Podcast appearances and mentions of Kathryn Hughes

Comedian Fatiha El Ghorri joins Harry for a rowdy episode about being banned from a mosque, defying stereotypes as a Muslim woman, and what it was like growing up as a true cockney and how her and Harry's have a special bond. Together Harry and Fatiha learn all about the unknown history of cats and humans thanks to author Kathryn Hughes and you can get her book Catland now! Harry (and Gary) hit the road with his New Bits & Greatest Hits tour. Get your tickets at harryhill.co.uk NOW! We always want to hear from you on the show so please send in your jokes, TV theme tunes lyrics, or maybe you have a minor irritation you wish to share.  Send them via voice note to harry@arewethereyetpod.co.uk and any that feature will be sent an Are We There Yet? badge.  Website: www.harryhill.co.uk Instagram: @mrharryhill YouTube: @harryhillshow Producer Neil Fearn A 'Keep it Light Media' production All enquiries: HELLO@KEEPITLIGHTMEDIA.COM Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode, we uncover the story of a painter who was never recognised for his art during his lifetime with television scriptwriter Joe Tucker. Drawing from his new book The Secret Painter, Tucker sheds light on the life of his uncle Eric Tucker –  an unassuming working-class man from Warrington who secretly created over 500 extraordinary paintings, which were only discovered after his death.  Why did Eric paint in private for decades? What compels someone to create art with no intention of sharing it? And what does Eric's story reveal about who gets to be recognized as an artist? Joining Tucker in conversation is Kathryn Hughes, author and critic, whose latest book Catland examines the life of Victorian cat artist Louis Wain. Together, they discuss creativity without an audience, hidden talent and the barriers that keep certain people out of the art world.  If you'd like to become a Member and get access to all our full conversations, plus all of our Members-only content, just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more. For £4.99 per month you'll also receive: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared episodes, wherever you get your podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series - 15% discount on livestreams and in-person tickets for all Intelligence Squared events  ...  Or Subscribe on Apple for £4.99: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series … Already a subscriber? Thank you for supporting our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations! Visit intelligencesquared.com to explore all your benefits including ad-free podcasts, exclusive bonus content and early access. … Subscribe to our newsletter here to hear about our latest events, discounts and much more. https://www.intelligencesquared.com/newsletter-signup/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today, we chat with bestselling author Kathryn Hughes about cats' influence on history and her new book, Catland. Did you know that cats have been a part of our lives for thousands of years? Their roles have changed, and they have some pretty famous fans. Cats have influenced fashion trends, art and literature. We talk about everything cats, from Mark Twain to "cat burglars."This is an interesting and difFURent episode for sure! EPISODE NOTES: Catland!

Today, we're speaking to Dr Amy Clark and Dr Kathryn Hughes. Amy is a resident doctor in North West Anglia Foundation Trust, and Kathryn who is a GP and a Senior Clinical Lecturer based at PRIME Centre Wales within Cardiff University. Title of paper: Assessing acutely ill children in general practice using the National PEWS and LqSOFA clinical scores: a retrospective cohort studyAvailable at: https://doi.org/10.3399/BJGP.2023.0638The validity of the current NICE-recommended scoring system for identifying seriously ill children in general practice, the Traffic Light system, was recently investigated and shown to perform poorly. A new National PEWS (Paediatric Early Warning Score) has just been introduced in hospital settings with hopes for subsequent implementation in general practice, to improve the identification of seriously unwell children. To the authors' knowledge, the score has not previously been validated in general practice. This study found that the National PEWS would not accurately identify children requiring hospital admission within two days of presenting to general practice with an acute illness and therefore should not be recommended for this purpose without adjustment. Another score, the Liverpool quick Sequential Organ Assessment (Lq-SOFA), was also investigated and found to perform poorly in general practice.

October 18, 1887. At the Crystal Palace in London, hundreds of cats are ready to be judged. This is the first show put on by the National Cat Club, an organization seeking to bring order to the competitive cat world. But the NCC has another goal, to bring legitimacy and attention to a new idea: having a cat as a pet. Even just a couple of decades before this, you'd rarely find a cat living in a person's home. Cats were on the streets – living near humans, not with them. They're pretty much seen on the same level as the mice they catch. But now, cats are starting to get their due. So, how did cats overcome their image problem? And who were the artists who helped us fall in love with our feline friends? Special thanks to Kathryn Hughes, author of Catland: Louis Wain and the Great Cat Mania. To stay updated: historythisweekpodcast.com To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Brooke Gladstone interviews Kathryn Hughes, author of Catland, about the storied history of the cat lady trope, how cats became beloved by so many in our culture, and the many meanings ascribed to the animals. On the Media is supported by listeners like you. Support OTM by donating today (https://pledge.wnyc.org/support/otm). Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

Vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance's remarks on childless cat ladies have ties to a movement urging people to have more children. On this week's On the Media, find out why declining birth rates are regarded by some as a harbinger of doom. Plus, the storied history of so-called cat ladies, and why they often face contempt.[01:00] Host Micah Loewinger on our “weird” politics, why every day in our news cycle feels like an eternity, and the debate over Donald Trump's interview at the National Association of Black Journalists conference.[06:38] Host Brooke Gladstone speaks with Rachel Cohen, policy correspondent at Vox, about J.D. Vance and the belief that falling birth rates foretell social and economic catastrophe.[23:49] OTM producer Candice Wang reports the story of an older, more established population anxiety: the fear that there are simply too many people for our planet to sustain.[32:55] Host Brooke Gladstone interviews Kathryn Hughes, author of Catland, about the storied history of the cat lady trope, how cats became beloved by so many in our culture, and the many meanings ascribed to the animals. Further reading / listening:“The movement desperately trying to get people to have more babies” by Rachel CohenBuilding the Population Bomb by Emily Klancher MerchantThe Book That Incited a Worldwide Fear of Overpopulation by Charles C. MannReproductive Rights and Wrongs: The Global Politics of Population Control by Betsy HartmannCatland: Louis Wain and the Great Cat Mania by Kathryn Hughes On the Media is supported by listeners like you. Support OTM by donating today (https://pledge.wnyc.org/support/otm). Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

Orlando Whitfield started his career as a dealer in the feverish global art market but left it disillusioned and burnt-out a decade later. Today he works as a writer and his recent book is All That Glitters, a memoir that explores his experience as an associate of Inigo Philbrick, an ambitious art market player who in 2022 was sentenced to seven years in prison for defrauding investors in what has been described as allegedly the biggest art fraud in American history. Whitfield, by contrast, ended up in rehab and embarked on a period of painful self-reflection. All that Glitters reads like a script for a thrilling heist movie, which, indeed, it is likely to become since HBO has recently acquired the rights. Joining Whitfield in conversation for this episode is Kathryn Hughes, a literary critic at the Guardian and Professor at the University of East Anglia. Her latest book, Catland, concerns the Edwardian artist Louis Wain whose popular illustrations changed the way that the modern world thinks about cats. If you'd like to become a Member and get access to all of our longer form interviews and Members-only content, just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more. For £4.99 per month you'll also receive: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared episodes, wherever you get your podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series - 15% discount on livestreams and in-person tickets for all Intelligence Squared events - Our member-only newsletter The Monthly Read, sent straight to your inbox ... Or Subscribe on Apple for £4.99: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series ... Already a subscriber? Thank you for supporting our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations! Visit intelligencesquared.com to explore all your benefits including ad-free podcasts, exclusive bonus content and early access. ... Subscribe to our newsletter here to hear about our latest events, discounts and much more. https://www.intelligencesquared.com/newsletter-signup/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

July 14 2024-What Ottawa Promised at the NATO Summit & The History of Our Obsession with Cats Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has finally announced that Canada intends to meet Nato's 2% military spending target by 2032. The last minute announcement came after heavy criticism from allies at this week's NATO summit in Washington. Libby Znaimer reached Prof. Stephen Saidman at the NATO Summit Expert Forum in Washington DC. And, Their antics take up a huge amount of bandwidth on the Internet and we are vastly amused at seeing them dressed as humans and doing human-like things. I am speaking , of course, about cats. But it wasn't always this way. Cats were seen as common pests mainly useful for catching mice until the end of the 19th century. That's when author and historian Kathryn Hughes says the great cat mania set in. Libby reached her in London to talk about her book, "Catland".

