Best Byatt Podcasts (2026)

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Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni - The Palace of Illusions 1:07:15

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5d ago1:07:15

1:07:15

Harriett Gilbert welcomes bestselling author Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni into the World Book Club studio to discuss her internationally acclaimed novel, The Palace of Illusions. A luminous reimagining of the ancient Indian epic, the Mahabharat, The Palace of Illusions traces the life of Princess Panchaali—better known as Draupadi—from her miraculous…

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Philippa Gregory: The Other Boleyn Girl 55:08

1M ago55:08

55:08

Harriett Gilbert welcomes bestselling author Philippa Gregory into the World Book Club studio to discuss her celebrated historical novel, The Other Boleyn Girl. This novel, about to celebrate its 25th anniversary, is a vivid portrayal of ambition, love, and betrayal in the Tudor Court, told from the perspective of Mary Boleyn, sister to the ill-fat…

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Oyinkan Braithwaite - My Sister, The Serial Killer 50:40

2M ago50:40

50:40

Harriett Gilbert welcomes Nigerian author Oyinkan Braithwaite into the World Book Club studio to discuss her internationally bestselling debut, My Sister, the Serial Killer — a darkly comic thriller that has captivated readers around the globe. This is the story of two sisters, Korede, the responsible and overlooked older sibling, and Ayoola, the b…

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Silvia Moreno-Garcia - Mexican Gothic 1:06:33

3M ago1:06:33

1:06:33

Harriett is joined by Silvia Moreno-Garcia to discuss her chilling bestseller Mexican Gothic. The story begins when Noemí Taboada, a glamorous socialite from 1950s Mexico City, receives a desperate letter from her cousin Catalina, claiming her new husband is poisoning her. Unsure if Catalina is mad or truly in danger, Noemí rushes to High Place - a…

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Arthur Conan Doyle - The Hound of the Baskervilles 1:02:22

4M ago1:02:22

1:02:22

Join us for a special episode of World Book Club as we journey into the fog-shrouded moors of Devon to explore The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle—arguably the most iconic and enduring novel in the Sherlock Holmes canon. First published in 1902, this gothic masterpiece has captivated readers for over a century and remains a cornerst…

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Juhea Kim - Beasts of a Little Land 58:54

5M ago58:54

58:54

Harriett Gilbert talks with Juhea Kim about her debut novel Beasts of a Little Land. Set during the turbulent years of Japanese-occupied Korea in the early 20th century, this sweeping historical epic traces the lives of two unforgettable characters: Jade, a young girl sold to a courtesan school, and JungHo, the orphaned son of a hunter who becomes …

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Graeme Macrae Burnet - His Bloody Project 49:20

6M ago49:20

49:20

On this episode of ‘World Book Club’ Harriett Gilbert speaker with with Graeme Macrae Burnet about his riveting historical crime novel ‘His Bloody Project’. Set in a remote Scottish community in the 1800s, the story centres on a brutal triple murder and the person who admits guilt for the bloody deed - a 17 year old boy. This boy, Roderick Macrae, …

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N.K Jemisin - The City We Became 55:43

7M ago55:43

55:43

In this episode of World Book Club, Harriet talks with one of the world’s best-loved sci-fi and fantasy authors, the four time Hugo award winner N.K Jemisin.Which of her plethora of books did we choose? Her 10th novel, and love letter to New York, ‘The City We Became’. The story takes place in a world in which major cities become sentient, living b…

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Abdulrazak Gurnah: Paradise 49:26

8M ago49:26

49:26

Harriett Gilbert talks with Nobel laureate Abdulrazak Gurnah about his hauntingly beautiful novel Paradise. It tells the story of Yusuf, a 12 year-old boy living in East Africa at the beginning of the 20th Century. Sold off to settle his father’s debts, Yusuf embarks on a journey across the African continent. Through his naive and innocent eyes, th…

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Michelle de Kretser: Scary Monsters 49:20

