In the series that takes a look at books, plays and stories and how they work, John Yorke explores S R Crockett’s forgotten bestseller, a swashbuckling adventure story set in his native Galloway in south west Scotland.

Written in 1894, Crockett’s novel is part romance, part action thriller, and part historical fiction. The action takes place in 1715, during the reign of George I, a time when Galloway was awash with pirates, smugglers, cattle rustlers, gypsies and bandits. John suggests it was the Mission Impossible, if not the Fast and Furious, of its day.

In this first episode, John considers how Crockett’s engaging, humorous, pacy style of writing drives the adventure on, and the appeal of his unusually feisty female characters.

John is joined by Cally Phillips, the founder of the Galloway Raiders website, the home of all things Crockett, and Clara Glynn who has adapted The Raiders for BBC Radio 4. Together they discover that, beneath the fast-paced action, Crockett is shining a light on bigger issues - how a young man tests his mettle, the meaning of leadership and how it is possible to life a moral life outside the law.

John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4’s Sunday Drama series. From EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world’s most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters.

Reading by Kyle Gardiner

The Raiders by S R Crockett, from The Galloway Raiders website https://www.gallowayraiders.co.uk/

Produced by Jane Greenwood

A Pier production for BBC Radio 4