In 1900, Britain and America were in the grip of a cat craze. An animal that had for centuries been seen as a household servant or urban nuisance had now become an object of pride and deep affection. From presidential and royal families who imported exotic breeds to working-class men competing for cash prizes for the fattest tabby, people became enthralled to the once-humble cat. Multiple industries sprang up to feed this new obsession, selling everything from veterinary services to leather bootees via dedicated cat magazines. Cats themselves were now traded for increasingly large sums of money, bolstered by elaborate pedigrees that claimed noble ancestry and promised aesthetic distinction. Dr. Kathryn Hughes chronicles the cat craze of the early twentieth century through the life and career of Louis Wain. In the US the book is titled Catland: Louis Wain and the Great Cat Mania (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2024) and in the UK is called Catland: Feline Enchantment and the Making of the Modern World (Fourth Estate, 2024). Wain's anthropomorphic drawings of cats in top hats falling in love, sipping champagne, golfing, driving cars, and piloting planes are some of the most instantly recognizable images from the era. His round-faced fluffy characters established the prototype for the modern cat, which cat "fanciers" were busily trying to achieve using their newfound knowledge of the latest scientific breeding techniques. Despite being a household name, Wain endured multiple bankruptcies and mental breakdowns, spending his last fifteen years in an asylum, drawing abstract and multicolored felines. But it was his ubiquitous anthropomorphic cats that helped usher the formerly reviled creatures into homes across Europe. Beautifully illustrated and based on new archival findings about Wain's life, the wider cat fancy, and the media frenzy it created, Catland chronicles the fascinating history of how the modern cat emerged. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose new book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

In 1900, Britain and America were in the grip of a cat craze. An animal that had for centuries been seen as a household servant or urban nuisance had now become an object of pride and deep affection. From presidential and royal families who imported exotic breeds to working-class men competing for cash prizes for the fattest tabby, people became enthralled to the once-humble cat. Multiple industries sprang up to feed this new obsession, selling everything from veterinary services to leather bootees via dedicated cat magazines. Cats themselves were now traded for increasingly large sums of money, bolstered by elaborate pedigrees that claimed noble ancestry and promised aesthetic distinction. Dr. Kathryn Hughes chronicles the cat craze of the early twentieth century through the life and career of Louis Wain. In the US the book is titled Catland: Louis Wain and the Great Cat Mania (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2024) and in the UK is called Catland: Feline Enchantment and the Making of the Modern World (Fourth Estate, 2024). Wain's anthropomorphic drawings of cats in top hats falling in love, sipping champagne, golfing, driving cars, and piloting planes are some of the most instantly recognizable images from the era. His round-faced fluffy characters established the prototype for the modern cat, which cat "fanciers" were busily trying to achieve using their newfound knowledge of the latest scientific breeding techniques. Despite being a household name, Wain endured multiple bankruptcies and mental breakdowns, spending his last fifteen years in an asylum, drawing abstract and multicolored felines. But it was his ubiquitous anthropomorphic cats that helped usher the formerly reviled creatures into homes across Europe. Beautifully illustrated and based on new archival findings about Wain's life, the wider cat fancy, and the media frenzy it created, Catland chronicles the fascinating history of how the modern cat emerged. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose new book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

In 1900, Britain and America were in the grip of a cat craze. An animal that had for centuries been seen as a household servant or urban nuisance had now become an object of pride and deep affection. From presidential and royal families who imported exotic breeds to working-class men competing for cash prizes for the fattest tabby, people became enthralled to the once-humble cat. Multiple industries sprang up to feed this new obsession, selling everything from veterinary services to leather bootees via dedicated cat magazines. Cats themselves were now traded for increasingly large sums of money, bolstered by elaborate pedigrees that claimed noble ancestry and promised aesthetic distinction. Dr. Kathryn Hughes chronicles the cat craze of the early twentieth century through the life and career of Louis Wain. In the US the book is titled Catland: Louis Wain and the Great Cat Mania (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2024) and in the UK is called Catland: Feline Enchantment and the Making of the Modern World (Fourth Estate, 2024). Wain's anthropomorphic drawings of cats in top hats falling in love, sipping champagne, golfing, driving cars, and piloting planes are some of the most instantly recognizable images from the era. His round-faced fluffy characters established the prototype for the modern cat, which cat "fanciers" were busily trying to achieve using their newfound knowledge of the latest scientific breeding techniques. Despite being a household name, Wain endured multiple bankruptcies and mental breakdowns, spending his last fifteen years in an asylum, drawing abstract and multicolored felines. But it was his ubiquitous anthropomorphic cats that helped usher the formerly reviled creatures into homes across Europe. Beautifully illustrated and based on new archival findings about Wain's life, the wider cat fancy, and the media frenzy it created, Catland chronicles the fascinating history of how the modern cat emerged. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose new book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-studies

In 1900, Britain and America were in the grip of a cat craze. An animal that had for centuries been seen as a household servant or urban nuisance had now become an object of pride and deep affection. From presidential and royal families who imported exotic breeds to working-class men competing for cash prizes for the fattest tabby, people became enthralled to the once-humble cat. Multiple industries sprang up to feed this new obsession, selling everything from veterinary services to leather bootees via dedicated cat magazines. Cats themselves were now traded for increasingly large sums of money, bolstered by elaborate pedigrees that claimed noble ancestry and promised aesthetic distinction. Dr. Kathryn Hughes chronicles the cat craze of the early twentieth century through the life and career of Louis Wain. In the US the book is titled Catland: Louis Wain and the Great Cat Mania (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2024) and in the UK is called Catland: Feline Enchantment and the Making of the Modern World (Fourth Estate, 2024). Wain's anthropomorphic drawings of cats in top hats falling in love, sipping champagne, golfing, driving cars, and piloting planes are some of the most instantly recognizable images from the era. His round-faced fluffy characters established the prototype for the modern cat, which cat "fanciers" were busily trying to achieve using their newfound knowledge of the latest scientific breeding techniques. Despite being a household name, Wain endured multiple bankruptcies and mental breakdowns, spending his last fifteen years in an asylum, drawing abstract and multicolored felines. But it was his ubiquitous anthropomorphic cats that helped usher the formerly reviled creatures into homes across Europe. Beautifully illustrated and based on new archival findings about Wain's life, the wider cat fancy, and the media frenzy it created, Catland chronicles the fascinating history of how the modern cat emerged. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose new book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/popular-culture

In 1900, Britain and America were in the grip of a cat craze. An animal that had for centuries been seen as a household servant or urban nuisance had now become an object of pride and deep affection. From presidential and royal families who imported exotic breeds to working-class men competing for cash prizes for the fattest tabby, people became enthralled to the once-humble cat. Multiple industries sprang up to feed this new obsession, selling everything from veterinary services to leather bootees via dedicated cat magazines. Cats themselves were now traded for increasingly large sums of money, bolstered by elaborate pedigrees that claimed noble ancestry and promised aesthetic distinction. Dr. Kathryn Hughes chronicles the cat craze of the early twentieth century through the life and career of Louis Wain. In the US the book is titled Catland: Louis Wain and the Great Cat Mania (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2024) and in the UK is called Catland: Feline Enchantment and the Making of the Modern World (Fourth Estate, 2024). Wain's anthropomorphic drawings of cats in top hats falling in love, sipping champagne, golfing, driving cars, and piloting planes are some of the most instantly recognizable images from the era. His round-faced fluffy characters established the prototype for the modern cat, which cat "fanciers" were busily trying to achieve using their newfound knowledge of the latest scientific breeding techniques. Despite being a household name, Wain endured multiple bankruptcies and mental breakdowns, spending his last fifteen years in an asylum, drawing abstract and multicolored felines. But it was his ubiquitous anthropomorphic cats that helped usher the formerly reviled creatures into homes across Europe. Beautifully illustrated and based on new archival findings about Wain's life, the wider cat fancy, and the media frenzy it created, Catland chronicles the fascinating history of how the modern cat emerged. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose new book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/british-studies

In 1900, Britain and America were in the grip of a cat craze. An animal that had for centuries been seen as a household servant or urban nuisance had now become an object of pride and deep affection. From presidential and royal families who imported exotic breeds to working-class men competing for cash prizes for the fattest tabby, people became enthralled to the once-humble cat. Multiple industries sprang up to feed this new obsession, selling everything from veterinary services to leather bootees via dedicated cat magazines. Cats themselves were now traded for increasingly large sums of money, bolstered by elaborate pedigrees that claimed noble ancestry and promised aesthetic distinction. Dr. Kathryn Hughes chronicles the cat craze of the early twentieth century through the life and career of Louis Wain. In the US the book is titled Catland: Louis Wain and the Great Cat Mania (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2024) and in the UK is called Catland: Feline Enchantment and the Making of the Modern World (Fourth Estate, 2024). Wain's anthropomorphic drawings of cats in top hats falling in love, sipping champagne, golfing, driving cars, and piloting planes are some of the most instantly recognizable images from the era. His round-faced fluffy characters established the prototype for the modern cat, which cat "fanciers" were busily trying to achieve using their newfound knowledge of the latest scientific breeding techniques. Despite being a household name, Wain endured multiple bankruptcies and mental breakdowns, spending his last fifteen years in an asylum, drawing abstract and multicolored felines. But it was his ubiquitous anthropomorphic cats that helped usher the formerly reviled creatures into homes across Europe. Beautifully illustrated and based on new archival findings about Wain's life, the wider cat fancy, and the media frenzy it created, Catland chronicles the fascinating history of how the modern cat emerged. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose new book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/animal-studies

Historian and author Kathryn Hughes and No Such Thing As a Fish presenter Dan Schreiber recommend favourite books to Harriett Gilbert. Kathryn chooses Flaubert's Parrot by Julian Barnes, an exploration of the French writer's life in the form of a novel. Dan's choice is very different - John Higgs taking on the conceptual artists and chart toppers The KLF. Harriett has gone for Michael Ondaatje's novel Warlight, set in a murky and mysterious post-war London.Presenter: Harriett GilbertProducer for BBC Audio Bristol: Sally Heaven

