The literary podcast presented by John Mitchinson and Andy Miller. For show notes visit backlisted.fm and get an extra two shows a month by supporting the pod at patreon.com/backlisted
Biography and Memoir
A Backlisted Special dedicated to biographies and memoirs, with books by Nancy Mitford, Roger Lewis, Elizabeth Jane Howard, P.D. James and Jean Rhys. John Mitchinson talks to the writer and friend of the show Laura Thompson about five of her favourite books – two of them biographies (Madame de Pompadour by Nancy Mitford and The Real Life of Laurence Olivier by Roger Lewis) and three memoirs (Slipstream by Elizabeth Jane Howard; Time to Be in Earnest by P.D. James and Smile Please by Jean Rhys).
Riddley Waker by Russel Hoban - Rerun
Classic literary sci-fi novel set in a post-apocalyptic Kent – this is a rerun of 2019 episode recorded live at the Port Eliot Festival. Riddley Walker is widely considered to be a post-war masterpiece. Anthony Burgess included it in his list of the 99 best novels published in the English language since 1939 saying ‘this is what literature is meant to be.’ Harold Bloom included it in his book The Western Canon, an examination of the work of 26 writers central to the development of Western litera
Notes from Under the Floorboards by Fyodor Dostoevsky - Rerun
The 1864 novella that invented dystopian fiction.In an episode first published in November 2021, we are joined by authors Alex Christofi (Dostoevsky in Love) and Arifa Akbar (Consumed: A Sister's Story) for a discussion of one of Russia's greatest writers Fyodor Dostoevsky, who was born in Moscow on November 11 1821, 200 years ago this month. We concentrate on his pioneering novella Notes From Under the Floorboards AKA Notes From Underground (1864) and consider its impact and continuing
Winter Reading 2025
Happy new year! We kick off 2025 - and Backlisted's tenth anniversary year - with our traditional Winter Reading episode, in which Andy, John and Nicky recommend a selection of favourite books to see you through the next few months: fiction and non-fiction, old, new and not yet published. "May you go farther sooner."Discussed in this episode and available to purchase from bookshop.org/backlisted, if in print.* To purchase any of the books mentioned in this episode please visit our books
Moby-Dick; or the Whale by Herman Melville
Join the Backlisted crew as we navigate the swells and surges of Moby-Dick; or the Whale by Herman Melville. That's right, Moby Dick is a Christmas book! Andy, John and Nicky welcome aboard novelist Jarred McGinnis and writer and editor Erica Wagner to discuss and celebrate this legendary literary leviathan, one that has sunk many a podcast before us. We enjoy a challenge on Backlisted, however; and there are few novels as challenging or rewarding as Moby Dick. So set sail with us in pu
Voices of the Old Sea by Norman Lewis
We are joined by the poet Katrina Porteous and the writer and editor Patrick Galbraith to discuss Norman Lewis’s account of the of the three summers he spent working in Farol, a remote fishing village on the Costa Brava in the late 1940s. His book records the intricacies of life in a small community whose rhythms are based on the shoals of sardines and tuna, and whose beliefs and rituals have remained unchanged for a thousand years. But change does arrive in the shape of a black markete
The Moon's a Balloon by David Niven
Rupert Everett joins us to discuss David Niven's memoir The Moon’s a Balloon. This show represents the fulfilment of a long cherished ambition: to dedicate a whole Backlisted to a book that Andy and John consider to be the most entertaining ever written. And who better to join them as a guest than an actor, writer and director who has had his own tussles with Hollywood and who has published a series of bestselling volumes of memoir and short stories? First published by Hamish Hamilton i
Grinny & You Remember Me! by Nicholas Fisk
Sam Leith, author of The Haunted Wood: A History of Childhood Reading, returns to Backlisted to discuss two novels by Nicholas Fisk, Grinny (1973) and its sequel, You Remember Me! (1984). Fisk's SF thrillers were tremendously popular with young readers during the 1970s and 1980s but his work is now rather forgotten, an error we wish to correct as a matter of urgency. The plot of You Remember Me! may be summarised as follows: a TV celebrity becomes the head of a mass populist movement in
Round the Fire Stories by Arthur Conan Doyle
Happy Hallowe'en 2024! Join John, Andy and Nicky, plus guests Andrew Male and Dr Laura Varnam - AKA the Backlisted Irregulars - for this year's Hallowe'en special, celebrating Arthur Conan Doyle's "grotesque and terrible" Round the Fire Stories, first published in 1908. As he was the first to point out, there was much more to Conan Doyle than merely being the creator of Sherlock Holmes; he was a multifaceted and energetic man, a true force of human nature. In addition to being the quint
Nico: Songs They Never Play On the Radio by James Young
Author Will Hodgkinson and actress and director Caroline Catz join Andy and John to discuss James Young's Nico: Songs They Never Play On the Radio, first published in 1992. This is the story of Nico, former model, film actress, erstwhile singer with the Velvet Underground and darling of Andy Warhol's Factory. After a decade of heroin addiction, by the early 1980s she was living in Manchester, concerned mainly with feeding her habit. A local promoter persuaded her to play a few shows in
Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler
This episode features a live recording made at Foyles in London, where John was joined on stage by Una McCormack, making her record breaking tenth appearance on Backlsited, and Salena Godden, who returns eight years after blowing us away in the episode on Hubert Selby Jr. The book under discussion is The Parable of the Sower a 1993 novel by the American science fiction writer, Octavia Butler. For those of you don’t know her work, you are in for a roller coaster ride. As fellow America
Her First American by Lore Segal
This episode explores the third novel by the nonagenarian American writer Lore Segal which was originally published in 1985 by Knopf and is due to be released in the UK for the first time by Sort Of Books in 2025. We are joined by Sort Of Book’s publisher and co-founder Nat Janscz, who made her Backlisted debut back in 2018 on the Tove Jansson episode. She is joined by the distinguished American novelist and short story writer Jeffery Renard Allen, who was a student of Lore Segal’s. T
Season 3 Prequel
The waiting is nearly over! Ahead of Backlisted Season 3 - and our tenth anniversary year - John, Andy and Nicky get together to chat about books, vintage vinyl, what they did on their holidays, but mostly books: Sarah Perry's novel Enlightenment, recently longlisted for the Booker Prize; The Haunted Wood, Sam Leith's fascinating new history of childhood reading; I Will Die in a Foreign Land, Kalani Pickhart's timely exploration of the roots of the war in Ukraine; and The Cooler (1974), a newly-
Autumn Journal by Louis MacNeice - Rerun
A classic episode from 2018 with a new introduction.This week John and Andy are joined by actor and director Sam West and writer and academic Sophie Ratcliffe to talk about Louis MacNeice's Autumn Journal. The poem was composed in the autumn of 1938 while Britain awaited the declaration of the Second World War. Other books under discussion are Katharine Kilalea's OK, Mr Field and Francis Plug: Writer in Residence by Paul Ewen.*For £100 off any Serious Readers HD Light and free UK delive
Absolute Beginners - Rerun
Slang lexicographer extraordinaire Jonathon Green joins John and Andy in this episode originally recorded in 2016 to discuss Absolute Beginners, the classic novel of London teenage life set around Soho and Notting Hill.*Tickets are now on sale for our LIVE show in London on Wednesday Sep 25th where we will be discussing The Parable of The Sower by Octavia Butler, with guests Salena Golden and Una McCormack* To purchase any of the books mentioned in this episode please visit our bookshop
Summer Reading 2024
Despite the team's somewhat complex relationship with the idea of ‘summer’, this episode is full of seasonal recommendations. Andy previews Intermezzo, the new Sally Rooney (out in September) and enjoys A Body Made of Glass: A History of Hypochondria by the guest on our Agatha Christie show, Caroline Crampton. John chooses Ex-Wife by Ursula Parrott, a re-issue of a controversial 1929 bestseller from Faber Editions and A Spell of Good Things, the latest chronicle of modern Nigerian life by Ayọ̀b
Endless Night by Agatha Christie
At long last, it's our Agatha Christie show! We are joined by Caroline Crampton, writer and host of the Shedunnit podcast, and Laura Thompson, author and Christie biographer, for an investigation of Endless Night (1967), a late entry in the Queen of Crime's extensive catalogue and perhaps her last truly great novel of suspense and surprise. NB. Whilst we refrain from revealing the killer's identity (just about), there are enough clues sprinkled throughout the podcast that listeners may
Marianne Dreams by Catherine Storr
Children's writer Rachael King and novelist Richard Blandford join John and Andy for a discussion of Marianne Dreams by Catherine Storr, the eerie, disturbing tale of two sick children who meet in a realm of nightmares. First published in 1958, the book is now considered by critics to be a sui genesis classic. Storr was a prolific author, with dozens of titles to her name; her work for children often mixes fantasy and horror with her extensive professional knowledge of child psychology.
Gaining Ground by Joan Barfoot
Author Rose Ruane (This Is Yesterday, Birding) picks Gaining Ground AKA Abra (1978) by Canadian feminist writer Joan Barfoot. One day, seemingly on a whim, a woman walks out of her home and her marriage, forsaking her family for a life of near-solitude and self-sufficiency. Many years later, her daughter, now grown-up, comes to find her and to ask a simple question: why? But there are no easy answers... In a long and distinguished literary career, Barfoot has won the Marian Engel Award and been
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is the subject of this episode of Backlisted. Dr Martin Shaw and Dr Laura Varnam (hwaet Laura!) join Andy and John to discuss this late 14th-century chivalric romance - or subversion thereof - written in Middle English alliterative verse, author unknown. We discuss the poem's chequered history and a variety of translations by Simon Armitage, J.R.R. Tolkien, Marie Borroff and Dr Shaw himself. We also take a look at some of the film, TV and radio adaptations of the
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: The Original Radio Scripts by Douglas Adams
The work of Douglas Adams - comic genius, futurologist and erstwhile hitchhiker - is the subject of this episode of Backlisted, in particular The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: The Original Radio Scripts, first published by Pan Books in 1985. H2G2, as it is known to fans, was a cultural phenomenon in the true sense of that degraded term: first a hit radio show, then a bestselling novel, then a double LP, then a stage adaptation, then a second radio series, then another novel, then a
The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford
Novelist Alex Michaelides (The Silent Patient, The Fury) joins Andy and John to discuss Ford Madox Ford's classic novel The Good Soldier (1915), a tale of passion in which, owing to a narrator of almost comic unreliability, nothing can be taken for granted. It is a book that seems to change on every reading, both a kaleidoscopic psychological drama and 'the saddest story I have ever heard'. During his lifetime 'Fordie' was, variously, a prolific author, a publisher of historical note, a
Locklisted - Book Recommendation Special
This episode is a free sample of our subscriber only show, Locklisted, because the next episode of Backlisted has been delayed through illness (though given that its subject is the radio scripts of A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, this tardiness may not come as a complete surprise). A conversation about shelftalkers in bookshops leads to a broader discussion about where we get our book recommendations and Andy runs a quiz based on the principle of algorithmic recomm
A Marsh Island by Sarah Orne Jewett
For this episode we are joined by the writer, Noreen Masud, author of the acclaimed memoir, A Flat Place (currently shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction). The book she has chosen to discuss is A Marsh Island, a 19th century American novel by Sarah Orne Jowett, who is usually considered one of the foremost proponents of American regionalism – an assumption this episode investigates. The book was first serialised in the Atlantic Monthly magazine in 1885 and published by Hough
The Children of Men by P.D. James
Novelist Andrew Hunter Murray and biographer Laura Thompson join us to discuss The Children of Men (1992), a dystopian thriller by the late P.D. James. The author is probably best remembered as one of Britain's greatest exponents of detective fiction, an heir to the Golden Age of female novelists such as Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Dorothy Sayers et al. In The Children of Men, however, James depicts a nightmare near-future in which the world is literally coming to an end. The book became a bes
All My Pretty Ones by Anne Sexton
Award-winning poet Emily Berry joins us to consider the work and troubled life of Anne Sexton. We focus on her brilliant second collection All My Pretty Ones (1962). Sexton was a trailblazing American poet of the so-called 'confessional' school of the 1960s, one whose writing continues to provoke controversy and debate; her friends and contemporaries included Sylvia Plath and John Berryman. We hear from Sexton herself, in recordings of readings and interviews, and fronting own experimen
Coffee Table Books
This fully illustrated, lavishly produced episode of Backlisted represents the last word in coffee table books. Join John, Andy and Nicky as we dip into the origin, design and continuing appeal of specialist hardcover publishing, via some of our favourite cookery books, exhibition catalogues and sumptuous volumes simply too beautiful to leave on the shelf. As you will hear, we loved making this show, which is as deep as it is long. And remember: a coffee table book is for life, not just for Chri
A Life in Movies by Michael Powell
This episode of Backlisted is devoted to A Life in Movies (1986), the first volume of memoirs of the filmmaker Michael Powell who, with his partner Emeric Pressburger, is responsible for some of the finest, most magical and soulful films ever to come out of the UK: The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, Black Narcissus, The Red Shoes, and many more. Joining us for a discussion of Powell's life and work - and his vision of cinema as a space in which all the other arts may find expression - are memo
Scouse Mouse by George Melly
This episode was recorded in the great city of Liverpool and celebrates the life and work of a great Liverpudlian: George Melly, sometime writer, jazz and blues singer, artist, critic, lecturer and aficionado of surrealism. We are joined by two resident experts: the writer Jeff Young and the playwright and screenwriter, Lizzie Nunnery. The book under discussion is Melly’s Scouse Mouse, which is chronologically the first part of Melly’s memoirs. It was first published by Weidenfeld &
Love On The Dole by Walter Greenwood
We are joined by the writer Andrew Hankinson to discuss Walter Greenwood’s classic novel of Northern working-class life. First published in 1933, Love on the Dole, revolves explores the fortunes of the Hardcastle family, who live in industrial Salford in the 1930s, just as the Depression is beginning to bite. Greenwood’s authentic portrayal of the corrosive effects of mass unemployment and poverty was well received by critics, but it wasn’t until the 1934 stage version had become a hit,
Stone Angel by Margaret Laurence
For this first episode of 2024 we are joined by the chair of Virago Press, Lennie Goodings to discuss a novel by her fellow Canadian, Margaret Laurence. First published in 1964, The Stone Angel is a landmark in modern Canadian fiction. The narrator is the unforgettable Hagar Shipley, a spiky, sharp-tongued, proud and profane ninety-year-old who is trying to resist her family’s attempts to transfer her into a nursing home. This battle is interwoven with memories of her long and difficult life, mu
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
For this year’s Backlisted Christmas Special we are joined by the poet and novelist Clare Pollard and our producer Nicky Birch to discuss not just a book, but adaptations of a book – and there are hundreds to choose from – and all have contributed to making it perhaps the most famous Christmas story of them all: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Written in six weeks in 1843, it was a massive and immediate success, selling out its first run of 6,000 copies by Christmas Eve. It has been in pri
Briggflatts by Basil Bunting
Today’s episode focusses on a single long poem – Briggflatts by the Northumbrian poet Basil Bunting. It was recorded live in St Mary’s Church, Woodstock in Oxfordshire, as part of the Woodstock Poetry Festival. Andy and John are joined by Neil Astley, the founder of Bloodaxe Books, who knew and published Bunting, and Kirsten Norrie, a poet and composer who writes and performs under her Highland name, MacGillivray. The episode begins and ends with recordings made in 1977 of Bunting readi
Trustee From The Toolroom by Nevil Shute
For our 200th episode, we are joined by Richard Osman: television presenter, longtime Backlisted listener, and one of the bestselling authors in the world today. We discuss Trustee from the Toolroom (1960), the final novel by Nevil Shute Norway, whose other books include A Town Like Alice (1950) and On the Beach (1957), widely read in his lifetime but now somewhat forgotten or ignored. How did Shute's long and distinguished stint as an aeronautical engineer fit with his parallel career
Plays, Books and Stories: Samuel Beckett
In this episode, we feature the life and work of Samuel Beckett, one of the most important and influential voices of 20th century literature. We discuss Beckett’s writing across five decades, including his essays, short stories, novels and plays: ‘Dante… Bruno. Vico… Joyce’; ‘More Pricks Than Kicks’; ‘The Unnamable’; Krapp’s Last Tape’; and the late masterpiece ‘Company’. And we also ruminate on the fact that Backlisted has now been going on (it must go on, it can’t go on, it’ll go on) for eight
Ghost Stories Of An Antiquary by M.R. James
Pour yourself a glass of sherry and light a candle, as we dedicate this year's Halloween special to Ghost Stories of an Antiquary (1904), the first collection by M.R. James, probably the most celebrated and influential exponent of the weird tale. With the help of undead guests Andrew Male and Laura Varnam we illuminate the life and work of a strange and singular author, one whose writings, like the engraving in 'The Mezzotint', have truly taken on a life of their own.
