The Great American Classics

byMark Twain, Herman Melville, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Washington Irving, Henry David Thoreau, Kate Chopin, Nathaniel Hawthorne

22 Full-Cast BBC Radio Dramatisations

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A large collection of full-cast dramatisations of classic American novels that helped define American Literature

The United States is young by global standards, yet it boasts a vast and rich cultural heritage that belies its brief timeline. In the years since the Declaration of Independence, the nation has become a literary superpower, producing countless masterpieces that have transcended borders and inspired readers and listeners throughout the world.

This wide-ranging collection comprises dramatisations of milestone works, encompassing ‘Great American Novels’, a Pulitzer Prize-winning play and seminal titles from every genre. Discover mythic portrayals of the Wild West, philosophical meditations on nature and landscape, a groundbreaking narrative about the Black American experience and a first-hand account of slavery – and immerse yoursef in rip-roaring adventure yarns, ghost stories, modern fairytales, and tales of love, sex, family and the fallibility of the American dream. With settings ranging from New York to New Orleans, and from the Mississippi River to the freezing Alaskan borderlands, these gripping dramas showcase the breadth and vision of American writing.

Included are: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Walden by Henry David Thoreau, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving, Moby Dick by Herman Melville, The Awakening by Kate Chopin, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Flight by Walter White, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs, The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton, The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, The Affair at Grover Station by Willa Cather, The Call of the Wild by Jack London, The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, The Coast of Maine by Sarah Orne Jewett, Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey, The Virginian by Owen Wister and Anna Christie by Eugene O’Neill.

Among the accomplished cast are Andrew Scott, Matthew Needham, Andrew Buchan, Garrick Hagon, Lorelei King, Deborah Findlay, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Harmony Rose Bremner, Amaka Okafor, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Adjoa Andoh, David Schofield, Mark Caven, Cecilia Noble, Kerry Shale, Stuart Milligan, Susannah York, Ryan McCluskey, Maureen Lipman, Parker Sayers, Susan Jameson, Shelley Thompson, Karl Johnson and David Threlfall.

NB: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl and Flight contain strong and discriminatory language and behaviour that some listeners may find offensive.

Production credits

The Great Gatsby
Written by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Walden
Written by Henry David Thoreau

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
Written by Washington Irving

Moby Dick
Written by Herman Melville

The Awakening
Written by Kate Chopin

The Scarlet Letter
Written by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Flight
Written by Walter White

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Written by Mark Twain

Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
Written by Harriet Jacobs

The Age of Innocence
Written by Edith Wharton

The Yellow Wallpaper
Written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

The Affair at Grover Station
Based on a story by Willa Cather

The Call of the Wild
Written by Jack London

The Wizard of Oz
Written by L. Frank Baum

The Coast of Maine
Written by Sarah Orne Jewett

Riders of the Purple Sage
Written by Zane Grey

The Virginian
Written by Owen Wister

Anna Christie
Written by Eugene O’Neill

© 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

About Mark Twain

Mark Twain's real name was Sam Clemens, and he was born in 1835 in a small town on the Mississippi, one of seven children. He smoked cigars at the age of eight, and aged nine he stowed away on a steamboat. He left school at 11 and worked at a grocery store, a bookstore, a blacksmith's and a newspaper, where he was allowed to write his own stories (not all of them true). He then worked on a steamboat, where he got the name 'Mark Twain' (from the call given by the boat's pilot when their boat is in safe waters). Eventually he turned to journalism again, travelled round the world, and began writing books which became very popular. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn are his most famous novels. He poured the money he earned from writing into new business ventures and crazy inventions, such as a clamp to stop babies throwing off their bed covers, a new boardgame, and a hand grenade full of extinguishing liquid to throw on a fire. With his shock of white hair and trademark white suit Mark Twain became the most famous American writer in the world. He died in 1910.

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About Washington Irving

Washington Irving was born 3 April 1783 in New York. He trained as lawyer before deciding to pursue a literary career and, with his brother, producing a series of satirical essays and poems. Irving wrote under pseudonyms at first: ‘Diedrich Knickerbocker’ for ‘A History of New York from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty’, and ‘Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.’ for ‘Sketch Book’. The latter included pieces inspired by his travels to London during his unsuccessful efforts to save the family business from bankruptcy, and Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, for which he became famous. Irving worked in Spain as a diplomatic attaché, where he wrote ‘Legends of the Alhambra’ in 1832, and London as secretary to the US legation. His final work was a vast biography of George Washington published in 1855. He died on 28 November 1859.

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