Sunday 16:00-16:30, repeated Thursday 16:00-16:30, except first Sunday in the month when it is replaced by Book Club.
Open Book spotlights new fiction and non-fiction, picks out the best of the paperbacks, talks to authors and publishers, and unearths lost masterpieces.
This week
23 March 2008
Andrew Grieg on his new novel Romanno Bridge, the transition from writing columns to novels, this week's Reading Clinic on where to begin and Jenny Uglow profiles Mrs. Gaskell.
Andrew Grieg Scottish poet and author Andrew Greig talks to Mariella about turning his hand to a new genre for his latest novel, that of the thriller; and also explains how the poet in him informs the novelist.
Romanno Bridge by Andrew Greig is published in hardback by Quercus on 27th March.
From Columnist to Novelist Cristina Odone and Anna Blundy discuss whether already being columnists made the transition to novelists easier; and the difference skills involved in writing to a much longer length.
The Dilemas of Harriet Carew by Cristina Odone is published in hardback by Harper Collins.
Double Shot by Anna Blundy is published by Sphere.
Reading Clinic This week John Mullan, Professor of English at UCL, leads the clinic and answers two very different queries on where to begin reading.
Recommended books:
Query 1 Charles Dickens – Great Expectations Philip Roth – Everyman Helen Simpson – Constitutional
Query 2 John le Carre – Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy Raymond Chandler – The Big Sleep Jane Austen – Pride and Prejudice
Mrs. Gaskell In a week where Cranford scoops four Bafta TV nominations biographer Jenny Uglow profiles its author Elizabeth Gaskell.
Two of Elizabeth Gaskell's most famous novels, Mary Barton and North and South are published this month by Vintage Classics.