* To purchase any of the bo
What Have We Been Reading? - October 2023
This is a new books special episode to fill the gap before we release the Hallowe’en episode next weekend and as part of our episode 200 celebrations. In it, we each select a book we’ve particularly enjoyed over the past year. Andy says The Sarah Book by Scott McClanahan (Tyrant Books) is the best novel he's read since Gwendoline Riley's My Phantoms and also his favourite; Backlisted Editor, Nicky talks about Wifedom by Anna Funder (Granta), an genre-busting account of the life Eileen M
The True History of the First Mrs Meredith by Diane Johnson
Episode #197 is dedicated to our late friend Carmen Callil, the founder of Virago, an author in her own right and, on a couple of memorable occasions, a former guest on Backlisted. Joining us are the writer Rachel Cooke and critic and editor Lucy Scholes. Under discussion: The True History of the First Mrs Meredith and Other Lesser Lives by Diane Johnson, first published in 1972 and reissued in 2020 by New York Review Books. Is this imaginative, funny, heartfelt, headstrong book a novel
Esther Waters by George Moore
In this episode we discuss the controversial and ground-breaking novel, Esther Waters by the Irish novelist George Moore. We are joined by Tom Crewe, author of the prize-winning New Life (Chatto & Windus) and one of this year’s crop of Granta’s Best of Young British Novelists. Esther Waters was first published in 1894 and is told almost entirely from the point of view of an illiterate working-class woman, who falls pregnant by a fellow servant, is abandoned by him, and decides to r
Galapágos by Kurt Vonnegut
In this episode we are delighted to welcome 2023 Booker Prize Winner Shehan Karunatilaka to discuss Kurt Vonnegut’s eleventh novel, Galapágos. First published in 1985, it is one of his most radical, intricate and humorous works, a Darwinian satire narrated by a ghost from a million years in the future. As Lorrie Moore wrote about it at the time, Vonnegut’s ‘grumbly and idiomatic voice has always been his own, unfakeable and childlike, and his humanity, persisting as it does through his pessimism
A Kestrel For a Knave by Barry Hines (from Green Man Festival)
Author and illustrator Rose Blake and writer and musician Bob Stanley (Saint Etienne) joined Andy and John at the Greenman festival in Wales on August 18th 2023 to discuss Barry Hines's second novel A Kestrel for a Knave (1968) and, inevitably, the film adaptation Kes (1969), directed by Ken Loach from a screenplay by Hines himself. This episode was recorded in front of a large crowd of festivalgoers, most of whom had either read the book or seen the film, or both. Why does this apparently simpl
Summer Reading Special
This week, to mix things up a little, it’s our annual round-up of books, old and new, you might enjoy over the summer. John, Andy and Backlisted’s producer Nicky discuss: O Caledonia by Elspeth Barker (W&N Essentials); Sheep’s Clothing by Celia Dale (Daunt Books); The Stirrings: A Memoir in Northern Time by Catherine Taylor (Weidenfeld & Nicolson); Old God’s Time by Sebastian Barry (Faber); A Spell of Good Things by Ayobami Adebayo (Canongate); and The KLF: Chaos, Magic and the Band Who Burned a
A Passage to India by E.M. Forster
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The Millstone by Margaret Drabble
Novelist Linda Grant and critic and editor Lucy Scholes return to Backlisted for a discussion of Margaret Drabble's third novel The Millstone, a book which has remained in print ever since it was first published in 1965, when Drabble was 26 years old; it was adapted for the screen by the author herself in 1969 as A Touch of Love, starring Sandy Dennis, Eleanor Bron and, making his film debut, Sir Ian McKellen. This story of a shy but determined young woman's decision to keep her baby an
The Eustace Diamonds by Anthony Trollope
We are joined on this episode by authors Jennifer Egan (A Visit from the Goon Squad) and Nell Stevens (Briefly, A Delicious Life), who last featured on Backlisted #170 discussing North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell. This time the talk turns on The Eustace Diamonds by Anthony Trollope, the third instalment of the Palliser sequence. We explore the ways in which this novel and Trollope’s work in general confound expectation at every turn, a surprise perhaps when one considers the author’s reputati
The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammet
We are joined by the crime novelist Mark Billingham to discuss his favourite book, The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett. First serialised in Black Mask magazine in 1929 and published the following year in book form by Alfred A. Knopf, it is widely considered to have inaugurated the hard-boiled genre of detective fiction. It introduces the tough, abrasive and morally ambiguous private detective, Sam Spade, who sent Dorothy Parker ‘mooning about in a daze of love such as I had not known for any
Giordano Bruno and the Embassy Affair by John Bossy
For this episode we are joined by the critic and former literary editor of the Independent on Sunday, Suzi Feay and the novelist and former Deputy Literary Editor of the Observer, Stephanie Merritt. Both are fans of the history-cum-detective story, Giordano Bruno and the Embassy Affair, by the late great historian of English Catholicism, John Bossy.
The book was a departure from Bossy’s weightier academic publications – in it he attempts to pin down the identity of the shadowy Elizabethan spy kn
Graham Greene
The whole of the next hour and a bit is dedicated to the work of Graham Greene – a writer we have long wanted to tackle. We cover several representative pieces – not necessarily the most famous of Greene’s work – and try to apply a fresh perspective to his long and sometimes controversial career.
We start somewhere near the beginning with The Name of Action from 1930, a book Greene himself wanted suppressed…
The books featured (with rough timings where they appear in the show) are:
The Name of
Rerun: All The Devils Are Here by David Seabrook
Rachel Cooke, Observer writer, New Statesman TV critic and author joined John, Andy and former host Mathew way back in 2016 to discuss All The Devils Are Here, the astounding travelogue through Kent and the depths of human behaviour from David Seabrook. Plus, the drinking habits of Carry On stars, and what to read in Iceland.
Timings (may differ if adverts are included)
07'44 - Dalva by Jim Harrison
12'48 - Life and Death of Harriet Frean by May Sinclair
22'10 - All the Devils Are Here by David
American Books Special
Welcome to the fourth Backlisted Special. While Andy and Nicky are both ‘gathering’ for the new season which will resume at the end of the month, John and Tess are joined by the writers and critics Erica Wagner and Sarah Churchwell who boast a total of 12 previous appearances between them, covering books from Alan Garner and Nella Larsen to Thomas Pynchon and Anita Loos.The format of these specials differs from the main show in that they feature guests choosing a number of books in an a
So Long, See You Tomorrow by William Maxwell - rerun
John introduces a rerun of an episode from November 2016, where Costa First Book nominee for My Name Is Leon, Kit de Waal joins John & Andy to discuss So Long, See You Tomorrow, the final novel by author and New Yorker literary editor William Maxwell.Rough Timings: 11'27 - You Took the Last Bus Home: The Poems of Brian Bilston17'43 - My Name Is Leon by Kit de Waal24'47 - So Long, See You Tomorrow by William Maxwell* To purchase any of the books mentioned in this episode please visit
Archive Books Special
Welcome to the third Backlisted Special. John and Nicky are joined by literary agents Becky Brown and Norah Perkins returning for their third appearance, having previously discussed the work of Barbara Pym and Dorothy B. Hughes. Becky and Norah are joint custodians of the Curtis Brown Heritage list of literary estates, so they have selected seven books from the archive – by women novelists, queer gardeners and anti-fascists - that they feel should be better known and more widely read an
Good Morning, Midnight by Jean Rhys - rerun
This is the third in our re-released episodes – and only the second one we ever recorded. Has Jean Rhys’s reputation and influence grown since then? Does a seven-year-old Backlisted still pass muster? All this (and more) are considered in Andy’s new introduction. Enjoy!John and Andy are joined by novelist Linda Grant and Unbound's Mathew Clayton to discuss Good Morning, Midnight by Jean Rhys, first published in 1939. Rhys is still best known for her 1966 novel, Wide Sargasso Sea, but as
Science Fiction Special
Welcome to our second Backlisted special of 2023. Today we’re joined by the best-selling writer Una McCormack, returning for a record-breaking ninth appearance, having most recently participated in the Christmas episode dedicated to Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfield.These specials are designed to fill the gap until the show proper returns in April. They differ from the usual Backlisted format in that they feature just one guest choosing a number of books in an area they know and care abo
Fungus The Bogeyman by Raymond Briggs - Revisited
In memory of Raymond Briggs we are replaying the episode where John and Andy were joined by author-illustrator Nadia Shireen and writer Andrew Male for a smellybration of Fungus the Bogeyman (1977) by the great Raymond Briggs. The much-loved and bestselling picture book Andrew describes as "the children's Anatomy of Melancholy". We consider Briggs's life and work in full: Father Christmas, The Snowman, When the Wind Blows, Ethel & Ernest and the sepulchral Time For Lights Out (2019)
Backlisted Special - The books of our childhood
Welcome to our first Backlisted special of 2023. Today we’re joined by the award-winning novelist and screenwriter Frank Cottrell-Boyce, an official friend of Backlisted, who returns for the first time since his appearance on the Christmas 2021 episode on The Railway Children by Edith Nesbit, one of our most popular shows. These specials are designed to fill the gap until the show proper returns in April. They differ from the usual Backlisted format in that they feature just one guest c
The Tortoise and the Hare by Elizabeth Jenkins - rerun
In memory of the great Carmen Callil, we are replaying the first of her two appearances on Backlisted. Joining Andy and John in this episode is Carmen Callil, the legendary publisher and writer, who is best know for founding the Virago Press in 1972. Once described by the Guardian as ‘part-Lebanese, part-Irish and wholly Australian’, Carmen settled in London in 1964 advertising herself in The Times as ‘Australian, B.A. wants job in book publishing’. After changing a generation’s taste t
Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild
Merry Christmas Everyone! This year’s Backlisted Christmas special celebrates Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild, a classic of children’s literature and the childhood favourite of our producer, Nicky Birch. We are joined by the writer Una McCormack and Tanya Kirk, the Lead Curator of Printed Heritage Collections (1601-1900) at the British Library, who are both lifetime Streatfeild fans. Ballet Shoes was an immediate bestseller upon publication and the runner-up for the inaugural Carnegie
The Awakening by Kate Chopin
The Awakening is an American classic, first published in 1899. The novel’s focus is the inner life of Edna Pontellier, a 29 year-old a married woman and mother of two boys, whose husband Léonce is a New Orleans businessman of Louisiana Creole heritage. The book’s notoriety derives from Edna’s refusal to accept the role that American society of the late 19th century has allocated to her. After the controversy that greeted it on publication, The Awakening sank from view until it was redis
The Ice Palace by Tarjei Vesaas
The Ice Palace or Is-slottet by Tarjei Vesaas is a 20th century classic by one of Norway’s greatest modern writers. First published by Gyldendal in 1963, it went on to win the Nordic Council Literary Prize in 1964. In 1966, it was published in Elizabeth Rokkan’s English translation by Peter Owen who described it as the best novel he ever published. To discuss it we’re joined by friend of the show Max Porter – who’s surprised it isn’t the most famous book in the world – and by another gr
The Springs of Affection by Maeve Brennan
There can be few writers more deserving of Backlisted’s attention than the Irish writer, Maeve Brennan. An adopted New Yorker, Brennan died there in 1993 and was by that time so thoroughly forgotten in her native land, that she received no obituaries in any Irish papers. We are joined by the writers Sinéad Gleason and David Hayden to discuss her collection, The Springs of Affection – subtitled ‘stories of Dublin’ – which was first published posthumously by Houghton Mifflin in 1997, alth
The Altar of the Dead and Other Tales by Henry James
This Hallowe’en episode of Backlisted focusses on the collection of ‘uncanny’ stories by Henry James, first gathered together under the title The Altar of the Dead and Other Tales to form the seventeenth volume of the New York Edition of his Collected Works in 1917. We are joined, as ever, by our resident spook-master Andrew Male, and by acclaimed novelist and Henry James aficionado Tessa Hadley. We each choose a story to present and read from - these are tackled in chronological order
Full Tilt by Dervla Murphy
Full Tilt: Ireland to India with a Bicycle by the Irish travel writer Dervla Murphy was first published in 1965 and is the first of Dervla Murphy’s twenty-six books. It's a journal she kept on the 3,500 mile, six-month journey she made by bicycle from her home in Lismore, Ireland to Delhi in India in 1963, Ireland, traversing Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan on her trusty bike, Ros. Joining us to discuss the book are Felicity Cloake, food writer and the award
Roadside Picnic by Arkady & Boris Strugatsky
Roadside Picnic, first published in 1972, is the best-known work of Russia’s most famous modern science fiction writers, Arkady & Boris Strugatsky, together the authors of 26 novels and scores of short stories. To discuss it we are joined by the writer and radio presenter Jennifer Lucy Allan, and the publisher and translator Ilona Chavasse. The book is based on the premise that Earth has been briefly visited by an alien civilisation that have left behind them six ‘Zones’, places strewn with thei
North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
North and South is Elizabeth Gaskell’s fourth novel and considered by many to be her best. It tells the story of Margaret Hale, a principled young middle-class woman from the rural South whose family are obliged to re-settle in the Northern industrial town of Milton. Joining us to discuss the novel’s contemporary relevance, are two new guests: Jennifer Egan, author of A Visit from the Goon Squad and Nell Stevens, author of the memoir, Mrs Gaskell & Me. We cover the books presentatio
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard
Authors Jay Griffiths and Geoff Dyer are our guests for a discussion of Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. Annie Dillard was only twenty-nine when her first prose book was published in 1974; it went onto win the Pulitzer Prize for Non-Fiction the following year. To discuss this classic of observational nature writing and spiritual enquiry, we are joined by two writers making their Backlisted debuts: Jay Griffiths, the author of Wild: An Elemental Journey and Geoff Dyer, whose most recent book The Last Day
Lightning Rods by Helen DeWitt
The second novel by by literary wunderkind, Helen DeWitt, Lightning Rods is probably the most challenging book we’ve yet featured on Backlisted. Usually described as a satire on American capitalism, it is the diasarmingly upbeat and funny tale of Joe, a struggling salesman, who develops a new office product that he believes serves an urgent need in modern corporate life. Quite what that product is and how it works requires a delicacy in description and a warning for listeners: this is n
The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham
