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Louise Doughty - Apple Tree Yard

Louise Doughty talks about her novel Apple Tree Yard, a courtroom drama about an affair and the downfall of a scientist. James Naughtie presents, and readers ask the questions.

Louise Doughty talks about her novel Apple Tree Yard, which went on to be a popular Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ television drama. It is the story of Yvonne, a high-flying married scientist, whose personal life is, by turns, erotic and troubled and, eventually, disastrous.

Completely out of character, Yvonne has consensual sex with a stranger in the Palace of Westminster. So begins an affair with a man called Mark which in the end leads them both to the dock of the Old Bailey. Much of the book is told through Yvonne’s unsent emails to Mark. Through them we come to understand Yvonne - the conflicts between her professional and private life, the pressures on her and her family and the horror of an act of violence that becomes the hinge of the story.

James Naughtie presents, and a group of readers ask the questions.

Presenter: James Naughtie
Interviewed guest : Louise Doughty
Presenter: Dymphna Flynn

June's Bookclub choice : All That Man Is by David Szalay (2016)

Available now

33 minutes

Last on

Thu 9 May 2019 15:30

Broadcasts

  • Sun 5 May 2019 16:00
  • Thu 9 May 2019 15:30

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