Wives and Daughters - Elizabeth Gaskell (BBC 2010)

Wives and Daughters
BBC Radio 4
Woman's Hour Drama, 10 episodes broadcast between 30th November and 10th December 2010.

Lily Gaskell . . . . . Deborah McAndrew
Molly Gibson . . . . . Emerald O'Hanrahan
Dr Gibson . . . . . Jamie Newall
Roger Hamley . . . . . Gunnar Cauthery
Cynthia . . . . . Maya Barcot
Hyacinth . . . . . Julia Hills
Lady Harriett . . . . . Cathy Sara
Dorothy Browning . . . . . Marian Kemmer
Phoebe Browning . . . . . Susan Jeffrey
Mr Preston . . . . . Timothy Watson

Produced and Directed by Peter Leslie Wild
Adapted by Theresa Heskins

Synopsis
Elizabeth Gaskell's classic story of young Molly Gibson, whose widower father decides that his growing daughter needs a mother. Glamorous widow Hyacinth, and her even more glamorous daughter Cynthia, are soon installed as members of Dr Gibson's household. Their arrival brings unwelcome changes to Molly's life, along with an unwanted secret she must keep. In the meantime, her unfolding relationship with neighbour Squire Hamley, Mrs Hamley, and their sons Roger and Osborne, becomes the source of more troublesome secrets as well as of joy.

Notes
Wives and Daughters was written in the 1860s and serialised in the Cornhill Magazine. It is set in the 1820s and deals to a large extent with the position of women in Society. Elizabeth Gaskell left it unfinished, so any dramatiser of the novel is faced with guessing the intended outcome of the story.

Theresa Heskins previously adapted Lady Audley's Secret for the Woman's Hour serial, and has adapted Bleak House and Great Expectations for the New Vic Theatre, North Staffordshire, where she is Artistic Director.



Audio Information
Type : mpeg 1 layer III
Bitrate : up to 128 (variable)
Mode : stereo
Frequency : 22,050Hz
Encoder : Lame 3.98.2