George Eliot’s classic Victorian epic about a brother and sister pitted against one another in love and life, starring Anna Maxwell Martin.

Based on George Eliot’s own rural upbringing and relationship with her estranged brother, The Mill on the Floss is a powerful, dynamic tale of familial rejection, sibling rivalry and what happens when the head confronts the heart.

Growing up at Dorlcote Mill in the beautiful English countryside, young Maggie yearns for approval and affection. With her dark, striking looks and quick intelligence she is the misfit of the Tulliver family, and while her father dotes on her, her mother despairs of her rebelliousness. But it is the love of her stolid, dutiful brother Tom that Maggie craves most, and despite their opposing natures, the two forge a close bond.

But as adults, their paths diverge. Following their father’s bankruptcy, Tom leaves school and enters the world of business, determined to repay the family’s debts and regain their home. Maggie, meanwhile, is drawn to two very different men: kindred spirit Philip Wakem, the son of her father's enemy, and the charming, seductive Stephen Guest, already promised to her cousin, Lucy.

As she struggles to reconcile passion and loyalty, the choices Maggie makes will set her against her beloved brother – with tragic consequences....

This stunning adaption is full of humour and high drama and features a rich, filmic soundscape.

Also included is bonus programme Free Thinking: George Eliot’s Mill on the Floss, hosted by Shahidha Bari, in which writer Rebecca Mead, actor Fiona Shaw and academics Dafydd Mills Daniel, Philip Davis and Peggy Reynolds discuss the background to Eliot’s much-loved 1860 novel and read selected extracts.

Cast:

George Eliot, the Narrator … Anna Maxwell Martin

Young Maggie … Amy-Jayne Leigh

Young Tom … Oliver Zetterstrom

Young Lucy … Grace Doherty

Mr Tulliver … Roger Ringrose

Mrs Tulliver … Alison Belbin

Maggie … Joanna Vanderham

Tom … Will Kirk

Lucy … Ell Potter

Philip … Chris Lew Kum Hoi

Stephen ….. Jack Farthing

Mrs Moss … Heather Craney

Mr Wakem … John Dougall

Mrs Glegg … Elizabeth Counsell

Mr Stelling … John Lightbody

Dr Kenn … Hasan Dixon

Luke/Bob … Kurtis Lowe

Keiza/Sally … Bettrys Jones

Written by George Eliot.

Adapted by Rhiannon Tise.

Produced and directed by Tracey Neale.

Studio managers: Keith Graham, Mike Etherden, Jenni Burnett and Alison Craig.

Production co-ordinator: Anne Isger.

First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 6th - 17th April 2020.

Free Thinking: George Eliot’s Mill on the Floss

Presented by Shahidha Bari.

With Rebecca Mead, Fiona Shaw, Dafydd Mills Daniel, Philip Davis and Peggy Reynolds.

Produced by Fiona McLean.