Ask Penguin

How does artist Kae Tempest inspire Dawn French? Do editors always know best? What is the impact of grief on those we love most? And what really happened when Dawn French came face to face with a hippo while filming Harry Potter?

In this episode of Ask Penguin, Rhianna Dhillon sits down with bestselling author and comedy legend Dawn French to discuss her moving new novel Enough, alongside brilliant book recommendations from Dawn and the Penguin team.

Discover all the books mentioned in this episode here

About the book
Enough, follows Etta, 68, happy, healthy and satisfied with the life she has lived. One morning she gathers her family together and drops a bombshell that they all have one day to come to terms with - this will be Etta’s final day alive.

About the author
Dawn French has been making people laugh for 30 years. As a writer, comedian and actor, she has appeared in some of this country's most long-running and celebrated shows, including French and Saunders, The Vicar of Dibley, Jam and Jerusalem, and more recently, Can You Keep A Secret? Her first three novels, A Tiny Bit Marvellous, Oh Dear Silvia and According to YES, are all Sunday Times bestsellers.

For more information about the National Year of Reading, click here https://goallin.org.uk
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What’s the difference between flash fiction and the short story? Why are we drawn to literature’s most flawed characters? And what would be the ideal fictional world for adulterers?

Hosted by Rhianna Dhillon, on this episode of Ask Penguin, we’re answering your questions with our best book recommendations and talking to Booker Prize-longlisted novelist Sophie Mackintosh about her new novel Permanence. The book follows Clara and Francis – a couple in love, but in secret. When they wake in a strange city, they can finally be together. But as they move between this world and their ordinary lives, cracks begin to show, and they are forced to ask - how long can their love survive?

Discover all the books mentioned in this episode here

Sophie Mackintosh is the author of four novels, including The Water Cure and Cursed Bread. She has been longlisted for the Man Booker Prize and the Women's Prize, has won a Betty Trask Award, and has been selected as one of Granta's Best of Young British Novelists. She has been published in Granta, The White Review and TANK magazine among others.

For more information about the National Year of Reading, click here https://goallin.org.uk
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How did Marian Keyes inspire Bryony Gordon’s writing? How do you write about family without falling into stereotypes? Which books capture the messy reality of life? And what is your favourite habit to fit reading into your life?

The Ask Penguin team returns with a shelf-load of must-read book recommendations - and this week, we're joined by bestselling author, journalist, and podcaster Bryony Gordon to discuss her debut novel, People Pleaser.

The novel follows Olivia Greenwood, a self-confessed people pleaser who, after one chaotic night out, decides it’s time to start living life on her own terms. Bryony Gordon is a columnist, author, and host of the podcast The Life of Bryony. She is the author of several bestselling books, including Mad Girl and You Got This, both Sunday Times No.1 bestsellers and British Book Award nominees, and is a passionate advocate for mental health, founding Mental Health Mates, a global peer support network. People Pleaser is her first novel.

Discover all the books mentioned in this episode here

For more information about the National Year of Reading click here https://goallin.org.uk

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Is Wuthering Heights the perfect novel or the perfect work of art? Why do we fall in love with villains? Is all love doomed? And if Emerald Fennell could adapt another book to film, what would she choose?

In this special episode of Ask Penguin, we speak to the director of Wuthering Heights' latest adaptation, Emerald Fennell, about her relationship to Emily Brontë's novel, how she went about interpreting such a complex classic, and what she wants audiences to take away from her vision.

Also joining us in the studio are authors Henry Eliott and Harriet Evans, as we deep-dive into the book, the film, and the life of the Brontës.

Discover more about this episode and all the books by clicking here

Watch Emerald Fennell's interview on YouTube
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In this special bonus episode, and to mark Jane Austen’s 250th birthday, we step inside her home in Alton to uncover the life she lived there and the objects she treasured most. From first editions to her own annotated books which formed her personal library, we explore how her surroundings and daily routines shaped her writing - and how walking through her rooms brings her world vividly to life.

Discover all our episode transcripts and book recommendations at Penguin.co.uk

Love everything Jane Austen? Visit all our features and beautiful editions of all her works by clicking: Jane Austen

Follow in our footsteps and find out more aout her home and plan your visit by clicking: Jane Austen's House

Ask Penguin will be back in the New Year. Until then, Happy Reading!
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