BBC Radio 4, October 31, 2021 and BBC Sounds

Laura Willowes has had enough and takes herself off to the country…

A companion piece to Lud-in-the-Mist for Radio 4’s Halloween weekend, this fantasy tale was also written in 1926 by a female author, but while Lud adds some realism to its fantasy world, Sylvia Townsend Warner’s story adds a sprinkling of the supernatural to a very real world. For a good proportion of the hour – and I suspect the original book – there’s no sense of anything other than the natural annoyance of someone who has been put upon considerably by her family and who wants to escape their attentions.

Sarah Daniels’ adaptation keeps the heart of Warner’s text nad ensures that we understand precisely what it is that Laura is reacting against. Sally Avens’ production is excellently cast, with Louise Brealey adding the necessary touch of steel, even if it is only at times in Laura’s thoughts, and Hugh Skinner’s Titus being precisely the sort of irritating young man who doesn’t think twice of the effects of his actions. (Warner’s take on such creatures is echoed in other books of the period – the very first Saint novel, Meet the Tiger, published two years later uses such a character equally effectively.)

Once the more outré elements arrive, we’re lulled into something of a false sense of security – people must be playacting – but then we meet Satan. Sam Dale’s interpretation of the character isn’t a hellfire-spouting demon, but someone eminently reasonable, with whom you fully understand Laura making a pact… and chances are you’ll cheer her on.

Verdict: Another very different sort of fantasy tale for Halloween. 8/10

Paul Simpson