Novelist Joanne Harris (Chocolat, A Narrow Door) is our guest for a celebration of Titus Groan (1946), Gormenghast (1950) and Titus Alone (1959) by Mervyn Peake, three novels which are often referred to, erroneously, as the Gormenghast Trilogy. With Joanne’s expert guidance, John and Andy revisit Peake’s visionary work for the first time in decades and are surprised and delighted by what they discover. Also in this episode, Andy marks the belated UK publication of Maud Martha, the sole novel by poet Gwendolyn Brooks (Faber); while John enjoys Geoff Dyer’s new book about tennis and much more, The Last Days of Roger Federer: And Other Endings (Canongate).

Timings:

07:49 – Maud Martha by Gwendolyn Brooks
13:55 – The Last Days of Roger Federer: And Other Endings by Geoff Dyer
18:07 – The Gormenghast series of books by Mervyn Peake

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