Backlisted

By Backlisted Podcast

Arts

What's Backlisted about?

A regular podcast presented by Unbound's John Mitchinson and Andy Miller (author, The Year Of Reading Dangerously) a/k/a Leavis and Butthead. Bringing old books back to the surface.

5.0

192 ratings

Download our free app to listen on your phone

LAST EPISODE

A La Recherche du Temps Per...

12.25.2019

Marcel Proust's A La Recherche du Temps Perdu AKA In Search of Lost Time is the subject of this bumper Christmas special episode, which was recorded live at the London Library on December 11th 2019. Joining John and Andy are ...

Backlisted episodes:

12.25.2019 A La Recherche du Temps Perdu by Marcel Proust Marcel Proust's A La Recherche du Temps Perdu AKA In Search of Lost Time is the subject of this bumper Christmas special episode, which was recorded live at the London Library on December 11th 2019. Joining John and Andy are ...
12.09.2019 Riceyman Steps by Arnold Bennett Arnold Bennett's 1923 novel Riceyman Steps is the subject of this episode. Joining John and Andy to discuss it are journalist Charlotte Higgins and novelist Kit De Waal. In addition, John has been reading The Northumbrians by Dan Jackson while ...
11.25.2019 Edith's Diary by Patricia Highsmith Patricia Highsmith's novel Edith's Diary (1977) is the book under discussion. John and Andy are joined by writers Karen McLeod and John Grindrod. Plus Andy has been reading Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators in The Mystery of the Stuttering ...
11.11.2019 The Rings of Saturn by W.G. Sebald W.G. Sebald's book The Rings of Saturn, first published in Germany in 1995, is the subject of this episode. Joining John and Andy to walk around this enigmatic masterpiece are the writer and swimmer Philip Hoare and the novelist Jessie ...
10.28.2019 The Breaking Point by Daphne du Maurier It's Halloween! Daphne du Maurier's The Breaking Point AKA The Blue Lenses is a collection of psychological horror stories that was first published in 1959. Joining John and Andy to discuss it are academic and du Maurier expert Dr Laura ...
10.14.2019 Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner Absalom, Absalom! is the subject of this episode and William Faukner's ninth novel first published in 1936. Returning to Backlisted as our guest is Professor Sarah Churchwell. Also under discussion are Sweet Home, a book of short stories by Wendy ...
09.30.2019 The Soul of Kindness by Elizabeth Taylor Novelist Elizabeth Taylor is the subject of this episode of Backlisted. Joining Andy and John to discuss The Soul of Kindness (1964) - and much more besides - are author and founder of Virago Press Carmen Callil and journalist and ...
09.16.2019 Of Walking in Ice by Werner Herzog Filmmaker Werner Herzog's journal Of Walking in Ice is the subject of this episode, recorded at the End of the Road festival at Larmer Tree Gardens in Dorset on September 1st 2019. Joining John and Andy is writer and critic ...
09.02.2019 The Anatomy of Melancholy by Robert Burton Philip Pullman is our guest on the 100th episode of Backlisted. John, Andy and Nicky travelled to Oxford for this special episode devoted to Robert Burton's extraordinary 1400-page The Anatomy of Melancholy, first published in 1621 and described by Sir ...
08.19.2019 Books about The Beatles Books about the Beatles are the subject of this special episode recorded at Cornwall's Port Eliot festival on July 27th 2019. Joining John and Andy for this celebration of all things fab are lifelong Beatles fans, journalists and authors David ...
08.05.2019 Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban Russell Hoban's extraordinary novel Riddley Walker (1980) is the subject of this episode recorded live at the Port Eliot Festival in Cornwall on Friday July 26th 2019. Joining John and Andy to discuss the book are Max Porter, author of ...
07.22.2019 The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury Ray Bradbury's uncanny tales are the subject of this episode of Backlisted. John and Andy are joined by author and literary editor of The Spectator Sam Leith and writer and radio presenter Jennifer Lucy Allan. Also under discussion are Jay ...
07.08.2019 Miss Buncle's Book by D.E. Stevenson Miss Buncle's Book by D.E. Stevenson, a bestseller when first published in the 1930s, is the novel under discussion. Joining John and Andy is novelist and teacher of creative writing Shelley Harris. Also featured in this episode, Marc Hamer's memoir ...
06.24.2019 The Baron in the Trees by Italo Calvino Italo Calvino's third novel The Baron in the Trees (Il barone rampante) is the subject of this episode. Joining John and Andy to discuss the book is writer and fabulist Caspar Henderson. Elsewhere, John is captivated by Some Kids I ...
06.10.2019 The Prince of West End Avenue by Alan Isler Alan Isler's debut novel The Prince of West End Avenue (1994) is the subject of this episode of Backlisted. Joining Andy and John to discuss it are novelist William Sutcliffe and playwright and bibliomemoirist Samantha Ellis. Other books talked about ...
