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The Fishmonger

Joanna Biggs' portrait of Britain at work continues with the fishmonger.

In 1974, the US broadcaster Studs Terkel talked to Americans "About what they do all day, and how they feel about what they do". His book telling their stories, Working, became a seminal tract in social history, and left an indelible print of how Americans worked and felt in the seventies.

Biggs has revisited Terkel's model in her tour of contemporary Britain - her interviewees including a lawyer, care worker, fishmonger, giggle doctor (yes, there really is such a thing), ballet dancer, quiz writer and potter, among many others. The book is a beautifully-observed portrait of the United Kingdom at work in the twenty-first century.

Episode 4: The Fishmonger

Joanna Biggs is an assistant editor at the London Review of Books. She was born in Willesden, North-West London, in 1982.

Readers: Ben Crowe, Teresa Gallagher, David Holt, Colleen Prendergast, Michelle Terry and Thom Tuck

Abridged by Pete Nichols
Producer: Karen Rose
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4.

15 minutes

Credits

RoleContributor
ReaderBen Crowe
ReaderTeresa Gallagher
ReaderDavid Holt
ReaderColleen Prendergast
ReaderMichelle Terry
ReaderThom Tuck
AuthorJoanna Biggs
AbridgerPete Nichols
ProducerKaren Rose

Broadcasts

  • Thu 9 Jul 201509:45
  • Fri 10 Jul 201500:30

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