9M ago49:20

49:20

Harriett Gilbert talks with Michelle de Kretser about her eighth novel, Scary Monsters, which won the 2023 Rathbones Folio Fiction Prize. This diptych novel consists of the tale of two immigrants, one in the past, and one in a dystopian future that seems all too possible. Which story to start with? That’s the reader’s decision. In the past, Lili. H…

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Ottessa Moshfegh: My Year of Rest and Relaxation 58:00

10M ago58:00

58:00

Harriett Gilbert is joined by one of the boldest writers of her generation, Ottessa Moshfegh, to delve into her second novel My Year of Rest and Relaxation. This twisted Sleeping Beauty story is told from the perspective of an unnamed protagonist, a twentysomething art school graduate who, after the death of her parents, quits her gallery job to he…

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Meg Rosoff: How I Live Now 49:29

11M ago49:29

49:29

Novelist Meg Rosoff joins Harriett Gilbert to answer listeners' questions about one of her best-loved novels, How I Live Now. It is the story of Daisy, an American teenager shipped off to live with her aunt and cousins in England. What is at first an idyllic escape into English countryside life is shattered at the onset of War, when England is sudd…

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World Book Café: Oslo 49:15

12M ago49:15

49:15

World Book Café heads to Oslo to Europe’s largest Literature House to find out if Norway is the best place in the world to be a writer? Octavia Bright is joined to discuss the highs and lows by the internationally bestselling novelist and climate activist Maja Lunde. Johan Harstad prize winning novelist and the first in-house writer at the National…

1
Anne Holt: 1,222 49:08

1y ago49:08

49:08

A special programme from the largest public literature house in Europe, Litteraturhuset in Oslo. Harriett Gilbert is joined by one of Scandinavia’s most successful crime writers, Anne Holt. Her novel 1,222 is a tense, twisty story set during a snowstorm in an isolated mountain hotel, a reference to the fact that the hotel is one thousand, two hundr…

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Douglas Stuart: Shuggie Bain 49:01

1y ago49:01

49:01

The Scottish-American writer Douglas Stuart talks about his Booker Prize winning Shuggie Bain. The powerful, heartbreaking story of a young boy's love for his addict mother, and a mother's chaotic love for her son. Photo credit: Martyn PickersgillBy BBC World Service

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Kate Mosse: Labyrinth 48:59

1y ago48:59

48:59

Ahead of its 20th anniversary early next year, the author Kate Mosse talks to Harriett Gilbert and readers from around the world, about her globally bestselling novel, Labyrinth. It’s a historical thriller set between medieval and contemporary France where the lives of two women, living centuries apart, are linked in a common destiny. In 13th centu…

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Elif Batuman 49:30

1+ y ago49:30

49:30

In this month’s edition of BBC World Book Club bestselling American writer Elif Batuman discusses her acclaimed debut novel. ‘The Idiot’ follows Selin, a Turkish-American fresher at Harvard in the mid-1990s, delving into her experiences as she navigates the challenges of university life, grappling with identity, language, and the complexities of re…

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Ewald Arenz: Tasting Sunlight 49:09

1+ y ago49:09

49:09

German author Ewald Arenz answers readers' questions about his bestselling novel Tasting Sunlight. It’s the moving story of Liss, a reclusive woman who single-handedly runs her family farm, and teenage runaway Sally who takes refuge there. As they work together, Liss and Sally form an unlikely – and nurturing – friendship. Image: Ewald Arenz (Credi…

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Women of the World: Edna O’Brien 26:45

1+ y ago26:45

26:45

In one of the last broadcast interviews, the acclaimed Irish author Edna O’Brien, who died aged 93 in July 2024, is in conversation with Kim Chakanetsa. In this bonus episode, shediscusses her final novel, Girl – which tells the story of a young girl in Nigeria who is captured by the Islamist group Boko Haram – the effects of lockdown and her love …

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Paul Auster: New York Trilogy 49:04

1+ y ago49:04

49:04

Another chance to hear Harriett Gilbert talking to bestselling American writer Paul Auster, who died earlier this year on 30 April 2024. Paul Auster joined Harriett in 2012, with a literary festival audience and readers from around the world, to discuss his acclaimed work The New York Trilogy. In three brilliant variations on the classic detective …

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Edna O'Brien: The Country Girls 26:25

1+ y ago26:25

26:25

Following the death of the Irish author Edna O’Brien in July 2024, another chance to hear a 2008 World Book Club episode in which she talked to Harriett Gilbert and an audience of readers about her renowned debut novel The Country Girls. Banned in her homeland on publication, it has become one of O’Brien’s most admired and renowned works. Producer:…

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World Book Cafe: Toronto 48:52

1+ y ago48:52

48:52

Toronto is a bustling city on Lake Ontario which is growing at an astonishing rate. Almost a third of Torontonians have arrived in the last decade and more than half were born outside of Canada. The city’s Mohawk name is , which means “the place on the water where the trees are standing".Noah Richler explores the fictional landscape of the city wit…

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Kevin Kwan: Crazy Rich Asians 49:01

1+ y ago49:01

49:01

Kevin Kwan discusses his internationally best-selling novel, Crazy Rich Asians, with readers from around the world. Chinese-American academic Rachel Chu lives a modest and happy life with her boyfriend and fellow academic Nick. But when Nick invites her home to Singapore to meet the family, everything changes – starting with the first class flights…

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Miriam Toews: Women Talking 48:40

1+ y ago48:40

48:40

In Miriam Toews’s novel, Women Talking, the women of a remote Mennonite colony are hold secret meetings to talk about the crimes of the men who they live alongside. After years of being told that they were suffering from hysterical delusions, the women “came to understand that they were collectively dreaming one dream, and that it wasn’t a dream at…

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Percival Everett: The Trees 49:08

1+ y ago49:08

49:08

Percival Everett will be discussing his Booker-shortlisted novel The Trees. This powerful and fiercely funny satire centring on revenge and racial justice in America shifts genres between police procedural, magical realism and horror with wit and consummate skill. Percival Everett addresses some of America’s darkest history with an unusual mix of p…

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Charlotte Wood: The Weekend 49:18

2y ago49:18

49:18

Award-winning Australian novelist Charlotte Wood joins Harriett Gilbert to answer questions from readers around the world about her novel, The Weekend. It's a story of grief and friendship; three women meet to clear their deceased friend’s beach house and find themselves uncovering secrets and stirring up memories. (Image: Charlotte Wood. Photo cre…

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Ann Patchett: The Dutch House 49:59

2y ago49:59

49:59

Multi award-winning novelist Ann Patchett will be discussing The Dutch House. A dark modern fairytale set against the very real world of post-WWII Philadelphia, tracing the love between a brother and sister, their vanishing mother, distant father and jealous stepmother. Ann Patchett tells the story of a family over five decades with a finely balanc…

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Madrid 48:34

2y ago48:34

48:34

World Book Café heads to Madrid to talk to writers about a new boom in feminist fiction. A few month after the resignation of President of the Spanish Football Federation over a non-consensual kiss of footballer Jenni Hermoso at the World Cup final, World Book Café investigates how Madrid’s women writers are challenging gender roles in the books wo…

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Carlo Rovelli: Seven Brief Lessons on Physics 49:47

2y ago49:47

49:47

Presenter Harriett Gilbert and readers around the world talk to acclaimed Italian physicist and writer Carlo Rovelli about his runaway bestseller Seven Brief Lessons on Physics. A compact and engaging exploration of some of the most fundamental ideas in modern physics this book takes readers on a captivating journey through seven concise chapters, …

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Antonio Muñoz Molina: In the Night of Time 49:29

2y ago49:29

49:29

Antonio Muñoz Molina answers questions from around the world on his novel In the Night of Time. The panoramic portrait of Spain on the brink of civil war follows the life of Ignacio Abel, master builder and architect, as he navigates an illicit love affair with an American woman as the darkness of war surrounds him. Recorded in the prestigious Muse…

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Shehan Karunatilaka: The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida 49:58

2y ago49:58

49:58

Harriett Gilbert and readers around the globe talk to acclaimed Sri Lankan writer Shehan Karunatilaka about his Booker Prize-winning novel The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida. Almeida, a gay war photographer, recently deceased, with secrets aplenty, awakes to find himself sitting in line in an ethereal visa office, determined to find out who has murde…

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AS Byatt - Possession 26:47

2y ago26:47

26:47

English author A. S Byatt talks to an audience about her novel 'Possession'. First broadcast in March 2004 (Photo: A S Byatt. Credit:BBC)By BBC World Service

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Xiaolu Guo: A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers 50:12

2y ago50:12

50:12

Xiaolu Guo talks about her novel A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers. The book was her first written in English and made prestigious fiction shortlists on publication in 2007. Twenty-three year old Zhuang – or Z as she’s called in England because no-one can pronounce her name – arrives to spend a year learning English. The loneliness an…

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Michael Chabon: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay 49:46

2+ y ago49:46

49:46

American writer Michael Chabon talks about his 2001 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. From Jewish mysticism to Houdini to the Golden Age of Comic Books and WWII, Chabon’s immersive novel deals with escape and transformation through the lives of two Jewish boys in New York. Josef Kavalier makes an impossible e…

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Audrey Niffenegger: The Time Traveler's Wife 49:48

2+ y ago49:48

49:48

American writer and visual artist Audrey Niffenegger talks about her bestselling novel The Time Traveler’s Wife - a magical love story with a twist. Funny, quirky, and occasionally heartbreaking, this is the story of a relationship lived in the moment – even if those moments are all in the wrong order. Clare and Henry met when Clare was six and Hen…

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Pilar Quintana: The Bitch 49:31

2+ y ago49:31

49:31

Colombian writer Pilar Quintana talks about her acclaimed novel The Bitch which explores themes of motherhood, loss, and the impact of violence on women's lives. Set against the backdrop of the Pacific coast, the story revolves around Damaris, a young woman longing for a child but unable to conceive. When she discovers a pregnant dog near her home,…

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Sofi Oksanen: Purge 50:06

2+ y ago50:06

50:06

Bestselling author Sofi Oksanen answers readers' questions about her novel Purge. It's a harrowing story of sexual violence, betrayal and retribution which charts the troubled history of Estonia during and after the Second World War. Told through the lives of two women, the story starts when a frightened stranger, Zara, arrives on Aliide's doorstep…

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Judith Kerr: When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit 50:05

2+ y ago50:05

50:05

On the centenary of her birth another chance to hear much-loved author Judith Kerr discussing her memorable young adults' novel When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit with Harriett Gilbert and readers around the world. Set during the Second World War, this semi-autobiographical novel traces the story of a young Jewish girl and her family who flee Berlin jus…

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Curtis Sittenfeld: Prep 49:26

2+ y ago49:26

49:26

Best-selling American author Curtis Sittenfeld discusses her acclaimed debut novel, Prep. Set in an exclusive boarding school in north-eastern America, Prep is an insightful, caustic and funny coming-of-age story and a savage dissection of class, race, and gender. Clever, aspirational Lee Fiora is fourteen years old when her father drops her at the…

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Paul Theroux: Deep South 49:27

3y ago49:27

49:27

Presenter Harriett Gilbert and readers around the world talk to acclaimed American author Paul Theroux about his bestselling travel book Deep South. After fifty years crossing the globe, seeking adventure and stories to tell about places far from home, Theroux travels deep into the heart of his native country and discovers a land as profoundly fore…

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World Book Cafe: Paris 49:22

