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BBC Radio 3 is a radio channel that started transmitting on the 30th September 1967. It replaced Third Programme.

BBC Radio 3

Radio 3

The Essay Podcast

The Essay

Discussion & Talk

Factual: Arts, Culture & the Media

Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.

Leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond, themed across a week - insight, opinion and intellectual surprise.

The Essay: The Book that Changed Me

The Essay: The Book that Changed Me: Episode 4: Lolita Chakrabarti on A Tale of Two Cities

The Book that Changed Me

Episode 4

Episode 4: Lolita Chakrabarti on A Tale of Two Cities

Lolita Chakrabarti on A Tale of Two Cities

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Actress and playwright Lolita Chakrabarti on Charles Dickens's book A Tale of Two Cities.

Actress and playwright Lolita Chakrabarti discusses Charles Dickens's book A Tale of Two Cities. She describes how it affected her at a pivotal moment in her life.

Actor and playwright Lolita Chakrabarti explains how "A Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens affected her at a pivotal moment in her life. She first came across the novel at the age of 15, as a set text at school. Dickens's account of the French Revolution mirrored the tumult of the politics of the mid-1980s, while his narrative seized her imagination. "He paints pictures with words succinctly and with no pretension. He tells a cracking story, has a great sense of humour and creates credible, compelling characters," she says. The novel's portrayal of personality influenced her acting, leading her to search for the emotional impulse motivating each character. No wonder she still keeps her original paperback copy: "Many of the pages are loose, but I'm loath to throw it away because this book opened a door for me."
Producer: Smita Patel.

Live music and the arts: broadcasts more live music than any other radio network. Classical music is its core. Genres include world and new music, jazz, speech and drama.

People involved in the arts discuss the books that inspired them in their careers

Series in which people involved in the arts discuss the books that inspired them in their careers

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Episode 4: Lolita Chakrabarti on A Tale of Two Cities

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