Woman's Hour Drama - Wives and Daughters - Episode 9

Molly discovers some shocking news when she finds Cynthia talking to someone in the woods. Burdened with yet another secret, she undertakes to help her step-sister with her problem, but she may have bitten off more than she can chew. Elizabeth Gaskell's classic novel of everyday provincial life in the 1820s is dramatised by Theresa Heskins. Lily Gaskell . . . . . Deborah McAndrew Molly Gibson . . . . . Emerald O'Hanrahan Dr Gibson . . . . . Jamie Newall Roger Hamley . . . . . Gunnar Cauthery Cynthia . . . . . Maya Barcot Hyacinth . . . . . Julia Hills Lady Harriett . . . . . Cathy Sara Dorothy Browning . . . . . Marian Kemmer Phoebe Browning . . . . . Susan Jeffrey Mr Preston . . . . . Timothy Watson Produced and Directed by Peter Leslie Wild Notes Wives and Daughters was written in the 1860s and serialised in the Cornhill Magazine. It is set in the 1820s and deals to a large extent with the position of women in Society. Elizabeth Gaskell left it unfinished, so any dramatiser of the novel is faced with guessing the intended outcome of the story. Theresa Heskins previously adapted Lady Audley's Secret for the Woman's Hour serial, and has adapted Bleak House and Great Expectations for the New Vic Theatre, North Staffordshire, where she is Artistic Director.