As part of Radio 4's Capturing America series, Mark Lawson selects short pieces by five American authors.

The diaries of Tennessee Williams reveal a social butterfly whose gregariousness is tempered by self doubt. Assignations with lovers, named only by their initials, pepper the extracts covering his burgeoning career as a writer in the 1930s, the post-golden age of A Streetcar Named Desire and the intimate and moving entries from the latter stages of his life. Throughout, his wit and lightness of touch belie a more troubled soul.

Read by Paul Birchard. Show less