The Art Of Intimacy

Our age is confused about sexual consent; what should it look, sound and feel like? Novelist, and winner of the Women's Prize for Fiction Eimear McBride finds out how writers have depicted these intimate conversations, and asks whether we can learn something from them. What does a good 'yes' sound like, and where can we find an influential 'no'?

As well as exploring the way Shakespeare, Sarah Hall, D. H. Lawrence, Sarah Waters, W. H. Auden, Samuel Richardson, and American romance novelist Nora Roberts engage with 'consent', she also encounters a rich history of non-verbal communication, with the help of Dr Fern Riddell, and the elaborate language of hat-flirting - used by the Victorians to express their desire discreetly.

• Producer: Faith Lawrence for BBC Radio 4

Publicity contact: Radio 4 Publicity