It's sixty-five years since John Wyndham published The Midwich Cuckoos, the fourth in his hugely successful series of science fiction novels that began in 1951 with The Day of the Triffids. Many people’s first introduction to The Midwich Cuckoos is through the classic film from 1960, which was renamed The Village of the Damned and starred George Sanders. We’re joined for this episode by the writer and director David Farr, who has just produced the most recent adaptation of the novel: a
The Kingdom by the Sea by Paul Theroux
Forty years ago the writer Paul Theroux hoisted his knapsack on his back and set off on a journey on foot around the coast of the United Kingdom; the effects of Thatcherism were being felt in earnest and the Falklands War was in progress. The Kingdom by the Sea, Theroux's grumpy, funny account of this journey, was published the following year (1983) and caused outrage in many of the seaside towns the author had passed through and seemingly written off. In this episode the Backlisted tea
Titus Groan, Gormenghast and Titus Alone by Mervyn Peake
Novelist Joanne Harris (Chocolat, A Narrow Door) is our guest for a celebration of Titus Groan (1946), Gormenghast (1950) and Titus Alone (1959) by Mervyn Peake, three novels which are often referred to, erroneously, as the Gormenghast Trilogy. With Joanne's expert guidance, John and Andy revisit Peake's visionary work for the first time in decades and are surprised and delighted by what they discover. Also in this episode, Andy marks the belated UK publication of Maud Martha, the sole
The Death of the Heart by Elizabeth Bowen
Tessa Hadley (Free Love, Late in the Day) joins us for a discussion of The Death of the Heart (1938), the sixth novel by Anglo-Irish novelist Elizabeth Bowen; as you'll hear, Tessa has been reading and rereading Bowen's work since she discovered it in her local library when she was 12 years old. We go deep into the glorious idiosyncrasies (and idiosyncratic glories) of Bowen's style and consider why her reputation has waxed and waned in the years since her death in 1973. Also in this ep
De Profundis by Oscar Wilde
Our guest is Stephen Fry, writer, actor and polymath, who last week joined John and Andy in person to discuss Oscar Wilde's De Profundis, the essay addressed to Lord Alfred Douglas 'from the depths' of Wilde's incarceration in Reading Gaol in 1897. It has been described by Colm Tóibín as 'one of the greatest love letters ever written'; it is also Wilde's most powerful testament of the sacred duty of the artist as he conceived it. We discuss the work's convoluted publication history, Wil
Family Lexicon by Natalia Ginzburg
Publisher Marigold Atkey and journalist Emily Rhodes join us for a discussion of Lessico famigliare, Natalia Ginzburg's novelistic memoir or autobiographical novel, first published in Italy in 1963 and most recently translated by Jenny McPhee as Family Lexicon (Daunt/NYRB). Ginzburg had a long and distinguished career in Italian literature, theatre and politics. This episode explores her fascinating life and asks why her work is finding new readers and admirers in the 21st century, amon
Escape to an Autumn Pavement and Jamaica by Andrew Salkey
Our guests are both new to Backlisted: the legendary publisher, editor, writer Margaret Busby and the award-winning poet, Raymond Antrobus. They join us to discuss the work of the Caribbean writer, Andrew Salkey, in particular his 1960 Hampstead ‘bedsit novel’, Escape to An Autumn Pavement, and his epic poem Jamaica, which explores the historical foundations of Jamaican society and was first published in 1973 by the pioneering press, Bogle L’Ouverture. As you will discover, Salkey was a consumma
The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon
Our guests are both Backlisted old hands: Professor Sarah Churchwell, Professor in American Literature and Chair of Public Understanding of the Humanities at the School of Advanced Study, University of London and Sam Leith, literary editor of the Spectator. We are discussing the 1966 postmodern novel The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon, by some way his shortest book, but no less complex and intriguing for its relative brevity. Sound the muted post horn! Also in this episode, Andy extols the s
Fungus the Bogeyman by Raymond Briggs
We are joined by author-illustrator Nadia Shireen and writer Andrew Male for a smellybration of Fungus the Bogeyman (1977) by the great Raymond Briggs, the much-loved and bestselling picture book Andrew describes as "the children's Anatomy of Melancholy". We consider Briggs's life and work in full: Father Christmas, The Snowman, When the Wind Blows, Ethel & Ernest and the sepulchral Time For Lights Out (2019), his latest - and perhaps last - book; we also hear several times from the (often very
South Riding by Winifred Holtby
Our guests are Tanya Kirk, Lead Curator of Printed Heritage Collections 1601-1900 at The British Library, and Backlisted's old friend Una McCormack, a New York Times bestselling author. We are discussing Winifred Holtby's classic final novel South Riding, published posthumously in 1936 and widely admired for its broad canvas of social realism and as a classic of early feminism. Also in this episode John updates us on his progress through Olga Tokarczuk's The Books of Jacob (Fitzcarraldo), transl
Winter Reading II: Short Stories
This episode of Backlisted features Andy, John and Nicky chatting about short stories and the perennial appeal of the form to both writers and readers. This is a sequel to the first Winter Reading show we posted in January. Books under discussion include Wendy Erskine's new collection Dance Move; The Voice in My Ear by Frances Leviston; Rupert Thomson's memoir This Party's Got to Stop; Randall Jarrell's Book of Stories; A Swim in a Pond in the Rain by George Saunders; and, ahead of our
Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers
Authors Harriet Evans (The Beloved Girls) and Francesca Wade (Square Haunting) join us to celebrate Dorothy L. Sayers's 'novel not without detection' Gaudy Night (1935), perhaps the high point in the classic series of books featuring Harriet Vane and Lord Peter Wimsey. Sayers was a feminist pioneer and we discuss her intellectual life and brilliant and unorthodox career. Also in this episode, John dips into The Art of the Glimpse (Head of Zeus), an anthology of Irish short stories edite
Finishing the Hat and Look, I Made a Hat by Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Sondheim's biographer David Benedict and writer and musician Jason Hazeley join us for a special episode devoted to Finishing the Hat and Look, I Made a Hat, the late and very great songwriter's two volumes of lyrics, memoir, criticism and much more, first published in 2010 and 2011 respectively; Sondheim's work defies easy categorisation and these glorious books are no exception. NB. This show contains expert recommendations for further listening and, as you'll hear, putting it
Winter Reading 2022
Happy New Year! We begin 2022 with a stack of books to see us through the winter: poetry, history, fiction and science. Andy, John and Nicky discuss and read from The Kids by Hannah Lowe (Bloodaxe); The Dawn of Everything by David Graeber and David Wengrow (FSG/Allen Lane); Love in Five Acts by Daniela Krien (MacLehose Press); Men Who Feed Pigeons by Selima Hill (Bloodaxe); The Books of Jacob by Olga Tokarczuk (Fitzcarraldo Editions); The Wordhord: Daily Life in Old English by Hana Videen (Profi
The Railway Children by E. Nesbit
Merry Xmas everybody! Our friends Katherine Rundell and Frank Cottrell-Boyce, two wonderful guest authors, join us to celebrate the life and work of Edith Nesbit and perhaps her best-loved novel, The Railway Children (1906). This podcast has it all: cracker jokes and conversation, readings and music, laughter and tears, a forthright debate over whether Daddy is innocent or guilty, and even a special Christmas quiz featuring tenuous links - have a pen and piece of paper to hand (and maybe a box o
Deadwood by Pete Dexter
Authors Shawn Levy (A Year in the Life of Death, Rat Pack Confidential) and Erica Wagner (Chief Engineer, Gravity) join us to discuss US writer Pete Dexter's second novel Deadwood (1986), described by the Washington Post on publication as 'maybe the best Western ever written'. In addition to enjoying this unpredictable and uproarious historical novel, we investigate the differences - and notable similarities - between Dexter's work and the classic TV series of the same name that followe
The Godwits Fly by Robin Hyde
Our guest is author Paula Morris, who joins us from Auckland to discuss the novel The Godwits Fly (1938) and the life of its author Iris Wilkinson AKA Robin Hyde. In recent years, Iris Wilkinson's writing has been rediscovered and restored to the canon of New Zealand literature, where it occupies a place alongside Katherine Mansfield's; The Godwits Fly is her highly autobiographical novel spanning the years 1910-28. Also this week, John has been captivated by Neurotribes, Steve Silberman's fasci
Notes from Under the Floorboards AKA Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Welcome to the 150th episode of Backlisted! To mark the occasion we are joined by authors Alex Christofi (Dostoevsky in Love) and Arifa Akbar (Consumed: A Sister's Story) for a discussion of one of Russia's greatest writers Fyodor Dostoevsky, who was born in Moscow on November 11 1821, 200 years ago this month. We concentrate on his pioneering novella Notes From Under the Floorboards AKA Notes From Underground (1864) and consider its impact and continuing relevance to modern life. Also in this e
Treacle Walker by Alan Garner
This is a Backlisted special, recorded at the Bodleian Library in Oxford to celebrate the publication of Treacle Walker the new novel by Alan Garner (Fourth Estate). The panel discussion features Erica Wagner, writer and critic and editor of First Light, an anthology of pieces about Alan Garner’s work; Dr Melanie Giles, archaeologist and the author of Bog Bodies, the definitive account of the phenomenon which plays a significant role in the book’s story; and Professor Bob Cywinski, physicist, wh
Something in Disguise by Elizabeth Jane Howard
For this year's Hallowe'en special we're joined by Backlisted's old fiends Andrew Male and Laura Varnam, following previous guest appearances on episodes dedicated to Beowulf (2020) and Daphne du Maurier's The Breaking Point (2019). Together we explore the work of the novelist Elizabeth Jane Howard, specifically her ghost stories, tales of horror and accounts of psychological terror: Something in Disguise (1969), Odd Girl Out (1972), Mr Wrong (1975), Falling (1999), and We Are For the D
Cassandra at the Wedding by Dorothy Baker
Our guests are publisher Alexandra Pringle and Simon Thomas, editor and co-host of the Tea or Books? podcast. They are here to discuss Cassandra at the Wedding, the fourth and final novel by Dorothy Baker, first published in 1962 by Houghton Mifflin in the USA and Victor Gollancz in the UK. What is it about this darkly funny tale of two devoted sisters that continues to appeal to generations of readers? Also in this episode John enjoys Notes from an Island by Tove Jansson and Tuulikki P
The Dream Songs by John Berryman
Joining us on Backlisted this week is novelist and memoirist Susie Boyt (My Judy Garland Life, Loved and Missed). The book Susie has chosen for us to discuss is The Dream Songs (1969) by John Berryman, the publication of which briefly made its author the most famous poet in America but also, unfortunately, hastened his decline and ruin. But the work shines on. Also in this episode Andy is struck by the contemporary resonance of Vivian Gornick's The Romance of American Communism while John drinks
Elizabeth Costello by J.M. Coetzee
We are joined by novelist Mary Costello for a special episode recorded live at Galway International Arts Festival in Ireland on September 10th 2021. The book we're debating is Elizabeth Costello (2003) by South-African born Nobel Laureate J.M. Coetzee, a novel that politely asks the reader to consider, amongst other matters, animal rights, the power of faith and the limits of fiction itself. Also in this episode, new books by two Irish authors: Sally Rooney's novel Beautiful World, Where Are You
Summer Reading 2021
It’s time for our annual look at what we’ve been reading over the summer break. John, Andy and Nicky discuss David Keenan’s fourth novel Monument Maker; Open Water, a promising debut novella from Caleb Azumah Nelson; Deborah Levy’s three-volume ‘living autobiography’, Things I Don’t Want to Know, The Cost of Living and Real Estate; a reissue of Percival Everett’s satirical diatribe Erasure; Life With a Capital L, Geoff Dyer’s selection of essays by D.H. Lawrence; and Vivian Gornick’s The End of
Fat City by Leonard Gardner
Perhaps the greatest boxing novel ever written, Leonard Gardner's Fat City was first published in 1969; it was shortlisted for the National Book Award; Joan Didion and Denis Johnson are amongst those who have sung its praises. The book was made into a film in 1972 starring Stacy Keach and Jeff Bridges, directed by John Huston from a screenplay by Gardner himself. In this episode Andy, John and Nicky explore both the novel and the film and the ways in which Gardner shows the reader the whole of a
Heart of the Original By Steve Aylett
Joining us on Backlisted this week is writer John Higgs, whose fascinating new book William Blake Vs The World is out now. We were thrilled John chose Steve Aylett's guide to originality, creativity and individuality, Heart of the Original, first published by Unbound in 2015 and as original, creative and individual a book as we have ever featured on this podcast; be prepared to experience a "small-particle tulpa storm" of ideas. Also in this episode, John enjoys the waspish melancholy of Elizabe
In a Lonely Place by Dorothy B. Hughes
Returning to Backlisted this week are literary agents Becky Brown and Norah Perkins, joint custodians of the Curtis Brown Heritage list of literary estates and previously our guests on episode #109, Excellent Women by Barbara Pym. This time we are discussing the work of crime novelist Dorothy B. Hughes and in particular her suspenseful and subversive novel In a Lonely Place (1947), freely adapted as a classic film noir by director Nicholas Ray and starring Humphrey Bogart and Gloria Gra
Are You Somebody? by Nuala O'Faolain
Joining John and Andy this week is novelist and host of the books podcast Sentimental Garbage, Caroline O'Donoghue (Promising Young Women, Scenes of a Graphic Nature, All Our Hidden Gifts). We are discussing Nuala O'Faolain's revelatory memoir Are You Somebody? (1996), the original publication of which caused a sensation in her native Ireland. The book went on to top the New York Times bestseller list for six weeks; it still has the power to astonish. Also in this episode Andy has been exploring
A Goat's Song by Dermot Healy
Joining John and Andy this week are novelist Patrick McCabe (The Butcher Boy, Breakfast on Pluto, Winterwood) and Unbound's editor-at-large Rachael Kerr. We got together to discuss Dermot Healy's remarkable second novel A Goat's Song (1994) and the peripatetic life of its author, one of the great Irish writers of recent times. Patrick, Rachael and John all knew, worked and occasionally drank with Dermot Healy and this special episode reflects their personal connections with a much-loved and much
The Evenings by Gerard Reve
Joining John and Andy this week are novelist Marie Phillips (Gods Behaving Badly, Oh, I Do Like To Be...) and novelist, screenwriter and poet Joe Dunthorne (Submarine, O Positive). The book we are discussing is Gerard Reve's debut novel De Avonden AKA The Evenings, which caused a sensation when published in the Netherlands in 1947 and is now considered a classic. In the words of Herman Koch, it may be 'the funniest, most exhilarating novel about boredom ever written'. Reve was only 24;
The Plague and I by Betty MacDonald
Joining John and Andy this week are Natasha McEnroe, the Keeper of Medicine at the Science Museum in London, and novelist Lissa Evans, Backlisted's old friend and the show's Original Guest, both of whom are Betty MacDonald superfans. The Plague and I (1948) is the author's unflinching and hilarious memoir of the nine months she spent as a patient at a TB sanatorium in the Pacific North West of America. We discuss this book and the eventful life of its million-selling author (The Egg and
