Navigating Girlhood and Womanhood

Esther Freud’s first semi-autobiographical novel Hideous Kinky became a film starring Kate Winslet and told the wild story of two little girls living in Morocco with their bohemian mother.  More than 30 years on, those girls are back and growing up fast in her sequel, My Sister and Other Lovers.  Esther joins Big Ideas host Natasha Mitchell at the Byron Writers Festival to explore the ties that bind, that tether, and that can traumatise in complicated families. Esther’s great-grandfather was the psychologist Sigmund Freud, her late father was the artist Lucian Freud, and her sister is the fashion designer Bella Freud. How has fiction helped her make sense of her own family? And what is it about sisterly love that can sustain through it all? 

Speaker

Esther FreudNovelist and playwrightAuthor, My Sister and Other Lovers (2025) Thanks to festival director Jessica Alice and team.

The Byron Writers Festival has a series of author events throughout the year. See their website for details.

Thanks to festival director Jessica Alice and team.