Essays from the Hay Festival

In this series of The Essay, recorded in front of an audience at the 2018 Hay Festival, five writers offer a guide to ‘Being a Woman’ by choosing a favourite and well-known, fictional, female character, extracting the lessons we could all learn from them.

Across the week Afua Hirsch introduces us to her favourite character; Maggie from George Eliot’s Mill on the Floss, while Fiona Sampson discusses Bertolt Brecht’s anti-heroine Mother Courage. Mab Jones presents her essay on the fictional character she identifies with most; Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre, while Francesca Rhydderch gives her insight into Virginia Woolf’s ground-breaking character Orlando.

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Part of Hay Festival week on BBC Radio 3.

Producer: Eleri Rees

Publicity contact: SRB