05.27.2019 Beloved by Toni Morrison Award-winning novelist Preti Taneja (We That Are Young) joins John and Andy to discuss Beloved by Toni Morrison, one of the greatest American novels of the last half century. Other books featured on this episode are It's Gone Dark Over ...
05.13.2019 The Book of Ebenezer Le Page by G.B. Edwards John and Andy are joined by writer and actor Will Smith for a special episode recorded live at the Guernsey Literary Festival on Sunday May 5th 2019. The novel under discussion is G.B. Edwards's unique The Book of Ebenezer Le ...
04.29.2019 A Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoe Daniel Defoe's A Journal of the Plague Year (1722) is the subject of this episode of Backlisted, recorded in the week of the 300th anniversary of the publication of Robinson Crusoe. Joining John and Andy to discuss the book - ...
04.15.2019 Great Expectations by Charles Dickens Charles Dickens's late masterpiece Great Expectations is the subject of this episode of Backlisted. Joining John and Andy to discuss the book (and its celebrated author) are journalist and editor William Atkins and returning guest, novelist Lissa Evans. Also in ...
04.01.2019 Last Train to Memphis/Careless Love by Peter Guralnick Elvis Presley is the subject of this episode of Backlisted, care of Peter Guralnick's twin biographies Last Train to Memphis (1994) and Careless Love (1999). Joining John and Andy to discuss these remarkable books are novelists David Keenan and Bethan ...
03.18.2019 Human Voices by Penelope Fitzgerald Penelope Fitzgerald's fourth novel Human Voices (1980) is set at the BBC during the early months of the Second World War. Joining John and Andy to discuss the book, and Penelope Fitzgerald's life and work, are publisher and editor George ...
03.04.2019 Utz by Bruce Chatwin This episode is about Utz, Bruce Chatwin's final novel, shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1988. John and Andy are joined by writer and journalist Jonathan Wilson and Unbound's editor-at-large Rachael Kerr, who worked for Chatwin's publisher Jonathan Cape and ...
02.18.2019 The Return of the Soldier by Rebecca West On this episode John and Andy are joined by novelist and critic Amanda Craig and novelist and memoirist Alice Jolly to discuss Rebecca West's debut novel The Return of the Soldier, published in 1918 when West was still in her ...
02.04.2019 Hemlock and After by Angus Wilson John and Andy are joined by writer, dandy and erstwhile musician Dickon Edwards to discuss Hemlock and After, Angus Wilson's debut novel, originally published in 1952. Wilson was considered one of the preeminent writers of his days but both his ...
01.21.2019 Imogen by Jilly Cooper John and Andy are joined by author and podcaster Daisy Buchanan and poet and lecturer Dr Ian Patterson to discuss Imogen, Jilly Cooper's 1978 novel of a young librarian finding romance - and all that goes with it - amongst ...
01.07.2019 The Rainbow by D.H. Lawrence In our first podcast of 2019 we tackle D.H. Lawrence's The Rainbow, a novel that has divided opinion since it was first published (and banned) in 1915 - and sure enough opinion was divided between John and Andy on this ...
12.25.2018 Books Do Furnish a Room by Anthony Powell John and Andy are joined by novelist Philip Hensher and biographer Hilary Spurling for a discussion of Books Do Furnish a Room by Anthony Powell, first published in 1971, the tenth instalment of A Dance to the Music of Time. ...
12.10.2018 Harpo Speaks! by Harpo Marx with Rowland Barber John and Andy are joined by Dan Schreiber, writer, producer and co-host of the No Such Thing As A Fish podcast, to discuss Harpo Marx's autobiography Harpo Speaks! (1961). Also discussed are titles by Neil Tennant, Alice Jolly, Penelope Fitzgerald ...
11.26.2018 The Tortoise and the Hare by Elizabeth Jenkins Andy and John are joined by Carmen Callil, publisher, writer and critic and founder of Virago Press, to discuss The Tortoise and the Hare by Elizabeth Jenkins, a novel first published in 1954 and then republished by Carmen in the ...
11.12.2018 Moominvalley in November by Tove Jansson This week John and Andy are joined by award-winning children's author and screenwriter Frank Cottrell-Boyce and publisher and co-founder of Sort Of Books Natania Jansz to discuss Tove Jansson's final Moomin book, Moominvalley in November. Other books under discussion are ...
10.29.2018 Ghosts by Edith Wharton It's Halloween and John and Andy are joined by novelist Lissa Evans and Backlisted's resident revenant, critic Andrew Male, to discuss Ghosts, Edith Wharton's selection of her best supernatural tales, first published in 1937. John also talks about Alan Garner's ...
10.15.2018 Autumn Journal by Louis MacNeice This week John and Andy are joined by actor and director Sam West and writer and academic Sophie Ratcliffe to talk about Louis MacNeice's Autumn Journal. The poem was composed in the autumn of 1938 while Britain awaited the declaration ...
10.01.2018 The Dud Avocado by Elaine Dundy This week John and Andy are joined by novelist and literary journalist Sarra Manning (author of The Rise and Fall of Becky Sharp) to discuss Elaine Dundy's sparkling debut The Dud Avocado and its follow-up The Old Man and Me. ...
