Podcast appearances and mentions of Penelope Lively

In Episode 193, author Clare Leslie Hall talks with Sarah about her US debut, Broken Country — a breakout hit and a Reese's Book Club pick. A genre mash-up that is part love story and part murder trial, Clare talks about marketing Broken Country, how this came to be her first U.S. release, and the ways the novel evolved over time. Plus, Clare shares her book recommendations. This post contains affiliate links through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you!). CLICK HERE for the full episode Show Notes on the blog. Highlights Books by Clare Leslie Hall: Broken Country, Days You Were Mine (previously published as Mine), and Pictures of Him (previously published as Him). Clare gives a brief, spoiler-free overview of Broken Country.  Clare's inspiration for Broken Country. How the themes of love, guilt, and connection play roles in the novel. The ways Broken Country developed and changed over the course of her writing process. How Clare decided that this was no longer a contemporary novel and needed to be set in the 1950s and 1960s. The aspect of the book of which she's most proud. How Broken Country came to be her first book released in the U.S. What the marketing looked like for Broken Country compared to her first two novels. Anything Clare would change about Broken Country down the line should she have the opportunity (since she was able to change the ending of her second book for the U.S. release). A bit about what Clare has planned for her next book. Clare's Book Recommendations [35:30] Two OLD Books She Loves Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively (1987) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [35:43] All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy (1992) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [37:26] Other Books Mentioned: Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry (1985) [38:42]   Two NEW Books She Loves Nesting by Roisín O'Donnell (February 18, 2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org[40:12] Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell (July 30, 2024) | Amazon | Bookshop.org[41:33] Other Books Mentioned: The Wedding People by Alison Espach (July 30, 2024) [43:48]  The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller (2021) [44:04]  One Book She DIDN'T Love Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (1878) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [45:22] One NEW RELEASE She's Excited About What the Deep Water Knows by Miranda Cowley Heller (July 1, 2025) | Amazon| Bookshop.org [48:40] Last 5-Star Book Clare Read Leaving by Roxana Robinson (2024) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [51:19] Books From the Discussion Atonement by Ian McEwan (2001) [14:38] The Go-Between by L. P. Hartley (1953) [14:42] To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (1960) [16:22] Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens (2018) [54:02]  About Clare Leslie Hall  Instagram | X Clare Leslie Hall is a novelist and journalist who lives in the wilds of Dorset, England, with her family. She's the author of Broken Country, Pictures of Him, and Days You Were Mine.

The first title that springs to mind at the mention of William Golding's name is most often Lord of the Flies. The classic story of a group of schoolboys marooned on a desert island all but made his reputation and has somewhat overshadowed his twelve other novels. Golding was a fascinating and often troubled man, a voracious reader who enjoyed the Odyssey in Greek as well as Georgette Heyer and Jilly Cooper and was an influence on many novelists from Stephen King to Penelope Lively, Ben Okri and Kazuo Ishiguro. Definitely a writer ripe for rediscovery. Now, the Slightly Foxed team sit down with the author's daughter Judy and Golding expert Professor Tim Kendall to discuss the life and work of this brave and highly original writer, whose novels transport the reader to distant but entirely believable worlds. His work grapples with the big questions of existence but his originality as a writer sometimes worked against him, and Lord of the Flies was rejected by seven publishers before it was accepted by Charles Monteith at Faber. It was glowingly reviewed and became a bestseller but, behind the scenes, Golding was struggling with his addiction to alcohol and the fame his writing would bring him. After a poor reception from the critics for several of his following books, including both The Spire and The Pyramid, Golding was thrown into a deep depression. This crisis lasted over ten years, but when he finally returned to writing he went on to produce a series of successful novels – including Rites of Passage, winner of the 1980 Booker Prize. In 1983 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.  The usual round of reading recommendations include South from Granada, Gerald Brenan's recollection of the years he spent in an Andalusian village in the 1920s with visits from the Bloomsbury group; Robert Harris's Precipice, a semi-fictional account of the relationship in 1914 between Prime Minister Asquith, and Venetia Stanley, and Penelope Lively's novel Passing On. For episode show notes, please see the Slightly Foxed website. Opening music: Preludio from Violin Partita No. 3 in E Major by Bach Hosted by Rosie Goldsmith Produced by Philippa Goodrich

Earlier this week Diane hosted a special edition of The Diane Rehm Book Club, her monthly series held on ZOOM in front of a live audience. This month she asked some of her favorite book lovers to join her to talk about their favorite reads of year. And they did not disappoint. Her guests were Ann Patchett, novelist and owner of Parnassus Books, Eddie Glaude Jr., professor of African American Studies at Princeton University and author of several books on race and politics, and Maureen Corrigan, book critic on NPR's Fresh Air. She also teaches literary criticism at Georgetown University. See below for a list of each guest's top books of the year, along with all of the titles discussed during this conversation. Maureen Corrigan's top books of 2024: “James” by Percival Everett “Colored Television” by Danzy Senna “Long Island” by Colm Tóibín “Tell Me Everything” by Elizabeth Strout “Martyr!” by Kaveh Akbar “Creation Lake” by Rachel Kushner “Cahokia Jazz” by Francis Spufford “The God of the Woods” by Liz Moore “A Wilder Shore” by Camille Peri “The Letters of Emily Dickinson” edited by Cristanne Miller and Domhnall Mitchell Ann Patchett's top books of 2024: “James” by Percival Everett “Martyr!” by Kaveh Akbar “Colored Television” by Danzy Senna “Sipsworth” by Simon Van Booy “Tell Me Everything” by Elizabeth Strout “Mighty Red” by Louise Erdrich “Time of the Child” by Niall Williams “An Unfinished Love Story” by Doris Kearns Goodwin “The Backyard Bird Chronicles” by Amy Tan “Hotel Balzaar” by Kate DiCamillo (middle grade book)  “Water, Water: Poems” by Billy Collins Eddie Glaude Jr.'s top books of 2024: “Slaveroad” by John Edgar Wideman “Recognizing the Stranger: On Palestine and Narrative” by Isabella Hammad  “We're Alone” by Edwidge Danticat Other titles mentioned in the discussion: “Wide Sargasso Sea” with introduction by Edwidge Danticat “Demon Copperhead” by Barbara Kingsolver “The Dog Who Followed the Moon: An Inspirational Story with Meditations on Life, Experience the Power of Love and Sacrifice” by James Norbury “Afterlives” by Abdulrazak Gurnah “Someone Knows My Name” by Lawrence Hill “Moon Tiger” by Penelope Lively “Sandwich” by Catherine Newman “Windward Heights” by Maryse Condé “There's Always This Year” by Hanif Abdurraqib “Mothers and Sons” by Adam Haslett (publication date in January 2025) “Memorial Day” by Geraldine Brooks (publication date in February 2025) “33 Place Brugmann” by Alice Austen (publication date in March 2025) “Cloud Atlas” by David Mitchell “Independent People” by Halldor Laxness “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald “Beloved” by Toni Morrison “Sing, Unburied, Sing” by Jesmyn WardTo find out more about The Diane Rehm Book Club go to dianerehm.org/bookclub.

In 1984, many assumed that J.G. Ballard's Empire of the Sun had the Booker Prize in the bag. But actually, it was Anita Brookner's Hotel du Lac that clinched the prize in the end. This week, we're exploring the bookies' favourite vs the Booker winner to ask which book should have won: Brookner's short, quiet novel set in a genteel Swiss hotel or Ballard's long and action-packed autobiographical epic set in wartime Shanghai. In this episode Jo and James: Discuss the Booker Prize 1984 shortlist Share a brief biography of Anita Brookner Summarise the plot of Anita Brookner's Hotel du Lac Explore the characters in Brookner's novel Share a brief biography of J.G. Ballard Summarise the plot of Empire of the Sun Who should read these books Discuss their thoughts on both novels and which they think should have won the Booker Prize 1984 Reading list: Empire of the Sun by J.G. Ballard: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/empire-of-the-sun Hotel du Lac by Anita Brookner: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/hotel-du-lac Small World by David Lodge: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/small-world Flaubert's Parrot by Julian Barnes: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/flauberts-parrot In Custody by Anita Desai: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/in-custody According to Mark by Penelope Lively: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/according-to-mark A full transcript of the episode is available at our website. Follow The Booker Prize Podcast so you never miss an episode. Visit http://thebookerprizes.com/podcast to find out more about us, and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Tiktok @thebookerprizes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, interviewer Chloe Fox talks to the 90 year-old Booker Prize winning author, Penelope Lively, about widowhood, staying politically engaged and how the best thing about growing old is never having to go to Heathrow Airport again. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The acclaimed novelist and her musician daughter on the joys of reading in trees, childhood gardens and what it's like to have a David Austin rose named after you.Produced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Meg Wolitzer presents three stories with a little bit of trickery. The British writer Penelope Lively offers up a tricky combination of love and real estate in “The Third Wife,” performed by real-life husband and wife Patricia Kalember and Daniel Gerroll. The only “trick” in our next story, “Tempo,” by R.O. Kwon, is the trick the mind plays when it wishes the present would restore a lost bit of the past. The reader is Hettienne Park. And Dave Eggers' “The Alaska of Giants and Gods” includes a real magic act, but also the longing for some other kind of magic, misplaced on a rocky road, to be restored. Kate Burton reads the literally laugh-out-loud story.

