This week, our special interview with the newest winner of the Booker Prize, Paul Lynch; and Emily Kopley on new editions of Virginia Woolf's mesmerising diaries.

'Prophet Song', by Paul Lynch

'The Diary of Virginia Woolf', in five volumes.

Produced by Charlotte Pardy

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This week, Mary C Flannery explores the spells and potions of medieval magic; and Jean Wilson on the trail of the ever elusive Anne Boleyn.

‘Love spells and lost treasure: Service magic in England from the later Middle Ages to the early modern era’, by Tabitha Stanmore 

‘Textual magic: Charm and written amulets in medieval England’, by Katherine Storm Hindley

‘Hunting the falcon: Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn and the marriage that shook Europe’, by John Guy and Julia Fox 

Produced by Charlotte Pardy

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On this week's show, TLS contributors on the best books of 2023; and David Horspool explores the crucial part sport has played in the evolution of Britain and Britishness.

'More than a game: A history of how sport made Britain', by David Horspool

Produced by Charlotte Pardy

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This week, Samantha Harvey joins us to talk about her voyage around the earth; and Miranda France on a fascinating tour of the British archipelago.

‘Orbital’, by Samantha Harvey

‘The Britannias: An island quest’, by Alice Albinia

Produced by Charlotte Pardy

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This week, James Marcus goes partying with Susan Sontag and George Steiner; and Laura Beers sheds a light on Eileen O'Shaughnessy, George Orwell's first wife.

'Maestros and monsters: Days and nights with Susan Sontag and George

Steiner', by Robert Boyers

'Wifedom: Mrs Orwell's invisible life', by Anna Funder

Produced by Charlotte Pardy

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This week, Colin Jones explores the streets of Paris as the French Revolution grew pace; and an extract from a very special event at the British Library in celebration of Hilary Mantel.

'The Revolutionary Temper: Paris, 1748-1789', by Robert Darnton

'A Memoir of My Former Self: A Life in Writing', by Hilary Mantel

Produced by Charlotte Pardy

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This week, Ruth Scurr on a magnificent biography of Claude Monet; and Fiona Stafford explores how vital trees were to Wordsworth's work.

'Monet: the restless vision', by Jackie Wullschläger

'Versed in living nature: Wordsworth's trees', by Peter Dale and Brandon C Yen

Produced by Charlotte Pardy

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This week, Theo Zenou introduces us to the heroes of Jewish boxing; and Sophie Oliver on the development of Virginia Woolf's 'frock consciousness' .

'Stars and scars: The story of Jewish boxing in London', by Jeff Jones

'Bring no clothes: Bloomsbury and the philosophy of fashion', by Charlie Porter

'Bring no clothes: Bloomsbury and Fashion', at Charleston in Lewes until 7 January 2024

Produced by Charlotte Pardy

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This week, Ysenda Maxtone Graham on the women who fought their way into horticulture; and Mary Beard leads us down a Homeric rabbit hole.

'An almost impossible thing: the radical lives of Britain's pioneering women gardeners', by Fiona Davison

'Homer and his Iliad', by Robin Lane Fox

'The Iliad', translated by Emily Wilson

Produced by Charlotte Pardy

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This week, Elizabeth Lowry is impressed by a study of Hardy’s late-life love poetry; and TLS science editor Sam Graydon on his ‘mosaic’ biography of Einstein

‘Woman much missed: Thomas Hardy, Emma Hardy, and poetry’, by Mark Ford

‘Einstein in time and space: a life in 99 particles’, by Samuel Graydon 

Produced by Charlotte Pardy

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