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John Yorke explores Lark Rise to Candleford, Flora Thompson鈥檚 much-loved account of rural life.

Lark Rise to Candleford is one of our best loved evocations of rural England, but it's also an evocation of rural poverty, and of the emerging opportunities for young women as a new century dawned.

It tells the story of a girl growing up in a poor rural hamlet in rural Oxfordshire in the 1880s. Eventually she moves to the village of Candleford Green to begin her adult life working in a post office, and her story frames the larger one of Britain at the end of the 19th century, facing seismic social change.

In this first of two episodes, John is keen to explore the puzzle of what sort of book Lark Rise to Candleford is. It appears to be an autobiographical social history of rural England at the close of the 19th century, but at the heart of it is a fictional character, Laura Timmins. And he wants to find out more about how Flora Thompson, a woman who left school at 14 after a rudimentary education, went on to write an instant bestseller which has become one of the 20th century鈥檚 most enduring classics.

John Yorke has worked in television and radio for thirty years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatized on 麻豆社 Radio 4. From EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of 麻豆社 Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world鈥檚 most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful 麻豆社 Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters - his students have had 17 green-lights in the last two years alone.

Contributors:
Emma Griffin, Professor of History at Queen Mary, University of London
Richard Mabey, nature writer
Reading by Emma Griffin

Credits: Lark Rise to Candleford by Flora Thompson, Oxford University Press, 1945

Produced by Jane Greenwood
Executive Producer: Sara Davies
Sound by Sean Kerwin
Researcher Nina Semple
Production Manager: Sarah Wright

A Pier production for 麻豆社 Radio 4

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