The Divine Comedy: Inferno; Purgatorio; Paradiso

Written by Stephen Wyatt and Dante Alighieri

Narrated by John Hurt, Blake Ritson, Hattie Morahan and 2 more

Blake Ritson, David Warner, Hattie Morahan and John Hurt star in this BBC Radio 4 dramatisation of Dante's epic poem.

Inferno: Thirty-five year old Dante finds himself in the middle of a dark wood, in extreme personal and spiritual crisis. Hope of rescue appears in the form of the venerable poet Virgil, now a shade himself, who offers to lead Dante on an odyssey through the afterlife, beginning in the terrifying depths of Hell.

Purgatorio: Dante is led up Mount Purgatory by his guide. They encounter numerous souls who have embarked on the same difficult journey - one that will eventually lead to their spiritual salvation.

Paradiso: Dante's journey comes to a glorious conclusion as he is led by Beatrice, through the spheres of Paradise and into the presence of God himself. As they ascend, they encounter a number of souls who have also achieved blessedness.

Many years later, the older Dante reflects on the episodes from his life that have inspired his great poem.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House UK Audio
• Release date: Sep 18, 2014
• ISBN: 9781910281437

Stephen Wyatt

Stephen Wyatt is the only writer to have won the Tinniswood Award for best radio drama script twice – for Memorials to the Missing in 2007 and Gerontius in 2011. He has written over twenty original scripts for radio and numerous dramatisations including Dante's The Divine Comedy. He's also written for television (Doctor Who and Casualty) and his theatre work has been seen everywhere from London's West End to the Bubble Theatre's touring tent. In conjunction with New Writing South and the University of Sussex, he created the UK's first online radio drama course in 2009. His novel, The World and His Wife, was published in 2019.