{"product_id":"the-choral-9780571396283","title":"The Choral","description":"\u003ci\u003eYou don't have to believe it. I always took \u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003ethe \u003c\/i\u003eMatthew Passion\u003ci\u003e with a pinch of salt.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003eRamsden, Yorkshire, 1916. The ambitious local Choral Society is depleted as men volunteer for the front and plans for their St Matthew Passion by German composer J. S. Bach are scuppered by patriotic fervour. Dr Guthrie, the mysterious, exacting new Chorus Master, finds a replacement in Elgar's Dream of Gerontius and swells the choir's numbers with teenage boys and girls. Together they discover the urgency of desire and the joy of singing as the new boys come to terms with their imminent conscription, and friendships and summer trysts are suffused with a melancholy sense of all that might soon be lost.\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003eThe screenplay will be published alongside the film's UK release (on 7 November 2025), and includes a preface by the author and an introduction from Nicholas Hytner.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBennett, Alan:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - Alan Bennett's works for stage and screen include \u003ci\u003eTalking Heads\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eForty Years On\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Lady in the \u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003eVan\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eA Question of Attribution\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Madness of George III\u003c\/i\u003e, an adaptation of \u003ci\u003eThe Wind in the \u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003eWillows\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe History Boys\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Habit of Art\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003ePeople\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eHymn\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eCocktail Sticks\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eTwo \u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003eBesides\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eAllelujah!\u003c\/i\u003e Prose collections are \u003ci\u003eWriting Home\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eUntold Stories\u003c\/i\u003e (PEN\/Ackerley Prize, 2006) and \u003ci\u003eKeeping On Keeping On\u003c\/i\u003e. Other work includes \u003ci\u003eThe Uncommon Reader\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eSmut: Two Unseemly Stories\u003c\/i\u003e and recent \u003ci\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestsellers, \u003ci\u003eHouse Arrest\u003c\/i\u003e (his pandemic diaries) and the novella \u003ci\u003eKilling Time. \u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"Faber \u0026 Faber","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51830455206162,"sku":"9780571396283","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_518c80aa-fc50-4ed2-bad6-47084659cafb.jpg?v=1767002110","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-choral-9780571396283","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}