THE L SHAPED ROOM, BACKWARD SHADOW & OTHER STORIES: A BBC RADIO 4 DRAMA COLLECTION

By Lynne Reid Banks

Synopsis

Award-winning author Lynne Reid Banks is perhaps best known for her classic children's book The Indian in the Cupboard. But it was her groundbreaking debut novel for adults, The L-Shaped Room, that made her name. First published in 1960, it was an instant success and has been in print ever since. This collection contains both The L-Shaped Room and sequel The Backward Shadow, as well as two stories specially written for BBC radio and a bonus edition of Bookclub.

Sample Player

Narrator	Miscellaneous
Length	6hrs
Catalogue No.	16017
Publisher	BBC Audio; 2022

Other audiobooks by Lynne Reid Banks

THE BACKWARD SHADOW

Jane settles into village life with her baby. When Dottie arrives they put their heads together and come up with a scheme to improve their lives.

BAD CAT, GOOD CAT

Cats aren't there for people, people are there for cats. At least that's how Turk believes things should be. He takes every liberty with his family, while Peony is a model of good-catliness – until she falls under Turk's spell. Should cats be good or bad? They find out when they are left to fend for themselves after their humans are tricked into going on holiday without them.

BROKEN BRIDGE

Sequel to 'One More River' (617512). The murder of fourteen-year-old Glen Shelby, soon after his arrival in Israel to visit his father's family, has a dramatic effect on the lives of his relatives, the other members of their kibbutz, and the Arabs responsible for his death.

CASUALTIES

With her marriage at breaking point, Sue McClusky is at a crossroads. So when her old friend, Mariolain, suggests the family come to stay with her in The Netherlands, Sue accepts immediately. Thirty-five years earlier, Mariolain and her husband, Niels, suffered unimaginably during the Second World War. As Sue learns the harrowing truth, she begins to feel that maybe the shocks of the past can help heal the rifts of the present…

DARK QUARTET

Isolated in a ramshackle parsonage on the Yorkshire moors, the Brontë children created their own fantasy worlds. Charlotte, Emily, Anne and their brother Branwell spent their childhoods absorbed in creating miniature manuscripts that preserved the stories of their imaginative dreamworlds. How did three provincial sisters become household names? And what led to the ultimately tragic fate for this Dark Quartet…?

THE FAIRY REBEL

Jan is moping in the garden when Tiki, the fairy, is accidentally 'earthed' and can now be seen by humans. Tiki wants to help Jan, who is very unhappy, but if she does, she risks the anger of the Fairy Queen because she will be breaking Fairy rules!

THE FARTHEST AWAY MOUNTAIN

Dakin wants to marry a prince, meet a gargoyle, and visit the farthest-away mountain. But no-one, not even the most travelled of men has ever reached the farthest-away mountain, and however far you travel it never gets any closer.

HARRY THE POISONOUS CENTIPEDE

Harry is a poisonous centipede but he’s not very brave. Harry likes to eat things that are juicy and munchy! But there are some things that a poisonous centipede must never try to eat – dangerous things like flying swoopers, belly wrigglers, furry biters and the most dangerous of all… Hoo-Mins!

HARRY THE POISONOUS CENTIPEDE GOES TO SEA

Harry and George face the toughest adventure yet when they are shipped west in a crate of bananas. Miles away from home, they must find a way to survive the bitter cold and hide from the hundreds of Hoo-Mins do-diddling around them. But they inadvertently squirm into a Hoo-Min Nest and come face to face with a hairy-yowler!

HARRY THE POISONOUS CENTIPEDE'S BIG ADVENTURE

When Harry the poisonous centipede’s best friend, George, goes missing, Harry goes to find him. But dangerous things lurk outside his nest-tunnel, like flying swoopers, belly crawlers, furry biters and – most terrifying of all – Hoo-Mins!

THE INDIAN IN THE CUPBOARD

When Omri is given a toy Indian and a small cupboard for his birthday, he has no idea that when he puts the Indian in the cupboard it will come alive.

THE KEY TO THE INDIAN

The fifth title in this series. Omri and his father travel back in time to find Little Bull and his people in deep trouble, torn between staying in the West and facing extinction or starting a long trek to a new life in Canada. Sequel to 'The Mystery of the Cupboard' (616763)

THE L-SHAPED ROOM

When she announces that she is pregnant, 27-year-old Jane Graham is turned out by her father and rents a room in the top of a squalid boarding house in Fulham, feeling this is all she deserves. She is rescued by her neighbours: Toby, a Jewish writer, John, a jazz musician and even her landlady.

MELUSINE

Arriving at their holiday chateau, Roger and his family find it to be in a decrepit state. The owner is unfriendly and unhelpful, so Roger sets out to befriend his daughter, the enigmatic Melusine.

THE MYSTERY OF THE CUPBOARD

Fourth book of the series. Sequel to ‘The secret of the Indian’ (616762). When Omri and his family move to a thatched farmhouse he begins to unlock the secret of the magic cupboard and his family history.

ONE MORE RIVER

This is the story of Lesley's journey from Canada to a kibbutz on the River Jordan. With the approach of the Six Day War, her secret acquaintance with an Arab boy across the Jordan threatens her hard-won acceptance by her new Israeli classmates.

PATH TO THE SILENT COUNTRY

With the death of her troubled brother followed quickly by those of her two soul-sisters - Emily and Anne - Charlotte Brontë finds a new purpose for her life in her writing. Se is now ready to pursue her writing career and experience London society. Will she ever be able to heal from the deaths of her sisters? Or is she, too, destined to have her life cut short in tragic circumstances…?

RETURN OF THE INDIAN

Second book in the series. Sequel to ‘The Indian in the Cupboard’ (615876). Omri longs to see his tiny blood bother again. When he opens the cupboard door he finds Little Bull unconscious, with two bullet wounds in his back.

THE SECRET OF THE INDIAN

Third book of the series. Sequel to ‘The Return of the Indian’ (616761). Omri’s friend Patrick finds a way of travelling back in time to the Wild West.

TIGER, TIGER

Two tiger cubs are captured from the jungle and are taken to Rome. One becomes Princess Aurelia's pampered pet, but the other has to perform in Caesar's bloodthirsty circus. The princess hates her father's cruel sport, but keeps quiet because no-one dares criticise the almighty Caesar!

UPROOTED: A CANADIAN WAR STORY

In 1940 as war rages across Europe, ten-year-old Lindy waves goodbye to England and makes the long journey to Saskatoon, Canada, along with her mother and her cousin Cameron. They may be far from the war but they are also far from everyone they know and love. Life in Canada is very different but it is also full of exciting new adventures…