It's the launch day for Sally's new book, The Green Lady, and Sally is feeling the pressure, especially as her neighbours have left her alone on the boat. In the middle of the night, she reads an 18th century classic, Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, finding commonality in its psychological upswings and downswings, the melodrama, the despair and the comforts, of its narrator, who has turned to writing in his journal to cope with his lonely castaway life. Brought back to the world by the sound of children playing outside, Sally has to rely on the kindness of a Girl Friday neighbour to refill her water tank. She reflects on the importance of willpower, determination, and the practice of paying attention.
Robinson Crusoe, published by Daniel Defoe in 1719, is often said to be the first English novel; a form of spiritual autobiography and the beginnings of realistic fiction in English.
I Am is a poem written by John Clare in 1844 or 1845, while the author was a patient in the Northampton General Lunatic Asylum. Clare (1793 to 1864) was the son of a farm labourer and struggled for most of his life to earn money for his family while pursuing his literary ambitions, living for some time as a vagrant. I Am is his most famous poem, expressing his deep sense of isolation from society and his family as he struggled with his mental health.
The producer of the podcast is Andrew Smith: https://www.fleetingyearfilms.com
The extra voice in this episode is Emma Fielding.
Thanks to everyone who has supported us so far. Special thanks go to Violet Henderson, Kris Dyer, and Maeve Magnus.
A Reading Life, A Writing Life, with Sally Bayley