The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman by Laurence Sterne
The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman AKA Tristram Shandy by Laurence Sterne is the subject of this years-in-the-making episode of Backlisted. Published in nine volumes between 1759 and 1767, Sterne's cock and bull story has entertained, baffled, enchanted, infuriated and inspired readers ever since; needless to say, at Backlisted we love it. Joining John and Andy to celebrate this great, hilarious, digressive novel - or is it a series of great, hilarious, digressive novels? - are
Água Viva by Clarice Lispector
Clarice Lispector's Água Viva is the subject of this episode of Backlisted. Like several of Lispector's remarkable novels, this slim book caused a sensation when first published in her native Brazil in 1973. Exquisitely written and daringly abstract, it stands as one of its author's masterpieces with Near to the Wild Heart (1943), Family Ties(1960), The Passion According to G.H. (1964) and The Hour of the Star (1977). Joining John and Andy to explore this truly iconic author's life and
The Fish Can Sing by Halldór Laxness
The Fish Can Sing by Halldór Laxness is the subject of this episode. The book was first published in Iceland as Brekkukotsannáll in 1957, two years after Laxness was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature. Joining John and Andy to discuss this ideosyncratic, unforgettable novel and the remarkable life of its author - spanning nearly all of the twentieth century - is author, poet and podcaster Derek Owusu. Also in this episode, John delves into Brian Dillon's new book Suppose A Sentence,
Daddy's Gone A-Hunting by Penelope Mortimer
Penelope Mortimer's fourth novel Daddy's Gone A-Hunting (1958) is the subject of this episode of Backlisted. Joining John and Andy to discuss Mortimer's fearless and pioneering autobiographical fiction, including this book, Saturday Lunch With The Brownings (1960) and The Pumpkin Eater (1962), plus the latter's subsequent film adaptation, are critic and broadcaster Lucy Scholes and New York Times daily books editor John Williams. Also in this episode John enjoys Brown Baby, the new memo
Miss Pym Disposes by Josephine Tey
Josephine Tey's classic mystery Miss Pym Disposes (1946) is the subject of this special episode of Backlisted, recorded as part of Aberdeen's Granite Noir festival on February 19th 2021. Joining John and Andy to explore the life and career of Josephine Tey AKA Gordon Daviot AKA Elizabeth MacKintosh (her real name) is Val McDermind, bestselling author and Tey's fellow Queen of Crime. Tey was the author of a series of highly successful novels, and film and TV adaptations, including Brat F
Job: The Story of a Simple Man by Joseph Roth
Joseph Roth's Job: The Story of a Simple Man (1930) is the subject of this episode of Backlisted. Joining John and Andy to explore this austere and powerful novel, first published in German as Hiob: Roman eines einfachen Mannes, are Keiron Pim, whose much-anticipated biography of Joseph Roth will be published in 2022, and a returning Backlisted guest, bibliomemoirist and playwright Samantha Ellis. Roth was a prolific yet enigmatic writer - his other books include The Radetzky March and The Legen
Locklisted: Teenage Books Special
This Locklisted episode is the sequel to our earlier Children's Books Special. It was recorded in August 2020 and was previously available exclusively to supporters of our Patreon at patreon.com/backlisted. This time we cover our teenage years and the tricky transition into ‘adult’ readers. Much of the conversation is dominated by of our re-reading of The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, but you also get John falling for James Joyce at seventeen (via Wilbur Smith), Nicky moving from Puffin P
Karoo by Steve Tesich
Karoo (1998), a posthumously-published cult novel by screenwriter and playwright Steve Tesich is the subject of this episode of Backlisted. Joining John and Andy to analyse this dark and hilarious tale of a Hollywood script doctor's apocalyptic decline and fall are journalist and podcaster Sali Hughes and novelist John Niven (who previously guested on Backlisted ep. 09 discussing Martin Amis's The Information). Also in this episode, John enjoys This Sporting Life: Sport and Liberty in E
The Bloater by Rosemary Tonks
Rosemary Tonks is the subject of this episode of Backlisted. Our starting point is her fascinating third novel The Bloater (1968) - which is long out of print, unfortunately - but we also discuss her remarkable poetry, her friendship with Delia Derbyshire of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, her eccentric career in fiction, radio and theatre, and her gradual retreat from the world. Joining John and Andy to discover more about this unique and enigmatic writer are two of Tonks's admirers, author and c
Locklisted: Children's Books Special, Part One
This Locklisted special on children's books was recorded in August 2020 and was previously available exclusively to supporters of our Patreon at patreon.com/backlisted. Join us on a journey through time and space as John, Andy and producer Nicky discuss the books they loved as children. The discussion covers the importance of libraries, the Proustian aroma of parquet flooring, the challenges of the display spinner, the significance of the Puffin Club, the utility of book tokens and the joys of e
The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper
Susan Cooper's magical novel The Dark Is Rising (1973) is the subject of a bumper Christmas special episode of Backlisted. Joining John and Andy to discuss this classic winter solstice read, and the four other books that make up the Dark Is Rising sequence, are writer Robert Macfarlane and writer and illustrator Jackie Morris, co-authors of The Lost Words and The Lost Spells and fellow Susan Cooper devotees. And because it is Christmas, John also talks about a beautiful ice-and-snow bou
The Victorian Chaise-longue by Marghanita Laski
The Victorian Chaise-longue (1953) is a terrifying short novel by the writer, broadcaster and lexicographer Marghanita Laski. Joining Andy and John is the novelist Eley Williams, author of the awarding winning Attrib. and Other Stories and this year’s wonderful novel of mendacious lexicography, The Liar’s Dictionary. The episode also features Andy’s report back from the summit of Thomas Mann’s The Magic Mountain and John excavates an old Puffin anthology called Authors’ Choice which con
The Compleet Molesworth by Geoffrey Willans & Ronald Searle
The Compleet Molesworth (1958) by Geoffrey Willans and Ronald Searle is the beloved book we're celebrating in this special fifth birthday episode of Backlisted cheers cheers. Joining John and Andy to discuss some of the funniest and most influential fictional creations of the 20th century - Nigel Molesworth, Basil Fotherington-Thomas ect ect ect - are satirical cartoonist and writer Martin Rowson and the novelist Lissa Evans, who as any fule kno was our guest on the very first episode of Backlis
Doctor Who and the Brain of Morbius by Terrance Dicks
Doctor Who and the Brain of Morbius (1977) by Terrance Dicks is the much-loved book featured in this episode of Backlisted. Joining John and Andy to discuss the life and career of a hugely influential and prolific author - and the history of the Target novelisations of Doctor Who stories, which between them are estimated to have sold over 13m copies - are two writers who are both enthusiastic fans and bona fide experts: broadcaster Matthew Sweet and returning guest Una McCormack. We also take a
Beowulf
It's our Hallowe'en special ! For this year’s Hallowe’en episode our subject is the Old English poem, Beowulf, composed somewhere in England more than a thousand years ago. The atmospheric tale of supernatural monsters and human heroes has inspired scores of translations over the centuries and we will discuss several, including versions by Seamus Heaney, J.R.R. Tolkien, Michael Morpurgo and the powerful new translation by Maria Dahvana Headley (the 2007 computer-animated film adaptation by Rober
Silence by Shūsaku Endō
Silence (1966) is Shūsaku Endō’s masterpiece, a novel set in 17th Japan, following two Portuguese Jesuits posted there to search for their former teacher, who is feared to have abandoned his faith. Joining John and Andy to discuss this intense and powerful exploration of religious belief and its limits is the novelist Sarah Perry, author of The Essex Serpent, Melmoth and, most recently, Essex Girls. Also in this episode John enjoys The Appointment, a mordantly funny debut novel by literary agent
The Odd Women By George Gissing
George Gissing's The Odd Women (1893) is the groundbreaking book featured in this episode of Backlisted. Joining John and Andy to discuss this fascinating, proto-feminist novel - and the incident-packed life of its prolific author - are novelist and biographer Janet Todd and the professor of Victorian literature at the University of Durham, Simon James. Also in this episode Andy has been reading The Shapeless Unease: A Year of Not Sleeping by Samantha Harvey; and John enjoys A Musical O
Thérèse Raquin by Émile Zola
Thérèse Raquin (1868), the third novel by French writer Émile Zola, is the book featured in this episode of Backlisted. Joining John and Andy to discuss the sensational and still shocking founding text of Naturalism are the novelists Rachel Joyce and Andrew O'Hagan. Also in this episode John has been reading Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano’s Memory of Fire trilogy, while Andy takes a tour of the National Portrait Gallery's cancelled Cecil Beaton exhibition with Cecil Beaton's Bright Yo
I, Lalla: The Poems of Lal Dĕd
I, Lalla: The Poems of Lal Dĕd, translated by Ranjit Hoskote, is the subject of this episode of Backlisted. Joining John and Andy to discuss this modern rendering of the poetry (or 'vakhs') of the 14th-century Kashmiri saint and mystic poet Lal Dĕd (Mother Lalla), also known as Lalla or Lalleshwari, is the writer, dancer and poet Tishani Doshi. In addition John has been reading Hurricane Season, the acclaimed novel by the Mexican author Fernanda Melchor, while Andy discusses Summer by A
Summer Reading 2020
It's a summer reading episode of Backlisted. We are showcasing books John, Andy and the show's producer Nicky have been reading during lockdown. These include A Helping Hand by Celia Dale; A Small Place by Jamaica Kincaid; A Boy in the Water by Tom Gregory; The Anthill by Julianne Pachico; That Reminds Me by Derek Owusu; The Ice Palace by Tarjei Vesaas; and English Climate: Wartime Stories by Sylvia Townsend Warner. This episode features both newly recorded material and also excerpts from Lockli
The Varieties of Religious Experience by William James
William James's The Varieties of Religious Experience (1902) is the groundbreaking book featured in this episode of Backlisted. Joining John and Andy to discuss this influential study of philosophy, psychology and faith - and the life and beliefs of its author, whose younger brother was the novelist Henry James - is John Williams, daily books editor and a staff writer at the New York Times.* To purchase any of the books mentioned in this episode please visit our bookshop at uk.bookshop.org/shop/
How to Cook a Wolf by M.F.K. Fisher
How to Cook a Wolf (1942) by the inimitable M.F.K. Fisher is the book featured in this episode of Backlisted. Joining John and Andy to heed this call to culinary arms, written at a time of national crisis and thus exceptionally relevant to 2020, are journalist and food writer Felicity Cloake and author and adventurer Dan Richards. Also in this episode John has been delving into the backlist of Booker-winning novelist Bernardine Evaristo with The Emperor's Babe (2001), while Andy enjoys Barry Eng
The Diary of a Nobody by George and Weedon Grossmith
The Diary of a Nobody (1892) by George and Weedon Grossmith is the book featured in this episode of Backlisted. Joining John and Andy to celebrate this touching and funny classic of suburban manners, first published in 1892 and never out of print since, are writer and critic Laura Cumming and novelist and Grossmith expert E.O. Higgins. Also in this episode Andy has been on an imaginary pub crawl round The Local by Maurice Gorham and Edward Ardizzone, while John has been enjoying Percival Everett
The Inheritors by William Golding
William Golding's second novel The Inheritors (1955) is the book featured in this episode of Backlisted. Joining John and Andy to explore this intense, visionary account of the fall of Neanderthal man, published just a year after Lord of the Flies, are two returning Backlisted guests, SF novelist Una McCormack and writer and critic Andrew Male. Also in this episode Andy has been reading Square Haunting by Francesca Wade, while John talks about Staying Human, a forthcoming poetry anthology from B
The Constant Nymph by Margaret Kennedy
Margaret Kennedy's bestselling novel The Constant Nymph (1924) is the book featured in this episode of Backlisted. Joining John and Andy to discuss this tale of romance, passion and bohemianism - and the chequered career of its author - is publisher Alexandra Pringle. Please note: some aspects of this novel will be shocking to modern readers; meaningful discussion would be both difficult and limited without reference to them. Also in this episode Andy has been enjoying Romantic Moderns
Frost in May by Antonia White
Antonia White's debut novel Frost in May(1933) is the book under discussion in this episode of Backlisted. Joining John and Andy to discuss this powerful story of religion and adolescence - and the troubled life of its author - are writer Laura Thompson and critic and novelist Erica Wagner. Also in this episode Andy has been enjoying the book John Piper's Brighton Aquatints, while John is captivated by photographic anthology Once a Year by Homer Sykes.Timings: (may differ due to variabl
The World According to Garp by John Irving
John Irving's fourth novel The World According to Garp (1978) is the subject of this episode of Backlisted. Joining John and Andy to explore this unlikely bestseller and discuss its contemporary relevance are author Nikita Lalwani (You People) and novelist and screenwriter Matt Thorne (8 Minutes Idle), both returning to the podcast after their joint appearance on episode #63, Something Happened by Joseph Heller. This week John has also been reading Stones of Aran: Pilgrimage by the late Tim Robi
The Journal of a Disappointed Man by W.N.P. Barbellion
W.N.P Barbellion's The Journal of a Disappointed Man, first published in 1919, is the subject of this episode of Backlisted. Joining John and Andy to discuss this remarkable book are novelist Claire Fuller and nature writer Will Atkins. In addition, John has been reading The Oxford Companion to Food by Alan Davidson while Andy talks about Nikita Lalwani's new novel You People.Timings: (may differ due to variable advert length)10'44 - The Oxford Companion to Food by Alan Davidson14'59 - You Peopl
Excellent Women by Barbara Pym
We're back! Barbara Pym's second novel Excellent Women, first published in 1952, is the subject of this episode of Backlisted. Joining John and Andy to discuss it are Pym aficionados and literary agents Becky Brown and Norah Perkins from Curtis Brown Heritage. In addition, John has been reading The Mabinogi by Matthew Francis while Andy and guests rave about two novels, Troy Chimneys by Margaret Kennedy and A Wreath for the Enemy by Pamela Frankau.Timings: (may differ due to variable advert leng
Locklisted - March 27th 2020
Locklisted is John Mitchinson and Andy Miller, the hosts of Backlisted, and their producer Nicky Birch, chatting about books, films, TV, music etc. and generally giving new life to old pubs. It was recorded on March 27th 2020. For obvious reasons we weren't actually in the pub this time and used the Internet and various laptops HOPE THAT'S OK WITH YOU. NB. This is not an episode of Backlisted; think of it as a spin-off or a bootleg. Backlisted returns in April 2020.
