Podcast appearances and mentions of lucy hughes hallett

Jeff Pope on his new series Suspect: The Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes, the innocent man who was killed by police on a London tube in 2005, which launches tonight on Disney+. James VI of Scotland & I of England is the subject of a major exhibition at the National Gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh. We're joined by the historical writers Lucy Hughes Hallett and Steven Veerapen. And performance art in a new film The Extraordinary Miss Flower, a musical portrait of a mysterious woman, who left behind a suitcase of letters, from lovers and friends, starring the Icelandic artist, Emiliana Torrini . We'll be speaking to the directors Iain Forsyth and Jane PollardPresenter: Kirsty Wark Producer: Maire Devine

In this episode: our panel reflects on King James I & VI of Scotland - his life and loves - on the 400th anniversary of his death.Featuring historian Gareth Russell, Anna Groundwater, Principal Curator, Renaissance and Early Modern History at National Museums Scotland; Clare Jackson, Honorary Professor of Early Modern History at the University of Cambridge, and historian Lucy Hughes-Hallett, author of 'The Scapegoat'.

George Villiers, the Duke of Buckingham, had charm and political ambition by the bucketload – and his rise as a favourite of King James I and VI in the late 16th century was meteoric. Speaking to Elinor Evans, Lucy Hughes-Hallett discusses the brief but action-packed life of Villiers, whose dazzling beauty and political influence brought him from obscurity to the highest ranks of power in the courts of two kings – before seeing him fall foul of public anger. (Ad) Lucy Hughes-Hallett is the author of The Scapegoat: The Brilliant Brief Life of the Duke of Buckingham (HarperCollins, 2024). Buy it now from Waterstones: https://go.skimresources.com?id=71026X1535947&xcust=historyextra-social-histboty&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.waterstones.com%2Fbook%2Fthe-scapegoat%2Flucy-hughes-hallett%2F9780008126551. Benjamin Woolley introduces listeners George Villiers and his mother Mary, the mother-and-son duo who changed the face of the royal court in the early 17th century: https://link.chtbl.com/C-FlqINi. Joe Ellis explores the life and dual reign of King James VI of Scotland and I of England: https://link.chtbl.com/bVjgtoXy. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We speak to Lucy Hughes-Hallett about her fascinating book Scapegoat: The Brilliant Brief Life of the Duke of Buckingham. Buckingham was a favourite of both James I and Charles I, lover to the former and mentor to the latter. Lucy tells us about his unlike rise to power and some of the dramatic (and sometimes farcical) stories from his life. Sign up for ad-free episodes and 350+ bonus episodes at https://www.patreon.com/rexfactor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham: never had King James I's court seen a man of such exquisite beauty. Capturing the heart of the King, becoming his lover and right-hand man, Villiers thus found himself at the heart of court politics too. But along with his angelic face he also had a brilliant mind. Renowned historian and biographer Lucy Hughes-Hallett reveals the life of this astonishingly beautiful and clever young lord, and illuminates the tender relationship he shared with the prudent King which history has mischaracterised as a coward. From Villiers's spectacular rise, to his ultimate fall, Hughes-Hallett reveals this enigmatic life in full colour. To get an exclusive NordVPN deal, head to https://nordvpn.com/howtoacademy to get an extra 4 months on the 2-year plan. There's no risk with Nord's 30-day money-back guarantee. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light (on BBC iPlayer) adapted from the final book in Hilary Mantel's trilogy, and directed by the BAFTA award winner Peter Kosminsky, traces the final four years of Thomas Cromwell's life. After the execution of Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII's fixer and royal secretary, Cromwell, continues his climb to power and wealth, becoming the most feared and influential figure of his time. But as the King becomes more irascible and Cromwell's enemies circle, it's only a matter of time before he's brought down.George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham was King James I's favourite and then Charles I's confidante and first minister. But he too fell spectacularly from grace, amid political and sexual intrigue. In her biography, Scapegoat, Lucy Hughes-Hallett dramatizes the Duke's transformation from a young man who traded on his beauty to one with immense wealth and political power. The late novelist Hilary Mantel compared Cromwell with Boris Johnson's political advisor Dominic Cummings, another outsider whose political influence spread far and wide. The columnist and Associate Editor at the Financial Times, Stephen Bush, considers the role of today's fixers and ‘special advisors'; how much power they can wield; and as the political cycle turns, whether their downfall is inevitable.Producer: Katy Hickman

