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Episode · Take Four Books

M. John Harrison

16 Aug 2026 · 28 min

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The writer M. John Harrison speaks to Take Four Books about his latest novel, The End of Everything, and, together with presenter James Crawford, they explore its connections to three other works. The End of Everything follows the characters of Phillip Tennent and his elderly aunt Marnie. A crisis has happened. The exact nature of which remains obscure, but government barely functions, the seas are full of new creatures and Europe has been mislaid. Is this the end? For his three influences M. John Harrison chose: The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham which was published in 1961 and…

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Take Four Books

BBC Radio 4 · Arts & Books · English

Presenter James Crawford looks at an author's latest work and delves further into their creative process by learning about the three other texts that have shaped their writing.

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