A comprehensive collection of classic works from some of Ireland’s finest authors, adapted as full-cast BBC radio dramas

Ireland has a long tradition of storytelling, from ancient myths and mediaeval folk tales to 21st century bestsellers, Nobel Prize laureates and Booker Prize winners. Though small in size, the country has produced an extraordinary array of influential, groundbreaking writers who have shaped the literary landscape worldwide.

This extensive anthology contains a selection of enthralling dramatisations of iconic Irish works from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries – some acknowledged masterpieces, others overlooked and ripe for rediscovery. Among them are cultural touchstones, such as Dracula, Ulysses and Gulliver’s Travels; dazzling comedies of manners such as The Importance of Being Earnest, Pygmalion and The School for Scandal, and masterful metafictional novels such as The Portrait of Dorian Gray and Tristram Shandy. Spanning a wide range of genres, from Gothic horror and supernatural suspense to social satire, naturalism and modernism, these 15 full-cast dramas celebrate the rich variety of Irish literature.

Featured are: Dracula by Bram Stoker, The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde, Ulysses by James Joyce, Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu, Esther Waters by George Moore, The London Assurance by Dion Boucicault, What Was It? by Fitz James O’Brien, The Absentee by Maria Edgeworth. The Playboy of the Western World by J M Synge, Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift, The Silver Fox by Somerville & Ross, Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw, The School for Scandal by Richard Brinsley Sheridan and Tristram Shandy by Laurence Sterne.

Bringing these superb productions to life are a host of renowned actors including Tom Hiddleston, David Suchet, Michael Sheen, Martin Clunes, Judi Dench, Andrew Scott, Bill Nighy, Miriam Margoyles, Samantha Bond, Celia Imrie, Judi Dench, Kenneth Cranham, Anne-Marie Duff, Michael Hordern, Joanne Froggatt, Stephen Rea, Roger May, Jamie Glover, Denise Gough, Niamh Cusack, Alistair McGowan, Spike Milligan, Lyndsey Marshal, Elizabeth Spriggs, Alistair McGowan, Matthew McNulty and Al Murray.

Production credits

Contents

Dracula by Bram Stoker

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde

Ulysses by James Joyce

Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu

Esther Waters by George Moore

London Assurance by Dion Boucicault

What Was It? by Fitz James O’Brien

The Absentee by Maria Edgeworth

The Playboy of the Western World by J. M. Synge

Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift

The Silver Fox by Edith Somerville and Martin Ross

Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw

The School for Scandal by Richard Brinsley Sheridan

Tristram Shandy by Laurence Sterne

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