Gabriele D'Annunzio was an Italian writer, journalist and poet who wrote himself irrevocably into history in 1919. In the chaotic aftermath of World War One, D'Annunzio led a small band of irregular Italian forces to the Free City of Rijeka (Italian name Fiume), and seized it in the name of Italian irredentism. D'Annunzio proclaimed the Free City to be the new Italian Regency of Carnario, with himself as Comandante and Duce. My guest's stories about what happened in The Regency of Carnaro during its short existence make Anthony Burgess' descriptions of London in A Clockwork Orange sound gentile, with sex, drugs and a glorification of violence impossible to ignore.Though the Regency quickly fell apart, D'Annunzio's bombastic political style rolled the pitch for the fascist takeover of Italy in 1922, with Benito Mussolini proclaiming D'Annunzio "The John the Baptist of Italian fascism". My guest today is Lucy Hughes-Hallett. Lucy is a British historian who has written books about a variety of different historical figures, including Cleopatra, Sir Francis Drake, Achilles, and our subject today. Her book on Gabriele D'Annunzio is The Pike, for which Lucy won the 2013 Samuel Johnson Prize for Nonfiction, and the Costa Book Award.

We take a look at Hemingway's intersection with Italian Fascism by examining two of its most volatile figures, Gabriele D'Annunzio and Ezra Pound.In this episode, we talk to Lucy Hughes-Hallett, D'Annunzio's award-winning biographer, who discusses this notorious firebrand's military career, love affairs, and artistic legacy. Hughes-Hallett also suggests D'Annunzio's unspoken role in Hemingway's most famous passage from A Farewell to Arms.Next, Lauren Arrington, author of The Poets of Rapallo, joins us to explore Pound's poetry, his influence on other poets, his loathsome ideology, and his relationship with Hemingway.Italian Fascism is the sad backdrop to Hemingway's Italian experience. We hope you enjoy our conversations with these two eminent scholars!

Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook discuss the 'first' fascist, Gabriele D'Annunzio, with historian Lucy Hughes-Hallett.D'Annunzio was a key figure in Italian literature before becoming a political figure later in his life. Although never personally identifying with fascism, his ideas were hugely influential on Mussolini. Join The Rest Is History Club for ad-free listening to the full archive, weekly bonus episodes, live streamed shows and access to an exclusive chatroom community.Producer: Dom JohnsonExec Producer: Jack DavenportTwitter:@TheRestHistory@holland_tom@dcsandbrookEmail: restishistorypod@gmail.com See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week, Lucy Dallas and Alex Clark are joined by Lucy Hughes-Hallett to discuss two books about Mussolini's Italy, and train buff extraordinaire Andrew Martin gets on board with a history of British Rail.‘Blood and Power: The Rise and Fall of Italian Fascism' by John Foot'Mussolini Also Did a Lot of Good: The Spread of Historical Amnesia' by Francesco Filippi‘British Rail: A New History' by Christian WolmarProduced by Sophia Franklin See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Joe Haddow speaks to writer David Diop and translator Anna Moschovakis about how it felt to win the International Booker Prize and we hear the moment when Lucy Hughes-Hallett announced the winner again from Coventry Cathedral. Listen to the episode for a discussion of language, translation, war and colonialism, plus an unexpected reaction from Diop's seven-year-old son. French interpretation of the episode is provided by Johanna McCalmont.

