BALANCING ACT

THE BEST OF FRIENDS

Gina and Laurence have been the best of friends ever since they were teenagers. They have never been in love - just friends. When her husband leaves Gina and their teenage daughter, she turns for emotional support to Laurence, her dearest friend. And as Laurence gives comfort, so his own marriage and the stability of his children edges towards destruction …

THE BOOK BOY

At thirty-eight, with a husband, home, family and a part-time job, Alice feel she should be happy. Instead a secret is gnawing away at her - she cannot read. With the help of a strange companion, the book boy, she embarks on a journey to learn.

BROTHER AND SISTER

Natalie and David are brother and sister who have always been close, even though they have both been adopted. They have always insisted that this didn't matter, but when Natalie feels the urge to trace her roots, she insists that David do the same. She eventually discovers that answers can sometimes be harder to live with than questions.

THE CHOIR

Aldminster Cathedral faces financial problems and the fate of the choir hangs in the balance.

ELIZA STANHOPE

The engagement of Julia to Richard Beaumont is the event of the year at the Hampshire estate of Julia's parents in 1814. But for Eliza Stanhope, Julia's cousin and childhood companion, it is a matter for scorn not congratulations. Surely one should marry for love and not for social advantage? However, Richard's presence brings the unexpected consequence of meeting his younger brother, Francis. Francis is newly returned from the Peninsular war, accompanied by a delightful fellow officer and friend, Pelham Howell. In the first of these new acquaintances Eliza meets a spirit as fierce as her own, in the second a charm and devotion she never thought to receive.

FRIDAY NIGHTS

Friday nights, the best night of the week, the night they all looked forward to more than they cared to admit - talking, drinking, laughing and crying together. They were six female friends, different in age and circumstances, but with one common need: the warmth and support of their Friday nights. It was a time to share secrets and fears, triumphs and tragedies and, above all, to feel safe in the company of women friends. But things never stay the same forever, especially when a man is introduced into the mix...

GIRL FROM THE SOUTH

For the children of sixties swingers life offers infinite opportunities.The men can't commit and the girls can't reconcile independence with motherhood. Bedevilled by indecision, they find that time is slipping away!

JOANNA TROLLOPE: PARSON HARDING'S DAUGHTER, A SPANISH LOVER, SECOND HONEYMOON

This collection comprises the BBC Radio dramatisations of Joanna Trollope’s historical novel Parson Harding's Daughter (written under the nom de plume Caroline Harvey) and two of her most popular contemporary novels, A Spanish Lover and Second Honeymoon, as well as an edition of the literary chat show The Book Café.

LEAVES FROM THE VALLEY

When Captain Edgar Drummond learns he is to serve his first commission in the Crimean war, he brings with him his two sisters, Blanche, the beauty, and Sarah, the bright, eager intelligent one. Slowly, as the horrors of the Crimea begin to pervade their lives, the sisters true qualities begin to emerge. Blanche discovers her physical beauty and unabashed frivolity have no place in the harsh world of war and she behaves disgracefully. Edgar, stiff and conventional, finds his obsession with reason and order ineffectual amidst the chaos of war. Only Sarah finds the courage to take an active role in the war, to protest against the horrors to which the common soldiers are subjected. .

MARRYING THE MISTRESS

Guy Stockdale, High Court Judge, had slipped easily into an affair with Merrion Palmer, a barrister half his age. After seven years Guy announced that he was divorcing his wife to marry Merrion. This decision had unseen consequences for his whole family.

THE MEN AND THE GIRLS

Julia Hunter and Kate Bain both have partners considerably older than themselves. They are both supremely happy but when Kate’s partner knocks a fiercely independent spinster from her bicycle a chain of unsettling events is unleashed and fuels the discontent in both girls.

NEXT OF KIN

When Caro Meredith dies, some well-kept secrets emerge which throw her family into disarray. It takes an outsider to help them come to terms with the revelations, but first they have to face up to some painful truths.

THE OTHER FAMILY

Chrissie always believed that Richie loved her and their three daughters and their happy, lively existence. But he had never given her the security of marriage. And then, suddenly, Richie is no longer there, and the one fact she had always tried to keep from her daughters threatens to overwhelm them. For Richie had still been married to his first wife, with a son that he had abandoned in Newcastle. And now, with Richie gone and wills to be sorted out, it is finally time for the two families to face each other ...

OTHER PEOPLE'S CHILDREN

For eight-year-old Rufus life has become complicated. His parents, Josie and Tom, have divorced and are setting off on separate paths. But now, other people have become involved, like his mother's new husband Matthew and his father's new friend Elizabeth. Rufus secretly prefers to be with his father, in his peaceful flat in Bath, where he realises that he doesn't actually hate the idea of a stepmother But where other people's children are concerned, neat solutions seldom occur ...

A PASSIONATE MAN

When Archie Logan’s father brings his charming mistress to stay with his son and wife, their lives are turned upside-down.

THE RECTOR'S WIFE

Anna Bouverie is the Rector's wife. She irons his surplices, delivers the parish newletters, and scrimps to get by on the pittance the Church pays while keeping up appearances for the gossipy villagers. As she watches her children suffer from lack of funds, and her husband withdraws into his work. Anna comes to realize that she's willing to do whatever it takes to save herself...

SECOND HONEYMOON.

At twenty-two Ben is moving out, leaving his mother distraught. His father meanwhile is looking forward to reclaiming his wife after years of family life. But as ben, and his siblings' lives get more complicated they retreat to the safety and simplicity of home!

SENSE AND SENSIBILITY

The Dashwood sisters could hardly be more different. Elinor, an architecture student, values discretion above all. Her impulsive sister Marianne dreams of going to art school. When the family are forced out of Norland Park, their beloved home, their values are severely put to the test. Part of ‘The Austen Project’, where renowned authors adapt Austen’s novels for the present day.

A SPANISH LOVER

Lizzie and Frances are twins and very close. Lizzie has everything, family and successful career, whereas Frances leads a solitary life. When Frances announces she is going to Spain instead of coming to Lizzie’s for Christmas it seems like a threat to their unity.

A VILLAGE AFFAIR

A love affair between two young women shocks and divides a village in rural England.