Alex Preston’s sequel to Winchelsea is next week’s Book at Bedtime on BBC Radio Four. Rye is due to be published in 2027, but listeners to the late night broadcast will get to hear a preview of part of the book ahead of publication.
Winchelsea – which was also serialised on Radio 4 in 2022 before selling thousands of copies in hardback – described the life of smuggler and privateer Goody Brown and her dealings with the notorious Hawkhurst Gang of smugglers.
Rye moves the story on to 1804 with Goody now a grandmother to Zeke who is described as “a young man determined to prove his worth and free his father from a prison hulk at Sheerness.” The new story reflects the way smuggling has changed and is inspired once again by the local area. In the first episode Zeke talks about Rye being transformed into an island by the spring rain whilst living at the Hope Anchor Inn.
Alex says Rye moves the story on to the Napoleonic era. “It’s the time of the building of the Military Canal and the very real threat of invasion, all viewed through the eyes of a new character.”
Each of the five 15-minute stories is read by actor Karl Davies and produced by Jeremy Osborne.
You can hear Book at Bedtime each night Monday to Friday on BBC Radio Four at 10.45pm, with all episodes available for broadcast soon after on BBC Sounds.
Rye News will have a full interview Alex Preston about Rye, next week. You can read more about Alex in a previous Rye News article here.
Image Credits: Ray in Manila .