We look at the long list of nominations for this year's International Booker prize with head judge Lucy Hughes-Hallett. Lucy Hughes-Hallett, Head Judge of the 2021 International Booker Prize 00:31 #InternationalBookerPrize #Books #Literature

Razia explores writing biographies with Baillie Gifford Prize alumni Lucy Hughes-Hallett (2013 winner), Sir Jonathan Bate (2015 shortlisted) and William Feaver (2019 shortlisted). They discuss the joys and challenges that come with studying and portraying other people's lives. Hughes-Hallet won the prize in 2013 with The Pike (Fourth Estate), Bate was shortlisted in 2015 with Ted Hughes: The Unauthorised Life and Feaver was shortlisted in 2019 with The Lives of Lucian Freud: Youth. This episode was recorded and produced completely remotely. Read Smart Podcast is commissioned by The Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction and is generously supported by the Blavatnik Family Foundation. Follow us @BGPrize on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Robert is joined by Shereen Lani Younes to discuss the creator of Fascism, Gabriele D’Annunzio. FOOTNOTES: The Writer, Seducer, Aviator, Proto-Fascist, Megalomaniac Prince Who Shaped Modern Italy Gabriele d'Annunzio: Poet, Seducer, and Preacher of War A MAN OF MANY PARTS: GABRIELE D’ANNUNZIO The Randy Dandy Inventor of Fascism An Irishman’s Diary on Gabriele D’Annunzio – the ‘John the Baptist of Fascism’ and would-be IRA quartermaster Trump Before Trump The Pike: Gabriele D'Annunzio – Poet, Seducer & Preacher of War by Lucy Hughes-Hallett – review Learn more about your ad-choices at https://news.iheart.com/podcast-advertisers

The playwright David Hare is adapting Ibsen’s Peer Gynt, an epic story of vanity and egotism. He tells Tom Sutcliffe his radical new working keeps the mountain of trolls but becomes a contemporary reflection of toxic masculinity in the age of the selfie. The writer Lucy Hughes-Hallett reincarnates ancient myths and folklore in her collection of short stories, Fabulous. Old tales from Orpheus to Mary Magdalen and Psyche, find new homes in the lives of a people-trafficking gangmaster and a well-behaved librarian. The great story-teller Stephen Fry breathes fresh life into the Greek myths as he prepares to embark on his first UK tour for forty years. From the creation of the Cosmos and the feuding of the Gods, to the extraordinary battles and epic journeys of the heroes, these tales still echo for audiences today. Alison Balsom is a world-renowned trumpeter who moves seamlessly through different periods of music in her curation of this year’s Cheltenham Music Festival. She explains her deep passion for the world of baroque music and the excitement of playing a new piece for the very first time, as she prepares for the premiere of Thea Musgrave’s Trumpet Concerto. Producer: Katy Hickman

Are we Italian or not? With Leoluca Orlando, Lucy Riall, Tim Parks, Lucy Hughes-Hallett.

This week, Lucy Hughes-Hallett discusses six things which she thinks should be better known. The Deposition by Pontormo in the Church of Santa Felicita, Florence http://arthistoryblogger.blogspot.com/2018/05/jacopo-pontormos-deposition-of-christ.html The beach at Covehithe, Suffolk www.theguardian.com/travel/2007/jul/14/beach.suffolk Rosa Alba Celestial www.classicroses.co.uk/celestial-shrub-rose.html The Immortal Dinner by Penelope Hughes-Hallett www.theguardian.com/books/2000/sep/23/classics.johnmullan Angelo and Rosaline, by Bettina www.goodreads.com/book/show/3931718-angelo-and-rosaline The island of Veliki Brijuni www.istria-culture.com/en/national-park-brijuni-i119 This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm

Kassia and Simon speak to Lucy Hughes-Hallett, author of The Pike, a biography of Italian rake Gabriele d'Annunzio, which won all three of the UK's most prestigious prizes for non-fiction for 2013 - The Duff Cooper Prize, the Samuel Johnson Prize, and the Costa Biography of the Year award. Lucy spoke to us about the rhythms of her work, her relationship with agents and publishers, and her literary treatment of heroism. https://lucyhugheshallett.com/ https://twitter.com/lucyhh You can find us online at alwaystakenotes.com, on Twitter @takenotesalways, and on Facebook at facebook.com/alwaystakenotes. Our crowdfunding page is patreon.com/alwaystakenotes. Always Take Notes is presented by Kassia St Clair and Simon Akam, and produced by Olivia Crellin, Ed Kiernan and Elizabeth Davies. Ed Kiernan edited this episode. Zahra Hankir is our communities editor. Our music is by Jessica Dannheisser and our logo was designed by James Edgar.

