Black Butterflies by Priscilla Morris. BBC RADIO DRAMA

A story of domestic family life upended and fractured by inconceivable events which seem, even now, both far away and close at hand. The story begins in the spring of 1992 in the city of Sarajevo, as political tensions are mounting and barricades begin to appear in the streets.

Fifty-five year old Zora is married to Franjo, who is fifteen years older than her. Her daughter lives in Wiltshire, England. Zora’s vocation is her work as an artist, notably a painter of landscapes and the bridges that span the river of her beloved Sarajevo. She teaches art students, but in the afternoons retreats to her studio high in the eaves of the city’s magnificent public library to work on her canvases.

When violence finally spills over, Zora sends her husband and elderly mother to safety in England to stay with her daughter. Reluctant to believe that hostilities will last more than a few weeks, she stays behind to paint and teach while the city falls under siege.

War does not come suddenly: it creeps. Familiar daily life collapses slowly by degrees - first the phone is cut off, then the electricity and finally the water. As the assault deepens and everything they love is laid to waste, black ashes floating over the rooftops, Zora and her friends are forced to rebuild themselves, over and over. Theirs is a breath-taking story of disintegration, resilience and hope.

Written by Priscilla Morris
Read by Fenella Woolgar
Abridged and Produced by Jill Waters
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2024

Priscilla Morris is of Yugoslav and Cornish parentage, she grew up in London and spent her summers in Sarajevo. Black Butterflies is her first novel and was shortlisted for the 2023 Women’s Prize for Fiction.

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