Locklisted - March 20th 2020
Locklisted is John Mitchinson and Andy Miller, the hosts of Backlisted, and their producer Nicky Birch, chatting about books, films, TV, music etc. and generally giving new life to old pubs. It was recorded on March 20th 2020. For obvious reasons we weren't actually in the pub this time and used the Internet and various laptops HOPE THAT'S OK WITH YOU. NB. This is not an episode of Backlisted; think of it as a spin-off or a bootleg. Backlisted returns in April 2020.
Locklisted - Feb 28th 2020
Locklisted is John Mitchinson and Andy Miller, the hosts of Backlisted, and their producer Nicky Birch, chatting about books, films, TV, music etc. and generally giving new life to old pubs. It was recorded round the corner from The Wenlock Arms, a pub in North London, on February 28th 2020, rather than actually in the pub this time HOPE THAT'S OK WITH YOU. NB. This is not an episode of Backlisted; think of it as a spin-off or a bootleg. Backlisted returns in spring 2020.
Locklisted - Jan 17th 2020
Locklisted is John Mitchinson and Andy Miller, the hosts of Backlisted, and their producer Nicky Birch, chatting about books, films, TV, music etc. and generally giving new life to old pubs. It was recorded at The Wenlock Arms, a pub in North London, on January 17th 2020. NB. This is not an episode of Backlisted; think of it as a spin-off or a bootleg. Backlisted returns in spring 2020.
A La Recherche du Temps Perdu by Marcel Proust
Marcel Proust's A La Recherche du Temps Perdu AKA In Search of Lost Time is the subject of this bumper Christmas special episode, which was recorded live at the London Library on December 11th 2019. Joining John and Andy are novelist Lissa Evans plus a couple of surprise guests along the way. Other books discussed include Cooking In Ten Minutes by Edouard de Pomiane and Ulysses by James Joyce. Please note: this is the last episode of Backlisted until spring 2020.Timings: (may differ due to varia
Riceyman Steps by Arnold Bennett
Arnold Bennett's 1923 novel Riceyman Steps is the subject of this episode. Joining John and Andy to discuss it are journalist Charlotte Higgins and novelist Kit De Waal. In addition, John has been reading The Northumbrians by Dan Jackson while Andy talks about Never Let Me Go - and other books - by Nobel laureate Kazuo Ishiguro.Timings: (may differ due to variable advert length)8'41 - Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro15'40 - The Northumbrians by Dan Jackson19'56 - Riceyman Steps by Arnold Bennet
Edith's Diary by Patricia Highsmith
Patricia Highsmith's novel Edith's Diary (1977) is the book under discussion. John and Andy are joined by writers Karen McLeod and John Grindrod. Plus Andy has been reading Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators in The Mystery of the Stuttering Parrot and John talks about Daily Rituals: Women at Work by Mason Currey. This episode was recorded live at Bookseller Crow (https://booksellercrow.co.uk) in South London on Nov 13th 2019.Timings: (may differ due to variable advert length)4'19 - Mys
The Rings of Saturn by W.G. Sebald
W.G. Sebald's book The Rings of Saturn, first published in Germany in 1995, is the subject of this episode. Joining John and Andy to walk around this enigmatic masterpiece are the writer and swimmer Philip Hoare and the novelist Jessie Greengrass. Other books under discussion are The Years by Annie Ernaux and Fiona Benson's award-winning poetry collection Vertigo & Ghost.Timings: (may differ due to variable advert length)4'36 - Les Années by Annie Ernaux8'51 - Vertigo and Ghost by F
The Breaking Point by Daphne du Maurier
It's Halloween! Daphne du Maurier's The Breaking Point AKA The Blue Lenses is a collection of psychological horror stories that was first published in 1959. Joining John and Andy to discuss it are academic and du Maurier expert Dr Laura Varnam and, returning for Halloween, writer and critic Andrew Male. We also talk about the haunting books Andy and John have been reading this week: Copsford by Walter J.C. Murray (Little Toller) and The World of the Unknown: All About Ghosts by Christopher Mayna
Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner
Absalom, Absalom! is the subject of this episode and William Faukner's ninth novel first published in 1936. Returning to Backlisted as our guest is Professor Sarah Churchwell. Also under discussion are Sweet Home, a book of short stories by Wendy Erskine, and Thomas Bernhard's classic Old Masters.Timings: (may differ due to variable advert length)7'03 - Sweet Home by Wendy Erskine11'56 -The Voice Imitator by Thomas Bernhard17'15 - Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner* To purchase any o
The Soul of Kindness by Elizabeth Taylor
Novelist Elizabeth Taylor is the subject of this episode of Backlisted. Joining Andy and John to discuss The Soul of Kindness (1964) - and much more besides - are author and founder of Virago Press Carmen Callil and journalist and critic Rachel Cooke, plus occasional contributions from Carmen's Border Terrier, Effie. John has been reading Surfacing, a new collection of essays by Kathleen Jamie, while Andy has been enjoying Richard King's The Lark Ascending: The Music of the British Land
Of Walking in Ice by Werner Herzog
Filmmaker Werner Herzog's journal Of Walking in Ice is the subject of this episode, recorded at the End of the Road festival at Larmer Tree Gardens in Dorset on September 1st 2019. Joining John and Andy is writer and critic Luke Turner (Out of the Woods). Other books under discussion are Time Lived, Without Its Flow by Denise Riley and March of the Lemmings: Brexit in Print and Performance 2016-2019 by Stewart Lee.Timings: (may differ due to variable advert length)3'59 - Time Lived Without Its F
The Anatomy of Melancholy by Robert Burton
Philip Pullman is our guest on the 100th episode of Backlisted. John, Andy and Nicky travelled to Oxford for this special episode devoted to Robert Burton's extraordinary 1400-page The Anatomy of Melancholy, first published in 1621 and described by Sir Philip as 'a glorious and intoxicating and endlessly refreshing reward for reading ... Nor would we wish the book to be a sentence shorter, or be without one of the thousands of anecdotes and quotations. This is one of the indispensable books; for
Books about The Beatles
Books about the Beatles are the subject of this special episode recorded at Cornwall's Port Eliot festival on July 27th 2019. Joining John and Andy for this celebration of all things fab are lifelong Beatles fans, journalists and authors David Hepworth and Mark Ellen. Titles discussed include '"Love Me Do!": The Beatles' Progress' by Michael Braun; 'The Beatles Anthology'; 'Revolution in the Head' by Ian MacDonald; 'Up Against It' by Joe Orton, and more.* To purchase any of the books me
Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban
Russell Hoban's extraordinary novel Riddley Walker (1980) is the subject of this episode recorded live at the Port Eliot Festival in Cornwall on Friday July 26th 2019. Joining John and Andy to discuss the book are Max Porter, author of Grief is the Thing With Feathers and Lanny, and New York Times best-selling sci-fi novelist Una McCormack. (Apologies for the sound on this episode, which is muffled at points, we had a few live recording hiccups. And read the book!)* To purchase any of t
The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury
Ray Bradbury's uncanny tales are the subject of this episode of Backlisted. John and Andy are joined by author and literary editor of The Spectator Sam Leith and writer and radio presenter Jennifer Lucy Allan. Also under discussion are Jay Bernard's poetry collection Surge and On Chapel Sands, the new memoir by art critic Laura Cumming.Timings: (may differ due to variable advert length)5'44 - On Chapel Sands by Laura Cumming11'48 Surge by Jay Bernard18'12 - The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury* T
Miss Buncle's Book by D.E. Stevenson
Miss Buncle's Book by D.E. Stevenson, a bestseller when first published in the 1930s, is the novel under discussion. Joining John and Andy is novelist and teacher of creative writing Shelley Harris. Also featured in this episode, Marc Hamer's memoir How To Catch a Mole and Sam Riviere's debut poetry collection 81 Austerities.Timings: (may differ due to variable advert length)7'16 - 81 Austerities by Sam Riviere14'13 - How to Catch a Mole by Mark Hamer20'27 - The Wake by Paul Kingsnorth2
The Baron in the Trees by Italo Calvino
Italo Calvino's third novel The Baron in the Trees (Il barone rampante) is the subject of this episode. Joining John and Andy to discuss the book is writer and fabulist Caspar Henderson. Elsewhere, John discusses Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me by Kate Clanchy and Andy talks about and reads from W.H. Auden's late collection of poetry About the House.Timings: (may differ due to variable advert length)7'08 - Some Kids I taught and What the Taught me by Kate Clanchy14'26 - Listen Poetry
The Prince of West End Avenue by Alan Isler
Alan Isler's debut novel The Prince of West End Avenue (1994) is the subject of this episode of Backlisted. Joining Andy and John to discuss it are novelist William Sutcliffe and playwright and bibliomemoirist Samantha Ellis. Other books talked about in this episode: Fireflies by Luis Sagasti and Love & Trouble: A Mid-Life Reckoning by Claire Dederer.Timings: (may differ due to variable advert length)5'37 - Love and Trouble by Claire Dederer13'44 - Fireflies by Luis Sagasti18'30 - The Prince of
Beloved by Toni Morrison
Award-winning novelist Preti Taneja (We That Are Young) joins John and Andy to discuss Beloved by Toni Morrison, one of the greatest American novels of the last half century. Other books featured on this episode are It's Gone Dark Over Bill's Mother's by Lisa Blower and The House on Vesper Sands by Paraic O'Donnell.Timings: (may differ due to variable advert length)8'17 - It's Gone Dark Over Bill's Mother's by Lisa Blower12'03 - The House on Vesper Sands by Paraic O'Donnell18'07 - Belov
The Book of Ebenezer Le Page by G.B. Edwards
John and Andy are joined by writer and actor Will Smith for a special episode recorded live at the Guernsey Literary Festival on Sunday May 5th 2019. The novel under discussion is G.B. Edwards's unique The Book of Ebenezer Le Page, set on Guernsey, published posthumously in 1981 and of which William Golding wrote: 'To read it is not like reading, but living.'Timings: (may differ due to variable advert length)6'03 - The Book of Ebenezer Le Page by G.B. Edwards* To purchase any of the boo
A Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoe
Daniel Defoe's A Journal of the Plague Year (1722) is the subject of this episode of Backlisted, recorded in the week of the 300th anniversary of the publication of Robinson Crusoe. Joining John and Andy to discuss the book - and Defoe's extraordinary life and careers - are novelist James Hannah and Dr Jo Waugh, senior lecturer at York St John University and an expert on literature and disease. Plus Andy talks about Jane Gardam's Defoe-inspired novel Crusoe's Daughter and John has been reading S
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens's late masterpiece Great Expectations is the subject of this episode of Backlisted. Joining John and Andy to discuss the book (and its celebrated author) are journalist and editor William Atkins and returning guest, novelist Lissa Evans. Also in this episode, Andy has been reading Spring by Ali Smith while John has been enjoying Max Porter's new novel Lanny.Timings: (may differ due to variable advert length)3'43 - Lanny by Max Porter07'23 - Spring by Ali Smith13'25 - Gre
Last Train to Memphis/Careless Love by Peter Guralnick
Elvis Presley is the subject of this episode of Backlisted, care of Peter Guralnick's twin biographies Last Train to Memphis (1994) and Careless Love (1999). Joining John and Andy to discuss these remarkable books are novelists David Keenan and Bethan Roberts. In addition, John talks about Nancy Sandars's poetry collections Grandmother's Steps; while Andy learns to stop worrying and enjoy Anthony Trollope and his classic novel The Way We Live Now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy
Human Voices by Penelope Fitzgerald
Penelope Fitzgerald's fourth novel Human Voices (1980) is set at the BBC during the early months of the Second World War. Joining John and Andy to discuss the book, and Penelope Fitzgerald's life and work, are publisher and editor George Morley and writer and critic Lucy Scholes. Other books under discussion include Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss and The Good Immigrant USA edited by Nikesh Shukla and Chimene Suleyman.Timings: (may differ due to variable advert length)5'56 - The Good Immigrant
Utz by Bruce Chatwin
This episode is about Utz, Bruce Chatwin's final novel, shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1988. John and Andy are joined by writer and journalist Jonathan Wilson and Unbound's editor-at-large Rachael Kerr, who worked for Chatwin's publisher Jonathan Cape and knew him well. Other books discussed include Valerie Luiselli's Tell Me How It Ends and Elizabeth Smart's By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept.Timings: (may differ due to variable advert length)5'48 - Tell Me How It Ends b
The Return of the Soldier by Rebecca West
On this episode John and Andy are joined by novelist and critic Amanda Craig and novelist and memoirist Alice Jolly to discuss Rebecca West's debut novel The Return of the Soldier, published in 1918 when West was still in her mid-twenties. In addition John talks about Julia Blackburn's new book Time Song, while Andy shares his thoughts on Strip Jack Naked, Alexander Baron's little-read and extremely rare sequel to The Lowlife, itself the subject of an episode of Backlisted from 2018. Hosted on A
Hemlock and After by Angus Wilson
John and Andy are joined by writer, dandy and erstwhile musician Dickon Edwards to discuss Hemlock and After, Angus Wilson's debut novel, originally published in 1952. Wilson was considered one of the preeminent writers of his days but both his books and reputation have fallen into neglect - we consider why this happened and also what his work offers the contemporary reader. Also discussed in this episode are Suite for Barbara Loden by Nathalie Léger and Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey ("her earl
Imogen by Jilly Cooper
John and Andy are joined by author and podcaster Daisy Buchanan and poet and lecturer Dr Ian Patterson to discuss Imogen, Jilly Cooper's 1978 novel of a young librarian finding romance - and all that goes with it - amongst the jet set in the south of France. Also discussed in this episode are the late children's illustrator John Burningham and J.L. Carr's idiosyncratic football yarn How Steeple Sinderby Wanderers Won The F.A. Cup.Timings: (may differ due to variable advert length)6'04 - How Stee
The Rainbow by D.H. Lawrence
In our first podcast of 2019 we tackle D.H. Lawrence's The Rainbow, a novel that has divided opinion since it was first published (and banned) in 1915 - and sure enough opinion was divided between John and Andy on this one. To discuss the book they are joined by writer and critic Catherine Taylor and Unbound editor-at-large Rachael Kerr. Also on this episode Backlisted listeners' favourite 'old' books of 2018.Timings: (may differ due to variable advert length)19'23 The Rainbow by DH Lawrence* To
Books Do Furnish a Room by Anthony Powell
John and Andy are joined by novelist Philip Hensher and biographer Hilary Spurling for a discussion of Books Do Furnish a Room by Anthony Powell, first published in 1971, the tenth instalment of A Dance to the Music of Time. This special Christmas episode was recorded live at the LRB Bookshop in London on December 6th 2018.Timings: (may differ due to variable advert length)2'48 - A Dance To The Music Of Time by Anthony Powell17'41 - Books Do Furnish a Room by Anthony Powell*To purchase
Harpo Speaks! by Harpo Marx with Rowland Barber
John and Andy are joined by Dan Schreiber, writer, producer and co-host of the No Such Thing As A Fish podcast, to discuss Harpo Marx's autobiography Harpo Speaks! (1961). Also discussed are titles by Neil Tennant, Alice Jolly, Penelope Fitzgerald and Max Wall, amongst others.Timings: (may differ due to variable advert length)17'28 - Harpo Speaks! by Harpo Marx* To purchase any of the books mentioned in this episode please visit our bookshop at uk.bookshop.org/shop/backlisted where all
The Tortoise and the Hare by Elizabeth Jenkins
Andy and John are joined by Carmen Callil, publisher, writer and critic and founder of Virago Press, to discuss The Tortoise and the Hare by Elizabeth Jenkins, a novel first published in 1954 and then republished by Carmen in the 1980s as a Virago Modern Classic. Producer Nicky Birch also talks about her work on a new interactive adaptation of B.S. Johnson's novel The Unfortunates for BBC and Amazon Alexa.Timings: (may differ due to variable advert length)6'16 - The Unfortunates by B.S.