Joining Stuart Maconie in our Salford studio are the comedians Frank Skinner and Rachael Fairburn. In Frank's latest stand up show '30 years of Dirt' he has his comedic eye firmly on the dirty joke, while Rachel Fairburn's showgirl finds her moving away from boozing and towards crystals - will it last?Maxine Peake stars in Robin/Red/Breast at Manchester's Factory International. Based on John Bowen's cult TV play Robin Redbreast, Maxine plays Norah, a woman who has escaped the city for village life. But it is not exactly the idyll she dreamed off... The movement director is Imogen Knight, the writer is Daisy Johnson, and it is directed by Sarah Frankcom and features music from Gazelle Twin. In her latest book the biographer and historian Kathryn Hughes tells the story of how we fell in love with cats, and illuminates the life of the man who did so much to change their image, the artist Louis Wain.Music is from Willy Vlautin, novelist, songwriter and musician who was the lead singer in Richmond Fontaine. Willy also chats about his new novel 'The Horse', his most personal book yet, it examines the trials of a life on the road. And we also hear from BBC Introducing Rising Star Phoebe Green.Presenter: Stuart Maconie Producer: Jessica Treen

Kathryn Hughes discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Kathryn Hughes is the critically acclaimed author of The Victorian Governess, The Short Life and Long Times of Mrs Beeton, which was longlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize, and the hugely acclaimed George Eliot: The Last Victorian, which won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for biography. Her new book is Catland: Feline Enchantment and the Making of the Modern World. Educated at Oxford University, she holds a PhD in Victorian studies. She is a visiting lecturer at several British universities and reviews regularly for The Guardian, Daily Telegraph and Literary Review. Mrs Cotman, portrait by John Sell Cotman (hanging in Norwich Castle Museum) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Portrait_of_Mrs_John_Sell_Cotman.jpg Frances Simpson https://cat-o-pedia.org/frances-simpson.html The Heart of Wales railway line https://news.tfw.wales/news/heart-of-wales-railway-line-best-in-europe The proper use of the word “disinterested” https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/eb/qa/disinterested-vs-uninterested Linley Sambourne House https://www.rbkc.gov.uk/museums/sambourne-house The Gas Man Cometh (1963) by Flanders and Swann https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1dvAxA9ib0 This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm

This week, Kathryn Hughes introduces her new book on the cat craze that swept Edwardian England; and she also tells us about an exhibition of the work of Julia Margaret Cameron and Francesca Woodman. Plus a review of Sunjeev Sahota's The Spoiled Heart.'Catland: Feline Enchantment and the Making of the Modern World', by Kathryn Hughes'Portraits to Dream In', at the National Portrait Gallery, London, until 16 June, 2024'The Spoiled Heart', by Sunjeev SahotaProduced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My guest in this week's Book Club podcast is the author and historian Kathryn Hughes, whose new book Catland tells the story of how we learned to love pusskins. Content warning: contains Kipling, Edward Lear, some stinking carts of offal, and the troubled life and weird art of the extraordinary Louis Wain.

My guest in this week's Book Club podcast is the author and historian Kathryn Hughes, whose new book Catland tells the story of how we learned to love pusskins. Content warning: contains Kipling, Edward Lear, some stinking carts of offal, and the troubled life and weird art of the extraordinary Louis Wain.

When it comes to artificial intelligence, how responsible is the financial services industry? How responsible must it be? And how what steps should it take to get there? These are the sort of questions Alex Jimenez, EPAM's Managing Principal of Financial Services Consulting, is asking of Kathryn “Kate” Hughes, our Director of LegalTech and ERM Business Consulting, in this #TakeItToTheBank conversation. Hughes says that many financial firms have long invested in AI and they're “starting to see a level of incremental benefit from AI.” She mentions a tool called ChatGPT—you might have heard about it—and says that people have been looking for a “sweet spot of a scenario or a use case” and that ChatGPT “hit it out of the park.” Jimenez notes that while it's good to invest in AI, it's important to view it realistically. “ChatGPT is not built to be to be replacing a call center,” he says. “It's not built to replace the advice from your licensed advisor or from your banker or from your accountant.” The pair have both tested ChatGPT, and quickly found some limits. Jimenez recently asked it about himself. “It invented a whole biography, he says. “It talked about my life and how I lived in San Francisco and how I did all these things, which are not real. And then when I asked for the sources, the sources were made-up as well.” Hughes recently asked the AI about her pension. “It gave me a really good overview of the United States pension system but did not in any way actually answer my question.” Hughes wisely argues for a measured approach to AI. “I think we have to be *adults* when engaging this technology,” she says. “One of the finest ways to engage AI is to think about it as a co-collaborator… rather than think of it as some, you know, alien other, and to sort of bring it into the mix.” Risk is, obviously, a big issue here. “Banks need to start thinking about how they manage the risks around AI,” says Jimenez, and he warns against the danger of “digital redlining,” which is when “the data that we're using is biased and now the decisions that the AI is doing are biased as well.” Hughes speaks about the guidelines proposed by the Wolfsberg Group and the proposed legislation for the EU harmonization of AI regulation, which call for things like ensuring that there is a legitimate purpose, making sure that there is accountability and oversight, openness and transparency built in. Guidelines are great but the big question remains: How to move FS toward AI responsibility? Hughes says there are two paths. The first involves insuring “that the organization has its own governance and policy, brand reputation and ethic.” The second path involves education. Hughes recommends reading about the proposal for harmonized rules for AI across the EU, the Algorithmic Accountability Act, and the AI Bill of Rights and notes organizations should start familiarizing themselves “with the actual content of these proposed legislative items.” Right now, it's time to familiarize yourself with the full *Silo Busting* conversation. Get clicking! Host: Alison Kotin Engineer: Kyp Pilalas Producer: Ken Gordon

In the last of our August highlights programmes, Alex Clark and Lucy Dallas talk self-improvement with Kathryn Hughes and step into the mire of Westminster with Edward Docx. And we revisit a magical Hay Festival moment courtesy of correspondents Lyse Doucet and Sana Safi.Produced by Charlotte Pardy. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode we talk to Amy Clark who is a final year medical student at Cardiff and Dr Kathryn Hughes who is a GP and senior clinical lecturer at PRIME Centre Wales at the School of Medicine at Cardiff University. Paper: Accuracy of the NICE traffic light system in children presenting to general practice: a retrospective cohort study https://doi.org/10.3399/BJGP.2021.0633 (https://doi.org/10.3399/BJGP.2021.0633) The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) traffic light system is widely used in general practice for the assessment of unwell children; however, the majority of previous studies validating this tool have been conducted in secondary care settings. To that authors' knowledge, no studies have validated this tool within UK general practice. This study found that the traffic light system cannot accurately detect or exclude serious illness in children presenting to UK general practice with an acute illness. The conclusion reached was that it cannot be relied on by clinicians for the assessment of acutely unwell children and that it is unsuitable for use as a clinical decision tool.

Atlantis (2019) was the Ukrainian entry for that year's Oscars. It now seems incredibly prescient in its depiction of a Ukraine set post-war in 2025. Film critic Laruskha Ivan-Zadeh and historian Kathryn Hughes join Front Row to review it. They'll also be talking about Michael Arditti's novel The Young Pretender. It imagines the life of the real-life child star Master Betty as a young adult attempting to re-enter the flamboyant world of Georgian theatre. The Venice Biennale, one of the art world's most prestigious events, opens to the public this weekend. Art critic Hettie Judah is currently in Venice and shares her thoughts about what's on show at the vast international exhibition. Ivor Novello winning composer Martin Green has immersed himself in the world of brass bands to prepare a new composition premiering this weekend at the Coventry Music Biennale. He tells Tom about writing his piece, Split the Air, and the people that create the incredible music they produce. Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe Producer: Sarah Johnson

This week, Thea Lenarduzzi and Lucy Dallas are joined by the critic Muriel Zagha to discuss a new play by Florian Zeller, ‘the most successful representative of contemporary French theatre'; Kathryn Hughes, the author of ‘Victorians Undone: Tales of the flesh in the age of decorum', explores the cultural significance of passing out, from ‘Troilus and Criseyde' to ‘Fifty Shades of Grey', via Shakespeare and Bram Stoker; plus, a poem by Ange Mlinko, ‘Storm Windows' ‘The Forest' by Florian Zeller, translated by Christopher Hampton, Hampstead Theatre, until March 12‘Swoon: A poetics of passing out' by Naomi BoothProduced by Sophia Franklin See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Perhaps the most important issue facing all of us as individuals – the sustainability of our planet - is also an essential issue for every business owner. Increasingly, the ‘green credentials' of a business are being scrutinised by both customers and would-be employees alike, and so we take a closer look at what companies can do to improve their sustainability credentials and how Essex businesses are leading the way. In this extended episode of the Essex Business Podcast, Essex County Council's Climate Czar, Cllr Peter Schwier explains his role and highlights what is being done in Essex in the battle to address climate change, as well as the grant funds available to help businesses. Plus, Professor Jules Pretty, Chair of Essex County Council's Essex Climate Action Commission explains why the voluntary body was set up and its work towards becoming a net zero emissions county. Later on in the episode we talk to Jill Poet, founder of the Organisation for Responsible Businesses about what companies of all sizes can to do play their part, and speak to four business leaders to find out what they are doing to make a difference. Andy King, Group Technical Director at Wernick Group discusses their recently launched carbon management plan, Kathryn Hughes, Director at The Big Bear Cider Mill, explains how sustainability is very much part of their business, Chris Squires, Senior Account Manager at FOS.net talks about how migrating to the Cloud can help reduce energy consumption and Sally Powell, Executive Partner at Tees Law explains why they have signed up to the Brentwood Environmental Business Alliance as part of their broader CSR aims. Recorded February 2022 Guest speakers: Cllr Peter Schwier, Essex County Council's Climate Czar Professor Jules Pretty, Chair of Essex County Council's Essex Climate Action Commission https://www.essexclimate.org.uk/ Jill Poet, founder and director of the Organisation for Responsible Businesses https://www.orbuk.org.uk/ Andy King, Group Technical Director at Wernick Group https://www.wernick.co.uk/ Kathryn Hughes, Director at The Big Bear Cider Mill https://www.thebigbearcider.co.uk/ Chris Squires, Senior Account Manager at fos.net https://www.FOS.net/ Sally Powell, Executive Partner at Tees Law https://www.teeslaw.com/

