Always Take Notes

#174: Adam Sisman, biographer


Listen Later

Simon and Rachel speak with the biographer Adam Sisman. After an initial career in publishing, Adam's first book, a biography of historian A.J.P. Taylor, appeared in 1994. His second, "Boswell's Presumptuous Task" (2000), won the US National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography, and he has subsequently written biographies of another historian, Hugh Trevor-Roper, and the espionage novelist John le Carré. A coda to his original biography of Le Carré, published in 2015, came out this year; it contains information he was unable to publish in the novelist's lifetime. Among Adam's other works are two volumes of letters by travel writer Patrick Leigh Fermor. We spoke to Adam about his new book - "The Secret Life of John le Carré" - his early career in publishing, and his move into writing biographies. 


“Always Take Notes: Advice From Some Of The World’s Greatest Writers” - a book drawing on our podcast interviews - is published by Ithaka Press. You can order it via ⁠Amazon⁠⁠Bookshop.org⁠⁠Hatchards⁠ or ⁠Waterstones⁠.


You can find us online at ⁠⁠⁠alwaystakenotes.com⁠⁠⁠, on Twitter @takenotesalways and on Instagram @alwaystakenotes. Our crowdfunding page is ⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/alwaystakenotes⁠⁠⁠. Always Take Notes is presented by Simon Akam and Rachel Lloyd, and produced by Artemis Irvine. Our music is by Jessica Dannheisser and our logo was designed by James Edgar.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Always Take NotesBy Always Take Notes

  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6

4.6

30 ratings


More shows like Always Take Notes

View all
The Penguin Podcast by Penguin Books UK

The Penguin Podcast

147 Listeners

Books and Authors by BBC Radio 4

Books and Authors

371 Listeners

The LRB Podcast by The London Review of Books

The LRB Podcast

288 Listeners

Bookclub by BBC Radio 4

Bookclub

238 Listeners

Private Passions by BBC Radio 3

Private Passions

43 Listeners

London Review Bookshop Podcast by London Review Bookshop

London Review Bookshop Podcast

124 Listeners

The TLS Podcast by The TLS

The TLS Podcast

183 Listeners

Backlisted by Backlisted

Backlisted

573 Listeners

The Book Club by The Spectator

The Book Club

87 Listeners

Writer's Routine by Dan Simpson

Writer's Routine

299 Listeners

The Waterstones Podcast by Waterstones

The Waterstones Podcast

37 Listeners

Bookshelfie: Women’s Prize Podcast by Women’s Prize Podcast/ Bird Lime Media

Bookshelfie: Women’s Prize Podcast

44 Listeners

This Cultural Life by BBC Radio 4

This Cultural Life

104 Listeners

Writers on Writing by Barbara DeMarco-Barrett and Marrie Stone

Writers on Writing

72 Listeners

Media Confidential by Prospect Magazine

Media Confidential

21 Listeners