Moominvalley in November by Tove Jansson
This week John and Andy are joined by award-winning children's author and screenwriter Frank Cottrell-Boyce and publisher and co-founder of Sort Of Books Natania Jansz to discuss Tove Jansson's final Moomin book, Moominvalley in November. Other books under discussion are Zora Neale Hurston's Barracoon and Time Regained, the final volume of Marcel Proust's In Search of Lost Time. Plus a visit to Somerset House in London, for a new exhibition of the work of Peanuts creator, cartoonist Charles M. S
Ghosts by Edith Wharton
It's Halloween and John and Andy are joined by novelist Lissa Evans and Backlisted's resident revenant, critic Andrew Male, to discuss Ghosts, Edith Wharton's selection of her best supernatural tales, first published in 1937. John also talks about Alan Garner's new memoir Where Shall We Run To? while Andy has been reading Daphne du Maurier's prophetic final novel Rule Britannia.6'57 - Rule Britannia by Daphne Du Maurier13'27 - Where shall We Run To? by Alan Garner17'40 - Ghosts by Edith
Autumn Journal by Louis MacNeice
This week John and Andy are joined by actor and director Sam West and writer and academic Sophie Ratcliffe to talk about Louis MacNeice's Autumn Journal. The poem was composed in the autumn of 1938 while Britain awaited the declaration of the Second World War. Other books under discussion are Katharine Kilalea's OK, Mr Field and Francis Plug: Writer in Residence by Paul Ewen.Timings: (may differ due to variable advert length)8'07 - Ok, Mr Field by Katherine Kilalea12'24 - Francis Plug:
The Dud Avocado by Elaine Dundy
This week John and Andy are joined by novelist and literary journalist Sarra Manning (author of The Rise and Fall of Becky Sharp) to discuss Elaine Dundy's sparkling debut The Dud Avocado and its follow-up The Old Man and Me. Other books under discussion are Anna Burns's Man Booker-shortlisted Milkman and Daniel Deronda by George Eliot, published 150 years ago and still startlingly relevant.Timings: (may differ due to variable advert length)10'41 - Daniel Deronda by George Elliot19'25 - Milkman
Ulverton by Adam Thorpe
For a special episode recorded at the End of the Road festival in Dorset, John and Andy are joined by author and critic Tom Cox to talk about Adam Thorpe's 1992 debut novel Ulverton. Other books discussed include Sally Rooney's new novel Normal People and Mott the Hoople singer Ian Hunter's recently reissued Diary of a Rock'n'Roll Star. Further details can be found via our website at backlisted.fm.* To purchase any of the books mentioned in this episode please visit our bookshop at uk.b
A Girl in Winter by Philip Larkin
For the final episode recorded at this year's Port Eliot festival in Cornwall, John and Andy are joined by authors Nina Stibbe and returning guest Simon Garfield to discuss Philip Larkin's second and final novel A Girl In Winter, and Larkin's place in the national psyche. Warning: this episode contains poetry readings, dentistry and a hip-hop remix of This Be The Verse.8'00 - A Girl in Winter by Philip LarkinTimings: (may differ due to variable advert length)* To purchase any of the books mentio
The Lion and the Unicorn by George Orwell
For the second of three episodes recorded at the Port Eliot festival in Cornwall, John and Andy are joined by songwriter and activist Billy Bragg and journalist and critic Suzi Feay to talk about George Orwell's The Lion and the Unicorn: Socialism and the English Genius. This special episode features audience participation on a scale never before heard on Backlisted - make sure you keep listening until the very end of the Q&A session...Timings: (may differ due to variable advert len
How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read by Pierre Bayard
For the first of three episodes recorded at this year's Port Eliot festival in Cornwall, John and Andy are joined by author Cathy Rentzenbrink and actor and writer Ben Moor to talk about Pierre Bayard's How To Talk About Books You Haven't Read. Three members of the panel have read the book and one hasn't - join the audience in trying to work out who is dissembling (and whether it matters).Timings: (may differ due to variable advert length)7'06 - How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read
The Return of the King by J. R. R. Tolkien
John and Andy are joined by Unbound co-founder and co-author of Crap Towns Dan Kieran and returning guest Dr Una McCormack, NYT bestselling novelist and co-director of the Anglia Ruskin University Centre for Science Fiction and Fantasy, to discuss J.R.R. Tolkien's The Return of the King, the third part of The Lord of the Rings. Andy also talks about Russell Hoban's classic Riddley Walker, while John has been reading Crudo, the acclaimed new novel by Olivia Laing.Timings: (may differ due to varia
Drinking Coffee Elsewhere by ZZ Packer
John and Andy are joined by writer and editor Nikesh Shukla to discuss Drinking Coffee Elsewhere, ZZ Packer's groundbreaking collection of stories, first published in 2003. Andy also talks about Lissa Evans's new novel Old Baggage, while John has been reading Problems by Jade Sharma.Timings: (may differ due to variable advert length)7'36 - Old Baggage by Lissa Evans14'07 - Problems by Jade Sharma21'35 - Drinking Coffee Elsewhere by ZZ Packer* To purchase any of the books mentioned in this episod
Told by an Idiot by Rose Macaulay
This week John and Andy are joined by super-librarian Nancy Pearl, possibly the only librarian in the world to have their own action figure, to discuss Rose Macaulay's gloriously eccentric family saga Told by an Idiot. John has been reading Sally Bayley's acclaimed bibliomemoir Girl With Dove, while Andy waxes lyrical over Andrew Sean Greer's Pulitzer-winning novel Less (and has a surprise in store...) This episode was recorded in the library at the recent Stoke Newington literary festival.Timin
The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter
For a special episode recorded at the Bath Festival, we discuss Angela Carter's astonishing collection The Bloody Chamber (1979), much of which was conceived while Carter lived in Bath. Andy and John are joined by novelist Rachel Heath, Boundless editor and critic Arifa Akbar, and journalist and artistic director of words and literature at the Bath Festival, Alex Clark. This episode also includes the panel's thoughts on Philip Roth, whose death had been announced that morning.Timings: (may diffe
My Ántonia by Willa Cather
Hermione Lee joins John and Andy to discuss the work of American novelist Willa Cather and, in its centenary year, her pioneering novel My Ántonia. John also talks about Wilding by Isabella Tree and Andy revisits one his favourite books, Graham Greene's The End of the Affair.Timings: (may differ due to variable advert length)* To purchase any of the books mentioned in this episode please visit our bookshop at uk.bookshop.org/shop/backlisted where all profits help to sustain this podcast and UK i
The Fatal Englishman by Sebastian Faulks
The poet Rishi Dastidar joins John and Andy to talk about Sebastian Faulks' least known and first non-fiction title, The Fatal Englishman: Three Short Lives.Also in this episode Andy talks about the Patrick Melrose novels by Edward St Aubyn while John has been enjoying Folk by Zoe Gilbert. Timings: (may differ due to variable advert length)8'35 - The Patrick Melrose Novels by Edward St Aubyn16'55 - Folk by Zoe Gilbert21'45 - The Fatal Englishman by Sebastian Faulks*To purchase any of th
Corregidora by Gayl Jones
Professor Sarah Churchwell introduces Andy and John to the phenomenal Corregidora by Gayl Jones, a book steeped in the blues and the American slavery legacy. Other books they've read are Rain on the Pavements by Roland Camberton and In Pursuit of Spring by Edward Thomas.Timings: (may differ due to variable advert length)13'00 - Rain on The Pavement by Roland Camberton19'31 In Pursuit of Spring by Edward Thomas24'30 Corregidora by Gayl Jones*To purchase any of the books mentioned in th
The Lowlife by Alexander Baron
John and Andy are at the dogs this week, discussing the 1963 cult novel The Lowlife by Alexander Baron. They are joined by London enthusiast Peter Watts(the first person to write a biography of Battersea Power Station) and Gary Budden, author and director of ground-breaking indie Influx Press.Timings: (may differ due to variable advert length)8'06 - Ludo and the Star Horse by Mary Stewart14'49 - Rex v Edith Thompson: A Tale of Two Murders by Laura Thompson20'36 - The Lowlife by Alexande
Something Happened by Joseph Heller
Authors Matt Thorne and Nikita Lalwani join John and Andy to discuss the ‘other’ masterpiece by Joseph Heller, Something Happened, first published in 1974. Also in this episode John talks about Brother, a new novel by David Chariandy, while Andy has been reading Ursula Bentley's 1983 debut The Natural Order.Timings: (may differ due to variable advert length)5'45 - The Natural Order by Ursula Bentley17'11 - Brother by David Chariandy21'24 - Something Happened by Joesph Heller* To purchas
The Town House by Norah Lofts
This week John and Andy are joined by journalist and author Lucy Mangan, whose new memoir of childhood reading Bookworm has just been published by Square Peg. They discuss Norah Lofts' novel The Town House (1959), the first of her 'Suffolk house' trilogy. Andy also talks about Words Best Sung by Lee Stuart Evans, and John has been reading Emmanuel Carrère's The Kingdom.Timings: (may differ due to variable advert length) 7'44 - Words Best Sung by Lee Stuart Evans16'30 - The Kingdom by by Emmanuel
Berg by Ann Quin
This week Andy and John are joined by Jennifer Hodgson, editor of 'The Unmapped Country', a collection of British experimental writer Ann Quin's lost work. They discuss Quin's debut novel, Berg, with its opening sentence: 'A man called Berg, who changed his name to Greb, came to a seaside town intending to kill his father. . . '. John also talks about Yorkshire: A Lyrical History of England's Greatest County by Richard Morris, and Andy has been reading Andrew Hankinson's You Could Do So
Jesus' Son by Denis Johnson
John and Andy welcome authors Chris Power and Erica Wagner to discuss the multiple interlocking stories in Jesus' Son by Denis Johnson, including the phantasmagoric 'Car Crash While Hitchhiking'. In addition Andy has been reading Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke and John takes a look at Fen by Daisy Johnson.Timings: (may differ due to variable advert length)8'25 - Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke15'53 - Fen by Daisy Johnson21'33 - Jesus' Son by Denis Johnson* To pur
Beyond Black by Hilary Mantel
Critic and editor of Boundless Arifa Akbar joins John and Andy to discuss Hilary Mantel's tale of mediums and malevolence in the M25 corridor, Beyond Black. Tony White's 'The Fountain in the Forest' and 'Mothers' by Chris Power are the books we've been reading this week.Timings: (may differ due to variable advert length)4'49 - The Fountain in the Forest by Tony White10'55 - Mothers by Chris Power18'34 - Beyond Black by Hilary Mantel* To purchase any of the books mentioned in this episod
Lost Horizon by James Hilton
Music producer, gallery owner and now novelist Tot Taylor joins John and Andy to discuss James Hilton's 1933 novel about an earthly paradise in the far Himalayas. And the various iterations of the story that came after.Timings: (may differ due to variable advert length)4'22 - Lifting the Latch: A Life on the Land by Sheila Stewart11'19 - Hearing Secret Harmonies by Anthony Powell22'28 - Lost Horizon by James Hilton* To purchase any of the books mentioned in this episode please visit our booksho
À Rebours by Joris-Karl Huysmans
In a special edition of the show recorded at Shakespeare & Co. in Paris, John and Andy are joined by the bookstore's owner Sylvia Whitman and author Adam Biles to discuss Huysmans' novel of aesthetic isolation A Rebours.Timings: (may differ due to variable advert length)8'20 - An Account of the Decline of the Great Auk, According to One Who Saw It: A John Murray Original by Jessie Greengrass, 17'19 - Eve's Hollywood by Eve Babitz, 26'35 - À Rebours by J.-K. Huysmans* To purchase any of the books
On Her Majesty's Secret Service by Ian Fleming
In a special Christmas edition (which of course can be listened to at any time of year) John & Andy welcome Jude and James Cook to discuss Ian Fleming's most festive Bond novel, On Her Majesty's Secret Service. There's discussion of the films, the music, and the sometimes questionable attitude to women, the French and drinking. Also talked about in the 'What We've Been Reading' slot; Kindred by Octavia Butler and Alys Fowler's Hidden Nature.Timings: (may differ due to variable advert length)6'40
Fire & Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones
Author and illustrator Alice Stevenson and her childhood friend, playwright Elinor Cook join John and Andy to talk about Diana Wynne Jones's novel of memory, childhood and friendship.Timings: (may differ due to variable advert length)4'02 - Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward10'14 - The Journey Home and Other Stories by Malachi Whittaker17'13 - Fire & Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones* To purchase any of the books mentioned in this episode please visit our bookshop at uk.bookshop.org/sh
Alma Cogan by Gordon Burn
