Bookclub

BBC Radio 4

Led by James Naughtie, a group of readers talk to acclaimed authors about their best-known novels

  • 28 minutes 35 seconds
    Joanne Harris: Chocolat

    Led by presenter James Naughtie, the writer Joanne Harris takes questions from a BBC Bookclub audience on her best-selling novel, Chocolat. Published in 1999, the book follows the character of Vianne Rocher, a chocolate-maker and sometime witch, who arrives in the village of Lansquenet-sous-Tannes with her six-year-old daughter Anouk at the beginning of Lent and opens a chocolaterie opposite the church. Francis Reynaud, the local priest, disapproves of her instantly and Vianne's arrival polarizes the villagers.

    The book sold over a million copies in the UK and won the Creative Freedom and Whitaker Gold awards. It was later turned into an Oscar-nominated film starring Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp.

    Producer: Dom Howell Editor: Gillian Wheelan

    This was a BBC Audio Scotland production.

    1 June 2025, 3:00 pm
  • 28 minutes 41 seconds
    Natalie Haynes

    Led by presenter James Naughtie, a BBC Bookclub audience in Glasgow speaks to the author Natalie Haynes about her 2019 novel - A Thousand Ships - which retells the ancient Greek myths from a woman's perspective. Penelope, Clytemnestra, Andromache and Cassandra among others, all make appearances, but their stories are given a new voice and a fresh emphasis. This is the Trojan war and its impact as never seen before. The book was shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction in 2020.

    Producer: Dom Howell Editor: Gillian Wheelan This was a BBC Audio Scotland production.

    4 May 2025, 3:00 pm
  • 28 minutes 26 seconds
    Michel Faber

    This month BBC Radio 4's Bookclub, presented by James Naughtie, speaks to the writer Michel Faber about his debut novel, Under the Skin. Published in the year 2000 by Canongate it went on to be shortlisted for the Whitbread Award that same year. The book follows the female protagonist of Isserley who roves the A9 in the Scottish Highlands looking to pick up hitchhikers (preferably ones with big muscles). In 2013 the book was made into a film, shot in Glasgow, and directed by Jonathan Glazer. It starred Scarlett Johansson as Isserley.

    Producer: Dominic Howell Editor: Gillian Wheelan

    This was a BBC Audio Scotland production.

    6 April 2025, 3:00 pm
  • 28 minutes 46 seconds
    Christopher Brookmyre

    This month, Bookclub, presented by James Naughtie, speaks to the author Christopher Brookmyre, as he takes questions from a live BBC audience about his debut novel, Quite Ugly One Morning. The book is a pacey crime thriller, not so much a 'whodunnit', as a 'whydunnit', and it introduces us to the wily, wise-cracking journalist Jack Parlabane - a character Chris is still writing about some thirty years later. Published in 1996, Quite Ugly One Morning, was a best-seller at the time, and the actor David Tennant read the audiobook.

    Producer: Dom Howell Editor: Gillian Wheelan

    This was a BBC AUDIO SCOTLAND PRODUCTION.

    2 March 2025, 4:00 pm
  • 28 minutes 49 seconds
    Sara Collins

    This month, BBC Bookclub, presented by James Naughtie, speaks to the writer Sara Collins, as she takes questions from a live audience about her award-winning debut novel, The Confessions of Frannie Langton. Sara was the Costa Book Awards First Novel Winner in 2019. She has also adapted the book for television.

    Producer: Dom Howell Editor: Gillian Wheelan This was a BBC Audio Scotland production.

    2 February 2025, 4:00 pm
  • 28 minutes 29 seconds
    Richard Osman

    Presented by James Naughtie, BBC Bookclub speaks to the writer Richard Osman about his crime-fiction novel The Thursday Murder Club, which sold millions of copies, and has been made into a film.

    5 January 2025, 4:00 pm
  • 29 minutes 31 seconds
    Alan Warner: Morvern Callar

    Award-winning writer Alan Warner takes questions from Radio 4's Bookclub audience about his first-person, pacey novel, Morvern Callar, which was written in 1995 when Warner was in his late twenties. Morvern is a twenty-one year old foster-child whose life takes an irreversible turn when she discovers her boyfriend's dead body. The book was later turned into a critically-acclaimed film, of the same name, in 2002.

    2 December 2024, 9:46 am
  • 28 minutes 38 seconds
    Carys Davies: The Mission House

    The writer Carys Davies talks to readers about her beautifully-crafted novel, The Mission House, which follows the character of Hilary Byrd, a British librarian in his fifties, who is seeking to find himself again in modern-day southern India.

    3 November 2024, 4:00 pm
  • 27 minutes 37 seconds
    Susanna Clarke: Piranesi

    Susanna Clarke won the Women's Prize for Fiction with her novel Piranesi. She joins James Naughtie and a group of readers to answer their questions about this intriguing, tantalising novel.

    6 October 2024, 3:45 pm
  • 27 minutes 43 seconds
    Ken Follett: A Column of Fire

    Bestselling novelist Ken Follett joins James Naughtie and readers to discuss his historical novel A Column of Fire, the third in his hugely successful Kingsbridge series. It’s a tale of spying and intrigue, as Elizabeth I battles to keep her throne in the face of fierce religious division across Europe.

    1 September 2024, 3:45 pm
  • 27 minutes 47 seconds
    Ayobami Adebayo

    Ayobami Adebayo talks to James Naughtie and readers about her novel, Stay With Me, a moving story of loss and motherhood. Set against the backdrop of tumultuous political events in Nigeria, it tells the story of Yejide and Akin, whose marriage is childless. The novel, which is narrated by them both, explores the pressure to have a child, the toll it takes on their relationship and the profound emotional burden of desperately wanting to become a parent. Ayobami answers readers questions about the inspiration behind Stay With Me and how she inhabited the minds of her characters.

    Presenter: James Naughtie Producer : Nicola Holloway

    Next Bookclub recordings - both at 1830 in Broadcasting House, London

    14 August - Ken Follett on A Column of Fire 25 September - Susanna Clarke on Piranesi

    4 August 2024, 3:45 pm
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