Recorded on November 24, 2022 Book Talk starts at 22:00   Sweater KAL Chatter - rules are at the top of each page 12 in 22 Chatter Thread Virtual get-together Zoom   2 Giveaways  1.  The Little Pine Tree's Wish by Diane M. Howard   2.  3 skeins of Tracie's handspun Prize winners will be announced towards the end of the podcast, right before family Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down segment   KNITTING Barb finished: 1.  Mother Bear # 271 2.  Barb's Irish Hiking Hat by Blackhorse, using Plymouth Encore Tweed in the Red colorway 3.  Barb's Irish Hiking Scarf #3 by Adrian Bazilia, also using Plymouth Encore Tweed in the Red colorway 3. Will's Party Time socks using Berroco Comfort Sock in the Party Time colorway   Tracie has finished: NOTHING!  You will hear why in the "Working On" segment... Barb is working on: 1.  Zephyr Mark ll by Celia McAdam Cahill using Blue Sky Fibers Woolstok in the Red Rock colorway   Barb has cast on: 1.  Collage Socks by Helen Stewart using Olgle Design Fiber Arts Coloration Fingering in the 827 colorway 2.  Colorwheel DK 1 Ball Scarf, using Sirdar a Clourwheel in the Perfectly Pretty colorway. 3.  Hermione's Everyday Socks by Erica Leader   Tracie is working on: 1.  Vanilla Sock in Canon Hand Dyes William Merino in Waterworld Sock Set 2.  Moon of My Life (AKA This F@&^ Sweater) by Nadia Crétin-Léchenne adapted by Celia McAdam Cahill for a man in worsted weight yarn - in Universal Yarns Uptown Worsted in Granite and Berroco Vintage in Cotton Candy   Tracie has cast on: 1.  Guantes Jota DK Fingerless Mitts by Paola Aguirre using Newton's Yarn Country Superwash DK  2.  Light Trails by SuviKnits using Anzula Haiku in the Madam colorway 3.  Darling Darby by Jean Clement in Berroco Vintage in Cotton Candy and Uptown Worsted   READING  Barb has finished: 1.  Missing Daughter by Rick Molina - 4 stars 2.  A Sharp Solitude by Christine Carbo - 4 stars 3.  Lucy By the Sea by Elizabeth Strout - 4 stars 4.  She Lies Close by Sharon Dowering - 3 stars 5.  Missing...and Presumed Dead by Michael Fleeman - 3 stars Tracie has finished reading: 1.  On the Beach by Nevil Shute - 3.5 stars 2.  Murder in the Family:Inside the Story of the Jersey Murders by Jeremy Josephs - 3 stars 3.  The Fiancee by Kate White - 3 stars 4.  The Drowning Kind by Jennifer McMahon - 3.5 stars 5.  Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro - 4.5 stars 6.  Passing On by Penelope Lively - 2 stars

Penelope Lively, Helen Hull, boarding houses and isolation – welcome to episode 109! In the first half of this episode, Rachel and I compare boarding houses novels and novels where people live alone – up to and including complete isolation.

Penelope Lively, now 89 years old, is the author of more than 30 books for children, six short story collections and 17 novels. Shortlisted three times for the Booker prize, she won it in 1987 for her time-shifting novel Moon Tiger, in which a terminally ill woman looks back at wartime adventures, love affairs and fraught family life. Dame Penelope Lively has won the Carnegie Medal and the Whitbread Award for her children's books. She is also the author of three volumes of memoirs. Dame Penelope recalls her early childhood in Cairo, and how real-life wartime Egypt inspired the fiction of Moon Tiger. Andrew Lang's Tales of Troy and Greece, a retelling of the Homeric myths, first sparked her creative imagination at the age of ten. Having moved to England in late 1945, she remembers the devastation left by the Blitz, and how seeing for herself the ruins in London, both ancient and modern, prompted a lifelong fascination with archaeology. An extremely wide reader, she discusses the influence of her lifetimes' reading habit on her fiction; in particular The Making Of The English Landscape by W.G. Hoskins, a book about the strata of history that have helped shape England, which inspired some of the recurring themes of memory and loss in her own work. Producer: Edwina Pitman

Penelope Lively, Margaret Laurence, thinking and feeling – welcome to episode 103! Apologies for the unexpected delay in recording. Blame Rachel! But we are here and raring to go. In the first half, we follow a topic suggested by Mairad

Novelist and children's author Penelope Lively was born on this day in Cairo, Egypt (1933). She's the author of "Moon Tiger" and most recently a memoir "Life in the Garden."

As spring arrives, Ian McMillan and guests consider ambivalence and beauty in writing about spring. This week Ian peers into the yellow heart of the daffodil to find out what makes a great spring poem, and shares poetry by some of the most remarkable poets of our moment, as well as those inspired by the colours of crocuses past. Spring is always beautiful, but there is earthiness and grief in the language of the season too. His guests will include writers and those who work with and study the earth itself. Ian is joined by Booker prize winning novelist and keen gardener Penelope Lively who has contributed an essay to the new anthology 'In The Garden' (Daunt) on 'the Gardening Eye', passing the passion for growing on to her daughters, and gardening later in life. In his poem 'Here Too Spring Comes to Us with Open Arms', Caleb Femi takes us to spring on a South London Estate. Femi has just published 'Poor' (Penguin), his debut collection of poetry. In books such as the T.S Eliot prize shortlisted collection 'The Mizzy' (Picador), Paul Farley turns our attention to the overlooked and unloved places, finding spring thrives here just as in the meadow. We also hear a selection of poems recorded as part of Radio 3's Spring Poetry season and read by Colin Tierney and Indira Varma: Crocuses - Richard Meier Lines Written in early Spring - William Wordsworth April - Mona Arshi Loveliest of trees, the cherry now - AE Housman March - Patrick Kavanagh I So Liked Spring - Charlotte Mew Presenter: Ian McMillan Producer: Jessica Treen

Penelope Lively, The Ghost of Thomas Kempe, The Presence of the Past: and Introduction to Landscape History, The Road to Lichfield, According to Mark, Life in the Garden, Oleander, Jacaranda: A Childhood Perceived, Ammonites & Leaping Fish: A Life in TimeUshttp://www.thebibliophiledailypodcast.carrd.cohttps://twitter.com/thebibliodailythebibliophiledailypodcast@gmail.comRoxiehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyAfdi8Qagiiu8uYaop7Qvwhttp://www.chaoticbibliophile.comhttp://instagram.com/chaoticbibliophilehttps://twitter.com/NewAllegroBeat

