Abridged by Doreen Estall.

Reader Julian Wadham.

Daphne Du Maurier (1907-89) is one of the most celebrated and best-loved British writers of the 20th Century. The author of such classics as Rebecca, Jamaica Inn, The Birds and Don’t Look Now, her personal favourite novel was this, The House on the Strand, published in 1969 to critical and public acclaim.
This is a gripping and masterfully written tale of history and horror with an ingenious approach to time travel. It concerns the forty-something narrator Dick Young, whose university friend Magnus offers him an escape from his troubles in the form of a new drug. However, under the drug’s influence Dick finds himself transported six centuries back in time to the Cornish manor of Tywardreath (the house on the strand). As Dick witnesses the intrigues of court there, he becomes increasingly fixated with his 14th Century alter ego Roger and the captivating Isolda Carminowe. He withdraws from the modern world to spend more and more time in the past, but his attempts to change history bring terror to the present and throw his own life into the balance.

The House on the Strand is considered Du Maurier’s late masterpiece and, with this beguiling combination of romantic atmosphere, haunting psychology and assured storytelling, BBC7 listeners have a real treat in store.

Julian Wadham has appeared in films such as The English Patient, The Madness of King George and Richard E.Grant’s Wah-Wah. His television credits include The Alan Clark Diaries and Wallis and Edward.

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