Graeme Macrae Burnet joins Alex Clark to discuss his novel The Accident on the A35, a new literary crime thriller. He describes the book as 'a fiction within a fiction', claiming to be not the author but the translator. Also on the programme, the life and work of South African writer Olive Schreiner, literary news from Chile and Lucy Hughes-Hallett, one of this year's judges, discusses the Sunday Times/PFD Young Writer Award of the Year Award.

Ottessa Moshfegh is a fiction writer from Boston. Her novel Eileen was awarded the 2016 Pen/Hemingway Award and was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. Her short fiction has earned her the Paris Review Plimpton Prize, a creative writing fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, a Pushcart Prize, and an O. Henry Award. Her collection Homesick for Another World was published in January 2017. McGlue was her debut novel, and the winner of the Fence Modern Prize for Prose and the Believer Book Award, and is being published in the U.K. for the first time. Lucy Hughes-Hallett is the author of The Pike, a biography of Gabriele d’Annunzio, which won the Samuel Johnson Prize for Non Fiction, the Costa Biography Award, the Duff Cooper Prize and the Paddy Power Political Biography of the Year Award. Her other books are Cleopatra: Histories, Dreams and Distortions which was published in 1990 to wide acclaim, and Heroes: Saviours, Traitors and Supermen, published in 2004, which garnered similar praise.... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Joe Wright directs Brecht's Life of Galileo at The Young Vic, reimagining it with a Chemical Brothers rave soundtrack... In science fiction black comedy Colossal, Anne Hathaway plays a woman coping with alcoholism whose alter ego just happens to be a giant space monster. It's a kaiju movie Jimmy McGovern's newest TV offering is Broken which stars Sean Bean as an inner city priest coping with escalating personal and parish pressures. Lucy Hughes-Hallett's novel Peculiar Ground deals with the construction and changing nature of the walls of a country estate across the centuries. Thresholds is an exhibition by Mat Collishaw at Somerset House, re-staging one of the earliest exhibitions of photography in 1839, when William Henry Fox Talbot showed his first prints. Tom Sutcliffe's guests are John Mullan, Laline Paull and Tiffany Jenkins. The producer is Oliver Jones.

Michael Berkeley's guest is the historian, biographer and critic Lucy Hughes-Hallett, whose books include a cultural history of the ancient Egyptian queen Cleopatra and a story of heroism told through eight famous lives from Achilles and Odysseus to Francis Drake and Garibaldi. Her latest book, The Pike, deals with the controversial life of the Italian poet and occasional politician Gabriele d'Annunzio, who evolved from romantic idealist to radical right-wing revolutionary, culminating in his dramatic attempt to seize political power in the Croatian city of Fiume (now Rijeka). Through his ideological journey, Lucy Hughes-Hallett examines the political turbulence of early 20th-century Europe and the rise of fascism.Lucy's musical enthusiasms range from Byzantine chant through operas by Monteverdi, Handel and Verdi to The Rolling Stones, and an extract from Debussy's Le martyre de Saint Sébastien.

