martin, Ben Batt and Chloe Pirrie.

Also included is a one-hour bonus programme featuring Rachel Joyce in conversation with producer Tracey Neale.

THE AUTHORS
Charlotte Brontë was born on 21 April 1816. Her father was curate of Haworth, Yorkshire, and her mother died when she was five years old, leaving five daughters and one son. In 1824 Charlotte, Maria, Elizabeth and Emily were sent
to Cowan Bridge, a school for clergymen’s daughters, where Maria and Elizabeth both caught tuberculosis and died. The children were taught at home from this point on and together they created vivid fantasy worlds which they
explored in their writing. Charlotte worked as a teacher from 1835 to 1838 and then as a governess.
In 1846, along with Emily and Anne, Charlotte published Poems by Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell. After this Emily wrote Wuthering Heights, Anne wrote Agnes Grey and Charlotte wrote The Professor.
Wuthering Heights and Agnes Grey were both published but Charlotte’s novel was initially rejected.
In 1847 Jane Eyre became her first published novel and met with immediate success. Between 1848 and 1849 Charlotte lost her remaining siblings: Emily, Branwell and Anne. She published Shirley in 1849, Villette in 1853 and in 1854
she married the Rev. Arthur Bell Nicholls. She died the next year, on 31 March 1855.

Anne Brontë was born at Thornton in Yorkshire on 17 January 1820, the youngest of six children. That April, the Brontës moved to Haworth, a village on the edge of the moors, where Anne’s father had become the curate. Anne’s
mother died soon afterwards. She was four when her older sisters were sent to the Clergy Daughters’ School at Cowan Bridge, where Maria and Elizabeth both caught tuberculosis and died. After that, Anne, Charlotte, Emily and Branwell were taught at home for a few years, and together, they created vivid fantasy worlds which they explored in their writing.
Anne went to Roe Head School 1835–7. She worked as a governess with the Ingham family (1839–40) and with the Robinson family (1840–45). In 1846, along with Charlotte and Emily, she published Poems by Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell. She published Agnes Grey in 1847 and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall in 1848. That year, both Anne’s brother Branwell and her sister Emily died of tuberculosis. A fortnight later, Anne was diagnosed with the same disease. She died in Scarborough on 28 May 1849.

Emily Jane Bronte (30 July 1818 – 19 December 1848) was an English novelist and poet who is best known for her only novel, Wuthering Heights, now considered a classic of English literature. Emily was the third eldest of the four
surviving Bronte siblings, between the youngest Anne and her brother Branwell.
She wrote under the pen name Ellis Bell.

Rachel Joyce is the author of the Sunday Times and international bestsellers The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, Perfect, The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy, The Music Shop and a collection of interlinked short stories, A Snow Garden & Other Stories.
Rachel’s books have been translated into thirty-six languages and two are in development for film. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Book prize and longlisted for the Man Booker Prize. Rachel was awarded the Specsavers National Book Awards ‘New Writer of the Year’ in December 2012 and shortlisted for the ‘UK Author of the Year’ 2014.
Rachel has also written over twenty original afternoon plays and adaptations of the classics for BBC Radio 4, including all the Bronte novels. She moved to writing after a long career as an actor, performing leading roles for the RSC, the National Theatre and Cheek by Jowl.
She lives with her family in Gloucestershire.