Stories to air

I don't presume to talk of radio co-opting or converting verse since it is a natural medium for the voice. There does have to be the interest in listeners.

A short story can be all too easily read on air.

Before commenting on what a boon Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is to voice actors, we  realise that books that have been adapted to radio have often also been the subject of stage adaptations, made into films, had their characters used casually in TV shows for dramatic effect. The potent storylines, characterisations and/or classic status of the work or its author all contribute to this desire to use the material in these novels.

The chronology is messed up as there are cases of radio programs produced in response to a character who has gone on to popularity in film and television or a theatrical presentation. Few would be surprised to hear that Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple have been voices on the wireless. Others can speculate on the attraction of exotic locales, speculative fiction, and mystery or, in the case of the Grapes of Wrath, the aforementioned classic status and the way the story speaks to its audience.
In this way, we accept it as inevitable that Frankenstein and Dracula will be given every kind of treatment there is.