Daybreak... and five writers set off on foot - and report back: Finally, the biographer Lucy Hughes Hallett, strolling amongst headstones in a local cemetery. Accompanying her, a hairy pointer called Kilburn, who has his own reasons for trotting out early.Producer: Duncan Minshull

In our first set of interviews for 2015, Ryan Van Winkle talks to Lucy Ribchester, Lucy Hughes-Hallett and Elizabeth Gifford about suffragettes, mythology and the fascist poet who wanted to create his own utopia.Lucy Ribchester is the Edinburgh-based author of the recently-published The Hourglass Factory, her first novel. As well as being shortlisted for this year's Costa Short Story Awards, Lucy is a previous recipient of a Scottish Book Trust New Writers Award. The Hourglass Factory tells the story of Frankie George, a young reporter who becomes entangled in the messy, passionate worlds of the circus and the suffragettes when she meets Ebony Diamond, a mesmerising trapeze artist using her skills to fight for votes for women. Lucy opens up to Ryan about her inspirations, the fascinating world of those early suffragettes and why it took her five years to finish the book. Elisabeth Gifford is the author of Secrets of the Sea House, a fascinating novel which explores the interaction between history and myth. Based in the Hebrides, the book looks at the mythology of the islands and of the sea, and what happens when the two appear to come together in the form of a dark discovery. The book enjoys a very definite sense of place, and Elisabeth chats to Ryan about the culture of the Hebrides, the link between the sea and those who live by it, and the responsibility she felt in dealing with such an interesting culture. Elisabeth's new novel Return to Fourwinds is out now. Finally, Ryan speaks to Lucy Hughes-Hallett, a Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction winner and author of The Pike: Gabriele d'Annunzio, a searing biography of the man who believed he was the greatest Italian poet since Dante. The book was awarded the 2013 Costa Book Award for Biography of the Year, and the subject matter is certainly eye-opening. d'Annunzio was a creative, daredevil and fascist whose life goal was to establish a utopia based on his political and artistic ideals. Lucy talks Ryan through the intensely thrilling world of this strange man and the way his life unfolded. Podcast contents00:00 - 01:09 Introduction01:10 - 13:19 Lucy Ribchester interview13:20 - 19.08 Elisabeth Gifford interview19:09 - 29:33 Lucy Hughes-Hallett interviewBook Talk is produced by Colin Fraser of Culture Laser Productions.

In a special programme from the Hay Festival, John Wilson talks to thriller writer Lee Child about the latest in his Jack Reacher series. Award-winning biographer Lucy Hughes-Hallett explains why she is writing her first novel. Children's authors and former Children's Laureates Michael Morpurgo and Julia Donaldson discuss how their writing has developed over the course of their careers. Plus songwriter, author and performer Cerys Matthews talks about how the poetry of Dylan Thomas has inspired her.

