Opening Lines - Sense and Sensibility - Episode One
Download Sense and Sensibility - Episode One
John Yorke explores the romantic framework of Jane Austen’s first published novel, Sense and Sensibility, as well as the reasons for its enduring appeal. It’s a novel that explores the cost of love, and in it, Austen develops writing techniques that revolutionised this new form, which are still in use some two hundred years later.
With contributions from Professor John Mullan, and poet and dramatist Claudine Toutoungi.
John Yorke has worked in television and radio for thirty years and shares his experience as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4’s Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. As creator of the BBC Writers Academy, he’s trained a generation of screenwriters - now with over 70 green lights and thousands of hours of television to their names. He is the author of Into the Woods, the bestselling book on narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of narrative - including many podcasts for R4.
Producer: Mary Ward-Lowery
Reader: Rhiannon Neads
Executive Producer: Sara Davies
Production Hub Coordinator: Dawn Williams
Sound: Iain Hunter
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4
Published on Saturday, 20th December 2025.
Available Podcasts from Opening Lines
We are not the BBC, we only list available podcasts. To find out more about the programme including episodes available on BBC iPlayer, go to the Opening Lines webpage.