Night Waves

5 July 2005

Tuesday 5 July 2005 21:30-22:15 (Radio 3)

Julian Barnes talks to Philip Dodd about his new novel, Arthur and George, set in the late nineteenth century and featuring Arthur Conan Doyle as one of its protagonists. Also, an interview with the winner of the 2005 Caine Prize for African Writing.

Duration:

45 minutes

Programme Details

Julian Barnes, conspicuous Francophile, has chosen a very English subject for his latest novel - the story of Arthur Conan Doyle's fight to clear the name of a man convicted of The Great Wyrley Outrages. Arthur & George is based on the true story of an injustice of the magnitude of the Dreyfuss Affair. In a searching interview Philip Dodd finds out why the English forget such scandals and what attracted Julian Barnes to the story.

William Golding won the Booker Prize in 1980 for Rites Of Passage - the first part of a historical trilogy portraying life aboard an ancient ship of the line at the end of the Napoleonic Wars. The trilogy, entitled To The Ends Of The Earth , has been adapted as a three part epic television series starting this week. Shot on a specially built floating set in South Africa and starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Sam Neill, the series is eagerly awaited. Adam Nicolson, not unfamiliar with the works of Golding or the ways of the sea, gives his views.

And last night the 2005 Caine Prize for African writing was announced at a dinner at the Bodleian Library in Oxford. The shortlist ranges from Sudan and Uganda to Nigeria and South Africa. Philip Dodd talks to the winner.

Night Waves, at 9.30pm here on BBC Radio 3.


Presenter: Philip Dodd
Producer: Ian Willox



Additional Information:
1) Arthur & George by Julian Barnes is published by Cape
2) To The Ends Of The Earth begins on July 6 at 9pm on BBC2. For more information visit: http://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/totheendsoftheearth/
3) Details of the 2005 Caine Prize, announced on July 4, can be found at: http://www.caineprize.com/

Night Waves

Episode and Playlist Information

• 5 July 2005