Author:William Peter Blatty,Robert Glenister,Alexandra Mathie,Full Cast
Robert Glenister and Ian McDiarmid star in a gripping BBC Radio 4 dramatisation of William Peter Blatty’s classic horror novel
‘When a radio play is this good, the devil really is in the details’ Radio Times
Summoned to a case of apparent possession, Father Karras is at first sceptical, then horrified. The victim –a 12-year-old girl named Regan – seems to be controlled by a malign supernatural force that makes her swear, blaspheme, scream in agony and perform appalling acts. Attempting to find a rational explanation for the girl’s behaviour, Karras tries to talk to Regan, only to find himself locking horns with the demon inside her head. Its many voices mock him, tormenting him with his weakness, doubts and buried guilt. With his faith in God and humanity tested to the limit, Karras turns to the ultimate solution: exorcism…
The film version of The Exorcist is widely considered to be one of the most terrifying movies ever made. This new, full-cast radio drama is just as chilling, suspenseful and shocking, while also retaining the depth and psychological complexity of Blatty’s original novel. Adapted by Sony Award-winning dramatist Robert Forrest, it stars Robert Glenister as Karras, Alexandra Mathie as the Demon and Ian McDiarmid as Merrin.
Everything, Everything is everything, everything – powerful, lovely, heart-wrenching, and so absorbing I devoured it in one sitting. It’s a wonder. The rare novel that lifts and shatters and fills you all at once
—— Jennifer Niven, author of ALL THE BRIGHT PLACESThis extraordinary first novel about love so strong it might kill us is too good to feel like a debut. Tender, creative, beautifully written, and with a great twist, Everything, Everything is one of the best books I’ve read this year
—— Jodi PicoultWith offbeat, pragmatic and sweetly romantic characters and an unconventional narrative style . . . “Everything, Everything” tells us something we will always need to hear, no matter our age: that it’s not the risks of love or heartbreak that might end us. It’s the fear of the pain we might experience along the way that keeps us trapped in our cocoons
—— New York TimesFresh, moving debut . . . far more complex than the sweet tale of first love it initially seems to be
—— Entertainment WeeklyThis heartwarming story transcends the ordinary by exploring the hopes, dreams, and inherent risks of love in all of its forms
—— Kirkus Starred ReviewAn absolute peach of a love story. Maddy’s unique history of isolation and solitude makes every incremental step towards intimacy crackle with impossible hope. Their chemistry rebounds off the page. And it’s beautifully written, too, with charm, wit and style as well as heart
—— Susie Day, author of MY INVISIBLE BOYFRIENDAn entirely unique and beautiful reading experience. Gorgeous writing meshes with original artwork to tell a love story like no other. You’ve never read a book like this
—— David Arnold, author of MOSQUITOLANDEverything, Everything has everything . . . Romance, heart, and intelligence. Nicola Yoon’s book and voice stayed with me long after I finished reading
—— Danielle Paige, author of DOROTHY MUST DIEEvery so often a book comes along that is so perfect it takes your breath away, and leaves your heart hammering with the beauty of the writing and the sadness of the story. Sara Baume’s debut, Spill Simmer Falter Wither, is such a book … Baume’s prose is full of wonder – inventive, poetic and dazzling, concerned with the smallest details of the natural landscape and the terrains of human emotion. Absolutely astounding.
—— PsychologiesA deft and moving debut…To capture this constrained setting and quiet character requires specific skills, which Baume has in spades…It’s a claustrophobic, affecting debut and Baume has a rare ability to look afresh at muted scenes and ordinary objects…It’s not easy to tell such a sparse tale, to be so economic with story, but the book hums with its own distinctiveness, presenting in singing prose an unforgettable landscape peopled by two unlikely Beckettian wanderers, where hope is not yet lost.
—— GuardianExhilarating . . . This is a novel bursting with brio, braggadocio and bite. Again and again it wows you with its ambition . . . It’s hard to imagine a more exciting debut novel being published this year.
