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You can learn a great deal about somebody from the books they read. Take a listen to storytellers and celebrities as they invite you inside the library of their life. Which books make them cry? What is currently on their bedside table? Which novel do they wish they had read as a child? Which books could they not do without?
Episodes
Wednesday Jul 19, 2023
Wednesday Jul 19, 2023
In the third episode of Books of My Life season two, host Hareth Al Bustani interviews Indian historian, journalist and author Shrabani Basu.
The truly great history writer walks a fine line between dramatisation and documentation – a balance Basu has mastered admirably.
Basu famously wrote Victoria and Abdul, a historical novel later adapted into a feature film. Somewhat of a sleuth herself, she also wrote a fascinating account of Arthur Conan Doyle’s efforts to rescue a Parsi lawyer from injustice.
In the episode, Al Bustani and Basu discuss the remarkable correlations between history and journalism, and why the best history writers have to be both.