Daphne du Maurier: The BBC Radio Collection

Summary

A comprehensive collection of dramatisations and readings of Daphne du Maurier’s works

Daphne du Maurier was one of the 20^th century’s most popular writers. Extraordinarily prolific, she produced a string of bestsellers, many of which were adapted as award-winning films. From romance and adventure yarns to psychological thrillers and supernatural tales, the breadth and imaginative variety of her storytelling continues to thrill us today.

This bumper collection features her most famous works and some lesser-known gems, beginning with full-cast adaptations of seven of her much-loved novels – Jamaica Inn, Rebecca, Frenchman’s Creek, The King’s General, My Cousin Rachel, The Scapegoat and The House on the Strand. With settings ranging from the 19th century to the English Civil War and the Black Death of 1349, these thrilling tales take us from the wilds of Cornwall to Monte Carlo, Italy and northwestern France. Among the star casts are Susannah Corbett, Christopher Cazenove, Lorna Heilbron, Cathryn Harrison, Adam Godley, Hugh Burden and Ian Richardson.

Next up are two of her acclaimed plays, The Years Between, set in the 1940s and telling the story of a woman whose MP husband is reported killed in action, and September Tide, a bittersweet love story centred around a mother, her newly-married daughter and her artist son-in-law. Diana Quick, Roger Allam, Paula Wilcox, Jonathan Firth and Alice Hart star in these twisty, subversive dramas.

We conclude with an extensive selection of Daphne du Maurier’s short fiction. Dramatised by Melissa Murray, ‘The Birds’ stars Neil Dudgeon and Nicola Walker. It is followed by ‘The Old Man’, read by Anna Massey; ‘The Blue Lenses’ and ‘The Little Photographer’, starring Bethany Muir and Lucy Boynton respectively; and ‘The Apple Tree’, starring Charles Gray. Also included are ‘La Sainte Vierge’ (read by Lin Sagovsky), ‘The Supreme Artist’ (read by Michael Drew) and five full-cast adaptations: ‘Panic’ (starring Dinsdale Landen and Maureen O’Brien), ‘The Chamois’ (starring Christopher Cazenove and Anna Cropper), ‘The Alibi’ (starring Tony Britton and Sarah Badel), ‘Ganymede’ (starring John Le Mesurier and Anthony Daniels) and ‘Don’t Look Now’ (starring Jamie Parker and Aisling Loftus). Discovered in 2006, the previously unknown epistolary tale ‘And His Letters Grew Colder’ is read by Nigel Havers, while four other rediscovered treasures from Du Maurier’s early career – ‘East Wind’, ‘The Doll’, ‘The Happy Valley’ and ‘Tame Cat’ – are narrated by Anna Madeley, Ed Stoppard and Sean Baker, Hattie Morahan, and Morven Christie.

Contents
Jamaica Inn
Rebecca
Frenchman’s Creek
The King’s General
My Cousin Rachel
The Scapegoat
The House on the Strand
The Years Between
September Tide
‘The Birds’
‘The Old Man’
‘The Blue Lenses’
‘The Little Photographer’
‘The Apple Tree’
‘La Sainte Vierge’
‘The Supreme Artist’
‘Panic’
‘The Chamois’
‘The Alibi’
‘Ganymede’
‘Don’t Look Now’
‘And His Letters Grew Colder’
‘East Wind’
‘The Doll’
‘The Happy Valley’
‘Tame Cat’

Text copyright © 1936 (Jamaica Inn), 1938 (Rebecca), 1941 (Frenchman’s Creek), 1943 (The Years Between), 1946 (The King’s General), 1949 (September Tide), 1951 (My Cousin Rachel), 1952 (‘The Birds’, ‘The Old Man’, ‘The Little Photographer’, ‘Blue Lenses’, ‘The Apple Tree’), 1954 (‘La Sainte Vierge’, ‘The Supreme Artist’, ‘Panic’), 1957 (The Scapegoat), 1959 (‘The Chamois’, ‘The Alibi’, ‘Ganymede’), 1969 (The House on the Strand), 1971 (‘Don’t Look Now’), 2007 (‘And His Letters Grew Colder’), 2011 (‘The Doll’, ‘East Wind’, ‘The Happy Valley’, ‘Tame Cat’)

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