This week, Lucy Dallas and Alex Clark discuss roses, Orwell and rhizomatic thinking with Margaret Drabble; Kathryn Hughes is our guide through histories of self-improvement; plus, what log-rolling really means.'Orwell's Roses' by Rebecca Solnit'The Art of Self-Improvement' by Anna Katharina SchaffnerThe Log Driver's Waltz: https://www.nfb.ca/film/log_drivers_waltzProduced by Sophia Franklin See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Our latest episode of the Read Smart podcast is out now. Join us this week for our annual longlist episode. Our host Razia Iqbal is joined by two of our judges - historian, author, columnist and television presenter Dominic Sandbrook and historian and writer Kathryn Hughes. Together, Razia and our guests explore the depth and variety of the thirteen books on this year's longlist, as well as which qualities define the best works of non-fiction. #BGPrize2021 #ReadSmart #nonfictionbooks #authors #longlist

A heartbreakingly beautiful novel, The Memory Box unlocks an unforgettable epic story of love and war, from the million-copy-selling author of The Letter, Kathryn Hughes. If you adored The Nightingale, The Tuscan Contessa or My Name is Eva, this is the book for you. Some love stories can't be forgotten... Jenny Tanner opens the box she has cherished for decades. Contained within are her most precious mementoes, amongst them a pebble, a carving and a newspaper cutting she can hardly bear to read. But Jenny knows the time is finally here. After the war, in a mountainside village in Italy, she left behind a piece of her heart. However painful, she must return to Cinque Alberi. And lay the past to rest. After a troubled upbringing, Candice Barnes dreams of a future with the love of her life - but is he the man she believes him to be? When Candice is given the opportunity to travel to Italy with Jenny, she is unaware the trip will open her eyes to the truth she's been too afraid to face. Could a place of goodbyes help her make a brave new beginning?

Every baby's paper bracelet held a mother's secret... Inspired by heartrending true events in a home for unwed mothers, set in Ireland, Boston and London, this novel is perfect for readers of The Letter by Kathryn Hughes and The Girl in the Letter by Emily Gunnis. For almost fifty years, Katie Carroll has kept a box tucked away inside her wardrobe. It dates from her time working as a nurse in a west of Ireland home for unwed mothers in the 1970s. The box contains a notebook holding the details of the babies and young women she met there. It also holds many of the babies' identity bracelets. Following the death of her husband, Katie makes a decision. The information she possesses could help reunite adopted people with their birth mothers, and she decides to post a message on an internet forum. Soon the replies are rolling in, and Katie finds herself returning many of the bracelets to their original owners. She encounters success and failure, heartbreak and joy. But is she prepared for old secrets to be uncovered in her own life?

Every baby's bracelet held a mother's secret... Inspired by heartrending real events, the gripping new novel from No. 1 bestselling author Rachael English. Readers of Diane Chamberlain and Kathryn Hughes will love this book. 'A true storyteller who keeps you turning the pages' Cathy Kelly For almost fifty years, Katie has kept a box of secrets. It dates from her time working as a nurse in a west of Ireland mother and baby home, and contains a notebook with details of the babies and young women she met there. It also holds many of the babies' identity bracelets. Following the death of her husband, Katie makes a decision she has long kept at bay. She posts a message on an internet forum, knowing that the information she possesses could help reunite adopted people with their birth mothers. Soon, the replies are rolling in, and Katie encounters success, failure, heartache and joy as she finds herself in the role of part-detective, part-counsellor - chasing down leads, piecing together stories, and returning many of the bracelets to their original owners. But there is one bracelet in the box that holds the key to a story that may never be told ... The Paper Bracelet is a gripping and moving story of secrets, lies and a love that never dies.

Click here to buy: https://adbl.co/2E22uZp Love burns brightest in the darkest times When Caroline Williams wakes up in Paris with no memory of her past, she finds that returning to the life she has forgotten is harder than she thought. Even her cavernous apartment on rue Cler seems to hold no clues... As she searches, Caroline discovers a hidden stack of letters written by a young mother, Céline, during the Second World War. Captivated by Céline's desperate love for both her daughter and her missing lover, and the haunting glimpses of Paris under Nazi occupation, Caroline begins to realise she may have more in common with Céline that she could ever imagine. What dark secrets are harboured within the walls of her picture-perfect Parisian home? And could uncovering the truth about Céline unlock Caroline's own...? The compelling and evocative new historical novel from the international bestselling author Sarah Jio. Perfect for fans of The Key by Kathryn Hughes, The Parisians by Marius Gabriel and The Paris Secret by Lily Graham.

Varför kan en gammal trasig vinkruka få en att gråta? Linda Fagerström funderar över detaljerna som får oss att komma nära historiska personer. ESSÄ: Detta är en text där skribenten reflekterar över ett ämne eller ett verk. Åsikter som uttrycks är skribentens egna. Från januari 2017. Pheidíou eimí eller Jag tillhör Fidias. Så står det skrivet i botten på en kanna i bränd lera, som hittats vid utgrävningar i grekiska Olympia. Just den här sortens kärl kallades under antiken oinochoe och användes för vin. Den är sprucken och ser inte ut som något särskilt den typ av kantstötta föremål som det går tretton på dussinet av i arkeologiska museer runt hela Medelhavet. För tvåtusen femhundra år sedan stod den, fylld med vin, på bordet i en stenhuggarverkstad. Redan då fick den förmodligen sitt första nagg i kanten, kanske omkullvält under en festmiddag. Säkert hade det grumliga vinet redan då lämnat intorkade spår i glasyren på insidan, utan att ägaren brytt sig om att torka bort dem. Sin anspråkslöshet till trots, bär kannan på en svindlande dimension. Den har tillhört Fidias, den grekiska antikens mest berömda konstnär. För atenarna högg han den tolv meter höga Atenaskulptur som en gång stod i Parthenon, Akropolisklippans största tempel. Därtill den numer omstridda Parthenonfrisen, som också prydde templet men under 1800-talet togs till Storbritannien och små småningom hamnade på British museum i London, där den finns än idag. Fidias låg också bakom ett av antikens sju underverk: den tretton meter höga gudabilden i elfenben och guld i Zeustemplet i Olympia. När arkeologer på 1950-talet stötte på den där vinkannan just i Olympia, var det en triumf: inskriptionen jag tillhör Fidias bekräftade att någon som hette så faktiskt hade funnits. Han var inte bara en konsthistorisk legend, ett påhittat namn som dröjt sig kvar genom millenierna utan en man av kött och blod som levt på mitten av 400-talet före vår tideräkning. Dessutom: just där kannan grävdes fram, i en enkel byggnad intill Zeustemplet, fann man också gjutformar för fasaddekorationer och påbörjade småskulpturer. Detta var Fidias ateljé. Kannan finns att se på museet i Olympia. Det är kanske löjligt, men jag kan börja gråta när jag står framför ett meddelande som det i botten på den där vinkannan. I bokstävernas snabbt dragna linjer, i fingrarnas spår och handens avtryck imploderar årtusendena. Keramikern, som snabbt skrev i den mjuka leran, känns mycket närvarande. För att inte tala om Fidias skulptören, vars namn och konst jag känner till, har varje kväll slutit handen om den där kannan tills den blivit sprucken och nött. Inför sådana där små mänskliga spår öppnas dörr mot historien på ett sätt som inte ens Parthenon förmår överträffa. Inte bara jag går igång på sådana där saker. Det gör också brittiska Kathryn Hughes, som är litteraturkritiker och akademiker med den viktorianska eran som specialitet. I Victorians Undone. Tales of Flesh in the Age of Decorum närmar hon sig allt det där lite simpelt vardagsnära, som gör att sedan länge döda 1800-talsmänniskor plötsligt känns mycket levande. Charles Darwin, till exempel. I boken finns ett foto på hans skägg, eller rättare sagt, en tuss av det. Det ställdes ut på Natural History Museum i London 2008, efter att en släkting hittat tussen i ett gammalt kuvert. Darwin brukade rycka strån ur skägget medan han satt i djupa tankar över sina anteckningar. Morgonen efter hans död samlade dottern därför in de hårstrån som då låg spridda över alla papper och uppslagna böcker på hans skrivbord, och sparade tussen till eftervärlden. Det är äckligt på ett fascinerande vis. Men vem visste, att det där karaktäristiska skägget, som vi så självklart förknippar med Charles Darwin, i själva verket var anlagt för att skymma den store vetenskapsmannens ansikte? Det visar sig, att författaren till Om arternas uppkomst var en osedvanligt blyg viktorian med svajigt självförtroende. Helskägg blev för honom den perfekta maskeringen, trots att det var helt omodernt när han hoppade på trenden. De flesta andra män hade mutton chops, det vill säga lammkotletter, som kortklippta men breda polisonger kallades. Picadilly Weepers var också populärt: ett slags utkammat långhårigt kindflax som inte såg riktigt klokt ut. För att inte tala om the Newgate Frill, eller hakremmen, som blev populär under det tidiga 1850-talet: skägg som växer ganska fritt strax under käklinjen och på halsen, med en ofrivilligt komisk effekt som Kathryn Hughes liknar vid en uppochnedvänd gloria. En av Darwins bästa vänner syntes med en sådan. Själv lät han skägget växa fritt, så till den milda grad att ingen vid den lördagssoaré som Royal Society höll i april 1866 kände igenom honom förrän lagom till kaffet. Vilket han, om man ska tro Kathryn Hughes, säkert bara var lättad över. Hennes grepp syftar att visa hur viktorianerna i konflikt med den etablerade historiska bilden egentligen inte alls var pryda och eteriska utan tvärtom fullständigt fixerade vid världsliga, kroppsliga ting. Som författaren George Elliots högerhand, till exempel. Enligt ett elakt rykte, som spreds redan medan hon levde, var den groteskt stor eftersom hon som ung arbetat hårt i familjens ysteri och utvecklat abnorm muskelmassa. Som motbevis för Kathryn Hughes fram en vit skinnhandske som tillhört författaren, och som på ett mirakulöst sätt dykt upp långt efter hennes död. Den är i näst minsta handskstorleken: bara 6,5. Det är egentligen inte svårt att i tanken föreställa sig vilka hinder en yrkesverksam och samhällsengagerad kvinna som George Elliot, eller Mary Anne Evans som egentligen hette, måste stött på i ett London där kvinnor ännu förvägrades rösträtt och inte var fullvärdiga medborgare. Ändå: ett världsligt ting som en handske gör alla de kval och kompromisser hon måste gjort så mycket mer konkret påtagliga. Hon, som använde ett mansnamn som pseudonym, hade alltså pyttesmå händer och bar vita handskar med pärlformade knappar och snirklig kant vid handleden. Journalist, intellektuell och författare, fri i anden men på jorden fastlåst i det viktorianska samhällets könsbundna föreställningar om hur kvinnor bör klä sig oavsett om de kallade sig George i förnamn. Historien, tror jag, består av både strukturer och individer. För nog blir alla paradigmskiften och tolkningsmodeller inte bara mer begripliga utan också mer betydelsefulla i det ögonblick vi inser att bakom dem stod helt vanliga människor. Precis som vi drack de vin ur spruckna krus, namnade sina ägodelar, var blyga och i otakt med de senaste polisongtrenderna och kämpade för att kunna vara både kvinna och intellektuell.  Då och då, kan man väl anta, blev de förmodligen också undone det vill säga, inte bara på det viset som Kathryn Hughes titel Victorians Undone i första hand leder tankarna till: att bli avklädd och granskad under sitt snygga skal utan också i betydelsen utom sig själv, oredig och vilse i tillvaron precis som vi. Linda Fagerström, konsthistoriker och konstkritiker Litteratur Kathryn Hughes: Victorians Undone Tales of the Flesh in the Age of Decorum. Fourth Estate, 2017.

Why are females the biggest audience of true crime podcasts, despite the fact that most of these stories portray violence against women? In this documentary I speak with female true crime fans, podcast producers and academics to get to the bottom of the issue. This documentary was created in part-fulfilment of a dissertation project for the MA Multimedia Journalism at Manchester Metropolitan University. Guests include, Adam Lloyd, Chris Warburton, Dr Abby Bentham, Dr Kathryn Hughes, Maz Worswick and Laura Hamill. Clips from the 'Beyond Reasonable Doubt?' and 'UK True Crime' podcasts were used with permission. The music is 'Run From the Police' by Damma Beats, available on Epidemic Music.

Making Waves: The Art Of Cinematic Sound is a documentary looking at (and listening to) the work of sound designers in film. What do they do and how do they affect the viewer? The Antipodes the latest play by Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Annie Baker. Set in a brainstorming meeting for some undisclosed creative company, the tensions of office relationships and the need to be imaginative lead to tensions Hanne Orstavik's novel Love unfolds in a village in far northern Norway. Jon is a young boy, looking forward to his birthday tomorrow, always thinking of his mother even though the attention isn't reciprocal The BBC has a brand new version of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials. It's been a book, a BBC Radio play, a film and now a TV adaptation. How does the small screen incarnation fare? Joy Labinjo is a young Nigerian/British painter who has an exhibition of her work at The Baltic in Gateshead. Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Ellah Wakatama Allfrey, Christopher Frayling and Kathryn Hughes. The producer is Oliver Jones Podcast Extra recommendations: Ellah: Media Democracy podcast Christopher: The Dublin Murders and Paolozzi exhibition at Hazlitt Holland-Hibbert in London Kathryn: The Reinvention of Humanity by Charles King Tom: Guilt on BBC2 and The CryptoQueen podcast Main image: Dafne Keen Photo credit: Bad Wolf/BBC One/HBO

Ever wanted to ask all your burning questions to an expert in the psychology of profiling? This week we had the opportunity to talk with Dr. Kathryn Hughes. Her research has brought her into interviews with violent criminals, as well as those convicted of fraud or organised crime. Dr. Hughes now runs courses to share her knowledge, as well as blogging and creating video profiles of notable killers. Show notes: https://crimepsych.co.uk/ Socials: Insta @twogirlspodcast, twitter @twogirlspod1 and email Please consider supporting the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/twogirlsonemurder

Historians Lee Jackson and Kathryn Hughes discuss what kept Queen Victoria's subjects amused indoors and outdoors. Presenter: Rana Mitter Kathryn Hughes, historian and author of Victorians Unbound Lee Jackson, the author of Palaces of Pleasure, How the Victorians invented Mass Entertainment.

A mysterious letter from Spain. A surprising new beginning... Fall in love this summer with Her Last Promise, a gripping, heartwrenching story of how hope can blossom in the ruins of tragedy and of the redeeming power of love. From No. 1 bestselling author Kathryn Hughes. What real readers are saying about Her Last Promise... 'Hope rises from despair and new beginnings are forged in the most extraordinary and unexpected way. Kathryn Hughes delves deeply into the heart and soul of her characters, making them totally relatable...like friends you really care for. My addiction to this novel was total and uncompromising *****' 'Wonderful! First book I have read by Kathryn Hughes and will now read her previous stories. I loved it *****' 'Another great story from Kathryn Hughes *****' 'As always, a lovely story by Kathryn Hughes *****' 'I really enjoyed this book, especially the nostalgic 1970's descriptions ****' Tara Richards was just a girl when she lost her mother. Years later when Tara receives a letter from a London solicitor its contents shake her to the core. Someone has left her a key to a safe deposit box. In the box lies an object that will change everything Tara thought she knew and lead her on a journey to deepest Spain in search of the answers that have haunted her for forty years. Violet Skye regrets her decision to travel abroad leaving her young daughter behind. As the sun dips below the mountains, she reminds herself she is doing this for their future. Tonight, 4th June 1978, will be the start of a new life for them. This night will indeed change Violet's destiny, in the most unexpected of ways...

The Letter: Booktrack Edition adds an immersive musical soundtrack to your audiobook listening experience! Every so often a love story comes along to remind us that sometimes, in our darkest hour, hope shines a candle to light our way. Discover the Number One bestseller that has captured thousands of hearts worldwide... Tina Craig longs to escape her violent husband. She works all the hours God sends to save up enough money to leave him, also volunteering in a charity shop to avoid her unhappy home. Whilst going through the pockets of a second-hand suit, she comes across an old letter, the envelope firmly sealed and unfranked. Tina opens the letter and reads it - a decision that will alter the course of her life for ever... Billy Stirling knows he has been a fool, but hopes he can put things right. On 4th September 1939 he sits down to write the letter he hopes will change his future. It does - in more ways than he can ever imagine... The Letter tells the story of two women, born decades apart, whose paths are destined to cross and how one woman's devastation leads to the other's salvation. *Booktrack is an immersive format that pairs traditional audiobook narration to complementary music. The tempo and rhythm of the score are in perfect harmony with the action and characters throughout the audiobook. Gently playing in the background, the music never overpowers or distracts from the narration, so listeners can enjoy every minute. When you purchase this Booktrack edition, you receive the exact narration as the traditional audiobook available, with the addition of music throughout.

