The American master of biography talks about the subject of his most recent obsession: the Scottish traveller, South Seas adventurer and prose genius, Robert Louis Stevenson. To the likes of Henry James and Italo Calvino, Stevenson's 'kinetic' energy makes him one of the great storytellers of all time.
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43:44
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43:44
Series 3 Ep 2: Monisha Rajesh
On a far-reaching journey from Savannah to the Arctic Circle, we experience the joys (and fears) of night travel as told by one of the great contemporary travel writers on railways. This time, the focus is on sleeper trains, which are the stars of Monisha's latest book, Moonlight Express.
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49:23
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49:23
Series 3 Ep 1: Lyse Doucet
Lyse Doucet, the BBC's Chief International Correspondent, discusses her first major book, The Finest Hotel in Kabul. An instant Sunday Times bestseller, it tells the story of the last 50 years of Afghan history through the everyday lives of people working in the same hotel Lyse has callled home during four decades of frontline conflict reporting.
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56:06
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56:06
Series 2 Ep 12: Caroline Eden
On journeys through Central Asia, Turkey, Ukraine, the South Caucasus, Russia, the Baltics and Poland, Caroline Eden reveals the kitchen's unique ability to tell intimate human stories. This episode — discussing her memoir, Cold Kitchen, as well as her trilogy of award-winning recipe books, Black Sea, Red Sands and Green Mountains — make for a mouthwatering exploration of place and people.
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39:37
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39:37
Series 2 Ep 11: Damian Le Bas
A father's death, a Romany taboo, and a childhood obsession with Plato's myth about the lost city of Atlantis drives award-winning author Damian Le Bas on a quest to find meaning in sunken ruins around the world. The result is a spellbinding journey among selkies and sea creatures in an underwater world beloved of divers and dreamers.
'Gone To Timbuktu', hosted by author and journalist Sophy Roberts, explores the art of travel with writers, poets, photographers and filmmakers. Conversations range from physical journeys to inner landscapes, creative influences and new ideas — themes explored further in the host's Substack, also called 'Gone To Timbuktu'.