2. Proposal

Prince Dmitri follows the young prostitute Katerina Maslova to Siberia.

Having been unable to reverse the sentence for murder served in error upon her, he proposes marriage in the hope of redeeming the wrongs he did to her as a girl.

But he finds his proposal contested by a fellow prisoner Simonson, a man who has already made all the sacrifices in life that Prince Dmitri only threatens to make.

Conclusion of Leo Tolstoy's last major work, first published in 1899.

Starring Katherine Igoe and Richard Dillane.

Dramatised by Robert Forrest.

Katerina Maslova ...... Katherine Igoe
Dmitri Nikhloydov ...... Richard Dillane
Lydia Menshova ...... Vivienne Dixon
Vera Bogovskaya ...... Joanna Tope
Princess Marya ...... Lesley Hart
Anatoly Krylstov ...... Joe Arkley
Nabatov/Ivan ...... Phil McKee
Simonson ...... Tom Brooke
Old Man ...... Finlay Welsh

Director: Lu Kemp

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2007.