Mad, Bad, Dangerous to Know

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Mad, Bad, Dangerous to Know by Colm Tóibín: 5. Romance

Episode 4

5. Romance

Mad, Bad, Dangerous to Know by Colm Tóibín

BBC Radio 4 - Mad, Bad, Dangerous to Know by Colm Tóibín, 5. Romance

Colm Tóibín on the eternal youth of John B Yeats, father of the literary giant WB Yeats

John B Yeats and Rosa Butt’s romance in their sixties and its influence on the writings of his son. Read by Colm Tóibín.

Colm Tóibín concludes his exploration of the complex relationships between three of Ireland's literary giants and their fathers:

Tóibín turns to the romantic and occasionally erotic correspondence between John B Yeats and Rosa Butt, when the pair were in their sixties.  

He then reflects on the influence that the father's boyish romance had on the writings of his son, the literary giant WB Yeats.

Abridged by Richard Hamilton.  

Producer:  Elizabeth Allard

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2018.

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Colm Toibin reads from his new book about the fathers of three of Ireland's great writers.

The award-winning writer Colm Tóibín reads from his new book about the fathers of three of Ireland's leading writers: Oscar Wilde, WB Yeats and James Joyce.

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Mad, Bad, Dangerous to Know by Colm Tóibín

5. Romance

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