Author:Jim Poyser,Michael Begley,Joe Caffrey,Kenneth Alan Taylor,Mark Chatterton,James Nickerson,Julia Rounthwaite,Glenn Cunningham,Toby Hadoke,John Craig,Caroline Harding,Full Cast

Jim Poyser's BBC radio riotous six-part comedy of time travel and delight
Jason Slater is a very average twenty-first-century English teacher from Cheadle Hulme, but somehow wakes up after a few drinks in nineteenth-century Macclesfield. Apparently, he's now Tarquin, third son of Lord Belport, with a faithful valet, a suspicious brother, a spurned ex-girlfriend (who's now going out with his brother) - and no obvious way he'll ever get back home again.
From toasted sandwich makers and the perfect beer, to root canals and royal visits, can Jason - Tarquin, that is - change the course of history and make 1834 his playground? Or will all his modern sentiments and inventions cause total disaster for the rest of time - or at least the rest of his life)? A fun comedy of historical proportions, 1834: Time Travelling Teacher is created by the writer of Stockport: So Good They Named It Once and The Architects.
Cast
Jason Slater: Michael Begley
Ned: Joe Caffery
Hoskins: Kenneth Alan Taylor
Lord Belfort: Mark Chatterton
Henry: James Nickerson
Luddite/Highwayman: Toby Hadoke
Millicent: Julia Rounthwaite
Stubbs: Glenn Cunningham
Duke of Cranmere: John Craig
Queen Victoria: Caroline Harding
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on the following dates:
11 June - 16 July 2003
Production credits
Written by Jim Poyser
Directed by Polly Thomas
©2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd
Signal Fires is a great novel, but it's also something rarer: a good novel, one that shines with deep truths about what it is to love someone, lose them, and live on
—— Alex Preston , Financial TimesA stunning future classic
—— LISA TADDEOTender and philosophical
—— ObserverGripping
—— People MagazineLyrically examines the ways a single event can alter many lives for ever . . . wonderful
—— Joanne Finney , Good Housekeeping BOOK OF THE MONTHShapiro weaves a compulsive, tender narrative that flits between viewpoints and time frames in its quest for connectivity
—— Mail on SundayA wonderful novel, full of insight and compassion
—— MARY LAWSONHaunting, moving, and propulsive
—— MEG WOLITZERBeautifully written, Dani Shapiro explores time, memory and our human interconnectedness to create a moving portrayal of the ripple effect one event and one person's actions can have on many lives
—— Woman's WeeklyBeautiful... a family saga, but a book about destiny too, the unavoidable push and pull of choice and chance
—— Francesca Steele , i NewsLyrical and propulsive . . . hard to put down
—— Oprah DailyMasterful and poignant
—— Today Show USWise, deeply perceptive, suffused with light
—— CLAIRE MESSUDSignal Fires is an urgent and compassionate meditation on memory, time, and space. In Shapiro's elegant convergence of narrative threads, she creates a world that's as wrenching as it is wondrous
—— RUTH OZEKIA subtle, compelling and expansive book about family, love and the devastating power of secrets. I love the way Shapiro writes relationships, the ambition of having so many concurrent narratives and the deft way she draws her characters.
—— NELL FRIZZELLBeautifully composed
—— New York Journal of BooksShapiro's characters' interweaving stories grapple with the ways that guilt festers when it's not dealt with - and, ultimately, the unexpected paths that can lead to healing and redemption
—— TimeA powerful work that delves into the consequences of a long-hidden lie . . . Shapiro's novel offers the comfort of a view from the stars
—— Washington PostGripping from the start... beautifully written, Shapiro explores time, memory and our human interconnectedness to create a tender, moving portrayal of the ripple effect one event and on person's actions can have on many lives
—— Woman & Home *Book of the Month*The queen of family secrets
—— BookPageWhat a treat. I don't know of anyone who writes about family with the same generous understanding
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—— Simon Van BooyA beautiful exploration of the connections between two families and the reverberations from a teenager's lie...Shapiro imagines in luminous prose how each of the characters' lives might have gone if things had turned out differently...an intriguing meditation
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—— Library JournalShapiro returns...with a beautiful exploration of the connections between two families and the reverberations from a teenager's lie... Shapiro imagines in luminous prose how each of the characters' lives might have gone if things had turned out differently. It's an intriguing meditation.
—— Publishers WeeklyShapiro delivers keen perceptions about family dynamics via fictional characters that exude a rare combination of substance and delicacy. Stunning in depth and breadth, this luminous examination of loss and acceptance, furtiveness and reliability, abandonment and friendship ultimately blazes with profound revelations
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—— iSignal Fires is an exquisite portrait of two families, and a testament to the human capacity to experience love and loss. With wry tenderness it shows how we are all connected through time in ways that are at once beautiful, mysterious, profound and full of hope.
—— Mummy Pages