Kathryn Hughes' first dual time line novel, The Letter, became a word-of-mouth best seller that knocked Gone Girl off Kindle's Number One spot. Hi there I'm your host Jenny Wheeler, and today Kathryn talks about her stories of family secrets and deep emotion, and having actress Joanne Froggart – Anna Bates in Downton Abbey – voice her third book, The Key  - for audio. Six things you'll learn from this Joys of Binge Reading episode: The difference between writing a book and being a writerThe fascination of the story ideaMen like them too: 'dual time line mysteries with emotional depth'Her latest book - set in Spain and ManchesterThe page-turning writers she admires mostHow she'd like to give herself a ten year head start Where to find Kathryn Hughes:  Website: https://kathrynhughesauthor.com/ Facebook: @KHughesAuthor  Twitter: https://twitter.com/khughesauthor What follows is a "near as" transcript of our conversation, not word for word but pretty close to it, with links to important mentions. Jenny: But now, here's Kathryn. .  Hello there Kathryn and welcome to the show, it's great to have you with us. Kathryn: Thank you very much for having me, it's my pleasure. Jenny: Beginning at the beginning – was there a “Once Upon a Time” moment when you decided you wanted to write fiction?? And if so what was the catalyst for it? Kathryn Hughes - Best Selling mysteries Kathryn:    I don't think there was an actual catalyst for it. I think, looking back, I'd always wanted to write a book, not necessarily be a writer. Those are two very different things. And in my 20's I had a go. I don't know if you've heard of Mills & Boon in New Zealand, the romance publishing house offering formulaic and extremely popular stories. I was mistaken in thinking it might be easy to write - it's not, it's extremely difficult, and they have very high standards, but nevertheless I did write about 50,000 words - it was probably terrible and I have no idea where it's gone to, I hope it never surfaces ..! But back in 2007 I did have an idea for a book and it was around an old un-posted letter. Who wrote the letter, but never sent it who was intended to receive it, but didn't, and why it never got posted, I had absolutely no idea. I just had the idea, and all I had to do was expand it to 90,000 words. . . Easy!!! Jenny: Yes - we all know how easy that is! But just tracking back a little to your remark about the difference between writing a book and being a writer. Could you expand on that? How Kathryn got started Kathryn: Well I was very naive. I thought if I wrote a book a publisher was going to say 'Oh a book, wonderful' and publish it. I didn't realize, "No" One book deals are hardly ever heard of.... I'm talking about commercial fiction They want to know you can keep producing, ideally for most publishers, at least one book a year. Publishers, quite rightly, don't want to invest in you unless you can do that. Quite understandably because they have to persuade supermarkets to take your book, they have to help build your brand. Naturally, it's a lot of hard work for them, so you have to be able to followup with more books and then it's great for everybody. Kathryn Hughes' The Letter - No 1 on Kindle Jenny:  It seems quite amazing to me that you say you had this one idea, about an unpublished letter, and nothing else and you managed to expand it into a 90,000 word novel, especially as an inexperienced writer. Perhaps now it would be easier to spin out the story lines... But how did you get from that kernel to a whole tree, and what kept you focused in the hard times. Kathryn: I think it was because I thought it was a really good idea. I liked the fact that the letter had not been posted, even though it had a stamp on, and it was all ready to go. And then the idea of someone finding it, and the distraction of what was going on in her life at the time - the mystery - taking the ...

Inspired by extraordinary true events, this remarkable debut novel reveals the enduring power of love and the strength of the human spirit in one woman's quest to find her son, and a little boy's dream to be found. For listeners of The Letter by Kathryn Hughes, Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate, The Throwaway Children by Diney Costeloe, Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly and Remember Me by Lesley Pearse.

Capernaum was filmed on the streets of Lebanon, using non-professional actors including the child lead. It has gone on to win the Palme d'Or winner and is hotly tipped for the Foreign Language Oscar Shipwreck is American plawright Ann Washburn's latest play to premiere at London's Almeida Theatre. It's vehemently anti-Trump, but does the polemic get in the way for our reviewers? Nico Walker's novel Cherry tells his own - thinly disguised - life story. Born in Cleveland served in the US military in Iraq and returned home suffering from PTSD. developed heroin addiction, robbed banks to support his habit and ended up in jail. And that's where Walker is right now, serving out the last 2 years of his 11 year sentence for armed robbery. Is it grim, gripping or ghastly? The National Portrait Gallery in London is staging an exhibition of Elizabethan miniatures. Exquisite small portaits of figures of the day; bring a magnifying glass! Papanno's Greatest Arias: the director of London's Royal Opera House explores the attraction and technique involved in these vocal set pieces Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Kathryn Hughes, Barb Jungr and Boyd Tonkin. The producer is Oliver Jones Podcast choices: Barb recommends And Breath Normally on Netflix and Antti Tuomainen Boyd recommends Harald Sohlberg at The Dulwich Picture Gallery Tom recommends Great News on Netflix Kathryn recommends tidying up

An end-of-year edition, bringing together some of our favourite bits from the past twelve months: Kathryn Hughes on whether and where Charlotte Brontë meets Jane Eyre; Margaret Drabble reviews the life and work of Muriel Spark, whose centenary we marked this year; David Baddiel discusses whether Jewishness is inherently funny; Clare Pettitt revisits the history of the Peterloo massacre of 1819. A refresher for regular listeners and a sampler for newcomers – with thanks to all. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The latest production of Macbeth at London's Globe Theatre sees real-life husband and wife, Paul Ready and Michelle Terry play the murderous couple French film The Workshop is about a young people's writer's group where tensions over the plot development spill into the film's own story-line Italian author Elena Ferrante's multi-million selling, globally-successful novels are coming to the TV. My Brilliant Friend has been adapted and directed by Saverio Costanzo: a man! Some avid fans have wondered aloud whether such a female-centric story might be beyond his capabilities. Uwe Johnson's 1800 page meisterwerk Anniversaries was published in 4 parts from 1970 to 1983. It has just been translated into English for the first time - will they delight in its scope? An exhibition at Modern Art Oxford of video work by Penny Woolcock reveals her fascination with the underdog Podcastextra recommendations: Kathryn is a fan of Channel 4's The Secret Life of The Zoo Don was overawed by the majesty of the redwoods in Muir Woods in California Jenny has been reading Kafka's The Unhappiness of Being A Single Man Tom is looking forward to watching The House of Assad on BBC TV Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Don Guttenplan, Kathryn Hughes and Jenny McCartney. The producer is Oliver Jones

Helen Castor is joined by Flora Samuel, Professor of Architecture in the Built Environment at the University of Reading. Tom Holland and Dr Matthew Green take a trip down the Thames to Thamesmead, an overspill "new town" that received its first inhabitants fifty years ago this month, but which is better known as the location used by Stanley Kubrick in his dystopian classic A Clockwork Orange. But was this brutalist solution to London's slum housing doomed from the start, or were some of the ideas of Le Corbusier and those who influenced the design of this place fairly similar to the better accepted work of Ebeneezer Howard and the Garden City movement? Iszi Lawrence is in Fitzrovia with writer, broadcaster and Victorian historian Kathryn Hughes to find out why the lack of public toilets meant women were so inconvenienced in the Victorian and Edwardian period. What lay behind the then-accepted notion that women shouldn't "go" in public? Monks in Leicestershire are brewing up a storm, the first batch of a new Trappist ale. But what's the historic connection between abbeys and brewing? Producer: Nick Patrick A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.

There's a new Whitney Houston documentary by Kevin MacDonald. It explores her life her stratospheric successes and her demons which led to her premature death AM Homes has a collection of 13 short stories. Days of Awe explores the heart of contemporary America The Jungle is a play about an Afghan refugee attempting to reach the UK from The Jungle - the unofficial shantytown which emerged in Calais. It's a transfer to London's Playhouse Theatre from a sold-out run at The Young Vic The Horniman Museum in London has reopened its South Hall Gallery as World Gallery; exploring the fundamental questions of what it means to be human; that's a big task The BBC is showing a new adaptation of the novel Picnic at Hanging Rock (made into a successful film in 1975). It stars Natalie Dormer and has a decidedly modern approach to a period piece Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Mark Billingham, Kathryn Hughes and Alice Jones. The producer is Oliver Jones.

We explore the complex, brutal, swaggering history of pearls and those who found, traded and wore them, with Kathryn Hughes. Sam Byers talks about the self-authored creation that was Michael Jackson and the public's response to him. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Key

Cass R. Sunstein talks about “Impeachment: A Citizen’s Guide” and “Can It Happen Here?”; and Kathryn Hughes discusses “Victorians Undone.”

To celebrate #LoveAudio we've teamed up with Kobo to give you the chance to win a free download of Kathryn Hughes' newest audiobook, The Key. Narrated by Downton Abbey's Joanne Froggatt, The Key is a forgotten story of tragedy, lost love and a devastating wrong waiting to be put right.. Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/audiobook/the-key-100

Tracey Thorn describes her new record 'Record' as 'nine feminist bangers'. She talks to John Wilson about why electro-pop turns out to be her preferred style for a musical look back at various stages in her life from birth, through teenage crushes and learning to play guitar to motherhood.The Finnish National Gallery has just become the latest institution to make digital images of works in its collection, that are no longer in copyright, freely available to the public. No major UK arts institution has taken a similar step. Art Historian Dr Bendor Grosvenor has been campaigning on this issue and explains his position.As two biographies of Mary Shelley have been published since Christmas "In Search of Mary Shelley the girl who wrote Frankenstein" by Fiona Sampson and "Mary Shelley" by Miranda Seymour we look at the competing claims and different perspectives that biographers bring to the lives of their subjects. Biographer and critic Kathryn Hughes and critic and editor of on-line literary magazine Boundless, Arifa Akbar, discuss what "rival" biographies reveal about the process of writing biography itself.Grime artist Stormzy took two of the top awards at the Brits and used his platform to criticise the government over its response to Grenfell Tower fire. From an interview with Front Row on the occasion of last year's awards he throws light on what motivates his rapping and his thoughts on grime's place in the awards.

