Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon 

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Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon: Nine

Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon

Nine

BBC Radio 4 - Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon, Nine

A story of drama and friendship in war-torn Sicily during the Peloponnesian War.

9. A Long Shot. Gelon and Lampo have one chance of saving Paches and the Athenians from starving to death in the Quarry, but they only have two days before Tuireann’s ship sails.

It is 412 BC and the Peloponnesian war is raging. Debut novelist Ferdia Lennon’s Glorious Exploits is a thrillingly funny and moving story of wild ambition, high drama and unexpected friendship set in the aftermath of the disastrous invasion of Sicily by the Athenians.

In Syracuse, two young potters and best friends, Gelon and Lampo, come up with a ridiculously brilliant and crazy idea of putting on a play and casting the characters from the captured Athenian soldiers who are starving in the Syracusean quarries. United by a love of Homer and a passion for the work of the Athenian playwright Euripides, the unlikely pair are determined to pursue their dream, wherever it takes them and however many risks they face.

First they have to find prisoners who are familiar with the work of Euripides, and then bribe the starving captives with food and wine to recite any lines they can remember. Extra olives if they are from Medea.  Once they’ve auditioned and found their cast, they need money for masks, costumes and scenery. It’s only when they brave a visit to a mysterious merchant ship moored in the harbour that they secure both the funds, and a producer.

The enterprise is fraught with uncertainties and danger, but as the play goes into production, unexpected friendships are made, and unlikely bonds of loyalty are forged. When disaster strikes, the young directors have to decide how to save the prisoners they’ve befriended.

Ferdia Lennon was born in Dublin to an Irish mother and a Libyan father. He holds a BA in History and Classics from University College Dublin, and an MA in Prose Fiction from the University of East Anglia. This is his debut novel, set in a convincing classical world and brilliantly written in a modern Irish vernacular.  

Written by :     Ferdia Lennon
Reader:             Jonathan Forbes
Abridger:          Sara Davies
Producer:         Celia de Wolff

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A thrillingly funny and moving story of wild ambition, high drama and unexpected friendship set in the aftermath of the disastrous invasion of Sicily by the Athenians in 412BC.

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