Orphaned William Crimsworth is a young man with nothing.

As he sets out to make his way in the world he doesn't want to be indebted to anyone. But running parallel with this need for self-control is the desperate need to love - and be loved in return.

The least-known of Charlotte Bronte's novels: a subtle, ambiguous and unsettling love story.

Omnibus of the first five of ten episodes dramatised by Rachel Joyce.

William Crimsworth ...... Paul Venables
Edward Crimsworth ...... Jonathan Keeble
Lord Tynedale ...... Gerard McDermott
Mrs Crimsworth ...... Ruth Sillers
Young William ...... Jack Miller
Hunsden ...... Shaun Dooley
Monsieur Pelet ...... Roger May
Zoraide Reuter ...... Niamh Cusack
Madame Pelet ...... Natasha Pyne
Mr. Brown ...... Harry Myers

Director: Tracey Neale

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2005. Show less