Winner of the 2013 Samuel Johnson Prize, Lucy Hughes-Hallett‘s biography of Gabriele d’Annunzio is a book with a big mission: to write inventively about the life of someone with whom most everyone outside of Italy is entirely unfamiliar whilst also promoting the literary legacy of a man celebrated within his own country and little translated (much less read) everywhere else. In the end, Gabriele d’Annunzio: Poet, Seducer, and Preacher of War (Knopf, 2013) succeeds on both fronts, which is precisely why it remains one of the most lauded biographies of the last year. It’s not a straightforward day-by-day narrative. Rather, the story zooms in and out, taking flight and exuberantly soaring through whole weeks, months, years only to, at other moments, slow down to sensuously revel in the details of a weekend on the beach or an afternoon spent in bed. There’s something about this technique that beautifully mimics the ways in which we often reflect upon our own lives, with whole boring years blotted from memory whilst every single detail of a particularly haunting evening is eternally seared upon the brain. This is, I imagine, in large part why the book is such joy to read- because (at the risk of making sound simple something which very much isn’t) we’re reading the life of a flamboyant character written in much the same way we tend to think upon our own. d’Annunzio thought words, written well, could inflame nations and excite history and change the world. For him, writes Hughes-Hallett, “writing was a martial art.” Artistically, he was a poet, novelist, playwright and lover (the classification isn’t accidental- for d’Annunzio experienced love affairs as real relationships and literary creations), but also a soldier, flier, and politician. Those are the raw ingredients of his story. Superficially fascinating, to be sure, but it’s Hughes-Hallet’s mixing of them that so animates the biography of this short, bald man with narrow sloping shoulders and terrible teeth. And it’s the tensions that emerge through the telling that ensure that, even if you’ve never read a word of d’Annunzio’s poetry, his story sticks with you, which is a sign of an both a good book and an interesting life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Winner of the 2013 Samuel Johnson Prize, Lucy Hughes-Hallett‘s biography of Gabriele d’Annunzio is a book with a big mission: to write inventively about the life of someone with whom most everyone outside of Italy is entirely unfamiliar whilst also promoting the literary legacy of a man celebrated within his own country and little translated (much less read) everywhere else. In the end, Gabriele d’Annunzio: Poet, Seducer, and Preacher of War (Knopf, 2013) succeeds on both fronts, which is precisely why it remains one of the most lauded biographies of the last year. It’s not a straightforward day-by-day narrative. Rather, the story zooms in and out, taking flight and exuberantly soaring through whole weeks, months, years only to, at other moments, slow down to sensuously revel in the details of a weekend on the beach or an afternoon spent in bed. There’s something about this technique that beautifully mimics the ways in which we often reflect upon our own lives, with whole boring years blotted from memory whilst every single detail of a particularly haunting evening is eternally seared upon the brain. This is, I imagine, in large part why the book is such joy to read- because (at the risk of making sound simple something which very much isn’t) we’re reading the life of a flamboyant character written in much the same way we tend to think upon our own. d’Annunzio thought words, written well, could inflame nations and excite history and change the world. For him, writes Hughes-Hallett, “writing was a martial art.” Artistically, he was a poet, novelist, playwright and lover (the classification isn’t accidental- for d’Annunzio experienced love affairs as real relationships and literary creations), but also a soldier, flier, and politician. Those are the raw ingredients of his story. Superficially fascinating, to be sure, but it’s Hughes-Hallet’s mixing of them that so animates the biography of this short, bald man with narrow sloping shoulders and terrible teeth. And it’s the tensions that emerge through the telling that ensure that, even if you’ve never read a word of d’Annunzio’s poetry, his story sticks with you, which is a sign of an both a good book and an interesting life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Winner of the 2013 Samuel Johnson Prize, Lucy Hughes-Hallett‘s biography of Gabriele d’Annunzio is a book with a big mission: to write inventively about the life of someone with whom most everyone outside of Italy is entirely unfamiliar whilst also promoting the literary legacy of a man celebrated within his own country and little translated (much less read) everywhere else. In the end, Gabriele d’Annunzio: Poet, Seducer, and Preacher of War (Knopf, 2013) succeeds on both fronts, which is precisely why it remains one of the most lauded biographies of the last year. It’s not a straightforward day-by-day narrative. Rather, the story zooms in and out, taking flight and exuberantly soaring through whole weeks, months, years only to, at other moments, slow down to sensuously revel in the details of a weekend on the beach or an afternoon spent in bed. There’s something about this technique that beautifully mimics the ways in which we often reflect upon our own lives, with whole boring years blotted from memory whilst every single detail of a particularly haunting evening is eternally seared upon the