by Angus Wilson
Dramatised in 2 parts by Michelene Wandor
Directed by Chris Wallace
Broadcast 8 and 15 November 1998, Classic Serial
160/44; 129 MB total; sound quality good
part 2 has duller sound.
Published in 1952 in England, Hemlock and After, Angus Wilson's first novel, was considered so shocking that his American publisher refused to accept it.
The story begins with Bernard Sands, a celebrated writer, enjoying his triumph over Civil Service bureaucracy; he has finally managed to establish a home for young writers at a nearby stately home, Vardon Hall.
Meanwhile all is not well at the Sands home. Ella,Bernard's wife, has long suffered from an isolating depression; daughter Elizabeth cynically uses her mindless job at a woman's magazine to conceal her sense of emptiness, Sands' son, James, is a social-climbing Tory candidate. And Bernard himself is struggling to negotiate the demands of his lately discovered homosexuality.
Cast:
Bernard Sands........................Derek Jacobi
Ella Sands...........................Anna Massey
Hubert Rose..........................John Roe
Mrs Curry............................June Watson
Terence Lambeth......................Paul Rees
Elizabeth Sands......................Emily Raymond
Isobel Sands.........................Irene Sutcliffe
Eric Craddock........................David Tennant
Celia Craddock.......................Francis Jeater
James Sands..........................Jonathon Keeble
Sonia Sands..........................Liz Whiting
Bill Pendlebury......................Rod Arthur
Sherman..............................Hugh Frazer
Ron Wrigley..........................Nicholas Boulton
Mrs Wrigley..........................Stella Tanner
Leo..................................Harry Myers
Reporter.............................Ben Crowe
Part 1 of 2
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Part 2 of 2
Hemlock and After pt2of2.mp3