Precious Bane

Mary Webb’s award-winning novel adapted for radio with a full cast, plus a dramatised biography of the celebrated author

Novelist and poet Mary Webb is as closely associated with Shropshire as Thomas Hardy with Dorset and the Brontës with Yorkshire. She wrote six books set against the timeless landscape of the county she knew and loved so well, but only achieved literary success after her death when the then Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin praised her work, describing her as a neglected genius. Her final novel, Precious Bane, was awarded the Prix Femina Vie Heureuse, and is featured here alongside a bonus programme exploring Webb’s life.

Precious Bane – Born with a cleft lip, Pru Sarn is an outcast in her superstious rural community, who regard her as cursed and suspect her of being a witch. Yet her gentle heart longs for love and honest communication with her neighbours – in contrast with her brother Gideon’s all-consuming desire for wealth. As Pru works side-by-side with him on the family farm, she becomes increasingly disturbed by his single-mindedness – and ever more attracted to the handsome weaver, Kester Woodseaves. But when Gideon’s obsessive ambition results in tragedy, Prue finds herself accused of murder – and only Kester can save her… Miriam Margolyes stars as Pru, with Terry Molloy as Gideon and Peter Davidson as Kester.

The Shropshire Lass – Based on Gladys Mary Cole’s biography of Mary Webb, The Flower of Light, this dramatised profile explores how Webb lived ‘betwixt and between’ – half in the world and half out of it. The heroine of a fairy story with a sad ending, she yearned for fame, riches and admiration, but spent her life struggling against illness and disillusion. Narrated by John Darran, with Dillwyn Jones as the reader, Sue Jones-Davies as Mary Webb and Gareth Armstrong as her husband Henry.

Cast and credits

Precious Bane

Pru – Miriam Margolyes

Gideon – Terry Molloy

Kester – Peter Davidson

Mrs Sarn – Penelope Lee

Mr Sarn – Haydn Jones

Mrs Beguildy – Jill Meers

Wizard Beguildy – Robert Vahey

Jancis Beguildy – Elspeth Charltok

Gideon (aged 7) – Henry Milner

Tiwy – Cecily Hobbs

Sexton – Roger Snowdon

Callard – John Rowe

Dorabella – Patricia Gallimore

Squire Camperdine – David Vann

Felena – Kathryn Hurlbutt

Sukey – Deirdre Lee

Moll – Hedli Niklaus

Mrs Sexton – Carol Snape

Mrs Grimble/Mrs Callard – Ysanne Churchman

Grimble/Grandfather Callard – Gordon Reid

Huglet – Malcolm Gerard

Miller’s Tim – Peter O’Dwyer

Apothecary – Stephen Hancock

Sexton’s Sammy – David Landberg

Doctor – Denys Hawthorne

Written by Mary Webb

Dramatised by Michelene Wandor

Directed by Vanessa Whitburn

Traditional folk music sung and played by Sue Harris, John Kirkpatrick and Ann Weller

First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 26 April-10 May 1981

The Shropshire Lass

Narrator – John Darran

Mary Webb/Susan Buchan – Sue Jones-Davies

Henry Webb/Caradoc Evans – Gareth Armstrong

Reader – Dillwyn Owen

Written by Herbert Williams

Based on The Flower of Light by Gladys Mary Coles

Produced by Robin C. Rollinson

First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 29 July 1986

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