09.17.2018 Ulverton by Adam Thorpe For a special episode recorded at the End of the Road festival in Dorset, John and Andy are joined by author and critic Tom Cox to talk about Adam Thorpe's 1992 debut novel Ulverton. Other books discussed include Sally Rooney's ...
09.03.2018 A Girl in Winter by Philip Larkin For the final episode recorded at this year's Port Eliot festival in Cornwall, John and Andy are joined by authors Nina Stibbe and returning guest Simon Garfield to discuss Philip Larkin's second and final novel A Girl In Winter, and ...
08.20.2018 The Lion and the Unicorn by George Orwell For the second of three episodes recorded at the Port Eliot festival in Cornwall, John and Andy are joined by songwriter and activist Billy Bragg and journalist and critic Suzi Feay to talk about George Orwell's The Lion and the ...
08.06.2018 How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read by Pierre Bayard For the first of three episodes recorded at this year's Port Eliot festival in Cornwall, John and Andy are joined by author Cathy Rentzenbrink and actor and writer Ben Moor to talk about Pierre Bayard's How To Talk About Books ...
07.23.2018 The Return of the King by J. R. R. Tolkien John and Andy are joined by Unbound co-founder and co-author of Crap Towns Dan Kieran and returning guest Dr Una McCormack, NYT bestselling novelist and co-director of the Anglia Ruskin University Centre for Science Fiction and Fantasy, to discuss J.R.R. ...
07.09.2018 Drinking Coffee Elsewhere by ZZ Packer John and Andy are joined by writer and editor Nikesh Shukla to discuss Drinking Coffee Elsewhere, ZZ Packer's groundbreaking collection of stories, first published in 2003. Andy also talks about Lissa Evans's new novel Old Baggage, while John has been ...
06.25.2018 Told by an Idiot by Rose Macaulay This week John and Andy are joined by super-librarian Nancy Pearl, possibly the only librarian in the world to have their own action figure, to discuss Rose Macaulay's gloriously eccentric family saga Told by an Idiot. John has been reading ...
06.10.2018 The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter For a special episode recorded at the Bath Festival, we discuss Angela Carter's astonishing collection The Bloody Chamber (1979), much of which was conceived while Carter lived in Bath. Andy and John are joined by novelist Rachel Heath, Boundless editor ...
05.28.2018 My Ántonia by Willa Cather Hermione Lee joins John and Andy to discuss the work of American novelist Willa Cather and, in its centenary year, her pioneering novel My Ántonia. John also talks about Wilding by Isabella Tree and Andy revisits one his favourite books, ...
05.13.2018 The Fatal Englishman by Sebastian Faulks The poet Rishi Dastidar joins John and Andy to talk about Sebastian Faulks' least known and first non-fiction title, The Fatal Englishman: Three Short Lives. Also in this episode Andy talks about the Patrick Melrose novels by Edward St Aubyn ...
04.30.2018 Corregidora by Gayl Jones Professor Sarah Churchwell introduces Andy and John to the phenomenal Corregidora by Gayl Jones, a book steeped in the blues and the American slavery legacy. Other books they've read are Rain on the Pavements by Roland Camberton and In Pursuit ...
04.15.2018 The Lowlife by Alexander Baron John and Andy are at the dogs this week, discussing the 1963 cult novel The Lowlife by Alexander Baron. They are joined by London enthusiast Peter Watts(the first person to write a biography of Battersea Power Station) and Gary Budden, ...
04.02.2018 Something Happened by Joseph Heller Authors Matt Thorne and Nikita Lalwani join John and Andy to discuss the ‘other’ masterpiece by Joseph Heller, Something Happened, first published in 1974. Also in this episode John talks about Brother, a new novel by David Chariandy, while Andy ...
03.19.2018 The Town House by Norah Lofts This week John and Andy are joined by journalist and author Lucy Mangan, whose new memoir of childhood reading Bookworm has just been published by Square Peg. They discuss Norah Lofts' novel The Town House (1959), the first of her ...
03.02.2018 Berg by Ann Quin This week Andy and John are joined by Jennifer Hodgson, editor of 'The Unmapped Country', a collection of British experimental writer Ann Quin's lost work. They discuss Quin's debut novel, Berg, with its opening sentence: 'A man called Berg, who ...
02.19.2018 Jesus' Son by Denis Johnson John and Andy welcome authors Chris Power and Erica Wagner to discuss the multiple interlocking stories in Jesus' Son by Denis Johnson, including the phantasmagoric 'Car Crash While Hitchhiking'. In addition Andy has been reading Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell ...
01.28.2018 Beyond Black by Hilary Mantel Critic and editor of Boundless Arifa Akbar joins John and Andy to discuss Hilary Mantel's tale of mediums and malevolence in the M25 corridor, Beyond Black. Tony White's 'The Fountain in the Forest' and 'Mothers' by Chris Power are the ...

