The opening lines of Pride and Prejudice are not only among the most famous in all of literature, they also place marriage front and centre as the key theme within the novel.

“It is a truth universally acknowledged,” Austen writes, “that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” So many of the characters and their actions are driven by the search for a good marriage - but their motivations and aspirations are both richly varied and illuminating of Regency society at a time when women could find security and status primarily at the altar.

John Yorke asks whether Elizabeth Bennett and Mr Darcy, two of the most illustrious and quick-witted partners in literary history, can find a love that transcends the strictures of the time.

The programme features Dr Lucy Powell, lecturer in English at the University of Oxford, and Professor John Mullan from University College London.

John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years, and shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatized 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 Radio 4.

Contributor: Dr Lucy Powell, lecturer in English at the University of Oxford, and John Mullan, professor of English Literature at University College London
Sound: Sean Kerwin
Researcher: Henry Tydeman
Production Hub Coordinator: Dawn Williams
Producer: Geoff Bird
Reader: Rhiannon Neads
Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael

A Pier production for BBC Radio 4