Vicki Butler and Ann Hamilton

Guests: Vicki Butler, recent MA History Graduate of UCL and a voracious reader AND Ann
Hamilton, writer and photographer and member of Society for Women Writers and Journalists
www.swwj.com

Competition question: Who was the Poet Laureate before Andrew Motion between 1984-1998?
Answer: Ted Hughes
Winner: Martin McfLY
Prize: In the blood by Andrew Motion

Books

Narrow Dog to Carcassonne by Terry Darlington (Synopsis courtesy of RNIB Online)

Terry and Monica Darlington are intrepid pensioners who made the surprising decision to
sail their canal narrowboat Phillis May, sixteen hundred miles across France and down to
the Mediterranean, accompanied only by their whippet Jim. They took advice from nautical
experts, who told them they would lose their boat and their lives (and, indeed, Jim). It
is a true story of high adventure in France, England, Belgium and out at sea,as experienced
by two innocents and a reluctant dog.

Jonathan Strange and Mr.Norrell by Suzannah Clarke

Two magicians shall appear in England. The first shall fear me; the second shall
long to behold me…
Centuries ago, when magic still existed in England, the greatest magician of them
all was the Raven King. A human child brought up by fairies, the Raven King blended
fairy wisdom and human reason to create English magic. Now, at the beginning of the
nineteenth century, he is barely more than a legend, and England, with its mad King
and its dashing poets, no longer believes in practical magic.

Then the reclusive Mr Norrell of Hurtfew Abbey appears and causes the statues of
York Cathedral to speak and move. News spreads of the return of magic to England and,
persuaded that he must help the government in the war against Napoleon, Mr Norrell
goes to London. There he meets a brilliant young magician and takes him as a pupil.
Jonathan Strange is charming, rich and arrogant. Together, they dazzle the country
with their feats.

But the partnership soon turns to rivalry. Mr Norrell has never conquered his
lifelong habits of secrecy, while Strange will always be attracted to the wildest,
most perilous magic. He becomes fascinated by the shadowy figure of the Raven King,
and his heedless pursuit of long-forgotten magic threatens, not only his partnership
with Norrell, but everything that he holds dear.

Elegant, witty and utterly compelling, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell creates a past
world of great mystery and beauty that will hold the reader in thrall until the last
page.

Ladies of Grace Adieu by Suzannah Clarke

Faerie is never as far away as you think. Sometimes you find you have crossed an
invisible line and must cope, as best you can, with petulant princesses, vengeful
owls, ladies who pass their time in embroidering terrible fates, or with endless
paths in deep, dark woods and houses that never appear the same way twice.

The heroines and heroes bedevilled by such problems in these fairytales include a
conceited Regency clergyman, an eighteenth-century Jewish doctor and Mary Queen of
Scots, as well as two characters from Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell: Strange
himself and the Raven King.   This elegantly designed edition of Susanna Clarke's
short stories, beautifully illustrated throughout by Charles Vess, is a must for all
fans.

Black Lamb and Grey Falcon by Rebecca West

Written on the brink of World War II, West's classic examination of the history,
people and politics of Yugoslavia illuminates a region that is once again the center
of International concern. A magnificent blend of travel journal, cultural commentary
and historical insight, it probes into the troubled history of the Balkans and the
uneasy relationshhips among its ethnic groups. The landscape and people of
Yugoslavia are observed as Rebecca West untangles the tensions that rule the
country's history as well as its daily life.

A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway

Pulished posthumously in 1964, this remains one of Hemingway's most beloved
works. It is his classic memoir of Paris in the 1920s,filled with irreverent
portraits of other expatriate luminaries such as Scott Fitzgerald and
Gertrude Stein; tender memories of his first wife, Hadley; an insightful
recollections of his own early experiments with his craft. It is a literary
feast, evoking the exuberant mood of Paris afer World War I and the
youthful spirit, unbridled creativity and unquenchable enthusiasm that
Hemingway himself epitomised.

A study commissioned by UKTV Drama, into the greatest love story came up with this
result-

1 Wuthering Heights Emily Brontë, 1847

2 Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen, 1813

3 Romeo and Juliet William Shakespeare, 1597

4 Jane Eyre Charlotte Brontë, 1847

5 Gone with the Wind Margaret Mitchell, 1936

6 The English Patient Michael Ondaatje, 1992

7 Rebecca Daphne du Maurier, 1938

8 Doctor Zhivago Boris Pasternak, 1957

9 Lady Chatterley's Lover DH Lawrence, 1928

10 Far from The Madding Crowd Thomas Hardy, 1874

11 = My Fair Lady Alan Jay Lerner, 1956

The African Queen CS Forester, 1935

13 The Great Gatsby F Scott Fitzgerald, 1925

14 Sense and Sensibility Jane Austen, 1811

15 = The Way We Were Arthur Laurents, 1972

War and Peace Leo Tolstoy, 1865

17 Frenchman's Creek Daphne du Maurier, 1942

18 Persuasion Jane Austen, 1818

19 Take a Girl Like You Kingsley Amis, 1960

20 Daniel Deronda George Eliot, 1876