#182: Nicholas Shakespeare, novelist and biographer

Always Take Notes

Simon and Rachel speak with the novelist and biographer Nicholas Shakespeare. He began his career as a journalist, working for the Times and the Telegraph, before turning to book-writing in the 1980s. His debut novel, "The Vision of Elena Silves" (1989), won the Somerset Maugham Award; "The Dancer Upstairs" was named the best novel of 1995 by the American Libraries Association and a film adaptation was directed by John Malkovich. "The High Flyer" (1993) and "Snowleg" (2004) were both longlisted for the Booker Prize. His non-fiction work includes an acclaimed biography of the English travel writer Bruce Chatwin. We spoke to Nicholas about his early life and living all over the world, combining novels and non-fiction, and his new biography of James Bond creator Ian Fleming.

“Always Take Notes: Advice From Some Of The World’s Greatest Writers” - a book drawing on our podcast interviews - is published by Ithaka Press. You can order it via ⁠⁠⁠⁠Amazon⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Bookshop.org⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Hatchards⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠Waterstones⁠⁠⁠⁠.

You can find us online at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠alwaystakenotes.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, on Twitter @takenotesalways and on Instagram @alwaystakenotes. Our crowdfunding page is ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/alwaystakenotes⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Always Take Notes is presented by Simon Akam and Rachel Lloyd, and produced by Artemis Irvine. Our music is by Jessica Dannheisser and our logo was designed by James Edgar.