The Radio 2 Book Club

Sara welcomes international bestselling author Robert Harris to the Book Club.
This is Robert's FIFTH time on the Radio 2 Book Club, making his the author with the most appearances to date!
They discuss 'Agrippa', his new novel, which sees Robert return to Ancient Rome - something he hasn't done since his Cicero trilogy in 2015.
They chat about Robert's fascination with the character of Agrippa, why he's not as well-known as Augustus Caesar, and how you get in the mind of a person like that as a novelist. (turns out, all you need is a giant bust of the persons head on your desk!)
We also hear a clip from the audiobook - narrated beautifully by Simon Russell Beale - and get a top book recommendation from Robert as well.
Here's a little more info on 'Agrippa':
Julius Caesar is dead, and the lives of two teenaged boys are about to be changed forever. One is Caesar’s 17-year-old nephew, Octavius, whom he has made his heir.
The other is Octavius’s closest friend, Agrippa.
To claim Octavius’s inheritance, they must fight the giant figures of the Roman Empire – and, against all odds, they win. Octavius becomes the Emperor Augustus. For twenty years, they rule the world together.
Now Agrippa is fifty. Ailing and alone, betrayed by his wife’s infidelity, he takes refuge in his house on the Bay of Naples and begins to write his memoirs. Yet to stir up the past can be dangerous. From his earliest meetings with Julius Caesar, through the epic conflict with Mark Antony and Cleopatra, the great naval battle of Actium and the endless wars to expand the empire, he describes how one man has dominated his life: the cunning, ruthless, unknowable Octavius.
When it comes to power, does friendship exist at all?

Author Simon Wroe joins Sara for a chat about his new novel, 'Ghost Month'.
They discuss ghosts and spirits and the inspirations behind this story.
The novel is set in London and told from four different character perspectives. Simon tells us about each character and how he formed them, as well as some real-life experiences which influenced him too.
He also recommends us a book he's enjoyed reading recently - and - we hear a clip of the audiobook too!
Here's a little more about 'Ghost Month':
Every September, the spirits of the dead return before vanishing four weeks later in a puff of green ash.
The haunting has become a holiday - part Christmas, part Halloween, full of annual reckonings with the past. The ghosts aren't real in any way that can hurt you, so it's hard to tell the silent spectres from ashen commuters: they linger on train platforms, they crowd buses, they take up space on your sofa. The proper term these days is 'people without pulses'.
This year, four strangers prepare for a visit from their dearly departed. The season forces them to confront all the things that haunt them, not just their dead. As suppressed truths emerge from the shadows, each of them will end Ghost Month changed in ways they never imagined.
Happy Haunting.

This week, Sara is joined by one of our Superstar Librarians - Evie Loy O'Neill. They chat about her job at Richmond Libraries, the Radio 2 Book Club Panel - and - the books that have been flying off the shelves this summer.
She also tells us her Top Five Reads of the Year (so far!):
1. 'Where Are The Kings' - Donal Ryan
2. 'The History of Sound' - Ben Shattuck
3. 'The Rom-Commers' - Katherine Center
4. 'Main Characters' - Bobby Palmer
5. 'Ultra Women: The Trailblazers Defying Sexism in Sport' - Lily Canter & Emma Wilkinson

Debut author, Max Doty, joins Sara for a natter about his horror novel 'The House That Eats The Dead'.
They discuss his love of the genre, the inspiration for this story (spoiler alert, his wife sparked the idea!) and how it started life as a short story on the internet.
Max also talks about power shifts, the lengths people will go to to protect themselves and their lives, and classic horror authors he loves.
As well as this, Max recommends us a book he recently read - and - we hear a clip from the audiobook too.
Here's more info on 'The House That Eats The Dead':
The new house is a fresh start for Claire and her family. It’s a move towards the quiet suburban life she has craved since her turbulent childhood; a step up the corporate ladder for her husband, Tom; and a safe haven for their two children.
Yet, as they unpack their boxes, she senses something is wrong . . .
Fresh flowers dry up, store-bought eggs are inexplicably hollow and her daughter’s favourite toy disappears. Claire soon confronts a series of impossible truths: the house is hungry. It’s devouring anything that was once alive. And only Claire and Tom, the owners of the house, will remember that this ‘food’ ever existed.
When Claire exploits the house’s power in a moment of weakness, she and the house forge a fragile bond. But as its hunger intensifies and Claire starts to lose control, she fears who else might be drawn to her home – and what sinister appetites they’ll bring.

Author Frances Quinn joins Sara in the studio to discuss her new novel, 'The Scandalous Ladies Football Club'.
They chat about the real-life inspiration behind the story, how she nearly gave up writing the whole thing because of a sticky plot point - and why she hides ABBA references in all her books. (yes, she's a mega fan)
Sara also asks her about her Tonkinese cats and her 'other job', writing food packaging for a well-known supermarket. (apparently she loves using the word 'buttery')
We also get a great book recommendation from her - and - hear a clip from the audiobook too!
Here's a little more info on Frances' novel:
London, 1897. Minnie Newton – twenty-eight-year-old schoolteacher and women’s rights advocate – has a passion for football. But in Victorian society, football is a men's game. That is, until Minnie decides to take matters into her own hands and place an ad in the newspaper, asking for volunteers to join the first ever women’s football team.
From a motley collection of replies, Minnie puts together a squad. Most of the women have never kicked a ball before – but a little thing like that isn’t about to stop them. And when they take the game public, it isn’t long before they are drawing huge crowds, stirring controversy across the capital and beyond.
But Minnie is hiding an explosive secret. Soon, all the attention the club is getting begins to threaten the life she has built for herself.
Can she walk the line between independence and safety, or will the truth about who she really is finally come out? And is the beautiful game enough to save her freedom?