I Wouldn't Say No

Henry’s sister Gwen is recuperating at Sizzlinghurst after a major operation.

She is very religious and Vera is influenced by this, to Henry’s atheistical disgust. Vera also has a fleeting longing for a third child and promises Henry that she will never kiss another woman again in her life, if he will just agree to make one with her.

So Ginny's new idea, inspired by Aristophanes and Lysistrata, that the women of Britain must stop the looming war by refusing to sleep with their husbands comes at a tricky time.

Meanwhile, Lionel goes to Westminster to meet Henry and hear a debate. He meets - and is slightly smitten by - Nancy Astor. Churchill advises Henry to take Vera to Paris for a fling before the war starts. And Gwen, curious about same-sex relationships, asks Vera for a kiss.

It's not long before they both regret it.

Literary comedy by Sue Limb parodying the Bloomsbury Group.

Vera …… Miriam Margolyes
Henry …… Jonathan Coy
Gwen Staubyn/Nancy Astor …… Morwenna Banks
Mrs Gosling/Ginny Fox …… Alison Steadman
Lionel Fox/Winston Churchill …… Nigel Planer

A Little Brother production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in November 2018.