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Roger McGough with a diverse range of poetry read by Kerry Elkins and John Mackay.
Open Book Neglected Classics: The Advocates
Howard Jacobson
Howard Jacobson's choice is Rasselas by Samuel Johnson.
Howard Jacobson on his choice
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The comic novelist Howard Jacobson, who has described himself as "a Jewish Jane Austen", is the author of ten works of fiction, including Who's Sorry Now? and, most recently, The Act of Love.
Listen to an extract from Rasselas
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The only work of fiction by the essayist and lexicographer Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) follows the struggles of a young prince, Rasselas, to find the secret of a happy life. In this excerpt he encounters a visionary scientist. Reader: Bruce Alexander.
Neglected Classics
Advocates
- Beryl Bainbridge
- William Boyd
- Susan Hill
- Howard Jacobson
- Hari Kunzru
- Val McDermid
- Michael Morpurgo
- Ruth Rendell
- Colm Toibin
- Joanna Trollope
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