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The Book Show

Jane Austen's influence has spread well beyond the Anglosphere 250 years after her birth and today we consider the the parallels between Austen's Regency England and contemporary Pakistan. 

Laleen Sukhera is the founder of the Jane Austen Society of Pakistan (which has expanded to the Jane Austen Society MENAP - Middle East, North Africa, and Pakistan) and grew up reading Jane Austen in Islamabad. Now based in Dubai, she shares the many similarities between tea time, the marriage market and expectations on women in Austen's time and the Pakistan of her 1990s youth. She also shares why she has a soft spot for the fabulously flawed Emma Woodhouse in Austen's fourth published novel, Emma. 

Listen to the other episodes in Dear Jane here.

04 | Dear Jane — Reading Emma in Pakistan

Megha Majumdar's A Guardian and a Thief asks what a billionaire, a manager and homeless person have in common, Sally Hepworth reveals the dramatic confession that led to her latest novel Mad Mabel and in the third episode of Dear Jane we are swept off our feet by the romance in Austen's Persuasion.

Indian novelist Megha Majumdar's high stakes second novel, A Guardian and a Thief, drills into the moral dilemma posed by climate catastrophe and the will to survive. It takes a near future Kolkata ravaged by drought and famine and pits middle-class Ma against impoverished Boomba. Both are trying to survive and support their families but who has the moral high ground in this scenario? Megha reflects on how becoming a parent made her the writer she needed to be and why she doesn't want to reinforce the "noble mother" stereotype in her fiction.

Australian author Sally Hepworth's tenth book can be thought of as a heartwarming crime novel. While this description might sound like a contradiction, Mad Mabel is about a granny serial killer but is also about loneliness, neglect and female friendship. Sally tells Claire about the unexpected confession that was inspiration for the book.

We continue our celebration of the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen with the third episode in our series, Dear Jane. So far, we've busted some myths and revealed why Austen loves sailors. Today we focus on the romance in Jane Austen's Persuasion with Australian comedian and lover of romance, Alice Fraser. Alice is the author of A Passion for Passion: A Delirious Love Letter to Romance.

Megha Majumdar and Sally Hepworth on climate crisis and granny serial killers

Jane Austen's novel Persuasion was the last she completed before her death and it is considered a more mature, sombre romance, and in Dear Jane, we ask what makes it so special?

Persuasion follows the ever dependable Anne Elliot and Frederick Wentworth's rekindled romance after an eight year hiatus when it was deemed unsuitable. Australian comedian Alice Fraser describes it as the original second-chance romance and explains why it's different from Austen's other romances. 

Alice is the author of A Passion for Passion: A Delirious Love Letter to Romance.

03 | Dear Jane — Persuasion, the original second chance romance

British comic Ben Elton on the Aussie inspiration for writing fiction, and Miles Franklin winner Sofie Laguna on the collision of puberty and Roman mythology in her novel The Underworld. Plus the rules for reading Austen's Pride and Prejudice with Irish writer Colm Tóibín.

It seems Ben Elton can do anything. Since his first writing gig at 21 for the BBC sitcom The Young Ones, he's been a stand-up comedian, a TV presenter and a writer for Blackadder (and many other film and TV productions). He's also had a prolific career as a novelist with 16 titles to his name, including Stark. So how does he manage his ego, being edited and the constant tussle of new ideas inside his mind? He's just released his autobiography, What Have I Done? and Claire Nichols visited him before a gig at Perth's Regal Theatre to find out.

Australian author Sofie Laguna writes for adults and children and is a past winner of the Miles Franklin Literary Award (The Eye of the Sheep 2015). Sofie has a special affinity with the inner lives of young people and her latest novel, The Underworld, opens in 1973, when the main protagonist, Martha is 14 years old and dealing with puberty. She's an awkward outsider but she's also clever and brave. Sofie tells Claire Nichols why she was so taken with this character.

In a Jane Austen novel, what does it mean if a character is in the Navy? Irish author of Brooklyn and Long Island, Colm Tóibín, has the answer and shares some "rules" for reading Austen's most famous novel, Pride and Prejudice. This is the second episode in our Dear Jane series which is a celebration of Austen's enduring legacy 250 years after her birth.

