Showing results by author "Michèle Roberts" in All Categories

22 writers talk about their memorable excursions and the act of walking, and share their creative observations. In these six series, taken from BBC Radio 3's The Essay, an array of novelists, poets, journalists and biographers chart the varied and inspiring walks they have taken around Britain and elsewhere. Here are treks taken at daybreak and after dark; in winter and in spring; in the footsteps of the past; and - in the case of Robert Macfarlane - along the ridges of the South Downs.

Denis is searching for his mother’s past, knowing she had secrets. In Nice, he finds her friends, Monique and Clemence. In the 1950s, they were Matisse’s assistants when he was old and ill, pinning up his coloured paper shapes, putting the great cut-out works together. Monique inspired his great designs in the chapel at Vence, Clemence, in pursuit of love, was caught in an affair that led to violence and disaster. So they have their own intense and colourful past - but they hold the key to Denis’s past, too. He’s about to face the greatest challenge of his life.

Pour François Berlau, le plus jeune président de la République jamais élu, la première année du quinquennat fut un quasi-sans-faute : des résultats économiques encourageants, un leadership européen revendiqué, une France qui retrouve son rang sur la scène internationale... La deuxième année, en revanche, est infernale, ponctuée par des assassinats non élucidés de personnalités politiques de premier plan, puis par un énorme scandale le visant personnellement à travers le financement de sa campagne. S'agit-il de fake news ?

2011: When Madeleine loses her job as a lecturer, she decides to leave her riverside flat in cobbled Stew Lane, where history never feels far away, and move to Apricot Place. Yet here too, in this quiet Walworth cul-de-sac, she senses the past encroaching: a shifting in the atmosphere, a current of unseen life. 1851: and Joseph Benson has been employed by Henry Mayhew to help research his articles on the working classes. A family man with mouths to feed, Joseph is tasked with coaxing testimony from prostitutes.

Written with wit and narrative force, Honey, Mud, Maggots and Other Medical Marvels is an enriching excursion into the world of folk medicine. The award-winning team of Robert and Michèle Root-Bernstein provide a fascinating glimpse into the evolution of medical traditions. In addition to the honey, mud, and maggots used in wound therapy, the Root-Bernsteins unearth cures that range from ancient Egypt to the rain forests of contemporary Latin America.

Three stories that explore the most evocative experience of summer - outdoor swimming. 'To Brixton Beach': A mysterious swimmer spends all day in the pool at Brockwell Lido. Written by Stella Duffy. Read by Adjoa Andoh. 'Lido Lover': An Englishwoman finds a kind of fulfilment on the Venetian Lido. Written by Michele Roberts. Read by Joanna Tope. 'The Horizon Pool': An unexpected swimming companion in the UK's northernmost outdoor pool - the Trinkie in Wick - may hold the key to recovery for a teenage boy. Written by Linda Cracknell. Read by Finn den Hertog.

Yesterday ended in disaster. Very late at night, I decided to write down everything that had happened; the only way I could think of coping. So here goes. So begins Michele Roberts’ intimate and honest account of the year after her latest novel has been rejected by her then publisher. Written with warmth and sensitivity, she navigates the difficult road from depression and anxiety to acceptance and understanding of the value of the friendships which nurture her and make life worth living - whatever happens.

Nella notte di Londra, un uomo calpesta volutamente una bambina, non curandosi delle sue grida. Rincorso da un passante, il demoniaco signor Hyde accetta di risarcirla con del denaro: ma l'assegno che produce ha la firma del distinto Jekyll, un medico stimato da molti. È l'inizio della caduta di Jekyll in un vortice di stranezze: si isola, pare tormentato da angosce violente, e soprattutto fornisce a Hyde - che ispira orrore istintivo, e che è accusato di delitti ripugnanti - non solo denaro, ma anche protezione in casa sua. Quale oscuro patto può unire due personalità tanto diverse?

Colette was a pioneering, groundbreaking modernist writer, but has not always had her originality and worth recognized in Britain. Her work provocatively uses unstable narratives, gaps, silences, fairytale, mythical tropes, and sensual evocations of childhood, sex, and landscapes. In this book, Michèle Roberts examines how Colette invents new forms to express her unsettling content on desire, perversion, aging, and different forms of love.