Wonderful narration...

Five great stories, wonderfully narrated by Jeremy Northam…

The Real Thing – a Major and his wife, down on their luck, approach the artist narrator, asking if they can work as models. Wouldn’t it be great, they suggest, if for once he had ‘the real thing’ to draw from? Full of humour and pathos, with much to say about class.

Greville Fane – the story of a woman author who writes second-rate but popular novels, and uses the money to educate her children, who then grow up to look down on her as vulgar. A sad story beautifully told, about class and literary snobbery.

Four Meetings – the narrator tells of the four times he met Catherine Spencer, a young woman whose dreams of travelling in Europe are thwarted by her own kindness and naivety, and the exploitation of others. Quietly tragic.

Broken Wings – an artist and a novelist who were once attracted meet again after some years. Both achieved early acclaim and still put on a show of being successful. But in reality both are failing. A great depiction of how early success can be as much curse as blessing, but, for once, a happy ending!

Europe – this time three sisters all long to escape their small-town lives and travel to Europe, but only one of them succeeds. A sad story of broken dreams and spinsterhood, and of resignation and mild rebellion, wonderfully told.

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