Opening Lines

BBC Radio 4
  • 4.0 (7)
  • BOOKS
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Producer and writer John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact behind the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in Radio 4's weekend afternoon dramas.

  1. 3D AGO

    The Virginian

    Owen Wister’s 1902 novel The Virginian did more than any other single piece of art in establishing the parameters of the Western as a genre. Telling the tale of a charismatic tight-lipped cowboy whose actions always speak louder than his words, it was wildly popular with readers and viewers of its many screen adaptations. The book is a celebration of rugged individualism and frontier spirit that spoke profoundly to its audience at the beginning of the twentieth-century - but does it offer any insights into the state of America today? The programme features James Annesley, Professor of American literature at Newcastle University. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years, and shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4’s Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. As creator of the BBC Writers Academy he's trained a generation of screenwriters - now with over 70 green lights and thousands of hours of television to their names. He is the author of Into the Woods, the bestselling book on narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of narrative, including many podcasts for Radio 4. Contributors: James Annesley, Professor of American literature at Newcastle University. Sound: Sean Kerwin Researcher: Henry Tydeman Production Hub Coordinator: Dawn Williams Producer: Geoff Bird Reader: Eric Stroud Executive Producer: Sara Davies A Pier production for BBC Radio 4

    15 min

  2. FEB 25

    Gone with the Wind - Episode Three

    In the series that takes a look at books, plays and stories and how they work, John Yorke concludes his exploration of Margaret Mitchell’s epic Civil War romance, Gone with the Wind. In the 90 years since it was published it has sold more than 30 million copies – it was the bestselling American novel of the 20th century - but the book has become increasingly problematic for modern readers. In this third and final episode, John considers the themes of nostalgia and survival that made Gone with the Wind such a phenomenal hit when it was published at the height of the Great Depression in 1936. And he explores the complexity of the book’s legacy today. John is joined by Sarah Churchwell, Professor of American Literature at the University of London and the author of The Wrath to Come: Gone with the Wind and the Lies America Tells; Dr Nicole King, Associate Professor of American Literature and Fellow of Exeter College Oxford; and Rachel Joyce, who has adapted Gone with the Wind for BBC Radio 4. Together they explore what the book offers readers today. Is it a classic of American fiction or an extremely uncomfortable, racist period piece? And they ask if we should even read it at all. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years and shares his experience as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4’s Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. As creator of the BBC Writers Academy, he's trained a generation of screenwriters - now with over 70 green lights and thousands of hours of television to their names. He is the author of Into the Woods, the bestselling book on narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of narrative - including many podcasts for Radio 4. Contributors: Sarah Churchwell, Professor of American Literature at the University of London Rachel Joyce, adapter of Gone with the Wind for BBC Radio 4 Dr Nicole King, Associate Professor of American Literature and Fellow of Exeter College Oxford Reading by Samantha Dakin Credits: Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell, published by Vintage Books Produced by Jane Greenwood Executive Producer Sara Davies Sound by Sean Kerwin Researcher Henry Tydeman Production hub coordinator Dawn Williams A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds

    14 min

  3. FEB 15

    Gone with the Wind - Episode 2

    In the series that takes a look at books, plays and stories and how they work, John Yorke continues his exploration of Margaret Mitchell’s epic Civil War romance, Gone with the Wind. In the 90 years since it was published it has sold more than 30 million copies – it was the bestselling American novel of the 20th century - but the book has become increasingly problematic for modern readers. In this second episode, John considers how the history of the American Civil War and its aftermath inform the way the story is told. And he asks how we should address Margaret Mitchell’s shockingly complacent attitude to slaveholding and the racist language in the book. John is joined by Sarah Churchwell, Professor of American Literature at the University of London and the author of The Wrath to Come: Gone with the Wind and the Lies America Tells; Dr Nicole King, Associate Professor of American Literature and Fellow of Exeter College Oxford; and Rachel Joyce, who has adapted Gone with the Wind for BBC Radio 4. Together they explore the racism that underlies the story and the difficulties of navigating Mitchell’s attitude to her black characters. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years and shares his experience as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4’s Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. As creator of the BBC Writers Academy, he's trained a generation of screenwriters - now with over 70 green lights and thousands of hours of television to their names. He is the author of Into the Woods, the bestselling book on narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of narrative - including many podcasts for Radio 4. Contributors: Sarah Churchwell, Professor of American Literature at the University of London Rachel Joyce, adapter of Gone with the Wind for BBC Radio 4 Dr Nicole King, Associate Professor of American Literature and Fellow of Exeter College Oxford Reading by Samantha Dakin Credits: Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell, published by Vintage Books Produced by Jane Greenwood Executive Producer: Sara Davies Sound by Sean Kerwin Researcher: Henry Tydeman Production hub coordinator: Dawn Williams A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds

    14 min

  4. FEB 8

    Gone with the Wind - Episode 1

    In the series that takes a look at books, plays and stories and how they work, John Yorke explores Margaret Mitchell’s epic Civil War romance, Gone with the Wind. It was the bestselling American novel of the 20th century, it has sold 30 million copies and counting, it won the Pulitzer Prize, and the 1939 film of the book remains among the highest grossing of all time. Gone with the Wind is a coming-of-age story, a love triangle, and an epic wartime romance. And it is a rollicking read, a hugely entertaining book, but one with considerable problems for today’s readers – problems that John Yorke explores and analyses over three episodes. In this first episode John considers how Margaret Mitchell tells this huge sweeping story and asks what made it such a phenomenal hit. John is joined by the writer Rachel Joyce who has adapted Gone with the Wind for BBC Radio 4, and Sarah Churchwell, Professor of American Literature at the University of London and the author of The Wrath to Come: Gone with the Wind and the Lies America Tells. Together they explore what makes the book such a captivating read and how it is driven by the central character, Scarlett O’Hara, one of the most compelling and infuriating heroines ever written. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years and shares his experience as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4’s Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. As creator of the BBC Writers Academy, he's trained a generation of screenwriters - now with over 70 green lights and thousands of hours of television to their names. He is the author of Into the Woods, the bestselling book on narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of narrative - including many podcasts for Radio 4. Contributors: Sarah Churchwell, Professor of American Literature at the University of London Rachel Joyce, adapter of Gone with the Wind for BBC Radio 4 Readings by Samantha Dakin Credits: Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell, published by Vintage Books Produced by Jane Greenwood Executive Producer Sara Davies Sound by Sean Kerwin Researcher Henry Tydeman Production hub coordinator Dawn Williams A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds

    14 min

  5. FEB 1

    Walden

    During the mid-19th century America was undergoing unprecedented change. New railroads and canals allowed people and goods to criss-cross the country, as the old agrarian economy was replaced by a fast-paced industrialised one. This rapid market expansion was driven by profit and underpinned by slavery. As the lives of Americans began to speed up, Henry David Thoreau took time out to ask himself a question - is this the best way to live? In 1845, when he was 27 years old, he built a one-roomed cabin next to Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts, and began an experiment in what he called ‘living deliberately’. During the two years he spent at Walden Pond, Thoreau lived simply. He studied, read widely, went for long walks, and often just sat and contemplated the natural world around him. The journal he kept during the two years he lived in his microhouse would become Walden, a genre-defying mix of memoir, essay, nature diary, philosophical treatise and self-help guide. The book was not an immediate success but steadily grew in popularity after Thoreau’s early death at the age of 44. Walden is now regarded as a foundational work of both American literature and Transcendentalist philosophy. It has been continuously in print since 1862. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for over 30 years and shares his experience as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories dramatised in BBC Radio 4’s Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. He created the BBC Writers Academy and trained a generation of screenwriters - now with thousands of hours of television to their names. His acclaimed books Into the Woods and Trip to the Moon explore the structure and power of narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of storytelling, including many podcasts for R4. Contributors: Laura Dassow Walls, author of Henry David Thoreau: A Life. Professor Emerita of English at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana. Kristen Case, poet and Thoreau scholar. Editor of the Oxford Handbook of Henry David Thoreau. Editor of essays on Thoreau and author of Thoreau’s Kalendar – Charts and Observation of Natural Phenomena. Tracy Fullerton, game designer, educator and writer, best known for Walden, a game. Professor in the USC Interactive Media & Games Division of the USC School of Cinematic Arts and Director of the Game Innovation Lab at USC. Reader: Eric Stroud Production Hub Coordinator: Dawn Williams Researcher: Henry Tydeman Sound: Iain Hunter Producer: Kate McAll Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael A Pier production for BBC Radio 4

    14 min

  6. JAN 25

    The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

    The headless horseman who haunts Sleepy Hollow in Washington Irving’s ghost story has become an iconic figure in American popular culture, thanks to many film and TV adaptations, ranging from a 1922 silent movie to an episode of Scooby Doo. John Yorke looks at how this deceptively simple tale made Irving an overnight literary superstar when it was published in an 1820 collection of short stories that also included Rip van Winkle, and why it was so influential on the work of the next generation of American writers including Herman Melville and Mark Twain. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for over 30 years and shares his experience as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories dramatised in BBC Radio 4’s Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. He created the BBC Writers Academy and trained a generation of screenwriters - now with thousands of hours of television to their names. His acclaimed books Into the Woods and Trip to the Moon explore the structure and power of narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of storytelling, including many podcasts for R4. Elizabeth Bradley has edited two Penguin Classic editions of Washington Irving's work and is Vice President of Programs and Engagement at Historic Hudson Valley. Brian Jay Jones is the author of Washington Irving: An American Original and several other best-selling biographies. Reader: Riley Neldam Music: Torquil MacLeod Researcher: Henry Tydeman Production Hub Coordinator: Dawn Williams Sound: Sean Kerwin Producer: Torquil MacLeod Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael A Pier production for BBC Radio 4

    14 min

  7. JAN 4

    The Last of the Mohicans - Episode Two

    In this second episode, John Yorke assesses the criticism levelled against James Fenimore Cooper’s 1826 novel The Last of the Mohicans - primarily that it is responsible for the widely held, inaccurate, view that indigenous Americans were inevitably disappearing during the period the novel is set, and that that false narrative was used to justify colonisation. Also, John delves deeper into the author’s background to understand his influences, and asks what we should make of The Last of the Mohicans today. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years and shares his experience as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4’s Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. As creator of the BBC Writers Academy, he's trained a generation of screenwriters - now with over 70 green lights and thousands of hours of television to their names. He is the author of Into the Woods, the bestselling book on narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of narrative - including many podcasts for Radio 4. Contributors: Jordan Abel, Nisga’a writer and academic. Richard Slotkin, American Cultural Historian. Credits: Readings by Eric Stroud Excerpts from The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper, 1826. Excerpt from Fenimore Cooper’s Literary Offenses, by Mark Tawain, 1895. Film clip from The Last of the Mohicans, 1992 Morgan Creek Entertainment / Twentieth Century Fox. Excerpt from Empty Spaces by Jordan Abel, 2023, read by the author. Researcher: Henry Tydeman Sound: Sean Kerwin Producer: Jack Soper Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael Production Hub Coordinator: Dawn Williams A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds

    14 min

  8. 12/28/2025

    The Last of the Mohicans - Episode 1

    Published in 1826, the American writer James Fenimore Cooper’s novel The Last of the Mohicans is set during the French and Indian War, in 1750s North America. The story follows a group of British colonists trying to cross frontier land – and examines the complexity of the relationship that existed between the colonialists and the land they were - in essence stealing – the native American’s. The book, which has been adapted widely for film and TV, mixes fiction with real historical events and has received both huge praise, as one of the foundation stones of American literature, and substantial criticism, for perpetrating a false narrative about the fate of indigenous American people. In the first of two episodes, John Yorke asks how Cooper came to write The Last of the Mohicans, why was it successful and what we should we make of it today. John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years and shares his experience as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4’s Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. As creator of the BBC Writers Academy, he's trained a generation of screenwriters - now with over 70 green lights and thousands of hours of television to their names. He is the author of Into the Woods, the bestselling book on narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of narrative - including many podcasts for Radio 4. Contributors: Jordan Abel, Nisga’a writer and academic. Richard Slotkin, American Cultural Historian. Credits: Readings by Eric Stroud Excerpts from The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper, 1826. Researcher: Henry Tydeman Sound: Sean Kerwin Producer: Jack Soper Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael Production Hub Coordinator: Dawn Williams A Pier Production for BBC Radio 4 & BBC Sounds

    14 min
See All (122)

4
out of 5
7 Ratings

About

Producer and writer John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact behind the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in Radio 4's weekend afternoon dramas.

Information

  • Creator
    BBC Radio 4
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    122
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © (C) BBC 2026
  • Show Website
    Opening Lines

You Might Also Like