Episodes
| Episode | Title | First Broadcast | Repeated | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Dear Geoffrey Chaucer | 20161107 | 'Dear Geoffrey Chaucer, Can I call you Geoff..?' In a series of imaginary correspondences, novelist Ian Sansom is writing letters to five of literary history's most celebrated figures and interrogating them about their art. 'Oh Agatha Christie, Please - do tell - what is the secret of your success?' As his correspondence unfolds, queries are raised and jealousies revealed. 'Dear Virginia Woolf, Please accept my apologies. For a long time I thought you represented everything that's wrong with literature...' How exactly does George Eliot do it? And why does she keep ignoring Ian's letters? Dear George Eliot, You are simply so far out of my league as a correspondent that it is embarrassing even to put pen to paper and to address you directly. In his on-going epistolary quest, Ian attempts to find out everything you wanted to know about some of our best-loved writers but just were too afraid to ask. Novelist Ian Sansom fires off a letter to Geoffrey Chaucer... | |
| 01 | Dear Geoffrey Chaucer | 20161107 | 20180716 (R3) | 'Dear Geoffrey Chaucer, Can I call you Geoff..?' In a series of imaginary correspondences, novelist Ian Sansom is writing letters to five of literary history's most celebrated figures and interrogating them about their art. 'Oh Agatha Christie, Please - do tell - what is the secret of your success?' As his correspondence unfolds, queries are raised and jealousies revealed. 'Dear Virginia Woolf, Please accept my apologies. For a long time I thought you represented everything that's wrong with literature...' How exactly does George Eliot do it? And why does she keep ignoring Ian's letters? Dear George Eliot, You are simply so far out of my league as a correspondent that it is embarrassing even to put pen to paper and to address you directly. In his on-going epistolary quest, Ian attempts to find out everything you wanted to know about some of our best-loved writers but just were too afraid to ask. Novelist Ian Sansom fires off a letter to Geoffrey Chaucer... |
| 02 | Dear Jonathan Swift | 20161108 | 'Dear Geoffrey Chaucer, Can I call you Geoff..?' In a series of imaginary correspondences, novelist Ian Sansom writes letters to five of literary history's most celebrated figures and interrogates them about their art. 'Oh Agatha Christie, Please - do tell - what is the secret of your success?' As his correspondence unfolds, queries are raised, jealousies revealed, concerns aired. 'Dear Virginia Woolf, Please accept my apologies. For a long time I thought you represented everything that's wrong with literature...' How exactly does George Eliot do it? Why is it so difficult? And what's that Jonathan Swift just called him? Ian Sansom writes an imaginary letter to Jonathan Swift and interrogates him about his art | |
| 03 | Dear George Eliot | 20161109 | 'Dear Geoffrey Chaucer, Can I call you Geoff..?' In a series of imaginary correspondences, novelist Ian Sansom is writing letters to five of literary history's most celebrated figures and interrogating them about their art. 'Oh Agatha Christie, Please - do tell - what is the secret of your success?' As his correspondence unfolds, queries are raised and jealousies revealed. 'Dear Virginia Woolf, Please accept my apologies. For a long time I thought you represented everything that's wrong with literature...' How exactly does George Eliot do it? And why does she keep ignoring Ian's letters? Dear George Eliot, You are simply so far out of my league as a correspondent that it is embarrassing even to put pen to paper and to address you directly. In his on-going epistolary quest, Ian attempts to find out everything you wanted to know about some of our best-loved writers but just were too afraid to ask. Novelist Ian Sansom pens a missive to George Eliot... | |
| 03 | Dear George Eliot | 20161109 | 20180718 (R3) | 'Dear Geoffrey Chaucer, Can I call you Geoff..?' In a series of imaginary correspondences, novelist Ian Sansom is writing letters to five of literary history's most celebrated figures and interrogating them about their art. 'Oh Agatha Christie, Please - do tell - what is the secret of your success?' As his correspondence unfolds, queries are raised and jealousies revealed. 'Dear Virginia Woolf, Please accept my apologies. For a long time I thought you represented everything that's wrong with literature...' How exactly does George Eliot do it? And why does she keep ignoring Ian's letters? Dear George Eliot, You are simply so far out of my league as a correspondent that it is embarrassing even to put pen to paper and to address you directly. In his on-going epistolary quest, Ian attempts to find out everything you wanted to know about some of our best-loved writers but just were too afraid to ask. Novelist Ian Sansom pens a missive to George Eliot... |
