Anne Tyler: Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant, Ladder of Years & The Amateur Marriage

Captivating BBC radio adaptations of three of Anne Tyler’s bestselling novels

Award-winning author Anne Tyler is loved worldwide for her fiction exploring the intricacies of marriage and domesticity. These three acclaimed books, each set in Baltimore, describe the small triumphs and tragedies of everyday American family life, as relationships are made and broken, and families come together, drift apart, hurt and heal each other.

Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant (Tracks 1 and 2)
Abandoned by her salesman husband, Pearl Tull attempts to keep her family together – but her anger and fierce maternal energy has damaging effects on her three children.

Ladder of Years (Tracks 3 and 4)
An unexpected romantic encounter in the grocery aisle is the beginning of a new adventure for homely Delia Grinstead, leading her to make a sudden, impulsive change in her life.

The Amateur Marriage (Tracks 5 and 6)
We follow the turbulent relationship of Michael and Pauline Anton over sixty years, from their whirlwind romance in 1941, to marriage, parenthood and beyond.

Multi-layered and universal, with details that ring sharply true and characters that are both recognisable and entertaining, these three dramatisations feature a distinguished cast including Barbara Barnes, Lorelei King and Nathan Osgood.

Dramatised by Rebecca Lenkiewicz
Produced and directed by David Hunter

Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant
Pearl...Barbara Barnes
Narrator...Lorelei King
Beck...Nathan Osgood
Young Cody...Max Baldry
Young Ezra...Richard Linnell
Young Jenny/Jane...Eloise Webb
Cody...Ben Crowe
Ezra...Simon Lee Phillips
Jenny...Fenella Woolgar
Josiah...Matthew Watson
Harley...David Seddon
Mrs Payson/Mrs Scarlatti...Joanna Brookes
Ruth...Amaka Okafor
Slevin...Will Howard
Joe/Driver...David Seddon
Priest/Driver/Dr Vincent...Paul Stonehouse
Teacher/Driver...Philippa Stanton
Mr Murphy...Sean Murray

The Ladder of Years
Delia...Nancy Crane
Adrian...Ian Conningham
Sam...Nathan Osgood
Eliza...Jessica Turner
Narrator/Woman...Barbara Barnes
Rosemary/Debbie/Mother/Binky...Rhiannon Neads
Skipper...David Acton
Carroll/Clerk...Sam Valentine
Driscoll/Ramsay/Vernon/Assistant...Mark Edel-Hunt
Susie...Roslyn Hill
Mr Maxwell/Nat...David Hounslow
Linda/Belle...Jane Slavin
Eliza...Jessica Turner
Eleanor...Carol MacReady
Mr Pomfret....Stephen Critchlow
Noah...Sean McCrystal
Joel...Sam Dale
Rick Rack/Telephone Voice...Jude Akuwudike

The Amateur Marriage
Pauline/Young Pauline...Julianna Jennings
Michael/George/Pagan...Tom Forrister
Narrator...Barbara Barnes
Mrs Anton...Pandora Colin
Wanda/Lindy/Gina...Sarah Ridgeway
Mrs Brunek/Mrs Serge/Mrs Barclay/Donna/Marilyn...Sanchia McCormack
Katie/Karen...Maeve Bluebell Wells
Mrs Golka/Destiny/Karen...Chetna Pandya
Mrs Kowalski/Anna/Katie...Georgie Glen
Officer/Policeman...John Bowler
John Piazy/Alex/Policeman/Becoming....Finlay Robertson
Eustace/Dun...David Sterne
Lindy...Kayla Gal
George/Pagan...Finn Monteath
Michael...Ian Porter
Cabbie...Nicholas Murchie
Pauline...Sara Stewart
Pagan...Noel Brooke
George...David Sturzaker
Lindy...Jane Slavin
Pauline...Sara Stewart