In this episode, John, Andy & Nicky are joined by Laura Cumming & Edward Higgins. Laura first appeared in December 2016 to discuss Jane Gardam’s A Long Way from Verona. She is the Observer's art critic and wrote The Vanishing Man, a book about Velazquez which we discussed in the B.S. Johnson episode, and most recently a memoir about her mother's strange early life, On Chapel Sands, which Andy talked about in the episode on Ray Bradbury’s The Illustrated Man. Edward is the author of one novel, Conversations with Spirits, published by Unbound in 2013 and shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award. He is the former Editor-in-Chief of Bluffer's Guides, and the current Editor-in-Chief of a free app called Sidekick, helping people with mental health issues. Last year, he wrote introductions and annotations for the book under discussion today and has just released a new podcast called Laars Head's Supernormal.

The main book featured is The Diary of a Nobody by George & Weedon Grossmith, first serialised in Punch magazine in 1888 – 1889 and published in volume form by J.W. Arrowsmith in 1892. It has been in print ever since. Before that, Andy extols the mellow intoxications offered by Maurice Gorham’s The Local (with illustrations by Edward Ardizzone) and John enjoys the subversive comic elan of Percival Everett’s I Am Not Sidney Poitier published by the always-excellent Influx Press.

Books mentioned:

George & Weedon Grossmith - The Diary of a Nobody; The Diary of a Nobody (with Edward Higgin’s notes)
Stephen Wade - A Victorian Somebody: The Life of George Grossmith
Edward Higgins - Conversations with Spirits
Laura Cumming - The Vanishing Man; On Chapel Sands
Maurice Gorham - The Local
Clive King - Stig of the Dump (illustrated by Edward Ardizzone)
Percival Everett - I Am Not Sidney Poitier
George Saunders - Tenth of December
Andrew Sean Greer - Less
Francis Plug - How to Be a Public Author
Laurence Sterne - Tristram Shandy
George Orwell - Coming Up for Air

Other links:

‘See Me Dance the Polka’ performed by Leon Berger and Selwyn Tillett
Arthur Lowe reads from The Diary of a Nobody
Ken Russell discussing The Diary of a Nobody on A Good Read
Susannah Pearse & John Finnemore's musical adaptation of The Diary of a Nobody