Today we celebrate a man who revealed the medicinal properties of Digitalis or Foxglove. We'll also learn about an English author and gardener who wrote about the gardens of her life, and she turns 88 years old today. We hear an excerpt about a Scientist, Explorer, revolutionary, and Outcast who became one of New Zealand's Great Explorers. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about high-end garden design. And then we’ll wrap things up with a story about the man who revived the town, Landscapes and gardens of Colonial Williamsburg.   Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart To listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to “Play the latest episode of The Daily Gardener Podcast.” And she will. It's just that easy.   The Daily Gardener Friday Newsletter Sign up for the FREE Friday Newsletter featuring: A personal update from me Garden-related items for your calendar The Grow That Garden Library™ featured books for the week Gardener gift ideas Garden-inspired recipes Exclusive updates regarding the show Plus, each week, one lucky subscriber wins a book from the Grow That Garden Library™ bookshelf.   Gardener Greetings Send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes, and so forth to Jennifer@theDailyGardener.org   Curated News How to Decorate for Spring | House & Garden   Facebook Group If you'd like to check out my curated news articles and original blog posts for yourself, you're in luck. I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. So, there’s no need to take notes or search for links. The next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community, where you’d search for a friend... and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group.   Important Events March 17, 1741 Today is the birthday of the English botanist geologist, physician, and chemist William Withering. William became the very first person to study the bioactivity of the flower known as Digitalis or Foxglove. In this respect, William's training as a physician served him well. And the story goes that one day, he noticed a person suffering from what was then called dropsy, which is an old word for a person who's suffering from congestive heart failure. Now, in this particular case. William observed that the patient in question showed remarkable improvement after taking a traditional herbal remedy that included Digitalis or Foxglove. Now William gets the credit for discovering the power of Digitalis because he studied the various ingredients of this old herbal remedy. He determined that it really was the Digitalis that made all the difference when it came to heart issues. In 1785, William published his famous work called an account of the Foxglove and some of its medical uses. Now Foxgloves are a beautiful plant for the ornamental or cottage garden. These are plants that produce beautiful tall flower spikes. And each spike can contain 20 to 80 purple to pink flowers that are tubular and whitish on the inside. Now Foxgloves are a toxic plant, and if you eat any part of the plant, it can result in severe poisoning. And this is important to know because when Foxglove first emerges out of the ground, it can be confused for comfort or plantation. Since both of those plants are used as edible plants by many people - it's important to be able to distinguish them and to remember where you're planting Foxglove in your garden. The fact that the Foxglove so closely resembles Plantain when it first comes out of the ground is a helpful way for gardeners to remember that Foxglove is in the Plantain family. In addition to the common name, Foxgloves, Digitalis has many adorable common names, including Fairy Fingers, Fairy Thimbles, Rabbits Flower, and Scotch Mercury. And there's a delightful old legend about the Foxglove, and it goes like this, that bad fairies gave the blossoms to a Fox who needed to put the flowers on his toes so that he could muffle the sound of his feet, as he hunted for prey. And here's another fun fact about the Foxglove: it's a cousin to another beloved cottage garden flower, the Snapdragon or Antirrhinum majus ("ant-er-EYE-num MAY-jus"). Now, with regard to its toxicity, which is a very legitimate concern. The gardener and garden writer, Katharine S. White, wrote this: “At a very early age, I remember, I was to recognize what plants are to be avoided completely. At a very early age, I remember I was taught how to recognize and stay away from deadly nightshade, poison ivy, and poison sumac. (I was, just as early, taught the delights of chewing tender young checkerberry leaves and sassafras root.) To me, it would be ridiculous, though, not to grow monkshood, foxglove, hellebore, larkspur, autumn crocus, poppies, lilies of the valley, buttercups, and many other flowers now present in my borders just because they have some poison in them.” So as you can see the Foxglove is in good company when it comes to toxic plants. Now when the botanical illustrator Walter Crane painted flowers, he often personified them. And when he drew the Foxglove, he did not draw it alone - he drew a Foxglove family. And he wrote, "The Foxgloves are a happy group, comprised of cousins and brothers and sisters." And finally, the English author and poet Meta Orred wrote, Her lips like foxgloves, pink and pale, Went sighing like an autumn gale; Yet, When the sunlight passed by,  They opened out with half a sigh. Her smile, the last faint vesper light As swoons the eve to sleep away, Remaining through the summer night A lamp of love by which to pray.   March 17, 1933 Today is the birthday of the great British writer of fiction for both children and adults, Dame Penelope Margaret Lively - so that makes her 88 years young today. Happy birthday, Penelope. Penelope wrote one of my favorite garden books. It's called life in the garden, and I found myself enthralled with this book from the very first chapter. If you don't own a copy, get one, and you will love it - not only for what's written on the inside but also for the beautiful botanical cover on the outside. Penelope’s writing often reflects on common themes like life and memory, and time.   And in this book, in particular, Penelope writes about one of her passions: gardening. Now, Penelope had the unique experience of growing up in a home in Cairo, Egypt, where she experienced the joy and wonder of a courtyard garden. And then she moved to a family cottage in Somerset. As an adult, her own gardens flourished, and Oxford and London. Now, as someone who loves botanical history and literature, what I especially appreciate about Penelope’s book is that she not only shares her own garden experience but also she takes us on a garden tour. We get to experience great gardens like Sissinghurst. And we also get to learn a little bit about creative people who loved to garden, like Virginia Woolf and Philip Larkin. And it was Penelope Lively, who said one of my all-time favorite garden quotes. She uses the word “elide,” which means to suppress or strikeout. She said, “To garden is to elide past, present, and future. It is an act of defiance of time.”   Unearthed Words As his former friend made his way down the street, Ernst was reminded of a line out of Darwin's Researches. Writing of the climber’s expectation in the ascent of a mountain, Darwin had said that the promise lay with the projection of the climber and that what was withheld would always outstrip what was granted. What was withheld would always outstrip what was granted. What was granted? Ernst reflected on his life. The ordinary business of it. The illnesses and the sunny days. The delivery at the kitchen door. The sound of rain upon the bedroom glass. What was withheld was the sense behind the living. The dream that never ceased. And, of course, the end of the arrow’s flight. And watching Klaus make his way along the footpath, Ernst saw what a blessing this withholding was, too. For who would continue with the project of living if they could see straight to its end.  — Thom Conroy, The Naturalist   Grow That Garden Library Garden Design Review by Ralf Knoflach and Robert Schäfer This book came out in 2018, and the subtitle is Best-designed Gardens and Parks on the Planet.  Here's what the publisher wrote about this book: Discover the greatest in garden design: Garden Design Review is the inaugural edition of an exclusive new compendium of the most outstanding projects and products in garden planning and landscape architecture around the world. A garden not only extends living space outdoors; it also enhances the quality of life. This illustrated garden book presents more than 50 contemporary garden projects from some of the most internationally renowned landscape architects and garden designers. Now the featured gardens are profiled with beautiful photographs and interviews with the garden designers and the landscape architects, and they share their work process in detail. They include the concept for the property, the materials that they used, and their plant choices. So this book makes for a wonderful behind-the-scenes tutorial. This book is 256 pages of an indispensable garden guide for professional garden designers and landscape architects as well as home gardeners looking for luxury inspiration. You can get a copy of Garden Design Review by Ralf Knoflach, and Robert Schäferand support the show using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $62   Today’s Botanic Spark Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart March 17, 1928 It was on this day, that the pioneering landscape architect, Arthur Shurcliff began working on the Colonial Revival Gardens that ended up making Colonial Williamsburg a world-famous attraction. Just after he received his degree in mechanical engineering from MIT, Arthur discovered the field of landscape architecture and he couldn't let it go.  Now back when Arthur was in school, there were no formal degree programs for Landscape Architecture. And so Arthur ended up cobbling together his own curriculum at the Lawrence School of Science at Harvard. The massive project at Williamsburg was funded by John D Rockefeller and Arthur's mission was staggering: a total community restoration. By the time that Arthur took over the project on this day, St. Patrick's day, in 1928, he already had over 30 years experience in the field. Of course, it wasn't just the buildings that needed restoration; it was the land, the paths, the street, the gardens, and the green spaces. And Arthur kept detailed notes about the transformation and his daily quest to uncover the past. And one of my favorite diary entries from Arthur about this project said, “Wednesday morning saw me in the old-fashioned gardens in the heart of the town. These old places… now gone to decay are filled with a kind of golden glory which is lacking in the new gardens. The old lattice trellises, ruined box hedges, and even the weed-grown paths seem to have the glamor of the sunshine from the olden days.” Thanks to Arthur, every aspect of the town of Williamsburg was fully researched. When it came to garden plants and plant selection, Arthur insisted that authenticity was paramount. For example, Arthur's team actually searched for original fence post holes to determine the colonially accurate backyard. And in light of little details like that, it's no wonder that it took Arthur 13 years to finish the restoration of Williamsburg. In researching Arthur, it's clear that every now and then, his passion could get the best of him. There's a funny story that I love to tell with regard to Arthur's experience and Williamsburg. There was a woman in Williamsburg who lived at the St. George Tucker house. She kept her own diary, and she wrote, in January of 1931, “Today, I was asked to go over the yard with Mr. Arthur Shurcliff… I found him a very alarming person! Somehow the idea of changing the yard and garden is much more repellent to me than changing the house, and this is such a terribly enthusiastic man!” And when Arthur returned in May, she wrote, “[He came] down like a wolf on the fold again today. He rushed in and out... with charts and plans for all sorts of alarming ‘landscapes’ in our yard. He has boxwood on the brain.” She was right. Arthur's signature plant was the Boxwood, which he called “Box” for short. And for his Williamsburg make-over, Arthur required boatloads of Box. He wrote, “In replanting Williamsburg places, much use should be made of Box… even allowing it to dominate the parterres and bed traceries… Generous use of Box in this manner [will define the] display and [help with the] upkeep of flowers especially in the dry season...” Happily for Arthur, over the course of his time and Williamsburg, his charm eventually counteracted any hesitance by the townspeople caused by his exuberance. When Colonial Williamsburg was revealed to the public in 1934, Arthur's Colonial Revival style gardens complete with Boxwood caused a sensation. Soon Revival Garden Design appeared in suburbs all across America.   Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener. And remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."

