A BBC Radio Collection

Margaret Oliphant: Miss Marjoribanks, Phoebe Junior and Hester

A collection   of 3 adaptations of novels from the prolific 19th Century author, Margaret   Oliphant

Three BBC radio adaptations of famous novels by the prolific 19th-century author Mrs Oliphant – plus an episode of Reading Aloud, with extracts from her autobiography 
 
Sometimes called ‘the feminist Trollope’, Margaret Oliphant wrote over 100 works of fiction in a wide variety of genres, ranging from novels of small-town life to historical tales and supernatural stories. Included here are three of her best-loved works, brimming with dry wit, perceptive irony and flawed but fascinating heroines. 
 
Miss Marjoribanks 
Lucilla Marjoribanks, a large and determined girl, returns from school with two resolves – to comfort her recently widowed father and to revolutionise society. She becomes the doyenne of Carlingford’s social circle with her Thursday soirees – but her plans are disrupted by her friends’ romances, a new arrival, the solving of a mystery and a wedding… Starring Elizabeth Spriggs as Mrs Oliphant and Teresa Gallagher as Lucilla. 
 
Phoebe Junior 
Phoebe Beecham has met Clarence Copperhead at a Ball in London. His wealthy father disapproves of her, and she fortuitously leaves London to visit her sick Grandmother in Carlingford. But a shock awaits her on arrival... Starring Elizabeth Spriggs as Mrs Oliphant and Charlotte Attenborough as Phoebe Junior. 
 
Hester 
In this deliciously sardonic tale of credit and discredit, a young woman in a 19th Century Cheshire town, having been snubbed and discarded in marriage, does something truly radical. When the family bank is in danger, she pledges her private fortune to save it – but insists on running it herself, as a single woman, in defiance of all convention. Starring Penelope Wilton as Margaret Oliphant and Lyndsey Marshal as Hester Vernon. 
 
Also included is a bonus episode of Reading Aloud, in which Gudrun Ure reads from Mrs Oliphant’s autobiography, shining a light on the tragic life of the acclaimed Scottish novelist.

Iced

Finnish teen eco-blogger, Ulli Earthgirl, wins a competition to join a low-carbon expedition to the North Pole by foot, to measure the melting ice. Blogging her way across the Arctic, she has to navigate deadly cracks in the ice, as well as the treacherous currents of environmental controversy in the blogosphere. Soon she's afloat in both worlds, as all her certainties begin to dissolve. Starring Samantha Dakin, Felicity Montagu, Colin Stinton and Adam Billington, with Adjoa Andoh, Victoria Inez Hardy, Gerard McDermott, Carl Prekopp, Alex Rivers, Christopher Webster, and Tracy Wiles. Written by Kate Clanchy. Produced and directed by Jonquil Panting. Guitar played by Carl Prekopp.

Sebastian Baczkiewicz

Kate Clanchy

David Calder

Sheridan Smith

Claire Rushbrook

Linda Bassett

Adam Levy

Full Cast

Five BBC Radio 4 Full-Cast Dramas

Five dazzling plays showcasing characters from the reign of biblical King David 
 
In these fascinating, moving and insightful plays, a different light is shone on the famous biblical King. From the original mission of King Saul to find the shepherd boy after Samuel's prophecy, to David's final days of sickness and neglect, and taking in his days of war raids and spying as well as his loves and losses as his wives battle for status and attention, the tales bring to life a man who all too often is a figure of myth rather than a flawed and passionate human. 
 
Featuring a rich cast including Sheridan Smith (The Royale Family, Cilla, Gavin & Stacey), Linda Bassett (Call the Midwife, Lark Rise to Candleford), David Calder (The Lovecraft Investigations, Conclave), Claire Rushbrook (Whitechapel, Secrets & Lies), Adam Levy (Industry, The Witcher) and Christopher Godwin (The Dig, The Miniaturist). 
 
True Anointed 
Eleazar - David Calder 
David - Adam Levy 
Goliath - Ewan Bailey 
Saul - Gerard Murphy 
Samuel - John Bennett 
Jesse - David Timson 
Agag - Christopher Godwin 
Michal - Claire Rushbrook 
Other parts were played by Sarah Paul and Carl Prekopp 
Music by Sylvia Hallett 
Musicians - Dirk Campbell, Paul Clarvis, Sylvia Hallett 
Written by Sebastian Baczkiewicz 
Directed by Jeremy Mortimer 
 
Hazar's Chicken 
Bone - Tony Marshall 
David - Adam Levy 
Abner - David Timson 
Hazar - Ewan Bailey 
Abigail - Helen Longworth 
Saul - Gerard Murphy 
Jonathan - Carl Prekopp 
Head Man - Christopher Godwin 
Music by Sylvia Hallett 
Musicians - Dirk Campbell, Paul Clarvis, Sylvia Hallett 
Written by Sebastian Baczkiewicz 
Directed by Jeremy Mortimer 
 
The Loved One 
Anat - Ann Mitchell 
Young Anat - Gemma Saunders 
Saul - Gerard Murphy 
Abaiathar - Ewan Bailey 
Sweet - David Timson 
Samuel - John Bennett 
Eleazar - David Calder 
Music by Sylvia Hallett 
Musicians - Dirk Campbell, Paul Clarvis, Sylvia Hallett 
Written by Sebastian Baczkiewicz 
Directed by David Hunter 
 
Michal, Saul's Daughter 
Eglah - Sheridan Smith 
Michal - Claire Rushbrook 
Abigail - Caroline Langrishe 
Servant - Ewan Bailey 
Music by Sylvia Hallett 
Musicians - Dirk Campbell, Paul Clarvis, Sylvia Hallett 
Written by Kate Clanchy 
Directed by Jeremy Mortimer 
 
 
Abishag the Virgin 
Bathsheba - Linda Bassett 
Abishag - Alison Pettitt 
Nathan - Christopher Godwin 
David - David Timson 
Music by Sylvia Hallett 
Musicians - Dirk Campbell, Paul Clarvis, Sylvia Hallett 
Written by Kate Clanchy 
Directed by David Hunter 
 
Originally broadcast on BBC Radio 4: 
15 January - 12 February 2002 
 
©2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Kate Clanchy

Books by Kate Clanchy

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