Wisdom From Fictional Females

Episode

Title

First
Broadcast

Comments

Afua Hirsch On Maggie Tulliver

20180528

Afua Hirsch introduces us to her favourite female character in literature - Maggie Tulliver from George Eliot's 'Mill on the Floss' - and extracts the lessons we could all learn from her. Recorded at this week's Hay Festival 2018,

Afua is a writer, broadcaster and journalist; she is also a barrister with a speciality in international development. Her first book, titled 'Brit(ish): On Race, Identity and Belonging, was published in January 2018.

In this series of The Essay, five female writers offer a personal guide to favourite and well-known female fictional characters - extracting the lessons we could all learn from them.

The writers in this series include historian Bettany Hughes, poets Fiona Sampson and Mab Jones and award-winning novelist Francesca Rhydderch.

With Lunchtime Concert, In Tune, Free Thinking, The Verb and The Listening Service all broadcasting from the festival, The Essay is part of Hay Week at BBC Radio 3.

Afua Hirsch on her favourite fictional female. Recorded at the Hay Festival 2018.

Bettany Hughes On Helen Of Troy

20180529

Recorded at this week's Hay Festival 2018, Bettany Hughes introduces us to her favourite female character in literature - Helen of Troy; a character written about in fiction for millennia - and extracts the lessons we could all learn from her.

Bettany is an historian, author and broadcaster, with her speciality in classical history. She has written a number of books including, most recently, 'Istanbul: A Tale of Three Cities' and has presented for BBC Radio 3 for the Sunday Feature strand - 'Tracking the Aryans' and 'Caucasian Roots', and for BBC Radio 4 in for a 3-part series 'Amongst the Medici' in 2006.

In this series of The Essay, five female writers offer a personal guide to favourite and well-known female fictional characters - extracting the lessons we could all learn from them.

The writers in this series include broadcaster Afua Hirsch, poets Fiona Sampson and Mab Jones and award-winning novelist Francesca Rhydderch.

With Lunchtime Concert, In Tune, Free Thinking, The Verb and The Listening Service all broadcasting from the festival, The Essay is part of Hay Week at BBC Radio 3.

Bettany Hughes on her favourite female from literature. Recorded at the Hay Festival 2018.

Fiona Sampson On Mother Courage

20180530

Recorded at this week's Hay Festival 2018, Fiona Sampson introduces us to her favourite female character in literature - Bertolt Brecht's anti-heroine Mother Courage, from his play 'Mother Courage and Her Children' - and extracts the lessons we could all learn from her.

Fiona is an award-winning poet and writer, who has published nearly 30 books, including collections of poetry and works on writing process. She contributes articles to newspapers including The Guardian, Sunday Times and The Independent. Her most recent publication is 'In Search of Mary Shelley: The Girl Who Wrote Frankenstein'. Fiona was awarded an MBE in 2017.

In this series of The Essay, five female writers offer a personal guide to favourite and well-known female fictional characters - extracting the lessons we could all learn from them.

The writers in this series include broadcaster Afua Hirsch, historian Bettany Hughes, award-winning novelist Francesca Rhydderch and poet Mab Jones.

With Lunchtime Concert, In Tune, Free Thinking, The Verb and The Listening Service all broadcasting from the festival, The Essay is part of Hay Week at BBC Radio 3.

Fiona Sampson on her favourite fictional female. Recorded at the Hay Festival 2018.

Francesca Rhydderch On Orlando

20180531

Recorded at this week's Hay Festival 2018, Francesca Rhydderch introduces us to her favourite female character in literature - Virginia Woolf's, arguably, most playful and ground-breaking character Orlando from her novel 'Orlando: A Biography' - and extracts the lessons we could all learn from her.

Francesca is an Associate Professor at Swansea University, with her area of expertise in creative writing. Her debut novel, 'The Rice Paper Diaries', won the Wales Book of the Year Fiction Prize 2014 and her novel 'The Taxidermist's Daughter' was shortlisted for the BBC National Short Story Award in the same year.

In this series of The Essay, five female writers offer a personal guide to favourite and well-known female fictional characters - extracting the lessons we could all learn from them.

The writers in this series include broadcaster Afua Hirsch, historian Bettany Hughes and poets Fiona Sampson and Mab Jones.

With Lunchtime Concert, In Tune, Free Thinking, The Verb and The Listening Service all broadcasting from the festival, The Essay is part of Hay Week at BBC Radio 3.

Francesca Rhydderch on her favourite fictional female. Recorded at the Hay Festival 2018.

Mab Jones On Jane Eyre

20180601

Recorded at this week's Hay Festival 2018, Mab Jones introduces us to her favourite female character in literature - Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, with whom she identifies most - and extracts the lessons we could all learn from her.

Mab is a poet and a recent recipient of a Creative Wales Award, and a frequent presenter of BBC radio documentaries, including 'Hiraeth' and 'The Black Chair'. Mab is also the coordinator of International Dylan Thomas Day, consisting of 62 events around the globe. Her publications include 'Poor Queen' and 'take your experience and peel it'.

In this series of The Essay, five female writers offer a personal guide to favourite and well-known female fictional characters - extracting the lessons we could all learn from them.

The writers in this series include broadcaster Afua Hirsch, historian Bettany Hughes, poet Fiona Sampson and award-winning novelist Francesca Rhydderch.

With Lunchtime Concert, In Tune, Free Thinking, The Verb and The Listening Service all broadcasting from the festival, The Essay is part of Hay Week at BBC Radio 3.

Mab Jones on her favourite fictional female. Recorded at the Hay Festival 2018.

