John Yorke explores Rosamunde Pilcher’s sweeping family saga, The Shell Seekers.

Published in 1987, this captivating story of life and love is a phenomenon in its own quiet way. It has been named among the best-loved books of all time, selling more than 10 million copies. The novel spans four decades in the life of Penelope Keeling, free-spirited and elegant, a mother of three children that she loves dearly - but does not always like.

Penelope navigates relationships, love and loss against a Sunday supplement backdrop of the cosy Cotswolds, an idyllic Cornish childhood, and the terrors of the Blitz. At its heart is the question of family - the one to which you are bound by blood, and the one you construct along the way.

It’s a lesson in living life well and being true to yourself, no matter the cards you are dealt. But despite its romance and idealism, The Shell Seekers is not a novel to be sneered at - as John discovers.

John Yorke has worked in television and radio for nearly 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised on BBC Radio 4. From EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world’s most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters - his students have had 17 green-lights in the last two years alone.

Contributors:
Alison Flood, Culture Editor at New Scientist.
Harriet Evans, bestselling author of 14 novels, most recently The Stargazers.

Credits:
The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher, published in Great Britain in 1988.

Readings: Jennifer Aries
Researcher: Nina Semple
Production Manager: Sarah Wright
Sound: Sean Kerwin
Producer: Redzi Bernard
Executive Producer: Sara Davies

A Pier production for BBC Radio 4