Este episodio se escucha un poco mal, sepan perdonar. Estamos tratando de arreglar los problemas técnicos!!!! En este episodio hablamos de uno de los autores más famosos, Haruki Murakami, y su libro Kafka en la Orilla. También comenzamos el episodio hablando de Gabriel García Márquez y su libro El Otoño del Patriarca, Moon Tiger de Penelope Lively y Oceano de Sonido David Toop. http://instagram.com/plumapantalla http://twitter.com/plumapantalla

Jenny reports back on how she did on her 2020 reading goals in the midst of challenging circumstances, then sets goals for 2021. Then a handful of podcast and reading friends share their reading goals for 2021. Download or listen via this link: Reading Envy 210: 2021 Reading GoalsSubscribe to the podcast via this link: FeedburnerOr subscribe via Apple Podcasts by clicking: SubscribeOr listen through TuneIn Or listen on Google Play Or listen via StitcherOr listen through Spotify Or listen through Google Podcasts Jenny’s Goals Focus on reading Europe Catch up on books with music as a central theme Authors to try list Keep up with subscriptions Participate in challenges Audrey (@dreesreads in Instagram) Be more relaxedOne big non-fiction readBooker International long/shortlistNational Book Award Poetry LonglistContinue listening to audiobooksLaurie Pop Sugar 2021 Reading Challenge Back to the Classics 2021 Challenge (Books and Chocolate blog) Ellie (@shatterlings in Instagram)Russian classics Vassily Grossman buddy reads Scott  Emphasis on reading, continue checking off TBR Shakespeare plays Presidential biographies Courtney Read 40 booksRead 20 books she already owns Robin Be consistent about journaling about books read Slow down and be more reflective after finishing More classics, more Willa Cather, maybe Proust Authors around the world Read more from physical TBR Karen Naughton (@BarkerForBooks in Instagram)Complete reading Thomas Hardy, hopefully 1 book a monthPaula This year's theme will be nature books Books discussed: The Ensemble by Aja GabalMusical Chairs by Amy PoeppelThe Student Conductor by Robert FordMusic and Silence by Rose TremainSongbook by Nick HornbyGrace Notes by Bernard MacLavertyThe Forest of Wool and Steel by Natsu MiyashitaCompass by Mathias EnardWar and Peace by Leo TolstoyDevils by Fyodor DostoevskyCloud Atlas by David Mitchell Neverness by David Zindell The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell Bully Pulpit by Doris Kearns Goodwin Wilson by A. Scott Berg A Full Life by Jimmy Carter Life in the Garden by Penelope Lively At Hawthorne Time by Melissa Harrison Station Life in New Zealand by Lady BarkerWhy We Swim by Bonnie Tsui Other mentions:Two Lines PressRestless BooksGraywolf Galley ClubND New ClassicsErin and Dani's Book Club on InstagramReadtheWorld21 in InstagramRainy Day Bites Cookbook ClubThe Free Black Women's Library on InstagramThe Free Black Women's LibraryStalk us online:Jenny at GoodreadsJenny on TwitterJenny is @readingenvy on Instagram and Litsy If you want to hear more from one of the guests who appeared on this episode, go to the episode guide and do a search. All links to books are through Bookshop.org, where I am an affiliate.

The Scottish nature writer Jim Crumley takes the Slightly Foxed team on a tour of literary landscapes, from the lochs of the Trossachs and the mountainous Cairngorms to Aldo Leopold’s sand county in Wisconsin and Barry Lopez’s Arctic. Together they trace the chain of writers who have influenced Jim, from Robert Burns and Wordsworth to Thoreau and Walt Whitman, and see nature through the eyes of his hero, the great Scottish naturalist and photographer Seton Gordon. They discuss how folklore has demonized the wolf while Jim believes its reintroduction could hugely benefit the ecology of the Scottish landscape. And finally they venture off the beaten track with this month’s wide-ranging reading recommendations. Please find links to books, articles, and further reading listed below. The digits in brackets following each listing refer to the minute and second they are mentioned. (Episode duration: 40 minutes; 24 seconds) Books Mentioned We may be able to get hold of second-hand copies of the out-of-print titles listed below. Please get in touch (mailto:jess@foxedquarterly.com) with Jess in the Slightly Foxed office for more information.  An Englishman’s Commonplace Book (https://foxedquarterly.com/shop/an-englishmans-commonplace-book/) , Roger Hudson (1:14) A Boy at the Hogarth Press & A Parcel of Time (https://foxedquarterly.com/shop/hogarth-press-richard-kennedy-plain-foxed/) , Richard Kennedy (6:40)  Jim Crumley’s Seasonal Quartet: The Nature of Autumn (https://foxedquarterly.com/shop/jim-crumley-the-nature-of-autumn/) , The Nature of Winter (https://saraband.net/sb-title/the-nature-of-winter/) , The Nature of Spring (https://foxedquarterly.com/jim-crumley-the-nature-of-spring/) , The Nature of Summer (https://foxedquarterly.com/jim-crumley-the-nature-of-summer/) (11:03) The Cairngorm Hills of Scotland, The Charm of Skye and Amid Snowy Wastes, Seton Gordon are out print, but some Seton Gordon titles are available from Trieste Publishing (https://triestepublishing.com/) (14:11) A High and Lonely Place (https://foxedquarterly.com/jim-crumley-a-high-and-lonely-place/) , Jim Crumley (15:49) A Sand County Almanac (https://foxedquarterly.com/shop/aldo-leopold-sand-county-almanac/) , Aldo Leopold (18:14) Arctic Dreams (https://foxedquarterly.com/shop/barry-lopez-arctic-dreams/) , Barry Lopez (18:43) The Last Wolf (https://foxedquarterly.com/shop/him-crumley-the-last-wolf/) , Jim Crumley (22:54) Highland River, Neil Gunn is currently out of stock at the publisher (31:07) Featherhood (https://foxedquarterly.com/shop/charlie-gilmour-featherhood/) , Charlie Gilmour (33:28) The Silver Dark Sea (https://foxedquarterly.com/shop/susan-fletcher-the-silver-dark-sea/) , Susan Fletcher (35:13) A Month in Siena (https://foxedquarterly.com/shop/hisham-matar-a-month-in-siena/) , Hisham Matar (36:12) The Hunting Party (https://foxedquarterly.com/shop/lucy-foley-hunting-party/) , Lucy Foley (38:00) Related Slightly Foxed Articles Word from the Wood (https://foxedquarterly.com/aldo-leopold-sand-country-almanac-literary-review/) , Galen O’Hanlon on A Sand County Almanac, Aldo Leopold, Issue 54 (18:14) Northern Lights (https://foxedquarterly.com/penelope-lively-barry-lopez-arctic-dreams-literary-review/) , Penelope Lively on Arctic Dreams, Barry Lopez, Issue 4 (18:43) Other Links An Englishmans’ Commonplace Book ‘launch party’ at John Sandoe Books (https://foxedquarterly.com/book-launch-roger-hudson-an-englishmans-commonplace-book-john-sandoe-books/) (1:19)  The Art Workers’ Guild (https://www.artworkersguild.org/) (1:54)  Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park (https://www.lochlomond-trossachs.org/) (8:37)  Saraband, independent publisher (https://saraband.net/) (12:20)  Jim Crumley, The Scots Magazine (https://www.scotsmagazine.com/articles/category/explore/wildlife/) (31:56) Opening music: Preludio from Violin Partita No.3 in E Major by Bach The Slightly Foxed Podcast is hosted by Philippa Lamb and produced by Podcastable (https://www.podcastable.co.uk/)

The London Metropolitan Archives was established to collect, preserve, celebrate and share the stories of London and Londoners. They also have a book club. We sit down with Claire Titley and Charlie Turpie to learn more about it in an episode chock-full of great reading suggestions. If you're interested in joining the London Metropolitan Archives book club you can stay up to date with all their events by following them on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter @ldnmetarchives. And you can find Claire on Instagram @clairelouisetitley and Charlie @charliebooksandcoffee Books mentioned in this episode were: Penelope Lively's City of the Mind This is London by Ben Judah, and do check out our episode 9 for my book club's spirited discussion of that book Margery Allingham's Campion Novels, including The Tiger in the Smoke Mrs Dalloway and The Years by Virginia Woolf, Mr Loverman and Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo James Boswell's London Journal, Hangover Square by Patrick Hamilton Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman Ben Aaronovitch's Rivers of London series Next episode: Bookshelf, in which we discuss Exciting Times by Naoise Doolan, Early Riser by Jasper Fforde, Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid, The Hottest Dishes of the Tatar Cuisine by Alina Bronsky, Weather by Jenny Offill and Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell. That episode is coming soon. Next up for book club is Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens, a haunting tale of love and murder set in the marshland of South Carolina that has found millions of readers, topping bestseller lists around the world, but what did my book club think? Were they as ravished as Reese Witherspoon, who didn't read the last ten pages because she didn't want the book to end. Coming soon. If you'd like to see what we're up to between episodes follow us on Instagram or Facebook @BookClubReview podcast, on Twitter @bookclubrvwpod or email thebookclubreview@gmail.com. If you like what we do please take a moment to rate and review us on iTunes, we really appreciate it.

Interesting selection of stories by a Booker Prize winning author. (Local productions are on hold during the social distance requirements due to Covid-19. This segment originally aired April 19, 2018.) Penelope Lively is an author with a subtle and delightful sense of humor and pathos. She has written more than 20 novels and short story collections. Her latest collection, The Purple Swamp Hen and Other Stories is every bit engrossing as many of the others I have read. Penelope was born in Cairo, Egypt in 1933. She is a British Citizen and has been awarded the title of “Dame of the British Empire.” She won the Booker Prize in 1987 for her acclaimed novel, Moon Tiger. She is a sure bet for a great read. The collection begins with the title story, The Purple Swamp Hen. The story is told by a Purple Swamp Hen, and it is rather humorous. Penelope begins with a detailed description—including taxonomy—of the hen. She writes, “Wondering where all this is going? Have patience. You know me on

It’s the birthday of Penelope Lively (1933), the only writer to win both the Carnegie Medal and the Booker Prize. Her memoir, “Life in the Garden,” was published in 2018.

Penelope Lively: „Foto“ Postimehe kirjastuse romaanisarja seitsmes raamat, Suurbritannia ühe andekama nüüdisaegse kirjaniku Penelope Lively romaan „Foto“ räägib ajast, mineviku ja tuleviku ristumisest, mälust ja mälestustest ning nende petlikkusest. See jutustab kahest abielust, ebakõladest inimeste vahel, mittemõistmise kurbusest ja sellest, mis juhtub, kui armumine on möödas.

Writers including Penelope Lively, Caryl Philips, Howard Jacobson and Yomi Sode explore how this idea has changed over time. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/bookspod

Deep dives.   Gardeners love to fall in love with particular plants.   We can fall so hard, that we tune out other possibilities for our gardens.   Then, in a fascinating twist, our deep dives can suddenly stop.   As is often the case, those deep dives can be followed by a pivot.   I started out as a shrub gardener. Then, I made a pivot to annuals and ornamentals and had nary a shrub in my garden.   Then I was anti-annual.   Then I moved into herbs and edibles.   Now I'm a little bit of everything.   Deep dives and pivots. Part of the process of growing a gardener.       Brevities   #OTD  It's the birthday of the Dutch botanist Gerard van Swieten, born on this day in 1700. In 1740, Maria Theresa inherited the Habsburg Empire. When it came to medicine, Austria was about 200 years behind its European neighbors. Maria Theresa acted quickly, recruiting the best available medical experts to her court. Gerard van Swieten was one of the most important people she brought to Vienna.  By May 1745, the Van Swieten family had sold all their belongings in the Netherlands and traveled to Vienna. Van Swieten laid the foundation for Austria's medical institutions. He totally reorganized the medical faculty of the University of Vienna; adding a botanical garden and a chemical laboratory, each headed by a professor.  Swieten published, in Latin, five volumes on the writings of Boerhaave; the work influenced medical practice throughout Europe. It also contained the first description of episodic cluster headache. Swieten exchanged letters with Linnaeus on botanical matters for over a decade. He named his youngest daughter, Maria Theresia after the Empress, who was also her godmother. His son Godfried would become famous in his own right as Austrian ambassador and patron of great classical composers such as Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven. One fascinating story about Swieten was his role in fighting superstition during the enlightenment, specifically with regard to vampires.  In 1755 the Empress sent Swieten to Serbia to investigate. Swieten viewed the vampire myth as a "barbarism of ignorance" and his aim was to completely crush it.    In 1768 "that all the fuss .... [comes from] vain fear, a superstitious credulity, a dark and eventful imagination, simplicity and ignorance among the people."   Based on Swieten's report, Maria Theresa issue a decree that banned all traditional defences to vampires being put to the stakes, beheaded and burned.   The genus of mahogany, Swietenia,was named after Swieten.       #OTD in 1888, the first organizational meeting of the Rochester Parks Commission was held in Rochester, New York.  They decided to invite the great American landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmsted to design a park system for the city. In fact, Rochester was the last municipal park system designed by the renowned Olmsted. Charles Sprague Sargent, the first director of Harvard University's Arnold Arboretum, called Rochester "a city in a forest." Trees have been a vital part of Rochester since the city's founding. It was essentially an impenetrable forest when the first settlers arrived. In early Rochester, trees were so plentiful that early settlers built roads from them. Rochester's Plank Road, now paved, is a nod to the road's original construction.     #OTD  On this day in 1901, the Fruit and Vegetable Committee reviewed 16 stocks of radish in Drill Hall as part of the Royal Horticultural Society's trial of salad plants at Chiswick. All of the radish were sown in a cold frame on March 7. Except on cold nights the lights were not put on the frames.  1. Early Gem ''. Veitch).-Ready for use April 29. Roots longish oval, scarlet, tipped with white. Foliage moderate. A very crisp and pleasant-flavored variety. 2. Ever Tender (R. Veitch).-Same as No. 3. 3. Gem (Barr).-Distinct from No. 1, being rounder, paler scarlet, but ready for use at the same time, and similar in foliage and flavor. 4. Krewson's Oblong Black (Masters).-Not true. Roots white. 5. Lily White (R. Veitch).-Ready for use April 30. Roots long, white. Foliage short and distinct. Crisp, and of very good flavor. 6. Mortlake Gem (Carter).-Ready for use April 29. Roots turnip-shaped, white, beautifully speckled and mottled with scarlet. Foliage very short. Crisp, and of good flavor. A very pretty variety. 7. Olive-shaped Extra Early Scarlet (J. Veitch). Ready for use April 26. Roots deep round or olive-shaped. Foliage short. Excellent in all respects, and one of the earliest and best. This variety is the same as “Deep Scarlet Olive-shaped,” which received a F.C.C. April 21, 1897. 8. Olive-shaped Extra Early White (J. Veitch).-Ready for use April 26. A white form of No. 7, and equally good and early. (Syn.) “Forcing White Olive-shaped" and “ First of All White,” which received A.M. May 10, 1898. 9. Olive-shaped Jewel for use. April 29. , Roots oblong, deep scarlet. Foliage remarkably short. Crisp and of good flavor. (Syn.) “Olive-shaped Bright Red,” which received A.M. May 5, 1896. This variety is also known as “Leafless,” probably from the exceeding smallness of the foliage. 10. Scarlet Queen (Barr).-Ready for use April 30. Roots long, scarlet tipped with white. Foliage rather large. Crisp and sweet in flavor. 11. Triumph (J. Veitch).-Same as No. 6. 12. Turnip-shaped Extra Early Scarlet (J. Veitch).-Ready for use April 26. Roots scarlet. Foliage very short. Crisp and of excellent flavor; one of the best and earliest. 13. Turnip-shaped Extra Early White (J. Veitch).-Ready for use April 29. A white form of No. 12, but three ays later in com ing into use.  14. Turnip-shaped Early White (Barr). Same as No. 13. 15. Turnip-shaped (Barr).-Ready for use April 26. Roots deep, round, scarlet. Foliage very short. Crisp and excellent. Very similar to No. 7. 16. Wood's Frame White (R. Veitch). Ready for use April 30. A white form of the well-known Wood's Frame.   #OTD On this day in 1936, Henry Teuscher arranged for the first sod was cut in preparing the space for the Montreal Botanical Garden.   Teuscher had been appointed superintendent and chief horticulturalist of the future Montreal Botanical Garden. A visionary, Teuscher began dreaming of an ideal botanical garden. By fall, Teuscher had hired 2,000 unemployed men through Quebec government's unemployment assistance program to get building underway.  By 1939, the administration building, production greenhouses, roads, and two lakes had been installed.    WWII brought challenges for Teuscher that extended outside of the garden. A German, Teuscher was accused of being aspy for the Nazis.  Although he was declared innocent, the accusations took a toll. In 1956, Teauscher was there to see the opening of his greenhouses, the realization of his dream for the garden.        #OTD On this day in 2015, Bartram’s Garden, in Philadelphia, was designated an American Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS) Horticultural Landmark.   The prestigious award commemorates sites of horticultural accomplishments selected for historical, scientific, environmental, and aesthetic value. Bartram’s joins an elite group of ASHS Horticultural Landmarks. The award was first presented to Monticello, home of President Thomas Jefferson. Other recipients include Longwood Gardens, Missouri Botanical Garden, New York Botanical Garden, Arnold Arboretum, and Fairchild Botanical Garden.   How were Bartram’s Gardens preserved?     Andrew McCalla Eastwick (1806-1879) an engineer and the inventor of the steam shovel, made sure the historic garden was kept intact.  Eastwick had banked a personal mint after building railroads for Czar Nicholas I of Russia.  In 1850, he bought the 46-acre Bartram estate from John Bartram’s granddaughter; Ann Bartram Carr.   Unlike the fate of many old homes, Eastwick decided not to tear down the existing house.  Instead, he kept the Bartram family homestead as a memorial, building his own mansion beside Bartrams. He vowed not to harm “one bush” planted by the Bartrams.       Unearthed Words   "Trees are the earth's endless effort to speak to the listening heaven." ~ Rabindranath Tagore, born on this day in 1861   Today's book recommendation: Life in the Garden by Penelope Lively Penelope Lively takes up her key themes of time and memory, and her lifelong passions for art, literature, and gardening in this philosophical and poetic memoir. From the courtyards of her childhood home in Cairo to a family cottage in Somerset, to her own gardens in Oxford and London, Lively conducts an expert tour, taking us from Eden to Sissinghurst and into her own backyard, traversing the lives of writers like Virginia Woolf and Philip Larkin while imparting her own sly and spare wisdom. "Her body of work proves that certain themes never go out of fashion," writes the New York Times Book Review, as true of this beautiful volume as of the rest of the Lively canon. Lively said, "To garden is to elide past, present, and future; it is a defiance of time." Today's Garden Chore Trial something this year. Experiment with a few new varieties. Notice the differences. If you've ever seen the movie Runaway Bride, with Julia Roberts, there's a scene where she (Maggie) and Richard Gere (Ike) are arguing about eggs. Throughout the movie, Ike has been interviewing her former fiancés. He'd ask them how Maggie liked her eggs cooked. Maggie never formulated her own opinion, she just ordered whatever her fiancé ordered. Take basil.  How can you know if you prefer Mammoth or Purple Ruffles until you've grown or cooked with both? Whatever plants you think you love, the odds are good you'll love a variation of it even more.     Something Sweet  Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart In 1855, Darwin wrote to William Darwin Fox I am rather low today about all my experiments,—everything has been going wrong—the fan-tails have picked the feathers out of the Pouters in their Journey home—the fish at the Zoological Gardens after eating seeds would spit them all out again—Seeds will sink in salt-water—all nature is perverse & will not do as I wish it, & just at present I wish I had the old Barnacles to work at & nothing new.   It was just a bad day. 23 years later - in 1878 on this day, he wrote to Thomas Henry Farrer, 1st Baron Farrer "At present I care for nothing in this wide world except the biology of seedling plants."       Thanks for listening to the daily gardener, and remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."

