A BBC Radio Collection

Margaret Oliphant: Miss Marjoribanks, Phoebe Junior and Hester

A collection   of 3 adaptations of novels from the prolific 19th Century author, Margaret   Oliphant

Three BBC radio adaptations of famous novels by the prolific 19th-century author Mrs Oliphant – plus an episode of Reading Aloud, with extracts from her autobiography 
 
Sometimes called ‘the feminist Trollope’, Margaret Oliphant wrote over 100 works of fiction in a wide variety of genres, ranging from novels of small-town life to historical tales and supernatural stories. Included here are three of her best-loved works, brimming with dry wit, perceptive irony and flawed but fascinating heroines. 
 
Miss Marjoribanks 
Lucilla Marjoribanks, a large and determined girl, returns from school with two resolves – to comfort her recently widowed father and to revolutionise society. She becomes the doyenne of Carlingford’s social circle with her Thursday soirees – but her plans are disrupted by her friends’ romances, a new arrival, the solving of a mystery and a wedding… Starring Elizabeth Spriggs as Mrs Oliphant and Teresa Gallagher as Lucilla. 
 
Phoebe Junior 
Phoebe Beecham has met Clarence Copperhead at a Ball in London. His wealthy father disapproves of her, and she fortuitously leaves London to visit her sick Grandmother in Carlingford. But a shock awaits her on arrival... Starring Elizabeth Spriggs as Mrs Oliphant and Charlotte Attenborough as Phoebe Junior. 
 
Hester 
In this deliciously sardonic tale of credit and discredit, a young woman in a 19th Century Cheshire town, having been snubbed and discarded in marriage, does something truly radical. When the family bank is in danger, she pledges her private fortune to save it – but insists on running it herself, as a single woman, in defiance of all convention. Starring Penelope Wilton as Margaret Oliphant and Lyndsey Marshal as Hester Vernon. 
 
Also included is a bonus episode of Reading Aloud, in which Gudrun Ure reads from Mrs Oliphant’s autobiography, shining a light on the tragic life of the acclaimed Scottish novelist.

Seth

Margaret Oliphant

A classic ghost story illustrated by acclaimed cartoonist, Seth. 
Retired officer Colonel Mortimer takes a lease on Brentwood, a mansion in Scotland that shares grounds with the ruins of an older house – including a strange, vacant doorway. When his son falls ill and eerie events begin to unfold, Mortimer must face his fears in order to save his son.

Margaret Oliphant

Books by Margaret Oliphant

Series by Margaret Oliphant

Seth's Ghost Stories

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