It is 1941 and Captain Antonio Corelli, a young Italian officer, is posted to the Greek Island of Cephallonia as part of the occupying forces. At first he is ostracised by the local, but as a conscientious but far from fanatical soldier, whose main aim is to have a peaceful war, he proves in time to be civilised, humorous – and a consummate musician.

When the local doctor’s daughter’s letters to her fiancé – a member of the underground – go unanswered, the working of the eternal triangle seems inevitable. But can this fragile love survive as a war of bestial savagery gets closer and the lines are drawn between invader and defender?

“Among de Bernieres’s skills are an archaeologists’s eye for place, a historian’s feel for time and a musician’s ear for tone and tempo – the novel has everything, including a happy ending (of sorts). If Captain Corelli’s Mandolin does not hold you in its thrall, it might be worth checking to see if your heart is made of stone.” (Daily Telegraph)

Katie Hims’s dramatisation of Louis de Bernieres’s best-selling novel.

1 – A Pea in the Ear – On the Greek island of Cephallonia, the pastoral bliss of Pelagia and her father Dr Iannis is about to be changed irrevocably by war. A young Italian soldier recounts a desperate tale of love and heroism.
2 – Invasion of the Italians – Pelagia has written more than 100 letters to her fisherman fiance Mandras, who is fighting in the Greek army, but she has had no reply.
3 – Looking for Snails – Pelagia has fallen for the charming Captain Corelli, but he is technically the enemy. She is still engaged to Mandras, who is away fighting for the resistance movement.
4 – Earthquake – An extraordinary heroic act, a slow recovery and resolution, two generations later.