Older episodes

Backlisted

What's Backlisted about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Backlisted episodes:

A La Recherche du Temps Perdu by Marcel Proust

Riceyman Steps by Arnold Bennett

Edith's Diary by Patricia Highsmith

The Rings of Saturn by W.G. Sebald

The Breaking Point by Daphne du Maurier

Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner

The Soul of Kindness by Elizabeth Taylor

Of Walking in Ice by Werner Herzog

The Anatomy of Melancholy by Robert Burton

Books about The Beatles

Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban

The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury

Miss Buncle's Book by D.E. Stevenson

The Baron in the Trees by Italo Calvino

The Prince of West End Avenue by Alan Isler

Beloved by Toni Morrison

The Book of Ebenezer Le Page by G.B. Edwards

A Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoe

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

Last Train to Memphis/Careless Love by Peter Guralnick

Human Voices by Penelope Fitzgerald

Utz by Bruce Chatwin

The Return of the Soldier by Rebecca West

Hemlock and After by Angus Wilson

Imogen by Jilly Cooper

The Rainbow by D.H. Lawrence

Books Do Furnish a Room by Anthony Powell

Harpo Speaks! by Harpo Marx with Rowland Barber

The Tortoise and the Hare by Elizabeth Jenkins

Moominvalley in November by Tove Jansson

Ghosts by Edith Wharton

Autumn Journal by Louis MacNeice

The Dud Avocado by Elaine Dundy

Ulverton by Adam Thorpe

A Girl in Winter by Philip Larkin

The Lion and the Unicorn by George Orwell

How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read by Pierre Bayard

The Return of the King by J. R. R. Tolkien

Drinking Coffee Elsewhere by ZZ Packer

Told by an Idiot by Rose Macaulay

The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter

My Ántonia by Willa Cather

The Fatal Englishman by Sebastian Faulks

Corregidora by Gayl Jones

The Lowlife by Alexander Baron

Something Happened by Joseph Heller

The Town House by Norah Lofts

Berg by Ann Quin

Jesus' Son by Denis Johnson

Beyond Black by Hilary Mantel

Other shows like Backlisted: