Biography and Memoir
Backlisted11 Feb 2025

Biography and Memoir

A Backlisted Special dedicated to biographies and memoirs, with books by Nancy Mitford, Roger Lewis, Elizabeth Jane Howard, P.D. James and Jean Rhys. John Mitchinson talks to the writer and friend of the show Laura Thompson about five of her favourite books – two of them biographies (Madame de Pompadour by Nancy Mitford and The Real Life of Laurence Olivier by Roger Lewis) and three memoirs (Slipstream by Elizabeth Jane Howard; Time to Be in Earnest by P.D. James and Smile Please by Jean Rhys). The discussion explores the difference between writing about someone else’s life and writing about your own; the various motivations that lead writers to produce memoirs, and the relationship between both forms and fiction. Laura Thompson is herself the writer of both biography and memoir. She has written a life of Agatha Christie, and books about the Mitford sisters and the Lord Lucan case, as well as a memoir of her grandmother, The Last Landlady. This is her fifth appearance on Backlisted, after joining us for episodes on Nancy Mitford, Antonia White, P.D. James and Agatha Christie. * To purchase any of the books mentioned in this episode please visit our bookshop at uk.bookshop.org/shop/backlisted where all profits help to sustain this podcast and UK independent bookshops. * For information about everything mentioned in this episode visit www.backlisted.fm *If you'd like to support the show and join in with the book chat, listen without adverts, receive the show early and get extra bonus fortnightly episodes, become a patron at www.patreon.com/backlisted *You can sign up to our free monthly newsletter here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episoder(262)

Under The Volcano by Malcolm Lowry   - Rerun

Under The Volcano by Malcolm Lowry - Rerun

Recorded back in 2017, John and Andy were joined by poet, radio presenter, playwright and genuine tyke Ian McMillan to discuss Malcolm Lowry's 1947 masterwork, Under The Volcano. Also, The Factory of ...

17 Mar 1h 5min

The Inheritors by William Golding

The Inheritors by William Golding

Joining John and Andy in this episode are multiple returnees and Official Friends of Backlisted: Dr Una McComack and Andrew Male. The book they are here to talk about is The Inheritors by William Gol...

2 Mar 1h 26min

Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis

Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis

Dr Rowan Williams, theologian, poet and former Archbishop of Canterbury, joins Andy and John for a thoughtful and moving discussion of Till We Have Faces (1956), the last novel by C.S. Lewis. This epi...

10 Feb 1h 12min

The Sacred and Profane Love Machine by Iris Murdoch

The Sacred and Profane Love Machine by Iris Murdoch

Ian Patterson, author of Books: A Manifesto , returns to Backlisted for a joyful discussion of Iris Murdoch and her sixteenth novel The Sacred and Profane Love Machine (1974), the winner of the Whitbr...

27 Jan 1h 11min

Jake Thackray: The Unsung Writer by Paul Thompson

Jake Thackray: The Unsung Writer by Paul Thompson

Biographer and singer-songwriter Paul Thompson joins us for a new episode of Backlisted devoted to the life and work of Jake Thackray, the so-called 'Yorkshire chansonnier' who died in 2002. Thackray ...

13 Jan 1h 4min

Asterix and the Roman Agent by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo

Asterix and the Roman Agent by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo

Merry Christmas! Join Andy and Una, plus authors Louie Stowell and Robert Shearman, for a post-solstice celebration of Asterix and the Roman Agent (1972) by René Goscinny (words) and Albert Uderzo (p...

25 Des 20251h 12min

Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild - rerun

Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild - rerun

A timely revisit of our 2022 Christmas special which celebrates Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild, a classic of children’s literature and the childhood favourite of our producer, Nicky Birch. We are jo...

9 Des 20251h 34min

Last and First Men by Olaf Stapledon

Last and First Men by Olaf Stapledon

Writer and critic Matthew De Abaitua joins Andy, Una and Nicky to discuss Last and First Men: A Story of the Near and Far Future (1930), the astounding first novel by Olaf Stapledon. The book is one o...

25 Nov 20251h 22min

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