Wishes
Be careful what you wish for: some wishes go badly wrong, others bring joy. We look at both kinds of wish, from the Monkey鈥檚 Paw to Edward Lear鈥檚 riotous poem about nutcrackers
Wishes aren鈥檛 always fulfilled. The short story The Monkey鈥檚 Paw warns us to be careful what we wish for. Edward Lear describes the joyful wish fulfilment of the nutcracker and sugar-tongs when they leave the table to go horse riding. Philip Larkin wishes a normal, happy life on a newborn child. Jane Hirshfield describes the ways in which she would like to improve her life. And Joan Aitken describes a cat and a wishing-mat. With music from Stephen Sondheim, JS Bach, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Pink Floyd and Stevie Wonder.
The readers are Shobna Gulati and Colin Tierney
Produced in Salford by Nick Holmes
Readings:
On radio
More episodes
Previous
Next
Broadcast
- Sun 22 Feb 2026 18:00麻豆社 Radio 3
The hidden history of plant-based diets
Forget social media influencers - the meat-free movement started with the Victorians.
Books website
Get closer to books with in-depth articles, quizzes and our picks from radio & TV.