The Shepherd

With Frederick Forysth's backstory

For as long as I can remember, Frederick Forsyth’s short story The Shepherd as read by Alan Maitland has been a part of my Christmas Eve.

It is the story of a lone pilot in trouble ov er the North Sea at Christmas in the late 1950s. If you know the story and Maitland’s reading every year for decades on CBC, then you know. If this is your first time, with this Christmas ghost story, then you are in for a treat.

From me to you this Christmas, here is one of Maitland’s best recordings of the story along with a short piece by Forsyth on how he came to write it.

“Happy Christmas, sir. Good night.”