A collection of full-cast dramas from one of Ireland's foremost writers - plus Elizabeth Bowen's thoughts on the novelist's craft

Elizabeth Bowen was one of the 20th century's most distinctive writers. An associate of the Bloomsbury Set, she was a keen observer of upper-middle-class life and relationships. Best known for her novels of the Anglo-Irish gentry and wartime London, her fiction displays recurring themes of loss, rootlessness and displacement. This collection contains five of Bowen's best-loved works, and hears from the author herself in three radio talks on the art of novel-writing.

The Heat of the Day - London, 1942. When Stella discovers that her lover, Robert, is suspected of selling secrets to the enemy, she finds herself caught between two men: one a potential spy, the other a blackmailer... A compelling tale of love, espionage and betrayal, in one of the quintessential depictions of London during World War II, starring Harriet Walter, Michael Maloney and Bill Nighy.
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 28 Nov 1998

The House in Paris - Even as she lays dying, scheming Madame Fisher manipulates the lives of young Henrietta and Leopold. But will her own secrets and lies ever be revealed? Sara Kestelman stars in this enthralling story of deception, scandal and death.
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 3-17 Jul 1994

The Last September - 1920, Danielstown, County Cork. Poised on the brink of womanhood, Lois flirts and dances with English officers at society parties- but the Troubles are closing in, and her world is about to change irrevocably. This evocative coming-of-age tale stars Anna Healy and Greg Wise.
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 9-16 Sep 1996

The Confidant - Starring Cathy Belton and Fionnuala Murphy, this penetrating short story, set in 1920s Cork, revolves around a couple in a clandestine relationship and the woman who keeps all their secrets.
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 2 Nov 1998

The Demon Lover - Mrs Drover nervously returns to her deserted London house in the Blitz to find a letter on the hall table - a reminder of a special rendezvous she cannot fully recollect... Maggie Steed stars in Elizabeth Bowen's eerie ghost story.
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 17 Jul 1997

Truth and Fiction - In these three talks about the art of writing fiction, Elizabeth Bowen discusses the importance of story, people and time in establishing a novel's 'truth'.
First broadcast BBC Home Service Basic, 26 Sep-10 Oct 1956

NB: Due to the age of the source material, the sound quality of Truth and Fiction may vary

The Last September copyright © Elizabeth Bowen 1929, 1952
Copyright renewed
The House in Paris copyright © Elizabeth Cameron 1935
Copyright © renewed by Elizabeth D. C. Cameron 1963
The Heat of the Day copyright © Elizabeth Bowen 1948
Copyright © renewed by Spencer Curtis and Graham August Watson 1976
'The Confidant' and 'The Demon Lover' copyright © 1923, 1945
Copyright © Curtis Brown Ltd, 1980


© 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd