As Ines' petrification continues, she can now no longer speak and can barely make out Thorsteinn's form with her fading vision.

But another world is opening up to her - a world she finds both terrifying and compelling.

Penelope Wilton reads the powerful conclusion of AS Byatt's sensuous and ultimately uplifting account of one woman's transformation into stone.

Producer: Claudine Toutoungi

Made for BBC 7 and first broadcast in December 2004 Show less