Author:Ursula.K.Le Guin,Full Cast,Toby Jones,Kobna Holdbrook-Smith,Lesley Sharp,Adjoa Andoh,Noma Dumezweni,Robert Glenister,James McArdle,Sam Dale

The dazzling BBC Radio adaptations of Ursula K. Le Guin's famous fantasy saga and her ground-breaking science fiction masterpiece - plus bonus material
Ursula K. Le Guin was one of the most revered and influential writers of the 20th Century. Her 'Earthsea' books have sold millions of copies and been translated into numerous languages, while her trailblazing novel The Left Hand of Darkness was a landmark in feminist science fiction and ranks among the greatest SF novels of all time. This BBC collection brings together the magical radio retellings of both these seminal classics.
Set on an immense archipelago where magic is a part of life, Earthsea tells the stories of Ged, a young, reckless wizard, and Tenar, taken from her home as a child to become Arha, guardian priestess of the ominous Tombs of Atuan. Meeting for the first time deep within the tombs, their destinies become intertwined, and they unite to bring peace to their troubled world. Years later, their paths have diverged - but when Ged returns to Tenar's island on a dragon's back, they are caught up in an epic battle for the future of Earthsea itself. Starring James McArdle, Shaun Dooley and Robert Glenister as Ged, and Aysha Kala, Vineeta Rishi and Nina Wadia as Tenar with Toby Jones and Noma Dumezweni.
The Left Hand of Darkness takes place on an alien world in the grip of an Ice Age. Genly Ai has been sent from Earth on a mission to persuade Gethen to join a planetary union, the Ekumen. But his task is fraught with difficulty. For this is a world whose people have no fixed gender, and Genly's encounters with the natives are marked by mutual incomprehension and mistrust. In coming to terms with their otherness and their sameness Genly must let go of his fixed ideas about identity, and embark on a dangerous journey across the snow plains with his only ally, First Minister Estraven. The stakes are high to save a world from war. Kobna Holdbrook-Smith stars as Genly, with Lesley Sharp as Estraven.
Also included Ursula Le Guin at 85, in which novelist Naomi Alderman interviews Le Guin, with contributions from Neil Gaiman, David Mitchell and Karen Joy Fowler.
Production credits
Written by Ursula K.Le Guin
Adapted by Judith Adams
Earthsea
Ged - James McArdle/Shaun Dooley/Robert Glenister
Tenar - Aysha Kala/Vineeta Rishi/Nina Wadia
Young Ged - Kasper Hilton-Hille
Young Tenar - Nishi Malde
Ogion - Paul Hilton/Michael Bertenshaw
Manan - Zubin Varla
Cob - Toby Jones
Nilgu - Noma Dumezweni
Other Cast:Souad Faress, David Hounslow, Adam Thomas-Wright, Mark Edel-Hunt, Jessica Turner, Lucy Hutchinson, Stephen Critchlow, Sam Dale, Ayesha Antoine, Richard Linnell, Jack Kane, David Acton, Chris Pavlo, Will Featherstone, Jude Akudwudike, Laura Elphinstone, Rosie Boore, Elizabeth Counsell, John Lightbody, Ryan Early, Stephen Hogan, Sean Murray, Emma Handy, Lauren Cornelius, Kerry Gooderson, Ryan Whittle, Steven Robertson, Joseph Ayre, Narinder Samra, Tom Vanson, Sabrina Sandhu
Directed by Sasha Yevtushenko
Original music by Jon Nicholls. Sound design by Caleb Knightley.
