World Book Club

BBC World Service

The world's great authors discuss their best-known novel.

  1. Karin Slaughter: The Good Daughter

    1 Jun

    Karin Slaughter: The Good Daughter

    World Book Club welcomes Karin Slaughter to answer your questions about her brutal, heart-rending thriller, The Good Daughter. 28 years after the murder of their mother, another horrific crime forces sisters Sam and Charlie Quinn to confront the truth about the night that shattered their family so long ago. Karin will be asking your questions about her attitude to violence in her novels, the dynamics of sisterhood, and why saving public libraries is more important than ever in the modern world.

    1hr 5min
  2. John Connolly - The Book of Lost Things

    1 May

    John Connolly - The Book of Lost Things

    Harriett Gilbert welcomes John Connolly to World Book Club to answer your question on his beautiful, but twisted fairy tale - The Book of Lost Things. Set in the Second World War. The novel tells the tale of twelve-year-old David, who mourns the death of his mother while shut up in his attic bedroom with only his books for company. But those books have begun to whisper to him, tempting him... As his family falls apart, David is drawn into a world peopled by heroes and monsters of fairytale and myth, ruled by a shadowy king who keeps his secrets in a mysterious book, The Book of Lost Things. Not a fairytale for children, the novel is unnerving, psychologically gripping, and achingly tender in parts. It explores how we survive loss, how we can grow braver than we ever thought was possible, and how the stories we cling to can both save us, and scar us. John will answer questions such as what is the hidden meaning behind the monsters young David must confront, why we return to fairy tales throughout our lives, and if he believes in ‘book magic’.

    1hr 3min
  3. Ragnar Jonasson: The Darkness

    1 Apr

    Ragnar Jonasson: The Darkness

    Octavia Bright talks to Ragnar Jónasson about his shocking thriller, The Darkness. When Detective Inspector Hulda Hermannsdóttir is unceremoniously told she is being forced into early retirement, she is given the chance to work on one last Cold Case, anything she likes. The case she chooses to revive is centred on the death of a Russian asylum seeker, a 27-year-old woman who had been found dead on the icy shore a year before. As Hulda reopens the case, she discovers that another young woman disappeared at the same time - and that crucial facts have been withheld. Witnesses are evasive, records incomplete, and even her fellow officers appear determined to stall her investigation. With only two weeks to uncover the truth, Hulda must uncover what really happened, even at the risk of her own life. Ragnar answers listeners questions such as - how he created his detective, Hulda? How the Icelandic landscape shapes his characters and stories? And if he realised the ending of the novel would shock so many of his readers?

    1hr 2min
  4. Laurent Binet - HHhH

    2 Mar

    Laurent Binet - HHhH

    Harriett Gilbert welcomes the French author Laurent Binet to the World Book Club studio to answer your questions about his acclaimed novel HHhH. The book tells the story of the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, one of the chief architects of the Holocaust, and the daring mission carried out by Czech resistance fighters in Nazi-occupied Prague. At the same time, Binet places himself into the narrative, obsessively questioning how history should be told, where fact ends and fiction begins, and whether a writer ever has the right to blur that line. Recorded in front of a live audience at The American Library in Paris, Laurent will be answering your questions about blending history and fiction without betraying the truth, why he chose to make himself writing part of the story itself, and how storytelling is an attempt to confront, or make sense of, the darkest moments in history.

    58 min
  5. Linwood Barclay - Take Your Breath Away

    2 Feb

    Linwood Barclay - Take Your Breath Away

    Harriett Gilbert welcomes master of suspense, the Canadian author Linwood Barclay in the World Book Club Studio, to answer your questions about his thriller 'Take Your Breath Away'. The story centres on Andrew Mason, whose wife Brie vanished six years ago, making him the prime suspect. But just as he’s beginning to rebuild his life, a mysterious woman resembling Brie suddenly appears, forcing him to uncover the truth about what happened to his wife, uncovering secrets and lies at every turn. Linwood will be answering your questions, about how to craft a mystery that keeps readers hooked till the last page, how playing with different points of view can mask or reveal the truth, and why vivid settings can be just as important as characters to telling a compelling story.

    1hr 4min
  6. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni - The Palace of Illusions

    1 Jan

    Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni - The Palace of Illusions

    Harriett Gilbert welcomes bestselling author Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni into the World Book Club studio to discuss her internationally acclaimed novel, The Palace of Illusions. A luminous reimagining of the ancient Indian epic, the Mahabharat, The Palace of Illusions traces the life of Princess Panchaali—better known as Draupadi—from her miraculous birth in fire to her destiny as the wife of five brothers cheated of their father’s kingdom. Swept into their quest to reclaim their birthright, Panchaali stands beside them through years of exile and the terrible civil war that engulfs the kings of India. Along the way, she navigates fierce rivalries, a complex friendship with the enigmatic Krishna, and a forbidden attraction to her husbands’ most dangerous enemy. With its vivid imagery, lyrical prose and unforgettable characters, Divakaruni’s novel brings to life a world of warriors, gods, and fate, seen through the eyes of a fiery woman determined to shape her own destiny. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni answers readers’ questions about reclaiming women’s voices from myth and legend, the different kinds of love - marital, forbidden and divine, and how mythology can be used to re-write expectations for how people should live their lives even in the modern day.

    1hr 7min
  7. Philippa Gregory: The Other Boleyn Girl

    01/12/2025

    Philippa Gregory: The Other Boleyn Girl

    Harriett Gilbert welcomes bestselling author Philippa Gregory into the World Book Club studio to discuss her celebrated historical novel, The Other Boleyn Girl. This novel, about to celebrate its 25th anniversary, is a vivid portrayal of ambition, love, and betrayal in the Tudor Court, told from the perspective of Mary Boleyn, sister to the ill-fated Anne. As Mary becomes the mistress of King Henry VIII, Anne sets her sights on the throne. Set against the splendour and peril of sixteenth-century England, Philippa Gregory’s masterful novel explores power, desire, and the price women paid in a world where one man’s whims were considered sacrosanct. Philippa Gregory answers readers’ questions on what drives her fascination with women’s untold histories, the clash between love and ambition in the fraught world of the English court, and whether sisterhood can survive when the ultimate prize is the crown of England.

    55 min

  8. 01/11/2025

    Oyinkan Braithwaite - My Sister, The Serial Killer

    Harriett Gilbert welcomes Nigerian author Oyinkan Braithwaite into the World Book Club studio to discuss her internationally bestselling debut, My Sister, the Serial Killer — a darkly comic thriller that has captivated readers around the globe. This is the story of two sisters, Korede, the responsible and overlooked older sibling, and Ayoola, the beautiful younger sister with a deadly secret. When Ayoola’s boyfriends keep turning up dead, Korede finds herself in an impossible position — torn between loyalty to her sister and her own moral compass. Set against the backdrop of modern-day Lagos, this sharp, fast paced novel explores family, power, and the lengths we go to for those we love. Oyinkan Braithwaite answers your questions about why are some forms of violence treated as ordinary while others shock us? How far does beauty allow someone to escape consequences? And what exactly defines the bond — or the burden — of sisterhood? (Photo: Author Oyinkan Braithwaite. Credit: Studio Q)

    51 min
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About

The world's great authors discuss their best-known novel.

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  • Creator
    BBC World Service
  • Years Active
    2007 - 2026
  • Episodes
    291
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © (C) BBC 2026
  • Show Website
    World Book Club
  • Provider

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