Penniless

After her father's death Laura, now penniless, is taken in by her Aunt Lady Pelham.

Published in 1811, Mary Brunton’s romantic tale set in Perthshire and London - dramatised in ten parts by Gerda Stevenson.

Laura Montreville is loved by two men - a reckless libertine and a dignified but reserved landowner. In a world where polite society and sexual hypocrisy rub shoulders easily, can she choose wisely between passion and virtue?

Narrated by Maureen Beattie.

Laura ...... Gerda Stevenson
Hargrave ...... Andrew Wincott
Mrs Stubbs ...... Phyllida Law
Lady Pelham ...... Barbara Leigh-Hunt
De Courcy ...... Tom Goodman Hill
Hargrave ...... Andrew Wincott
Mrs Harrington ...... Tracy-Ann Oberman
Maid ...... Emma Wooliams

Mary Brunton was a Scottish novelist much admired by Jane Austen; and Self Control, first published in 1811, deals with similar themes to Sense and Sensibility.

Producer: Bruce Young

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2003.