First broadcast BBC Radio 4 Extra, 27 April-5 May 2015 (Series 1), 15-22 October 2018 (Series 2)
The Left Hand of Darkness
Genly Ai - Kobna Holdbrook-Smith
Estraven - Lesley Sharp
Argaven - Toby Jones
Other Cast: Louise Brealey, Noma Dumezweni, Ruth Gemmell, Adjoa Andoh, Stephen Critchlow, David Acton, David Hounslow, Rhiannon Neads, Sam Dale, Ayesha Antoine
Directed by Allegra McIlroy. First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 12-19 April 2015
Ursula Le Guin at 85
Presented by Naomi Alderman
With Ursula K. Le Guin, David Mitchell, Neil Gaiman and Karen Joy Fowler
Reader: Ayesha Antoine
Produced by Allegra McIlroy. First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 9 April 2015
©2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd
Malice is the dark and wicked heart of a fairytale carved into a book. This story is beautiful, vicious magic
—— Tasha Suri, author of Empire of SandA beautifully imaginative and feminist retelling of a fairytale so often swept into the dark. Walter's debut was engrossing from page one, with a vivid cast of characters, thrilling romance and a world so vivid it will wrap thorns around your dreams.
—— Roshani Chokshi, author of The Guilded WolvesA truly original and clever retelling of a classic that had me racing to the end - you'll never look at Sleeping Beauty the same again.
—— S.A. Chakraborty, author of City of BrassThe story grows deliciously darker at every turn . . . Fairy tale lovers of all ages will be thrilled
—— Publishers Weekly, Starred ReviewHeather Walter writes about magic-and with magic. Her retelling of Sleeping Beauty remains true to the beloved classic, yet every page is completely new and unexpected.
—— Richelle Mead, author of the Vampire Academy seriesEnchanting - and enchanted . . . a book to savor
—— Louisa Morgan, author of The Secret History of WitchesBewitching characters. Fascinating story. An up-all-night read. Why are you not reading this book RIGHT NOW?
—— Tamora PierceAbsolutely dazzling! Full of love, power, and betrayal, Malice is as compelling as a spell, as captivating as an enchantment, and as fascinating and delicious as a fairy-tale curse. I loved it!
—— Sarah Beth Durst, award-winning author of the Queens Of Renthia seriesA spellbinding debut ... for all the queer girls and women who've been told to keep their gifts hidden and for those yearning to defy gravity.
—— Oprah MagazineViciously satisfying. Malice takes Sleeping Beauty and turns everything on its head, cutting right to the core of this bejewelled world. Heather Walter has given us a villain to adore.
—— Chloe Gong, New York Times bestselling author of These Violent DelightsFull of evocative detail and memorable characters
—— Zoe West , Woman & HomeLily is a wonderful creation - diffident and trying to find her place in the world... But it's Tremain's attention to detail that really sets this novel apart
—— Ian Critchley , Literary ReviewTerrific
—— Claire Allfree , Sunday Telegraph, *Novel of the Week*An authentically melodramatic whydunnit set in Victorian London
—— Anthony Cummins , Daily MailTremain has created a feisty, rebellious heroine in the style of Jane Eyre and Maggie Tulliver, in a setting that owes much to Dickens... a very engaging read
—— Vanessa Berridge , Daily ExpressA heart-wrenching tale that blends historical detail, moral fable and fairy story with a powerful heroine at its helm
—— Yours, *Christmas Gift Guide 2021*Fans of Dickens's heart-tugging Little Dorrit should enjoy this powerful exploration of the human urge to seek places of sanctuary in a pitiless, fickle world. Perfect fireside reading - but better keep a hankie ready
—— Rebecca Wallersteiner , LadyTremain brilliantly conjures up the atmosphere of Victorian London while the story is cleverly structured to keep the reader guessing to the end
—— Richard Hopton , Country & Town HouseThe 19th-century world Tremain paints a wonderfully vivid. She arouses great pity in us for Lily, enhanced here by Hattie Morahan's warm and sensitive narration
—— Julian Margaret Gibbs , TabletDaring and sensual, Free Love is a compulsive exploration of love, sexual freedom and living out the most meaningful version of our lives.
—— SheerLuxeAn engrossing ploy, elegant nuanced writing...this is a novel to savour
—— Morag MacInnes , Tablet, *Novel of the Week*As ever, Ms Hadley's prose is limpid and measured yet richly sonorous: her story combines a modern sensibility with the psychological realism of writers such as Henry James... The ending glimmers with possibility--while suggesting that liberation comes at a cost.
