North and South

A major BBC Radio dramatisation of Elizabeth Gaskell's famous Victorian novel of pride, prejudice, politics and passion When 19-year-old Margaret Hale is uprooted from her home in the rural South of England and transplanted to the industrial North, she struggles to adapt. Smoky, grimy and ugly, Milton seems like a different country - one run by men with very different beliefs to her own, like charismatic mill owner John Thornton. A self-made entrepreneur and pragmatic capitalist, Thornton represents everything the idealistic Margaret hates. Witnessing the conditions at his mill, her social conscience is awakened, and she clashes fiercely with him over his ruthless treatment of the workers. But when a strike turns into a violent riot, and Thornton is put in danger, Margaret is forced to face up to her conflicted feelings. Can the duo overcome their ideological differences and find love? Also included is the fascinating programme In Our Time: North and South, in which Melvyn Bragg and guests examine how Margaret Hale's experiences echo the author's own life, and discuss Gaskell's insights into social conflicts and the changing world in which she lived. Written by Elizabeth Gaskell Dramatised by Lin Coghlan Cast Margaret - Patsy Ferran Mr Hale - Paul Chahidi Mrs Hale - Ruth Everett Dixon - Felicity Montagu John Thornton - James Cartwright Mrs Thornton - Pooky Quesnel Higgins - Sean Gilder Bessy - Olivia Barrowclough Aunt Shaw - Joanna Monro Henry Lennox - Jonathan Forbes Henderson - David Hounslow Boucher - Lloyd Thomas Frederick - Colin Ryan Mr Bell - Roger Ringrose Mrs Boucher - Evie Killip Leonards - Luke Nunn Directed by Sally Avens First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 4-18 September 2022 In Our Time: North and South Presented by Melvyn Bragg With Sally Shuttleworth, Dinah Birch and Jenny Uglow Produced by Simon Tillotson First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 9 March 2017 © 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd