Main content
Sorry, this episode is not currently available

In Need of Modernisation

Margaret Forster's journey through houses she has lived in and how a wreck turns into a family home. Read by Sian Thomas.

The wreck that becomes the family home.

I was born on May 25, 1938, in the front bedroom of a house in Orton Road, on the outer edges of Raffles, a council estate. I was a lucky girl.'

So began Margaret Forster's journey through the houses she's lived in, from the sparkling new council house, built as part of a utopian vision by Carlisle City Council, to her beloved London house of today, via Oxford, Hampstead and the Lake District. Forster's houses aren't just bricks and mortar, but homes which have all meant something to her and which have all had a profound effect on her - from her writer's 'room of one's own', to the family hub and finally a sanctuary in times of illness. It is also a sideways look at the life of one of the greatest contemporary British novelists.

Read by Sian Thomas.

Writer: Margaret Forster
Abridger: Sally Marmion

Producer: Justine Willett

First broadcast on 麻豆社 Radio in November 2014.

15 minutes

Last on

Thu 29 Aug 2019 02:45

Credits

Role Contributor
Reader Sian Thomas
Author Margaret Forster
Abridger Sally Marmion
Producer Justine Willett

Broadcasts

  • Wed 26 Nov 2014 09:45
  • Thu 27 Nov 2014 00:30
  • Wed 8 Feb 2017 14:45
  • Thu 9 Feb 2017 02:45
  • Wed 28 Aug 2019 14:45
  • Thu 29 Aug 2019 02:45

Listen to more Audio Books

Listen to more Audio Books

Including My Sister The Serial Killer, Queenie, The Flatshare and more.

Opening Lines

Opening Lines

John Yorke unpacks the themes behind the stories in Radio 4's weekend afternoon dramas.

Sample our books and authors Clip Collection

Interviews, previews and reviews

Subscribe to the Short stories podcast

Featuring the best stories from the UK's finest writers

How many of these 100 Novels have you read?

How many of these 100 Novels have you read?

After a passionate debate, our panel has come up with this surprising literary selection.

Finding Your Story

Finding Your Story

Ten remarkable novels about identity: Which one will help you discover yourself?

麻豆社 Arts: Books

Celebrating reading and the 100 novels that have shaped our world.