Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys

Set against the sumptuous backdrop of 19th-century Jamaica, Jean Rhys's stirring prequel to Jane Eyre envisages the life of the first Mrs Rochester - before she became the 'mad woman in the attic.'

Sold into marriage with a dashing young Englishman, Creole heiress Antoinette Cosway senses danger. But how could anyone have predicted the devastating future that awaited her?

As their honeymoon becomes infected by vicious rumours, her new husband’s paranoia begins to grow.

The cultural divide between them increases and his desire to turn her into the perfect Victorian wife ultimately becomes a battle for her soul. Antoinette is stripped of her identity and transformed into the disturbing Bertha Rochester...

Starring Lara Rossi and Trystan Gravelle.

Dramatised by Rebecca Lenkiewicz.

Antoinette Cosway ….. Lara Rossi
Edward Rochester ….. Trystan Gravelle
Christophine ….. Martina Laird
Young Antoinette ….. Eleanor Worthington-Cox
Amelie ….. Alexandria Riley
Grace Poole ….. Jaimi Barbakoff
Annette ….. Sirine Saba
Mr Mason ….. Don Gilet
Tia ….. Emily Burnett
Richard Mason ….. Eric Kofi Abrefa

Music composed and performed by Lucy Rivers.

Guitarist: Dan Lawrence

Director: Helen Perry

A BBC Cymru/Wales production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in March 2016.