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The F Scott Fitzgerald BBC Radio Collection
The F Scott Fitzgerald BBC Radio Collection
Jan 9, 2026 11:36 PM

Author:F Scott Fitzgerald,Sam Robards,Garrick Hagon,Kenneth Haigh,Stuart Milligan,Laurel Lefkow,John Sharian,Ed Bishop,Karen Bartke,Finn Den Hertog,William Hope,Sarah Keller

The F Scott Fitzgerald BBC Radio Collection

A collection of radio readings of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s fiction – plus two bonus programmes

Over the years the BBC has broadcast readings of many of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novels, novellas and short stories. This collection includes some of his most famous works alongside various lesser-known tales, including three ‘lost stories’ (first published in 2017 and with an introduction written by editor Anne Margaret Daniel).

Contents and track listing:

Track 1-10 - The Great Gatsby - read by Sam Robards

Track 11 - The Diamond as Big as the Ritz - read by Garrick Hagon

Track 12-31 - Tender is the Night - read by Kenneth Haigh

Track 32-34 - Babylon Revisited - read by Stuart Milligan

Track 35-36 - The Sensible Thing - read by Stuart Milligan

Track 37 - Bernice Bobs Her Hair - read by Laurel Lefkow

Track 38 - Financing Finnegan - read by John Sharian

Track 39 - The Smilers - read by John Sharian

Track 40 - An Alcoholic Case - read by John Sharian

Track 41 - Three Hours Between Planes - read by John Sharian

Track 42 - Pat Hobby’s Secret - read by Ed Bishop

Track 43 - Pat Hobby: Teamed with Genius - read by Ed Bishop

Track 44 - Pat Hobby and Orson Welles - read by Ed Bishop

Track 45 - Pat Hobby: The Homes of the Stars - read by Ed Bishop

Track 46-47 - Thank You for the Light - read by Karen Bartke, with an introduction read by Laurel Lefkow

Track 48 - The Couple - read by Finn den Hertog

Track 49 - Salute to Lucy and Elsie - read by Stuart Milligan

Also included are The Great Gatsby Letters(Track 50), in which F. Scott Fitzgerald tells his editor about his hopes and fears for his new novel, and The Beautiful and the Damned: A Portrait of F. Scott Fitzgerald(Track 51), featuring Ed Bishop and Sarah Keller as Fitzgerald and Zelda.

Please note: some of the language in this recording reflects the era in which it was first broadcast.

Reviews

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This (dimensionally) tiny book comes packed with huge emotion. Readers will speed through it in under two hours, then spend the rest of the day - at least - pondering the astonishing ideas it unleashes. The Deal of a Lifetime quite literally will grab you from the start and set you off in a host of incredible directions. Fredrik Backman has a wonderful ability to reach deep inside his readers, pull out feelings they didn't know they had, and set their minds spinning. What a blockbuster!

—— The Book Reporter, US

[This] book is short but every word counts and that'll hit you square in the heart. . . . You may shed tears over this book. You may need to savor it a second time, to feel its words again. However you read it, The Deal of a Lifetime is an experience you'll never trade.

—— Rushville Republican, US

Praise for Beartown

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Surrounded by impenetrable forests, it recreates the stifling atmosphere of a dying community. This is a mature, compassionate novel.

—— Sunday Times

A story about families, about friendship and loyalty, inequality, female vulnerability, male back-slapping, and parenthood ... No person's story is too little to be told, Backman includes them all. A novel with a big heart

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A kind of problem play that moves extremely skilfully near the melodramatic without derailing. Its originality is substantial and the book credibly conveys the dual faces of everyday life. An impressive novel, like no other

—— BTJ, Sweden

Friday Night Lights for Swedes

—— O Magazine

As popular Swedish exports go, Backman is up there with ABBA and Stieg Larsson.

—— The New York Times Book Review

Backman is a masterful writer, his characters familiar yet distinct, flawed yet heroic. . . There are scenes that bring tears, scenes of gut-wrenching despair, and moments of sly humor. . .Like Friday Night Lights, this is about more than youth sports; it's part coming-of-age novel, part study of moral failure, and finally a chronicle of groupthink in which an unlikely hero steps forward to save more than one person from self-destruction. A thoroughly empathetic examination of the fragile human spirit, Backman's latest will resonate a long time.

—— Kirkus Reviews

Jack of Hearts' is a confidently queer story that breaks away from the stereotypes to create refreshing and relatable characters

—— QWEERIST

The book I needed growing up as an isolated gay teen in a straight boy's world

—— Riyadh Khalaf, Presenter of Radio 1's Unexpected Fluids

A joyously sex positive exploration through teenage life with an unashamedly unapologetic queer hero

—— Calum McSwiggan, LGBTQ+ advocate and radio presenter

Dispenses sex advice that could be vital to young adult readers

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Tackles subjects that many would rather bury and pretend teens don't want (or need) to talk about

—— Simon James Green, author of Noah Can't Even and Noah Would Never

A sex-positive and thoughtful romp with humour and heart

—— Kirkus Reviews

A bold, inclusive exploration of teen sexuality that, propelled by Jack's brazen voice, never feels preachy

—— Booklist, starred review

Rosen (The Memory Wall) creates memorable protagonists and brings a fresh, frank voice to his YA debut

—— Publishers Weekly

This book is filth.

—— Julian Clary

It tells stories of diversity, queerness, sexuality, gender, and is very sex positive. It's the book about high school that gives you the sex ed class desperately lacking from high school education.

—— Courtney Act

Jack of Hearts is the book I needed growing up as an isolated gay teen in a straight boy's world.

—— Riyadh Khalaf, Presenter of Radio 1’s Unexpected Fluids

Jack of Hearts (And Other Parts) is a joyously sex positive exploration through teenage life with an unashamedly unapologetic queer hero and a page turningly sinister twist. Not only did the story keep me hooked, but it served as an inclusive guide to navigating the world of modern day sex as an adolescent. My horny teenage self would have loved this book, and I'm sure it would have helped him too.'

—— Calum McSwiggan, LGBTQ+ advocate and Radio Presenter

A well-crafted and riveting thriller populated by an engaging cast of characters. If this is what teenagers are like today, I want to go back to school!

—— Matt Cain, author of The Madonna of Bolton

Unapologetically honest, refreshingly bold and gloriously celebratory, Jack of Hearts tackles subjects that many would rather bury and pretend teens don't want (or need) to talk about.

—— Simon James Green, author of Noah Can’t Even and Noah Couldn’t Ever

Never before have I seen a representation of my sexuality and identity so holistic, so genuine, and yet so educational and down to earth at the same time.

—— Bradley Birkholz, LGBTQ+ Activist, Vlogger and Gay Star News and BBC Sesh contributor

It looks like Mark Haddon is about to have a great big success all over again

—— David Sexton , Evening Standard

Brilliantly readable… Comic and bittersweet

—— Observer

A closely observed domestic drama…

—— Carol Birch , Guardian

Characteristically original, deftly observed...

—— Mail on Sunday

A beautifully orchestrated novel that gently questions how we define success

—— James Urquhart , Financial Times

[Haddon] shows a knack for portraying family dynamics…

—— Alastair Mabbott , Herald

Mark Haddon proves himself a master of the domestic drama

—— Big Issue in the North

Gripping drama

—— EasyJet Traveller
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