Man Born To Be King

From December 1941 until October 1942, the BBC broadcast a series of radio dramas written by Dorothy L. Sayers.

Against the backdrop of World War II, the plays presented twelve episodes in the life and ministry of Jesus, from the visit of the magi to his death and resurrection, collectively affirming the kingship of Christ.

Noted for their use of colloquial English as part of Sayers’s effort to bring the Gospels to life in a new way for listeners, the plays were both controversial and incredibly successful, bolstering the morale of the country during the war. They were subsequently published in 1943, and they stand among Sayers’s most beloved works to this day.

In this new critical and annotated edition, scholar Kathryn Wehr brings fresh insights to the plays, their background, Sayers’s creative process, and the ongoing significance of the life of Christ today. Listen again, or for the first time, to the story of the man who was born to be-and still is-king.