This much-loved novel has been adapted for screen four times. The first was completed in 1938. It’s also been dramatised for radio several times. What is it about this story that keeps writers and directors returning to it?

Published posthumously, it has a large cast of characters who intersect on personal, professional and political levels. We’ll be thinking about the themes and ideas at play, and how these fit our ideas of the era. We’ll consider the writing style. It’s a novel that has never been out of print, so we’ll be thinking about the implications of that, as well as asking ‘who reads it now?’ and ‘why?’

Please read the whole novel prior to the session, as we will be thinking about the overall shape of the story as well as what kind of novel this is.