Wordsmiths at Gorse Mere
from archive.org
A BBC Radio parody of the lives of the Romantic poets.
An everyday story of towering genius, set in and around the Lakeland retreat of William and Dorothy Wordsmith. The Wordsmiths have not long settled in their sublime cottage when they are visited by the inebriate Samuel Tailor Cholericke and the lascivious Lord Biro, followed by numerous other romantically inclined writers and leech-pedlars who arrive at the door of Vole Cottage.
Dorothy must manage the increasingly chaotic household (assisted by Stinking Iris) while William focuses on his latest masterpiece, 'The Withered Turnip'. Set against an elegant musical background of trilling sheep.
Dorothy Wordsmith ..... Denise Coffey
William Wordsmith ..... Geoffrey Whitehead
Samuel Tailor Cholericke ..... Simon Callow
Stinking Iris ..... Miriam Margolyes
The Leechpedlar ..... Chris Emmett
Lord Biro ..... Tim Curry
Teresa Sanseveria ..... Helen Atkinson Wood
Percy Jelley ..... Hugh Thomas
Mary Godwit ..... Alison Fiske
Charles Lump ..... Nicholas le Prevost
Mary Lump ..... Julia Hills
Thomas de Quinine ..... Nickolas Grace
Sir Walter Spott ..... Bill Paterson
Mary Wordsmith ..... Iris-Gemma Morlay
John Sheets ..... Nicky Henson
Sara Cholericke ..... Angela Pleasance
William Bloke ..... John Shrapnel
Announcer ..... Eugene Fraser
Written by Sue Limb
Directed by Jonathan James-Moore
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 1985
- 26th June 1799 (25Mb)
- 28th June 1799 (25Mb)
- 3rd July 1799 (25.1Mb)
- 10th July 1799 (24.6Mb)
- 21st July 1799 (25.6Mb)
- 27th July 1799 (26.4Mb)
- 26 September 1799 (26.5Mb)
- 2nd October 1799 (26.1Mb)
- 6th May 1800 (26.6Mb)
- 16th June 1800 (26.6Mb)
MP3 files hosted by archive.org.