Gail, Hazel, Anna and Donna Coonan of Virago Modern Classics gather round the table to talk about giving new life to forgotten voices, and Helen Bourne heads for the Pyramids with a young Priscilla Napier. The digits in brackets following each listing refer to the minute and second they are mentioned. (Episode duration: 33 minutes; 31 seconds) **Books Mentioned** • [Slightly Foxed Issue 61](https://foxedquarterly.com/shop/slightly-foxed-issue-61-1-march-2019/) (2:02) • Priscilla Napier, [A Late Beginner](https://foxedquarterly.com/shop/a-late-beginner/) (4:41) • L. M. Montgomery, [Anne of Green Gables](https://foxedquarterly.com/shop/l-m-montgomery-anne-of-green-gables/) (12:00) • [Noel Streatfeild’s Christmas Stories](https://foxedquarterly.com/shop/noel-streatfeild-christmas-stories/) (12:47) • The Slightly Foxed Edition Gail refers to is [Sword of Bone](https://foxedquarterly.com/shop/sword-of-bone/), Anthony Rhodes’s memoir of his experiences of WWII and being evacuated from Dunkirk (15:28) • Marjorie Hillis, [Live Alone and Like It](https://www.littlebrown.co.uk/books/detail.page?isbn=9781844081257), is available through Little, Brown Book Group (16:00)(16:00) • Winifred Watson, [Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day](http://www.persephonebooks.co.uk/miss-pettigrew-lives-for-a-day.html), is available from Persephone Books (18:40) • Eric Newby, [Love and War in the Apennines](https://foxedquarterly.com/shop/eric-newby-love-and-war/) (23:26) • Mary Hocking’s trilogy of titles, Good Daughters, Indifferent Heroes and Welcome Strangers, are out of print, but we may be able to get hold of second-hand copies. Please [get in touch](https://foxedquarterly.com/help/) for details (29:03) • Graham Swift, [Mothering Sunday](https://foxedquarterly.com/shop/graham-swift-mothering-sunday/) (29:37) • Sigrid Nunez, [The Friend](https://foxedquarterly.com/shop/sigrid-nunez-the-friend/) (30:06) • Amor Towles, [A Gentleman in Moscow](https://foxedquarterly.com/shop/amor-towles-a-gentleman-in-moscow/) (30:48) **Related Slightly Foxed Articles & Illustrations** • [Rowena Macdonald’s article](https://foxedquarterly.com/philip-hensher-rowena-macdonald-literary-review/) on Philip Hensher’s Kitchen Venom was published in Slightly Foxed Issue 61 (2:18) • [Extract from Priscilla Napier’s memoir, A Late Beginner](https://foxedquarterly.com/priscilla-napier-late-beginner-extract/), read by Helen Bourne (23:54) • [Penelope Lively’s preface to A Late Beginner](https://foxedquarterly.com/penelope-lively-preface-late-beginner-priscilla-napier/) was also published as an article in [Slightly Foxed Issue 21](https://foxedquarterly.com/shop/slightly-foxed-issue-21/) **Other Links** • The second-hand bookshop in Canada is called Reasons to Live Books & Records. A full list of Slightly Foxed stockists can be found on our website: [Stockists](https://foxedquarterly.com/category/stockists/) (0:40) • [The Slightly Foxed Subscribers’ Competition 2019](https://foxedquarterly.com/slightly-foxed-writing-competition-2019/) (3:20) • The Slightly Foxed [Spring 2019 Readers’ Catalogue](https://foxedquarterly.com/products/readers-catalogue/) is available to view and download (3:46) • [The Faber Stories series](https://www.faber.co.uk/blog/faber-90th-anniversary/) was launched as part of Faber’s 90th anniversary publishing programme (3:52) • [Virago Modern Classics](https://www.virago.co.uk/books/virago-modern-classics/) (6:31) • [Virago Children’s Classics](https://www.virago.co.uk/virago-modern-classics-books-children/) (11:35) • [Persephone Books](https://www.persephonebooks.co.uk/) (18:27) • For subscriptions to Slightly Foxed magazine, and all our available publications, visit [www.foxedquarterly.com](https://foxedquarterly.com/) (33:05) **Music & Sound Effects** Reading: introductory music Elgar’s Salut D’Amour by James Langevin. Incidental music and sound effects courtesy of [www.freeso...

You'll never sleep in a twin bedroom again after hearing this classic Edwardian ghost story, selected by Penelope Lively and read by Simon Callow as part of our seasonal series of short stories selected by leading novelists

You’ll never sleep in a twin bedroom again after hearing this classic Edwardian ghost story, selected by Penelope Lively and read by Simon Callow as part of our seasonal series of short stories selected by leading novelists

Tom Shakespeare is downsizing. But what to do with his books? He points out that he has nothing like the magnitude of problem faced by the Argentine-Canadian author, Alberto Manguel, a few years ago when he downsized from his medieval presbytery in France to an apartment in New York and had to deal with 35,000 books! Or even the 3,000 books Penelope Lively wrote about recently. But Tom ponders how few of his thousand or so books will be enough to live with. Producer: Adele Armstrong.