Stig Abell and Thea Lenarduzzi are joined by Kathryn Hughes, to discuss whether and where Charlotte Brontë meets Jane Eyre; Katharine Craik looks back on Shakespeare's mysterious, and 'weirdly memorable', sonnets; Kate Brown on the social-media-fuelled Ukrainian uprising of 2013, the David-and-Goliath battle that followed, and the view from 2018 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Disney Pixar's latest release is their first with an all-Latin cast. Coco explores the Mexican tradition of The Day of The Dead and a young boy's coming to terms with his heritage The new novel from Tim Pears is the second in his proposed trilogy. The Wanderers is the story of two young people in pre-WW1 England and the horses that are part of their lives All's Well That Ends Well has opened at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse at London's Globe Theatre Hauser and Wirth Somerset has opened a new exhibition "The Land We Live In- The Land We Left Behind" that deals with attitudes to the countryside BBC Radio 4 has dramatised Elif Shafak's novel The Bastard of Istanbul as part of the Reading Europe season of programnmes Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Tom Holland, Stephanie Merritt and Kathryn Hughes. The producer is Oliver Jones.

Final Portrait; Stanley Tucci's film about Giacometti tries to show the tortured creative process of a genius Ben Wishaw plays an aerospace billionaire who sets out to change the world in Against at London's Almeida Theatre. Can money overcome violence? Peter Kosminsky's drama, The State on Channel 4, attempts to understand why young British people might join Islamic State The plot of Nicole Krauss's latest novel Forest Dark seems to mirror her own life - down to a writer character called Nicole. The National Gallery of Ireland has undergone a €30m refit over the last 8 years and has at last reopened with a blockbuster exhibition: Vermeer and the Masters of Genre painting Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Philip Hensher, Kathryn Hughes and Sally Gardner. The producer is Oliver Jones.

Every so often a love story comes along to remind us that sometimes, in our darkest hour, hope shines a candle to light our way. Discover the Number One bestseller that has captured thousands of hearts worldwide... Tina Craig longs to escape her violent husband. She works all the hours God sends to save up enough money to leave him, also volunteering in a charity shop to avoid her unhappy home. Whilst going through the pockets of a second-hand suit, she comes across an old letter, the envelope firmly sealed and unfranked. Tina opens the letter and reads it - a decision that will alter the course of her life for ever... Billy Stirling knows he has been a fool, but hopes he can put things right. On 4th September 1939 he sits down to write the letter he hopes will change his future. It does - in more ways than he can ever imagine... The Letter tells the story of two women, born decades apart, whose paths are destined to cross and how one woman's devastation leads to the other's salvation. (P)2015 Headline Publishing Group Ltd Audible UK: http://adbl.co/2q2qUgz Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/2qbD421 Audiobooks.com: http://bit.ly/2qLMyox

The RSC is staging Shakepeare's Roman plays, beginning with Julius Caesar and Antony & Cleopatra - how have they made them chime for today's audiences? The debut film from American director Nicolas Pesce The Eyes of my Mother is a black and white gothic tale of murder, home-invasion incest, necrophilia, abduction, imprisonment, involuntary surgery..I could go on, but I think you've probably got the idea by now. Is it any good? David Vann's new novel is Bright Air Black, a poetic prose retelling of the Medea story. BBC TV had adapted Evelyn Waugh's Decline & Fall as a 3 part series starring Jack Whitehall - do our reviewers think a good job has been done with a classic novel? Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Christopher Frayling, Kathryn Hughes and Alice Jones. The producer is Oliver Jones.

458: George Saunders & Kathryn Hughes George Saunders is the author of nine books, including Tenth of December, which was a finalist for the National Book Award and won the inaugural Folio Prize (for the best work of fiction in English) and the Story Prize (best short-story collection). He has received MacArthur and Guggen­heim fellowships and the PEN/Malamud Prize for excellence in the short story, and was recently elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2013, he was named one of the world's 100 most influential people by Time magazine. He teaches in the creative writing program at Syracuse University. His debut novel is Lincoln in the Bardo. Kathryn Hughes is the author of award-winning biographies of Mrs Beeton and George Eliot, both of which were filmed for the BBC. For the past fifteen years she has been a literary critic and columnist for the Guardian. Educated at Oxford University, and with a PhD in Victorian Studies, she is currently Professor of Life Writing at the University of... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Rana Mitter talks Victorian bodies with Kathryn Hughes from Darwin's beard to whether George Eliot had milkmaid's hands. Stanley Price explains how James Joyce and Italo Svevo forged a firm friendship when they met in Trieste. Poet and New Generation Thinker Sandeep Parmar and writer Lauren Elkin discuss the Citizens of Everywhere art project which will see commissioned writing, art, workshops in schools and debates exploring the idea of citizenship in a globalised world. James Rivington from the British Academy unveils the 20 Academic Books that Shaped Modern Britain ahead of Academic Book Week.Kathryn Hughes latest book is called Victorians Undone.Stanley Price has written James Joyce and Italo Svevo: The Story of a FriendshipProducer: Torquil MacLeod.

On her latest album Jubilo, Alison Balsom plays two incarnations of the trumpet: the natural trumpet - ascendant during the Baroque period of the 17th and 18th centuries - and the 19th century creation that is the modern trumpet. She discusses the appeal of both instruments and what they've brought to the album. Screenwriter Sally Wainwright made her name with award-winning contemporary dramas such as Happy Valley and Last Tango in Halifax. She's now written and directed her first period TV drama, To Walk Invisible, an exploration of the lives of the Brontës during the tumultuous years when the four siblings - Charlotte, Branwell, Emily, and Anne - were at home with their father Patrick. Critic and historian Kathryn Hughes reviews.The big show for Christmas at the National Theatre this year is Peter Pan which features a lot of aerial action. Front Row goes behind-the-scenes to find out how the flying is done.Still looking for a last-minute Christmas gift? Danuta Kean makes her selection this year's 'beautiful books'.Presenter John Wilson Producer Jerome Weatherald.

With Stig Abell and Thea Lenarduzzi – Seamus Perry on the difficult, "spiritually dyspeptic" life and work of D. H. Lawrence; Ruth Scurr on two new books by Elena Ferrante, and the struggle over her name; Kathryn Hughes on the knotty, globe-spanning cultural life of hair; and finally, a snippet from our recent interview with the American author Lionel Shriver: can fiction contain the real-life Trump? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

From the wily Figaro to the murderous Sweeny Todd, barbers and the politics of shaving cast an interesting light on the history of 18th and 19th century Britain. Historian and expert on the Victorian Body, Kathryn Hughes and Alun Withey from the University of Exeter, who is studying hair and health over the centuries consider why clean-shaven Georgians gave way to the hairy wonders of bearded Victorians and why soldiers returning from Empire were the fore-runners of increasingly hirsute fashions and tell Shahidah Bari about muscular Christianity, bearded ladies and a range of products no man would be without.

Samira Ahmed talks to Simon Pegg, writer and star of the film Star Trek: Beyond.Front Row marks the 150th birthday of Beatrix Potter, discussing the darker side of her children's stories with Kathryn Hughes and Sally Gardner.Stalking the Bogeyman is a new play created by David Holthouse and Markus Potter, based on David's own experience of rape as a child and the revenge he plans to reap on his attacker.And should we follow Steven Spielberg's example and bribe our children to watch black and white films? Samira talks to BFI Family Film Programmer Justin Johnson.Presenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Timothy Prosser.

The remaking of Ghostbusters in 2016 has 4 women taking the leading roles and it has caused consternation among devotees of the original film. What on earth is all the fuss about? Is it just a bunch of sexist fanboys determined not to enjoy it because girls are involved? Matt Smith plays a perfectionist film director in Unreachable, a new play at London's Royal Court Theatre. Kei Miller's novel Augustown is set in a lightly-fictionalised version of the real Jamaican town of the same name, involving flying prophets and civil unrest This year's Liverpool Biennial has a typically eclectic selection of artists and venues; what caught the eye of our reviewers? BBC TV has a new adaptation of Joseph Conrad's The Secret Agent, starring Toby Jones and Vicky McClure. Sarah Crompton's guests are Naomi Alderman, Kathryn Hughes and Giles Fraser. The producer is Oliver Jones.

From the author of the No. 1 Kindle bestseller The Letter comes a heartbreaking novel of tragedy, hope and second chances. Readers who treasure the novels of Lesley Pearse and Susan Lewis will adore this author. Mary has been nursing a secret. Forty years ago, she made a choice that would change her world for ever, and alter the path of someone she holds dear. Beth is searching for answers. She has never known the truth about her parentage, but finding out could be the lifeline her sick child so desperately needs. When Beth finds a faded newspaper cutting amongst her mother's things, she realises the key to her son's future lies in her own past. She must go back to where it all began to unlock...The Secret. (P)2016 Headline Digital

a bunch of corrupt cops stage a bank heist in Triple 9; but can there honour among thieves in such a high-stakes job? Chekhov's Uncle Vanya at London's Almeida Theatre has been adapted and directed by Robert Icke giving it a fresh contemporary feel. John leCarre's 1993 novel The Night Manager has become a 6 part BBCTV series. Espionage, amoral weapons dealers, beautiful tragic women; all the best ingredients are there, what does it add up to? Award-winning French novelist Maylis de Kerangal's latest work translated into English is Mend The Living - dissecting 24 hours of a human heart. The first major London exhibition of work by - and influenced by - Eugene Delacroix has opened at The National Gallery. Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Gillian Slovo, Jason Cowley and Kathryn Hughes. The producer is Oliver Jones.

Benedict Cumberbatch's Hamlet has been much-anticipated and every ticket was sold out a year in advance; will our critics be dazzled or disappointed? Sensorium at Tate Britain in London is a new exhibition which aims to stimulate all our senses as we view a selection of paintings. Can they enhance or distract us from the gallery experience? Tom Courtenay and Charlotte Rampling star in 45 Years, a British film about a couple celebrating their wedding anniversary when a long-forgotten event disturbs their happiness. Poet Les Murray has been declared by The National Trust of Australia as one of the 100 Australian Living Treasures. Now 76, he has just published his latest collection: Waiting For The Past BBC TV has begun a 4-part series The Ascent of Woman, looking at the history of women from the dawn of civilisation to the modern day. Tom Sutcliffe is joined by Tracy Chevalier, Alice Rawsthorn and Kathryn Hughes. The Producer is Oliver Jones.

This evening Free Thinking is devoted to one of the pinnacles of Victorian England – Anthony Trollope's massive novel The Way We Live Now. To examine the book and its social and historical context Philip is joined by Jerry White, Simon Heffer, Kathryn Hughes and Jonathan Myerson. .

Director Peter Jackson and co-writer Philippa Boyens talk to John Wilson about their final instalment of The Hobbit film franchise; the author Philip Pullman reflects on one of his heroes, William Blake, as a new exhibition at the Ashmolean in Oxford explores his formation as an engraver; and historian Kathryn Hughes makes her selection of biographies and memoirs of the year.

Kevin Elyot's 'My Night With Reg' was originally staged in 1994 and was the first British gay play to win a wide West End audience as well as several theatre awards. it's now being revived at London's Donmar Warehouse. How well does it stand up 2 decades later? ''Wakolda' is a film which tells the story of an Argentinean family who unwittingly shared their house with the Nazi war criminal Joseph Mengele Auschwitz's "Angel of Death" without realising who he was. As part of Radio 4's' commemorations of the centenary of the outbreak of World War 1, their biggest ever drama commission Home Front' has just hit the airwaves. It's a mammoth undertaking 500 episodes, 150 hours of dialogue The actor Kevin Eldon has written a mock-biography of his 'cousin', Paul Hamilton, a rather deluded uninspiring poet who doesn't let his own inadequacies stop his ambition and self-belief. The Art and Science of Exploration is an exhibition in The Queen's House in Greenwich of some of the work created by artists who accompanied Captain James Cook on his voyages around the globe in 18th Century. Their job was to produce scientific records and imaginative responses to the new unfamiliar territories that they encountered. Razia Iqbal is joined by Jake Arnott, Emma Woolf and Kathryn Hughes. The producer is Oliver Jones.

With Kirsty Lang. Oh What a Lovely War, Joan Littlewood's controversial musical satire about the First World War, is being revived in its original home, the Theatre Royal Stratford East. The 1963 production, which Littlewood intended would mock 'the vulgarity of war', was loved by audiences, but detested by some who saw its message as unpatriotic. Critic and historian Kathryn Hughes reviews the production and considers whether the play has the same impact today. After the success of the 'Child 44' trilogy, author Tom Rob Smith has just published a somewhat different type of crime novel. 'The Farm' is a psychological thriller, set in Sweden and England, which keeps the reader guessing throughout. He reveals how the main premise for the novel was inspired by a real life event very close to home. The first series of the television drama, Line Of Duty, found many fans for its study of police corruption. The writer, Jed Mercurio, has now written a second series with a new police officer, Detective Inspector Lindsay Denton played by Keeley Hawes, under investigation. The writer MJ Hyland reviews. How best to translate a novel is a perennial question, but some authors whose works have been published in China have also found the stories themselves being censored. Kirsty hears from journalist Jonathan Fenby and from literary-translation rights specialist Jenny Robson - and US based crime-writer Qiu Xiaolong and Booker Prize winner AS Byatt relate their two very different experiences. Producer: Rebecca Armstrong.

With Mark Lawson. Ruth Rendell won the Theakstons Old Peculier Outstanding Contribution to Crime Fiction Award last month. She speaks to Mark about writing sixty novels in fifty years, how she's managing Inspector Wexford's retirement, her friendship with PD James and her second career as a Life Peer in the House of Lords. Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg star as two undercover agents attempting to infiltrate a drugs cartel by posing as criminals - but neither are aware of the others true identity. Directed by Icelandic film and theatre director Baltasar Kormákur, the film is based on a graphic novel series. Larushka Ivan-Zadeh reviews. The recession has so far been fertile ground for TV producers and this week sees the beginning of two new series looking at work, and lack of it, in Britain. The writer Tony Parsons and historian Kathryn Hughes review Benefits Britain 1949 on Channel 4 and Paul O'Grady's Working Britain on BBC One. Theatre director Michael Grandage offers his choice for the Cultural Exchange. Producer Stephen Hughes.

With Mark Lawson. Michael Frayn discusses his new novel Skios, a story of mislaid identity, confusion and miscalculated consequences set on a Greek island. And in the light of an acclaimed new revival of his stage farce Noises Off, he also reflects on the hits and misses of his theatrical career. David Hare's latest play South Downs was commissioned by Chichester Festival Theatre as a companion piece to Terence Rattigan's one act play The Browning Version. Anna Chancellor takes a leading role in the two plays, which are both set in minor public schools half a century ago. Kathryn Hughes reviews. The Nobel Prize-winning Caribbean poet Derek Walcott is in the UK to direct a professional production of his 1978 play Pantomime. He considers his approach to the stage and to poetry, and why he chose this particular play for revival. Producer Jerome Weatherald.

For this Snippet, we discuss Cover Story: A Year of Beautiful Books by Kathryn Hughes. (http://www.pagebreakpodcast.com/snippets/designer-books)

With Mark Lawson. Joanna Lumley and Robert Lindsay star in Trevor Nunn's new production of The Lion in Winter, taking the roles made famous by Katharine Hepburn and Peter O'Toole in the 1968 film, the tale of a dysfunctional family Christmas with the Plantaganets. Kathryn Hughes reviews. America Ferrera, the star of TV show Ugly Betty, discusses making her British stage debut as the alluring publicity-seeker Roxy Hart in the musical Chicago. She also reflects on her famous TV role, and how she prepared for it. Welsh composer Paul Mealor received an unexpected boost to his career when his choral piece Ubi Caritas was chosen to be performed at the Royal Wedding earlier this year. He discusses how Ubi Caritas started life as a secular rather than a sacred piece, and why he wasn't in Westminster Abbey on day itself, despite receiving a much-coveted invitation. Producer Jerome Weatherald.

With John Wilson. Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender star in a new film version of Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte's much-adapted book. Kathryn Hughes reviews. Alexander Masters, author of the award-winning Stuart: A Life Backwards, explains how he found the subject of his second book living directly below him. The Genius in My Basement focuses on the mathematical genius Simon P Norton, who collects bus timetables and lives on a diet of tinned fish. Damon Albarn recently led a group of British music producers to the Democratic Republic of Congo to make an album with Congolese musicians in Kinshasa. Damon came to Front Row along with two of his musical collaborators in the Congo, producers Kwes and Orlando Higginbottom, aka TEED. Can contemporary art help ease Ireland's economic woes? As the first ever Dublin Contemporary festival is launched, John asks Jimmy Deenihan - Arts and Heritage Minister in the Irish government - what he hopes to get in return for 2 million Euros of taxpayers money invested in the project at a time when the country has just received a massive bailout package. John also talks to veteran Irish conceptual artist Brian O'Doherty who now works in New York, but who is returning to create new work for Dublin Contemporary 2011. Producer: Philippa Ritchie.

How do you teach someone to write non-fiction? Join us for a unique chance to hear Kathryn Hughes and Richard Holmes, both Professors at of the Life Writing Course at UEA, discuss the process of writing creative biography. Both Kathryn and Richard are successful biographers and renowned experts in their field. They are joined by two UEA graduates, Leonora Klein whose first book, a biography of Albert Pierrepoint was published in October 2006 and Druin Burch whose biography of surgeon Astley Cooper has just been published.

Many of the great narrative non-fiction books have been translated from the book to the screen. What makes a good film adaptation and how does a producer identify and adapt a book for the screen? Alexander Masters and Kathryn Hughes have been heavily involved in adapting their biographies, respectively Stuart and The Short Life and Long Times of Mrs Beeton for television. Simon Singh won a BAFTA for his documentary on Fermat’s Last Theorem, which he followed up with his book on the same subject. They are joined by Pippa Harris of Neal Street Productions, producer of Stuart.