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Afternoon Reading: The Treasure Chest

Afternoon Reading: The Treasure Chest: Episode 1: Tales of Life and Death

Drama: Classic & Period

The Treasure Chest

Episode 1

Episode 1: Tales of Life and Death

Tales of Life and Death

BBC Radio 4 - Afternoon Reading, The Treasure Chest, Tales of Life and Death

Mark Williams reads some pithy, comic anecdotes from a German almanac.

Mark Williams reads a selection of anecdotes from a 19th century German almanac.

Written by Johann Peter Hebel.

An enduring classic of German literature, The Treasure Chest by Johann Peter Hebel (pub.1811) is a collection of pithy comic anecdotes, mysteries and moral tales full of sanity, wit and good humour. Mark Williams dips into The Treasure Chest and reads a selection of Hebel's best stories this Sunday on BBC Radio 4. The tales are translated by John Hibberd and abridged by Roy Apps.

As its title promises, The Treasure Chest contains some real gems of imaginative fiction. Hebel developed a spontaneous and accessible style for these stories - which he originally wrote for inclusion in a popular almanac - for the entertainment and instruction of the ordinary, working people of the small, German state of Baden, where he was a schoolteacher and Lutheran preacher.

Since its publication in 1811, The Treasure Chest has drawn generations of admirers including Goethe, Tolstoy, Wittgenstein, and Herman Hesse. . 

The reader, Mark Williams, is well known as one of the stars of the BBC TV comedy sketch show, The Fast Show ("Suits you, sir..!!") and for the role of Ron Weasley's father in the Harry Potter films.


Translated by John Hibberd and abridged by Roy Apps.
Read by Mark William

Producer/Director: David Blount
A Pier Production for BBC Radio 4.

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Series of three comic mysteries by 19th century German author Johann Peter Hebel

Series of three comic mysteries by 19th century German author Johann Peter Hebel, read by Mark Williams

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The Treasure Chest

Episode 1: Tales of Life and Death

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