In a special edition recorded earlier this year live at the Durham Book Festival, John and Andy are joined by writers Adele Stripe and Ben Myers to discuss Gordon Burn's debut novel Alma Cogan. The 'WHWBR?' slots are occupied by Pevsner's guide to Durham and The Buried Giant by Kazuo IshiguroTimings: (may differ due to variable advert length)2'45 - County Durham Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England by Roberts, Martin, Pevsner, Nikolaus, Williamson, Elizabeth10'35 - The Buried Giant
To Serve Them All My Days by R.F. Delderfield
Writer and author Jenny Colgan joins John and Andy to discuss R.F. Delderfield's epic of life in an English boarding school between the wars. Craig Brown's 'Ma'am Darling' and 'Priestdaddy' by Patricia Lockwood are the books we've been reading this week.Timings: (may differ due to variable advert length)7'42 - Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons8'30 - Priest Daddy by Patricia Lockwood13'45 - Ma'am Darling: 99 Glimpses of Princess Margaret by Craig Brown21'31 - To Serve Them All My Days
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
For our annual Halloween episode John Mitchinson and Andy Miller are joined by Fiona Wilson and Andrew Male to discuss Shirley Jackson's final novel 'We Have Always Lived in the Castle'. In this show's 'What We Have Been Reading' slot John discusses 'True Ghost Stories of Our Own Time' by Vivienne Rae-Ellis, while Andy puts forward 'Going on the Turn', the third memoir from Danny Baker.Timings: (may differ due to variable advert length)5'07 - True Ghost Sories Of Our Own Time by Vivienn
Jacob's Room by Virginia Woolf
In a special live edition of Backlisted, recorded in front of an audience at Blackwell's Bookshop in Oxford, John and Andy are joined by Mark Haddon, author of 'The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time' and Sally Bayley, author and tutor in English at Balliol and St. Hugh's Colleges, Oxford. The panel discuss Jacob's Room, the third novel from Virginia Woolf.Timings: (may differ due to variable advert length)4'42 - Love, Madness, FIshing by Dexter Petley9'30 - The Lucky Ones by
Adventures in the Screen Trade by William Goldman
Simon Garfield, author of The Wrestling, The Nation's Favourite and A Notable Woman, amongst others joins John and Andy to discuss William Goldman's groundbreaking account of his life as a Hollywood screenwriter.Timings: (may differ due to variable advert length)35'23 - Adventures in the Screen Trade by William Goldman* To purchase any of the books mentioned in this episode please visit our bookshop at uk.bookshop.org/shop/backlisted where all profits help to sustain this podcast and UK
Look At Me by Anita Brookner
In a long awaited episode John Mitchinson and Andy Miller are joined by Una McCormack and Lucy Scholes to discuss Anita Brookner's third novel 'Look At Me', a tale of intergalactic piracy in a far off star syste... No, not really. 'The Cake And The Rain', Jimmy Webb's memoir of life in the 60's music industry, and 'We That Are Young' a reworking of King Lear set in India by Preti Taneja, are the books John & Andy have been reading. Timings: (may differ due to variable advert length)6'09 - The Ca
Under the Volcano by Malcolm Lowry
John and Andy are joined by poet, radio presenter, playwright and genuine Tyke Ian McMillan to discuss Malcolm Lowry's unique work Under the Volcano. Also; The Factory of Light by Michael Jacobs, and more Rosemary Tonks. Do you have a problem with that?Timings: (may differ due to variable advert length)3'57 - The Factory of Light by Michael Jacobs8'54 - The Bloater by Rosemary Tonks15'20 - Under the Volcano by Malcolm Lowry* To purchase any of the books mentioned in this episode please visit our
Some Bits To Listen To While We Go On Our Holidays
Even your favourite podcasts need to take a holiday... but hopefully this collection of off cuts, tall tales, terrible name dropping and the occasional bit of literary chat will help tide you over until we return at the beginning of September
* To purchase any of the books mentioned in this episode please visit our bookshop at uk.bookshop.org/shop/backlisted where all profits help to sustain this podcast and UK independent bookshops.
* For information about everything mentioned in this episode
Desperate Characters by Paula Fox
Author William Fiennes joins Andy and John for a bumper edition to talk about 'Desperate Characters', Paula Fox's New York set novel of relationships and feral cats. Also; William's First Story charity, Adam Scovell's Folk Horror and Sarah Hall's story collection Madame Zero, plus more on the mysterious Rosemary Tonks.Timings: (may differ due to variable advert length)13'34 - Folk Horror: Hours Dreadful and Things Strange by Adam Scovell 22'15 - The Wolf Border by Sarah Hall33'48 - Desperate Cha
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes by Anita Loos
In this edition of the podcast that gives new life to old books novelist Joanna Walsh and critic and academic Sarah Churchwell join John & Andy to talk about Anita Loos' Jazz Age novel. Also discussed: The Fact of a Body by Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich, and Bedouin of the London Evening, an anthology of poems by Rosemary Tonks.Timings: (may differ due to variable advert length)6'14 - The Fact of a Body by Alex Marzano-Lesnevich12'45 - Bedouin of the London Evening by Rosemary Tonks2
Haunts of the Black Masseur by Charles Sprawson
Author and critic Alex Preston and Rachael Kerr, Unbound's Editor at large, join John and Andy around the table to discuss Charles Sprawson's ground breaking 'Haunts Of The Black Masseur', together with all things aquatic. The subtitle of the book is 'The Swimmer As Hero' and Sprawson's book tells the tale of literary swimmers from Byron to Cheever. Also discussed; Outskirts by John Grindrod and Bleaker House by Nell Stevens.Timings: (may differ due to variable advert length)7'19 - Outskirts: Li
Father and Son by Edmund Gosse
Sarah Perry, bestselling author of The Essex Serpent, joins John and Andy to discuss Edmund Gosse's account of growing up the son of a widowed Victorian fundementalist preacher. The trio also talk about Attrib. and Other Stories by Eley Williams, and Spanish Crossings, the second novel by John Simmons.Timings (may differ due to variable advert length)3'43 - Attrib. & Other Stories - Eley Williams11'46 Spanish Crossing John Simmons18'57 - Father and Son by Edmund Gosse.* To purchase
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead by Crystal Zevon
Author and editor Richard T. Kelly joins John and Andy in the studio to discuss 'I'll Sleep When I'm Dead' The Dirty Life And Times of Warren Zevon' by Crystal Zevon. They also discuss the art of the oral history, and run through some of their favourites, including Simon Garfield's The Wrestling and Edie - An Americana Biography by Jean Stein.Timings: (may differ due to adverts)9'57 - Edie by Jean Stein17'20 - The Beatles Anthology26'25 - The Wrestling by Simon Garfield31'09 The Nations
Tell Me How Long the Train's Been Gone by James Baldwin
Novelist Niven Govinden joins John and Andy to discuss James Baldwin's 1968 novel 'Tell Me How Long The Train's Been Gone'. Also discussed: 'The World My Wilderness' by Rose Macaulay, and 'The Gallows Pole' by Ben Myers. Oh, and Lissa Evans' scene stealing turn in 'The Finest', the film adaptation of her WWII set novel.Timings: (may differ due to adverts)11'01 - Infinite Tuesday: An Autobiographical Riff by Michael Nesmith 12'16 The World my Wilderness by Rose Macauley15'51 - The Gall
The Gift - Vladimir Nabokov
Writer and critic Catherine Taylor joins John and Andy to discuss Vladimir Nabokov's parting love letter to Russia and it's literature, The Gift. Also; singing with nightingales and reading Richard Mabey's book about the same bird, David Storey's Booker Prize winning 'Saville', and Bob Dylan's song and dance routine.Timings: (may differ due to adverts)9'22 - The Book of Nightingales by Richard Mabey 14'56 - Saville by David Storey 25'04 - The Gift - Vladimir Nabokov* To purchase any of
Honeymoon by Patrick Modiano
Novelist Rupert Thomson joins John & Andy to talk about the work of French author Patrick Modiano, who's work explores the effect of the German occupation of his homeland during the Second World War. There's also a special edition of 'What I've Read This Week', where John talks about 'Identity of England' by Robert Colls, while Andy sets a bit of a puzzle...Timings: (may differ due to adverts)5'17 - Anon. by Anon.14'04 - Identity of England by Robert Coles21'39 - Narcissism for Beginners by Mart
The Weather in the Streets by Rosamond Lehmann
Novelist and writer Elizabeth Day joins John & Andy to discuss Rosamond Lehmann's 1936 novel of a young woman's affair with a married man. Also featured: Magnus Mills record store day novel 'The Forensic Record Society' and Clover Stroud's memoir 'The Wild Other'.
Timings: (may differ due to adverts)
5'06 - The Forensic Records Society by Magnus Mills
10'26 - The Wild Other by Clover Stroud
14'41 - The Weather in the Streets by Rosamond Lehmann
* To purchase any of the books mentioned in this
Patrick Hamilton Extra Episode
Following on from the Slaves Of Solitude episode, here is an extra half hour of conversation about Patrick Hamilton. Please listen the the main episode before this one.* To purchase any of the books mentioned in this episode please visit our bookshop at uk.bookshop.org/shop/backlisted where all profits help to sustain this podcast and UK independent bookshops.* For information about everything mentioned in this episode visit www.backlisted.fm*If you'd like to support the show, listen without adv
The Slaves of Solitude by Patrick Hamilton
Novelists Lissa Evans and Stuart Evers join Andy & John to discuss Patrick Hamilton's 1947 tale of boarding-house life in wartime. Also, this week Andy has been reading Keith Waterhouse, while John talks about Padgett Powell's 'The Interrogative Mood'. If you like this episode, the 'Hamilton Extra' edition continues the discussion, with even more gin & it...Timings: (may differ due to adverts)4'40 - The Interrogative Mood: A Novel? by Padgett Powell10'45 - Palace Pier by Keith Waterhouse17'38 -
Lincoln in the Bardo minicast
A little something extra for you, the lovely Backlisted listeners, and a departure from our usual subject matter - a new(ish) book! After recording the upcoming show on Patrick Hamilton's 'Slaves Of Solitude' with guests authors Lissa Evans and Stuart Evers, John & Andy took the opportunity to ask them what they thought of George Saunders' debut novel. Normal service will be resumed next week.* To purchase any of the books mentioned in this episode please visit our bookshop at uk.b
A Sport and a Pastime by James Salter
Andy & John are joined by literary agent Claire Conville and writer and author Rowan Pelling to discuss James Salter's 1967 novel of lust and imagination. The book, a description of an affair between an American college drop out and a French shop girl, has been acclaimed by critics as 'nearly perfect' and 'extraordinary'.Timings: (may differ due to adverts)5'08 - Rhapsody by Dorothy Edwards9'54 - The Refugees by Viet Thanh Nguyen, A Sport and a Pastime by James Salter* To purchase any of the boo
The Snow Ball by Brigid Brophy
Novelist, critic & lecturer Jonathan Gibbs (a/k/a @Tiny_Camels) joins John & Andy to discuss The Snow Ball, Brigid Brophy's novel of seduction, aging and Mozart.Timings: (may differ due to adverts)5'15 - A Shepherd's Life - W H Hudson10'31 - Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders19'07 - The Snow Ball by Brigid Bardo* To purchase any of the books mentioned in this episode please visit our bookshop at uk.bookshop.org/shop/backlisted where all profits help to sustain this podcast and UK independen
The Horse's Mouth by Joyce Cary
Max Porter, author of 'Grief Is The Thing With Feathers', joins John and Andy to talk about The Horse's Mouth, Joyce Cary's story of the life of the itinerant artist. Also discussed are Dark Money, Jane Mayer's account of the nexus of politics & wealth in the US, and Doreen by Barbara Noble, reissued by Persephone.Timings: (may differ due to adverts)5'47 - Doreen by Barabar Noble13'07 - Dark Money by Jane Mayer22'51 - The Horse's Mouth by Joyce Cary* To purchase any of the books mentioned in th
Red Shift by Alan Garner
Critic and author Erica Wagner and novelist S.F. Said join John and Andy to discuss 'Red Shift', the fifth novel by Alan Garner. Also discussed: 'Brave New Weed' by Joe Dolce (no, not that one) and 'Nomad' by Alan Partridge (yes, that one).Timings: (may differ due to adverts)8'05 - Brave New Weed by Joe Dolce10'01 - Alan Partridge: Nomad by Steve Coogan18'03 - Red Shift by Alan Garner* To purchase any of the books mentioned in this episode please visit our bookshop at uk.bookshop.org/shop/backli
Venetia by Georgette Heyer
This show sees John and Andy joined by Una McCormack and Cathy Rentzenbrink to discuss Venetia, one of the Regency Romance novels by Georgette Heyer. Includes mild language and various Georgian terms for drunkenness.Timings: (may differ due to adverts)5'41 - Take Courage: Anne Bronte and the Art of Life by Samantha Ellis13'59 - Mad Shepherds by L.P. Jacks18'41 - Venetia by Georgette Heyer* To purchase any of the books mentioned in this episode please visit our bookshop at uk.bookshop.org/shop/ba
Memento Mori by Muriel Spark
John Grindrod, author of Concretopia, joins John Mitchinson and Andy Miller to discuss Memento Mori, the third novel by Muriel Spark. They also pay tribute to the author and agent David Miller, who passed away recently, and read a short story in his memory.
