100,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock πŸ‡³πŸ‡Ώ

Overnight NZ-wide delivery on all in-stock orders πŸš€

The Choral

Brief Description
You don't have to believe it. I always took the Matthew Passion with a pinch of salt. Ramsden, 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... Read More
Format: Hardback
$2999
AVAILABLE WITH SUPPLIER Ships from our Auckland warehouse within 4-6 weeks

Found a better price? Request a price match

Alan Bennett's first original screenplay in twenty years: a poignant, bittersweet comedy about a Yorkshire village's local choral society during the First World War.

Alan Bennett's first original screenplay in twenty years: a poignant, bittersweet comedy about a Yorkshire village's local choral society during the First World War.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

You don't have to believe it. I always took the Matthew Passion with a pinch of salt.

Ramsden, 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.

The screenplay will be published alongside the film's Australian release (on 1st January 2026) and includes a preface by the author and an introduction from Nicholas Hytner.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780571396283

Publisher: Faber & Faber

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 23 October 2025

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Faber & Faber

Edition: Main

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 0g

Pages: 112

About the Author

Alan Bennett's works for stage and screen include Talking Heads, Forty Years On, The Lady in the Van, A Question of Attribution, The Madness of George III, an adaptation of The Wind in the Willows, The History Boys, The Habit of Art, People, Hymn, Cocktail Sticks, Two Besides and Allelujah! Prose collections are Writing Home, Untold Stories (PEN/Ackerley Prize, 2006) and Keeping On Keeping On. Other work includes The Uncommon Reader, Smut: Two Unseemly Stories and recent Sunday Times bestsellers, House Arrest (his pandemic diaries) and the novella Killing Time.

Also by Alan Bennett

View all

More from Arts & Culture

View all

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 80,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.