When fifteen-year-old John Trenchard discovers a secret passage into the vault of the powerful Mohune family, his peaceful life in the Dorset village of Moonfleet is at an end. It is said that Captain Mohune, the notorious Blackbeard, haunts the place with wild and blood-curdling cries, forever seeking his hidden treasure...

Moonfleet, by J. Meade Falkner, was first published in 1898. This BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation was originally broadcast on 26 December 1988. The main story revolves around a young man, called John Trenchard who accidentally stumbles upon mystery and high adventure in a Dorset smuggling village.

As John sets off in a search of the treasure of Blackbeard, which includes a fabled diamond, he becomes caught up in the dangerous coastal smuggling runs and is forced to flee the country in the company of Elzevir Block, the man who is to become like a father to him. Follow John into echoing vaults and stormy seas to dank dungeons and deep wells in his quest.

While this classic tale is still an engaging boy's story, this audio drama may be a little too dry for most casual listeners.

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Amber Leigh