The Book That Changed Me: 20 Essays on Influential Literature

Part of BBC Radio 3''s ''The Essay'' strand, The Book That Changed Me features writers, academics and other eminent professionals discussing the literary works that have had the greatest impact on their lives.This fascinating selection contains some of the best episodes from the series, including legendary songwriter Steve Earle on Truman Capote''s masterpiece In Cold Blood; academic Monica Siddiqui on Austen''s Pride and Prejudice; and Tony Blair''s onetime strategist Alastair Campbell on Flaubert''s seminal Madame Bovary.Renowned film director Richard Eyre reveals how Angus Calder''s social history The People''s War evokes memories of his childhood; neurobiologist Colin Blakemore explains why he loves Darwin''s lesser-known work, The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals; visual artist Tacita Dean describes how Marguerite Yourcenair''s Fires helped her find her voice as a writer, feminist and filmmaker; and David Simon, creator of TV''s The Wire, relates how James Agee''s Let Us Now Praise Famous Men made him realise the importance of reportage.Absorbing and enlightening, this entertaining collection sheds new light on the intellectual lives of a host of famous names, and celebrates the transformative power of literature.Production creditsProduced by Smita PatelFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on the following dates:Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell 14 March 2011With Alan JohnstonThe Wrench by Primo Levi 15 March 2011With Edmund de WaalThe Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals by Charles Darwin 17 March 2011With Colin BlakemorePride and Prejudice by Jane Austen 18 March 2011With Mona SiddiquiOthello by William Shakespeare 25 October 2011With Musa OkwongaDavid Copperfield by Charles Dickens 20 January 2014With Alan JohnsonIn Cold Blood by Truman Capote 19 January 2015With Steve EarleLittle Women by Louisa May Alcott 20 January 2015With Jude KellyWhat a Carve-Up! by Jonathan Coe 21 January 2015With Jon RonsonA Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens 22 January 2015With Lolita ChakrabartiLet Us Now Praise Famous Men by James Agee 31 October 2016With David SimonTo Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee 1 November 2016With Pauline BlackThe Autobiography of Malcolm X by Alex Haley and Malcolm X 2 November 2016With Ben AndersonFires by Marguerite Yourcenair 3 November 2016With Tacita DeanThe People''s War by Sir Richard Eyre 4 November 2016With Angus CalderWide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys 2 April 2018With Afua HirschWar and Peace by Leo Tolstoy 3 April 2018With Henry MarshThe Arabian Nights translated by Richard Francis Burton 4 April 2018With Zarah HussainMadame Bovary by Gustav Flaubert 5 April 2018With Alastair CampbellPyramids by Terry Pratchett 6 April 2018With Inua Ellams© 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd.