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Peter Ackroyd

Writer and historian Peter Ackroyd is interviewed by Kirsty Young.

Kirsty Young's castaway is the novelist, historian and biographer, Peter Ackroyd.

As a child he used to walk the streets of London with his grandmother - an experience that, he believes, fostered his own love for the city. He was appointed literary editor of The Spectator when he was just 23 and has gone on to write dozens of books since. He has written a biography of London, as well as books about people he calls 'cockney visionaries' such as Charles Dickens, Wilkie Collins and, now, Charlie Chaplin. Yet, of the work he's produced so far, he says: "Every book for me is a chapter in the long book which will finally be closed on the day of my death. So that final book is the one which gives me a sense of achievement."

Producer: Christine Pawlowsky.

Available now

45 minutes

Last on

Fri 25 May 2012 09:00
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4

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Music Played

  • The Kingsmen

    Louie Louie

    Composer: Richard Berry

    • The Best of The Kingsmen.
    • RHINO / WEA.

  • Castaway's Favourite

    • Lipton / Murphy

      Oh! Oh! Antonio

      Artist: Florrie Forde

      • Florrie Forde Join in the Chorus.
      • WINDYRIDGE.

  • Fats Waller

    Where is the Sun?

    Composer: Redmond & David

    • Fats Waller & his Rhythm- Where is the sun? / Old Plantation.
    • HMV.

  • The Sixteen led by Harry Christophers

    Spem in Alium

  • Ludwig van Beethoven

    String Quartet in B flat, Sixth Movement: Grosse Fuge, Op. 133

    Artist: The Lindsays

    • Beethoven: String Quartets – 7 The Lindsays.
    • ASV.

  • Johann Sebastian Bach

    Mass in B Minor

    Artist: The King’s Consort and choir conducted by Robert King

    • Bach: Mass in B Minor.
    • HYPERION.

  • AntonΓ­n DvoΕ™Γ΅k

    Serenade for strings in E, Op. 22, Moderato

    Artist: Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Colin Davis

    • Tchaikovsky / Dvorak – Serenades for Strings – Sir Colin Davis.
    • PHILIPS.

  • Sergey Prokofiev

    Prokofiev: Peter and the Wolf

    Artist: Sir John Gielgud narrator, Academy of London conducted by Richard Stamp

    • Peter and the Wolf.
    • VIRGIN CLASSICS.

  • Book Choice

    • Imitation of Christ - Thomas Γ  Kempis

  • Luxury Choice

    • Pen and paper

Credits

Presenter Kirsty Young
Interviewed Guest Peter Ackroyd

Broadcasts

  • Sun 20 May 2012 10:00
    Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4 LW
  • Sun 20 May 2012 11:15
    Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4 FM
  • Fri 25 May 2012 09:00
    Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4

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