Irish novelist Edna O'Brien, now in her eighties, has just published The Little Red Chairs, an ambitious and disturbing novel which Philip Roth has decribed as 'her masterpiece'. It starts with the arrival of a war criminal in a small village on the west coast of Ireland, and moves to London and the Hague as it it considers the impact of his terrible crimes, and investigates the nature of evil. Edna O'Brien talks to Mariella about researching her novel, and why she believes fiction should tackle difficult and troubling themes.

Also on the programme - a sense of place: Frank Barrett who has undertaken a literary pilgrimage around Britain and poet Paul Farley, former writer in residence at Dove Cottage, discuss the appeal of writers' homes and visiting the real life settings of our great novels. And Garth Risk Hallberg and other New York novelists discuss why that city's recent past is such an attractive setting for them. Show less