Episode 1
Why does Ethan Frome walk with a limp? What tragedy befell him over 20 years before? Tragic love story with Dominic Mafham.
Why does Ethan Frome walk with a limp? And what is the tragedy that befell him over twenty years earlier? A visitor to the town attempts to find out.
Ethan Frome ..... Dominic Mafham
Mattie .....Jessica Raine
Zeena .....Laurel Lefkow
Denis Eady ..... Christopher Webster
Post Mistress ..... Adjoa Andoh
Andrew Hale ..... Paul Moriarty
Edith Wharton ..... Fenella Woolgar
written by Edith Wharton
Dramatised by Lin Coghlan
Directed by Sally Avens
Ethan Frome is one of Edith Wharton's most enduring and powerful stories.
Set against the cold, grey, bleakness of a New England winter. Ethan Frome scrapes a living from his woodlot whilst trapped in an unhappy marriage with his hypochondriac wife, Zeena. A ray of light enters Ethan's life when his wife's cousin Mattie arrives to help. His life is transformed as he falls in love with Mattie but their fate is determined by their circumstances and the stifling conventions of the time.
Ethan Frome was deemed shocking when first published as it appeared to condone infidelity. What many readers did not know was that many of the novella's themes mirrored real events in the life of Edith Wharton. Her own story is told in an accompanying play 'The Jinx Element' that explores her own sexless marriage and a passionate affair that begun when she was 47.
First broadcast on Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4 in January 2012.
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- Mon 16 Jan 2012 10:45Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4
- Mon 16 Jan 2012 19:45Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4
- Mon 17 Aug 2015 14:30Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4 Extra
- Tue 18 Aug 2015 02:30Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4 Extra
- Mon 14 Aug 2017 14:30Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4 Extra
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