Somerville and Ross: The Real Charlotte, The Silver Fox & The Experiences of an Irish RM: Three Full-Cast BBC Radio Dramatisations Somerville and Ross: Three BBC Radio Dramatisations

Edith Œnone Somerville and 'Martin Ross' (the pen name of Violet Florence Martin) were cousins, born into the Irish landed gentry in the mid-19th century. As a joke, they began writing books together, but soon developed into serious artists, producing several works now recognised as classics, such as The Real Charlotte and Some Experiences of an Irish RM. This collection includes both those titles, alongside The Silver Fox, described as their 'miniature masterpiece', and a fascinating biographical drama telling the story of their writing partnership.

The Real Charlotte, a satire of genteel 19th-century Irish society, stars Sorcha Cusack, Elaine Symons and Lorcan Cranitch. Reluctantly obliged to look after her penniless young cousin, respectable spinster Charlotte Mullen decides to marry her off to a rich man as soon as possible. However, Francie is both beautiful and wilful, and Charlotte soon finds her carefully laid plans going terribly awry.

In The Silver Fox, a dark, politically astute tale of hunting, friendship, love and the national battle for freedom, John Dougall and Gillian Kearney star. Captain French, recently returned from India, has reopened his ancestral pile in west Cork, but his restless new wife and a strangely elusive silver fox hint at troubled times ahead.

When the affable, if somewhat dim, ex-British Army officer Major Sinclair Yeates is appointed Resident Magistrate in west Cork, he finds himself among a people who seem dedicated to thwarting him in The Experiences of an Irish RM. As the years go by, he gradually becomes accustomed to their eccentricities – with the notable exception of his nemesis, Flurry Knox. Alex Jennings stars in this adaptation of Somerville and Ross's comic novels set in rural Ireland.

Somerville and Ross, written and narrated by Denys Hawthorne, is a captivating tale that explores the lives and fiction of the remarkable literary duo, whose works chronicled the twilight world of the Anglo-Irish ascendancy – a world of hunting, tennis parties, amateur theatricals and decaying country houses. Eithne Dunne stars as Somerville, with Kate Binchy as Ross.

These BBC productions, spanning the years 1894 to 1899, offer a comprehensive look at the best-known works of Somerville and Ross, as well as a docudrama about their remarkable literary partnership. Through these adaptations, audiences can immerse themselves in the rich tapestry of Irish society and the captivating stories crafted by this celebrated writing duo.

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