The Hatchards Podcast Ryan Edgington and Matt Hennessey

On this episode, we were joined by author Andrew O’Hagan to discuss his truly exciting new novel, Caledonian Road, which has been selected as the Hatchards Fiction Book of the Month for April.

Wedged between two epochal events that have shaped our age — the global pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — the story follows Campbell Flynn, art historian, TV presenter, London resident, and man in free fall, as a web of crime and conspiracy eviscerates his sense of self-identity and redefines what it means to be a “good liberal” at a time where nothing is above scrutiny.

Andrew spoke us to about taking inspiration from classic Victorian novels; how his time spent with figures like Julian Assange and South London gangs informs the book’s characters; why novelists should write without fear; and as Andrew is Glaswegian, we cover the city’s ill-fated “Willy Wonka Experience” that grabbed global headlines back in March.

Signed copies of the book are now available to be purchased in-store or on our website. 

Hosted by Ryan Edgington and Matt Hennessey.

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Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/vocalista/in-the-hall-of-the-mountain-king-acapella
License code: ARSRS82KANYK7CLW

On this episode, we were joined by authors Robert P. Kolker and Nathan Abrams to discuss Kubrick: An Odyssey, their authoritative new biography on the life and work of the legendary filmmaker behind The Shining, Dr. Strangelove, and 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Robert and Nathan spoke to us about the process of rendering the mythology of Kubrick into flesh and blood; the rogues gallery of famous personalities that provided conflicting firsthand accounts; Kubrick's creative and personal life in the UK; and of course, the films, which according to our guests, represent the most rigorous body of work in the history of cinema.

Hosted by Ryan Edgington and Matt Hennessey.

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Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/aura-classica/also-sprach-zarathustra
License code: QTA3SKCGWYOG4OVQ

On this episode, we were joined by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Hisham Matar to discuss his brilliant new novel ‘My Friends,’ which tells the story of three exiled Libyan friends living in London over the course of four decades, each marked by an act of real political violence which occurred at the Libyan embassy in St. James’s Square in 1984.

The author is himself an exile, having fled the country as a child due his father’s vocal criticism of the Qaddafi regime, ultimately settling in London, where he has lived for many years.

Hisham spoke to us about the long journey towards completing this highly personal novel; why he believes that authors are rarely in control of their own work; and the challenges of attempting to live freely as an exile, all the while knowing that your compatriots are struggling back home.

The novel is full of warmth, brilliant storytelling, and great style, all attributes which can also be used to describe this episode's guest.

On this episode, we were joined by acclaimed journalist and writer Dolly Alderton, who's latest novel, Good Material, follows a standup comedian in his mid-30s navigating “The Madness” that follows an unexpected breakup with his longtime girlfriend, Jen.

As Andy attempts to discover the flaw in himself that points to where it all went wrong, Dolly puts through him a series of alternatively hilarious and heartbreaking set pieces — a brief sojourn living on a houseboat; an album in his phone called ‘bald’ where he takes a picture of his receding hairline each day; and a disastrous karaoke date with a holier-than-thou Gen-Z hipster.

In our conversation, Dolly spoke to us about charting the course of Andy’s breakup from a male point-of-view; her interest in the world of comedians; how she’s been both Andy and Jen in relationships; as well as her fascination with generations, and why she feels that millennials have never been given their due.

Spoiler warning - the final minutes of this episode include a discussion about the book's last chapter. Proceed with caution if you don't wish to know how it ends!

On this episode, we were joined by one of the most acclaimed writers of her generation, Zadie Smith, who's latest novel, The Fraud, tells the story of the most notorious English trial of the 19th century, and rightfully places slavery at the invisible centre of the traditional Victorian novel.

In our conversation, Zadie explains how she brought this vivid world of real-life characters to being; among them a famous British novelist and a freed slave from a sugar plantation in Jamaica; and why the lives of these Victorians connect so deeply to the concerns of the present day.

Far from a typical interview, we also spoke about a range of interesting topics, including, but not limited to: Donald Trump; OJ Simpson; David Foster Wallace and the 90s literati; the attention economy and its effects on modern reading; and why she believes you can love things like English country houses and classic Hollywood movies and still acknowledge the dark histories that gave them their power.

On this episode, were were joined by celebrated British cultural biographer Roger Lewis, who's latest book, Erotic Vagrancy, is an extravagant, decade-in-the-making portrait of the ultimate love-hate relationship – the marriage of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.

In our conversation, Roger lays bare everything that made these two such an endless subject of fascination for the public; their cinematic successes and more legendary flops; Burton's place in the West End firmament; and of course, their legendary addictions, punch-ups, divorces, hospital bills, and stays in Rome, Paris, New York, London, where chaos followed wherever they went.

Roger also spoke to us about his lifelong obsession with British pop culture, having authored biographies of Peter Sellers, Peter O'Toole, and Charles Hawtrey, and why these subjects remain essential to understanding our shared cultural history – and his opinion, should probably be taught at Sixth Form.