3y ago49:22

49:22

World Book Café travels to Paris to meet some of the French capital’s newest writers. Authors Mahir Guven, Blandine Rinkel, Laurent Petitmangin and Capucine Delattre discuss taking on the literary establishment and finding new ways to express themselves. Like many places in the world, questions of equality, diversity and freedom of expression are t…

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Marie Darrieussecq: Pig Tales 49:15

3y ago49:15

49:15

This month World Book Club visits Paris, France to be guests of the iconic bookshop on the Left Bank of the River Seine, Shakespeare & Co. There Harriett Gilbert and a bookshop audience talk to acclaimed French writer Marie Darrieussecq about her extraordinary novel Pig Tales. Pig Tales is the story of a young woman who works at a shady Parisian ma…

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Ayelet Gundar-Goshen: Waking Lions 49:19

3y ago49:19

49:19

Driving too fast through Israel’s Negev desert in his SUV after a long day in the hospital, Dr Eitan Green accidentally hits a lone Eritrean man on the empty moonlit road, killing him instantly. Panic stricken he drives off instead of calling for help and confessing what he’s done. A decision that will change the course of his life irrevocably beca…

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Anuk Arudpragasam: A Passage North 49:26

3y ago49:26

49:26

A Passage North explores the impact of the vicious Sri Lankan civil war between Tamil and Sinhalese which tore Sri Lanka apart for two and a half decades before a fragile ceasefire was finally reached in 2009. When Krishan learns that his grandmother’s former carer Rani has died he makes the long journey north to attend the funeral across a country…

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Sunjeev Sahota - The Year of the Runaways 49:16

3y ago49:16

49:16

World Book Club travels to The Crucible Theatre in Sheffield in England, as guests of The Off the Shelf Festival and talks to local prize-winning Sheffield writer Sunjeev Sahota about his compelling novel, The Year of the Runaways. Voyaging from India to England, from childhood to the present day, Sunjeev Sahota's heart-rending novel follows a grou…

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Tahmima Anam: A Golden Age 49:26

3y ago49:26

49:26

This month as World Book Club continues its year-long season celebrating the Exuberance of Youth it also celebrates the 20th anniversary of the programme. To mark this happy occasion World Book Club are guests of the London Literature Festival at the South Bank Centre on the River Thames and Harriett Gilbert talks to Bangladeshi-born British noveli…

1
Brit Bennett: The Vanishing Half 49:22

3+ y ago49:22

49:22

This month, in the next in our season celebrating The Exuberance of Youth, we talk to American writer Brit Bennett about her unputdownable novel, The Vanishing Half. The Vanishing Half charts the rollercoaster parallel lives of estranged twin sisters who choose to live in two very different worlds - one black and one white. Stella and Desiree are i…

1
Ben Lerner: Leaving the Atocha Station 49:21

3+ y ago49:21

49:21

Next in the series exploring The Exuberance of Youth World Book Club talks to the award-winning American author Ben Lerner about his beguiling debut novel Leaving the Atocha Station. Brilliant, unreliable, young American poet Adam Gordon is on a fellowship in Madrid, where he is struggling to establish his identity and dazzle his contemporaries. In…

1
Yaa Gyasi: Homegoing 49:24

3+ y ago49:24

49:24

In this year-long celebration of The Exuberance of Youth, World Book Club revisits the multi-prize-winning debut novel Homegoing by the acclaimed Ghanaian author Yaa Gyasi. The story of two half-sisters, separated by forces beyond their control: one sold into slavery, the other married to a white slave-trader, Homegoing traces the generations of fa…

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Mohsin Hamid: Exit West 49:24

3+ y ago49:24

49:24

In the season celebrating The Exuberance of Youth, World Book Club talks to Pakistani writer Mohsin Hamid about his compelling novel, Exit West. Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize Exit West features Nadia and Saeed, two ordinary young people, attempting to fall in love in a world turned upside down. Civil war is driving them from their homeland a…