Freedom, Books, Flowers & The Moon

This week, George Berridge instructs Lucy and Alex on the noble art of oenophilia; and Lucy takes in a trio of musicals.'Who's Afraid of Romanée-Conti: A shortcut to drinking great wines', by Dan Keeling'One Thousand Vines: A new way to understand wine', by Pascaline Peltier'Good Night, Oscar', by Doug Wright, Barbican, until September 21'Top Hat', by Irving Berlin, Chichester Festival Theatre, until September 6'Brigadoon', by Alan Lerner and Frederick Loewe, adapted by Rona Munro, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, until September 20Produced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alex Clark celebrates the life and work of Edna O'Brien with filmmaker Sinéad O'Shea and novelists Eimear McBride and Jan Carson at this year's Belfast Book Festival.'Blue Road: The Edna O'Brien Story', by Sinéad O'SheaProduced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, a special interview with farmer and writer James Rebanks about a life-changing stay on the Norwegian coast.'The Place of Tides', by James RebanksProduced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Emile Chabal braces himself against the barrelling force of the Mistral; and Kathryn Hughes is exhilarated by memories of dancing to Dickens in the carpark of the Horsham Odeon.'The Mistral: A Windswept History of Modern France', by Catherine Tatiana Dunlop'Showtime!', at the Charles Dickens Museum, until January 18, 2026Produced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Norma Clarke explores the ancient arts of hedge-laying, thatching, hay-cutting and wood-turning; and highlights from this week's issue.'Words from the Hedge: A hedgelayer’s view of the countryside', by Richard Negus'Of Thorn and Briar: A year with the West Country hedgelayer', by Paul Lamb 'On the Roof: A thatcher’s journey', by Tom Allan'Where Are the Fellows Who Cut the Hay?: How traditions from the past can shape our future', by Robert Ashton'Ingrained: The making of a craftsman', by Callum RobinsonProduced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Alicia Rix charts Henry James's return to an unrecognisable homeland; and David Horspool on a Victorian conman and a contemporary swimmer.'Henry James Comes Home: Rediscovering America in the Gilded Age', by Peter Brooks'On Writers and Writing: Selected Essays', by Henry James, edited by Michael Gorra'Swimmingly: Adventures in Water', by Vassos AlexanderProduced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Michael LaPointe celebrates a century of The Great Gatsby; and Miranda France on an epistolary novel by Natalia Ginzburg.'The Cambridge Centennial Edition of The Great Gatsby', by F Scott Fitzgerald, edited by James LW West III, with an introduction by Sarah Churchwell'The Annotated Great Gatsby', by F Scott Fitzgerald, edited by James LW West III, with an introduction by Amor Towles'The Great Gatsby and Stories from All the Sad Young Men', by F Scott Fitzgerald, edited by Philip McGowan, with an introduction by Min Jin Lee'The Bloomsbury Handbook to F Scott Fitzgerald', edited by Laura Rattray and Linda Wagner-Martin'The City and the House', by Natalia Ginzburg, translated by Dick DaviesProduced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Nicola Shulman is staggered by Sarah Vine's account of Westminster rivalry; and James Clackson on the irresistible rise of Indo-European.'How not to be a political wife: A memoir', by Sarah Vine'Proto: How one language went global', by Laura Spinney'The Indo-Europeans rediscovered: How a scientific revolution is rewriting their story', by JP MalloryProduced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

... thinking about tomorrow. This week, Michael Caines on a musical inspired by a classic album; and Toby Lichtig talks to Mike Berners-Lee about the future of cliimate action at the Guernsey Literary Festival.'Sterophonic', by David Adjmi, Duke of York’s Theatre, until October 11'A Climate of Truth: Why We Need It and How to Get It', by Mike Berners-LeeProduced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, what TLS contributors are reading this summer; and Catherine Taylor on a trio of novels highlighting the growing pains of adolescence.'Back in the Day', by Oliver Lovrenski, translated by Nichola Smalley'Fun and Games', by John Patrick McHugh'Girl, 1983', by Linn Ullmann, translated by Martin AitkenProduced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Sara Lodge counts the ways that mathematics influenced writers from Byron to Trollope; and Russell Williams on the transformative power of rites and rituals.'The Number Sense of Nineteenth-Century British Literature', by Stefanie Markovits'The Moon and Serpent Bumper Book of Magic', by Alan Moore and Steve MooreProduced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, a special podcast from the Hay Festival ranges from the ancient world to the 16th-century, taking in the art of criticism, the centrality of religion and eco-catastrophe. With Stephanie Merritt, Edith Hall, Toby Lichtig and a guest appearance from TLS crossword compiler Praxiteles.'Traitor's Legacy', by SJ Parris'Epic of the Earth: Reading Homer's "Iliad" in the Fight for a Dying World', by Edith HallProduced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Magna Carta experts David Carpenter and Nicholas Vincent tell us how they discovered a rare original of the document; and Michael Caines on a spritely new staging of a Shaw play starring mother and daughter Imelda Staunton and Bessie Carter.'Mrs Warren's Profession', by George Bernard Shaw, Garrick Theatre, London, until August 16Produced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Eimear McBride is captivated by the life and work of Joyce's biographer; and Mark Nayler is hot on the trail of the wolf who walked alone.'Ellmann's Joyce: the biography of a masterpiece and its maker', by Zachary Leader'Lone wolf: walking the faultlines of Europe', by Adam WeymouthProduced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Vanessa Curtis celebrates a century of Mrs Dalloway; and Claire Lowdon on the capacious diaries of Helen Garner.'Mrs Dalloway', by Virginia Woolf'Monkey grip', 'The children's Bach', 'This house of grief', 'How to end a story: collected diaries', by Helen GarnerProduced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Nicola Shulman salutes the memoirs of an old-school editor and socialite; and Rebecca Fraser on an unexpectedly peaceful transition of power in 17th-century America.'When the going was good: an editor’s adventures during the last golden age of magazines', by Graydon Carter'Taking Manhattan: the extraordinary events that created New York and shaped America', by Russell ShortoProduced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Toby Lichtig travels to Oslo to interview Nobel laureate Jon Fosse; meanwhile, Natasha Lehrer heads to Zurich for a compelling new play by Deborah Levy.Jon Fosse is published in English by Fitzcarraldo Editions'50 Minutes', by Deborah Levy, Neumarkt Theatre, Zurich, until May 7Produced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, David Gallagher remembers Peruvian Nobel laureate Mario Vargas Llosa; and Laurent Binet whisks us to 16th-century Florence to explore the world of his novel Perspectives.'Perspectives', by Laurent Binet, translated by Sam TaylorProduced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Peter Holland treads the boards in Elizabethan London in search of Shakespeare before the Globe; and Muriel Zagha on a captivating tale of cheese-making in the Jura.'The dream factory: London’s first playhouse and the making of William Shakespeare', by Daniel Swift'Holy Cow', a film by Louise CourvoisierProduced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Margaret Drabble explores how Dickens drew on his love of the macabre and grotesque to create literary magic; and Norma Clarke takes a tour around the British coast.'Dickens the enchanter: Inside the explosive imagination of the great storyteller', by Peter Conrad'The restless coast: A journey around the edge of Britain', by Roger Morgan-Grenville'Seascape: Notes from a changing coastline', by Matthew Yeomans'The Shetland Way: Community and climate crisis on my father’s islands', by Marianne BrownProduced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.