Desert Island Discs Revisited

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BBC Radio 4 Extra

Factual: Life Stories

Selected castaway gems from the BBC Desert Island Discs archive.

Desert Island Discs Revisited: Absent Friends: Diana Athill

Diana Athill

Absent Friends

Desert Island Discs

BBC Radio 4 Extra - Desert Island Discs Revisited, Absent Friends, Diana Athill

Book editor turned writer Diana Athill shares her castaway choices with Sue Lawley.

From Fred Astaire to Haydn. Book editor turned writer Diana Athill shares her castaway choices with Sue Lawley. From June 2004.

Sue Lawley's castaway is the writer and book editor Diana Athill.

For nearly 50 years Diana Athill was involved in every aspect of publishing, from editing and even completely rewriting books to drawing adverts, designing covers and nursing authors for the publishing house Andre Deutsch. They published some of the greatest names of the 20th century, including Norman Mailer, Jack Kerouac, VS Naipaul and Jean Rhys.

Her career has been remarkable, but it was one that she fell into after her original plans for marriage and children fell through. Now aged 86, she is still writing and her novel Make Believe is being republished this autumn - and she still visits the Norfolk estate owned by her family where she spent so much time as a girl riding horses.

Favourite track: O Glucklich Paar by Franz Joseph Haydn
Book: Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray
Luxury: Her own bed

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2004.

Desert Island Discs Revisited: Absent Friends

Your digital radio entertainment station showcasing the best in comedy and drama

Your digital radio entertainment station showcasing the best in comedy and drama. With recent favourites from BBC Radio 4.

Remembering some castaways from Desert Island Discs who passed away in 2020.

Remembering the  castaways who passed away in 2020. From the Desert Island Discs archive.

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