Timings: (may differ due to adverts)
3'00 - Food For All Seasons by Oliver Rowe
9'30 - Good Evening, Mrs.Craven by Mollie Panter-Downes
18'44 - A State of Denmark by Derek Raymond*
To purchase any of the books mentioned in this episode pleas
A State of Denmark by Derek Raymond
In a bid to get our fear and creeping dread about the state of the world in early for 2017, author Travis Elborough (A Walk in The Park, The Bus We Loved, and The Long Player Goodbye) joins us to discuss A State of Denmark, the dystopian vision of England by Derek Raymond (a/k/a Robin Cook). Worst. Happy New Year. Programme. Ever. Enjoy!Timings: (may differ due to adverts)3'00 - Food For All Seasons by Oliver Rowe9'30 - Good Evening, Mrs.Craven by Mollie Panter-Downes18'44 - A State of Denmark b
A Long Way from Verona by Jane Gardam
John and Andy are joined by Laura Cumming, the art critic for The Observer and author of 'The Vanishing Man: In Pursuit of Velázquez', and Hilary Murray Hill, CEO at Hachette Children's Books, to talk bout Jane Gardam's debut novel 'A Long Way from Verona'.Timings: (may differ due to adverts)5'39 - The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper6'28 - Hark the Herald by Magnus Mills6'55 - Christmas Day at the Work House by Angus Wilson8'00 - What to Look For In Winter8'26 - An Advent Calendar by She
So Long, See You Tomorrow by William Maxwell
Costa First Book nominee for My Name Is Leon, Kit de Waal joins John & Andy to discuss So Long, See You Tomorrow, the final novel by author and New Yorker literary editor William Maxwell.Timings: (may differ due to adverts)7'42 - You Took the Last Bus Home: The Poems of Brian Bilston13'57 - My Name Is Leon by Kit de Waal21'14 - So Long, See You Tomorrow by William Maxwell* To purchase any of the books mentioned in this episode please visit our bookshop at uk.bookshop.org/shop/backl
Cocaine Nights by J.G. Ballard
Monocle culture editor Robert Bound joins John and Andy to discuss JG Ballard's Spanish set thriller Cocaine Nights. Also, The Ballard-Bond connection, Colson Whitehead's Underground Railroad, and the phrase you never want to hear John Mitchinson say in person...Timings: (may differ due to adverts)4'10 - The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead11:51 - Cocaine Nights by J.G. Ballard* To purchase any of the books mentioned in this episode please visit our bookshop at uk.bookshop.org/s
Cold Hand in Mine by Robert Aickman
In a special Halloween edition, John Mitchinson and Andy Miller are joined by Andrew Male to discuss Cold Hand In Mine, a book of 'strange stories' by British writer Robert AickmanTimings: (may differ due to adverts)5'34 - Autumn by Ali Smith11'00 - British Popular Customs by Rev T.F. Thiselton Dyer16'46 - Cold Hand in Mine by Robert Aickman* To purchase any of the books mentioned in this episode please visit our bookshop at uk.bookshop.org/shop/backlisted where all profits help to sustain this
The Holiday by Stevie Smith
Recorded live at the Durham Book Festival 2016, John and Andy are joined by Sally Bayley (author, The Private Life Of The Diary) to discuss Stevie Smith's third and final novel The Holiday.Timings: (may differ due to adverts)13.28 - The Holiday by Stevie Smith* To purchase any of the books mentioned in this episode please visit our bookshop at uk.bookshop.org/shop/backlisted where all profits help to sustain this podcast and UK independent bookshops.* For information about everything mentioned i
The Animal Family by Randall Jarrell
Novelist, editor and critic Erica Wagner joins the Backlisted team to discuss one of her favourite books - The Animal Family by Randall Jarrell. Revolt Into Style, George Melly's groundbreaking discourse on pop culture, and Exmoor Village, a Mass Observation publication from 1947.Timings: (may differ due to adverts)3.46 - Exmoor Village by W. J. Turner 14.05 - Revolt In Style by George Melly 20.51 - The Animal Family* To purchase any of the books mentioned in this episode please visit o
Summer Reading Special - What We Read On Our Holidays
In a special edition of the podcast Andy, John, Mathew and Matt discuss amongst other things which festivals work, why books win prizes, and why changing the name of a certain Swallows And Amazons character is a shame. HP Lovecraft, Greek philosophers and Calvin & Hobbes are also touched upon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Absolute Beginners by Colin MacInnes
Slang lexicographer extraordinaire Jonathon Green joins John and Andy in this episode to discuss Absolute Beginners, the classic novel of London teenage life set around Soho and Notting Hill.Timings: (may differ due to adverts)13'25 - Beast by Paul Kingsnorth19'06 - Absolute Beginners by Colin Macinnes* To purchase any of the books mentioned in this episode please visit our bookshop at uk.bookshop.org/shop/backlisted where all profits help to sustain this podcast and UK independent boo
The Crack Up by F. Scott Fitzgerald
In a special edition recorded at Port Eliot Festival, the Backlisted team welcome comedy writer Jesse Armstrong (Peep Show, Fresh Meat, The Thick Of It, Four Lions)to discuss F. Scott Fitzgerald's posthumously published collection of essays 'The Crack-Up'. Timings: (may differ due to adverts)2'38 - The Crack Up by F Scott Fitzgerald* To purchase any of the books mentioned in this episode please visit our bookshop at uk.bookshop.org/shop/backlisted where all profits help to sustain this podcast a
Last Exit to Brooklyn by Hubert Selby Jr
Author and poet Saleena Godden joins John Mitchinson, Andy Miller and Mathew Clayton to discuss Hubert Selby Jr's legendary transgressive novel of dead end life in working class 50's Brooklyn. WARNING: contains obligatory reference the The Fall. Timings: (may differ due to adverts)4'02 - Spire by William Golding6'51 - Golden Hill by Francis Spufford17'57 - Last Exit to Brooklyn by Hubert Selby Jr* To purchase any of the books mentioned in this episode please visit our bookshop at uk.boo
Maiden Voyage by Denton Welch
Richard King, author of 'How Soon Is Now' and 'Original Rockers', visits Backlisted to talk about Maiden Voyage, an extraordinarily vivid memoir by Denton Welch of his early life in England and China. Timings: (may differ due to adverts)8'08 - Tristomania - Jay Griffiths16'25 Moonstone: The Boy Who Never Was by Sjon24'02 Maiden Voyage by Denton Welch* To purchase any of the books mentioned in this episode please visit our bookshop at uk.bookshop.org/shop/backlisted where all profits help to sust
Letters from a Fainthearted Feminist by Jill Tweedie
Writer and journalist Alex Clark joins John Mitchinson and Andy Miller in a stormy (and then hammery) podcast to discuss 'Letters from a Fainthearted Feminist', a collection of very funny columns by Jill Tweedie, originally published in The Guardian.Timings: (may differ due to adverts)8'56 - The Glass Pearls by Emeric Pressburger 15'23 - A Life Discarded by Alexander Masters26'14 Letters From a Fainthearted Feminist by Jill Tweedie* To purchase any of the books mentioned in this episode please v
The Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers
Author Lloyd Shepherd joins the Backlisted crew in their small but functional vessel to discuss what some regard as the first ever spy novel 'The Riddle of the Sands' and the extraordinary life of its author Erskine Childers. You can read more about Lloyd's plans to recreate the books journey at The Riddle of the Sands Adventure Club page here: https://unbound.co.uk/books/riddle-of-the-sandsTimings: (may differ due to adverts)9'26 - Six Facets of Light by Ann Wroe16'04 - Different Class by Joann
The Vet's Daughter by Barbara Comyns
Writer, academic and contributing editor of Bookanista Lucy Scholes joins Andy, John and Mathew on the pod to talk 'The Vet's Daughter', the extraordinary novel of an extraordinary girl in late Victorian South London. Also, how some books just shouldn't be turned into musicals, and the best name for a dog ever. Timings: (may differ due to adverts)6'19 - First Signs by Barry Hinds13'40 - The North Water by Ian Maguire21'09 - The Vet's Daughter by Barbara Comyns* To purchase any of the books menti
Bert Fegg's Nasty Book for Boys & Girls by Terry Jones and Michael Palin
Jason Hazeley and Joel Morris, the creators of the Grown Up Ladybird series of picture books, join Andy Miller and Mathew Clayton to discuss Bert Fegg's Nasty Book for Boys and Girls by Michael Palin and Terry Jones.Timings: (may differ due to adverts)7'37 - Bert Fegg's Nasty Book for Boys & Girls by Terry Jones and Michael Palin* To purchase any of the books mentioned in this episode please visit our bookshop at uk.bookshop.org/shop/backlisted where all profits help to sustain this
Darkness Falls from the Air by Nigel Balchin
Journalist, broadcaster and former editrice of The Erotic Review Rowan Pelling joins John, Andy and Mathew on the show to explain her love of Nigel Balchin's novel of the London Blitz, Darkness Falls From The Air. Timings: (may differ due to adverts)4'00 - Diary of a Provincial Lady by E.M. Delafield8'47 - The Stone Book Quartet by Alan Garner16'55 Darkness Falls from the Air by Nigel Balchin* To purchase any of the books mentioned in this episode please visit our bookshop at uk.booksho
All the Devils Are Here by David Seabrook
Rachel Cooke, Observer writer, New Statesman TV critic and author joins John, Andy & Mathew to discuss 'All the Devils Are Here', the astounding travelogue through Kent and the depths of human behaviour from David Seabrook. Plus, the drinking habits of Carry On stars, and what to read in Iceland.Timings: (may differ due to adverts)3'36 - Dalva by Jim Harrison8'46 - Life and Death of Harriett Frean by May Sinclair17'55 - All the Devils Are Here by David Seabrook* To purchase any of
The High Window by Raymond Chandler
Raymond Chandler's 'The High Window', his third book featuring world weary detective Philip Marlowe, is introduced to Backlisted by Mojo magazine's Andrew Male. Plus the joys of walking in the rain in England, remembering Anita Brookner, and JG Ballard's unintentional mind games...Timings: (may differ due to adverts)4'38 - Rain by Melissa Harrison13'58 - Latecomers by Anita Brookner21'53 - The High Window by Raymond Chandler* To purchase any of the books mentioned in this episode please visit o
The Information by Martin Amis
Kill Your Friends author John Niven joins John, Andy & Mathew in the pod to discuss The information by Martin Amis, on the way answering the question 'if this book were a Britpop album, which Britpop album would it be?' This may or may not become a regular feature. There's also talk on how writers write, and the epoch defining moment when Andy met a punk rock legend. Timings: (may differ due to adverts)2'37 - The Devasting Boys by Elizabeth Taylor 6'37 - Daily Rituals by Mason Currey 13:06 - Th
Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner
Sylvia Townsend Warner's debut novel 'Lolly Willowes' is the main book under discussion in this episode. It's nominated by journalist, author & playwright Samantha Ellis, and she discusses witchcraft, spinsters and the Chilterns with John, Andy and Mathew. Also touched on: epic poetry on Dartmoor in the rain, and J.B. Priestley's influence on David Bowie. Timings:3'41 Snowy Tower by Martin Shaw 11'23 - English Journey by J B Priestly / The American Way of Death by Jessica Mitford 20'51 - Lolly W
The Great Fire by Shirley Hazzard
Author and playwright Alice Jolly joins the Backlisted crew to discuss The Great Fire by Australian author Shirley Hazzard. Also, AA Gill and Spike Milligan have been Read This Week, and why it might be too late to start listening to jazz in your 50's. Timings:3'04 - Puckoon by Spike Milligan10'49 - Poor Me: A life by AA Gill17:53 - The Great Fire by Shirley Hazzard* To purchase any of the books mentioned in this episode please visit our bookshop at uk.bookshop.org/shop/backlisted wher
Passing by Nella Larsen
In episode 6 of the Backlisted Podcast we're joined by Sarah Churchwell, professorial fellow in American literature and chair of public understanding of the humanities at the School of Advanced Study, the University of London (phew) to discuss 'Passing' by Nella Larsen. Also, John and Andy discuss the book they've both been reading this week, Breakdown by John Bratby. Timings: (may differ due to adverts)7'29 - Breakdown by John Bratby20'16 - Passing by Nella Larsen* To purchase any of the books
Christie Malry's Own Double-Entry by B.S. Johnson
Emmy award winning writer and broadcaster David Quantick (Veep, The Thick of It, TV Burp) joins John and Andy in the Unbound offices to discuss his favourite novel, Christie Malry's Own Double-Entry by B.S. Johnson. Plus how to pronounce Velasquez, Silbury Hill, the death of the possessive apostrophe in retail, and Mathew Clayton's tenuous link. Timings: (may differ due to adverts)4'23 - On Silbery Hill by Adam Thorpe 9'29 The Vanishing Man: In Pursuit of Velazquez by Laura Cumming 15'2
The Blessing by Nancy Mitford
John, Andy and Mathew Clayton discuss Nancy Mitford's novel 'The Blessing' with Nancy's biographer Laura Thompson. Plus, what it feels like to finish 'Finnegans Wake', 'bloke's books', and the rudest word in the Gloucestershire dialect. Timings: (may differ due to adverts)2'34 - Finnigans Wake by James Joyce 5'06 - Third Girl by Agatha Christie 10'37 - Zero Zero Zero by Roberto Saviano 16'12 - The Blessing by Nancy Mitford* To purchase any of the books mentioned in this episode please v
It Had To Be You by David Nobbs
Andy Miller and John Mitchinson, a/k/a/ Leavis & Butthead, return with another episode of the podcast which gives new life to old books. In this episode they're joined by Jonathan Coe, author of The Rotter's Club and Oh! What A Carve Up amongst others, to discuss the life and work of David Nobbs, best known as the creator of Reginald Perrin. Timings: (may differ due to adverts)2'12 - Finnegans Wake by James Joyce 9'08 - The Holly Tree - Charles Dickens 16'34 - It Had To Be You by Da
Good Morning, Midnight by Jean Rhys
John Mitchinson and Andy Miller are joined by author Linda Grant and Unbound's Mathew Clayton to discuss 'Good Morning, Midnight' by 'Wide Sargasso Sea' author Jean Rhys. Plus perfume, the previously unheard of genre of Scandinavian magic realism, and a mistake in the best selling science book of all time. Timings: (may differ due to adverts)1'49 - A Winter Book by Tove Jansson 9'46 - A Brief History of Time by Prof Stephen Hawking 17'30 - Good Morning, Midnight by Jean Rhys * To purchase any o
A Month in the Country by J.L. Carr
in the first episode of a new podcast about books, John Mitchinson and Andy Miller are joined by novelist Lissa Evans and Unbound's Mathew Clayton discuss JL Carr's 'A Month in the Country'.
Timings: (may differ due to adverts)
1'58 - Life and Fate by Vasily Grossman
19'03 - A Cotswold Village by J Arthur Gibbs
29'30 - A Month in the Country by J L Carr
* To purchase any of the books mentioned in this episode please visit our bookshop at uk.bookshop.org/shop/backlisted where all profits help