Episodes

Episode	Title	First Broadcast	Comments
01	Afua Hirsch On Maggie Tulliver	20180528	Afua Hirsch introduces us to her favourite female character in literature - Maggie Tulliver from George Eliot's 'Mill on the Floss' - and extracts the lessons we could all learn from her. Recorded at this week's Hay Festival 2018, Afua is a writer, broadcaster and journalist; she is also a barrister with a speciality in international development. Her first book, titled 'Brit(ish): On Race, Identity and Belonging, was published in January 2018. In this series of The Essay, five female writers offer a personal guide to favourite and well-known female fictional characters - extracting the lessons we could all learn from them. The writers in this series include historian Bettany Hughes, poets Fiona Sampson and Mab Jones and award-winning novelist Francesca Rhydderch. With Lunchtime Concert, In Tune, Free Thinking, The Verb and The Listening Service all broadcasting from the festival, The Essay is part of Hay Week at BBC Radio 3. Afua Hirsch on her favourite fictional female. Recorded at the Hay Festival 2018.
02	Bettany Hughes On Helen Of Troy	20180529	Recorded at this week's Hay Festival 2018, Bettany Hughes introduces us to her favourite female character in literature - Helen of Troy; a character written about in fiction for millennia - and extracts the lessons we could all learn from her. Bettany is an historian, author and broadcaster, with her speciality in classical history. She has written a number of books including, most recently, 'Istanbul: A Tale of Three Cities' and has presented for BBC Radio 3 for the Sunday Feature strand - 'Tracking the Aryans' and 'Caucasian Roots', and for BBC Radio 4 in for a 3-part series 'Amongst the Medici' in 2006. In this series of The Essay, five female writers offer a personal guide to favourite and well-known female fictional characters - extracting the lessons we could all learn from them. The writers in this series include broadcaster Afua Hirsch, poets Fiona Sampson and Mab Jones and award-winning novelist Francesca Rhydderch. With Lunchtime Concert, In Tune, Free Thinking, The Verb and The Listening Service all broadcasting from the festival, The Essay is part of Hay Week at BBC Radio 3. Bettany Hughes on her favourite female from literature. Recorded at the Hay Festival 2018.
03	Fiona Sampson On Mother Courage	20180530	Recorded at this week's Hay Festival 2018, Fiona Sampson introduces us to her favourite female character in literature - Bertolt Brecht's anti-heroine Mother Courage, from his play 'Mother Courage and Her Children' - and extracts the lessons we could all learn from her. Fiona is an award-winning poet and writer, who has published nearly 30 books, including collections of poetry and works on writing process. She contributes articles to newspapers including The Guardian, Sunday Times and The Independent. Her most recent publication is 'In Search of Mary Shelley: The Girl Who Wrote Frankenstein'. Fiona was awarded an MBE in 2017. In this series of The Essay, five female writers offer a personal guide to favourite and well-known female fictional characters - extracting the lessons we could all learn from them. The writers in this series include broadcaster Afua Hirsch, historian Bettany Hughes, award-winning novelist Francesca Rhydderch and poet Mab Jones. With Lunchtime Concert, In Tune, Free Thinking, The Verb and The Listening Service all broadcasting from the festival, The Essay is part of Hay Week at BBC Radio 3. Fiona Sampson on her favourite fictional female. Recorded at the Hay Festival 2018.
04	Francesca Rhydderch On Orlando	20180531	Recorded at this week's Hay Festival 2018, Francesca Rhydderch introduces us to her favourite female character in literature - Virginia Woolf's, arguably, most playful and ground-breaking character Orlando from her novel 'Orlando: A Biography' - and extracts the lessons we could all learn from her. Francesca is an Associate Professor at Swansea University, with her area of expertise in creative writing. Her debut novel, 'The Rice Paper Diaries', won the Wales Book of the Year Fiction Prize 2014 and her novel 'The Taxidermist's Daughter' was shortlisted for the BBC National Short Story Award in the same year. In this series of The Essay, five female writers offer a personal guide to favourite and well-known female fictional characters - extracting the lessons we could all learn from them. The writers in this series include broadcaster Afua Hirsch, historian Bettany Hughes and poets Fiona Sampson and Mab Jones. With Lunchtime Concert, In Tune, Free Thinking, The Verb and The Listening Service all broadcasting from the festival, The Essay is part of Hay Week at BBC Radio 3. Francesca Rhydderch on her favourite fictional female. Recorded at the Hay Festival 2018.
05	Mab Jones On Jane Eyre	20180601	Recorded at this week's Hay Festival 2018, Mab Jones introduces us to her favourite female character in literature - Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, with whom she identifies most - and extracts the lessons we could all learn from her. Mab is a poet and a recent recipient of a Creative Wales Award, and a frequent presenter of BBC radio documentaries, including 'Hiraeth' and 'The Black Chair'. Mab is also the coordinator of International Dylan Thomas Day, consisting of 62 events around the globe. Her publications include 'Poor Queen' and 'take your experience and peel it'. In this series of The Essay, five female writers offer a personal guide to favourite and well-known female fictional characters - extracting the lessons we could all learn from them. The writers in this series include broadcaster Afua Hirsch, historian Bettany Hughes, poet Fiona Sampson and award-winning novelist Francesca Rhydderch. With Lunchtime Concert, In Tune, Free Thinking, The Verb and The Listening Service all broadcasting from the festival, The Essay is part of Hay Week at BBC Radio 3. Mab Jones on her favourite fictional female. Recorded at the Hay Festival 2018.