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Word Scrubs

Peggy Stanhope's literary executors, siblings Meg and Mitch, face tough decisions in order to secure re-publication of her children's books, written in a very different era.

Mitch and Meg, siblings in their 30s, are the great great nephew and niece, and literary executors, of Peggy Stanhope (1889-1959), a prolific and profitable writer of books for children and young adults from a very different era.

Beloved by generations of children around the world, White Star (1943), winner of the Carnegie Medal, is the story of a snowy horse, owned by a young woman, who frightens away the evil stallion Black Boy from a village. Because of its time of publication, White Star was seen by some teachers and preachers as a patriotic allegory of Allied superiority to the Nazis, although Stanhope, denied this.

In 2023, a Hollywood streamer wants to adapt the book as movie, but, as a condition, wishes to change the title and some of the plot and language.

The meetings between the siblings and the publishers are intercut with ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Service readings from Stanhope’s work, and interviews with their author on Desert Island Discs, in a drama that takes its inspiration from the current debate over whether classic texts should be rewritten for contemporary re-publication.

Written by Mark Lawson

CAST
DAME JESS ELLIOTT - Jane Slavin
MITCH - Damian Lynch
MEG - Tracy-Anne Green
PEGGY STANHOPE - Barbara Flynn
SKIPPY LEAVESDEN-SMART - Tom Glenister
LORD JUSTICE SHARP - Clive Hayward

Producer/Director: Eoin O'Callaghan
A Big Fish Radio production for ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Radio 4

Available now

44 minutes

Last on

Sat 15 Apr 2023 14:45

Broadcasts

  • Thu 6 Apr 2023 14:15
  • Sat 15 Apr 2023 14:45

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