Carlos Acosta; Victoria Hislop; Literary heroines with Samantha Ellis and Dr Paula Byrne
Books news with Mariella Frostrup. Carlos Acosta shares his Five of the Best Books, Victoria Hislop takes us to where she writes best, and our changing relationship with heroines.
Ballet Dancer and now author Carlos Acosta shares his Five of the Best Books.
Carlos Acosta is one of the world's best known ballet dancers and continues to challenge himself on stage in new and classic roles. Meanwhile he's also written an enthusiastically received autobiography No Way Home and now, a debut novel called Pigs Foot, a turbulent tale of history, memory and family set in Cuba and influenced by many of the literary greats on his book list from Marquez to JD Salinger.
In the next in our series looking at where authors write, the internationally bestselling Victoria Hislop takes us deep into the bowels of The London Library.
When 35 year old playwright Samantha Ellis, a Cathy Earnshaw fan, was "wuthering" on the Yorkshire moors, and arguing with her best friend the comparative merits of wild, romantic Cathy over more independent and principled Jane Eyre, she had an epiphany. Had she got it wrong? Perhaps it was Jane, rather than Cathy who provided the more impressive role model? Spurred by this revelation Samantha decided to re-examine her relationship with all her literary heroines. Along with Dr Paula Byrne, she discusses whether as we mature, our choice of heroines reflect the adults we've become.
Producer: Andrea Kidd.
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BOOKLIST
Carlos Acosta's choices:
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The Catcher in the RyeÌýby J D Salinger
Notes from the UndergroundÌýby Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Earth's HolocaustÌýby Nathaniel Hawthorne
El llano en Llamas (The Burning Plain and other Stories)Ìýby Juan Rulfo
Cien Anos de Soledad (100 Years of Solitude)Ìýby Gabriel GarcÃa Márquez
Pig's Foot by Carlos Acosta
Publisher: Bloomsbury
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A Society by Virginia Woolf
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The Thread by Victoria Hislop
Publisher: Harper Collins
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Literary Heroines discussion:
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How To Be A Heroine by Samantha Ellis
Publisher: Chatto and Windus
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The Real Jane Austen by Paula Byrne
Publisher: Harper Collins
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Wuthering HeightsÌý(Cathy Earnshaw) Ìýby Emily Bronte
Pride and Prejudice (Elizabeth Bennet)Ìýby Jane Austen
To Kill A Mockingbird (Scout) by Harper Lee
Far From The Madding Crowd (Bathsheba)Ìýby Thomas Hardy
Gone With The Wind (Scarlett O'Hara) by Margaret Mitchell
Jane Eyre (Jane Eyre)Ìýby Charlotte Bronte
The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen
The Secret Garden (Mary Lennox)Ìýby Frances Hodgson Burnett
I Capture The Castle (Cassandra Mortmain)Ìýby Dodie Smith
Franny And Zooey (Franny) by J D Salinger
Anne Of Green Gables (Anne) by Lucy Maud Montgomery
The Valley Of The Dolls by Jacqueline Susann
A Room WithÌýA View (Lucy Honeychurch and Charlotte Bartlett) by E M Forster
Little Women (Jo March) by Louisa M Alcott
Harry Potter (Hermione Granger) by J K Rowling
The Northern Lights (Lyra Belacqua) by Philip Pullman
The Hunger Games (Katniss Everdeen) by Suzanne Collins
South Riding (Mrs Beddows) byÌýWinifred Holtby
Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
One Thousand And One Nights (Scherezade)
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Credits
| Role | Contributor |
|---|---|
| Presenter | Mariella Frostrup |
| Interviewed Guest | Carlos Acosta |
| Interviewed Guest | Victoria Hislop |
| Interviewed Guest | Samantha Ellis |
| Interviewed Guest | Paula Byrne |
| Producer | Andrea Kidd |
Broadcasts
- Sun 12 Jan 2014 16:00Â鶹Éç Radio 4
- Thu 16 Jan 2014 15:30Â鶹Éç Radio 4
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