| 04 | Dear Virginia Woolf | 20161110 | 20180719 (R3) | 'Dear Geoffrey Chaucer, Can I call you Geoff..?' In a series of imaginary correspondences, novelist Ian Sansom is writing letters to five of literary history's most celebrated figures and interrogating them about their art. 'Oh Agatha Christie, Please - do tell - what is the secret of your success?' As his correspondence unfolds, queries are raised and jealousies revealed. 'Dear Virginia Woolf, Please accept my apologies. For a long time I thought you represented everything that's wrong with literature...' How exactly does George Eliot do it? And why does she keep ignoring Ian's letters? Dear George Eliot, You are simply so far out of my league as a correspondent that it is embarrassing even to put pen to paper and to address you directly. In his on-going epistolary quest, Ian attempts to find out everything you wanted to know about some of our best-loved writers but just were too afraid to ask. A letter of apology to Virginia Woolf from novelist Ian Sansom. 'Dear Geoffrey Chaucer, Can I call you Geoff..?' In a series of imaginary correspondences, novelist Ian Sansom is writing letters to five of literary history's most celebrated figures and interrogating them about their art. 'Oh Agatha Christie, Please - do tell - what is the secret of your success?' As his correspondence unfolds, queries are raised and jealousies revealed. 'Dear Virginia Woolf, Please accept my apologies. For a long time I thought you represented everything that's wrong with literature...' How exactly does George Eliot do it? And why does she keep ignoring Ian's letters? Dear George Eliot, You are simply so far out of my league as a correspondent that it is embarrassing even to put pen to paper and to address you directly. In his on-going epistolary quest, Ian attempts to find out everything you wanted to know about some of our best-loved writers but just were too afraid to ask. A letter of apology to Virginia Woolf from novelist Ian Sansom. |
| 05 LAST | Dear Agatha Christie | 20161111 | 'Dear Geoffrey Chaucer, Can I call you Geoff..?' In a series of imaginary correspondences, novelist Ian Sansom is writing letters to five of literary history's most celebrated figures and interrogating them about their art. 'Oh Agatha Christie, Please - do tell - what is the secret of your success?' As his correspondence unfolds, queries are raised and jealousies revealed. 'Dear Virginia Woolf, Please accept my apologies. For a long time I thought you represented everything that's wrong with literature...' How exactly does George Eliot do it? And why does she keep ignoring Ian's letters? Dear George Eliot, You are simply so far out of my league as a correspondent that it is embarrassing even to put pen to paper and to address you directly. In his on-going epistolary quest, Ian attempts to find out everything you wanted to know about some of our best-loved writers but just were too afraid to ask. Novelist Ian Sansom has a theory to put to the Queen of Crime. | |
| 05 LAST | Dear Agatha Christie | 20161111 | 20180720 (R3) | 'Dear Geoffrey Chaucer, Can I call you Geoff..?' In a series of imaginary correspondences, novelist Ian Sansom is writing letters to five of literary history's most celebrated figures and interrogating them about their art. 'Oh Agatha Christie, Please - do tell - what is the secret of your success?' As his correspondence unfolds, queries are raised and jealousies revealed. 'Dear Virginia Woolf, Please accept my apologies. For a long time I thought you represented everything that's wrong with literature...' How exactly does George Eliot do it? And why does she keep ignoring Ian's letters? Dear George Eliot, You are simply so far out of my league as a correspondent that it is embarrassing even to put pen to paper and to address you directly. In his on-going epistolary quest, Ian attempts to find out everything you wanted to know about some of our best-loved writers but just were too afraid to ask. Novelist Ian Sansom has a theory to put to the Queen of Crime. |