1. Early Years

'Faith is like love; it does not let itself be forced.'

Derek Jacobi stars in a uniquely frank memoir of a Victorian childhood.

Edmund Gosse was raised in the strictly non-conformist Plymouth Brethren.

Tender, comic and lyrical, this is his account of the spiritual struggle between a lonely boy and his charismatic father.

Dramatised in two parts by Nick Warburton.

Edmund Gosse ...... Derek Jacobi
Philip Henry Gosse ...... Roger Allam
Young Edmund ...... Steven Williams
Emily Gosse ...... Kate Buffery
Miss Marks ...... Colleen Prendergast
Mary Grace ...... Sophie Roberts
Miss Flaw ...... Ann Beach
Kate ...... Ayesha Antoine
Mr Punch ...... Geoff Felix
Onion Man ...... Gerard McDermott
Brethren/Villagers ...... Delroy Brown
Brethren/Villagers ...... Nick Sayce

Other parts played by the cast.

Producer: Jonquil Panting

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2005.