1: 'Misanthrope, tyrant... genius.'

Provence, 1920.

Aspiring journalist, Joseph Adelaide, arrives at a remote farmhouse house, hoping to make his name by interviewing the reclusive and supposedly tyrannical painter, the great Edouard Tartuffe.

Meanwhile, Tartuffe's niece Ettie moves silently through the farmhouse - cooking, cleaning, selecting props, creating the tableaux that make her uncle's artistic genius possible.

But everyone has their secrets. And, under the cover of darkness, Ettie has spent years cultivating hers.

Over this sweltering and sultry summer, passions will be ignited, mysteries will be revealed, and egos shattered...

Today: Joseph finally comes face-to-face with the great Tartuffe, a man who seems to be living up to his reputation as a maverick, genius - and tyrant....

Readers: Tuppence Middleton and Luke Treadaway
Writer: Lucy Steeds is a graduate of the Faber Academy. This is her first novel.
Abridger: Richard Hamilton
Producer: Justine Willett