Lord Melvyn Bragg - Author And R4 Series...

[agchristie]

Does anybody listen to the 'In Our Time' series on Radio 4?

Secondly, I'm interested to hear your views about his written work. I have in my large book collection all 21 novels (1st editions and many signed!).

His first novel was in 1965 when he was nearly 26 and his description of character and Cumbria settings are superb.

He's still going strong at 76!

[fiction-factory]

I thought this was going to be another RIP thread.
I have tried listening to him on the radio but always find him annoying as he always tries too hard to sound intellectual and sometimes talks nonsense in my opinion

[chiaroscuro]

ag
Wait till you're 76 and see how you feel about having an exclamation mark about your still being active :) Love the books.

[agchristie]

@ fiction factory

Good god no, we have had enough RIP's already this year!

Bragg doesn't have to sound intellectual, he is! I know what you mean though.

@ chi

Funny! The exclamation mark was more to emphasise his stamina and workrate which remains unceasing :)

[Peter Pedant]

he became a telly pundit because he couldnt hack it as a novelist
( a bit like Oberan Waugh )

so well done for reading all 21 novels

He hosted yesterday a bit about Titus Oates - yes 1678 and all that - which started off as Protestants talking about roman catholic history and then suddenly got on track....
I am not sure if they got to the bit where Charles II was a secret roman catholic 'in pectore' and so knew straight off that there couldnt be a plot against him

[agchristie]

@ PP

He didn't do too badly to say he couldn't hack it as an author. His first works seemed to receive very good reviews. His latest book concerns the Peasants Revolt which has been discussed on the radio show.

I started to listen to the Titus Oates programme but had to break off so will listen on catch up.

[Peter Pedant]

ah but do good reviews translate as books on shelves ?

I thought he couldnt bring home the bacon and so was 'forced' to prostitute himself as a hack .....

I am telling all my roman frenz to listen to the prog on catch up.....

[AB Editor]

In Our Time is probably my favourite radio show.

[sandyRoe]

That Oates was a real scoundrel.
I attended a lecture Bragg gave in Belfast. It was supposed to be about Joyce but he hardly got a mention. The Q+A session at the end of the talk drifted to some deal in television he was involved in at the time.

[Prudie]

Thanks heavens I also thought this was going to be a RIP thread. I have admired Melvyn for his intelligence, good looks and gravelly voice for a very long time. I haven't read his books as I'm not a great reader but have listened to him a lot.

[agchristie]

PP > ah but do good reviews translate as books on shelves.

Not always but in Bragg's case many of his works were published initially by Secker & Warburg and then by many others. I've seen US editions too. Generally though I'm not sure how successful he has been in terms of sales figures.

I've not got through them all yet PP, trouble is, I always have a backlog of about 50 titles awaiting me from various authors. Oh for more than 24 hours in a day!

[agchristie]

@ Sandy

Yes, Oates was a thieving knave!

Sounds like the lecture you attended digressed badly!

@ Prudie

Like him or loathe him, Bragg is undoubtedly a man with many talents. I'm currently reading 'Without a city wall' (1968). Shaping up really nicely and you almost feel transported to Cumberland!

[Peter Pedant]

I have started Billy Budd - not by Bragg you will notice
after AJ Soprano* mentioned it as a set skool book
The teacher grasped the nettle of its difficult content

it DOES have surprisingly homoerotic content for a novel written the same married guy that wrote Moby Dick in 1891...

* watching the box set on sky - just in case you think I have a very long memory

[agchristie]

Enjoy PP!