Brigitte, Maria, Sandra, Sonja and Andrew discuss:
the cover-picture of the book, the origin of the title, with extracts from Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’.

The novel a clever re-working of the original play?

The themes of revenge and forgiveness?

To what extent is the plot contrived?

The idea of prisons and mental escape?

How good a teacher for the prison inmates is Felix?

The character of Felix, a latter-day Prospero?

His relationship to his dead daughter Miranda?

Why is Caliban given less prominence in the novel?

The style of the prose? The structure of the book?

Margaret Atwood’s work as a whole?

In the course of the programme we play recordings of extracts from Shakespeare’s play, contemporary early 17th.c.music based on the play, and end with Sibelius’ incidental music for a production of ‘The Tempest’.