{"product_id":"book-l63s","title":"Sybil, or The Two Nations","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eBenjamin Disraeli's powerful, polemical story of love across the class divide\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChosen by \u003ci\u003eThe Guardian\u003c\/i\u003e as one of the best 100 novels of all time, Disraeli's classic 1845 'condition-of-England' novel exposes the inequality and exploitation endemic in 19\u003csup\u003eth\u003c\/sup\u003e century Britain, and the vast gulf between the haves and the have-nots.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt centres on Charles Egremont, a member of the landed gentry and newly elected MP. With a glittering future ahead of him, he is in need of a suitable wife, and his brother, the Earl of Marney, is keen that he should marry Lady Joan Fitz-Warene. The heiress to Mowbray Castle, she brings with her a considerable fortune: but from the moment Charles sets eyes on Sybil Gerard in the ruins of Marney Abbey, he can think of no-one else.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSybil is beautiful, graceful and ethereal – and the daughter of a Yorkshire millworker. When her father, a militant Chartist, shares with Charles his theory of the 'two nations' of rich and poor, Charles' eyes are opened, and he disguises himself as a reporter to investigate the plight of the working classes. As he falls deeper in love with Sybil, and discovers what life is really like for the less fortunate, he determines to use his position to effect change. But those in power are not easily swayed, nor is Sybil's heart easily won…\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eStarring \u003cb\u003eRichard Derrington\u003c\/b\u003e as Charles, with \u003cb\u003eSorcha Cusack\u003c\/b\u003e as Sybil, this absorbing historical drama vividly evokes both the luxurious life of the aristocracy and the grinding poverty of the farm labourers, miners and factory workers struggling for existence on the other side of the social divide.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eProduction credits\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWritten by Benjamin Disraeli\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDramatised by Frederick Bradnum\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDirected by Vanessa Whitburn\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEpisode List:\u003cbr\u003e1: Marney Town and Marney Abbey\u003cbr\u003e2: Mowbray Town and Mowbray Castle\u003cbr\u003e3: Mowedale and Hellhouse\u003cbr\u003e4: The Chartists and the Aristocracy\u003cbr\u003e5: Love and Conspiracy\u003cbr\u003e6: Of Destruction and Reconciliation\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eCast\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCharles Egremont – \u003cb\u003eRichard Derrington\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWalter Gerard – \u003cb\u003eAlan Doble\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLord Marney – \u003cb\u003eMichael N Harbour\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eStephen Morley – \u003cb\u003eTerry Molloy\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBenjamin Disraeli – \u003cb\u003eRichard Pasco\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLady Marney\/Lady Deloraine – \u003cb\u003ePatricia Gallimore\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eArabella Marney – \u003cb\u003eKathryn Hurlbutt\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSir Vavasour Firebrace – \u003cb\u003eRobert Dorning\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMother Superior – \u003cb\u003ePenelope Lee\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTaper\/Bingley\/Sinister man – \u003cb\u003eDavid Vann\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTadpole – \u003cb\u003eDavid Peart\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMr Pugh – \u003cb\u003eBill Bellamy\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLord Milford\/Brewer – \u003cb\u003eKim Durham\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCaptain Grouse\/Lawyer – \u003cb\u003eScott Cherry\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMountchesney\/Constable\/Tanner\/Field – \u003cb\u003ePeter Harlowe\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBerneers\/Peer\/Youth – \u003cb\u003eJonathan Owen\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLord Mowbray\/Juggins – \u003cb\u003eStephen Hancock\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLady Joan\/Caroline – \u003cb\u003eElizabeth Proud\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLady Maud\/Harriet – \u003cb\u003eHedli Niklaus\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLady Mowbray – \u003cb\u003eEileen Barry\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAubrey St Lys – \u003cb\u003eClive Marlowe\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDandy Mick\/Youth – \u003cb\u003ePaul Copley\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDevilsdust – \u003cb\u003eAlan Devereux\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eChaffing Jack\/Police Inspector – \u003cb\u003eWilliam Eedle\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWidow Carey – \u003cb\u003eMary Wimbush\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMrs Warner – \u003cb\u003ePauline Siddle\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMaria\/Dame – \u003cb\u003eCarole Boyd\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBishop Hatton – \u003cb\u003eRoger Hume\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMrs Hatton – \u003cb\u003eJoyce Latham\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNixon\/Jermyn\/Diggs – \u003cb\u003eJames Kerry\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMr Trafford\/Waghorne\/Sergeant – \u003cb\u003eMichael Bilton\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMrs Trafford – \u003cb\u003eShirley Stelfox\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eScrubbynose – \u003cb\u003eDavid Conner\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBaptist Hatton – \u003cb\u003ePeter Tuddenham\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJulia – \u003cb\u003eAnna Lindup\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eGirls and boys of Mowedale and Hellhouse – \u003cb\u003eMembers of the Forest Youth Theatre, Walsall\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFirst broadcast BBC Radio 4, 13 November-18 December 1983\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e© 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Penguin UK","offers":[{"title":"Audiobook","offer_id":67721773449520,"sku":"BDl63s","price":11.67,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0879\/2784\/9264\/files\/l63s-Square-cover.jpg?v=1788387485","url":"https:\/\/downpour.com\/products\/book-l63s","provider":"Downpour","version":"1.0","type":"link"}