The Edith Wharton BBC Radio Drama Collection

Edith Wharton

May 2020 · BBC Digital Audio · Narrated by Anna Massey, Ben Miles, Eleanor Bron, Tom Hollander, Jessica Raine, Don Gilet, Full Cast, Dan Stevens, and Sian Thomas

About this audiobook

BBC radio productions of classic works by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Edith Wharton - plus two bonus documentaries

American author Edith Wharton is renowned for her merciless satires of marriage and money, set in the upper-class milieu into which she was born. Included here are a superb selection of her novels, short stories and plays, recorded for BBC Radio - as well as two programmes exploring her life and work.

The House of Mirth - Bewitching socialite Lily Bart is hunting for a wealthy husband - but time is running out... Starring June Barrie, Carole Mowlam and Keith Alexander.

Madame de Treymes - John Durham's fight for the woman he loves sparks a confrontation with a powerful and devious French family. Starring Anna Massey and Philip Voss.

The Reef - Jodhi May, Sian Thomas and Ben Miles star in Edith Wharton's neglected classic following the complicated love lives of four Americans in France.

The Age of Innocence - Recently engaged Newland Archer is drawn to his fiancee's cousin, the exotic, independent Countess Ellen Olenska. Starring Eleanor Bron, Ryan McCluskey and Susan Lynch.

The Custom of the Country- Beautiful Undine Spragg arrives in New York, setting her sights on Ralph Marvell. But will he live up to her expectations? Starring Rebecca Night, Dan Stevens and Tom Hollander.

Ethan Frome - Trapped in an unhappy marriage, Ethan Frome becomes obsessed with his wife's cousin. Dominic Mafham, Jessica Raine and Laurel Lefkow star in this tragic love story set in rural Massachusetts.

The Shadow of a Doubt - Former nurse Kate Derwent carries a terrible secret. Phoebe Fox, Francesca Annis and Paul Ready star in this newly-discovered play from 1901.

Great Lives: Edith Wharton - Naomi Wolf joins presenter Matthew Paris to talk about Wharton and her work.

In Our Time: Edith Wharton - Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Wharton's novels of America's Gilded Age.

First published 1901 (The Shadow of a Doubt), 1903 ('The Dilettante'), 1905 (The House of Mirth), 1907 (Madame de Treymes), 1910 ('Afterward'), 1911 (Ethan Frome), 1912 (The Reef), 1913 (The Custom of the Country), 1920 (The Age of Innocence)

About the author

Edith Wharton (Author) Edith Wharton was born on 24 January 1862 in New York. She was educated in both America and Europe. In 1885 she married Edward Robbins Wharton. In 1899 she published her first work, a collection of stories called The Greater Inclination. In 1900 she published her first novel, The Touchstone. She wrote many other works including travel writing, home decoration manuals, short stories and her famous novels The House of Mirth (1905), Ethan Frome (1911), The Custom of the Country (1913) and The Age of Innocence (1920). She lived in France from 1907. She was made a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor in 1916 for her work helping refugees there during the war. Edith Wharton died on 11 August 1937. Ben Miles is a regular on the BBC's Coupling and starred in the critically acclaimed television series Prime Suspect 6, Cold Feet and The Forsythe Saga. His feature film credits include The Wings of the Dove and Keep the Aspidistra Flying and has performed in numerous stage productions. Anna Massey has been a successful actress for fifty years. Her career has spanned a wide range. In the cinema she has worked with many of the great directors, including Alfred Hitchcock, Michael Powell, Otto Preminger and Fred Zinneman. But perhaps her favourite performances have been in the theatre - among those being The Miracle Worker, Heartbreak House, The Importance of Being Earnest, and Mary Stuart. For television she won a BAFTA Award for her performance in Anita Brookner's Hotel du Lac, and she starred very memorably in the title role of Gwen John, and also in Trollope's He Knew He Was Right. On radio her voice is familiar to many from plays and documentaries, most recently narrating the history of Britain in This Sceptred Isle, which has brought her a whole new audience.