brain. This is, I imagine, in large part why the book is such joy to read- because (at the risk of making sound simple something which very much isn’t) we’re reading the life of a flamboyant character written in much the same way we tend to think upon our own. d’Annunzio thought words, written well, could inflame nations and excite history and change the world. For him, writes Hughes-Hallett, “writing was a martial art.” Artistically, he was a poet, novelist, playwright and lover (the classification isn’t accidental- for d’Annunzio experienced love affairs as real relationships and literary creations), but also a soldier, flier, and politician. Those are the raw ingredients of his story. Superficially fascinating, to be sure, but it’s Hughes-Hallet’s mixing of them that so animates the biography of this short, bald man with narrow sloping shoulders and terrible teeth. And it’s the tensions that emerge through the telling that ensure that, even if you’ve never read a word of d’Annunzio’s poetry, his story sticks with you, which is a sign of an both a good book and an interesting life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Winner of the 2013 Samuel Johnson Prize, Lucy Hughes-Hallett‘s biography of Gabriele d’Annunzio is a book with a big mission: to write inventively about the life of someone with whom most everyone outside of Italy is entirely unfamiliar whilst also promoting the literary legacy of a man celebrated within his own country and little translated (much less read) everywhere else. In the end, Gabriele d’Annunzio: Poet, Seducer, and Preacher of War (Knopf, 2013) succeeds on both fronts, which is precisely why it remains one of the most lauded biographies of the last year. It’s not a straightforward day-by-day narrative. Rather, the story zooms in and out, taking flight and exuberantly soaring through whole weeks, months, years only to, at other moments, slow down to sensuously revel in the details of a weekend on the beach or an afternoon spent in bed. There’s something about this technique that beautifully mimics the ways in which we often reflect upon our own lives, with whole boring years blotted from memory whilst every single detail of a particularly haunting evening is eternally seared upon the brain. This is, I imagine, in large part why the book is such joy to read- because (at the risk of making sound simple something which very much isn’t) we’re reading the life of a flamboyant character written in much the same way we tend to think upon our own. d’Annunzio thought words, written well, could inflame nations and excite history and change the world. For him, writes Hughes-Hallett, “writing was a martial art.” Artistically, he was a poet, novelist, playwright and lover (the classification isn’t accidental- for d’Annunzio experienced love affairs as real relationships and literary creations), but also a soldier, flier, and politician. Those are the raw ingredients of his story. Superficially fascinating, to be sure, but it’s Hughes-Hallet’s mixing of them that so animates the biography of this short, bald man with narrow sloping shoulders and terrible teeth. And it’s the tensions that emerge through the telling that ensure that, even if you’ve never read a word of d’Annunzio’s poetry, his story sticks with you, which is a sign of an both a good book and an interesting life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With Mark Lawson. Matthew McConaughey is Oscar nominated for his starring role in Dallas Buyers Club. He lost 47 lbs to play Ron Woodroof, a Texas electrician who became an unlikely AIDS activist after being diagnosed with HIV in the mid-1980s. He discusses the physical endurance of the part and his recent career renaissance. Nathan Filer, a registered mental health nurse, has won the Costa Book of the Year award with his debut novel The Shock of the Fall, a story about loss, guilt and mental illness. A surprise win, Filer beat the favourite Kate Atkinson with her novel Life after Life, and other award winning writers Lucy Hughes-Hallett for The Pike, an account of the life of Italian poet Gabriele D'Annunzio, and poet Michael Symmons Roberts for his collection Drysalter. Nathan Filer tells Mark about what the award will mean for his writing. In the week that Rory Kinnear won twice at the Critics Circle for best actor and most promising playwright, David Edgar muses on the long tradition of the actor/writer, from Shakespeare to Pinter. Grammy winning singer/songwriter Mary Chapin Carpenter discusses her new album Songs from the Movie, a re-working of 10 of her songs, recorded with a full orchestra and 15 voice choir. She reveals what inspires her new songs and the emotional pain of revisiting old material. Producer: Ellie Bury.

With Mark Lawson. Simon Russell Beale is playing King Lear at the National Theatre, in a new production directed by Sam Mendes. Last night one of the actors lost his voice, prompting Mendes to apologise and bring on the understudy. Simon Russell Beale discusses his approach to the challenging role and what happened behind the scenes last night. Costa biography prize-winner Lucy Hughes-Hallett talks about The Pike, her biography of the Italian poet and daredevil Gabriele D'Annunzio, which also won the 2013 Samuel Johnson prize for non-fiction. Quentin Tarantino has announced that he is dropping his new film Hateful Eight, a follow-up to Django Unchained, after the script was leaked. Film critic Mark Eccleston discusses some of the more extreme examples of script security and why film-makers are so keen to keep their scripts secret. Producer: Timothy Prosser.