Tune into Elsie's radio faves

In a letter to her daughter Patience dated 4 July 1970, my great-grandmother Elsie wrote about enjoying BBC plays on the radio:

"Do you all hear the BBC plays on the transistor? Did you'll [sic] hear the 'Conquest' by Somerset Maugham the other day it is a lovely interesting play & acted so well really — BBC is tops & we hear all this on that small Phillips radio we bought from [?] for Rs 100 — we play our records on the other radio — we made the Gram elec. — the other radio we have to play on a battery — Batteries have become so expensive now eh!"

I was dreaming of connecting with my great-grandparents by listening to the same things they once listened to, but... does W. Somerset Maugham even have a story called Conquest? I tried researching more about the BBC Radio in India — most likely the programming was different than in the UK — but all I've found is that they've been around since the 1930s, with a reputation for balanced reporting (well, goodbye to that). I did like the disjointedness of this excerpt, almost too eager, with the little financial details and the insight that "BBC is tops". She continues:

"We also hear the serial 'Hound of the Baskervilles' — documentaries are very good — now there's a serial going on 'EMMA' by Jane Austen — very good really — 13 parts."

Now we're getting somewhere. There was a 13-part radio version of Emma featuring Suzanne Neve that aired in the UK in February 1970. But alas, it can't be found online, or really anywhere; the only mention of it is in listings. The actress' own pages don't even credit her in it. I confess I had never heard of her until now, but she was actually very active for two decades between the 1960s and '80s, especially on the BBC, with an impressive list of projects. At least Elsie seems to have approved of her as Emma.

As for Sherlock, the BBC has been obsessed. There have been many audio adaptations of The Hound of the Baskervilles, but the one Elsie and Clifford listened to was probably the one from 1958 (in six parts), adapted by Felix Felton and starring Carleton Hobbes and Norman Shelley. Read an article about it on page 2 of the Radio Times from April 1958 here.

Interestingly, BBC Radio 4 has most of the Sherlock episodes available to listen. Frustratingly, it does not have Baskervilles. Maybe someday, eh? I guess these will be a close enough start. Incidentally, Carleton Hobbes voiced the role of Sherlock for 17 years across 80 adaptations. Veteran.

Fun fact, the BBC was banned in India between 1970 and 1972 (and once again later in the 1970s during the Emergency). I assume this extended to Elsie's beloved radio plays. No exact dates are mentioned; maybe it was right after this letter was written? Elsie praises their documentaries, but ironically it was two 1969 documentaries aired by the BBC that led to the ban — Louis Malle's Calcutta and Phantom India. I'll be needing to watch those.

However, on 4 July 1970, all was well for Elsie. "When you put the [?] up at the side of the fire darling, I'm sure you & Vindri could listen to the plays on Sundays especially — at 5pm. Try not to miss them. They are really very good — we have to thank you precious for this lovely past time — you told us first."

I want to say these lines give me "fall vibes", except we don't really have fall. Cosy vibes? That'll do.