The Go-between

The moving exploration of a young boy's loss of innocence 
 
'The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there...' 
 
When one long, hot summer, young Leo is staying with a school-friend at Brandham Hall, he begins to act as a messenger between Ted, the farmer, and Marian, the beautiful young woman up at the hall. He becomes drawn deeper and deeper into their dangerous game of deceit and desire, until his role brings him to a shocking and premature revelation. The haunting story of a young boy's awakening into the secrets of the adult world, The Go-Between is also an unforgettable evocation of the boundaries of Edwardian society. It was adapted into an internationally-successful film starring Julie Christie and Alan Bates. 
 
Edited with an introduction and notes by Douglas Brooks-Davies 
 
'Magical and disturbing' 
Independent 
 
'On a first reading, it is a beautifully wrought description of a small boy's loss of innocence long ago. But, visited a second time, the knowledge of approaching, unavoidable tragedy makes it far more poignant and painful' 
Express

Leslie Poles Hartley was born in 1895 and educated at Harrow and Balliol College, Oxford. He is best known for Facial Justice, the Eustace and Hilda trilogy and The Go-Between, which won the Heinemann Foundation Prize in 1954 and whose opening sentence has become almost proverbial: 'The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there.' He was appointed a CBE in 1955, having won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize in addition to the Heinemann. He died in 1972.

When one long, hot summer, young Leo is staying with a school friend at Brandham Hall, he begins to act as a messenger between Ted, the farmer, and Marian, the beautiful young woman up at the hall. He becomes drawn deeper and deeper into their dangerous game of deceit and desire, until his role brings him to a shocking and premature revelation. The haunting story of a young boy's awakening into the secrets of the adult world, The Go-Between is also an unforgettable evocation of the boundaries of Edwardian society.

Facial Justice

'You'll never be happy until you can think and feel and look like other people . . .' 
 
Jael 97 is an Alpha. Deemed over-privileged for her beauty, she is compelled to report to the Ministry of Facial Justice, where her face will be reconstructed. 
 
For Jael lives in the New State, created out of the devastation of the Third World War. Under the rule of the Darling Dictator, citizens must wear sackcloth and ashes, and only a 17.5% quotum of personality is permitted to each. Anything that inspires envy is forbidden. 
 
But Jael cannot suppress her rebellious spirit. Secretly, she starts to reassert the rights of the individual, and decides to hunt down the faceless Dictator. 
 
 
'An exquisitely entertaining fantasy' Observer

The most exciting and exhilarating of Mr Hartley's novels

A brilliant projection of tendencies already apparent in the post-war British welfare state . . . Hartley was a fine writer with a strong moral sense

Hartley spares us nothing; each horrid detail of this nightmare world is expertly driven home

L. P. Hartley

Robert Glenister

Eleanor Bron

Clive Swift

Lockwood West

Richard Pearson

Sian Phillips

Martin Jarvis

Denys Blakelock

Robert Lang

Full Cast

Four BBC Radio Full-Cast Dramatisations & Readings

Four of L. P. Hartley's finest novels adapted for BBC radio, plus bonus short stories 
 
An acclaimed novelist, short story writer and critic, Leslie Poles Hartley is best known for his 1953 novel The Go-Between, which won the W. H. Heinemann Award and was adapted as a BAFTA-winning film starring Julie Christie and Alan Bates. Included here is a radio dramatisation of that classic tale, alongside adaptations of three further novels and five short stories. 
 
The Go-Between - 1901, Norfolk. Twelve-year-old Leo Colston is spending the long, hot summer with his school friend Marcus at his family estate, Brandham Hall. Drawn into an adult world of deception and forbidden desire, he sets in motion a tragedy that will haunt him forever. This moving tale of lost innocence stars Clive Swift, Joe Brothwell, Lisa Kay and Robert Glenister. 
 
The Collections - Ambrose and Edwina possess exquisite collections of objets d'art, but need to dispose of them; Barbara owns a stately home, but has had to sell off the contents. Joining forces seems like the ideal solution - until a thief comes along... Starring Richard Pearson, Siân Phillips and Eva Stuart. 
 
The Brickfield - Dictating his memoir to his secretary, elderly novelist Richard Mardick finds himself confiding a long-held secret from his youth: his adolescent romance with the beautiful Lucy, and its tragic conclusion... Martin Jarvis and Denys Blakelock star in this tender love story from the past, told against the bright awareness of the present. 
 
The Betrayal - In this sequel to The Brickfield, Richard Mardick is forced once more to recall the long-ago days of his boyhood, as he reveals to his biographer-to-be how Lucy's death has blighted his life and disrupted his peace of mind. Starring Martin Jarvis and Denys Blakelock, with Irene Sutcliffe and Gudrun Ure. 
 
Short Stories by LP Hartley - Robert Lang reads five creepy tales by the celebrated author: 'Night Fears', 'The Waits', 'W.S.', 'Someone in the Lift' and 'The Price of the Absolute'. 
 
Text copyright © The Trustees of the Estate of Annie Norah Hartley, 1953 (The Go-Between), 1954 ('W.S.', 'The Price of the Absolute'), 1961 ('The Waits', 'Someone in the Lift'), 1964 (The Brickfield), 1966 (The Betrayal), 1972 (The Collections) 
'Night Fears' first published 1924 
 
Cast and credits 
Written by L. P. Hartley 
 
The Go-Between 
Cast: Clive Swift, Joe Brothwell, George Greenbury, Eleanor Bron, Lisa Kay, Robert Glenister, Ed Sinclair, Jenny Coverack, Mark Hesketh, Brian Gear, Guy Shotton 
 
The Collections 
Cast: Richard Pearson, Martin Friend, Siân Phillips, Christopher Good, Elizabeth Rider, 
Eva Stuart, John Bull, Peter Baldwin, Sonia Fraser 
 
The Brickfield 
Cast: Martin Jarvis, Denys Blakelock, Barbara Mitchell, Nigel Anthony, Ann Murray, 
Noel Hood, Lockwood West, Humphrey Morton, Beth Boyd, Bernard Brown, David Brierley, Sian Davies, Michael Harbour, Leroy Lingwood 
 
The Betrayal 
Cast: Martin Jarvis, Denys Blakelock, Irene Sutcliffe, Alexa Romanes, Shelagh Willcocks, 
Sian Davies, Bernard Brown, Douglas Hankin, Gudrun Ure, David Brierley, Alexander John, Beth Boyd 
 
Short Stories by LP Hartley 
Read by Robert Lang 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4 on the following dates: 
 
Night Fears 7 November 1988 
The Waits 8 November 1988 
W.S. 9 November 1988 
Someone in the Lift 10 November 1988 
The Price of the Absolute 11 November 1988 
 
© 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

L. P. Hartley

Books by L. P. Hartley

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