Open Book - 20/09/2009

Mariella Frostrup talks to John Banville, winner of the 2005 Man Booker Prize for his novel The Sea. Since then he has branched out into detective fiction with his popular novels published under the pen name Benjamin Black. He explains how his alter ego influenced his new book, The Infinities, and why this tale set in a rambling Irish country house is narrated by a Greek god. The poet Ian McMillan explains his enthuasiasm for the work of Malcolm Lowry, the alcoholic whose masterpiece Under The Volcano is cited by some as one of the greatest novels of the 20th century. As a new biography of Charles Dickens is published - the first major survey of his life in almost 20 years - Mariella talks to its author, Michael Slater. They discuss how Dickens's sometimes troubled childhood prompted his social activism and his love of public performance.