Ben Elton and the case for popular fiction

In a Jane Austen novel, what does it mean if a character is in the Navy? What role do aunts and silly characters play? And what's the significance of the lavish balls? 

Irish author of Brooklyn and Long Island, Colm Tóibín, has the answers and shares some "rules" for reading Austen including her most famous novel, Pride and Prejudice. 

This is the second episode in The Book Show's Dear Jane series which is a celebration of Austen's enduring legacy 250 years after her birth.

02 | Dear Jane — the perfectly plotted Pride and Prejudice

We're celebrating Jane Austen's 250th birthday with Dear Jane, a brand-new series about her life, her books and her legacy. 

In the first instalment, Roller Derby Austen fanatic and academic Devoney Looser busts some myths and explains why she believes Jane Austen was wild, not mild.

Devoney's new book is Wild for Austen: A Rebellious, Subversive, and Untamed Jane.

01 | Dear Jane — the wild, not mild, Jane Austen

The British-Hungarian author David Szalay restrained novel Flesh has won the 2025 Booker Prize. 

The prize was presented to Szalay by Samantha Harvey, winner of the previous year's prize. 

Flesh follows the dramatic life of István from his teens in Hungary to being a social climber in England to a somewhat dejected middle-age.

Szalay says that while the book was a risk to write he enjoyed the process. It's obviously paid off as he receives £50,000 for the win and will likely see a big increase in sales of his book.

Pod extra: David Szalay wins the Booker Prize

Patricia Lockwood's latest book is the third exploring her inner state, just don't call it a trilogy. A call to all Jane Austen lovers with the beginning of our new series Dear Jane, and Markus Zusak on the wonder of books.

Chronically online American author Patricia Lockwood blurs the lines between fiction and memoir in her latest book, Will There Ever Be Another You. Patricia is best known for her memoir Priest Daddy and the Booker Prize shortlisted novel, No One is Talking About This. Her new book is inspired by her own experience of long COVID and what it did to her mind. She tells Claire Nichols about over-ordering at the Wendy's franchise, the connections between her three books and feeling well again.

We're celebrating Jane Austen's 250th birthday with Dear Jane, a brand-new series about her life, her books, her legacy, and why authors are still inspired by her novels. In the first instalment, Roller Derby Austen fanatic and academic Devoney Looser busts some myths and explains why she believes Jane Austen was wild, not mild. Devoney's new book is Wild for Austen: A Rebellious, Subversive, and Untamed Jane.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak was voted in at second place in our recent Top 100 Books countdown. This year also marks 20 years since this beloved book was published. It's about Leisel, a feisty German girl who finds power in stealing books and was inspired by Markus's parents' experiences in Europe during World War Two. It's a novel of big ideas and huge creative risks including Death as the narrator. Claire spoke to Markus for The Book Show's series My Biggest Book.

Listen to the Top 100 Books countdown.

Download a printable list of the Top 100 Books.

Patricia Lockwood on Dolly the sheep and long covid

Become a Booker Prize expert and meet the shortlisted authors before the winner is announced in a ceremony featuring classic British pomp and fanfare.

These are the shortlisted books:

 • Flashlight by Susan Choi
 • The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller
 • The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai
 • Audition by Katie Kitamura
 • Flesh by David Szalay
 • The Rest of Our Lives by Ben Markovits.

The Booker Prize is arguably the most prestigious literary prize in the English-speaking world, the winning author receives £50,000, while the shortlisted authors all receive £2,500. Importantly, the winner makes history and joins literary alumni including Margaret Atwood, Michael Ondaatje and Peter Carey and can expect a sharp rise in sales.

The winner is announced 10 November.

Another book extravaganza that has everyone talking is the Top 100 Books countdown. Listen again to the highlights here. 

Download a printable copy of the Top 100 Books list here.

Who will win the Booker Prize?

The Booker-winning author Pat Barker's preoccupation with who's allowed to speak and who isn't continues in The Women of Troy, a sequel to The Silence of the Girls, her exploration of women in the Ancient Greek classics.

Also, New Animal author, Ella Baxter, on how her writing relates to her artistic practice, and the final in Michael Mohammed Ahmad's trilogy featuring his alter-ego, Bani Adam, with The Other Half of You.

Life at the extremes — Pat Barker, Michael Mohammed Ahmad and Ella Baxter

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