Previous Episode: Professor Eric Hobsbawm
Next Episode: Felix Aprahamian

The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the writer and publisher Nigel Nicolson. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about his parents Harold Nicolson and Vita Sackville-West and their unconventional marriage which was based on deep mutual love but also allowed both of them to enjoy homosexual affairs. His book Portrait of a Marriage - famously televised by the BBC - tells their story. He'll also be describing his isolated upbringing at Sissinghurst Castle, his relationship with his mother and how he co-founded the publishing house Weidenfeld and Nicolson.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Bolero by Maurice Ravel
Book: A Guide To The Universe (Astronomy)
Luxury: Telescope