Hammerstein Sing-Along!  Lessons in Mgmt from SpongeBob.  Yankees Rant.  Ira Gershenhorn (bravest man in a speedo).  Garden Talk with Penelope Lively, Tom Stoppard, and Elizabeth von Arnim.  Missing gold in Hindu Temple.  Perfume deMistified.  After Sinatra? Credits: Talent:  Tamsen Granger and Dan Abuhoff Engineer:  Ellie Suttmeier Art:  Zeke Abuhoff

This year, the Man Booker Prize is celebrating its 50th anniversary. To mark the special event, a one-off Golden Man Booker Prize is being given to a previous winner crowning the overall best work of fiction from the last five decades of the prize. The five books thought to have best stood the test of time are: In a Free State by V. S. Naipaul; Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively; The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje; Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel; and Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders. We listen to them all and talk to some of the authors on the shortlist in this Man Booker special.

In the second episode of the Golden Man Booker podcasts, host Joe Haddow continues the journey through the shortlisted novels for this special prize. Joe catches up with Simon Mayo about his selected shortlist novel from the 2010s, Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel and with Lemn Sissay about the 1987 winner Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively. Joe then talks to Ted Hodgkinson, Senior Programmer, Literature and Spoken Word at the Southbank Centre, about the upcoming Man Booker 50 Festival and Dotti Irving, Chief Executive of Four Culture, who's been involved with the prize for over 25 years.

Recorded on May 19, 2018 Book Talk starts at 26:35 Our Never-Have-I-Ever Sock-along is over -  great job, everyone!  Listen until the end of the podcast to find out if you won a prize.    Get ready for our summer swap (slated to begin in late June), hosted by the wonderful Sandra (SweetSerendipity37).  Check out this thread and vote to let Sandra know you’d like to participate.   Get ready for our next KAL!  We will be hosting our annual Mother Bear KAL starting June 1, and ending on August 31, 2018.  Any bears you have knit or crocheted in 2018 are eligible to be entered for prizes.  If you want more information about the Mother Bear Project, please go here.  Don't have a pattern?  Please go here to order a pattern!  It will be sent via US mail with a very short turn-around time.   KNITTING   Barb has finished: Tailfeather cardigan by Heidi Kirrmaier, using Elemental Affects Cormo in a sage green color way Malabrigo Hand Thingies by Anne Sahakian, using leftover worsted scraps Gently Stirred Never Shaken shawl/scarf by Mac and Joe, using Baah La Jolla in 3 different colorways - Strawberry Shortcake, Deep Slate and Cotton Candy Slable Hat by Woolly Wormhead using Knit Picks Hawthorne Speckle in the Cosmic Speckle colorway. Mother Bear #131   Tracie has finished: 6th Fiddly Bits cowl by Jane Pihota from magic cake all in shades of green Mother Bears 122 & 123   Barb continues to work on: Tale as Old as Time Cowl by Anne Vally, using Must Stash Yarns & Fiber Perfect Self-Striping Sock in the Beauty and the Beast colorways Misty Scarf by Kaffe Fassett, using Rowan Kidsilk Haze Stripe (now discontinued) in a pale blue and pale pink colorway and a darker blue, cranberry and hot pink colorway. Mount Airy Socks by Mary Lucas, using Duren Dyeworks Awesome Sock Blank.     And has cast on: Welcome Spring Cowl by Diane L. Augustin, using Stitch Together Dreamy DK in the This Pussy Grabs Back colorway Fragment by Clare Mountain using Knit Picks Lindy Chain in the Blue Bell colorway   Tracie has cast on: Simple Skyp Socks by Addrienne Ku in Invictus Yarns Master of My Feet in NoCKRs 2015 colorway   And continues to work on: Leaf Press Shawl by Judy Marples, from a Craftsy Kit in Cloudborn Highland Sport in the Caribbean and Dolphin Blue colorways Lake Effect by Amy Miller in Baah La Jolla in the California Poppy colorway Knitting at the Library Cowl by Cori Eichelberger in Invictus Yarns Beyond Mini-Set in the Forest colorway Bellora Tee by Samantha Kirby, using Knit Picks Lindy Chain in the Thicket and Harbor colorways     BOOKS   Barb finished: A Death in White Bear Lake: A True Chronicle of an All-American Town by Barry Siegel Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell News of the World by Paulette Jiles The Last Thing She Ever Did by Gregg Olson   Tracie finished: Alternate Side by Anna Quindlen Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell The Glass Forest by Cynthia Swanson Family Album by Penelope Lively   Barb is reading: Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris Knitlandia by Clara Parkes   Tracie is reading: Light in August by William Faulkner Beyond Obsession: The Shocking True Story of a Teenage Love Affair Turned Deadly by Richard Hammer        

This week, I'm joined by Gail Pirkis and Hazel Wood, the founders and editors of the literary journal and publishing company, Slightly Foxed. I’m such a huge fan of both the books and the magazine, and longtime listeners of Tea & Tattle may remember my interview with Ysenda Maxtone Graham, whose fantastic book, Terms & Conditions, was published by Slightly Foxed. In today’s interview, Gail and Hazel share how they first came up with the idea of starting Slightly Foxed, and they give fascinating insights into the nitty-gritty of running a small, but very successful business. Highly rated by authors such as Hilary Mantel, Gretchen Rubin and Penelope Lively, the Slightly Foxed quarterly is described as ‘the literary magazine for nonconformists, for people who don’t want to read only what the big publishers are hyping and the newspapers are reviewing.’ I always come away with brilliant book suggestions whenever I read the latest issue, and the carefully selected memoirs published by Slightly Foxed are also unfailingly fantastic. It was such an honour to get to chat with Hazel and Gail from their London office, and I know this episode will be a real joy for book lovers. Listen to learn more about the story behind Slightly Foxed. Read the show notes and get all the links: teaandtattlepodcast.com/home/67 Get in touch! Email: teaandtattlepodcast@gmail.com Instagram: @mirandasnotebook If you enjoy the show, please do leave a rating and review in iTunes, as good ratings really help other people to find the podcast. Thank you!

With women’s Day just behind us, I am focusing my reading this month on women authors. I notice more and more when I peruse big distributors like Amazon that there is now a genre called “Women’s Fiction.” Not so long ago, this same genre might have been called romance novels, and I take both designations as at least faintly negative, alerting readers that this is light fiction, all about squishy love and relationships, unlike the more muscled serious literature produced by men. In fact, if a reader really wants to read about relationships, between men and women, women and women, parents and children, and even our relationships with other animals, I think the category to look to is women’s fiction.Indeed, when I look back over women authors of the last century or more, I think most could be put in this category. Simone de Beauvoir, Iris Murdoch, Penelope Lively, Doris Lessing, and even Nadine Gordimer write primarily about family and relationships. Yes, Murdoch’s novels are deeply philosophical, and Gordimer’s deeply political, but the stories told are about relationships. Take for example one of Gordimer’s later novels, A Sport of Nature, Lively’s The Photograph, Lesssing’s The Golden Notebook, de Beauvoirs’ The Mandarins; all of these novels are about relationships, and all (as I read them) feminist novels. But I want to put in a word or two today for even more popular so-called romance writers like Jojo Moyes, Joan Silber, and Miranda Beverly-Whittemore. Recently, after finally finishing an agonizingly long and gruesome psychological thriller, a reader friend loaned me a stack of library books when I told her I needed to read something more hopeful and optimistic. The stack included Jojo Moyes, The Last Letter From Your Lover, and The Horse Dancer both of which were deeply perceptive about how relationships go wrong, and how they can sometimes be righted, perhaps with just a few moments of real honesty or a real attempt to un-self, in Murdoch’s words, to really attend to the other. The Horse Dancer not only reveals much about how secrets and  hiding of insecurities prevents real understanding between lovers, and between children and parents, it also describes a beautiful relationship between a girl and her horse, and much advice about how we ought to attend to and treat animals in our lives. Now I agree that romance novels often become formulaic, with too much talk of six-pack abdomens and hot, smoky sex. And, as in The Last Letter From Your Lover, too much jerking around of the readers, first giving one hope of a breakthrough, a reunion, a happy ending, and then ripping the carpet out from under those hopes, only to begin to build a new anticipation of resolution, a new thread of hope cut off again, and again. Still, the characters in the novels mentioned are believable and fully fleshed out, and the circumstances usually quite plausible. Miranda Beverly-Whittemore’s fine novel, Set Me Free not only describes human relationships well and perceptively, it also tells us a lot about racism and the broken promises Native Americans have continually faced. I’m sure some readers would want to insist that Set Me Free is much more than a romance or women’s fiction book, but my point is that many in this poorly defined genre are much more than romances.I learned long ago that I loved what many critics deride as ‘chick flicks,’ for many of the same reasons I find so-called romance novels important and uplifting. When I look back and recall why I so loved Edith Wharton. Alice Munro, Willa Cather, I discover that it was their acute understanding of relationships that endeared them to me. Would Jane Austin and Emily Bronte (were they writing today) be labeled romance writers? Certainly, relationships between lovers were key part of their works. At various times in my reading life I have rejected whole genres of writing: science-fiction, mysteries, only to discover my reasons were superficial and largely unjustified. So-called romance novels are, I suppose, my latest treasure-trove of overlooked or too quickly rejected novels. Jojo Moyes has made me laugh out loud and cry as she describes the sad but often laughable antics of lovers.I have not learned much from self-help books on how to make relationships work, or how and when to jettison ones that don’t, but novels (especially those by women) have shown me just how deceit tarnishes and/or destroys relationships, just how even moments of real honesty can restart a relationship in trouble. I am a reader who loves to read about families, and here, again, I think the place to go is often this slippery genre I’m trying to characterize.Next week I will return to my usual habit of reviewing a single novel when I review Rene Denfeld’s The Child Finder, another novel primarily about relationships. But today, I am happy to be recommending to you women’s fiction, which is neither soft nor shallow.

