Angel (1957) by the English writer Elizabeth Taylor, is the subject of this special episode - and, as you'll hear, the next episode of Locklisted too. Joining Andy and Una for a hotly disputed umpteenth appearance on the podcast is our guest, the critic and broadcaster Andrew Male. We last featured Elizabeth Taylor in 2019 when we discussed The Soul of Kindness (1964) on episode 102. Now we are revisiting this most Backlisted of authors, with perhaps her most Backlisted novel, Angel, about a character who could herself be the subject of a Backlisted episode, Angel Deverell, neglected lady novelist and sacred monster. The conversations we have had on Backlisted over the last decade return again and again to the themes of this magnificent book: the craft of writing; popularity with the public vs literary merit; separating the art from the artist; the problem of 'likability'; the burden of narrative; and the pitiless mechanics of the book business. Writers such as Hilary Mantel, Philip Hensher and Anita Brookner have all described Angel as a masterpiece and, without revealing the plot of this episode, and its spontaneous sequel, we could hardly agree more.

Books mentioned
Elizabeth Taylor - Angel; The Soul of Kindness; A Game of Hide and Seek; In A Summer Season; Complete Short Stories; Mrs Palfrey At The Claremont; A View Of The Harbour; The Wedding Group
Nicola Beaumon - The Other Elizabeth

Other links
Elizabeth Taylor on Mastermind
Tales of the Unexpected - ‘The Flypaper’ (watch)