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A Many-Splendoured Thin’, by the Eurasian author and doctor Han Suyin, was an instant hit in Britain and the States on its publication in 1952. Set in Hong Kong between 1949 and 1950, it’s a lightly fictionalised account of the author’s own passionate and transformative love affair.

The protagonist mirrors Han Suyin, herself – a Eurasian doctor originally from mainland China, born to a Chinese father and a Belgian mother. In real life, Han Suyin fell in love with an Australian war correspondent who, in the novel, becomes an Englishman, Mark Elliott.

In the second of two episodes, John explores Han’s other love affair, with China itself. He explains that A Many-Splendoured Thing is no longer in print and that this can be seen in the light of Han Suyin having been, for a long time, a passionate advocate of communism in China, which she saw as an improvement on the brutalities she had witnessed in feudal China. This resulted in her and her books falling out of favour as the horrors of the Cultural Revolution became fully apparent .

However, John believes it’s well worth tracking down a copy, as the novel tackles both the complexities of a cross cultural affair in 1949, and offers us a personal and nuanced portrait of a period of extreme political upheaval.

John Yorke has worked in television and radio for nearly 30 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 dramatised on Â鶹Éç 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 Â鶹Éç Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world’s most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful Â鶹Éç Writers Academy, John has trained a generation of screenwriters.

Credits:
A Many-Splendoured Thing by Han Suyin, published by Jonathan Cape, 1952 (currently out of print)

Contributors:
Ming Ho, writer, who adapted the book for Â鶹Éç Radio 4
Alex Tickell, Professor of Global literatures in English at the Open University

Reader: Chipo Chung

Producer: Penny Boreham
Executive Producer: Sara Davies
Researcher: Nina Semple
Production Manager: Sarah Wright
Sound Engineer: Iain Hunter

A Pier production for Â鶹Éç Radio 4

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