The Author Archive Podcast

This conversation was recorded when the very last Maeve Binchy novel was published in paperback. Maeve was always an entertaining interviewee - getting her to talk was never a problem! Unsurprisingly her books continue to sell.  

As more Brexit checks and red tape come into action it is illuminating to remember how we get to be in this sorry situation.  Many of the leading players are only where they are because they are Brexiteers. Professor Grey has made it a personal mission to chronicle the drama and effects of Brexit. He writes a blog and now the latest edition of his book "Brexit Unfolded" is published bringing the s...

Magnus Magnusson died in 2007. He was  77. I spoke to Magnus when his history of Scotland was first published in 2000. Our conversation covered thoughts on Scottish independence, the film Braveheart, Shakespeare and whatever happened to the Picts. There was so much more to Magnus than being the chair .....I've started so I'll finish ..... of Mastermind!      

Her sister died of breast cancer and Justine just couldn't accept that her much loved sister had gone. This is conversation about grief and loss but it also about the lengths the bereaved will go to to re establish a link with the departed loved one. Despite being a journalist Justine tried everything and everybody. Mediums, spiritualists and people who really thought that there could be communica...

It's Christmas Lectures from the Royal Institution time again. This year the subject is artificial intelligence. Way back in 1991 the evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins was the lecturer and his subject was Growing Up in the Universe. He talked to David Freeman about the experience.  

George Alagiah died on July 24  2023 Before George Alagiah was known as a BBC newsreader he was a working TV journalist. In this conversation recorded more than 20 years ago he recounts what Rwanda meant to him. Not a near perfect place to be deported to, but a country that had experienced the most horrendous genocide. He recounts the effect of constant propaganda. How people can be turned against...

The Beatles are chart toppers again. In this episode David Freeman talks to Beatles Historian Mark Lewisohn about his mammoth history of the Fab Four. Thomasina Lowe talks about her fathers photographs of the Kennedy presidential years and science writer Marcus Chown talks about his book "What a Wonderful World". that endeavours to explain almost everything.  

A brand new novel by first time author Clementine Taylor. It is the story of two young women Aisling and Maya and their love. Of course it isn't a simple story. The complications and obstacles are engagingly told. The book is a real page turner. Both women are charismatic characters and as a reader you are supporting both of them ...... so how does it end?    

The Shakespeare First Folio was published 400 years ago.  In this interview recorded in 2003 the Shakespeare scholar  Sir Stanley Wells talks to David Freeman about Shakespeare the man and Shakespeare the writer. Russian history is all too relevant. Ellen Apsten tells David Freeman about the second novel in her series telling the stories of the powerful Russian women who lived remarkable lives in...

This is a brilliant novel set in Leningrad in September 1941. It tells of love in a time of unimaginable hardship. The horrific reality of a siege is being played out again in the Middle East  and Russian history is relevant to the war in Ukraine. Helen Dunmore was a major literary talent. Helen died of cancer in 2017.

'Revenge - God's gift to women!'  That's the message printed on the cover of this book. So does the author know what the desire for revenge feels like?

Sarah Waters burst onto the literary scene at the very end of the last century with her novel 'Tipping the Velvet' The story centered on the love between two women in Victorian England. Her next novel Affinity was again set in Victorian times and centres on the spiritualism beliefs of the time. In this interview Sarah talked to me about her novel Fingersmith. In Victorian slang what was a Fingersm...

This novel was nominated for award when it was first published over 20 years ago. It has a message of acceptance and tolerance which, sadly, is still totally relevant. The novel was republished last year.  

There is a thought that UK politics is still suffering from 'long Boris'. His attitudes and behaviour still cast a long shadow. How did it all come to pass in the first place? How did Johnson and his coterie ever make it to the top of the pyramid? In this detailed  and depressing book FT journalist Simon Kuper traces the idea of Brexit back to toffs in the Oxford Union in the late 1980s.  As the U...

Once again transport is in the news. Is high speed rail the way forward? Should petrol and diesel cars be removed from sale by 2030? I moved over to an EV 8 years ago and have never been tempted to go back. In my experience the cars keep improving and much more slowly the charging infrastructure is getting marginally better. In Volt Rush Henry Sanderson tells the story of the electric car from the...

Anita Shreve was a very successful writer mainly focussing on love and romance. She died in 2018 but her books still sell very well. She wrote the stories and lived the life marrying four times. She talked to me about her novel which is about a love that lasted through life even though the couple hadn't spent their lives together. I remember her as a very attractive and sparkly interviewee.

Gerald McCaughrean is a hugely successful author of books for children. The Kite Rider is recognised as a classic and in this conversation she tells me about the background to her story and man lifting kites!

These  revelations about life at the Tudor Court are now well known , but when I talked to Philippa Gregory about 'The Other Boleyn Girl' it was all quite new. When the book was first published it won romantic novel of the year. For a book that starts and ends with an execution that seemed a bit odd.

Linda Grant grew up in Liverpool when it was a thriving port.  Her parents were friends of Brian Epstein's parents. Brian went on to manage The Beatles, and teenage Linda was entranced by the band who went on to conquer the world. Talking about the mechanics of writing her book Linda reveals how she felt composing her very first sex scene.

This is the story of one man's war in Iraq told in his own words. Barrie was not in the army, he was a private security contractor. What did that mean? Was he in an outfit like the Wagner group? Towards the end of our conversation Barrie shared his thoughts on the long term outlook for humanity. He is not an optimist.

Ann Patchett has a new novel - Tom Lake -  just published with enthusiastic revues. Bel Canto, describes as Ann's hostage novel won the Orange Prize. The plot mixes the sublime power of music with political trouble and possible violence. This novel was a finalist for the National Book Critics Award and it won the PEN/Faulkner Award Ann lives in Nashville a place known for country music rather then...

Salley Vickers is a charismatic author.  Not all authors are good at  talking .... Salley definitely is. Miss Garnet's Angel was her very first published novel. It was an instant success and is still available in print formats and as an audiobook read by the late Anna Massey. The story happens in Venice. Superb holiday read.

When I recorded this interview with the then editor of Conde Nast publications in Britains he was was plain mister. The knighthood was awarded in 2002 for services to museums, publishing and the creative industries. Over a glittering career Sir Nicholas has received four Lifetime Achievement Awards from his peers in publishing. He has been chairman of the V & A and the trading board of the Pri...

Ed McBain was a hugely successful novelist and screenwriter. He started life as Salvatore Lombino, found success as Evan Hunter and then reinvented himself as Ed McBain author of the many 87th Precinct novels. In this conversation he mentions his link to the very first rock'n roll film and how he came to work with Alfred Hitchcock .... plus his tip for leading a happy life.

This is a remarkable conversation with a young man who went from serving in Threshers wine shop in Rochester to having a script excepted by Hollywood. The film was The 51st State starring Samuel L Jackson and Robert Carlyle. Around the same time Stel wrote a novel, Decipher with a plot to delight all those fascinated by Atlantis and associated myths. When Stel was writing conspiracy theories weren...