BARBARA PYM: A BBC RADIO DRAMA COLLECTION

AN ACADEMIC QUESTION

In a provincial university town, Caro Grimstone, a dissatisfied faculty wife, becomes the unwilling accomplice to her husband Alan's ambitions. When she volunteers to read to a blind, esteemed anthropologist in a nursing home, Alan seizes the opportunity to steal his papers - research that could both advance his reputation while refuting the findings of a respected colleague. A delightful comedy of manners with a touch of mystery, An Academic Question is prime Barbara Pym territory.

CRAMPTON HODNET

The leafy streets and Victorian houses of North Oxford are home to lecturers and provide lodgings for young curates. Here we find Miss Doggett and her great-niece Anthea, whose father, a don, is in love with one of his students.

GLASS OF BLESSINGS

Wilmet Forsyth's interest in the Anglo-Catholic church leads her into the company of three unmarried priests, and Piers Longridge!

QUARTET IN AUTUMN

In 1970s London Edwin, Norman, Letty and Marcia work in the same office and suffer the same problem - loneliness. Their work is their chief point of contact with each other and with the outside world. When the two women retire, the equilibrium of the quartet is upset.

SOME TAME GAZELLE

The Misses Bede are actively involved in the affairs of a country parish. Things start to change with two new arrivals, Nathaniel Mold, a famous librarian, and a Bishop from Africa.

THE SWEET DOVE DIED

Between the amorous antique dealer Humphrey and his good-looking nephew James glides the magnificent Leonora, delicate as porcelain, cool as ice. Can she keep James in her thrall? Or will he be taken from her by a lover, like Phoebe . . . or Ned, the wicked American?