—— Irish TimesAmbitious and impressive . . . Baume’s engaging, intriguing and brightly original first novel may mark a comparably significant debut.
—— Times Literary SupplementAn exceptional, startling, and original book.
—— Colin BarrettThis extraordinary novel was recommended to me by just about everyone I know. It is a vivid debut that shows that Baume is a talent to keeo an eye on ... It is a sweepingly poetic and heartbreaking meditation on life after grief that I won't quickly forget.
—— Times Educational SupplementA subtle and powerful story about a man and his dog … Baume is in terrific control of her prose …her portrayal of her characters and her setting leap off the page … I look forward to whatever she writes next.
—— Big IssueOne of the most quietly devastating books of the year…What makes Baume’s book worth reading is the stark beauty of her prose. Her lyrical depictions of the Irish seascape are particularly evocative, and reminiscent of Tim Winton at his wild and wintry best…Traditionally Ireland has been synonymous with names like Joyce, Wilde, Beckett and Heaney – a small nation punching above its literary weight. Alongside the recent success of contemporaries like Eimear McBride (A Girl Is A Half-formed Thing) and Colin Barrett (Young Skins), Baume's stunning debut shows that Irish fiction is well and truly back on the map. With Spill Simmer Falter Wither she has created a dark, tender portrait of what it's like to live life on the margins.
—— Sydney Morning HeraldExquisite ... the prose is full of wonder, inventive, poetic and dazzling, concerned with the smallest detail of the natural landscape and the terrain of human emotion.
—— Sunday ExpressA mesmerising debut
—— TelegraphPowerful, heartbreaking, told with great control. The writing is superb . . . I had an image of all language standing to attention, eager to serve this writer.
—— Mary CostelloOne of the most quietly devastating books of the year … Baume's stunning debut shows that Irish fiction is well and truly back on the map. With Spill Simmer Falter Wither she has created a dark, tender portrait of what it's like to live life on the margins.
—— Sydney Morning HeraldTold in splendid prose, with lyrical descriptions of the landscape, it’s an involving story and possibly the best first novel to emerge from Ireland since Eimear McBride’s debut.
—— The HeraldBaume’s prose has an energy and cadence all of her own: utterly unsentimental, but in its open-hearted, sidelong engagement with the mercurial One Eye and the changing seasons strangely joyous.
—— GuardianHeart-breaking debut from new major talent Sara Baume.
—— Sheerluxe[A] joltingly original debut … Baume charts the growing dependency between these two stray souls with remarkable deftness and almost unbearable poignancy.
—— Mail on SundayBaume’s writing is poetic, delicate and inventive … and despite the undertow of humour, there’s not one whiff of sentimentality – you’re left with the sadness and chronic fearfulness of the truly lonely
—— The Times[A] skilful debut … lyrical and impressive.
—— Literary ReviewAn extraordinarily fresh style …this is an atmospheric novel …Baume is undoubtedly an exceptional new talent.
—— The PhoenixThose addicted to Shakespeare’s marvellous depiction of jealousy, guilt and teenage joie de vivre will be identifying and falling in love again with characters and their fateful lives… Plunge into The Gap of Time as a fresh, vibrant example of contemporary writing with an original, thought-provoking storyline… The Gap of Time is a top-quality novel.
—— Phillip Fisher , British Theatre GuideStylish and accomplished.
—— Peter Carty , International Business TimesThe Winter’s Tale meets House of Cards. Engrossing and ingenious, it deftly rewrites Shakespeare’s lamentation of destructive jealousy as an indictment of deregulated capitalism.
—— Peter Smith , Times Higher EducationWinterson charms with her playful translation of the cast from the courts of Sicily and Bohemia into our own quotidian life
—— Patricia Storace , The New York Review of BooksShe deftly captures all the magic and raw emotion of the original.
—— Irish Times