Black Butterflies by Priscilla Morris was shortlisted for the 2023 Women’s Prize for Fiction .
In many ways it’s a universal story of domestic family life upended and fractured by inconceivable events which seem, even now, both far away and close at hand. The story begins in the spring of 1992 in the city of Sarajevo, as political tensions mount and barricades begin to appear in the streets.
Fifty-five year old Zora is married to Franjo, who is fifteen years older than her. Their daughter lives with her English husband and young child in Wiltshire. Zora’s vocation is her work as an artist and notably a painter of landscapes and the bridges that span the river of her beloved Sarajevo. She also teaches art students, but in the afternoons retreats to her studio high in the eaves of the city’s magnificent public library to work on her canvases.

Priscilla Morris is of Yugoslav and Cornish parentage, she grew up in London and spent her summers in Sarajevo. This is her first novel.
Location audio recordings: the street sounds of Sarajevo recorded by Rafael Diogo and featured on https://citiesandmemory.com/sarajevo-city-guide-best-sounds/

BLACK BUTTERFLIES by Priscilla Morris
Read by Fenella Woolgar
Abridged and Produced by Jill Waters
THE WATERS COMPANY for BBC Radio 4 Show less