Literary Pursuits: The mysteries behind 9 classic books

Literary detectives Sarah Dillon and Corin Throsby investigate the stories behind the stories of nine great novels

In this engrossing series, Drs Sarah Dillon and Corin Throsby set off on a quest to discover how some of our most famous, best-loved books were written. What was happening in the author's lives, and how did that influence the process of creation? Following the clues, they attempt to solve the mysteries of these great works of literature - uncovering a wealth of fascinating information along the way.

Beginning with Great Expectations, Sarah asks why Dickens wrote it so quickly - in a mere 9 ½ months - and why he famously changed the ending right at the moment. She investigates why it took Jean Rhys 27 years to publish Wide Sargasso Sea, and reveals the story behind Jane Austen's last completed novel, Persuasion, and its posthumous publication. We hear of James Joyce's epic struggles to publish Dubliners - including battles with publishers, a fire at the printers and leaving Ireland for good - and trace the remarkable clandestine journey of EM Forster's gay love story Maurice, passed hand to hand from Cambridge to America by men who risked prosecution for possessing it.

Sarah also discovers the story behind RL Stevenson's horror tale Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, a work he claimed was inspired by a dream, and shows how adultery, revolution and exile played a part in the writing of Victor Hugo's masterpiece Les Misérables. Next, Corin Throsby takes up the baton to divulge how Truman Capote met and befriended two psychopathic murderers to create the 'non-fiction novel' that would launch the true crime genre: In Cold Blood. The final literary pursuit explores how William Golding's Lord of the Flies was saved from the reject pile by lucky chance - and how it went on to become a modern classic.

Copyright © 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. ? 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd
Presented by Sarah Dillon and Corin Throsby
Produced by Sara Conkey and Miles Warde
Edited by James Cook
Readers: Juliet John, Samuel West, Diana Quick, Jessica Raine, Damien Molony, Paul Chahidi, Aurélie Amblard and Matthew Bisson

With guests including: Michael Slater, John Drew, Elaine Savory, Carole Angier, Diana Athill, Ruth Webb, Dr Kathryn Sutherland, Paula Byrne, Margaret Drabble, Timothy Young, David Norris, Terence Killeen, Wendy Moffatt, Philip Gardner, Peter Parker, Sir Christopher Frayling, Claire Harman, Jeremy Hodges, Professor Richard Dury, Jean-Marc Hovasse, Louis Hegarty Lovett, Vincent Gille, Florence Naugrette, Thomas Fahy, Brenda Currin, Ed Pilkington, James Linville, Ralph Voss, Ebs Burnough and Lawrence Elman

First broadcast on BBC Radio 3, 10 January 2016-22 March 2020