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Open Book

First broadcast from 20080724 to 20091015.
 

Radio 4  Radio 4

36 episodes

 
TitleFirst
Broadcast		Description
 20080724Mariella Frostrup presents the books magazine.
 20080731Mariella Frostrup talks to the Irish novelist Deidre Madden and considers how the world of art is presented in fiction.
 20080814Owen Sheers presents an edition of the books programme from New York. He talks to novelist Meg Wolitzer, author of The Wife, about her latest book, and visits the Morgan Library, one of the world's richest collections of rare manuscripts.
 20080831Muriel Gray talks to Andrew Miller about his new novel set in wartime Japan. As Arthur C Clarke's final work is published posthumously, she looks back at the great science fiction writer's output.
 20080904Muriel Gray talks to Andrew Miller about his new novel set in wartime Japan. As Arthur C Clarke's final work is published posthumously, she looks back at the great science fiction writer's output.
 20080914Tibor Fischer joins Mariella Frostrup to discuss Good to Be God, his first novel for several years, in which a con artist tries to pull off an extremely ambitious identity theft.
 20080918Tibor Fischer joins Mariella Frostrup to discuss Good to Be God, his first novel for several years, in which a con artist tries to pull off an extremely ambitious identity theft.
 20080928Mariella Frostrup presents the books magazine.
She talks to Zoe Heller, whose bestselling novel Notes on a Scandal was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and successfully adapted for film, about her long-awaited follow-up, The Believers.
Alan Sillitoe recalls the success of his novel Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, 50 years after its publication.
 20081002Mariella Frostrup presents the books magazine.
She talks to Zoe Heller, whose bestselling novel Notes on a Scandal was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and successfully adapted for film, about her long-awaited follow-up, The Believers.
Alan Sillitoe recalls the success of his novel Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, 50 years after its publication.
 20081016Misha Glenny presents an edition of the books programme from the Cheltenham Literature Festival.
 20081019Mariella Frostrup presents the books magazine. She talks to the novelist Thomas Keneally, who, in a new memoir, recalls the writing of his 1982 novel Schindler's Ark and reflects on the profound effect that its devastating subject matter had on him.
 20081023Mariella Frostrup presents the books magazine. She talks to the novelist Thomas Keneally, who, in a new memoir, recalls the writing of his 1982 novel Schindler's Ark and reflects on the profound effect that its devastating subject matter had on him.
 20081109Mariella Frostrup talks to Toni Morrison, winner of the 1993 Nobel Prize for Literature, about Mercy, her first novel for five years, and looks back at her career.
 20081113Mariella Frostrup talks to Toni Morrison, winner of the 1993 Nobel Prize for Literature, about Mercy, her first novel for five years, and looks back at her career.
 20081116Mariella Frostrup talks to Shena Mackay, the author of Heligoland, about her new short story collection The Atmospheric Railway.
 20081120Mariella Frostrup talks to Shena Mackay, the author of Heligoland, about her new short story collection The Atmospheric Railway.
 20081123Mariella Frostrup talks to Will Self about the work of William Burroughs, as a previously unpublished novel by the American writer appears in print for the first time.
 20081123Mariella Frostrup talks to Will Self about the work of William Burroughs.
23/11/200820081127Mariella Frostrup talks to Will Self about the work of William Burroughs.
Mariella Frostrup talks to Will Self about the work of William Burroughs, as a previously unpublished novel by the American writer appears in print for the first time.
14/12/200820081218Including a round-up of the year's best children's books.
Mariella Frostrup presents the books magazine. Including a round-up of the year's best children's books.
 20081221Nigella Lawson reveals the five books that mean the most to her.
Mariella Frostrup presents the books magazine. She is joined by Nigella Lawson, who reveals the five books that mean the most to her. And in the year that a debut novelist won the Man Booker Prize, how important is it for a writer to make an impression with their first book?
21/12/200820081225Nigella Lawson talks to Mariella Frostrup about the five books that mean the most to her. Plus, how important is it for a writer to make an impression with their first book?
