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Episode details

Radio 4,14 May 2023,28 mins

Deborah Levy, Miranda France and Kate Morton

Open Book

Available for over a year

Octavia Bright is joined by novelist Deborah Levy to talk about her new novel August Blue. A young concert pianist finds herself at a crossroads after freezing during an important performance in Vienna. She sets off on a journey across Europe haunted by the presence of a mysterious woman - a double – eager to find herself and a new story. Deborah Levy discusses her interest in the literary doppelganger, psychotherapy and the surrealist movement. Miranda France's book, The Writing School, is both an observant and funny depiction of the goings on at a creative writing course, and a deeply moving memoir about a family tragedy. She talks to Octavia about what it means to be a writer and the numerous ways in which stories come to make their way to the printed page. And the bestselling author of The Clockmakers Daughter and The Lake House, Kate Morton, tells us about the role of the Australian gothic in her latest novel, Homecoming. Book List – Sunday 14 May and Thursday 18 May August Blue by Deborah Levy Things I Didn’t Want to Know by Deborah Levy The Cost of Living: A Working Autobiography by Deborah Levy Real Estate by Deborah Levy The Writing School by Miranda France The Clockmaker's Daughter by Kate Morton The Lake House by Kate Morton Homecoming by Kate Morton Picnic on Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay The Babies in the Bush by Henry Lawson

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