麻豆社

has never been afraid to voice her views about controversial subjects 鈥� she has spoken out on topics from abortion to fox hunting, and she converted to Roman Catholicism after the Church of England voted to ordain women priests. She was at the heart of Conservative politics for more than two decades 鈥� a minister in the Major government, before serving in the shadow cabinet under William Hague 鈥� and she is famed for saying there was 鈥渟omething of the night鈥� about her former boss Michael Howard, after she found herself undermined. Since then she has become known in recent years for her writing and her media work, including her appearance on Strictly Come Dancing in 2010. Jenni talks to Ann Widdecombe about her life and her new autobiography, Strictly Ann.

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Strictly Ann is published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson

Chinese authorities are planning to introduce fines for unmarried mothers - if a woman has a child with a married man they could be jointly liable for a fine of 162 000 yuan or 拢17 000. The new laws proposed by Wuhan province in central China have been very controversial. Initially only the mother would have been fined, but after protests this week, the authorities hastily reviewed their plans. So how are unmarried mothers treated in Chinese society?听The Guardian鈥檚 China Correspondent Tania Branigan has been following the story and joins Jenni from China to discuss.

In the next in our series about women and swimming, we visit North London for a dip in the Kenwood Ladies鈥� Pond on Hampstead Heath. Woman鈥檚 Hour reporter, Louise Adamson, meets up with Ruth Corney, who has taken photographs for a new book about swimming on the Heath. Ruth swims at the pond all year round, even in winter, but Louise met her on a warm Sunday morning听in听early summer.

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Taking the Waters 鈥� A Swim Around Hampstead Heath by Caitlin Davies with photographs by Ruth Corney, is published by Frances Lincoln

Curtis Sittenfeld, author of American Wife, talks about her new novel, Sisterland - the story of twin sisters with psychic senses.听 Vi embraces her visions and Kate does her best to hide them, however the twins鈥� relationship flounders when Vi goes on television to predict a devastating earthquake.

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Sisterland by Curtis Sittenfeld is published by Transworld Books

Everyone has the right to feel safe in their own homes and neighbourhoods, yet thousands of people around the country are still having their everyday lives blighted by anti-social behaviour. The government hopes to improve the situation with the new that鈥檚 currently working its way through the House of Commons. If passed, the bill seeks to put victims first, give power to local people, and streamline 19 existing powers, replacing them with six new ones. So will the new bill help to prevent anti-social behaviour amongst young people? Or will it make things worse? We hear from anti-social behaviour victim, Joanne Binns, and from Penelope Gibbs, Chair of the , and from Home Office Minister Jeremy Browne MP.