Jane Harper discusses her latest book, Force of Nature and Penelope Lively on E Nesbit

You’ll never sleep in a twin bedroom again after hearing this classic Edwardian ghost story, selected by Penelope Lively read by Simon Callow

You'll never sleep in a twin bedroom again after hearing this classic Edwardian ghost story, selected by Penelope Lively read by Simon Callow

Thoughts on writing fiction as you get older from the novelist Penelope Lively.

Young British playwright Lucy Kirkwood's latest play The Children opens at London's Royal Court Theatre: three old friends discussing the future after an unnamed disaster Korean horror drama film The Wailing has been gaining a lot of international attention - combining a ghost story and zombies and a police drama Tim Roth plays the serial murderer John Christie in BBC TV's Rillington Place. A three part series, it looks at the story from the points of view of Christie, his wife and the lodger who was wrongly hanged for the murders. Penelope Lively's latest collection of short stories is called "Purple Swamp Hen" There's a new exhibition in Nottingham of the work of the late Victor Pasmore, British abstract artist and educator Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Blake Morrison, Barb Jungr and Andrea Rose. The producer is Oliver Jones.

Game of Thrones meets Bake Off as Mel Giedroyc and Gemma Whelan discuss their involvement in New Songs 4 New Shows, a gala evening showcasing four new musicals currently in development, directed by West End grandee Maria Friedman.The Booker Prize-winning author Penelope Lively discusses her latest collection of short stories, The Purple Swamp Hen & Other Stories. After J.K. Rowling sends copies of her Harry Potter novels to a girl in Aleppo, Syria, fellow children's writer Michael Morpurgo discusses the importance of books in war zones.Billy Bob Thornton reprises his role as the foul-mouthed, whisky-fuelled 'Father Christmas' in Bad Santa 2. Mark Eccleston reviews.Presenter Kirsty Lang Producer Marilyn Rust.

Back in 105, we were less than thrilled with Penelope Lively's novel Making It Up. This week we're giving her work a second chance by reading a couple short stories from her 1997 collection, The Five Thousand and One Nights. Will we fall in love? Or will Lively fall prey to the Book Fight "two strikes and you're out" rule? Also this week: Another listener-submitted story of literary second chances, plus Mike has some advice on whether to give your ex a second chance. And Tom talks about the time he got broken up with via Fleetwood Mac lyrics. For more, visit us online at bookfightpod.com. 

Penelope Lively has written more than thirty books, and Tom picked this one, for some reason. The novel purports to explore the line between fiction and nonfiction, but it does so in a way neither of us found particularly interesting. We talk about what separates a "novel" from a purposeless series of writing exercises.  In the second half of the show, we delve into the world of Christmas-themed fan fiction, with stories about the characters from Love, Actually, Law and Order: SVU and Veronica Mars. For more, visit us online at bookfightpod.com. 

Bel Mooney talks to author Penelope Lively about the nature of home. Is it an idea as much as a place?

Novelist Dame Penelope Lively and comedy writer and performer Will Smith talk to Harriett Gilbert about the books they love, which include A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole, Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis and Arctic Dreams by Barry Lopez. Producer Beth O'Dea

David Vann and Stuart Kelly on Norse myths, Penelope Lively on where she writes and Suzanne Berne talks about her latest novel The Dogs of Littlefield.

Mark Lawson talks to Sir David Jason about balancing privacy with autobiography; to the new artistic director of the National Theatre, Rufus Norris, on learning to speak up for UK drama; to songwriter Tori Amos and playwright Samuel Adamson about their new musical fairytale for the 21st century; and he follows a Frank Auerbach picture into a Luton primary school; while Kirsty Lang meets writer Penelope Lively; and John Wilson talks to Sir Paul McCartney about finding new things to do at 71.

With Kirsty Lang.Julian Fellowes, the creator of Downton Abbey, has adapted Romeo And Juliet for the big screen, inserting his own blank verse in the process. Andrew Dickson, the author of The Rough Guide To Shakespeare, delivers his verdict.Booker Prize-winning novelist Penelope Lively, now in her 80s, discusses the impact of ageing and the fallibility of memory as her memoir Ammonites and Leaping Fish is published.The Bridge was a Scandi TV drama about a body found on the bridge between Denmark and Sweden and the cultural differences that informed the investigation of the murder. Now it has been adapted for British and French audiences as The Tunnel, with the body found halfway across the Channel Tunnel. Former Times Paris correspondent Kate Muir gives her verdict.It's 25 years since the band Prefab Sprout enjoyed their greatest chart success with the single The King of Rock 'N' Roll, and a decade since their last album of new material, but now founder-member Paddy McAloon is back with a new disc. He discusses finding inspiration in a school cinema trip to Romeo and Juliet, the effects of tinnitus, and whether a song about a deal with the Devil reflects his own experience of the music businessProducer Ellie Bury.

Harriett Gilbert talks to acclaimed British writer Penelope Lively about her Booker Prize winning novel Moon Tiger. A haunting tale of loss, loneliness and secret desires Moon Tiger is the kaleidoscopic story of maverick historian Claudia Hampton. Telling nurses on her death bed that she will write a "history of the world and in the process my own," she charts her intensely-lived life from her childhood in England after World War I to the war-torn desert plains of Egypt, 30 years later – and beyond. Egocentric and condescending as well as vulnerable and gutsy, Claudia is a complex heroine for our times who lingers in the mind long after you put the book down. (Image: Penelope Lively. Copyright: Penguin)

Mariella Frostrup talks to Penelope Lively about her new novel How it All Began. Ex-Python and Chaucer-enthusiast Terry Jones is joined by Professor John Mullan to discuss medieval bawdy humour. And kicking off the series, John Sessions defends his pick for Open Book's Funniest Book.

Booker Prize winning novelist Penelope Lively discusses the relationship between history and fiction. David McCullough, twice winner of the Pulitzer Prize, delivers a reply to Lively's talk.

James Naughtie meets Penelope Lively and talks to her about her Booker Prize winning novel Moon Tiger in the company of the reading circle at Nightingale residential Home for Older People.

The castaway in this week's Desert Island Discs is one of Britain's leading writers, Penelope Lively. Author of eight novels, two of which were shortlisted for the Booker Prize and one which won her the prize in 1987, Moon Tiger, she'll be talking to Sue Lawley about her early childhood in Egypt, her philistine English boarding school and the sources of inspiration for her characters and books.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: Ruhe Sanft, Mein Holdes Leben (from Zaide) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Book: Moby Dick by Herman Melville Luxury: Binoculars

The castaway in this week's Desert Island Discs is one of Britain's leading writers, Penelope Lively. Author of eight novels, two of which were shortlisted for the Booker Prize and one which won her the prize in 1987, Moon Tiger, she'll be talking to Sue Lawley about her early childhood in Egypt, her philistine English boarding school and the sources of inspiration for her characters and books. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: Ruhe Sanft, Mein Holdes Leben (from Zaide) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Book: Moby Dick by Herman Melville Luxury: Binoculars