麻豆约拍

"In matters of the heart, nothing is true except the impossible." Germaine de Stael

Sian Ejiwunmi-Le Berre鈥檚 first radio drama takes a delightfully naughty romp through the real-life friendship of two phenomenal 鈥� but very different - women writers of the eighteenth century.

Before Jane Austen, there was Fanny Burney: England鈥檚 most celebrated female author, with two international hit novels under her belt: "Cecilia" and "Evelina". Now 41, her poor publishing choices, and the banning of her satirical plays by a father worried about scandal has left her broke. Fanny walks a fragile line between propriety and creativity. Independence is a distant dream.

For Germaine de Sta毛l, daughter of 鈥淕od鈥檚 Banker鈥�, political fixer and literary prodigy, financial independence isn鈥檛 a problem. At 26 her creativity is boundless, and propriety鈥� well, across Europe, her reputation for writing is only equalled by her reputation for scandal.

It鈥檚 1793, and King Louis XVI has just met the guillotine, when Germaine and Fanny meet for the first time. All seems set for the literary friendship of the age 鈥� but if Fanny is ever going to publish again, can she afford to be associated with Germaine?

Diaries get burnt, and letters get lost: little now remains from a passionate encounter that we know took place.

Luckily, Germaine鈥檚 real-life African servant Louise-Marie was there, and she鈥檚 determined to tell the tale of Fanny and Germaine in their own words - and her own inimitable 鈥渘ovelish style鈥�...

Sian Ejiwunmi-Le Berre was part of the 麻豆约拍 Writersroom Drama Room in 2018, and the Channel 4 Screenwriting Course in 2019. She continues her three-decade acting career, her songwriting is published by Universal, and directing includes work with Theatre de Complicit茅, and the National Theatre.

Louise-Marie ..... Lorna Gayle
Fanny Burney ..... Heather Craney
Germaine de Stael ..... Fiona Button
General D鈥橝rblay ..... Alexander Devrient
Count Narbonne-Lara ..... Philip Desmeules
Susannah ..... Jessica Turner
Voices ..... Will Kirk, Clive Hayward and Lucy Reynolds.

Produced and directed by Jonquil Panting