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Maggie O'Farrell, Sophie Hannah and Reading in Isolation

Mariella Frostrup talks to Maggie O'Farrell about Hamnet, her new novel exploring William Shakespeare's family in a time of pestilence.

Mariella talks to Maggie O'Farrell about Hamnet, her new novel exploring William Shakespeare's family in a time of pestilence. She explains why she wanted to write about the death of his son and how it may have inspired the Bard's most famous teenager.

This month's Book I'd Never Lend is chosen by crime writer Sophie Hannah

Plus the best books for "shelf-isolation" are discussed with Literary Friction's Octavia Bright and Ted Hodgkinson, Head of Literature and Spoken Word at the Southbank Centre and chair of this year's soon to be announced International Booker Prize.

Available now

28 minutes

Broadcasts

  • Sun 29 Mar 2020 16:00
  • Thu 2 Apr 2020 15:30

This Week's Book List

Read along with us - a list of books discussed in each programme

Books and Authors Podcast

Books and Authors Podcast

Open Book for author interviews and A Good Read for recommended reads

Listen now to books on 成人快手 Sounds

Listen now to books on 成人快手 Sounds

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