''Book at Bedtime'' (''A Book at Bedtime'' until 9 July 1993) is a long-running radio programme that is broadcast on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

each weekday evening between 22:45 and 23:00. The programme presents readings of fiction, including modern classics, new works by leading writers, and literature from around the world. Books are abridged and typically serialised over one or two weeks and occasionally three, usually read by well-known actors. Occasionally, from a collection of short stories, five stories from the book will be selected and one broadcast each evening.

History

The series began on the BBC Light Programme on 31 January 1949, billed for the first week only as "Late-Night Serial", with the first instalment of a 15-part reading of the

John Buchan John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir (; 26 August 1875 – 11 February 1940) was a Scottish novelist, historian, British Army officer, and Unionist politician who served as Governor General of Canada, the 15th since Canadian Confederation. As a ...

novel '' The Three Hostages'', read by Arthur Bush. There was a break after 29 March 1957, but the programme returned under its old title, now on the

BBC Home Service The BBC Home Service was a national and regional radio station that broadcast from 1939 until 1967, when it was replaced by BBC Radio 4. History 1922–1939: Interwar period Between the early 1920s and the outbreak of World War II, the BBC ...

, on 2 April 1962; the Home Service had in fact been broadcasting weekday evening 15-minute readings since 19 September 1960, but not under the ''Book at Bedtime'' heading.

References

External links

* BBC Radio 4 programmes 1949 radio programme debuts Radio programs about books and literature 1940s British radio programmes 1950s British radio programmes 1960s British radio programmes 1970s British radio programmes 1980s British radio programmes 1990s British radio programmes 2000s British radio programmes 2010s British radio programmes 2020s British radio programmes {{BBC-radio-stub

History

See also

References

External links