—— EconomistWith astute psychological awareness of her characters, Hadley presents a visceral and engaging picture of a bygone time. Unexpected twists and unclichéd characters support the luscious language, making this a real pleasure of a read.
—— UK Press SyndicationFree Love artfully delves beneath the veneer of the British middle class to tell an intimate story of generational discord, political change and sexual freedom.
—— Mark Vessery , iHadley's resplendent eighth novel... [has] poignantly astute observations on class, destiny and the false promises of the sexual revolution.
—— Hephzibah Anderson , Mail on SundayHadley's eighth novel is as absorbing as any of her other fiction, with complex family secrets, brilliant insights...and lush descriptions of nature.
—— Markie Robson-Scott , Arts DeskHadley chooses her words with spellbinding precision.
—— Claire Allfree , MetroHadley's complex sentences are purring marvels of engineering... A brilliant writer of interiority...she has a gift...for portraying the state of wanting to be wanted, or simply to be seen... almost every page struck me anew with some elegant phrasing, feline irony or shrewdly sympathetic insight.
—— Anthony Cummins , ObserverFew contemporary novelists write about their characters' inner worlds with a finely filigreed but plain-spoken acuity that Tessa Hadley brings to her work...accessing roving, rich depths... Hadley is a master in her field.
—— Lucy Scholes , Daily Telegraph"With each new book by Tessa Hadley, I grow more convinced that she's one of the greatest stylists alive. . . . To read Hadley's fiction is to grow self-conscious in the best way: to recognize with astonishment the emotions playing behind our own expressions, to hear articulated our own inchoate anxieties. . . . The whole grief-steeped story should be as fun as a dirge, but instead it feels effervescent-lit not with mockery but with the energy of Hadley's attention, her sensitivity to the abiding comedy of human desire. . . . Extraordinary.
—— The Washington PostBrilliant.... In the hands of a lesser novelist, the intricate tangle of lives at the center of Late in the Day would feel like just such a self-satisfied riddle or, at best, like sly narrative machinations. Because this is Tessa Hadley, it instead feels earned and real and, even in its smallest nuances, important.... It's to her credit that Hadley manages to be old-fashioned and modernist and brilliantly postmodern all at once.... We've seen this before, and we've never seen this before, and it's spectacular.
—— New York Times Book ReviewUtterly engrossing... Free Love is highly gratifying.
—— Ellen Peirson-Hagger , New StatesmanFree Love is a triumph.
—— Sarah Collins , ProspectBrilliantly done... Hadley writes with devastating psychological insight, her prose spare and scalpel sharp. But she is also judiciously non-judgemental, a generous chronicler of the foibles and fears that mar and make a marriage.
—— Eithne Farry , Daily ExpressFree Love is an absolute joy to read from a writer who never puts a word wrong. Fans of Small Pleasures will love it.
—— Sarra Manning , Red[A] brilliant, sensual, seductively plotted new novel... Hadley has written an extraordinary story about love and transformation.
—— IndependentFree Love is often deeply perceptive and affecting... it lets you imagine what it was like to wrestle with old and new ways of thinking in an age that shaped (and continues to shape) our own.
—— Guy Stevenson , Literary ReviewIt's the 1960s and socialism, sex and nuclear anxiety have come crashing into the middle-class bubble Tessa Hadley novels usually operate so brilliant within.
—— The Times, *Summer Reads of 2022*A story about change and its limits, its beautifully judged ending will bring you to tears.
—— Daily Mail, *Summer Reads of 2022*[An] acutely realised, deeply humane novel... Unmissable.
—— Tablet, *Summer Reads of 2022*No novel published this year gave me more pleasure than Tessa Hadley's Free Love.
—— New Statesman, *Books of the Year*Nothing drew me in as conclusively as Free Love by Tessa Hadley, who is surely one of our most astute and deft observers of everyday lives.
—— New Statesman, *Books of the Year*Hadley's novels continue to get better and better - and this is her finest, most pleasurable yet... it's near enough the perfect present in book form
—— Daily Mail, *Books of the Year*She is, in all her mastery of the craft, a writer's writer.
—— Marie Claire






