Madame Bovary. By Gustave Flaubert. Emma Bovary is beautiful and bored, trapped in her marriage to a mediocre doctor and stifled by the banality of provincial life. An ardent reader of sentimental novels, she longs for passion and seeks escape in fantasies of high romance, in voracious spending and, eventually, in adultery. But even her affairs bring her disappointment and the consequences are devastating. Flaubert's erotically charged and psychologically acute portrayal of Emma Bovary caused a moral outcry on its publication in 1857. It was deemed so lifelike that many women claimed they were the model for his heroine; but Flaubert insisted: 'Madame Bovary, c'est moi'.

 

My Blue Heaven. Written and Directed by Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran. Graham's life is not going the way he wants it to and he really starts to worry when he realies he's being interviewed for a job by his imaginary friend from childhood all grown up.

One Day In The Life Of Ivan Denisovich. By Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. In 1962 One Day In The Life Of Ivan Denisovich was a literary earthquake with profound political implications. At the height of the Cold War, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn exposed to the Soviet Union, and the world, the suffering which Stalin had imposed on his own people. Revealing the bitter conditions and arbitrary cruelties of the Soviet prison camps which became known as the Gulag Archipelago, the lies at the heart of Soviet history became impossible to hide. The book is taut, engrossing and sympathetic, showing neither more nor less than one day in one man's life in the camps. Ivan Denisovich is a resilient individual, and if he wrote to his family telling them to send him nothing, it spares him certain hopes and illusions. His survival is dependent on himself.
When Solzhenitsyn's shattering picture of Stalin's prison camps became an international bestseller in 1962, it seemed to signal a thaw in the Cold War. But Solzhenitsyn was a prophet about to be dishonoured in his own land, and the uncensored version of the novel did not appear until 1991 - the year after Solzhenitsyn's citizenship was restored in Russia.

Opening Night. By Ngaio Marsh. When a leading actor is found gassed in his dressing room, it looks like suicide. But it transpires he was so detested that everyone had a motive for his murder.

Posters Of Montmartre. Four different tales about the residents of Montmartre, inspired by the posters of Toulouse Lautrec.
May Belfort. The first in a series of stories from Toulouse-Lautrec's Paris. May Belfort, singer turned prostitute.
Footitt And Chocolat. A circus double-act is in jeopardy.
Casque D'or. A tale of revolutionary Paris where passion and ideals become fatally intertwined.
Aristide Bruant. The fiercely socialist Bruant sees his friends of old. Is he getting old or are they all compromised?

 

Scramble. By Martin Kiszko. This science fiction drama depicts a totalitarian world in which music is so subversive that all composers have been culled.
The heroine Mel has always supported the State, but when she uncovers some uncomfortable facts she begins questioning her work as a government scientist.

Friday's Child. Georgette Heyer's Regency tale of true and lasting love. With Elli Wantage, James Frain and Simon Russell Beale.

 

 

Steinbeck In Avalon. Dramatised by Ray Brown from the writings of John Steinbeck.As a child John Steinbeck was enthralled by Malory's account of the life of King Arthur. In 1959 he went to live for a while in Somerset in order to write what he hoped would be the crowning glory of his distinguished career; his personal holy grail, a 20th century restatement of the Arthurian legend.
 

My Name Is Red. Ayeesha Menon's dramatisation of Orhan Pamuk's murder mystery set in Istanbul in 1590. The Sultan brings together the most acclaimed artists in his kingdom to create a secret book of miniatures celebrating the glories of his realm. But when two of the miniaturists are murdered, panic erupts.

Dreaming In Africa. By Mike Harris. The story of Stewart Gore Brown, the only white man to receive a state funeral in a black African country - and the women he loved.

 

 
The Tin Drum. There Once Was A Drummer

Gunter Grass' classic novel of the rise and fall of Hitler as seen through the eyes of the dwarfish narrator, Oskar Matzerath.
 

The Governor's Consort. In Peter Tinniswood's play, written specially for Mary Wimbush, Lady Edith is sailing with her husband to a South atlantic island of which he is about to become Governor. Her fellow passengers, not to mention the crew and the exuberant band on board, produce an invigorating and far-reaching effect on her Ladyship.



 

The Devil's Disciple. George Bernard Shaw's play is set during the American War of Independence, in 1777. Richard is the self-confessed Devil's Disciple, the rebellious rascal of a highly religious family who want nothing to do with him. However, as the British take charge of Richard's town and events unfold, Richards shows that he has more integrity than he gives himself credit for. The cast includes Tony Church, James Laurenson, Lucy Fleming and Tenniel Evans and was directed by Brian Miller. This dramatisation was first heard in 1976 to mark the 200th anniversary of the American Declaration of Independence. 5 Episodes.

The Black Sheep. Chris Dolan's dramatisation of Honore de Balzac's entertaining tale of family rivalry and fortunes lost and won, set in 19th-century France.

 

 

 

 

Doctor Syn. Dr Syn meets Mr Mipps, falls in love with the beautiful Imogene, and encounters the dastardly Squire of Iffley. 10 Episodes.

 

The Further Adventures Of Doctor Syn. Dr Syn reveals his plan to his associates, Mr Mipps the sexton and Jimmie Bone the highwayman, for the Scarecrow's daring escape. 10 Episodes

 

The Last of Doctor Syn. Captain Collyer, a Royal Navy officer is assigned to smash the local smuggling ring with the help from the tongueless mulatto marooned by Captain Clegg and rescued by Collyer years before. 6 Episodes.



 

Busman's Honeymoon. Society’s eligible women are in mourning - Lord Peter Wimsey has married at last. Having finally succeeded in his ardent pursuit of the lovely Harriet Vane, they depart for a tranquil honeymoon in a country farmhouse. But the couple’s newly wedded peace is shattered when the dead body of the previous owner is found in the cellar. Why would anyone have wanted to kill old Mr Noakes? What dark secrets was he hiding? Ian Carmichael is the personification of Dorothy L. Sayers’ charming investigator in this radio dramatisation. 6 Episodes. More Lord Peter Wimsey on Detective Page 2.
 

A Tokyo Murder. By John Dryden and Miriam Smith. Detective Inspector Julie Hill is sent to Tokyo to investigate the disappearance of British teacher Daisy Whitelock. Working with the Tokyo police, who are reluctant to have a foreign officer interfering with the case, she has to overcome cultural and bureaucratic obstacles as she attempts to untangle what really happened at the foreign language school where Daisy taught. 3 Episodes. More Detectives here.