Robert Graves: A BBC Radio Collection

Synopsis

<p><b>Dramatisations of selected novels and short stories by the acclaimed Robert Graves </b><br><br>An acclaimed poet and novelist, Robert Graves is best remembered today for his immensely popular <i>I, Claudius</i> novels. He penned over 140 works in his lifetime, ranging from historical fiction to comic and supernatural tales, and the variety and breadth of his writing is exemplified in this diverse collection.<br><br>Immerse yourself in the intrigues and debaucheries of Imperial Rome in <b><i>Claudius</i></b>, a three-part radio dramatisation encompassing <i>I, Claudius</i> and its sequel <i>Claudius the God</i> and starring <b>Timothy West, Garard Green, Frances Jeater</b> and <b>Mary Wimbush</b>. Moving from Ancient Rome to Ancient Greece, <b><i>The Anger of Achilles</i></b> is a vivid, racy retelling of Homer’s <i>Iliad</i> in which the eponymous Greek warrior seeks revenge for the death of his friend. <b>Robert Hardy</b> stars as Achilles, with <b>Maurice Denham</b> as Agamemnon, <b>John Slater</b> as Odysseus, <b>Trader Faulkner</b> as Paris and <b>Jane Wenham </b>as Helen. Next up are Graves’s humorous tale of stamp-collecting and sibling rivalry, <b>Antigua Penny Puce</b>, starring <b>Aden Gillett</b> and <b>Trevyn McDowell</b>, and his Civil War-set tale <b><i>Wife to Mr Milton</i></b>, centring around a spirited Royalist girl, Marie Powell (<b>Claire Skinner</b>) who is forced to relinquish her true love to marry the Puritan poet John Milton (<b>Clive Francis</b>).<br><br>Three short stories – the supernatural <b>‘The Shout’</b>, the macabre <b>‘Earth to Earth’</b> and the anecdotal <b>‘They Say… They Say’</b> – are dramatised with distinguished casts including <b>David Suchet, Nigel Anthony, Eva Stuart, Laurence Payne </b>and <b>Mia Soteriou</b>. These are followed by <b><i>Robert Graves and the Poetic Myth</i></b>, writer and broadcaster Graeme Fife considers the roles of love, war, the imagination of childhood and ancient myth in Graves’s life and work.<br><br>First published 1929 (‘The Shout’) 1934 (<i>I, Claudius, Claudius the God</i>), 1936 (<i>Antigua, Penny, Puce</i>), 1943 (<i>Wife to Mr Milton</i>), 1955 (‘Earth to Earth’), 1956 (‘They Say… They Say’), 1959 (<i>The Anger of Achilles</i>)<br>Text copyright © The Robert Graves Copyright Trust<br><br><i>Cast and credits</i><br>Written by Robert Graves<br><br><b><i>Claudius</i></b><br><br><b><i>The Anger of Achilles</i></b><br><br><b><i>Antigua Penny Puce</i></b><br><br><b><i>Wife to Mr Milton</i></b><br><br><b>The Shout</b><br><br><b>Earth to Earth</b><br><br><b>They Say… They Say</b><br><br><b><i>Casualties of War</i></b><br><br><b><i>Robert Graves and the Poetic Myth</i></b><br><br>Copyright © 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd</p>