21/12/200820081225Nigella Lawson reveals the five books that mean the most to her.
 20081228Mariella Frostrup and her guests consider novelists' relationships with their families.
Mariella Frostrup presents the books magazine. She and her guests consider novelists' relationships with their families and how writers include their relatives in their work.
28/12/200820090101Mariella Frostrup and her guests consider novelists' relationships with their families.
Mariella Frostrup presents the books magazine. She and her guests consider novelists' relationships with their families and how writers include their relatives in their work.
 20090111Mariella Frostrup talks to the American novelist Jay Mcinerney about his new novel.
Mariella Frostrup presents the books magazine. She talks to the American novelist Jay Mcinerney, the author of Bright Lights, Big City, about his new novel The Good Life. Plus a look at a new wave of crime writing from Scandinavia.
11/01/200920090115Mariella Frostrup talks to the American novelist Jay Mcinerney about his new novel.
 20090208Mariella Frostrup talks to Australian novelist Kate Grenville about her relationship with her country's past, and her exploration of the subject in her book The Lieutenant.
Mariella Frostrup talks to Australian novelist Kate Grenville 
08/02/200920090212Mariella Frostrup talks to Australian novelist Kate Grenville about her relationship with her country's past, and her exploration of the subject in her book The Lieutenant.
Mariella Frostrup talks to Australian novelist Kate Grenville 
08/02/200920090212Mariella Frostrup talks to Australian novelist Kate Grenville 
15/03/200920090319Mariella Frostrup talks to writer Marcel Theroux, who explains how his interest in climate change and a trip to northern Siberia provided raw material for his novel Far North.
Mariella Frostrup talks to writer Marcel Theroux.
22/03/200920090326Mariella Frostrup talks to Maggie Gee about her new novel My Driver. And 50 years after the death of Raymond Chandler, William Boyd explains why he thinks the creator of the hard-bitten Los Angeles sleuth Philip Marlowe was one of the greatest writers of the 20th century.
Mariella Frostrup talks to Maggie Gee about her novel My Driver.
 20090329Mariella Frostrup's guests include thriller writer Tom Rob Smith, who talks about his latest novel The Secret Speech. Plus a walk around Venice with Donna Leon, who explains how the city inspired the adventures of her detective hero Comissario Brunetti.
Mariella Frostrup's guests include thriller writer Tom Rob Smith.
19/04/200920090423Mariella Frostrup talks to American crime novelist Elmore Leonard, whose work has found heavyweight fans such as Saul Bellow and Martin Amis as well as enjoying success in film adaptations such as Get Shorty. He talks about his new book, Comfort To The Enemy, and explains why he thinks he has made the most of his limitations.
With a book called Pride and Prejudice and Zombies becoming an unexpected bestseller, Mariella and her guests discuss Jane Austen's continuing cultural significance. Claire Harman, the author of Jane's Fame: How Jane Austen Conquered the World, and Deborah Moggach, who adapted Pride and Prejudice for the 2005 film starring Kiera Knightley, look at Austen's rediscovery in the 19th century and reinvention in the 20th.
Plus the novelist Andrey Kurkov, author of the cult classic Death and the Penguin, celebrates another satirical masterpiece, Mikhail Bulgakov's 1925 novel The Heart of a Dog.
Mariella Frostrup talks to US crime writer Elmore Leonard about his new novel.
 20091011
Mariella Frostrup talks to the thriller writer Robert Harris, whose latest book, Lustrum, set in Ancient Rome, is the second volume of a trilogy about the lawyer, politican and orator Cicero. Harris explains how modern and ancient politics collide, and why this novel about ancient intrigue is dedicated to Lord Mandelson.

The Brazilian writer Clarice Lispector is the subject of a recent biography; as one of her novels is published in a new translation, Mariella is joined by the biographer Benjamin Moser to discuss why she is revered as one of the greatest writers in the Portugese language.

And the masterpieces that never were; the author of a new history of literary hoaxes, Melissa Katsoulis, and the writer Kevin Jackson swap favourite tales of writers who pulled the wool over their readers' eyes.

Mariella Frostrup talks to thriller writer Robert Harris about his novel Lustrum.
11/10/200920091015 Mariella Frostrup talks to thriller writer Robert Harris about his novel Lustrum.