The Working Class Library Episode 3: Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh
Craig McLean joins us to consider the place of Irvine Welsh’s novel in our library.
Podcast
The Working Class Library is the Bee’s podcast. Each month Richard Benson, editor of The Bee, and Claire Malcolm, CEO of New Writing North, invite a writer to discuss a book and decide whether it deserves a place on the shelves of the Working Class Library – our imaginary library of great books by and about ordinary people.
An Introduction to Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh
Whatever you think about Trainspotting, 30 years after publications, it’s a book that deserves to be taken seriously.
The Working Class Library Episode 2: Giving Up the Ghost by Hilary Mantel
Louise Doughty joins us to consider the place of Hilary Mantel’s memoir in our library.
An Introduction to Giving Up the Ghost by Hilary Mantel
Her working-class background was overlooked, but the double-Booker winner said it determined how she saw the world.
The Working Class Library Episode 1: New Grub Street by George Gissing
Gissing expert Simon James joins us to consider how **New Grub Street** became so topical again, and to ask if it deserves a place in our fantasy library.
An Introduction to New Grub Street
How the troubled George Gissing inspired Orwell, and foretold the influence of Amazon, BookTok and poverty porn.
