Social reformer John is tempted by Lady Lettice, as his wife fights for the suffragettes.

Ian McKellen stars in the story of John Hamer Shawcross - set against the wider current of events in England in the early 19th century.

Howard Spring's novel freely adapted by Ken Whitmore.

John Shawcross ...... Ian McKellen
Tom Hannaway ...... Geoffrey Wheeler
Anne Artingstall ...... June Barry
Lizzie Lightowler ...... Rosalie Crutchley
Lady Lettice ...... Helen Ryan
Arnold Ryerson ...... Andrew Jackson
Pen Ryerson ...... Vida Paterson
Harry Liskeard ...... Peter Guinness
Jimmy Newboult ...... John Baldwin
Ellen Stansfield ...... Rosalie Williams
Charles Shawcross aged 8 ...... David Boardman
Hawley Artingstall ...... Graham Tennant
Organ grinder ...... Colin Bean
Prison wardens ...... Joan Anstey/ Delia Corrie
Prison doctor ...... Roger Grainger

Director: Trevor Hill

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 1979. Show less