Tessa Hadley, author of "Free Love," on Writers on Writing

In the spirit of The Lost Daughter, Tessa Hadley's latest novel explores one of the biggest taboos of western culture—women who leave. The British author has penned eight novels and three collections of short stories. She's known in the industry as "a writer's writer," admired by contemporaries like Zadie Smith, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Hilary Mantel and Anne Enright.

Hadley joins Marrie Stone to talk about Free Love. She discusses some of the enduring themes in her fiction, the freedom of setting a novel in the 1960s, how she tackles her sex scenes, and why this novel came easily to her when others mostly don't. 

Hadley came late to publishing, her first novel making its debut when the author was 46. She discusses the advantages of publishing later in life, and how she approaches her different roles as novelist versus short story writer. 

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(Record date: January 13, 2022)
(Broadcast date: January 31, 2022)