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BBC Radio 4 is a radio channel that started transmitting on the 30th September 1967. It replaced BBC Home Service.

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Readings from modern classics, new works by leading writers and world literature

Readings from modern classics, new works by leading writers and literature from around the world

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Book at Bedtime: The Absolutist

Book at Bedtime: The Absolutist: Episode 1

The Absolutist

Episode 1

BBC Radio 4 - Book at Bedtime, The Absolutist, Episode 1

Tristan Sadler travels to Norwich to deliver a long-awaited package.

Tristan Sadler travels anxiously to Norwich to deliver a long-awaited package to Marian Bancroft.

September 1919: 20 year-old Tristan Sadler takes a train from London to Norwich to deliver some letters to Marian Bancroft. Tristan fought alongside Marian's brother Will during the Great War but in 1917, Will laid down his guns on the battlefield, declared himself a conscientious objector, an act which has brought shame and dishonour on the Bancroft family.
But the letters are not the real reason for Tristan's visit. He holds a secret deep in his soul. One that he is desperate to unburden himself of to Marian, if he can only find the courage. As he recalls his friendship with Will, from the training ground at Aldershot to the trenches of Northern France, he speaks of how the intensity of their friendship brought him both happiness and self-discovery as well as despair and pain.
From the author that brought us The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and The House of Special Purpose - John Boyne creates a story that examines the events of the Great War from the perspective of two young soldiers; whose friendship encounters an extraordinary challenge.

The reader is Blake Ritson.

The Absolutist was abridged by Doreen Estall and produced by Heather Larmour.

Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

By John Boyne. The events of the Great War from the perspective of two young soldiers

John Boyne's story examines the events of the Great War from the perspective of two young soldiers, whose friendship encounters an extraordinary challenge

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